Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Reference Desk

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February 1

How do you make a user page

I want to try to make a user page with all the logos how do you do that. --Croc 00:47, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, if you know HTML you can use that to a great extent. Quite a few people just find other things that they like about other people's user pages, copy it, and tweak it to fit themselves. Dismas|^(talk) 00:58, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps you are refering to userboxes. - Akamad 01:26, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Before you spend a lot of time figuring out how to make a fancy user page, and especially before you slather on a bunch of userboxes, know that the really hip users think that simple user pages are way cool, and that userboxes are silly at best. —Steve Summit (talk) 03:41, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Many will disagree with that statement, however I suspect most will agree that you would do well to increase the complexity and size of your userpage in sync with, but lagging, the complexity and size of your articel/community contributions. People who have very few articel edits and many userpage edits are looked at rather poorly, however long term, well known contributors with many respected edits to articels, image uploads, etc, are given wide leeway with their userpages. 68.39.174.238 23:27, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Health care costs per person...

So its an often quoted statement that says that the american government spends more PER PERSON than the canadian government on health care. What I don't understand is how that is possible, given that 60-70% of canadian health care is publically funded, where as in the states, its all privately funded? Is the american figure referring only to Medicare and Medicaid. Cacofonie 01:29, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Your assertion that healthcare in the us is "all privately funded" reflects a misconception. More than 40% of healthcare spending in the U.S. is by governments. You know of Medicare for seniors and Medicaid for the very poor. There's also healthcare for military personnel and veterans. There's the State Children's Health Insurance Program for low-income kids. All those anti-smoking ads the government funds count, too. So does federally funded medical research at universities. Here's the breakdown of U.S. public healthcare spending in 2005:

Federal (total=$644 billion):

Medicare -- $342 billion

Workers Comp. -- $0.759b

Medicaid -- $177.3b

Medicaid SCHIP -- $1.5b

SCHIP -- $3.8b

Defense Department -- $26.1b

Maternal/Child Health -- $.628b

Veterans' Administration -- $30.2b

Vocational Rehab. -- $.391b

General Hospital/Medical -- $6.2b

Substance Abuse/Mental Health Services -- $3.2b

Indian Health Services -- $2.2b

Public health activity -- $10.7b

Research -- $31.3b

Structures and equipment -- $7.2b

State and local (total=$259b)

Temporary Disability -- $.096b

Medicaid -- $133.4b

Medicaid SCHIP -- $.653b

SCHIP -- $1.7b

General Assistance -- $6.2b

Maternal/Child Health -- $2b

Vocational Rehab -- $.117b

Hospitals and school health -- $19.2b

Public health activity -- $45.8b

Research -- $5b

Structures and equipment -- $11.8b

Private-sector healthcare spending in 2005 was $1.085 trillion.

Source -- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services -- Mwalcoff 02:00, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Wow, thanks for the data! So then, if I understand this correctly, American health care pays more per person while ONLY covering the special populations enunciated above? Whereas the canadian system is leses per person, and covers everyone? Or is the figure given meant as they spend more per person actually covered by the insurance? Sorry if thats not very clear.... Cacofonie 20:57, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

On the face of it, it would seem to be the first of those; in short, much less is spent on health in Canada per capita than in the US; the Canadian government meets more of the cost of healthcare. The $1886 versus $2548 figures are based on the whole population of the country, not merely those insured under the various schemes. (And the figures are for Per capita government expenditure on health at average exchange rate (US$), defined as Public Health Expenditure (PHE) per capita is the per capita amount of the sum of outlays on health paid for by taxes, social security contributions and external resources (without double-counting the government transfers to social security and extra-budgetary funds), and are from the World Health Organisation [1].) How you interpret all of this is another set of questions altogether. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Although that said, this provides for each country data which might be indicative of the efficacy of each country's healthcare system. From the four indicators I looked at, Canada was ahead in three and the US in one. --Tagishsimon (talk)

USAF European Air Transport Service Eschborn Germany

Is there any history regarding the Eschborn Air Base in 1946? There was a 441st Troop Carrier Group there, as 14th Troop Carrier Sqd and 32 Troop Carrier Squardron. Before moving to Rhien Main it was redesignated 61st Troop Carrier Group but still European Transport Service "EATS" om a triangle was on the nose of the C-47's. The 14th history sign showed action for Africa, Sicily, Holland, Normandy and Rhein. The "patch" read "Airborne Troop Carrier" with an open parachute. Where can I get information on this WWII outfit? Signed: Ted Medler 1946 Air Inspectors office.4.245.31.59 02:17, 1 February 2007 (UTC)Ted Medler

First university in German Language

Hello, Thank you to the person who answered the question about Lufthansa.He helped me a lot.

I got another question:

In what year and in what city was built the first university in the german language?

I can not decide between Prague and Vienna.

What is the right answer?

Charles University in Prague was founded in 1348, followed by Vienna in 1365 and Heidelberg in 1386. Clio the Muse 09:54, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, but the question is whether the language of tuition at Charles University was German from the get-go (as it presumably was at Vienna), or some other language (Czech?). I don't know the answer, btw :-) --Richardrj ^{talk email} 16:31, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

The language of tuition at this time throughout Catholic Europe was Latin. The everyday form of speech of the students at these universities would, for the most part, be German. Only Bohemian peasants would have spoken Czech. Clio the Muse 16:47, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps the question should be rephrased as "when, and at which university, were classes first taught in German ?". This, I suppose, could include classes on learning the German language as well as classes on other subjects, taught in German. StuRat 04:02, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Good point. It looks like the answer to that question is the University of Leipzig, 1687, when Christian Thomasius "made the daring innovation of lecturing in German instead of Latin". He also published in German until the academy banned him. Thomasius later helped found Halle University in 1694, where he continued to hold lectures in German. ---Sluzzelin 07:52, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

riddle

what is it that most americans prefer but never use

The right to vote? Though I think the turnout rate is something like 60% so that wouldn't quite work... --24.147.86.187 12:46, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

This was asked the other day, it's still on this very page. Please see the previous question for any answers. Dismas|^(talk) 13:08, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Statistics/Normal Distribution

(Question and answers so far moved to the Mathematics desk. ) Edison 19:13, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

WW II Rations

My boss would like to know why where eggs rationed during the war as surely there were plenty of chickens. Thanks

I'm going to guess that the rationale was to diminish the amount of chicken feed required to power all those chickens; as food was more scarce the inefficiency of converting grain into eggs became intolerable. --Tagishsimon (talk)

I would imagnine it was because the Army was buying up most of the eggs and shipping them to the soldiers, leaving fewer for the locals to eat. Rmhermen 17:24, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Something like that was the case in the US, according to the section "A Scrambled Egg Situation" in Economic Basis of the Black Market. Perhaps we can conclude that it was a mix of limitation on inputs and changes to patterns of demand. --Tagishsimon (talk)

[2] says as for rationing in Britain, "egg rationing varied from between one every two weeks during the Winter to 3 or 4 during the Spring and Summer months." and "Expectant mothers and children were also allowed up to 18 eggs per month." [3] says "Eggs, butter and meat could be obtained fairly easily without coupons in rural areas." in wartime Britain. On another aspect of wartime rationing it says "Some people who lived near the sea even tried catching the odd Seagull or two to add to the cooking pot" but does not address the use of their eggs. [4] says poultry was not rationed in the U.S. in WW 2. [5]says "Foods, such as sugar, eggs and meat, were rationed"in the U.S. Edison 19:35, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Reminds me of the Bob Hope anecdote. While on a USO(?) tour, he quipped, "Fellows, the folks at home are having a terrible time about eggs. They can't get any powdered eggs at all. They've got to use the old-fashioned kind you break open." Clarityfiend 22:04, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Can you copy from Wikipedia with CITING Wikipedia?

Someone wrote a 'letter to the editor' of our local paper on 'The Quality of Life' and took some sentences verbatim from Wikipedia. He says that because of open source, he can do this without any reference.

He also replied to me with the following saying Widipedia's disclaimer says he does not have to CITE... "Important note: The Wikimedia Foundation does not own copyright on Wikipedia article texts and illustrations. It is therefore useless to email our contact addresses asking for permission to reproduce content. It is possible to reproduce content under the license and technical conditions applicable to Wikipedia (see below and Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks). The permissions to reproduce Wikipedia's content in accordance with these conditions are granted without request."

I would think that since Widipedia is like an encyclopedia, one should at least say that he copied the information from it (I'm not asking whether he has to ask permission - the real question is whether CITING is necessary, as he used sentences as though he wrote them himself).

Thanks very much for the help - Sorry to sound so dumb.

Best regards 68.54.76.151 13:47, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

The words you want to stress in the above are the "in accordance with these conditions". One of the conditions is the GFDL licence. I believe that requires the borrower to cite, but I'd be happy to be corrected.

Much, much, *MUCH* more importantly, he's committed plagiarism (and yes, it's still plagiarism if your source is in the public domain - it's intellectually dishonest whether or not it's a copyright infringement). Newspapers tend to take a very dim view of plagiarism. They'll want to know that something they printed, even a letter to the editor, was not the original thought of the writer. If I were you I'd call them and ask to speak to an editor. I've seen even small-town newspapers print editor's notes after learning that letters were partly plagiarized.

It sounds like he doesn't understand the difference between copyright and intellectual honesty. If you use someone else's words without attribution, it's plagiarism no matter what the source. --Charlene 14:13, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Unless the few sentences fall under fair use and then the GNUFDL would apply to the whole document. And he would be required to write at the end of it

"Copyright (c) YEAR YOUR NAME.
   Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
   under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
   or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
   with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
   A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU
   Free Documentation License". "

I have a feeling he didn't do that. I do not believe that there is an obligation to cite wikipedia. Jon513 14:27, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments, all - Keep up the great work :) 68.54.76.151 15:47, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

The GFDL does have attribution requirements, but because Wikipedia content is licensed to the GFDL by the individual contributors, it is they who you are supposed to cite. Actually implementing that in a way other than the "History" pages of articles has been a topic of on-going discussion, though. --140.247.248.95 17:24, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Socks

Why is it that however carefully one smoothes socks they inevitably feel wrinkled once the shoes are on ?

And why do I always get a stone in my left shoe, or sandal ? Winter and summer ?90.9.213.37 14:20, 1 February 2007 (UTC)petitmichel

Question 1, friction with the shoe when putting them on. No idea on the rest. Dismas|^(talk) 15:13, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

I disagree with the premise of the question: in my experience my socks do not wrinkle in the shoe. Perhaps well fitting socks & shoes do not exhibit the characteristic, and ill fitting do? --Tagishsimon (talk)

Either your socks are too big, or your shoes are too small. Or maybee your feet are too small?--Light current 17:20, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

As Dismas pointed out, sometimes the socks already wrinkle in the process of putting the shoe on the foot. If you're wearing laced shoes, it helps opening and really loosening the shoe all the way before slowly slipping your foot in it while pulling your sock up at the same time. If you don't do this carefully when putting on skates or ski boots, for instance, you'll feel uncomfortable very soon. As for the stone in the left shoe, do you have an assymetrical gait? Do you drag your or twist your left leg differently than your right one when you walk?

No idea about question 1, but in regard to question 2, it's quite simple. Stones are attracted to the warmth of your body. When you aren't lookig, stones will sometimes attempt to enter your shoe. Lovingly place them back on the pavement & reassure them that your shoe is not the best place to be. You problem will soon vanish as there are no pebbles in rubber rooms of asylums... ;) Spawn Man 23:36, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Buying international newspapers and magazines in Maryland, USA.

When I lived in southern California, there was a store down the street where you could buy magazines from around the world. I can't find any such thing in the Baltimore/DC area. I'd like to purchase the occasional copy of Private Eye without having to buy a year's subscription for $72. Jbaber 14:59, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

I would think that you should be able to in D.C. given the number of people from outside the country that probably live/work in the area. Check the yellow pages maybe? Dismas|^(talk) 15:15, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

A few suggestions:

• An international airport store that sells newspapers and magazines will have many international titles, to satisfy the clientele.

• A large book store or comic book store will likely carry some international titles.

• Their website sells back issues for 5 pounds each (around $10 ?), so you could go that way (if they deliver outside the UK), but I'd think the subscription would likely be cheaper in the long run unless you want very few issues each year.

StuRat 03:53, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the ideas. I called a few airport magazine racks and none carried it, so I caved and made the financial commitment. It'll be good for me, I'm sure.128.220.29.161 12:44, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Butterflies

To Whom It May Concern:

My boyfriend and I were discussing butterflies the other day. What we would like to know is what happens to a butterfly when it rains? I know if you touch one the pollen rubs off on your hands,but does this cause harm to the butterfly? And if so what will rain do to them? How do they protect themselves from types of weather that may harm them? What is mortality of a butterfly? Your prompt answer would greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Kathleen Tyson

An answer is found here. In essence, they seek shelter. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Okay, that is believable, but many butterflies imigrate over the oceans, what do they do if there is no vegitation to dart under. I realise many of them die in these amazing crossings, but some survive so, how?

I can only speculate that the survivors a) do not get hit or b) get hit but do not suffer structural damage. Not a very satisfactory answer, not least since it is not referenced. But the plethora of "butterfly rain gauges" and "butterfly rain shoes" makes the google search challenging. This chap has a duck & dive theory in which the flutterby sees and avoid the raid. An article on the physics of water droplets suggests that "Other examples of this non-wetting approach can be found in duck feathers and butterfly wings. These corrugated surfaces also provide air pockets that prevent water from completely touching the surface. As a result of the limited contact that the drops have with the surface, there is very little friction against drop motion. This means that water can bounce or roll off duck feathers and butterfly wings quite easily." So maybe there's avoidance, and slightly more robustnes of design than we'd think ... certainly the non-wetting business probably answer the "pollen rubs off" issue you raised. Not much more light shed at this forum. As to mortality (lifespan?), I give you "The average lifespan for an adult butterfly is 20 to 40 days. Some species live no longer than three or four days; others may live up to six months" from here.--Tagishsimon (talk)

Just wanted to add that butterfly scales are what you're seeing when you disturb a butterfly wing; according to this expert, "Monarchs can fly after they've lost a lot of scales! However, they probably can't fly as efficiently when they've lost significant numbers." Ernest Williams et al. corroborate those sentiments precisely. V-Man737 01:15, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

educational

How can I approach the question 'who am I?'-------ANTHONY

Who are any of us? or I am the God of your universe, you just dont seem to know it yet.

I'd start at Self (philosophy) and see where that leads. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Don't forget to check out amnesia. Clarityfiend 18:17, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Who am I? Maybe you're "reaching far too high". ---Sluzzelin 23:45, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

• What are your strong points? Those are important in establishing who you are. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:50, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Meditate, daily. JackofOz 06:58, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Based on how you sign your name, you are ANTHONY, by the looks of it. But your name isn't enough. To find out who you truly are, we need your Credit card number, your Social Security number, your age, your weight, your mother's maiden name, etc... And we need to know What... is your favorite colour?!

But seriously... User:Abyss42 21:22, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Kiddies? (Not Goats)

Greetings,

I was wondering; is there an account of how many children King Solomon of Israel had? He had 700 wives and 300 concubines, so it must have been many.

Thanks, AlexanderTG 17:49, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Our article on Solomon appears to make no mention of any of his children. Rmhermen 20:00, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

2 Chronicles mentions his son Rehoboam becomming King if Israel after Solomon's death. There may be additional information from Jewish sources.129.112.109.250 21:08, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

AC/DC

AC/DC is supposed to be working on a new album and it being released in this year. Can you help me find out more information on this, and if it`s true?

AC/DC#New_album seems to be about this. Friday (talk) 19:49, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

make things happen again in counter strike condition zero

I wnat to know that if is possible to do in CSCZ that one thing will change in every of round, (a exemple i want to put that in every round the start money will be 6170$ even if the playes kill many players and get many money in the next round everybody will start with 6170$)

If you're admin, im sure its possible to give all players $x with a console command, I'm sorry dont know what that is though, I googled for a little bit with no luck. Cyraan 02:20, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

But i want (a example) that in every start of round the round that the game set the amount of money of the players to number like 6170$ without the admin having to type a command on every round.

Never played CS, but could it be a cvar in the server configuration file? --Wooty Woot? contribs 03:17, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Quick change video

I saw a video of a quick change couple which was truly amazing. The woman could completely change clothes including shoes in seconds. This is NOT a x rated video. She is never without clothes on. I think this video is from a TV program. Anyone know where I can find it on the net?129.112.109.250 20:52, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

I would suggest this sort of google search --Tagishsimon (talk)

Or if you prefer YouTube[6]. Vranak

Was it from America's Got Talent? They had a good one. --Justanother 07:07, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

David and Dania it was. See Quick-change and here. --Justanother 07:10, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

February 2

Vocal Vibrato Lessons

What is a good website with online free vocal vibrato lessons? Thx. Jamesino 02:33, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

This Google search yields a plethora of sites that are right on the money. Most of them are promotional, so they'll give you some free "tips" before inviting you to send them money for the full Monty. All in all, I'd say that most of the sites have fairly good tips. V-Man737 03:52, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

ZORK- V.1

How do I create an account on zork? Яussiaп F 02:55, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

If you mean the first version of Zork, you wouldn't create an account the way you would with an MMORPG; rather, you can simply type "save" and it will save your status on the computer. To access your save point, type "reload." V-Man737 04:00, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

So you can only save one file a time? Would you be able to copy old save files into other folders if you wouldn't want them to be overwritten? 惑乱 分からん 11:16, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Although the game was designed to have only one save file at a time, I'm sure a person could manipulate computer files around to allow for different save files. V-Man737 11:19, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

alternative words for ocean

i am looking for alternative words for ocean or other languages words for ocean

If you go to the ocean article, and have a look down the left hand side of the page, there will be links to non-English language versions of the ocean article. So you can have a look at those to see what oceans are called in other languages. - Akamad 03:44, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Thesaurus entry for ocean --Tagishsimon (talk)

How do I delete a note of a change I have made to a page?

I want to clear a note in a page's edit history of a change I made before I created an account on Wikipedia. I want to do this to conceal my IP address. So can I do it? If so, how? Yoshiroshin 04:37, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

AFAIK, no, can't be done. (Well, okay it could probably be done by a developer, but I think you'd have an uphill battle trying to convince one of the need, and I doubt there's a standard procedure for doing it.) --Tagishsimon (talk)

An administrator could clear an edit history, but only in certain circumstances (like slander or information that could put an editor at risk). If you have a genuine concern that it could put you at risk, you should speak to an admin about it. Rockpocket 06:42, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure that'll clear the IP addy, just the comment. --Tagishsimon (talk)

It would remove the edit and the record of the editor/IP making the comment. How it works is the whole article gets deleted then only selected versions get re-instated. If the selected comment doesn't get reinstated its record - and that if the contributor - remains invisible to everyone except other admins. Rockpocket 06:56, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

• If you don't say what edit it is, no will know the IP belongs to you. Concealing it for fears other than it being linked to you are useless, because anyone with bad intentions will know the IP exists already whether it is displayed or not. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:48, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Of course the best way to conceal your IP address in the future is to create a proper user account. Once you do that, only admins can find out what your real IP address is. SteveBaker 22:27, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Webpage Font

Is there any way I can alter the font you are using on your website pages. I find it very tiring. I am 83 years old and I prefer a more conventional font like times new roman. Thanks.

Yes, there is. Your browser should have an option that allows you to over-rule the Wikipedia default font. On Mozilla Firefox, you should choose Tools > Options > Content > Advanced. Then de-select the tickbox that says "Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selections above". Then simply change the the fonts in the section above to one of your choosing. When you click "OK" Wikipedia should reload using the font of your choosing. I'm sure there is a similar function in Internet Explorer, though I don't know for sure how to access it. Rockpocket 07:26, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Further, from Internet Explorer help: If you want to have the fonts and colors you specify in Internet Explorer to be used for all websites, regardless of the fonts that have been set by the website designer, follow these steps:

• In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
• On the General tab, click Accessibility.
• Select the Ignore colors specified on webpages, Ignore font styles specified on webpages, and Ignore font sizes specified on webpages check boxes, and then click OK twice.
• Then go back to the General tab, click Fonts, and select the Fonts you wish to use.

Rockpocket 07:33, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Quick trick: If your mouse has a wheel, you can instantly increase the font size in IE (but not the font) by holding down the ctrl key and rolling the mouse wheel one click backwards.--Shantavira 09:32, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I remember seeing a bug on IE where the user cannot change the font size if it is defined in px in CSS. Not sure about IE7 though... --antilived^{T | C | G} 23:41, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Cinq vins pour moi

On a TV commercial tonight, I heard again a song I sort of like, in French, that I've never been able to figure out the lyrics to. To me it sounds something like

Cinq vins pour moi

Cinq vins pour moi

Cinq vins pour moi moi moi moi moi

Cinq vins pour moi

and continues in the same vein. Google turns up nothing. Does anyone know what song this might be? --Trovatore 07:48, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh! That famous song! It is French, and it means "Five Wines For Me." It goes like this:

Five Wines For Me

Five Wines For Me

Five Wines For Me Me Me Me Me

Five Wines For Me

I think it's a drinking song, though I can't remember how I figure... V-Man737 08:20, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm fairly certain it would be "Ça plane pour moi" by Plastic Bertrand--or perhaps a parody of that song Melburnian 08:37, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Plastic Bertrand... Nice! 惑乱 分からん 11:21, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Gingivitus help.

Okay, I got braces two years ago (note: non-vandalizing 15-year-old Wikipedian). I've brushed my teeth, flossed, and gargled. Yet, today, I had a sensitive tooth, and upon further examination, I had Stage 1 Gingivitis. I have chronic halitosis and I often have to scrape plaque off my teeth, even after brushing for two minutes, yet I have gingivitis. How? The velociraptor 08:08, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Do you still have braces, or are they off now? You should call or visit your dentist. If you hadn't said that bit about brushing for two minutes and flossing and gargling (sardines?), I would have told you to do all that. There could be a different problem that you aren't aware of yet. It occurs to me that if you are able to scrape dental plaque (and you're sure it's not algebra) off your teeth immediately after brushing, you may be brushing your teeth incorrectly. V-Man737 08:29, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Chronic halitosis is often a sign of tooth decay. See your dentist! When you do, ask her/him about your trouble with plaque - s/he may suggest an electric toothbrush. My dentist told me that brushing with even a very cheap electric toothbrush (the kind that costs $9.99 at Zellers) generally gets teeth cleaner than brushing with a regular brush. Edited because my grammar is horrible today. --Charlene 12:54, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

European Union

Hello,

I would like to know:

Based on what agreement are specified the actual rules of the European Union? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Akrepja (talk • contribs)

Nothing in the EU is simple ! The constitutional rules of the European Union are defined in a complex set of interlocking and overlapping treaties - see Treaties of the European Union. An attempt to replace these with a single, simpler and more streamlined European Constitution received a major set-back when referenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005 failed to approve the draft constitution - see our article Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Gandalf61 10:20, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Citizens of honour of Trier

Hello, I have been trying to find a list of the citizens of honour of Trier,in Germany but didn't suceed. Can anyone help me

Trier, Germany#Miscellaneous says "Trier is also the birthplace of the influential philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx," among other things. V-Man737 09:54, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Or do you perhaps mean "people who have been made honorary citizens of Trier"? In that case, you'll find a list here (the descriptions are in German, but you can look up the names if necessary). — QuantumEleven 10:49, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Sport quotes

Who made the confused statement: ‘Brazil aren’t as good as they used to be, or as they are now’?217.35.119.229 09:39, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like one of Private Eye magazine's Colemanballs, although it's not listed in the article. Could have been one of any number of (probably British) football commentators. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 10:43, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Heh. What a silly thing to say. The Brazil team is just as good as they are now. V-Man737 11:28, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Strange problem.

I think I am strange and normal human laws dont apply to me.Sometimes I think I am a scientist but the next minute I think I am a fool.I am wasting a lot of my precious time because of my strange thinking.My problem is actually that I am very hypocritical.I think Icant change my habit.I think I dont deserve to study.I even lost a preciousopportunity to get into an IIT due to this habit.I wanted to take animation after this disaster but I didn't want to waste my assumed scientific brain.I am actually a fantasy type and never look into reality.But I can say with surity that I am very creative.Iwant forgive myself and start thinking like a normal person.My problem may seem a joke to others but for me it will always be a problem.Please help me.Shittingstar 10:30, 14 February 2007 (UTC)shittingstar

You sound like me, four years ago. ^_^ Could you put your concern into the form of a question that we could probably answer? V-Man737 10:34, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Only those who acknowledge how very little they know become truly creative scientists.--Shantavira 12:22, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Certainly agree with that. For instance I know sweet FA! (or so it seems)

--Light current 14:48, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Used to happen to me a lot, now not as much as before. When I was trying to learn something from an unintelligible book I thought I was an idiot, when I played trivial with fools and "owned" them I felt like a genius. Maybe that's your case :D --Taraborn 12:37, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd love to help but you'll need to go into more detail about what sort of 'strange thoughts' you're having. Don't be shy. :) Vranak

I feel the same way most of the time too:( Could it be some sort of mood swings:( And my strange thoughts are stranger:]Hidden secret 7 20:31, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Is nobody gettting that this man sounds kinda screwed up and needs some serious help? Like psych help?

I would strongly remind everyone that we are not allowed to dispense medical advice here. SteveBaker 06:08, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

What is to "strongly remind"? A.Z. 13:40, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

hola

what is it that 45 percent of brazillians claim to. i have bin told if i carefully google it al solve it in exactly two days... that was 6 days ago so help anyone

Probably cell phones. Pretty much half the population owns one by now. — Kieff | Talk 15:45, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Also, I found a few references to 45%. 45% of Brazilians are of African ancestry. Something about 45% of their energy is from renewable resources. --Justanother 16:02, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I heard 40-50% of Brazilian couples regularly participate in anal sex. That might be it, or it just might be how my brain is tuned... =S 惑乱 分からん 16:23, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I like this "statistic" from that article:

"For example, in ancient Peruvian cultures, at least half of all married couples indulged in anal intercourse in their lovemaking experiences."

The writers were lucky - it is really hard to find survey data from ancient civilizations (removes tongue from cheek). --Justanother 16:29, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, they did have recording devices in ancient Peru... ---Sluzzelin 17:30, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I hold my tongue. --Justanother 17:36, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

It's not your tongue I'm worried about, it's the cheek. V-Man737 20:46, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I believe the "statistical data" is a bunch of old pots... Second, I notice the AskMen article I linked fails to cite a source for their Brazilian survey... 惑乱 分からん 18:50, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh, I wouldn't doubt it. I live in Brazil and I can confirm that most Brazilians are obsessed with anal sex and asses. I honestly can't see why all the noise about it. By the way, the "hola" in the section header is probably a mistake by the OP, since here in Brazil we speak Portuguese, not Spanish... — Kieff | Talk 21:29, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

And how do brazzies greet each other, then? For instance when they try to pick up some babe with a hot ass? (Btw, what is that in portuguese?) 惑乱 分からん 22:05, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

(I see 惑乱 分からん is also concerned with cheek.) ;-) V-Man737 02:35, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm, I start to realize the difference between "tongue in cheek" and "tongue between cheeks"... =S 惑乱 分からん 08:40, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Uk Tax Question

I understand self-employed people can write-off specific purchases as tax-deductable/not pay VAT on them. I know that if you have a formal dress-code at work you can approach your employer about claiming tax back for the outfits you have to buy. Can you contact the Inland Revenue/tax authority directly and claim VAT back on items you purchase specifically for work? ny156uk 19:09, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

You can only claim VAT back if you are VAT registered, so I think the short answer to your last question is No. You may be able to reduce your income tax liability (or not, I don't know). VAT != income tax. --Tagishsimon (talk)

VAT is not Income Tax. As Tagishsimon says, you can only reclaim VAT paid if you yourself are registered for VAT. Self-employed people can claim income tax allowances for equipment, particular clothes (safety equipment, for example), brought in pursuance of their work, but ordinary employees can not. Contact HM Revenue and Customs directly for information, as none of us are tax experts. -- Arwel (talk) 01:31, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

dsl

Which is the cheapest dsl service that you can get in Sanford, Florida? (NOT BELLSOUTH, THEY RAISED THE PRICE! THEY SUCK!)— Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.230.100.86 (talk • contribs)

Your best bet is to look in your yellow pages and comparison-shop by phone. You might also compare cable access through your local cable provider. Marco polo 02:09, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

James Bond Ultimate Edition DVD cases

Which brand of double-disc slim DVD cases was used for the James Bond Ultimate Edition box sets? I need to get replacements for two of them (not due to wear and tear but the fact that two of the movies were stored in really cheapo cases with brittle plastic). Tony Myers 23:38, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

February 3

another computer question

I pressed ctrl+alt+delete and pressed end process for something. Now my speakers wont work for watching videos on the internet. The speakers do work, but when i try to go to the control panel, it won't let me change any options.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.230.100.86 (talk • contribs)

Perhaps a computer restart will resolve the issue? Or you may have terminated the Windows Audio service. Splintercellguy 02:30, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

i think it was the second one. any way to fix it?

Here's how you turn on Windows Audio Service:
1)Click on the START button on the taskbar
2)CLick on RUN
3)Type MsConfig into the box and click OK
4)Go into SERVICES and find "Windows Audio" and make sure the box next to it is checked. If it isn't, then check it.
5)Click APPLY and OK.
6)Restart your computer.
--Codell^«T» 03:29, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Never mind, i rebooted it and it worked again. "The ghetto way is the only way" ha ha ha

This would have been an excellent question for the Computer Ref Desk. StuRat 03:33, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Yeah Yeah Yeah

I remember an old french song that went something like this:

Yeah Yeah Yeah, Je besoin de ma musique, Je besoin de vivre sur terre, de soleil et du pluie....

It's by a male artist and is not related to the band Yeah Yeah Yeah

Does anyone know the title/author of this song? Thx. Jamesino 02:54, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

These lines are from Céline Dion's "Autor de moi" (Thérèse Dion / Pierre Tremblay ).

"Moi, j'ai besoin de terre et de soleil' / d'un peu de pluie comme une fleur. / Toutes les saisons pour moi sont pareilles. / Ma vie s'écoule tout en douceur.

Not sure about the yeah yeah yeah, and musique doesn't appear in the lyrics (though chanson does). ---Sluzzelin 04:06, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

It's "Besoin pour Vivre" by Claude Dubois lyrics ici--Melburnian 08:47, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes! Thank you Melburnian, that it. Jamesino 17:30, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Muscle Cramps

I sometimes get spontaneous muscle cramps in my calves. I have found that I can give myself muscle cramps at will in my calves and bicepts. What effect do these cramps have on the muscles in which they occur? Do they offer some kind of work-out in the muscles, or are they somehow detrimental? Thanks.

See muscle cramp for a start. According to the article, cramps aren't inherently damaging in themselves, but may be indicative of other problems: "There are two basic causes of cramping. One is inadequate oxygenation of muscle, and the other is lack of water or salt." V-Man737 06:55, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Isn't an accumulation of lactic acid after heavy exercise another source of cramps ? StuRat 03:28, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Lactic acid is a by-product of muscles trying to work anerobically (ie without enough oxygen) - so "inadequate oxygenation of muscle" (per V-Man737) is the cause of the Lactic acid build-up (per StuRat) and the lactic acid is what cramps the muscle as the body's way of stopping you from further exercise until you've gotten enough oxygen back into it to metabolise away the Lactic Acid and work aerobically again. This is all tied up in the metabolic paths of ATP/ADP which provide the raw energy from which all muscular activity comes. SteveBaker 21:02, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

--muscle cramps usually mean you are lacking magnesium you can buy it in powder form at the health food shop or in tablet form. MrsV

eating healthy are canned foods bad?

i look at alot of lables on everything in canned food i see contains(calcium carbonate)or some other type of preservative and in juice i see alot of (high fructose corn syrup) i just assumed it wasnt good for you just judging by the name ive also watched a documentary about fast food its called "super size me" and it relates to the topics of fast food being unhealthy and how its addictive my dad is having problems with his health and i am sure its because of his diet i would just like to know about things that are natural and good for you VoLtADrUmMeRVoltadrummer 05:04, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

"Natural" doesn't mean good for you. Calcium carbonate, for example, is simply a calcium additive for foods that don't have any. High fructose corn syrup is probably best to stay away from, though, it's simply "empty calories" and is even worse than sugar. Of course, simply trying not to eat these foods isn't always the best solution. Everything in moderation. A balanced diet, with grains, meat, and the occasional Big Mac is the best way to go. If you eat a Big Mac meal every day, you could end up with artery plaques and general unwellness, but once in a while won't hurt (this isn't medical advice, have to say that :P). Canned foods are no more dangerous than any other kind of food, but you have to watch the salt content, easily found on the side of the can under sodium. If it's big (over, say, 15%), you're taking in a lot of salt and that might raise blood pressure. Just use common sense, realize that just because it has a chemical-ish name doesn't mean it's bad, and make sure you or your father is getting what you need nutrition wise and still enjoying foods you like in moderation. EDIT: if someone feels this is medical advice, feel free to remove part of all of it. I'm just trying to answer the original question, but don't want to start any conflict. Poster: lf your father has medical problems, he should be seeing a physician if he isn't already, because we can't answer specific medical questions here. --Wooty Woot? contribs 06:20, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

"Natural" food enthusiasts often err because of paranoid assumptions about the process that food often goes through, using intensely long chemical names for things like "salt." Take, for example, the evils of dihydrogen monoxide. V-Man737 06:55, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Canned foods aren't as nutritious as fresh or frozen. The reason is not additives but the very high heat which the food is subjected to for a long period of time. That kind of processing can destroy certain vitamins (most notably Vitamin C). Calcium carbonate, on the other hand, is not bad for you at all. The biggest mistake the "natural" industry has made is to brand anything dangerous as a chemical. Water is a chemical. Baking soda is a chemical. Everything on Earth is a chemical, or a combination of them. Just because something has a chemical name doesn't mean it's bad for you - vitamins all have chemical names.

As for natural foods - you have to read your labels. Many "natural" foods contain less salt, less sugar, and (most importantly) fewer cheap fillers such as TVP or soy protein isolate and contain more real food than major supermarket brands. The best way to eat, however, is to consume as few pre-processed foods as possible. Cut out the Hamburger Helper, the Sidekicks, the gravy mixes, the canned spaghetti, the onion soup mix in the pot roast, the canned and dry soups, the frozen entrees, the TV dinners, the cookies and pop, the processed foods full of ultra-cheap fillers (but not sold at ultra-cheap prices) and above all cheap restaurant/drive-in food. Buy meat (if you eat it), fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, and whole grains. Learn how to cook, and especially learn how to use herbs and spices. Not only will you eat better, you'll also save huge amounts of money and you'll likely lose weight. After a few months if you try fast food you may find it inedibly greasy and salty. --Charlene 07:29, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

All this said you might want to look more into edible salt and search around google - the debate over how much is an acceptable amount of salt is still raging on. There are many who argue the limits have been set arbitrarily and that the effects of too-low a salt intake are not explained. Additionally recently scientists did the 'super size me' experiment (http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=IG2533398B&rss=true) and found, from the preliminery findings, very different results to this film. There is an obsessions in the modern age with 'natural' food and the 'ill effects' of processed-food but very little is proven about these having any actual damaging effect on your body. A healthy diet is not simply one that misses out processed-food and only eats natural not is it one that does the opposite. Be weary of people who deny processed-food nutriotional/health worth, it can be easily consumed as part of a healthy diet with no ill-effects. There is no definitive diet, we are fortunate enough to choose what we eat - base your decisions on a selection of things, not just 'health' - such as your enjoyment of the product, personal preference, ease of making, cost - because in the real world these things are also part of your food regime and diets do not cover them. ny156uk 10:29, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

In the real world, hundreds of millions of people don't touch processed food and have no problems whatsoever. The real barrier to eating healthier is refusing to change your food regime. In reality it's much easier to stick some fresh food in a crock pot in the morning and come home to a freshly home-cooked dinner than it is to drive every single day to McDonald's, but people don't figure in the time it takes to actually go get drive-in food. --Charlene 12:36, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the majority of responders that canned foods are worse than frozen, and fresh foods are the best yet. If you do eat canned or frozen foods, try to get "raw ingredients" as much as possible. That is, get plain, low-salt canned potatoes, not frozen tater tots or boxed potatoes au graten, given the choice. Fresh potatoes would, of course, be the best choice, but not everyone likes to take the time to prepare those. StuRat 03:24, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Okay, you've boggled me. They make canned potatoes? Really? When you can just wash off a potato, put a hole in it with a fork, stick it in the microwave, hit "Potato", and in a few minutes you have a freshly cooked potato? --Charlene 12:38, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Clearly a tinned-potato has benefits over a non-tinned one...longevity being the biggest factor of purchasing tinned produce over fresh produce. :"According to the British Nutrition Foundation, broadly speaking, the vitamin and mineral content of frozen and canned fruit and vegetables is equivalent to that of fresh products." For instance vitamin C and folic acid are sensitive and their levels can be lower in vegetables that have been stored a few days before consumption compared to that which is kept frozen prior up until consumption. Losses occur during the canning process but they are then remain constant for the shelf-life of that product. Benefitis of both frozen/fresh produce exist, we should not look to call this a 'good food'/'bad food' issue - the case is not that simple. ny156uk 17:45, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Another benefit of tinned potatoes is the reduced production of the poison solanine because they are both entirely protected from light and they are thoroughly cooked. Rmhermen 21:48, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Vegetable Oil Expeller Press

Do you know where I can purchase or find instructions on how to make pure cold pressed vegetable oil (expeller pressed)? An example would be if I would like to make home made cold pressed olive oil or sesame oil? There must be a home device that would allow me to make the oil? (SpamBot Starvation Enforced) Ken→KenKeeve 05:51, 3 February 2007 (UTC)Ken Mardian

Google "olive oil press". They are available, but they're four-figure machines. The ancient presses took up half a room and quite literally weighed a ton - they were made of solid stone. Also look here - according to this article, expeller-pressed oils are not cold-pressed. --Charlene 07:13, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

TV

was the Queens wedding in 1947 televised?

I'd guess more likely shown at cinemas... 惑乱 分からん 12:48, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

I found examples of the radio broadcast and also this (http://www.birth-of-tv.org/birth/assetView.do?asset=BIRTHOFTELEV19001___1113215017890) which seems to suggest the event had at least some filming. She was not Queen at the time so searching by 'Princess Elizabeth' instead may help you track down more information. From my quick search I cannot see anything that suggest it was broadcast, and the page bbc 1 makes me think it was unlikely because of the coverage area of the channel - though it could have been recorded and shown in cinemas/town halls etc. ny156uk 12:53, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Being around at the time I can say that it was not televised. What was television in UK 1947? But her Coronation was televised. (We soldiers were given the day of... but then marched to the camp cinema and compelled to watch.)86.216.123.47 16:12, 3 February 2007 (UTC)petitmichel

There was television in the UK in 1937. Parts of the Coronation of George VI were televised to the 20,000 London homes that had television. The service was shut down on September 1, 1939, and started up again on June 7, 1946. Unfortunately, the reference I'm getting all this from here hasn't got past September 1947 yet (the Princess having married in November of that year). I suspect that newsreels of the wedding would have shown up on the news in many countries, but I strongly doubt there were live cameras in the Cathedral. That's a very modern invention.

Then again, public royal weddings are a relatively modern phenomenon - most of Queen Victoria's children were married privately. Now that I think of it, most of the public traditions of the British Royal Family are innovations. --Charlene 12:28, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I would venture "no". Several sources, including some official ones, make a big deal about her coronation in 1953 being televised at her request; one would think that the same articles would have mentioned it if her wedding had been televised. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 14:59, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

cost of a coke at McD's

Someone told me that when I buy a coke at a fast food place, most of the cost goes towards the cup itself as opposed to the liquid in it. Is this true? any internet sources? Someone also said the same goes for cereal and cereal boxes.

I think most of the money goes to the company's profit. But you may be right about paper cups costing more than the liquid in them; it's just carbonated water and very cheap syrup --froth^T 20:09, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

I guess that is true since they'll always fill 3/4 of the cup with a bunch of ice.

I think you'll find that the greatest cost of common soft drinks is for labor, no matter whether it comes from a fountain at a fast food place or already bottled or canned. That explains why larger sizes typically cost only slightly more than smaller sizes: the labor to handle them is practically identical. --Anonymous, February 3, 2007, 22:24 (UTC).

Here in the USA, most restaurants and fast-food places offer free refills. This strongly suggests that the liquid is almost zero cost and the cups are the bigger part of the cost. I'm always amused to see people buying large sized drinks when the refills of small-sized drinks are also free! But pricing in these places doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the actual costs. They might sell drinks for less than they cost to make in order to sell more high-profit burgers...or maybe the other way around. It's a subtle marketting dance. SteveBaker 22:16, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

One reaon you might still buy the bigger drink is that you're planning on taking the last refill out of the store with you, perhaps on that nine-hour car ride that still looms ahead of you. And often, the price delta between the small and the large is trivial anyway. Atlant 12:53, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

And the really small sizes (like the mcdonalds happy meal size) are only good for one or two gulps! --froth^T 17:36, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

The only place where a fountain pop is cheap is in a foreign country. I was under the impression that corn production is so heavily subsidized (and thus the sugar that is the main ingredient in the syrup) that most people have bought the drink thousands of times in taxes over the span of their lives. Lowerarchy 14:13, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Ink Cartridge recycling

Is there any charity recycling Epson ink cartridges in the UK. Most seem not to want Epsom; I wonder why this should be so? --88.111.50.88 16:35, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Don't know about the first question, but the answer to the second one is that compatible Epson cartridges are so cheap that nobody would buy recycled originals. This is because most other makes of cartridge contain part of the printing mechanism, but Epson cartridges are just simple tubs of ink. See Inkjet printer. --Heron 21:41, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

I have found now that the Mission to Seafarers will take any cartridge or mobile phone for recycling. Thanks for the input above.--88.110.44.198 07:55, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

family tree

86.41.86.150 19:44, 3 February 2007 (UTC)hi there, I'm trying to find a good free site where i can trace back some family. born here in cork, ireland. person i need to find our about is deceased and have little info only name and address. i think i have relations by way of this old man somewhere in ireland but don't know where to start. please help. Trish

I don't know of any completely free sites. However, many sites, such as this one will permit access to their records (or some portion of their records) for free for a limited "trial" period. With a little ingenuity, you can find out a great deal of information, although you won't necessarily be able to access all their records. However, there is an alternative: if you have fairly accurate information about the name and residence of your ancestors, you may be able to conduct your research by calling or emailing geneological societies, etc. in the relevant area. In the United States, many societies will assist you with research (look up birth certificates, etc.) free of charge, although there would certainly be fees to obtain copies of any documents. I don't know if geneological societies in Ireland are as accommodating. Carom 21:54, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

The LDS church would probably be willing to do it for you; I couldn't find their genealogy website though... The rest of that article has useful information. V-Man737 03:05, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

The LDS genealogy search site is here [7] 198.152.70.2 15:04, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

PS3 + Xbox 360 + Wii = $$$

Greetings,

I am wondering why the new consoles are costing so much. They have said "We want to spread gaming to everyone" but I can't go shelling out $600 for a game system, and $100 for a contoller, and $60 for a game. Then you have to get an HDTV and an HD-DVD. I want to know why the prices are what they are and when the prices might be lowered.

Fare thee well, Alexander the Great AlexanderTG 21:03, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

A Xbox 360 system is $250. Buy one and rent games. --Wooty Woot? contribs 21:22, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

A wii is 250. An Xbox 360 is 300. I want to know why they're expensive AlexanderTG 21:27, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

The consoles are currently all pretty new, and they all contain cutting edge technology. Moore's law states that the rate of technological advance in microchip technology is very rapid, so what seems state of the art now will be common place in a years time, and hence components will be cheaper to source. Plus, specialised components such the accellerometers in the Wiimote will gain from economies of scale as the Wii takes off; more companies will be willing to produce these components now that their success is almost certain, and so they will begin to compete to offer the cheapest quote. The Gamecube and Xbox both dropped by $50 after 6 months, and a further $50 after another 18 months-2 years, while the PS2 took almost 2 years to drop in price, but then dropped by $100. This generation will likely follow suit; I can see the PS3 falling in price dramatically, but not for another couple of years, when the currently state of the art technology becomes much more common and hence cheaper. If you want cheap, I'd buy a Wii; as the console isn't quite as hi-def, the games are cheaper (no Wii game should cost over $50, apparently), and wireless controllers are included as standard, unlike the 360. If you're willing to wait a little while, though, the 360 should drop soon. Laïka 21:33, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Because a team of accountants and marketers decided that those were the most appropriate unit cost/profit margin/marketability price points for the units. The market will force their hand if the price points are unsustainably high. I usually buy consoles a generation behind, it's a great money saver. Then again, I really don't care much about video games. Anyway, considering inflation, this generation of consoles isn't any more expensive than the last with the exception of Sony's offering. For some explanation of the reasoning for this latter console's price, you can easily dig up tons of articles analyzing the cost of the unit itself and some of Sony's explanations as to why they think the price is sustainable. P.S. - That's a misapplication of Moore's law. Moore's law isn't a predictor of technological advancement or even microprocessor capability, only transistor density (and by extension, IC feature size). -- mattb @ 2007-02-03T21:39Z

if your looking for a ps3 that is lower than 500 bucks, then i suggest waiting a couple of months. Sony has been losing a lot of money and they are likely to lower the price soon. The wii is already as cheap as it can get, so don't wait for the price to go down any time soon. The xbox 360 is getting older, so it should get a little cheaper by the end of this year.

I don't think your statement about the Wii is correct. Some of the specialized components will drop in price (as Smurrayinchester pointed out), and this will give Nintendo some room to drop the price. Additionally, as Nintendo recoups some of the cost of developing the Wii, the price will probably drop (I'm not an economist; this is is simply based on my observations from the last generation of consoles). I would be extremely surprise if the price of the Wii did not drop within the next 18 months. Carom 22:20, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

The critical thing you need to know about the console business is that most consoles are sold for less than they cost to manufacture. The manufacturers make their money by taking a percentage of the price of games for that console. This makes for an odd state of affairs. You'll notice that games for the Xbox and PS3 are costing around $60 while Wii games cost around $45. This is because Nintendo made a cheaper console (no fancy hi-def stuff for example) - and were able to sell it for about what it costs to make (some sources claim they make a small profit on the console - others claim they make a small loss - but it's close). That means that Nintendo can sell games for less because they have less to recoup for losses on console sales. The PS3 - despite it's outrageous price tag is still being sold at an enormous loss. This is the reason for the horrible shortage of game consoles when they first come out around Xmas. If the manufacturer is making a loss on every console, the more they sell, the worse off they are - since game sales don't roll in to make up for this loss immediately, the manufacturer has a serious cash flow problem. The general idea is to sell just enough consoles to make sure that the people who publish games for it will be interested in writing for this console - but not so many that you sink yourself in horrifying losses. As the game income starts to ramp up, they can afford to sell more consoles - then more games - then more consoles. Gradually, the price of components falls and economies of scale kick into a higher gear and they are able to fulfill the demands of their customers for console hardware.

Nintendo's strategy of making a cheap - not so capable - console at close to break-even prices has enabled them to sell vastly more machines than Sony in the short term.

It's a bizarre situation where a company doesn't want to sell too many of its products. But if you are losing $100 on every machine you sell - and you sell a million of them - then you may need to sell 10 million games just to break even! This strange situation explains why the Nintendo DS has been so much more successful than the vastly more capable Sony PSP. The average DS owner has 12 games in his/her collection. The average PSP owner has one point five games! This is a disaster for Sony - they'll never recoup the loss they made on the console on the basis of one and a half games sold!

SteveBaker 02:19, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

*applause* excellent answer! --froth^T 17:34, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I still don't buy this 'console manufacturers lose money on console sales alone' - maybe that's what they want you to believe - so you think you're gettng a good deal - look at the PS2 now - £99 approx - for something that's worth (using a comparision to DVD players) approx £40. Overall I think they make a profit just on the console sales (provided of course they sell 100million of them...)87.102.8.103 17:55, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

There is no question that they generally lose money on console sales. This is a very well known thing in the business. But you shouldn't be surprised, it's not entirely unusual in the high tech world. For example, computer printers are sold at a loss in order to make big bucks on the ink cartridges (they can make an entire printer INCLUDING a half-full ink cartridge for $65 - but they charge you $60 for an ink cartridge!) - cell phones are sold cheap (or given away for free) in order to get you to subscribe to their phone service. The world is full of similar examples. But as consoles get older and technology marches on, there is scope for re-engineering them to use fewer chips, cheaper chips and so on. There are also non-recurring costs that are amortized over longer production runs - so the cost of making the moulds for the case, writing the firmware, designing the manuals...those kinds of things gradually drop out of the equation after the console has been out there for a few years. Now the manufacturer has to choose between dropping the price so as to sell more (and hence sell more highly profitable games) - or to try to actually make a profit on the console itself. But it is rare indeed for a console to sell for more than it costs to make. Nintendo claimed to have made a small profit on the Game-Cube - but that is widely disputed. Certainly the Xbox and PS-3 are selling at a loss right now. SteveBaker 20:49, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

romeo vs tybalt

can one of you guys give me a link that gets me to the fight of romeo and tybalt from the 1960's movie? i tried to find it on youtube but all i got was a bunch of highschool plays.

A 1960's movie will be under copyright still so any clips from it are liable to be illegal copyright violations. Best to go rent it yourself. Rmhermen 22:11, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Pain

If you are very tierd and in pain. can that make you more irratable then normal?--DarkFuture 23:27, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes. See irritability. — Kieff | Talk 23:33, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

For most people, it would be very difficult to not be at least somewhat irritable when in pain and tired. --Charlene 02:21, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

You should have asked that question two days ago. |-( (For some reason, I was only irritable when I wasn't editing Wikipedia.) V-Man737 03:13, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Load Bearing wall

Is there any advice/precautions I could take when drilling into a supporting wall to attach some cabinets which will be taking a relatively large amount of weight (i.e. up to 100kg)? Howso-Mchowsoson 23:47, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

You should be fine provided that the diameter of your fastener is not more than, say, 25% of the width of the load-bearing members (studs). I would also not space them close together vertically, not within, say, 100mm of each other vertically (assuming about a 10-12mm drill). Make sure you use sufficient fasteners! This is a "guestimate" by someone with qualification to make such but govern yourself accordingly. --Justanother 23:57, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

The reasoning is that when you drill a hole in a compressive member you are reducing the cross sectional area and increasing the stress. Bearing walls are built with more than ample factor of safety (on the nature of 2 - 3x or more) so the reduction from one bollt hole going 1/2-way in is on the order of 10%. And if you have a bolt in there then there is no net loss. The guess comes in in guessing that you can afford that 10%. I know the bolts will be in but what about when they are not? --Justanother 00:12, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

You did not mention it, and it was assumed by the previous responders, but instructions with cabinets I have hiung said be sure to locate the stude and get at least 1 vertical pair of screws into the stud. It would be an obvious mistake to attach heavy cabinets only to plaster or drywall. In a kitchen I remodeled, I installed hanger studs horizontally between the normal vertical studs, before putting up the drywall, so the full width of the cabinet was structurally supported. The screws must be large enough and deep enough into the studs to not shear off or pull out. Washers inside the cabinet help avoid the screwheads goung through the cabinet back. If multiple cabinets are attached firmley to one another, and each is atached to at least one stud, ithe whole assembly will be more stable than is just 1 cabinet is attached to 1 stud. Edison 00:21, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Nuffield Guppy

I'm working on getting the Mini Moke article through WP:FAC and one of the reviewers asked that I try to get a redlink to Nuffield Guppy at least up to stub status.

All I know is that the Nuffield Guppy was a military vehicle designed in the 1940s or '50s by Sir Alec Issigonis for the Nuffield Organisation. Issigonis also designed a lot of influential cars such as the Morris Minor, the Mini and the Mini Moke. The only Google hits for the Guppy point back to my Mini Moke article here on Wikipedia so it could very well be that there is no information on the Internet about this vehicle! His biography "Issigonis and the Mini" mentions nothing about it - all it says about his time working with Nuffield is that he designed two military vehicles:

1. A weird vehicle that could best be described as a 'parachute-droppable motorized amphibious four-wheeled wheelbarrow' (with a photograph of this bizarre vehicle which looks pretty much exactly like what you currently have in your head right now!)
2. Some sort of Jeep-like vehicle.

But the book fails to give any names for either them. The odds are good that one of these is the Nuffield Guppy - but which one? Various books on the Mini Moke suggest that the Guppy was in some sense a predecessor of the Moke - so I certainly need to mention it in my article - and it should be linked too.

From the context, I might suspect the Jeep-like thing is the Guppy because the Mini Moke is also Jeep-like - but then a Guppy is a small fish - which would be a good name for an amphibious motorized wheelbarrow and the Mini Moke was also designed to be parachute droppable.

I seem to have hit a dead end. I don't really have enough information for even a stub. SteveBaker 01:58, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Those two may not be as far apart as you think. While Jeep-like vehicles are not truly amphibious vehicles (which can propel themselves while floating on water) they are "water resistant", in that their higher ground clearance and other modifications made them more likely to be able to drive across a shallow stream without stalling than their predecessors. Also, what is the caption on the pic of the weird vehicle ? StuRat 02:37, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

It says "Issigonis in 1944, testing the amphibious motorised wheelbarrow developed for the armed forces." SteveBaker 21:42, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Great on your working on that article. I had a friend that was very into Mini Mokes. I'm afraid I can't add anything of substance to your question. I tried a bit of GooFu but no better luck than you. But I was curious if you saw this "Sport Moke" that came up?[8] --Justanother 02:53, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

And again [9] --Justanother 02:59, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Weird! I'll look into it. The article is a little on the short side for a FA - anything more I can find to write about is a good thing. Thanks. SteveBaker 21:42, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

If none of us can find any references to the Nuffield Guppy online or elsewhere, perhaps you remembered the name wrong ? Could it be the tadpole or some other name ? StuRat 03:01, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

No - I didn't "remember" it - it's in a couple of reference books that I quote in the article. The name is definitely right. SteveBaker 21:42, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

While the internet is likely not the best source of obscure auto trivia from the post-war years, I did find a bit more on the work Issigonis was doing at Morris Motors and those strange vehicles which may or may not have been the Guppy. The Nuffield throws me as that is after "Lord Nuffield" AKA William Morris of Morris Motors so why would the Guppy have not been a Morris? What is the source for the Guppy piece? Anyway, from here:

During World War II, Morris Motors undertook military work, notably the development of the Morris lightweight reconnaissance vehicle for the war department. As a member of a reserved occupation Issigonis was excused service in the armed forces and remained at the company’s Cowley plant near Oxford. There he worked on military vehicles of various types, including a motorised wheelbarrow intended for use by the air force in jungle conditions together with an amphibious version designed for use by the Royal Navy.

--Justanother 03:20, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes - that's pretty much the information I have. The 'Nuffield'/'Morris' connection (See Template:British Leyland) comes about because the 'Morris' and 'Riley' companies were merged in the early 1940's under Lord Nuffield to form the 'Nuffield Organisation' - which later joined with the Austin Motor Company to form British Motor Corporation (who went on to make the Mini and the Mini Moke). I suppose that if this 'Guppy' was in development before the merger between Morris and Riley, we might find reference to it as Morris Guppy or Riley Guppy - but I don't get any hits for either of those either. SteveBaker 21:42, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

It is interesting that these days motorised wheelbarrows are quite common; see google images. Or as we say in the States, motorized. --Justanother 16:46, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes - this thing looks more like a miniature landing craft - with an outboard motor on the back and four balloon tyres for use on land. The photo has Sir Alec Issigonis sitting in this thing - it looks like it's maybe six feet long and three feet wide. But I'm not sure that this is the 'Nuffield Guppy'. According to the Issigonis biography, he also designed a "lightweight reconnaissance vehicle (a kind of Jeep)...for the Ministry of Defence". If I could connect "Guppy" to "Wheelbarrow" then I'd have enough information to write a decent stub article but everything I read either talks about the Guppy without saying what it was - or talks about the Jeep-like thing or the Wheelbarrow thing without giving either a name. I guess I may have to try to track down email addresses for some of these book authors and see if they can tell me anything more. It's very frustrating! SteveBaker 21:42, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, just going on my gut (but I have a very good gut), I would say that the amphibious craft would have to be the Guppy. And a craft that someone sits in is quite different from a wheelbarrow, no? Forget the jeep-like vehicle, IMO, that is another project. Forget the wheelbarrow. The Guppy is the amphibian. (Puts crystal ball away). --Justanother 23:04, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

That's my guess too - but this is an encylopedia. It would be bad enough to have an unreferenced stub - but to have an unreferenced stub that's a guess would be unforgivable. SteveBaker 03:32, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh, totally. I was not suggesting you guess in the article, just giving my guess as to the fruitful line of investigation and my guess as to probable outcome. Sorry if it did not come across that way! --Justanother 03:45, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

February 4

99 cents

Why is it that in many western countries (Canada, US, Britain, there might be more but I am not sure) prices in stores are generally pegged at x dollar and 99 or 98 cents? Usually for high-priced goods, the dollar amount will also end in 9. Is it not much simpler if prices are whole numbers? This query was originally posted 02:08, February 4, 2007 by User:74.101.39.152

It's about first impressions, which always count. $19 and some cents sounds a lot less than $20. People will be more attracted to an item that sounds cheaper, even if the actual difference is only 1 cent. JackofOz 02:16, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Our article on psychological pricing discusses this in a fair bit of detail. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:16, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

(woops, after e.c.) Wikipedia also has articles on psychological pricing and price ending. This is a popular question, and to read some more information, have a look at the answers last August and the answers last December. ---Sluzzelin 02:23, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Try INSISTING on paying the full dollar, ie 20.00 not 19.99. It totally throws their accounting procedures!--88.109.5.77 09:37, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

To make you think it's cheaper. Your mind seems to focus on the 19 dollars and ignores the 98 cents making you think it's a lot cheaper than 20 dollars. It's very annoying. They even do it here in Australia even though they got rid of the 1 and 2 cent coins in 1992... --Candy-Panda 06:09, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

That's only an issue if you pay by cash. A single item marked $19.99 will actually cost you $20.00 if you pay cash, but if you pay by eftpos or credit card it'll only cost you $19.99. And also the cents are only rounded up or down to the nearest 5c for the total of the bill, not for every individual item. JackofOz 01:46, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Apparently the original reason was to force the shop assistant to register the purchase by having to give change, otherwise they might simply pocket the banknote for their own benefit... -- Arwel (talk) 01:23, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Shelf life of "Reddi-wip" ?

What is the shelf life of a can of Reddi-wip once the seal is broken and some of the product has been dispensed? 71.112.12.68 03:39, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Wouldn't it approximate the shelf life of the unopened can? Unless the spout is somehow contaminated. In practice it seems half of it is used when it is opened and the rest disappears mysteriously over the next day. Edison 05:24, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

No new password received

Tried to log in and told password not valid. Clicked on send new password and advised it would be sent by e-mail to me. No sign of it within 24 hours. Tried this several times and still no e-mailed password. Please help..........Gerard222.152.200.231 04:18, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

The folks over at Wikipedia:Help desk ought to help ya out... I'll copy your question over there. V-Man737 04:36, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

movie

i remember that i watched this movie a long time ago. the only scene that i can remember was a boy running into a HUGE library and then the library started to flood with paint and he was sent to this animated world. thats all i remember, so sorry for the little info. thanx to anyone that can find out which one it is!

I believe the movie you are recalling is The Pagemaster. I hope you have a most wonderful day! Kyra_~(talk) 06:02, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Royale with Cheese

I'm not exactly sure if this belongs in Humanities, Language, or Entertainment...but here goes: Is there actually such a thing as a "Royale with Cheese" in SI countries, or did Quentin Tarantino make it up? --Lazar Taxon 06:09, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

He didnt make it up McDonald's menu items--ChesterMarcol 06:40, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

In localizing the name by which this menu item would be known in metric-system countries, apparently "MacMcRoyale" was considered a better choice than the literal but ungainly "113.5-grammer". But what's "SI"? -- Deborahjay 09:08, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

See SI. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 09:11, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh, thanks for the heads-up! I'd supposed those initials to be some unfamiliar geographic designation and didn't think to search on the letter pair itself. -- Deborahjay 19:48, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

help100

i have a series of questions and answers some arent right some are.plese help me get all right..coz 1 or two are wrong 1.every minute 47 of these are sold or distributed throughout the world-bible 2.more humans have bin killed attributed to this creature than all wars fought-mosquito 3.what can hard boiled eggs do that soft boiled egsscant-spin 4.blueberry jelly was created forthis especially for this well known american-ronald reagean 5.which word means unclothed-nude 6.all hospitals in singapore uses this item on babies-pampered diapers 7.this english football club was formed coz their rivals cudntpay their rent-liverpool

This sounds like one of those awful trivia lists which are largely unverifiable or at least highly apocraphal. -- mattb @ 2007-02-04T20:41Z

Isn't that blueberry jellybeans? Clarityfiend 21:50, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

The hard boiled egg thing isn't quite right. The difference is that if you spin a hard-boiled egg, it stands up on one end - where a raw egg will spin on it's side - something to do with how the liquid inside resists being spun. It's a good way to tell whether an egg is cooked or raw without cracking it open. I don't think there would be much difference between soft-boiled and hard-boiled though. SteveBaker 21:52, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Homework - Where did the torch relay of Sydney 2000 start?

Anybody know Anybody know where did the torch relay of Sydney 2000 start?

Thanks.

The torch relay for the Sydney 2000 Olympic games began in Olympia, Greece. I hope you have a most wonderful day. Kyra_~(talk) 10:38, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

All Olympic torch relays begin in Olympia. Have a look at this article for more info: Olympic Flame. - Akamad 13:04, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Geez? Did we just help out a guy with his homework? 惑乱 分からん 23:18, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Oops, I actually didn't see the word homework in the big heading :-) Akamad 05:15, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

So someone swam across the ocean with it

Possibly on a boat... =S 惑乱 分からん 22:45, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Nah, held in between the teeth while swimming. That's why only Olympic swimmers got to carry it across the Indian ocean. V-Man737 05:39, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

What a disaster if it'd rain... 惑乱 分からん 11:29, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

In fact, the 2000 Olympic Torch did pass underwater! It visited the Great Barrier Reef, with a special chemical concocction based on those used in marine distress flares. Laïka 15:40, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Wow! :o Do you have a source for that?-Malkinann 00:16, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

"The Sum of All Human Knowledge"

I was flipping through some information on Wikipedia, and I came across the statement that's in the title of this post.[[10]]. I've seen it in reference to Wikipedia's goal plenty of times before, though. I was wondering, what's the rationale for this statement? It seems contradictory that Wikipedia can be the sum of all human knowledge when certain things are excluded (How-to guides, very niche subjects, many lists, etc.) It should probably read the sum of all notable human knowledge. :P .V. _[Talk|Email] 14:45, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, I would say that wikipedia is the encyclopedia component of a greater project, wikimedia or wikiwhatever, that could, and does, include those classes you say are excluded. Certainly "human knowledge" has to have some (assumed) qualifier on it or wikiwhat would list what I had for breakfast yesterday (Sausage McMuffin). I think that such a qualifier can remain inferred and assumed and Wales can continue to state his goal as he did if that is his goal. --Justanother 15:08, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia is, in actuality, the sum of all pop culture, recent news event, fictional universe, and esoteric programming language knowledge. -- mattb @ 2007-02-04T20:43Z

I thought it was the sum of all vandalism. Clarityfiend 21:54, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Certainly this can't be literally true because new human knowledge (like where that pencil is on my desk right now) changes insanely fast and it utterly non-notable. However, the goal to contain all notable facts seems - amazingly - to be within our grasp. The lack of things like 'How To' documents doesn't necessarily preclude us reaching that goal because most How To guides are just convenient presentations of already-known facts. SteveBaker 21:56, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Also, it is not "all human knowledge" but "the sum of all human knowledge". It is possible to know the sum of all of the prime numbers between one and a million without knowing what all of those numbers are. This usage of "sum" is akin to "summary". If you read "the summary of all human knowledge" then perhaps this would be more close to a practical goal. SteveBaker 22:05, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

• This is more of a Wikimedia Foundation goal, than a specific Wikipedia one. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:44, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Where does non human knowledge go then

If the non-humans have anything that we don't alread know - they are doing a poor job of adding it. My dog is hopeless at providing verifiable references for ANY of his writings and if you accuse him of WP:OR, he bites you in the leg. SteveBaker 20:35, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Notice also that "human knowledge" is something of a more specific term than "all information known to humans." Trivial and unconnected facts are generally not considered to be knowledge. --140.247.250.175 21:07, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Google remembering what you've searched for.

I've just had a bad infection of viruses and spyware on the ol'puter and in the process of cleaning it up, all my Internet settings were lost. I used to have the feature where Google remembers what you've previously searched for disabled so that it didn't pop up that annoying box everytime I typed into a search box. I can't for the life of me remember how I disabled it! Any thoughts? Thanks :) Farosdaughter 15:16, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

That is not Google, that is IE autocomplete. You can disable it in IE settings. --Justanother 15:23, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Thankyou! I use FireFox but I googled autocomplete and found how to disable it. Thankyou very much for your help. --Farosdaughter 15:28, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

You are welcome! --Justanother 15:40, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Mathbot's Tool

Hi, I was wondering what Mathbot's tool measures? For me it says 29% and 28% but for another user e.g. MER-C (which I got from RFA nominations) it says 100% and 100%. What does this mean? Why isn't mine 100% and 100% or theirs less? Please explain why this is, because I don't really understand it! Asics talk 16:28, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

it simply measures how often you write anything in the edit summary and apparently you usually don't. Not a huge deal but considered an important nicety. --Justanother 16:37, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I see, I'll do it more often now! Asics talk 17:27, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I recently discovered that there is an entry in your Preferences that makes the system remind you if you try to commit a change without entering an edit summary. That'll fix your scores up in no time! SteveBaker 22:01, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Checking-in

I'm flying from Heathrow to Sydney soon. Virgin Atlantic encourages me to check-in on-line up to 24 hours in advance, but as I will still need to have my baggage checked, show my passport and ticket, and collect a boarding pass at the desk (so they tell me), what is the point of doing anything on-line? They say it will save queuing at the airport, but I'll have several hours to kill (and the check-in queue is quite an easy place to chat to people) and there's nothing else to do anyway. Incidentally, the check-in article doesn't allow for checking in on-line, although I know that several airlines offer it. I'm also wondering why "kiosk check-in" is specifically excluded for flights to Sydney.[11] --Shantavira 18:17, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

There is no point. The only reason they are trying to make you do it is to speed up the queues, which it presumably will, even if only marginally (check-in staff having slightly less to do per transaction). Ultimately, it's a cost-saving measure. They want to be able to lay off staff, and they figure this is the way to do it. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 20:23, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

You're more likely to get your choice of seats. Anchoress 20:26, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

For all the airlines that I've traveled on (domestic U.S.), when you check-in online, you print out a boarding pass (and don't have to pick it up at the desk). It's especially useful for people who don't have checked baggage; they don't have to go to the desk at all; and can go straight to the gate. I don't know about your airline though; it does seem silly to have to pick up the boarding pass. --Spoon! 23:05, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Contacting

What are the band members from AC/DC's address? How could I possibly contact them?

Some record publishers will forward mail addressed to the band - failing that, you'd probably need to find a fan club that has (maybe) a forum that the band read. You won't find their home addresses though. SteveBaker 21:58, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

You could maybe send an e-mail or C/O snail mail to their record label. 惑乱 分からん 23:20, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Forgotten alien movie

I saw an alien movie many years ago and I've forgotten its name. I believe they were green aliens who used ray guns that caused a target person to die and the only remains were colored bones. It took place in Washington, DC, I think. A few were brought to a large room to interview, but they just shot everybody. What was this movie? Thanks! Reywas92^Talk_Sigs 22:16, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

It was probably Mars Attacks! Anchoress 22:19, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

The hilarious Mars Attacks! by Tim Burton. 22:19, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Ack ack, ack ck ack ack. Ack ack! Ack ack ack... Atlant 12:55, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Have no fear! We come in peace! 惑乱 分からん 17:23, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

BZZZT! :-) · AndonicO ^{Talk · Sign Here} 20:56, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Shhhhh! If George Bush hears about this, he'll want to invade. Clarityfiend 23:47, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Invade where, Mars? I'm afraid they have more colorful weapons than we do, so it's out of the question. :-) · AndonicO ^{Talk · Sign Here} 15:28, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

What a preposterous notion. We already own Mars! (Did anyone else expect the War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise to be a lot like Mars Attacks?) V-Man737 03:27, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Wholesale prices and newsstands

Do newsstands usually pay the same price for magazines as home subscribers, do they get a further discount for buying more than one copy per month, or do they pay a premium for the faster shipping? NeonMerlin 22:31, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

It's most likely cheaper than for private consumers, though I don't know the exact details. 惑乱 分からん 23:21, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

This question was already asked probably not more than a month ago. See the archives for the answers. Dismas|^(talk) 00:50, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Here's the link to the archived question. ---Sluzzelin 01:01, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Cleaning the really fine stuff

There are two things I'd like to have info on cleaning, and I don't know what material they are. First is the case of a fifth-generation (video) iPod. I work hard preserving my iPod's cleanliness, but some dirt or something inside the case undoes this. The second is the case of an American Silver Eagle. It's still quite clean, but I just want to have the info ready. What are these materials, and how should I clean them?--the ninth bright shiner ^talk 23:54, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

In general, coins are not cleaned. I don't know if it would matter with bullion coins though. Rmhermen 00:00, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm not talking about the coin itself; the coin is sealed inside a plastic case, which is placed in a rectangular case with the U.S. Mint emblem on the front in silver, and the rest some sort of fuzzy material.--the ninth bright shiner ^talk 00:13, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

February 5

What Is the Source of This Quote?

"What is a man that you have regard for and what is a human that you have consideration for? Man is like a mist. His days are like a passing shadow. In the morning he shines and then he is gone; by the evening he fades and withers. You cause man to revert to dust. Were we wise we would understand his destiny. In his passing he does not take everything; his honor will not follow after him. Mark the innocent and behold the righteous for they shall have peace."

I think you may have the wording a little off (or maybe you are quoting a different translation of the original): http://ogreatmystery.com/newskete/psalter/kathisma20.html SteveBaker 03:28, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

i.e. the first three sentences are Psalm 144v3-4, but after that they are different. I am not sure where they are from. They are certainly not a "different translation" of the original Hebrew text since it is completely different. Darkhorse06 19:59, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

My inttiution said Star Trek or something like that... =S 惑乱 分からん 22:48, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Israel = Isis, Ra, El? — Etymology of the word "Israel"?

In the (undated) documentary The Naked Truth, Jordan Maxwell contends that the etymology of the word Israel was such that Israel was essentially an acronym derived from the names of three deities (Isis, Ra and El). Can anyone disprove or substantiate that claim? Does anyone know the actual etymology of the word "Israel"? I have looked at Israel, but as of this writing it doesn't contain a detailed etymology. The claim is made by Maxwell at 1:18:07 into this video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6410112404402873027

Many thanks in advance for any help. 86.56.48.12 04:21, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

The Online Etymology Dictionary says it means "the Jewish people, from L. Israel, from Gk., from Heb. yisra'el "he that striveth with God" (Gen. xxxii.28), symbolic proper name conferred on Jacob and extended to his descendants, from sara "he fought, contended" + El "God." [[12]]. Not sure if that's correct, but it looks like it's right. .V. _[Talk|Email] 05:23, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

The above is correct. It is clear from the bible that Israel is derived Gensis 32, 28 "And he said: 'Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed". Maxwell's theory, like most theories in Biblical criticism it can be neither proven or disproven. Jon513 14:58, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I have long since believed that the name for the modern state of Israel was partly due to the English PM Disraeli, a zionist. but this may be erronious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.144.161.223 (talk • contribs) 15:22, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Benjamin Disraeli's name is derived from Israel, not the other way round. In Hebrew, Israel is spelt ישראל, where the final portion, אל, represents El. The spelling of the first part, ישר, leaves no room for interpretation as Isis-Ra, which, in Egyptian is ỉs.t-rȝ. Even with the feminine ending on Isis removed, the Hebrew lacks the final consonant of Ra, and the equivalence between Egyptian ỉ and Hebrew י is quite uncertain. This looks more like someone trying to be clever (without knowing any Hebrew or Egyptian), and it is not a sound hypothesis. — Gareth Hughes 15:40, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I thought the same without knowing the languages involved. It struck me a weird that the logic was based on English words. Not to say that the film is not interesting, it is. But I wonder how much of it is accurate. For instance it makes many analogies between Christ/Buddha/Krishna as being recurrent. One that sticks with me is that it says that both Christ and Buddha are described as appearing as a flower in a crystal womb. Literally. While I can see that as Buddhist imagery, I have never seen any claim in Christianity that Mary's womb became crystal clear when Jesus entered her womb and that he appeared as flower there. Has anyone ever heard such? --Justanother 16:44, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

No, I doubt it's true. The History Channel (or History International) often messes religious things up. · AndonicO ^{Talk · Sign Here} 21:00, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I doubt it is any of those. More like the "Fringe Channel". --Justanother 21:03, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

No, I saw the program on History International, but not this episode. They might have it elsewhere too though. · AndonicO ^{Talk · Sign Here} 15:29, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Although it's probably worth nothing that many of the Bible name meanings are folk etymologies. Corvus cornix 18:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Cleaning a down comforter

In a commercial drier how long do you think it would take to dry a giant, thick down comforter that just came out of the wash? --froth^T 05:21, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I usually set it to 60 min and check up on 10 minute intervals to see if it was okay. If you find it hard to keep track of this, use a timer and set the alarm for 10 minutes, check on it, then set the timer again.--JDitto 05:41, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

So you'd worry that it would burst into flame or something? Or do you mean check on it just to see if it's done. It's my only blanket and my parents are out of the country right now; it would be very bad if it caught fire o_o --froth^T 05:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Jesus - you need to check the material - if it's synthetic at all you need to be really careful - if it's cotton then there should be no problem.87.102.8.103 12:01, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

The safest thing would be to dry it without heat, or with only slight heat, not much more than room temperature, on the "delicate" setting, or whatever fits this description. It will take a long time, probably hours, to dry, but it will not be risky. Marco polo 14:53, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Assuming it's cotton with down inside - and it's still quite wet - if you put it in a drier (dustbin sized ?) it still takes ages - the inside stays damp for ages (like an hour) - the best way for these things without using much electricity is to hang them outside on a line and let wind do the work (overnight maybe) - or all day.87.102.8.103 15:49, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Hah, it would freeze solid! All's well though; I took JDitto's advice and checked on it every once in awhile and it was fine. It's all natural, no worries. It was still kind of damp in places but I was too tired to stay up any later so I just lived with it; it kind of reeks of wet bird now though --froth^T 17:31, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

My apologies. It should've been in there for more than an hour if it was still a little damp and smelled like wet bird.--JDitto 07:17, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Accounting Practice

Sir,

Please let me know in my e mail address (redacted to prevent spam) the answer for the following.

I have one customer who owe me some money, which is a part of my major revenue. To the same customer I owe some money too. Can it be set off against each other by assuming the payments?

What shall be my accounting entry in this case.

Thanks & Regards

Shaji

It's generally good accounting practice not to net off. So you should keep both the debtor and the creditor in your books of account. By the way, I removed your email address as having it up on this page tends to attract spam. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 11:58, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

You shouldn't net off the income and expenditure items in your income statement/profit and loss account. As for the balance sheet, it really depends on whether there is a legal right of set off or not. You can only net them off if there is. jguk 12:51, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Great Persons

Please give me some site links for getting the biography of some of the Great Persons who lived or still alive. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.150.215.184 (talk • contribs).

This question is too "open-ended" to be meaningful. Can you narrow it down, perhaps giving us some criteria for what you would consider greatness?

Atlant 12:58, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

You can also look at our page Lists of people, which has links to many lists of people based on various criteria, including (were we to take your question literally) List of people known as The Great. Those lists, in turn, will link to Wikipedia's biographical articles, which will in many case have references to full biographies in their citation sections. -- SCZenz 15:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Brett Favre is the obvious solution. Rya Min 16:26, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Voting for Nelson Mandela or Stephen Hawking in the "still alive" category. -- mattb @ 2007-02-05T18:14Z

Does Chuck Norris fit your bill, or are you looking for more, Genghis Khan-like people? · AndonicO ^{Talk · Sign Here} 15:31, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

cost of making passport in india

i would like to know the cost of making a passport in india and what is the procedure and where should i go for that?

I will cost Rs 1000 and you will find more information here http://passport.nic.in/ --Trieste 13:24, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

many many thanks i will be very thankful to you

Printing issues

Hello,

I have what I hope is a very simple question. I am trying to print out pages and two things are happening. First problem is the page is not print friendly and the text (etc.) sometimes is cut off in the right side of the page even when i use the print tab on the left. Second problem is when I do print a page out the links on the page print out with the address next to them.

Thanks Douglas

Regarding the margin problem, let me give you three alternatives to just hitting "print". 1) Print in Landscape. 2) Print only the main frame. You can usually right-click on the frame and select "print" or "print frame". 3)Highlight the part you actually want to print (including images) and then right click and "print selected". --Justanother 16:37, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I would suggest that the "Printable Version" link at left is the optimal solution. — Lomn 18:19, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I did not assume that they were referring to wikipedia since they say the page is not print friendly but you are right if they were. Wikipedia, like many sites, offers "printer-friendly" versions. --Justanother 18:45, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Feminine hygiene

What did women use before the modern age of packaged products to manage their monthly periods? trabitt.

• Ever hear the term "on the rag"? Quite literal. See Sanitary napkin. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 14:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately "packaged products" of this modern age are still above the means of much of the population of a lot of poor countries. Keria 01:11, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, the first tampons were invented by the Egyptians and were made of papyrus. --Candy-Panda 06:37, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Internet Marketing

How much is Internet Marketing worth in the UK in £'s according to latest figures.

How do I create a Political Party.

If you're interested in setting up a political party, I'd look at these pages on the Electoral Commission website. Skittle 22:14, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

help (77000)

hi am ian and sd lyke to thank the guy who helped me with my question on what do 45 percent of brazillians claim to...contrary to popular belief its not anal sex but it was african ancestry,ad like to thank him or her.wikipeia should expect a small donation from me. anyways i have another question i was handed 77000 from start to finish i suspect its a fact or trivia question.the key i have bin given is google av bin told al get the answer after 3 days.

That was me and you are very welcome! --Justanother 16:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Question. It is Monday morning. Is this an assignment given to you by a teacher as a teaching tool in the use of internet search? --Justanother 16:48, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

As an aside, while your questions are very interesting, maybe you should re-read them before you post as your grammar and phrasing are attrocious.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.144.161.223 (talk • contribs)

Please don't BITE the questioner, especially if you can't spell atrocious. Edison 18:06, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Eh, why can't African ancestry and anal sex both be right? Surely they don't contradict each other... (*Refusing stubbornly to admit giving a bad answer...*) =S Well, anyway, I have trouble understanding what your question is, but I guess you're asking what "77000 from start to finish" refers to... 惑乱 分からん 17:30, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Wakuran, your answer was not wrong. It just was not what the teacher was looking for. Obviously a teacher will be more interested in teaching about ethnic diversity than anal sex. --Justanother 17:33, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Question-asker! Have you tried using Google to find your answer? If you try, you might find it easier to find these things quickly in the future. For example, you could go to www.google.com and type 77000 "start to finish" in the box, including those speech marks, and press "enter" on your keyboard. Then, look at the results and decide which you think your teacher means. Skittle 22:06, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

seventy seven thousand (improved version)

okay am not sure whether am to repost on my earlier question or what but thanks for the advise al be checking on my grammar to make my questions more understandable. the question is seventy seven thousand from start to finish the clue is that its something u know-its a trivia quiz like maybe a famous building used 77000 bricks or something

Wait, so the question is: seventy seven thousand from start to finish the clue is that its something u know? Or is it: seventy seven thousand from start to finish, the clue is that its something? Please explain further. Giving more details helps too. --JDitto 07:31, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Have you used Google, like I suggested? Did any of the results look likely? Skittle 19:49, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Career in photojoirnalism

I am doing a career report for school, and my career is international photojournalism. I have a few questions for you guys at wikipedia. What union or group would I have to belong to? Is there any special licence or certificate needed? Will any further schooling or off-the-job training be needed for raises in pay or promotions? I can't find this info anywhere else. Thanks, 209.81.119.178 18:24, 5 February 2007 (UTC).

It depends where you live. In the United States*, The National Press Photographers Association is a professional organization of photojournalists, but you don't have to be a member to be a photojournalist. I would recommend taking any courses in photography or journalism (I know it sounds obvious, but these are very important foundations) that you can to obtain a solid background in the field. There is a code of ethics that you have to go by (Invasion of privacy and other issues). There is a lot more information at the Photojournalism article.GhostPirate 19:01, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

*Hawley, Minnesota, right? Don't ask me how I knew that, it's part of the magic of the Internet.

NBC / ABC / FOX / CBS

Someone please sort those four networks in order terms of U.S. viewership, including only the main channel, not all affiliates. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.53.181.77 (talk • contribs)

I'd imagine overall it would be CBS then NBC then ABC then FOX. However, going by individual show, American Idol (a Fox show) is consistently the most popular. You'd have to be more specific. Try Googling the four networks and/or find their Nielson Ratings. →EdGl 00:55, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

According to both our CSI article, and their television ads, CBS is "the most-watched network on U.S. television". Rockpocket 08:02, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Ventnor Beach

Does anyone know if Ventnor Beach (on the Isle of Wight) has stones which are natural or imported? Thanks, Bioarchie1234 19:18, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

As you can see here, Ventnor has a sandy beach. Why would anyone want to import stones?--Shantavira 08:53, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I went there for a school trip. It was, as you say, mainly sandy, but there were quite a few stones there. We had to measure them with callipers. We looked cool!Bioarchie1234 21:13, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Valentine day concept

How did the concept of Valentines day come up? What is the essence behind it? Why is it a part of American culture?

Whats the exact proportion of individuals who enter the porn industry in the US and Europe? Garb wire 20:30, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

We have encyclopedia articles about Valentine's day and pornography, if you care to have a look. Friday (talk) 20:35, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

But the two activities are not connected .... (or are they? Hmm ......) JackofOz 01:38, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I wouldn't mind if they occasionally were... =S 惑乱 分からん 11:31, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually, they are, via the Fundamental Interconnectedness of All Things. JackofOz 00:54, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

February 6

Clowns

I recently saw an advertisement on a billboard for a clown college, and it got me thinking:

• How much money does the average clown make annually?
• Do clowns belong to a union of some sort?
• Do they require a license or certificate from a clown college to work in a circus?
• Does the circus pay for lodging and food while the clown is working for them?

I appreciate any help anyone gives, and for satisfying my curiosity. --71.98.21.95 00:13, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Can't help with 1, 3 or 4, but perhaps the Clowns of America International, Clowns International or World Clown Association could (and that seems to answer question 2.) Rockpocket 08:01, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

James Zhou

Who is James Zhou?65.93.162.136 02:50, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

We didn't know either. See here. JackofOz 02:58, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Free Explicit Material

How is it possible that there is so much explicit material available on the internet ? I refer specifically to the type which is obviously filmed or photographed under "professional" conditions (thus excluding 'amateur' stuff). Also not referring just to pornography, but also for e.g. to nude pin-ups etc. Surely the models / actors / stars need to be paid for their work, as would in many cases the photographer, studio etc. Just doesn't make economic sense to give it all away for free ... --196.208.62.181 04:10, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I imagine most pornography websites that are free would get most of their revenue from advertising. Plus I'm certain a significant proportion of free pornography sites obtain their material illegally by copying them from other sites. - Akamad 05:18, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

The same way music and DVD rips propagate; people who paid for them copy them and distribute them for free. Anchoress 05:23, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd imagine a lot of the places would write of the costs of providing it as part of their advertising. Remember most of what is free is linking to a pay site, which is where they would make their money. Mathmo ^Talk 09:20, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Area Code Border map

I am specifically looking for a area code border map similar to what the U.S. Post office has for zip code maps. Is there a website with this resource somewhere?

I googled: us area codes map, and it came up with several results. Including this: http://www.nanpa.com/number_resource_info/area_code_maps.html. Hope that's what you're looking for. - Akamad 05:13, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Note that unlike with ZIP codes, these days two or more area codes can share the same geographical area. So you can't just look up the area code for a place by looking at the map. --Anonymous, February 6, 07:17 (UTC).

Well, I am actually looking for a map i can zoom into that would show an area code border. I travel between zip codes and would like to know when i crossed the "Border"

As anonymous said above, nowadays there are some area codes which overlay other ones, so that two area codes may have the same borders. Corvus cornix 16:39, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I was thinking of Wisconsin, Here we have one area code in the one area. I can't find a detailed zoomed in map.

Cold feet?

For some inconceivable reason, wearing socks in my room builds up massive static electricity. My feet often get cold as a result. Any suggestions as to how to keep them warm?--the ninth bright shiner ^talk 05:01, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Your feet often get cold as a result of static electricity? Could you explain that futher, please? Anchoress 05:03, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Probably that in avoiding static shock, the wearing of socks is shunned; without socks, the feet become cold. V-Man737 05:12, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Whoops, sorry about that. Because of the static electricity involved, I don't wear socks in my room, so my feet become cold as they have nothing covering them. Feet getting cold as a result of static electricity, how silly...--the ninth bright shiner ^talk 05:15, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

You could wear slippers or antistatic socks. Or you could keep your socks on and make it a habit of discharging yourself every few seconds when walking around. Maybe these answers are banal, then again maybe I didn't understand your question. ---Sluzzelin 05:21, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

As a kid I would see how much potential difference I could rack up before discharging. It turned out to be a very intense game. V-Man737 05:24, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Do you have a tendency to shuffle your feet when you walk? That would build up a static charge faster. You could also run a humidifier to keep the air from getting so dry. Dismas|^(talk) 05:26, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Or switch the kinds of socks you wear - it's hard to predict what kinds of fibres in socks and in carpet are interacting - but if you are wearing cotton socks - try switching to a man-made fibre - or if you wear man-made, try switching to cotton. I agree that a humidifier will help. Large static buildup can be very bad indeed for electronic items like computers, cellphones, MP3 players, PDA's and such - so you probably ought to deal with it. Grounding yourself on something large and metallic before you touch one of these devices is recommended. To avoid getting a nasty zap when you do that, hold a coin between your fingers and touch the doorknob or whatever with that so the spark crosses between coin and doornob without zapping your skin. SteveBaker 05:47, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Everyone has some great suggetions above, but you could also try thinking outside the box. Or socks, that is.

Anyways, what I mean is that much of your body heat leaves through your head, so believe it or not, wearing a warm cap will help keep your feet warm. Then compliment it wearing warm pants. I dunno, my feet always get cold while Wiki-editing even if I wear socks so I always have to do the above to stay warm. I hope that helps.--JDitto 07:28, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

As a digression, I heard that building up static electricity would give an impact when kissing, although I haven't tried it out... =S 惑乱 分からん 11:36, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, let me dispel this last notion...Just as you lean in for the kiss, just as your lips get close enough to your honey's, you get a very unpleasant discharge (electrical!) to both your lips. Yes, an "impact" I suppose, but not the kind you want. –RHolton≡– 12:55, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm no expert on static electricity, but these are the things I'd try first: find out what your carpets are made of, and try wearing socks that match them, as that wouldn't generate any static at all. If that's not possible, try acryl, polyester, nylon, and wool, to see what generates the least amount of static. --Kjoonlee 15:21, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

It's usually quites simple to deal with this. One: raise the humidity if you can. Once you get below 20% bad things happen. Two: use fabric softener. Put some in a bottle and spray it on the carpet, and have it in your socks. I got a new treadmill, and belt turned into a giant Van de Graaff generator. Just sprayed the softener around, and it became a treadmill again. --Zeizmic 17:50, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

As for kissing, learn to gently touch the other person before the lips make contact. Your fingers are less sensitive to static shock than your lips are. They will probably welcome a caress on the hand, neck or cheek. This is a way to make your relationship electric, although it will take the spark out of the kiss. It will seem extra romantic until they catch on why you are doing it, and even then they will just smile knowingly. Edison 19:33, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

From personal experience, I guarantee this will work, both to discharge the static, and also to keep your feet warm in bed - first, just before you go to bed, stand barefoot for a minute or so in a metal or ceramic bathtub, or shower-tray (not Plastic)(no water required), failing which, stand on your drive or lawn; then, put on some silk socks and sleep the night away.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.145.241.120 (talk • contribs)

Or you could just wear shoes. Skittle 19:45, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Doritos ad music?

In the recent Doritos Super Bowl ad "Live the Flavor", there is some classical music but I can't remember what the background music is. I watched the ad again on YouTube and searched Google and it did not help me. It is vaguely familiar but I can't name it. What is the background music? --Blue387 05:32, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Never mind, I found it: Libiamo ne' lieti calici by Verdi. Thank you. --Blue387 05:46, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Flying Cars

Lately I've been hearing about an Israeli man who plans on marketing flying cars (http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=flying%20cars&btnG=Google+Search&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn).

I am curious for some diagrams besides the one I found on http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249082,00.html#. Does anyone know of any? Thanks. --Proficient 05:43, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

That one looks really unlikely to fly to me. They claim it's flown - but there isn't even one photograph of a prototype - which is very suspicious. But - one 'flying car' that actually does work and has flown for real many times is the Moller Skycar. It uses EIGHT ducted fan engines - and on the http://www.moller.com/ site there are lots of videos of it actually flying. I've seen it close up (although not flying) so it definitely exists! SteveBaker 05:54, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I trust you followed the link provided in your second link to the company's home page for the car? http://www.urbanaero.com/Frame-X-Hawk.htm Dismas|^(talk) 05:55, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

By the way, we now have an article on the X-Hawk. Dismas|^(talk) 07:13, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I did, but was looking for more detailed diagrams. Thanks anyway though. --Proficient 08:20, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Pepsi ad music

Does anybody know what the song is on the latest Australian Pepsi advertisement and who sings it? --Candy-Panda 06:42, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Sure, it's Hey Now Now by The Cloud Room. :) 203.208.88.170 11:43, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

On-line documentaries

Does anyone know any website with full-length documentaries? My idea is to have something to watch on the computer while I work with my dumbbells, so if you come up with another possibility... Wikipedia is nice, but needs way too much interaction. :) Thank you. --Taraborn 12:18, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

http://www.archive.org should have some old stuff with expired copyright for download, but it could probably still be interesting enough. Maybe some network website or something have put up old programs for streaming, I'm not sure. But, since it seems to be a diversion for your dumbbell-lifting, I'm not sure on how concentrated you'll watch, anyway? 惑乱 分からん 13:13, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

While I'll do those things simultaneously, the documentary will have mental priority :) Very useful link, by the way, thanks a lot. --Taraborn 15:03, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

BBC Audio and Video - there's a load of stuff on there. Proto::► 15:37, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

The CBC's "The Fifth Estate" doesn't broadcast feature film documentaries, but its episodes are essentially documentaries. Anchoress 18:07, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

New cities?

Are new cities still being founded? I mean building a city from scratch, in a place that only has farmlands or is uninhabited. Or is the world now full of cities? JIP | Talk 19:03, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, cities continue to be founded. Brasilia with 2.3 million people was founded in 1960, for example. Rmhermen 19:11, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

<edit conflict>Well there have been New towns, like Milton Keynes and Carterton, Oxfordshire. Is that the sort of thing you had in mind? I believe there are some cities in the first article I linked to. Skittle 19:14, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Here is a plan for a new city in UAE. - Akamad 19:44, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Check into Belmopan, Columbia, Maryland, Reston, Virginia. Is Islamabad a new city? It's hard to tell from the article. Corvus cornix 21:49, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Trademarks

Are there any legal limits on the use of ™ and ® trademark symbols? How are they different? What does ^SM mean, and when can it be used? C. M. Harris ^{Talk to me} 22:01, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Look at the article trademark for some more info, not sure about legal limits. SM is 'Service mark' according to the wikipedia entry. I would expect there to be rules against using them on items that don't have trademark (as that would be something like false-trademarking?).ny156uk 22:22, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

® is specifically for a registered trademark. ™ is for any trademark; --Anonymous, Feb. 7, 08:15 (UTC).

Do you mean that if I ran a company, I could slap a ™ symbol on anything I made? C. M. Harris ^{Talk to me} 20:04, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

That's a legal question, so you want a lawyer if you really need to know (and it may vary from place to place). But my layman's understanding is that the answer is yes, you can claim a trademark on something (that is, something suitable, like a brand name) without registering it. The thing about trademarks is that they have to be defended if anyone challenges them, or they go away, and registering them is probably good tactics in any case. --Anonymous, February 8, 2007, 01:36 (UTC).

Is there any trademark you can't register? C. M. Harris ^{Talk to me} 20:19, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes. In the U.S. and Canada (and im sure many other countries): Units of measure, metric prefixes(kilo, mega, micro, nano..) and plain numbers (numbers can be part of a trademark i.e. palmOne, Pentium 4 etc)

February 7

Information about birth and family records.

My grandfather's name is John Henry Seitz. He was born in Sulzbach Wurtenberg. Where can I find records on his family? He had two brothers named Edward and Fredrich, and a sister who stayed longer in Germany named Rosa Kubler. John Henry was born on August 22, 1869. He and his brothers came to America in approximately 1893. If you can give me any information my e-mail address is <email address and identifying information removed to protect questioner from spammers and junk mailers> Thanks you very much.70.169.119.99 01:28, 7 February 2007 (UTC)Joan Pollock

Your ancestors appear to be from Sulzbach an der Murr, a village in the Rems-Murr-Kreis (district) of southwestern Germany. A good source for early family records in Europe is often the baptismal record of the local church. If you can travel to this village, you might want to consult the baptismal record for the period in question. Though you would really need to know some German and to be able to read Frakturhandschrift, or Gothic handwriting, in which the records would have been written. Here is a guide to that script. Marco polo 02:56, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

You could try checking the Ellis Island records online at: [13] Rmhermen 03:51, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Running stores, while living in them

wondering exactly WHAT you'd call a shop that doubles as a residence (namely by having an upstairs/downstairs with living area), and if there are any resources on how, the legalities, pros and cons and such -- feb^talk 02:07, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Artists call them 'live-work', studios, maybe l'ateliers. The sex trade industry calls them 'incall locations'. Legalities and restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Anchoress 02:44, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Live-work's redirect told me what I need to know! thanks~ -- feb^talk 03:27, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Hey, I'm glad my answer helped. I didn't wikilink live-work because I didn't think we'd actually have an article on it, lol. However, to be honest I don't think the 'mixed use' redirect is perfectly analogous to what I meant when I said 'live-work', but if it helped you, that's the important thing. To be more clear, my building is 'mixed use', in that the first floor is commercial and the top three are residential, but it is also live-work, in that the residential units are zoned for artists' use, allowing us to treat our homes as commercial/industrial work spaces, with the attendant sound bylaw relaxation and tax benefits. However, the zoning of our building does not allow for people to live in their commercial units. A further however is that such zoning rules vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so other places might have a totally different set of rules. Anchoress 18:39, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

A "mom and pop shop" sometimes means that, although it can also mean any small business. StuRat 05:55, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I would never refer to a mom and pop shop to mean that...as I have friends who run a shop, a mother father and daughter, which is in a shopping mall :) -- feb^talk 06:09, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Wargames history

What is the history of military simulation?

I was surprised I couldn't find this in the wikipedia. Who ran the first military simulation that was actually serious? People say chess and go were simulations of sorts but I don't buy that they are actually simulations, they may test general military accumen but to actually be of any value in preparing for or studying the results of a particular battle - they would have really limited use.

Thanks for your thoughts,

67.180.130.220 02:16, 7 February 2007 (UTC)Richard Garfield

Have you tried wargaming? It has a substantial history section. Clarityfiend 02:59, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

The dates of Wikipedia have been malfunctioned

The dates of Wikipedia:Reference desk/Mathematics have been malfunctioned for one week. Is it because nobody reported this incident to the management of Wikipedia? Also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Mathematics#Contents is located wrongly at the bottom of the contents but not correctly at the top. Please understand that I am trying to help by drawing independent attention so that something can be done. Twma 04:27, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

We don't mind. But I don't see a problem. Perhaps it is an issue with your browser. Rmhermen 04:40, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

This problem isn't your browser, and it's not just affecting the science desk (for example, the computing reference desk is up to 490k because it hasn't been archived since January 20). There is a bot that does the archiving stuff, and apparently it has had some problems recently. The bot owner is already aware of the problem and working on getting it fixed. In the meantime, some people have been adding the headers manually. Dave6 08:56, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Needing Editorial/Experienced Assistance

Hi, I am making some major edits and clean-ups to move the Nancy Reagan article towards FA standards, but the are some things going on with the page characteristics. As I add text or citations, etc., they appear in the edit window but the bottom of the article is truncated. As I am still learning my way around here, some experienced guidance might be nifty. I was also going to ask about whether I can ask legal or medical questions about medical disoprders about suing people, but I guess fromt he FAQ that it ain't allowed. drat...Arcayne 04:53, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

The Wikipedia:Help desk is also a good place to ask this kind of a question; I'll copy your question there. V-Man737 05:01, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Tournament judgements in court?

Has it ever happened in big-money tournaments that a player appeals a referee's decision in court and/or pays a lawyer to advocate? NeonMerlin 06:07, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I think most people would agree that would be poor sportsmanship. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:17, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Interesting question. AFAIK the arbiters in all sports are the referee and then the sport's governing body. I wouldn't expect a court of law to have any jurisdiction over a game, as there are few "laws" governing games (unless there has been violence), just the rules laid down by the governing body. However, I suppose it might be possible for a player to sue for loss of earnings or even libel if they thought a wrong decision had been made to their detriment. Does anyone know of any cases?--Shantavira 08:42, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I would expect that the players are forced to accept binding arbitration. Rmhermen 17:22, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

In Cricket, I think questioning the referee's decision (or at least being a poor sport about it) can be judged to be 'bringing the game into disrepute' as happened last year.[14] Skittle 18:52, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Baseball's Pine Tar Incident wound up in court. The umpire disallowed George Brett's ninth-inning home run because there was too much pine tar on his bat. Brett's team, the Kansas City Royals, wound up losing by one run. The team protested the umpire's decision, and the commissioner of baseball upheld the protest, ordering the end of the game to be replayed. The other team, the New York Yankees, went to court and got a preliminary injunction against the resumption of the game. The appeals court threw out the injunction right before the game was about to restart. -- Mwalcoff 00:47, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Car honking for no reason

My friend was walking by his car, with the remote keyless system remote in his pocket, and the car honked for no apparent reason. There was nothing else in his pocket that could have pushed the buttons on the remote. Is there some way (besides ghosts) that a remote's proximity to the car could activate the horn? V-Man737 06:17, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Car alarm could've gone off and failed, or it might have just bumped itself. my cell phone has pretty sturdy keys, not the easiest things to trigger, yet I still pull it out of my pocket with #098623 on the screen from time to time. -- feb^talk 06:30, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

If his pants were tight, he might have squeezed the remote while walking. Marco polo 15:52, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Could be someone playing a trick on him. A friend or family member with the other remote for the vehicle pushing the botton just to confuse him. --ChesterMarcol 18:06, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

It was the barcode scanner in the car's sensory system recognising the remote's barcode and registering another sale.

Uh, okay. There was a short or something in the airbag sensor in my car, which caused the horn to start going off on its own while I was driving. I had to keep pounding on the steering wheel to get it to stop. This did not make the drivers around me happy, I can assure you. But then it started going off by itself late at night and annoying the neighbors as well as waking me out of a deep sleep. After several nights of this, the horn just stopped working altogether. But nobody wants to fix it for me because it involves getting into the inner workings of the steering wheel and they're afraid to touch the airbag. Corvus cornix 21:55, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Is it possable for me to be Jessus christ incarnate ?

David Earl Smith12.201.45.100 06:50, 7 February 2007 (UTC)Can you awnswer questions about an intamint, futuristic, personal lifes question ?

I'm pretty sure Jesus is intelligent to know who he is. Unless jesus got plastered. Is your vision blurry? -- feb^talk 06:57, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I think even the original original gangsta questioned his divinity, at least in his earlier years. Who is this Jessus of whom you speak? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:13, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Possible? Sure. "With God all things are possible." But there are very few established religions that claim that Jesus is on the earth in corporeal form today (heck, I've met a few one-man religions that do ("I'm Jesus! Phineas give the hamster a Big Mac," etc.), but I don't know if that fully counts). messiah and second coming are interesting reads for this; I would under other circumstances recommend Messianic complex, but as of now the article is a stub in the most basic of stages. If you find conclusive evidence that you are Jesus, don't try too hard to get attention, as the truth will make itself known. ^_^ V-Man737 08:28, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I know a restuarant where the guy who buses dishes is named Jesus. One day the boss wanted him and he did not respond to a couple of times when the boss yelled "Hay-soos!" so the boss finally yelld "Hey JEEZUS" get over here and he responded. Not saying it was really him, but it makes ya wonder. Edison 15:30, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I think Jesus would know how to spell his own name. --ChesterMarcol 18:08, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, Jesus was actually born in Judea and lived around Galilee. He probably spoke both Aramaic and Hebrew, so perhaps his command of English is not so great. Unless you meant this Jesus. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 06:57, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Can you be too smart to join the military?

I've read that the military does not allow those that score low on the IQ test to enter the military but does the US military have a maximum limit, that is, can one be too smart to join? I remember years ago, someone tried to enlist in the LA (?) police department and was rejected for scoring too high on the IQ test and I'm curious if the US military does such as well. Ripberger 07:20, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't seem like there is really a good reason to do so, except perhaps in isolated situations as you described with he LA police department. But this is based on common sense. --Proficient 08:22, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like what you've read may be a satirical commentary on the misrepresented remark made by John Kerry (very good read right here). V-Man737 08:35, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Wasn't this LA police thing from one of Michael Moore's The Awful Truth episodes? 惑乱 分からん 13:19, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

In the US, during times of conscription, such as during the Vietnam War, university students at C level or above were exempted from National Service, the reason being that their intellegence made them too valuable to the economy to die in combat. As a result, some anti-war lecturers gave their entire class C-or-above grades, to save them from being forced into the war.[15] Laïka 14:13, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I absolutely deny the accuracy of the previous post. They would cheerfully draft an "A" student during the Vietnam war. Edison 15:32, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Edison is enitrely correct, but the nugget of truth in Laika's rumor is that until about 1970 there was a II-S student deferment classification routinely granted to any student in good standing. As opposition to the war rose, many college instructors refused to give failing grades that might lead a student to flunk out or drop out of school, at which point he would lose his student deferment and become draftable. If we still had a draft and a student deferment we would be seeing exactly the same thing happening today. alteripse 15:53, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Highly, highly interesting. I would ask Alteripse, DOES it happen today? 81.93.102.39 20:36, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

What do you mean? There is currently no conscription in the United States. Naturally there are instructors who don't like to see people flunk out, and might occasionally bend their standards because of it; is that what you're asking? --Trovatore 03:55, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

From what I vaguely remember of the LAPD incident, the reason that people with exceptionally high IQs are not allowed is because such people might be more hesitant or overanalyze in situations that require split-second decision making such as in shoot-outs or hostage situations (I could be wrong about that, I often am :)). From the Intelligence and public policy article, US Army recruits have to take the Armed Forces Qualification Test and those that score too low are not accepted. I was just curious if you can score too high on it and not be able to get in (and yes, I did just think of John Kerry after I submitted the question :)). Ripberger 22:09, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

The II-S status did not say that you would never be drafted, just that the government was willing to let you pay for your own college education, at which time they would reclassify you 1-A and reap the benefit of your education. Your draft eligibility extended until age 34, as I recall, although in practice they were drafting those aged 19 to 25. I expect a higher percentage of the U.S. army enlisted men had a college education during the draft than is the case now. In December 1969 they initiated the Draft lottery, so the uncertainty was removed. If you had a lucky birthday you were unlikely to be drafted, and you could ask to be reclassified 1-A for that year, and not worry about the draft after that. Because the capsules with birthdates were not well mixed, those born late in the year got the shaft, statistically speaking. There was a significant correlation between birth date and draft priority, such that similar results would be expected by chance alone only once in 100,000 repetitions, per "Statisticians Charge Draft Lottery Was Not Random," By David E. Rosenbaum, New York Times Jan 4, 1970. pg. 66. Edison 22:18, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Please don't assume bad faith in me or anything (and I really don't mean to appear to be rude or anything and if I am, please tell me :) ), but I just want to know if the US military has a regulation or rule that says if you score too high on the military's IQ test, you cannot enter the military? For instance hypothetically speaking, if I were a nuclear physicist with multiple PHDS and I was still within the military's age and health ranges, would they let me have an M-16 and go fight in Baghdad regardless of my high IQ or would they see my IQ has some hindrance that could endanger the mission and others and deny me entering the military? I thank all for their time and answers to my question. Ripberger 08:08, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I think they would accept you, but you certainly wouldn't be doing infantry work! They would have use for you in other aspects, such as engineering, intelligence or weapons research. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 08:18, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

In the immortal words of my Magic 8 Ball, "Don't count on it." -- feb^talk 08:25, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Art

I've asked my art teacher, but she doesn't really have any idea where I could look for this. I've also taken Anatomy, but again, no luck. I've noticed that in all the books on drawing the body I can find, one specific thing is focused on - the "average" or "normal" form, exaggerated slightly so it's easier to see. However, I'm pretty sure that not all people around me have the same distribution of muscle, fat and bone, nor the same joints and skin as the models I find in textbooks. Anatomy textbooks are the same, except that they include pictures of diseases as well, which doesn't help me. Say I want to draw a pair of hands shuffling cards. How do I indicate that it's a young woman? An old man? A muscle-bound jock? An overweight professional gambler? The advice my teacher gave me was, essentially, "draw a bunch of people and you'll get a feel for it." Surely somebody's written a book on the subject already. Black Carrot 15:24, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

This one is difficult as we don't really have a specific term to go on. The only thing I can suggest at the moment is to thoroughly read the Drawing article here on Wikipedia, it has some excellent explanations and tips on tone/blending, layout, perspective, etc...your teacher is right, though. The best way to develop your skills in drawing is just to practive. Books can offer you some strategies for improvement, but when it comes to artistic subtleties such as these, ultimately it is with further practice that you'll be able to figure it out, once you have a knack for it, applying subtle details and such, etc...so you can develop your own personal artistic style, it will become much easier.

Sorry if that's not the answer you wanted. I understand exactly what you're saying, but it's difficult to find some information for that, maybe you could explain it slightly more in-depth? --Xertz 18:45, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm sure I could figure it out on my own eventually, but that's the case with any course I'm taking, the point of a book or a class is to condense clear lessons out of a lifetime of experience so the next generation has a head start. What I'm looking for, more specifically, is a textbook of variations. Everything I've seen, and everything my teacher has seen, goes into exquisite detail on what muscles to expect where, what shape a femur is, that kind of thing, but none of them take the next step and say, "but in one kind of person it will be different this way, in another this way, in another this way." As a result, I could draw a textbook model perfectly with my eyes closed and one hand behind my back if I worked hard and learned what was in the textbook, but if I wanted to draw a realistic picture from my head, I'd be sunk. My training would have stopped halfway. I have no idea what makes a hand look female, what makes a hand look fatty or thin, how the muscles in the hand of a footballer would be different from those of a gambler or a keyboard jockey. I suppose, in theory, I could ask person after person after person from different backgrounds to strip down and move around for me, but how practical is that? I'm a computer science major, this is a hobby, I don't have the time or resources to pursue that. Ideally I would, and I'm sure my pictures would wind up more flexible and accurate that way, but it just isn't possible. Surely someone who's already done it has committed their knowledge to paper. That's what books are for. Black Carrot 20:04, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I think your teacher's advice is good advice. You should practice your art, work with different models (either in person, or from photos), rather than looking for tips and tricks. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 23:28, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

There are many books out there on anatomy drawings, but I think that if you aspire to be an artist, you wouldn't get very far if you refuse to experiment/observe artistically on your own. 惑乱 分からん 23:55, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I think that you've missed my point. I have no intention of being lazy about this, and of course I'm going to work with models. I'm horrified, however, by the disinterest I've been hearing from the artistic community so far (here and elsewhere) in guiding newcomers. (Xertz is the only exception.) I don't want a magic wand, I just want the fundamental received wisdom I can get in any other field of study. I can't even imagine my Calculus teacher saying, "I don't know, fiddle around with the numbers, you'll figure it out eventually." Sure, eventually, but how long would that take? And why do all that, when I could stand on the shoulders of a genius and wind up higher, faster? I notice, however, if I asked, "Does anyone know of a book linking anatomy to art," I would get countless answers, here and elsewhere. The problem seems somehow specific to my desire to know the consistent differences between people from different backgrounds. I know that what I'm asking for is very basic, critical information though, and I don't see how centuries of books could have been written that skipped over it entirely. Do you actually expect every generation to reinvent this stuff from scratch? Black Carrot 01:00, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I understand what you're saying, Black Carrot. Maybe this list is of use. I can't recommend anything myself, because I have no idea. One other short-cut, to get some support from the giants' shoulders, is not only study the objects, but study the masters (or commercial artists too) and how they did it. Good luck! ---Sluzzelin 01:12, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

You may be misguided if you consider this an artistic community. But maybe not, I can see how it might be considered just that. I think this question would have been more appropriately asked at the Humanities Desk. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 10:40, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, Sluzzelin. I've contacted the people who run the place, but they don't know of anything that would work for me. To Twas - do you have anything useful to say? Obviously I didn't mean Wikipedia was an artistic community, I was talking about the actual artistic community. Some artists do post here. Anyway, the question is still open if anyone has another idea. Black Carrot 02:17, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Space

If a seed is germinated on earth, the roots go down while the leaves reach upward toward the sun, I assume this has something to do with gravity, thus allowing the roots to know where down is. So, in space, if one were to germinate a seed, a)would it germinate b)would it do so in an effective manner.

And as a second question. Menstration cyles in women are, or so i am told, coincide with the moon, (much like ocena tides) hence every 28 days. How would this be affected in a) zero gravity b)when out of the pull of the moon and c) if one were on another planet which had serveral moons or (b) no moons.

Thanks guys Mr Anonymous 81.144.161.223 16:08, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I doubt it has so much to do with gravity as with the roots seeking soil nutrients and the leaves seeking sunlight. So I imagine that they would do fine in space, see hydroponics? Just a brief mention there. -- Justanother 16:18, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I've moved this question to Wikipedia:Reference_desk/science where you are more likely to get a good response...83.100.250.165 17:08, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

conscription

I heard a rumour that conscription might be brought back in the united states, and the rumour says it is so that the children of government leaders who advocate war would have a chance of having thier own children in the front line and thus make them less prone to support war. Is this true? and what % of the American population would support conscription?

If you mean drafting, it's fairly unlikely. Government wouldn't want that, as tracking down draft dodgers would be more expensive than the extra bodies are worth. Not to mention the potential injury to the economy if lots of people leave the country -- feb^talk 16:44, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Conscription in the United States is a very good article. The rich and powerful have always had the means to avoid it. --Zeizmic 16:53, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

There has been talk among people opposed to the war in Iraq who point out that most of the politicians who support the war do not have any family members in the military whom the war would put at risk. Some U.S. critics have also complained that voluntary enlistment draws mainly those who have few other economic options and thus subjects those people to risk unfairly on the basis of class. Some of this second group of critics propose universal, mandatory military service (or conscription) as a remedy to this perceived problem. I'm not sure how much overlap there is between those who oppose the war and those who want universal conscription, but no doubt there is some. There is not, to my knowledge, any viable political initiative (movement, say, in Congress) to impose conscription in the United States because it is widely unpopular, especially in the context of a war that a majority of Americans now oppose. That said, a change in circumstances, such as the outbreak of war with Iran, might strain existing U.S. troop levels to the point where the United States would face a choice between a draft and something like capitulation. Marco polo 17:15, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

There's little beyond very questionable logic that suggests that you are less likely to support a war if you/your children have to be involved in the war effort. Interestingly, historically being US President is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world (4 of 43 killed?) and so they are already in a 'dangerous' position. The chances of conscription/drafts/national service etc. coming back in the major world economies is slim for, well, the reasons stated above. ny156uk 18:54, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, during the Nixon presidency and the Vietnam war there was dicussion at the White House that having the draft lottery wouold lessen opposition to the draft on college campuses. Edison 16:12, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

apple orchard

hi. does anyone know if there is a specific name given to an orchard containg more than one variety of tree. ideally this would be an apple orchard but i don't imagine i can be this specific.

From the Orchard article here on Wikipedia: "An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs maintained for food production."

I haven't found anything about specific naming conventions, but you might want to look through the article in-depth, in case anything turns up. --Xertz 18:13, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Hm, there actually is an article about forest garden, which is a food production system closely related to orchards. You'll probably want to look into this further, but I can't guarantee you'll find the exact information you're looking for. --Xertz 18:15, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Lamborghini XTR

What are the specs on the Lamborghini XTR?

Haven't found anything about the specific car you're looking for. Sure you've got the right name? Here's a Lamborghini specs table, from the article:

Vehicle	Year	Engine	Displacement	Top Speed
350GTV	1963	Lamborghini V12	N/A	280 km/h
350GT	1964-1968	Lamborghini V12	3464 cc	240 km/h
400GT 2+2	1966-1968	Lamborghini V12	3929 cc	250 km/h
Miura	1966-1973	Lamborghini V12	3929 cc	288 km/h
Espada	1968-1978	Lamborghini V12	3929 cc	245 km/h
Islero	1968-1970	Lamborghini V12	3929 cc	248 km/h
Jarama	1970-1978	Lamborghini V12	3929 cc	240 km/h
Urraco	1970-1979	Lamborghini V8	2463/2996/1994 cc	230 km/h
Countach	1974-1989	Lamborghini V12	3929/4754/5167 cc	295 km/h
Silhouette	1976-1977	Lamborghini V8	2996 cc	260 km/h
Jalpa	1982-1989	Lamborghini V8	3485 cc	240 km/h
LM002	1986-1992	Lamborghini V12	5167 cc	210 km/h
Diablo	1990-2001	Lamborghini V12	5707/5992 cc	330 km/h
Murciélago	2001-	Lamborghini V12	6192 cc	330 km/h
Murciélago R-GT	2001-	Lamborghini V12	N/A	N/A
Gallardo	2003-	Lamborghini V10	4961 cc	309 km/h
Gallardo Spyder	2004-	Lamborghini V10	4961 cc	307 km/h
Murciélago Roadster	2005-	Lamborghini V12	6192/6496 cc	330 km/h
Gallardo SE	2006-	Lamborghini V10	4961 cc	315 km/h
Murciélago LP640	2006-	Lamborghini V12	6496 cc	340 km/h
Gallardo Nera	2006-	Lamborghini V10	4961  cc	315 km/h
Murciélago LP640 Versace	2006-	Lamborghini V12	6496 cc	340 km/h
Murciélago LP640 Roadster	2006-	Lamborghini V12	6496 cc	330 km/h

--Xertz 18:18, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

We have mention in Lamborghini Murciélago

Lamborghini have announced two more powerful models, the XTR, a track-only car with a 700 bhp version of the V12, and the LP640 with 640 bhp. Although the XTR is not street legal, the LP640 met the standards and is expected to be introduced in March 2007.

--Justanother 19:44, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Bladestorm:_The_Hundred_Years'_War#Gameplay

The section linked above is a direct copy of the press release..http://www.koei.com/company/pressitem.cfm?id=D035E818-2595-4DC8-95F436326C40BDB3

Given that the article is 'embryonic' and the game has not yet been released, is this ok. Or does a 'copy-edit' violate some principles of wikipedia - note the information is referenced, and is from press release. ????83.100.250.165 18:50, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

No, it wasn't OK. I've paraphrased some of the points in the release and used it as a source so that should be fine. Recury 18:36, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks.87.102.37.185 18:48, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I've tidied up the references (a little)87.102.37.185 19:09, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I have a a friend who walks on the front of his feet, without his heel touching the ground

I've tried to do some research on it, but it leads to testimonials of children doing it, or of those with autism/asperger's doing it, or related to gastrointestinal disturbances and whatnot. My friend does indeed walk on the front of his feet, and he says it helps his speed and coordination. My friend is an avid walker (mostly due to not having a car so walking everywhere around town) and an extremely fast runner, so I believe him. Is there any evidence that walking on the front of your feet is more helpful for speed and coordination? Is it bad for your health to walk like that? (he has excellent health, and like I said, is an extremely fast runner). When he stands still, he goes down on his heels. Much help appreciated ! Xhin 18:50, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Compare it to high-heeled shoes if you like. My uneducated guess is that your friend will suffer from this in the future, because the heel is MADE to be the first thing to touch the ground. From its initial impact, the weight of your body transfers down the bones in a natural, rather straight-down way. Touching first with the front of your feet likely puts some weird weight on your knees as they naturally come forward to compensate. Still, whenever I run up stairs I ONLY touch with the front of my feet (habit from my young, young youth when I ran from monsters :)). I'm not an authority, unfortunately. Also, it might be interesting to see your friend's running/walking. 81.93.102.39 20:41, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I preface this by saying am no physiologist/chiropractor- The body's mechanism for running relies on the heel or the entirety of the foot hitting the ground, and then using the ball of the foot to push forward. I imagine that, as 81.93 said above, your friend may encounter problems at some point, probably with the tendons or ligaments of his foot due to overstress of parts that are not normally shock-absorbing. --HassourZain 20:45, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

~EC~ Actually that's not strictly accurate, User81 (and HassourZain). I'll see if I can find the documentation I read recently, that refutes the long-held belief that heel-strike gaits are natural and preferable. Anyways, IIRC the gist of it was that flat-footed gaiters are no more likely, or are even less likely, to suffer from the biomech problems (fallen arches, plantar fasciitis, etc) than heel strikers. Not disagreeing with everything you said, of course, just that one point. Anchoress 20:48, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

What I said was mostly speculative, certainly. It is only very recently in human evolutionary history that upright posture and gait even came to be. In comparison to other limbed, ambulatory animals, the flat-footed gait is similarly new. If you find the documents you mentioned, post them up for all our illumination! Physiological stuff like this is one of my pet interests. :) --HassourZain 20:54, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, it's most certainly a symptom that is common amongst Asperger syndrome "victims" (I have this syndrome and many people have remarked that it's odd that I walk like this - especially when I was a kid). Aspergers is hard to pin down though - anything from mild Geekiness to full-blown Autism has been labelled as Aspergers. I'd bet good money that was the reason. But we aren't allowed to dispense medical advice here - so you should probably forget I ever said that. SteveBaker 20:58, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Walking on the toes and ball of the feet should put more stress on those components, but less on the heel, of course. The additional "suspension" involved in the feet should also help cushion the legs and the rest of the body from impacts. The person's weight would be a big factor on whether they can walk that way for long. A heavy person needs the use of their full foot to support their weight. Since weight is so important, I suspect far fewer adults walk that way than children. StuRat 13:13, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I foung this shocking as i too walk this way. I do not agree that is can hurt you to not step with your heel hitting first as dancers usually do this in a manner called jazz walking. have you ever thought to ask your friend if the tendons in his legs were too short at birth? I know..odd question but this was my reason for it. My tendons were too short till i was 4 and then they were stretched...but i still walk that was. it is a habit and it helps me walk better. For me it just doesnt feel right to walk heel first. it is not an uncommon thing. it does not even have to bee called a disease. Some people are just more comfortable walking this way as it is how they learned to walk. it should not effect his health. it hasnt with mine... --Kittycat rox 23:47, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I've heard it's easier to walk silently if you touch with the ball of the foot first, instead of the heel. -GTBacchus^(talk) 23:50, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Vocational Baccalaureate

Hi, My school (King's College, Guildford offers the Vocational Baccalaureate as a post-16 option, alongside the International Baccalaureate. I've googled "vocational baccalaureate" (with the quotes and it came up with just 630ish results, one of which was saying that with it I could go to a uni in North-Western Switzerland, and another saying that an educational establishment in Iraq would accept me with it! Do you know if it's accepted as a qualification in the UK? Has anyone heard of it before? Thanks very much for your help, Bioarchie1234 19:07, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

It would depend on what you wanted to do, and where. If you want to go to uni, then your best bet is to contact the admissions department of the university you are interested in, and ask them - some will probably accept it, some might not, and it'll almost certainly depend on what course you want to do, too. Go to the University of Birmingham, because I went there and it's awesome. Proto::► 12:41, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your advice, Proto!Bioarchie1234 20:16, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

what are the names of these films?

Theres a series of films that show cities, landscapes, and different views sped up and set to different types of music. They are pretty popular. I think their titles are like one word titles. I need to find these for a project I'm doing ASAP. nyone know at least one of the films?

Answered at Entertainment desk. Please do not post the same question more than once. Clarityfiend 20:23, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Confirmation of Membership

This sounds exciting, effecient and expediant. I am pleased to join such an organization as a member provided that they do not require any set number of perchases a year or membership fee. Sincerely,

Peace Be With You,

BC

You may be mistaken as to what site you are on. This is Wikipedia, an encyclopedia. It is not a membership organization and does not have any items for purchase, nor does it charge any fees for the privilege of working on the encyclopedia. Corvus cornix 21:58, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Welcome, User:BluesDr.! Don't worry, Wikipedia will never ask you to buy anything. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 23:11, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Althought there is that extremely annoying bar at the top of the main page every quarter to show you how much money that you havent contributed. schyler 01:48, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

It's only annoying for a little while. After you click on the "go away" thing, you kind of get used to it. V-Man737 05:09, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

February 8

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

This question was asked at Talk:Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. I must admit the question has made me curious, as even as a brit, I don't know the answer.

"HMRC is responsible for ...UK frontier protection..."; so this is the function of HMRC and not the Home Office? What sort of enforcement capabilities do they have, armed border guards, etc.? Thanks. Have Gun, Will Travel 18:10, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I too am surprised to think that HRMC are responsible for protecting our "frontiers" (ports and airports, I guess) against anything more serious than tax evasion. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 00:28, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Frontier protection amounts to their responsibility for ensuring that no-one slips a trojan horse through southampton docks, or something like that. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Well, you can find some information here, but essentially, HMRC is charged with controlling imports/exports, and their main border security operations are anti-smuggling. Carom 00:40, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I would assume this entails some sort of naval or marine enforcement capabilities. In the US, despite some misconceptions, the IRS doesn't have black helicopters. Have Gun, Will Travel 00:46, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, the page I linked to states "HMRC manages its own fleet of boats to patrol British waters, where it works closely with the police authorities." So.... Carom 00:48, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Key indicator 8.1/Targets says, "the government’s overall operational priority is SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency) led investigations. HMRC activity, in terms of intervening on drugs at the frontier, is secondary to SOCA requests for assistance in pursuit of investigations. As SOCA is new we have no means to estimate the volume and impact of such requests on HMRC resources or on our ability to meet HMRC specific numerical targets." Sounds like this new agency is the lead organization and HMRC takes a back seat to what was traditionally some of thier functions. SOCAs site says "sponsored by, but operationally independent from, the Home Office." What does that bureaucrateese mean? http://www.soca.gov.uk/aboutUs/index.html

There are two main agencies at the UK border. HMRC are the people who check your goods both inbound and outbound. Home Office have people checking that your passport/visa is in order and are the first UK agency that an entrant to the country will see unless they've been stopped at sea by either the HMRC cutter fleet or the Royal Navy. SOCA do not operate at the border, they are one of a few agencies that task agencies such as HMRC to carry out operations. MLA 10:36, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

HMRC are also one half of "Programme Cyclamen", with staff operating the detector equipment designed to prevent radiological hazards (especially "dirty bombs" and small nuclear explosives) entering the UK. The other half is the Home Office, who manage the work.Thom2002 16:34, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

There are interesting aspects of Serious Organised Crime Agency#Intelligence role and secrecy; sounds somewhat analogous to DEA in the US. To simplifing a delicate area in broad statements: in the US, FBI cannot kill anybody outside the US, and CIA cannot kill anybody inside the US. DEA however, can kill persons (US citizens or not) inside or outside the US. And another loophole is, if CIA is involved in an activity that may lead to the death of someone covertly or by a decision in the field to maintain operational security, it must be reported back to the Senate Intelligence Committee. DEA is, however, exempt from this provision. Does SOCA have any operational license or capacity externally? Have Gun, Will Travel 21:18, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

The UK law enforcement culture is different to the US, SOCA does not carry weapons or kill people and its intelligence role is not the same as the UK secret services. When SOCA was established, it was supposed to be the UK's FBI and that is still probably the closest US comparitor. 82.20.94.218 23:23, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Andrew Ridgeley

Who left Andrew Ridgeley, his partner in the ‘80s pop duo Wham!, to go off and play by himself?

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou aka George Michael. The information can also be found in the articles on Andrew Ridgeley and Wham! ---Sluzzelin 00:43, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

From what I read in the papers George Michael didn't 'go off and play by himself' - he was later caught in a public toilet in LA attempting to play with an under-cover policeman; and later on still, he was seen by a newspaper photographer on Hampstead Heath in London playing with another guy .

Sports and Entertainment Marketing

Hello, I was wandering if there are any articles or anything reliable on the topic of Sports and Entertainment marketing. Thank you --(Aytakin) | Talk 01:02, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

You know, it's quite easy to do a search..just type in what you are looking for in the box located on the right said of the screen and press "go". If the page in question exists, you'll be sent directly to it. Quite an easy way to avoid some unnecessary reference desk questions that one can answer on their own.

Anyway, I've found an article under the name sports marketing, but it does need improvement. Basically the article is an unreferenced stub. I'm not sure exactly what kind of information you're looking for, but I suggest heading over to Wikia and searching for a specialized sports wiki, chances are there might be an in-depth article on sports marketing, but it's not guaranteed. Unfortunately I found no article pertaining to entertainnment marketing, but it's possible I might've missed something. --Xertz 01:26, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I already found the sports marketing, but i'm looking more aout strategies and etc. Thanks --(Aytakin) | Talk 04:12, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Spit or swallow?

For toothpaste and mouthwash, are you supposed to spit it out, and not rinse with water? I've always been confused at this, as the instructions normally don't say. I saw one site which said it's better to not rinse out toothpaste and just spit, although I have no idea why. Wouldn't that just be injested shortly? And for mouthwash, my ex-suitemate asked me once if I rinsed it out, because his teeth looks blue when he doesn't. I would have thought you would rinse out mouthwash, because you're supposed to contact poison control if you swallow more than what's needed for normal use. And of course, you generally use mouthwash after brushing, right? So if you rinse out mouthwash, wouldn't you rinse out the toothpaste? You'd think toothpastes and mouthwash, being as common as they are, would have recommendation about what do do after spitting out the majority, but they don't. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 02:24, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Mouthwash should not be ingested, as I recall a discussion about that on this desk a while ago. Toothpaste usually says "Do not ingest more than amount normally used," which implies that it wouldn't kill you, but could be potentially harmful. I tried swallowing it once, at the behest of a camp buddy, it was gross. As for blueness, teeth usually only absorb the color of things if all the plaque on them hasn't been brushed off. What website says not to rinse after brushing? That seems to render the brushing semi-pointless, as lots of the plaque remains in your mouth if you don't rinse. Mouthwash finishes the job by killing whatever is left over after rinsing. As a sidenote (and please don't take this as medical advice, it is more like common sense), even though sulfuric acid can kill germs, you should never ever rinse with it. For great justice, read dental hygiene. V-Man737 03:48, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

This website here says "Teach them how to spit toothpaste out. It is better to spit rather than rinse the mouth." --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 05:16, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

WTF. After going through all of their sources, I can't see any reason that they would put that in there. If anyone could point out to me a reason that not rinsing is superior to rinsing, I'd be muchly grateful, as I'm terribly curious as to the reasoning of that. V-Man737 05:36, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm further confused by that same page where it says:

• "Don't swallow. Swallowing the toothpaste may cause them to get too much fluoride."

followed immediately by:

• Don't rinse. Fluoride can go on protecting the teeth for some time after cleaning the teeth if the toothpaste is not rinsed out of the mouth.

So... spit forever?

Also, fluorideinformation.com says "If you rinse your mouth after brushing, use only a small amount of water as too much water will wash away the fluoride and reduce the benefits." I'm now more confused than before I asked. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 06:11, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I've been swallowing toothpaste all my life and I've turned out okaetysododsakojrsfksadidjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj --Wooty Woot? contribs 06:43, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Ugh. I think it's a load of hokey; whatever fluoride is going to benefit your teeth will benefit you while you're brushing. To have your teeth soak in it for a while afterward might be slightly beneficial, but not enough to make a big deal out of it (say, to the point where people develop dental fluorosis and are always spitting). V-Man737 06:46, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Just get a fluoride treatment (what, no article on this ?), then you can rinse all you want and your teeth will still have plenty of fluoride. I had one as a kid, and never had any cavities. StuRat 13:03, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Fluoride therapy → (I piped your link, and no, that's not gay innuendo.) − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 13:10, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

The U.S. National Institutes of Health discusses fluoride toothpaste poisoning at [16]. Ingesting a large amount of fluoride toothpaste could harm or kill you. Edison 16:10, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, I know ingesting a lot of fluoride can kill you, but what about from normal brushing? Fluoride has a short half-life, but there's theories that it builds up in the bones or some such. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:07, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Stop sweating yourself over this, just be grateful that you have enjoyed the benefits of fluoride through your life, us oldies suffered dental damage through lack of it and now have to wear dentures.--88.109.196.151 21:24, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Right now there are two tubes of toothpaste in my house, different brands. One tube has an instruction in small print, "Do not swallow." The other one doesn't. --Anonymous, February 9, 2007, 23:30 (UTC).

I'm guessing that your question heading is a joke; see oral sex. -- Sturgeonman 22:19, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Hold me in your arms

What is the official title and artist of the following song?:

Lyrics snipped. They're available from the link below. --Tagishsimon (talk)

It's got a techno beat. Ive heard conflicting sources say that its by either Lasgo or Sylver. Thanks. Jamesino 02:35, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

According to sing365 it is called Hold Me In Your Arms, and is credited to Lasgo. However, as far as I can make out, it is called "Something" by Lasgo, and not Hold Me In Your Arms. Go figure. I advise this sort of google search for future such queries. --Tagishsimon (talk)

(EC) It seems to be Lasgo on the first search, but then Sylver on the second search. I can't seem to find any authoritative sources that indicate the originator of the lyrics, or even who sang them first. I love that song though. V-Man737 03:56, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

allmusic indicates that "Something" was Lasgo's debut single and lists two Lasgo members as the composers. There is also an audio sample there if you want to check whether it is the correct track. --Lph 14:36, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

date of publishment

When was the wikipedia website published?

Wikipedia was formally launched on January 15, 2001, according to the Wikipedia article. --Tagishsimon (talk)

But please note that the content on Wikipedia is literally changing every second. If you need information on how to cite Wikipedia, have a look at the Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia page. - Akamad 06:14, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

And the time and date of the latest version of each article is shown right at the bottom of each page.--Shantavira 09:13, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Whilst that's true - it's not as useful as you might think since the last change might have been to revert vandalism or to make an entirely trivial spelling correction. To know when changes to a particular article took place, you've really got to look at the 'history' tab. But for Wikipedia as a whole, Jan 15th 2001 is the 'official' data. However, we have (for example) articles taken verbatim from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (which is now out of copyright) that pre-date the existance of computers...so there isn't really one clear date. SteveBaker 18:19, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Pilot talk

Hi. Could you point to sources with examples of the kind of talk and codes British WWII pilots (spitfires, typhoons,...) would use while in flight? I'm looking for particular expressions used, for example, to indicate approaching ennemy aircraft, to signal various targets, the kind of jokes they would make, etc. Do you know of any recording of such radio chat? Thank you. Keria 04:37, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Here's your basic vocabulary. Oops, I appear to have pranged the cabbage crate owing to being blotto at angels 18 over Dover en route to Blighty. Tally ho! That sort of thing. --Tagishsimon (talk) 05:02, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

It's perfectly ordinary banter, Keria. Tagishsimon pranged his kite right in the how's yer father ... hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper's and caught his can in the Bertie. (from Monty Python's "RAF Banter") ---Sluzzelin 05:08, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, but Monty Python was making a parady of the actual language. None of the MP terms were in actual use.90.4.247.236 15:32, 8 February 2007 (UTC)petitmichel

I don't understand why the RAF need slang for Betelgeux; it's not like they fly there often! Laïka 17:39, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

• Oh there were Foo Fighters and gremlins even then.hotclaws**== 09:39, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

This is great but does anyone know of logs and transcriptions of actual conversations pilots have had flying their planes on missions? Keria 13:32, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

About salary obtained there and its savings part

I have an offer to work at Nigeria, came to know that we have spend 70% of the salary received there and can only sent 30 % of the salary as saving, is that true????

This is going to depend heavily on what you buy, what size housing and other luxries you consider nessicery -- feb^talk 07:59, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Dear Friend

U have misunderstood my question, see suppose an a resident of Australia working in Nigeria, if suppose my salay is 1000USD dollar can i sepnd the entire 1000 usd to my home country or not. that is my doubt User:125.17.25.8

We're having trouble understanding your question. Are you asking if people working in Nigeria are restricted from sending money overseas? --Dweller 11:57, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

That's how I interpret the question, yes. StuRat 12:34, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes thats excatly what am asking about, can a person working in Nigeria sent all the money he earns across to his home country (eg .India ...) Or only a percentage should be sent.

Ya perfect that is my doubt. can they send their salary to some other country (eg.India) iand if they can is there any percentage in that

I don't know anything about the banking system in Nigeria, but I would have thought that once it gets paid into your bank account, it's your money and you can do what you like with it. That's not to say that the process of transferring money to your home country would be entirely straightforward, though, especially given the prevalence of advance fee fraud in Nigeria. See wire transfer. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 13:33, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I get from his question that there is a law in Nigeria that only 30% of income can be sent out-of-country. This might be a visa requirement for "guest workers". I see no reason why such a law could not exist. Can anyone verify if it does? That is what I take his question to mean. --Justanother 14:08, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Also see Remittances. Apparently Nigeria is a big receiver of remittances but I am not really finding anything about the other. --Justanother 18:29, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Maybe that is why I get so many emails from people in Nigeria asking for my bank code so they can send me money to be transferred out of the country with a nice finders fee for me. Edison 16:03, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

• With the fraud originating from the place, I'd think twice before ever considering working there. Are you even sure the company is legit? - Mgm|^(talk) 12:42, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
  • That was my first thought. I've had several friends offered jobs in Nigeria, very legit-sounding (to them anyway - set off warning bells for me), and they all turned out to be scams. Googling the names/email addresses of the offers and even the text if it's an ad or an email can prove enlightening. Anchoress 00:37, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Brazil online store item purchase/shipping to USA

There is an item I want to order from a Brazilian online store. However, I live in the US and my bank account is US as well. The store is not set up to deal with this kind of situation, rather, it only really works for Brazilian residents. Is there any kind of service that could purchase the item for me and ship it to the US, so that I could pay them instead of the online store? Thank you! Gladstone88 11:19, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

You could have a look through Category:Wikipedians in Brazil, see if there's anyone there who shares your interests, and send them a nice email asking if they would be prepared to order it for you. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 11:31, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I would be really surprised if they would not take a VISA or MasterCard credit card. A check written against a US bank account would certainly not be acceptable - but credit cards work nearly everywhere. SteveBaker 13:40, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Funny thing. I live in Brazil and can't buy stuff from USA because I can't have an international credit card. Silly world, this is. — Kieff | Talk 23:49, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I get this in Canada all the time. :( Basically, if a company has no experience with international orders, you have no hope. --Zeizmic 21:16, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

OK so they're an online store, but they aren't set up to deal with non-Brazilians? That seems odd to me. The whole point of going online is to 'shop the world'. Do they take PayPal? Added: In the good old days, when people wanted to order something from a foreign country, they bought a money order or wired it using Western Union or some other wire transfer method. What about that? Anchoress 00:01, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Constellations

Since there are so many stars in the sky, How does one know that a star belongs to an constellation? And how do you draw the lines which connect one star to another? 124.125.216.89 11:40, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, it's really all in your head. Every star could potentially be part of a constellation. Check out this image, showing that you can draw outside the lines! − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 12:06, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Most constellations contain at least a few really bright stars. That makes them easier to find. StuRat 12:32, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

From constellation: "The International Astronomical Union (IAU) divides the sky into 88 official constellations with precise boundaries, so that every direction or place in the sky belongs within one constellation."--Shantavira 13:20, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Bubblewrap and it being soooo good

Have any studies been made on the topic of bubblewrap and therapeutical effects it might have...? 81.93.102.43 16:12, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

A Google. Note that there are a number of sites where you can pop "virtual bubblewrap". --Justanother 18:19, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Anecdotal evidence involving stress-relieving effects is in abundance, but I suspect this is mostly just pop psychology. Google scholar shows many hits but I don't easily see any which are relevant to the question. Friday (talk) 18:24, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

• Tension sheets (red painted bubble wrap) appeared on an episode of Red Dwarf.hotclaws**== 09:41, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Urine Infection

What is the best medicine to take to get rid of a urine infection?

• The one your doctor prescribes or recommends. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 15:45, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

<removed medical advice --Justanother 18:16, 8 February 2007 (UTC)>

You may find the article urinary tract infection useful, particularly the treatment section. Natgoo 20:29, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

drink lots of cranberry juice

And lots of water helps too. --Candy-Panda 05:16, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Light Bulbs

Can a light bulb burn out or be damaged by the way you flip the switch?16:09, 8 February 2007 (UTC)24.237.139.6Mint

The simple answer is no. Of course it might, depend on the integrity with which the light switch was wired. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 16:31, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Maybe I should elaborate. Suppose the light switch was set up so that when it is half way up (pointing perpendicular to the wall), the light is given normal wattage/voltage (I'm not sure which would do the damage). But suppose it is also set up so that when it is fully switched on, more than enough wattage/voltage is given, and the bulb is overloaded. Sort of related is Light switch#Internal operation but this has more to do with damaging the internals of the switch, not the bulb. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 16:46, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

If it was given more than enough voltage/wattage, then yes, it would potentially damage the ligh bulb, but why would some one wire it so that it would blow? unless by accident, electrics in england are much like plumbing in poland, shite!

That was my point. No electrician would do that, except for the sake of showing it can be done. So in normal situations, it's not going to damage the light bulb. As long as your bulb can handle the wattage/voltage given by the switch. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 17:02, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

For a conventional light bulb in a conventionally-wired house, it's simply impossible for a switch (that is, anything which could reasonably be called a "switch") to deliver "too much" voltage, let alone too much wattage.

A conventional light bulb is designed to operate at some voltage V. All the wires in a conventionally-wired house are (for our purposes) held at some voltage V. The value of V may of course be different depending on where you live, but (equally of course) the light bulbs you can buy where you live are going to match the conventional voltage in the wires where you live.

Now, a conventional light bulb can be modeled as a resistor, having some resistance R, and obeying Ohm's law. When you apply a constant voltage V to it, an amount of current flows equal to V/R. That current flowing at that voltage develops an amount of power ("wattage") equal to V×I (or, if you do a little math, V²/R). The current and the power are solely a function of the voltage and the resistance; there's nothing the switch can do to change either of these. (The switch could conceivably (a) lower the voltage or (b) limit the current flowing through it, but (c) that would only increase the life of the light bulb, not decrease it, and (d) such a device would not be called a "switch". Maybe a "dimmer".)

There is one way that a malfunctioning switch could decrease the life of a light bulb, which Justanother has given us just below. —Steve Summit (talk) 03:19, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I would think that if you "hover" at the point where the contacts in the switch are just barely making contact that you will stress the bulb much more than is needed. The most wearing thing on the filament is the rapid temperature change that goes with turning it on. --Justanother 18:23, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

You are more likely to damage the switch contacts from arcing by keeping in half on half off.--DarkFuture 18:26, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm thinking that it is so destructive that you can't get those good switches anymore, where you could 'quiver' at the arc state and make all sorts of weird sounds! Now they all have a 'mousetrap' spring that is either firmly on or off. --Zeizmic 02:55, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Doing that used to scare the crap out of me. I thought the ouse would explode or burst into flames or something. V-Man737 02:57, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I really hate it when the 'ouse' explodes. As for arcing, it was a goal even in the 1890's to have switches with a snap action so the contacts broke the arc quickly. Both the push button switches and the rotary switches in the late 19th century had this spring-loaded snap action to reduce arcing. The arcing would present a much lower than normal voltage to the bulb and would be unlikely to destroy the filament, if you contrived to manipulate a switch so that it was just making or breaking the circuit and arcing a bit. The switch contacts would be harmed by the arcing more than the bulb would be. Edison 05:34, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

That's funny. It certainly used to be a goal to have switches that, through their snap action couldn't be teased, but modern-day "quiet" switches seem ever-more susceptible to that, and I'm always amazed that more houses don't burn down as a result of switches igniting things. Recycling issues aside, I though the pinnacle of wall switch technology was the mercury switch, although modern-day dimmers are pretty good too. We'll be back at a high point when sine wave dimmers finally take over the world.

Atlant 14:21, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

LOL! I meant to type "mouse." (Or was it "grouse?") V-Man737 05:46, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

An ordinary light bulb does not follow Ohm's law. The hot resistance increases compared to the cold resistance; the hotter the filament, the higher the resistance. Lightbulbs are sometimes used as regulating elements in oscillator circuits for this reason. Inside a "quiet" light switch, the arc from slowly parting contacts could certainly cause the metal contacts to become pitted and burned, resulting in local heating (the voltage drop in the high resistance switch times the current in the circuit it controls). I have not heard of fires started by this particular situation, but in cases where aluminum wiring had oxidized back when it was used in building wiring, there were fires due to the fire initiation in the wiring insulation. In the U,S the voltage is 120, so it is less able to support an arcing fire, but there have been fires in which an extension cord burned up from the distal to the proximal end in a continuing arc which set the structure on fire. With most of the world using 240 volts, there would be far greater chance of a sustained arc. An arcing fault can thus burn down a structure, but the fault current is not sufficient to blow the 15 or 20 amp fuse or trip the circuit breaker until it is too late. Edison 16:47, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Trucking Companies

How many trucking companies are in each state, how many trucks do they run? I am also trying to find out statistics on how many jobs are available in this industry. Are there also any lists available for trucking industry journals/publications? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Try (http://www.nadras.com/) - that's the truck drivers association website. They have a forum that might be able to help you more (presumably the forum members are knowledgeable truck drivers/in the business). Also check the wikipedia articles on freight, container shipping and logistics. I have read a book about the rise of Container Shipping (The Box (book) that runs through the history of containerization and the impact it has on freight/cost of shipping/the world economy. Hope this helps ny156uk 21:20, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

The totals for the U.S. are easier to find: 677,249 active interstate truck and bus companies with between 2.9 and 10.4 million drivers and 7.9 million large trucks which travelled 216 million miles a year[17] Rmhermen 02:31, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Whats the best website 4 free stuff?

I'm a cheapo and I like getting free stuff but I've had a hard time finding websites that give no strings attached freebies. Are there any freebie websites that are frequently updated and feature free items being mailed to your home without shipping and handling, or filling out polls or any other strings? Are there any frequently updated freebie websiotes? Any freebie sites that feature real items physically mailed to your home and not just online free stuff? --Howcomeido 20:10, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I dont think such a thing exists. --ChesterMarcol 20:50, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

YES IT EXISTS. http://www.fatwallet.com/c/22 128.54.78.123 21:05, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Can I make a plea please; fatwallet is fine, but only if you live in the States, so can that qualification be noted on any referral in future, it helps us Brits not to waste time looking!--88.109.196.151 21:18, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Try www.craigslist.com. International, each version i've seen has a "free" section, which is fairly active. -- feb^talk 21:28, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Also check out The Freecycle Network.--Shantavira 08:03, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

can't find info anywhere!!!!

please help i have looked all over for this information for a school project and cant seem to find the right stuff

what goods does sudan import and export?

i think it would help ALOT if you added this to your site about all countries because it is frequently required for projects and is VERY hard to find

thank you

Check out the CIA Factbook on Sudan. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 22:58, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Economy of Sudan-- feb^talk 23:05, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

February 9

Why do colors cause changes in mood?

Hi all. At least for me, different colors cause different changes in mood. When I was little, I used to prefer playing with blue-backed playing cards instead of red ones, because the red ones made me more tense. I intensely hate yellow-colored walls, because they make me feel like the house is fake or something. I could cite other examples as well, but they aren't coming to mind right now. Is this a cultural thing, or a biological thing, or what? Whatever it is, what causes it and is it related to appreciation of art? All help appreciated ! Xhin Give Back Our Membership! 00:28, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Don't know the answers myself. But Wikipedia does have an article on colour psychology. Search for colour psychology on your favourite search engine and you'll find plenty of stuff. Hope that helps. - Akamad 01:29, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

This is an interesting subject. I don't know which book it was (probably one of my bathroom readers), but there has been a lot of talk on the effect different colors have on people. Like, putting prisoners in pink cells can calm them initially, but then make them get angrier after a certain amount of time, and such. I forget all the different colors and explanations and theories and such, but room color can influence mood beyond an athestetic point. -- feb^talk 01:33, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Atheistic? V-Man737 01:44, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

aesthetic, sorry. was in a rush -- feb^talk 01:56, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I was being facetious. ;-) V-Man737 02:32, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I was being literal. I do that when i'm in a rush-- feb^talk 04:02, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

There was a very interesting study done in the UK about color and how it relates to our instincts. The test asked how people felt about certain colors on certain items, such as a white towel stained yellow, and then a white towel stained blue. The former would give a more uneasy emotion, and the explaination was that yellow is a sign of infection etc, so the towel looks unhealthy, while that shade of blue wasn't a naturally occurring color, so you don't get much of a reaction from it. But it might ont have 100% to do with mood, but it is something to do with color and emotion. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:59, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd say the yellow one would remind me of urine (rather than infection). Sick! V-Man737 02:32, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Coming from two slightly different angles: I'd also recommend reading the articles on visible spectrum, color vision, and color theory, and familiarizing yourself with some of the concepts. It will give you more background when reading psychological literature on color perception. I also wanted to mention the psychotherapist Max Lüscher who developed a test to "measure" an individual's psychophysical state according to current color preferences. If you're interested in taking the test, two sites link from the article on Lüscher color test. The second one looks more serious, but you have to register. The first one doesn't look serious, but I took it. My result: Relatively inactive and in a static condition, while conflict of one sort or another prevents peace of mind. Unable to achieve relationships of the desired degree of mutual affection and understanding. ---Sluzzelin 04:12, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

(Cough cough) cool! V-Man737 04:39, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm always bemused at the TV ads for tampons which use blue liquid to demonstrate their holding ability. Everyone knows the real liquid is red, but somehow that would make people squirm in their seats. Red = blood = body temperature = hot, but Blue = cool (in more ways than one). JackofOz 04:54, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

• Because no-one wants to see the real thing on tv (or something resembling the real thing), because that would make them squirm. --Candy-Panda 05:31, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Exactly. A perfect illustration of the phenomenon. Even though we know the stuff is red in real life, looking at a blue-coloured representation of it doesn't have the same mood-altering effect. JackofOz 01:01, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Bet

What do you call the things or actions that are inacted as a result of you winning a bet? --The Dark Side 01:51, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

1. Do you mean "enacted"? 2. What exactly is your question about? 惑乱 分からん 02:24, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps the gambling wager? V-Man737 02:39, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Do you mean, "If I win, you have to put on a dress and sing Wind Beneath My Wings on Main Street at noon"? Payoff maybe? Clarityfiend 03:10, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

The stakes. Black Carrot 03:15, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

• Oh Lordy,I've just had to humiliate myself on my blog because the Bears lost the Superbowl.hotclaws**== 09:46, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

• Well, as for post-Super-Bowl humiliation, see this case! --Anonymous, February 29-17, er I mean February 9, 2007, 23:45 (UTC).

the OP might mean a 'forfeit' spiggy 12:59, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Ah hotclaws so it must have been you giving the rendering of Wind Beneath My Wings at noon in the aforementioned dress :) Lemon martini 14:32, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Let me clarify. Let's say I make a bet $5 with a friend. I win that bet. What do you call the $5 I win? Winnings? --The Dark Side 01:12, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

What would I call it? "Not enough", but "winnings" is fine. Clarityfiend 07:03, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

can you please help

hi you dont know me my name is rebecca my boyfriend steve gerald is supposed to leave on your evening flight tommorrow he was told he needed another 500.00 i have sent everything i have to get him on the plane do you please have a less expensive flight for him to take i have not seen him for a year i really need him to be here can you please please help with a less expensive flight thank you rebecca my email is (Killing spambots as inhumanely as I can think of) please can you help

Hi Rebecca. I think you've misunderstood something. You have posted your question on Wikipedia, which is an encyclopedia. This is possibly because you have mistaken our article on an airline for the webpage of that airline. I would recommend you contact the airline in question, which we can help you with if you tell us what airline it is. Skittle 14:13, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Government of Romania site ,,,can we use their photos of J.K. Rowling

As you know, Wikipedia does not have a public domain photo of J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books. However, there are some photos of her on the Government of Romania site in their photo archives section. (one shot is great). I cannot find any copyright information on the Government of Romania site, i.e. www.gov. ro (english translation site www.gov.ro/engleza). Unfortuneately, the photo section is written in Romanian. Can someone find out if we can use their photos. I suppose one could contact the webmaster or their press department for this information. Anyway, can you find out what the Government of Romania policy is about their photos, especially the ones of J.K.Rowling? Thanks, danwex

It still probably wouldn't be public domain. We don't have fair use pictures though? -- feb^talk 04:04, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Hrm. :-S V-Man737 04:08, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Cost of living

What is the cost of living in Nigeria?? how much is a rented house there and what are the eating habits followed there. How about the climate and what best suits there interms of clothing

That very last little bit didn't process well in my brain. My guess is that you are asking "what best suits there in terms of clothing?" i.e., "what do people commonly wear?" At any rate, I think it's a little ironic that the cost of dying in some places is more than the cost of living... V-Man737 05:22, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

You mean to say it is such a dangerous place to live in Please can u also throw some light on the security issues. And how safe is Victoria Islands.

Take a look at this site, which specifically mentions Victoria Island, for info on safety issues in Nigeria. Although this isn't mentioned in the warning, I have heard that traveling between Lagos's airport and the city is dangerous because of the risk of carjacking and robbery along the road between them. According to this site, a 3-bedroom flat can be bought for 2.5 million naira, or $20,000. According to this site, rental yields on Victoria Island are around 4%. This would work out to $800 a year, or about $67 a month. Mind you, apartments advertised on websites are likely to be more expensive than you can find by asking around, so you can probably find a lower rent. There are a number of sources, such as this one that provide "cost-of-living" indexes for cities, including Lagos. However, what these indexes measure is the cost of living a middle-class or upper-class American lifestyle in each city. For examples, some indexes include the cost of expensive liquors, fresh fruit from Europe or North America, and domestic service. If you need to live the lifestyle of a wealthy American or European in Lagos, it will be 30% to 40% more expensive than it would be in Washington, DC. However, if you are willing to live more like a Nigerian, that is, if you eat local foods and walk, bicycle, or take local buses to get around, you can live much more cheaply than you would in the United States or Europe. Prices will probably be a bit higher than in India, because Nigeria's economy relies more heavily on imports and there are added costs for security, corruption (bribery), and pilferage. But because of low wages, prices will still be lower than anywhere in Europe or North America. Marco polo 15:53, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I just realized that you also asked about food and clothing. To start with clothing, the climate in Lagos is hot and humid year round. So you will want very light clothes. However, in most African countries, probably including Nigeria, short trousers (shorts) are not considered proper city attire, and people of both sexes are probably expected to dress modestly. Also, in most African countries, there is a taste for style and color. As for food, take a look at Cuisine of Africa. Staple foods are vegetarian but low in protein, so that it is hard to keep a strictly vegetarian diet and remain healthy. Fish will probably be plentiful in Lagos, so if you add fish to the staple starches and vegetables, you will have a healthy diet. Cattle tend not to be able to survive in the region due to the tsetse fly, so beef and dairy products are not common and expensive if you can find them. On the other hand, I believe that chicken is common. Marco polo 18:01, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

what is the percentage?

Out of all the edits in Wikipedia (not just the English version), what is the percentage of edits being vandalisn, NPOV violations, or other policy violations. Thank you very much!--PrestonH | talk | contribs | editor review | 05:27, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

This would be very hard to find, especially since some innocent posts might seem like vandalism, and vice versa. I do remember seeing somewhere on the site a study had found that most vandalism on the english wikipedia is reverted within 5 minutes. -- feb^talk 05:42, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

In my own watchlist, the clear majority of edits are pure deliberate vandalism, and most of that is from IP addresses, so threats of a temporary ban are pretty ineffective. Edison 16:28, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know overall figures - but I can tell you that from studies I've done, it varies immensely depending on the nature of the page. If you pick a really obscure subject - a Japanese railway station or a 14th century pope or...whatever...then the odds are very high that it's never been vandalised and possibly never will be. If you pick topics that a typical teenager might type into a computer while bored at school ("Car", "Computer", "School", etc) then you'll see that for those pages, around 80% of edits are either vandalism or reverts of vandalism. If you pick an article about a US presidential candidate close to an election - then between the generally bad edits, the edit wars, the spam and the vandalism, you'll have to scroll through hundreds and hundreds of edits to find one that actually advanced the article in any useful manner probably 99.9% of edits are junk. However, since there are vastly more articles about Japanese railway stations, 14th century popes and such - the actual percentage of vandalism overall is probably fairly small. It's hard to know for sure. SteveBaker 18:08, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Barack Obama's beliefs

is Barack Obama a muslim?

216.175.117.154 06:50, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

No. He attends Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. See Barack Obama#Early life and career. Rockpocket 07:00, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Why would it matter? He wants to become president, not pope... Aetherfukz 13:43, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, it matters to quite a few people. The U.S. has only had one Catholic president. And not being a thieist is paramount to being thought a Nazi when it comes to running for pres. If the general public thought he was/is a muslim, the prejudice could ruin his chances for a presidential run since we Americans don't actually check our facts, we just trust what we hear... Dismas|^(talk) 15:43, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

It probably doesn't help that even the mainstream press has gotten mixed up on the apparent phonetic similarity between Obama and Osama. --24.147.86.187 20:20, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Snopes has covered this myth in great detail at http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp. Although he attended an Islamic school at one point, he is a Christian. Sadly the entire thing seems to be a smear campaign targeted at the sort of person who doesn't know the difference between "Muslim" and "terrorist". Laïka 14:53, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

It's not an "Islamic school". It is a secular public school in Indonesia.

Building a wiki service

Hi, I am trying to create a community the same as Wikipedia except that it is not for an encyclopedia. Any companies can enter the site for free and find out information about products and services that can save them money so I am trying to create a community to develop the knowledge. Any help and steps on how you started would be very appreciated. Thank you

Added title for question. --Tagishsimon (talk)

I think the short answer would be get a wiki and somewhere to host it, and start building. You might also like to check out wikia, which is some sort of commercial wiki startup and which might be a venue for whatever you're planning. --Tagishsimon (talk)

You really need to install the 'MediaWiki' software [18] on your web server - it requires the 'MySQL' [19] and 'PHP' packages [20] to be installed and hooked up to whatever web server you are using for your web site. All of the software is free/OpenSource. How hard this is depends a lot on your skills and on the nature of the computer you are hosting your web site on. I have my own Linux-based server running on an old PC in my garage [21] - and installing MediaWiki and getting a Wiki up and running on it took about 20 minutes of dinking around. On the other hand, the car club I belong to uses the 'Dreamhosts' web hosting service (which costs about $100 per year)[22] - to set up a Wiki for them took about one mouse-click on their server [23]!! But on the other hand, if your web site is hosted on a much more restrictive web hosting company then setting it up might be very, very hard indeed. The bottom line is "it depends". SteveBaker 23:52, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Piece of personal advice: use PostgreSQL rather than MySQL. If you ever get to the point where scaling becomes an issue, you'll thank yourself. I'm fairly sure MediaWiki supports PostgreSQL out of the box. -- mattb @ 2007-02-12T00:11Z

Interesting...tell me more! Both of the Wiki's that I run are microscopic - and likely to remain so - but I'd be interested to hear why PostgreSQL scales better. SteveBaker 05:56, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

web page

hello?i wanted to create my own web page and wanted help..what do i need.is it free can someone walk me thru it?

Take a look at this Wikihow category. BenC7 11:50, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Video recording

Is there anyone out there who can explain in plain english how to program digital TV channels into a VCR. Both products are Philips but I don't find the manufacturers handbooks particularly helpful. There are sufficient scart sockets fitted to enable recording to take place. Thank You Norman Martin UK

• So far I found manuals to be quite helpful when trying this myself. Can you tell us the model number of the VCR and what exactly you don't understand in the manual? - Mgm|^(talk) 12:34, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Wikihow may strike again. You decide. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Usually to get digital channels you will need a settop box. That box will be connected via SCART to your television. To record digital channels therefore you will have to connect the box to the VCR and from the VCR to your tv. Then you should be able to record whatever channel comes from the box via the VCRs AV channel. Aetherfukz 13:45, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Indeed. And in my experience, since the only digital channel the VCR can see is the one coming out of the set-top box, you can only record a programme if you have set the box to that channel. So you can watch terrestrial while recording digital, or watch digital while recording terrestrial, but you can't record one digital channel while watching another. You basically set one channel on the VCR to show whatever the set-top box is set to, and change the set-top box channel to change the channel shown. If you want to be able to handle digital channels more like you're used to doing with terrestrial, you need something like Tivo or Sky plus, I think. Skittle 14:03, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Metal Band

There is a metal band recently fetured on a BBC television show Death Metal Murders. They have a catholic monk as thier vocalist. Can anyone please tell me the name of the band. Thank you

I remember watching the programme but can't remember all the bands featured. Was it one of the main bands in the story of the murders, or one of the bands the programme just referred to in passing? There is a summary of the show here, however, which might be a starting point. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 15:02, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

The band was not too important to the show unlike Slayer and Deicide. They interviewed the monk for a short moment. Some where near the end of the show. Thanks

creating a page

I can't find the create page button to save my life. Exactly what is the exact link to it? I have an account and I can't find that button anywhere.

The easiest way to create a page is to type the page title you want into the search box and click Go. A screen will come up including a 'create this page' link. Click that link and you're away. Make sure the page you want to create isn't already here somewhere first. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 15:15, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Note also that you have to have had a user account for (I believe) several days before you can create new pages. SteveBaker 18:01, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I thought that was to move a page, not create it. Dismas|^(talk) 18:13, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

It's for both. 4 days. Skittle 20:08, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

No. You can create new pages right away, as soon as you create an account. Looking at Special:newpages right now, I see that User:Jimbeeer registered at 10:02 UTC then, 17 minutes later, created a page about a Monty Python song (the account needs to be 4 days old to move pages or edit semi-protected pages, however). Dave6 ^talk 10:35, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

• We have a lot of articles already. Make sure you search by alternative titles before you decide to create anything. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:05, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

vandalism

I apologize for posting this here, but I couldn't find where else to place it.

The page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_person has some vandalism, with some bad words, just after the part: "The personal pronouns I and we are said to be in the first person. The speaker uses this in the singular to refer to himself or herself; in the plural, to speak of a group of people including the speaker." (three bad words follow)

When I went to the Edit page, the words were not there to edit out, but they can be seen on the article. I hope someone else can fix this.

Many thanks.

-Tray 159.105.2.118 15:19, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

The vandalism has been removed. The reason why you are still seeing the vandalism in the page but not on the edit screen is because your browser is using a cached copy of the page from when it still had the vandalism on it. Clear your cache and it should appear just fine. Dismas|^(talk) 16:00, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

To clear the cache, press ctrl-F5 on most browsers. This forces the browser to download a new copy of the page from the server, rather than look at the old version it has stored in memory. Daniel (‽) 14:18, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

4′33″

How long will it take if I play 4′33″ in largo or allegro? -- Toytoy 15:47, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

According to the article you linked above: "The length of 4′33″ is in fact not designated by its score". So if the score is irrelevent to the length of the piece, that means that the tempo at which you play the score is also irrelevent, and the piece will always be the same length (in this case, 4'33", though any other length is also acceptable if the song name is changed accordingly). --Maelwys 16:15, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

I love the irony! Thank you, Toytoy. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 02:53, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

"Play it again, Sam. But this time in prestissimo. I want to enjoy a little more of this music." -- Toytoy 22:04, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Height of a 14 year old

My son is only 14 and he's as tall as I am, 180cm (5'11"). Is this behaviour unusual? Should I take him to see a psychiatrist?

Height depends on a number of factors. As a psychiatrist diagnoses mental disorders, there would be no reason to take him to one. We don't give medical advice here, but from my own experience, I've seen plenty of kids that are 14 and 15 that are even six feet tall. --Wooty Woot? contribs 18:51, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Height is not behavior; it's not as if the kid is growing just to spite you. Clarityfiend 19:12, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Uh, that's perfectly normal. When I was 14, I was nearly as tall as my mother, i'm 16 now and i'm taller than both my parents. Why in the world would you take him to a psychiatrist? -- feb^talk 19:22, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

taking him to a psychiatrist if he's growing tall does nothing. psychiatry is for the mind.

You may be interested in excessive tallness in childhood. Generally, taller children are simply genetically predisposed that way, especially if their parents or grandparents were tall, and may have possibly undergone "precocious puberty", which means they would have recieved slightly more hormones than normal, or "hypogonadism", which means they would have recieved slightly less hormones than normal. Both of these conditions are generally completely harmless. It probably wouldn't hurt to call NHS Direct (or your local equivalent) if you are seriously concerned, but as previous questioners say, being 6 feet at 14 is fairly common. Laïka 23:10, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

That was a totally irresponsible reply - and a shining example of why the help desk is not allowed to offer medical advice. SteveBaker 17:13, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Don't scare the OP! --froth^T 07:41, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd consider him lucky. It's better for a boy to be 5'11" at 14 than 4'9" like some kids I know. School is easier when you don't look like a little kid. Both heights I mentioned are pretty common though... I'm 14 myself so I know. --Candy-Panda 05:42, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

OK - first of all, let's consult the CDC's growth charts for boys in the USA: here. Look along the bottom of the graph for his age - then At 14 years old and 5'11" (which is 71 inches) tall puts your son on about the 95th percentile. What that means is that he is taller than 95% of the other boys of his age - and shorter than 5% of them. This is in no way abnormal. But boys at that age are going through a 'growth spurt' anyway - if he's really 14 years and six months old - then he's only in the 90th percentile - and 10% of boys of his age will be taller than him. So, yeah - he's tall - but in no way unnaturally tall. If there are 100 boys of his age in school - on average, five of maybe ten of them will be taller than him. Please don't panic. If you need confirmation, go to your regular doctor - not a psychiatrist. Doctors keep copies of those CDC graphs. SteveBaker 16:34, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

My little brother is 16, and is taller than almost everyone else in his family. He is taller than either of his parents, taller than our sister (26), and taller than my father. Only I and his other big brother (32) are taller. So I do not think the OP's situation is unusual. JIP | Talk 19:55, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

It's well known that each generation of humans since the middle ages have been a little taller than their parents. Improved health care, better diets and (perhaps) evolutionary pressure is making people taller. It's a solid statistical phenomenon that tall people tend to earn more money than shorter people - so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that evolution is driving this - but improved neonatal and childhood nutrition probably has the biggest effect. SteveBaker 01:37, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Shrinking projection image

Is there any way to shrink a projector's projection, beyond it's natural zoom range. The un-zoomed, default size of a projector we have at a community art group is way too big for the screen, even the whole wall. Is there some sort of lense that shrinks projected images? -- Zanimum 19:18, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Couldn't you move the projector closer to the wall:?HS7

Sadly we have to have it two feet away from any student because of health and safety issues, and room arrangement, and a short cord to connect to the computer. -- Zanimum 22:30, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I believe a simple magnifying glass lens would do the trick. u will need to find one bigger than the front lens of your projector and put it infront of the projector. experiment with distance till the image on the screen is in focus. it would be hard to try to hold or mount it in place. thers probably something u can buy that does exactly this task. does the projector have a screw-on thread for lens accessories?

Any 'tacked-on' arrangement would probably lose too much light. If it is an old projector, I would suggest being creative and finding a used or 'junk' lens. --Zeizmic 21:01, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

It's a 2003 projector, brand new out of the box, since we hadn't set it up. until now. What sort of lens would do the trick? An "un-zoom" lens? -- Zanimum 22:30, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

To the contrary, a supplemental lens should not "lose" any appreciable amont of light, as long as it is as large as the projector lens. Camera shops sell close-up lenses in 1/2 diopter increment sets, or Edmund Scientific [24] might have the correct lens. You might not need all the diopters of a normal magnifying glass. You could also check on EBAY for lenses. What is the lens diameter? What is its focal length range for the zoom feature? What size screen do you want it to fill at what distance? See Lens (optics). Edison 04:39, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

So they'd all be called "diopter", would they? I can try and get the rest of the info on Monday, when I have access to it. We've got it on the minimum zoom. It's 24 or so feet from screen to projector, and the screen's about 6 foot wide.

We have it set to the "Native" setting, which already shrinks the projection about half the original size. Still, only 1/16 of what's on our computer shows up on the screen, meaning low resolutions of the images. -- Zanimum 22:30, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

On further consideration, you might want a negative diopter(concave) lens to make the image smaller. I take it you cannot simply move the projector closer to the screen to make the image smaller, and the range of the zoom lens does not make the image small enough. The term for slide projectors would be a "long throw" lens, which would have a larger focal length. Again. such lenses are available from sources such as Edmunds. Edison 06:32, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Just coming in late to clarify two points for the record:

• diopter is a measurement of the strength of the lens, not a name.
• To make a diverging beam diverge less rapidly, you need a convex lens (positive diopters). In this case a fairly weak one, I would think.

--Anonymous, February 15, 02:02 (UTC).

Why can't you just move it closer to the screen? That's the usual trick. SteveBaker 23:42, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

List of rewards...?

Where can I find on this site a list of different things for which a reward is paid? 71.100.10.48 21:27, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Probably nowhere, because Wikipedia is not a collection of indiscriminate information. There are a potentially infinite set of circumstances. Consider a bunch of space aliens paying another one for blowing up a star, or some other hypothetical scenario. Are you looking for the terminology of "reward" as in a police reward? I can think of many, from capturing or identifying a fugitive to returning a lost cat... Some context here would be nice. --Wooty Woot? contribs 21:53, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Some community websites have organized reward systems to motivate participation in various improvement crusades. Everything2 used to do this, for example. I don't remember hearing about any such thing for Wikipedia, other than Danny's challenge. —Steve Summit (talk) 01:09, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Check out Wikipedia:Reward board. Many of these rewards are "tit for tat" or "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours", but some actually offer cash! − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 02:50, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

February 10

Encyclopedia

What is a 2007/2008 print encyclopedia? What is a 2007/2008 CD-ROM encyclopedia? 68.193.147.179 00:32, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

The first would be a printed encyclopedia that was published for the years of 2007/2008 and the second would be the same except that instead of being in print, it would be on CD-ROM. Dismas|^(talk) 04:14, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I think he's looking for specific examples --froth^T 07:50, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Unless you have a time machine, you aren't going to find any genuine 2008 encyclopedias for a couple of years yet! Even 2007 seems unlikely since we are only a small fraction of the way through the year. Print encyclopedias like Britannica typically produce new encyclopedias only every few years and fill in the gaps with 'year books' that summarise the changes and add historical data for that year. But I doubt you'd see the 2007 year book until sometime in the middle of 2008. CD-ROM encyclopedias can update more frequently since they don't have to be typset - but even so, you aren't going to see any 2008 data until sometime late in 2009.

I guess it would help to know the context of your question. SteveBaker 16:14, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Do you know a example of the lastest encylopedia [cd rom and print]

Check out our article: List_of_encyclopedias. It would be remiss of me not to recommend 2006 Wikipedia CD Selection - which is the best of Wikipedia crammed onto a CD that you can download for free - or purchase (with a good slice of the money going to charity). The 2007 CD-ROM version of Wikipedia is under construction right now - but as far as I can tell, no definite release date has been announced. SteveBaker 16:41, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

College basketball shooting decline?

66.167.231.155 03:24, 10 February 2007 (UTC)I was just looking at the NCAA media guide for basketball, and was looking at the statistics section. Looking at Florida's shooting percentage this year, they lead the NCAA at 54%. That's the highest total in the NCAA since 1989 when Michigan shot 56.6& for the season. Not to mention, the last time an NCAA leader in field goal percentage shot less than Florida did was in 1976, when Maryland shot 53.7% from the field.

In other words it has been 17 years since a team had a higher shooting percentage than Florida this year. Yet the previous 13 years, every leader in field goal percentage had a higher shooting percentage than Florida. What has caused this drop-off in field goal percentage in the NCAA?

Probably the adoption of the 3 point shot in 1986, the shot clock in 1985 (with the time reduced in 1993), and a change in philosophies to games involving more aggressive defense are the biggest factors. Some might also claim that players today don't learn the fundamentals of mid-range shooting (hook-shots, set shots, etc) in favor of a style that prizes layups, dunks, and 3 point shots. Mishatx *разговор* 06:17, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Solar Panels

Is it possible to paint over solar panels and they still function properly? Also, what type of air is in compressed air cleaner cans?

If it's opaque paint, no. As for the air, nasty fluorocarbons (see Canned air). --froth^T 07:49, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Even if it's transparent paint - no. Solar panels take light from the sun in wavelengths outside of the visible spectrum (eg InfraRed and UltraViolet) - and whilst some kind of 'clear varnish' might look transparent in visible light, it might absorb or reflect away light in other wavelengths and completely cripple the ability of your panels to do their job. Just leave them alone! SteveBaker 16:08, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Silicon based PV cells have peak efficiency for photons with energy just a bit over 1.12 eV, which corresponds to a wavelength around 1100 nm (infrared). The efficiency trails off rapidly for shorter wavelenghs (higher energy) because the absorption coefficient rapidly increases for higher energy photons and because most of the energy in these photons in excess of ~1.12 eV is released into the PV cell as phonons (heat) rather than current-carrying electron-hole pairs... So your typical crystalline or multicrystalline Si cell actually does a very poor job of converting UV light into electrical energy. In other words, just as Steve said, don't coat PV cells with anything unless you're quite sure of the coating's optical properties (not to mention any potential chemical reaction with whatever you're coating). -- mattb @ 2007-02-10T17:58Z

I can see no benefit for painting over solar panels. Why would you want to do that?Edison 06:26, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Language translator that stays in our alphabet

I'm trying to get a translation for certain English phrases into Russian, but every online translator I find gives me the Russian version of the word of phrase in Cyrillic. Which is no good to me since I can't read it. Where can I find a translator that will translate the phrases, but keep them in our alphabet? (That's odd, I know the name of the Russian alphabet but not our own.) 58.7.196.1 11:56, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh - and I'd rather not use the Languages reference desk because I have a number of phrases to translate, which keep popping up, and it's all for rather frivolous reasons, so I'd rather not clutter the place up. 58.7.196.1 11:58, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

"Our" alphabet is called the "Latin alphabet" or "Roman alphabet". By checking out the article on transliteration, I found the link to an Automatic Cyrillic Converter. What you can do is copying your received translations to the converter as an extra step, please note though that automatic translation is notoriously unreliable for any higher aspirations than a rough gist of the subject. 惑乱 分からん 12:08, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

See Uncyclopedia's Babel fish article. V-Man737 05:35, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Be aware, of course, that transliteration will not necessarily tell you how to pronounce something. Russian pronunciation is a real pain in the ass, because the stress can shift all over the place in ways which are totally uninituitive to an English speaker, and will result in completely different sounding words. For example, Ivan is pronounced to a Russian as EE-vahn, whereas almost all English speakers would assume it to be I-van. Sputnik reads "Sput-nik" to an English speaker, but "Spoot-nik" to a Russian, etc. --140.247.242.75 18:15, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Free E-Mail Penpals

Are there any websites that offer free opportunities to make contact with an online penpal by email? --Waxout 15:34, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Just go to Google and type in 'email penpals' - and you'll see dozens and dozens of sites offering that kind of thing. But I would advise you to avoid that kind of approach. There are just too many scams, viruses, weirdos and predators out on the Internet to trust sites such as that. The best way to find friends on the Internet is to subscribe to mailing lists or forums based around subjects that interest you. Actually, Wikipedia isn't a bad place to find interesting people to talk to either. If you contribute to articles that interest you - you'll find other people working on the same kinds of things. In many cases those people provide their email addresses on their Talk: pages precisely so you can start up conversations outside of the Wikipedia community. But look for people with similar interests - watch topics of interest for a while and you'll pretty soon come to find people who have similar likes and dislikes. SteveBaker 16:03, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

• Start a blog,there are opportunities to E-mail or IM each other in various ways through the sites.There is usually a pretty reasonable security system on them.I've got several friends now that I communicate with on a penpal-like level I met through blogging.hotclaws**== 09:40, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Depersonalization/ Derealization

What causes Depersonalization/ Derealization and what is the souloution?

Science is still unsure of the exact cause or causes of depersonalization and derealization (which redirects to depersonalization). It may be that there are several causes, and the article briefly mentions likely ones. V-Man737 05:39, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

TAX FREEDOM ACT 1998

When purchasing clothing from a stores internet site I was charged tax. My state does not charge tax on clothing. When I asked the company their answer was "the tax freedon act of 1998 allows to tax in any state that they have stores. Thank you72.79.82.49 18:30, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure if there is a question in here, but there is no benefit to the firm charging you tax if they don't have to (after all the sales tax goes to government not the business). Someone may be able to clear up the law more. ny156uk 00:43, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

• As I understand it, the store has to charge the tax of the state in which it's based.If you went to another state that charges tax you would have to pay,even if you don't live there but are just passing through.hotclaws**== 09:45, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Flight prices

Using a site such as Expedia to find a one-way flight from London to Tokyo on, say, March 1st 2007 brings up a flight from London to Frankfurt and then from Frankfurt to Tokyo via Lufthansa flight 710, for a reasonable price of £360. However, the exact same Flight 710 from Frankfurt to Tokyo, on its own, costs a slightly larger £2,374. How does that work? Sum0 20:21, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Talk about packaging bonuses! feb^talk 20:27, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

It has a lot to do with supply and demand; think of it as a road trip where everyone wants to go to a certain place. If you only want to go to a certain place, you would probably end up going there by yourself and paying for all the expenses. If you are willing to take a couple stops to let others in your group see what they want, you'll be able to split the cost with them. I'm not sure if that explains it fully, but it's kind of how I see it. V-Man737 05:44, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I just realised something I didn't make very clear: it's not the same flight that takes off from London, stops at Frankfurt and continues to Tokyo: it's a separate flight to Frankfurt and then another, basically unrelated, separate flight to Tokyo. I don't know if this makes any difference (or if you realised that anyway)! Sum0 13:35, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

A 'pure' non-stop always sells at a premium. --Zeizmic 16:08, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

definition needed

How do you define 1. Primary employment 2. Secondary employment 3. Tertiary employmnet 86.137.195.192 23:41, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Is this what you're looking for? Dave6 ^talk 02:52, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

February 11

western movie

i remember watching this western movie that was about this shootout contest and the winner would get a lot of money. The main character was this woman that was really good with a gun. she met billy the kid who was later killed by his father. she is later thought to have been killed but later comes back to kill the mayor( i think he was the mayor). thank you so much to whoever can remember this one.

That sounds like the not-so-good The Quick and the Dead. Clarityfiend 04:21, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

thanx alot i was just wondering

Beretta Military Shoulder Weapon WW 1 or WW II

Moved from help desk by [|.K.Z|][|.Z.K|] 04:25, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I have a Beretta Shoulder weapon that I need information about. Mosch-Aut P-Beretta: Cal. 8 Mod 38A This weapon has two triggers and an air cooling jacket around the barrel. It has a Stock No. 7066. I'd sure appreciate knowing about this weapon.64.136.208.166 23:08, 10 February 2007 (UTC) email removed for your protection

Is it this: Beretta Model 38/42? Rmhermen 05:54, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Single item diets

Basically what the title says- i'm not asking for medical advice, just any single food/drink diets with any real practice. That is, people sustaining themselves for years off a single (arguably healthy) food item- not people fasting on bread to lose weight or such. So far i've only seen someone claim to live for over 5 years on whey drinks, curious as to any other similar things where the person has remained in reasonable health. And yes, I realize this is slightly quackish -- feb^talk 07:47, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Without directly answering your question, I must say it'd take one heck of a food item to healthfully sustain a human being for a long period of time; it would have to provide all the necessary vitamins and nutrition in order to keep one from suffering diseases that come from a lack of specific things. V-Man737 08:34, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

The sort of people who do this are most likely having a daily multivitamin anyway, but yeah feb^talk

That must be it, then! Eat multivitamins! *crunch, crunch* V-Man737 09:14, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Soylent Green? Psssttt... It's PEOPLE. Anchoress 08:51, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

That's not due out for like 15 years. -- feb^talk 08:54, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it would have to be meat. I'm sure there are, or were, communities that have little available to subsist on other than just fish, or just seals, or perhaps just yaks. Yuk.--Shantavira 09:52, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm talking about in modern times. With documentation, facts, at least a blog or something would be nice -- feb^talk 09:53, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I seem to recall reading somewhere that a person could survive on coconut water and the occasional fish. May be apocryphal, though. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 16:02, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm sure that their diets are not totally single item - but you could consider nomadic people of asia - who live entirly on their cattle or yaks or whatever - yaks blood, yaks milk, yak meat etc. I'd guess that it's possible to do this, though obviously they will eat other things if offered...87.102.9.15 12:03, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

• Single item diets simply aren't healthy. You need to consume a variety of different foodstuffs to stay in good shape. For example, it's perfectly okay for vegeterians to not eat meat as long as they find another source of proteins to replace its deficiency from not eating meat. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:58, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Didn't most of Ireland subsist on a potato diet until the Irish Potato Famine? I remember glancing at a contemporary description of the typical cottier's daily food intake, and it was pretty much nothing but potatoes with a small ration of milk or fish protein. And a number of North American hunting societies live (or have traditionally lived) on meat alone during the winter season, especially in the northern latitudes. Hugh Brody's book Maps and Dreams details how the Dunneza do that, but that may not technically be an answer to your question because they're hunting a variety of animals, not just one. Lowerarchy 17:11, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Power Capacitor

Complete ins and outs of Power Capacitors. how to calculate its KVAR, Voltage and Current. Its connection techniques and its types etcImranjalal 09:48, 11 February 2007 (UTC)muhammad imran jalal

Welcome to Wikipedia. You can easily look up this topic yourself. Please see capacitor. For future questions, try using the search box at the top left of the screen. It's much quicker, and you will probably find a clearer answer. If you still don't understand, add a further question below by clicking the "edit" button to the right of your question title. --Shantavira 09:54, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Real Estate-UK

What does the phrase "onward chain" mean when applied to real estate?

Usually a 'chain' in the housing market means that the person you are buying the house from (or selling the house to) is dependent on selling their home to be able to buy yours/buying a new home to be able to sell you theirs. As a result chains can be many houses deep and any breaking of the chain can put the other sales in jeapoardy. An onward chain i would assume is the people in the chain ahead of you (so for example whoever you are buying a house from may be reliant on the people who are selling them a house, who in-turn could be dependent on someone else selling their house and so on. If the person at the top of the chain drops out it could cascade down...the family you are buying from have their new-house sale fall-through and so cannot accept your offer which means you may not be able to sell the house you are selling to the family buying from you, and so on...see chain (in selling a house). ny156uk 15:41, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Whilst the above response is true of England and Wales and as far as I know, Northern Ireland, it is not so simple in Scotland where I live. Here, we have a different interpretation of Conveyancing Law in that an Offer Made and Accepted is not subjective (on other properties in the Chain being "closed" first); it is contractually binding on both parties. Hence, we do not suffer the English Curse known as Gazumping, in which an Offer is verbally accepted, and then revoked in favour of a higher offer, without recompense to the original Offeror, notwithstanding his/her monetary outlays on Survey, Legal and Other Fees. We do however have the Scottish Curse known as Blind Bidding, in which properties are advertised at "Offers Over", a given price, with the result that prospective buyers do not know what the competition might offer and therefore tend to bid up. However, Building Societies will not put up ridiculous sums of money just so that the bidder can secure the property; instead, each bidder must instruct and pay for a valuation survey which does not protect the bidder, but instead protects the lender from overloaning. The result is, no Gazumping, but many multiple surveys being carried out on the same property, usually by the same surveyor, especially in smaller towns where a single qualified surveyor may practise. So, in summary, in Scotland, we don't suffer the misery of Gazumping, but we often see many of our "blind bids" rejected in favour of higher ones, sometimes for such spurious reasons as the house being close to say a Doctor's surgery or a Bus Stop - nothing in fact to do with the house in a financially pragmatic sense - and we also see Lawyers' and Estate Agency Fees spiralling in direct proportion to the escalating price Offers that result. However, all of that having been said, there is increasing evidence in Scotland of Offers being made "Subject to Survey" which, whilst not strictly breaching the Scottish system of Conveyancing, smacks heavily of a move towards the English Model.

Editing List of fictional countries

I've tried to add this reference to a fictional country

/* E */ -Edraa- , a country-classroom, described in Didactief 1991;Gonda Pisters and (now Dr.) Jan Eberg, RUU, NL

this is a first for me and as an American, teaching English in a Dutch highschool, this fact, will be useful

allow me to get back to my gob's of planning I have to do for the rest of the coming school year.

This article can be downloaded at http://homepage.mac.com/.disctivity downloads : Didactief '91

Mr. Ocon, B.A. 16:01, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

• Um - could you rephrase this in the form of a question? I can find no Wikipedia or (english-language) Google search results for any of the words Edraa, Didactief, Gonda Pisters or Jan Eberg - and the URL you gave us doesn't work. What are you actually asking us? SteveBaker 16:17, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

If you want to write an article about a fictional country, I'm very doubtful that it will pass the "notability" criterion. 惑乱 分からん 18:21, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I found this the first time I tried, if you look further, he wrote a book too called Waste Policy and Learning http://www.hu.nl/Lectoraten/Lectoraat+Overheidscommunicatie/Publicaties.htm this 'country' existed in Calfornia, Oregon and as Owland in IJsselstein,NL Mr. Ocon, B.A. 21:01, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Could you explain the details better? We still don't understand what you are talking about... 惑乱 分からん 23:08, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

(Or what the actual question you'd like us to answer is!) SteveBaker 23:39, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I think he wants to add his to List of fictional countries#E. I do not know if the literature it appears in has any claim to notability, especially as it is not in English and this is the English wikipedia. Show that notability or it will be deleted if you put it there, IMO. --Justanother 23:48, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

http://homepage.mac.com/disctivity/.Public/Didactief%2B91.PDF is the link to the d/l. Again, not in English and looks very non-notable. --Justanother 23:53, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

yellowing plastics

What causes the yellowing of some white plastics particularily in microwaves?...LL

Question moved to Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science#yellowing plastics - you should have a better chance of an answer there.87.102.9.15 16:14, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

travel route from Montgomery, vermont, usa to Brossard, quebec, canada

how do I drive from Montgomery, vermont 05470 to brossard, quebec, canada?

• Use Google maps! Go to: http://maps.google.com/ - click on the words 'Get Directions'. Then type in 'Montgomery, vermont 05470' into the first grey text entry box and 'brossard, quebec, canada' into the second grey text entry box - then click the blueish "Get Directions" button off to the right. You'll get really detailed directions and a map that you can print out. It says that it'll take you a little over an hour and a half. SteveBaker 16:24, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Finance & Investing: What is meant by Bought Deal Equity Financing and by Flow-Through Common Shares?

Can someone who is well versed in investing in mining, oil, and resource companies, please explain what is meant by "Bought Deal Equity Financing " and also what is meant by "Flow-Through Common Shares"? Sorry, forgot to sign my name: Ken. 64.231.90.176 17:03, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Sites With Highest Number Of Hits

Hi! I just want to know, which site has been registering the highest number of hits/day(excepting Google), for the the last 5 years ? Or, have this feat been shared by different sites in these years? Thanking you, --Pupunwiki 17:16, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, for current data, the main authority is 'Alexa' - every day, they update a list of the top 500 websites: http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500 - currently, Yahoo, MSN, Google, and Baidu take the top four slots. Those are all search engines - so I guess if you are excluding Google, you should exclude all four. After that comes: YouTube and MySpace - big time social networking sites. Windows live comes next - but it's kinda cheating because a whole lot of PC's check in there regularly and automatically for software updates - humans aren't going there in large quantities. Next is Orkut and QQ - also social networking sites. Perhaps the first true information site is 'Sina' which is a Chinese entertainment/info site. Then we see Yahoo-Japan and at number 12...drum roll...Wikipedia! Followed by eBay, Microsoft Corp, Blogger.com. The orderings change from day to day - Wikipedia made it up to number 10 for a while.

As for the past 5 years - I have no clue. You could maybe use the Wayback machine [25] site to look at snapshots of Alexia's scores at various times in the past and get some sort of an idea of changes over time. SteveBaker 17:51, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Steve's right -- although the caveat is that not everyone respects Alexa's numbers; they're not guaranteed to be perfectly correlated with reality. (But they're about the best we've got, and they're probably at least approximately good.)

Yeah - that's true. Alexa can't measure exactly how many accesses a given site gets. What they do is to give away a free 'toolbar' application for all of the leading browsers that collects information about sites visited and ships that off to Alexa's site. So they aren't sampling any people who don't use their toolbar - which probably biasses the data significantly. For starters, nobody who cares about their own privacy would use the Alexa toolbar for precisely this reason. But - as you say - it's the best data we've got and it's probably not too inaccurate for the top 20 sites or so. SteveBaker 20:38, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Even worse, the only version is for Internet Explorer. I have to think that that skews results more than anything else. --Maxamegalon2000 23:26, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm - our Alexa (Internet) article says "Alexa Toolbar for Internet Explorer and from integrated sidebars in Mozilla and Netscape. There are several third-party extensions for Mozilla Firefox; these extensions do affect Alexa rankings."...maybe it's not as bad as you think? SteveBaker 23:38, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

You seem to be correct, though IE is the only officially supported browser, and there is no option for Netscape or Opera users. I would guess there's still some effect, though. --Maxamegalon2000 23:51, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

wearing your heart on your sleeve?

does anyone know what that saying means? i hear it often randomly, but never knew what it meant. thank you.

Sure, it means not hiding your feelings; express your emotions freely and openly, for all to see. Google --Justanother 19:25, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

It's often used somewhat pejoratively, to suggest that the emotion-expresser is doing so a bit too freely, or is on the verge of turning into a drama queen or something. —Steve Summit (talk) 19:31, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

True, but I have also often seen the connotation that the person is vulnerable or hurt in addition to the idea that the person is "strong enough" or "secure enough" to not hide feelings. All goes with the context, I guess. --Justanother 19:34, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I agree on the meaning - "Showing ones feelings easily/openly." According to www.phrases.org, the origins of this phrase is..."Probably related to a English/French old Valentines Eve practice of drawing a girls name from a box. The male agreed to protect the girl for a year. He wore her name in that year on his sleeve." SteveBaker 20:57, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Possibly. But according to the Oxford English Dictionary, its first recorded usage in the English language was by Shakespeare in Othello. Iago says: "For when my outward action doth demonstrate / The native act and figure of my heart / In compliment extern, 'tis not long after / But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at. I am not what I am." -- Necrothesp 21:54, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Hmmmm - interesting. But "Valentines Day" has been around since at least 1384 (when Chaucer wrote about it). So we know for sure that the tradition that phrases.org alludes to had been around for at least 200 years before Shakespeare wrote Othello. Furthermore, the tradition of wearing a girl's name on your sleeve would have taken time to turn into the saying Shakespeare is talking about. It's perfectly possible that the www.phrases.org explanation is correct. SteveBaker 23:11, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't appear that Chaucer wrote about this supposed tradition mentioned by phrases.org who list no source for their claim. Any idea were this idea is from? Rmhermen 00:33, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh - no, I didn't mean that. Chaucer wrote about Valentine's day - I don't think he elaborated on the details of how it was celebrated. All I mean to say is that the concept of Valentine's day is way, way older than Shakespeare - so if this peculiar business of wearing a girl's name on your sleeve dates back to the early Valentine tradition - then the idea of wearing a heart on your sleeve could easily have come from that tradition in time for Shakespeare to have written about it 200 years later. You could easily imagine it changing slowly from picking a girl at random to 'defend' her for a year - to picking the girl you wanted to defend for a year because you felt feelings for her - to actually embroidering her name in a heart-shaped surround on your sleeve to indicate your feelings on Valentine's day - to "wearing a heart on your sleeve" as an overt statement of your love for her - which becomes "wearing your heart on your sleeve" after enough time has elapsed for the common people to have forgotten what the original tradition was all about. Then for Shakespeare to put that into his play makes a lot of sense. That's not a great stretch of the imagination over an interval of 10 generations. Of course we have no proof that this actually happened - but at least we know that it's quite feasible. SteveBaker 00:57, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

This site http://allsaintsbrookline.org/celtic/saints/valentine.html says: "There are several ancient Celtic customs associated with St. Valentine. On Valentine's Day and also the Eve of St. Valentine's Day it was the custom for unmarried young men to draw a female name from a ballot to find out whom they may marry or handfast with. Valentine slips containing a girl’s name to be courted would be worn by a boy on the arm of his shirt—this may be the origin of "wearing your heart on your sleeve" meaning being obvious about your love for someone." SteveBaker 01:06, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

• Could it be from when knights in tourneys wore a token( often a detachable sleeve) from his lady love on his arm?hotclaws**== 09:06, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

N is for Nuts

• http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-spacediaper9feb10,0,2527297.story

NASA Diapers Become Topic No. 1

By Roy Rivenburg

February 9, 2007

... In the early 1980s, female astronauts relied on zipper-fastened "disposable absorption containment trunks." Men wore "urine collection devices," which featured a condom-like sheath connected to a tube and pouch.

... A NASA spokeswoman said the official brand used now is Absorbencies, manufactured by a company that has folded.

Fortunately, NASA owns a huge stockpile. The agency snapped up 3,200 of the diapers about 15 years ago, the spokeswoman said, and "we still have about a third of the supply left."

On space shuttle missions, each crew member receives three diapers -- for launch, reentry and a spare in case reentry has to be waved off and tried later.

What were they thinking about? Someone in NASA purchased 3200 adult diapers in the early 1990s? Each launch uses up maybe about 20 diapers. These diapers may supply more than 150 flights. Did they still expect to launch a Space Shuttle each and every week at that time? ... Right after the Challenger disaster of 1986? -- Toytoy 21:56, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Hold on - think about this for a moment. Astronauts do a lot of training in space suits in big 'zero-g' water tanks - they spend realistic amounts of time in simulators of all kinds. I imagine they take to heart the mantra of good flight training "Train as you plan to fly" - which would mean that they wear these things all the time for the sake of realism in training. It's not at all unlikely that they'd get through several of them per astronaut per week. Since they train a lot more astronauts than actually fly missions, I could easily see them getting through several thousand of these per year. Assuring they have a good supply of them is a smart move - and buying in large bulk is guaranteed to keep the costs down. SteveBaker 23:00, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Then, they used only about 2000 diapers in 15 years. Isn't it strange? -- Toytoy 23:15, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Yeah - that is a little on the low side. I believe there are about 50 US astronauts in service or in training. That's only about 3 diapers per astronaut per year! Nowhere near enough if they are using them for EVA training. On the other hand, there have been about 80 missions with about 500 crew launches over the last 15 years - so if they if they only used them for real launches then they'd have to be providing four per person every launch and tossing out the unused ones after each mission. It's possible that they keeps that number on board in case their toilet breaks down in orbit or something - add in the number they'd need to keep onboard the space station for the same reason - now 2,000 over 15 sounds far too few even if they aren't using them in training.

Anyway, I was chatting with a buddy today - he'd heard that NASA bought up every single diaper that the company had when they went bust. That would make a lot of sense - if they could get themselves a 25 year supply at 'going-out-of-business' prices, it would be stupid to do otherwise with no other sources for the diapers being available. SteveBaker 00:45, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I think there are many other affordable and comfortable adult diapers worldwide. What made these "Absorbencies" diapers so suitable for space flights that NASA had to stockpile them when the supplier went out of business?

Why don't they use modern adult diapers. I guess these diaper companies must have improved their products during the last dacade. These baby diapers are getting better and better!

Does NASA provide special space flight sanitary napkins for female astronauts?

Then how about these Russian, European and Chinese astronauts?

Why didn't NASA use adult diapers in their earlier space flights?

I think military pilots also need to wear diapers. What did they wear since the earliest long-distance flights? -- Toytoy 01:41, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Military fighter pilots certainly must wear something of the sort - inflight refuelling in subsonic aircraft like the F117 makes for insanely long flights - and in high-g manouvers it's hard to avoid 'leaks'. I'm not sure what exactly they use - but it's gotta be something similar. For the larger aircraft and some helicopters, they have a tube that vents to the outside of the aircraft that they can pee into (I think it's called a 'relief tube'). (Funny story: I work in Flight Simulation - we had a very accurate simulator of a large helicopter - a Sikorsky or something - and the cockpit interior was required to be very detailed - so we had every switch and fuze accurately modelled - and a 'relief tube' in the side of the cockpit. Well, evidently one of the pilots was very 'taken in' by our simulation and kinda forgot that he was in a simulator on the ground and decided to use the 'relief tube' instead of hitting the 'pause' button and walking over to the bathroom in the corner of the simulator room. Sadly, our relief tube was a non-functional mockup - it dead-ended after about six inches - so he got his flight suit kinda...wet...yup.). SteveBaker 04:26, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

You may clean up the simulator in a matter of hours. That poor pilot may never clean up his ruined reputation for his whole life. Let's hope he would not resign and work as a taxi driver thereafter. -- Toytoy 05:10, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Yeah - being "The Guy Who Peed Himself In The Simulator" is not the best reputation a serious military pilot type could have. He's probably flying the Channel Six traffic 'copter now. SteveBaker 05:51, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Rating system... thing?

What are the red and green numbers that I can see on the recent changes page? 69.54.27.40 22:26, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:The red and green numbers that you can see on the recent changes page. --cesarb 22:34, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

If that hadn't been a #redir, I'd be voting that for the greatest something-something on the internet this decade. :) 81.93.102.185 22:43, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I still prefer WP:Oh I say, what are you doing? Come down from there at once! Really, you're making a frightful exhibition of yourself. -- feb^talk 00:14, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Articles for creation

So you submit an article for creation; over 90% of them are rejected, and the other few % are accepted. What about the ones that have been sitting there for months that have not been accepted or rejected?

Good question. The thing is that the people who patrol that list are humans just like you and me - and it's a thankless task.

I patrolled that list for a long while. The problem is that way more than 95% of the submissions are complete junk. So many articles about bands and songs and albums that don't meet Wikipedia's criteria for notability. So many efforts of people to start articles about themselves or their family members or (worst of all) recent dead family members who they'd like to memorialise in some way. But Wikipedia has rules about what people are "notable" and we have to reject the ones that are quite simply not relevent to the encyclopedia. You get to dread article proposals that start "Johnnie was a good son, right up to when he died in Iraq last week..." and goes on to list lots of banal trivia about this guy. Sure he was probably brave and gave his life for his country - but Wikipedia's article guidelines specifically rule out articles like this unless the person was NOTABLE. OK - so this is a non-article. Do you want to tell the grieving mother that her son was not notable? I didn't think so. But it's the same for bands - someone is a fan of a really obscure band who made a few CD's to hand out to fans at gigs they played at some minor venue - it's hard to tell those fans that this band is a bunch of total no-hopers who don't rate an article. But rules are rules - so you try your best to be polite and helpful and tactful.

Well, when you go through that list day after day, it starts off being reasonable to do "due diligence" for each and every article, double checking that the person they are talking about truly is notable - or that the rock band has had two or more albums released by a major record label - or that some artist has been exhibited in some major exhibition...or whatever the guidelines are. But after a few weeks of this, it just gets unbearable because it takes four hours out of your life every evening doing nothing but finding reasons to reject crap! You can usually tell within 10 seconds of looking at a proposed article that it doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of being a valid article - and frankly, it's not even worth the 10 to 20 minutes it's going to take you to check, prove it and post a coherent response saying "This person/band/company/whatever isn't notable".

In the end, you go through the list (which is dozens and dozens of proposals every day) ignoring the 'no hope' proposals, researching (and replying) to the ones that might just have had a chance - and ultimately being overjoyed when you find a speck of gold that you can pick out and turn into an article. But it's unusual to find even one solid proposal per day - so a few things that perhaps are marginal make it in, lots more that were worth researching get a nice rejection message and lots of completely and obviously junk ones go completely ignored. Other ones that tend to get ignored tend to be the long quasi-religious or pseudo-science diatribes that it's just too much effort to debunk. Some are just so incoherent that it's impossible to understand what the person is ranting on about - much less come up with a reason why it can't be an article. It's just easier to ignore them.

Yeah - it's not a perfect process - lots of people are in favor of just shutting down the entire service. Bottom line - if you are serious about Wikipedia and have a solid article you'd like to submit, just sign up for an account. It takes you 10 minutes - and four days later you have the same privilages as someone who has been here since the very beginning. Meanwhile, skim the notability standards - and PLEASE don't create articles that are junk - the effort to clean them up is sapping the energy of otherwise useful editors. SteveBaker 23:28, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Well Steve, I hardly know where to begin. That was so damn eloquent that I wish I could borrow your brain now and again. I've not been active at WP for a few weeks and have just returned to find your gem above. Well put! I suspected that on my return I'd find a post such as yours that would provide an example of what many of us mean when we say common sense and which sometimes is deliberately confounded with excuses and word-smithing. Thank you for your frank assessment. hydnjo talk 00:46, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

addendum: For those who don't know what I'm talking about, see this academic discussion. hydnjo talk 01:14, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Question and response copied to the RD/talk page for any further discussion. hydnjo talk 02:31, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Gas or deisel?

Which is consumed more in road vehicles? What about overall (ie including ships, trains, etc)?

This page shows that of total US consumption of 20,544,000 barrels per day (Nov 2005), 9,160,000 was finished gasoline, 4,183,000 was distillates (mostly diesel, I think). Hope this helps - cheers - Geologyguy 00:14, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I wonder how much of those 'distillates' is kerosene for aircraft fuels? SteveBaker 00:28, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

The page cited above shows a separate category for kerosene-type jet fuels, at 1,608,000 barrels per day. Geologyguy 00:32, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Diesel cars are more popular in some countries than they are in the U.S. Are they common enough to substantially alter that ratio? Rmhermen 01:05, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I could not easily find statistics for numbers of cars per country or % of diesel (except a quote that one-sixth of Japanese vehicles are diesel. But I would be willing to bet that the US has at least a third or more of all the cars on earth, so that differing proportions in smaller absolute numbers would make a blip but no great change in that ratio (say, for example, if 75% of Belgium's x number of cars are diesel - x is so much smaller than whatever the total number of US cars is, it would not make too much difference). It is entirely possible that the total difference in the world could make for a rather different ratio; this is merely my guess. I bet the numbers are out there somewhere. Cheers Geologyguy 03:03, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

This article claims that 49% of cars purchased in Europe in 2005 ran on diesel, for another data point. Natgoo 10:22, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Even with few cars in the US being diesel, my experience of spending a lot of time traveling has shown me that the number of semis on US highways is staggering. I'm surprised that there's so much more gasoline consumed than diesel. I suppose it's in large part due to city traffic... kmccoy (talk) 01:32, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

February 12

What is overnuking?

What does overnuking mean? NeonMerlin 04:55, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Context? -- mattb @ 2007-02-12T05:09Z

Just a couple guesses here... Either over heating something in a microwave oven since cooking in a microwave is often referred to as "nuking your food". Or using a nuclear weapon which is far stronger than is necessary to wipe out a given population or area. Similar to overkill. Dismas|^(talk) 05:27, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I think it may be an MMORPG term. NeonMerlin 05:55, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

It means the same as overkill otherwise, but used for magic users (nukes are offensive spells). --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 07:29, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

"In MMORPGs, a 'nuke' is a ranged magic attack, usually dealing a good deal of damage.", from Urban Dictionary. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:32, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

As a former level 61 black mage, I can tell you. Don't cast your spells so fast, you're getting too much enmity (hate), which is causing the mob to attack you, which is causing the white mage to have to waste their MP curing you. -- feb^talk 08:16, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Get a better paladin =D --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 09:34, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Strange things with no apperant function in train stations in Sydney?

Yellow pads that have no function?

I've came across these things in some suburban stations in Sydney just a few days ago when I was there but there seems to be no function to it. Does anyone know what they are and/or what they do? --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:03, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Where in the train station are they found? Can you be more specific? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 05:13, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Guerilla marketing, headbuttguard, some sort of thing to hook up to machines for cleaning or such, those would be my first ideas -- feb^talk 05:15, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Could you provide a picture with a wider view? Or at least give us a better description of where they can be found? It appears to be at the top of a post but how high is this post? Is it near anything else? Is that green thing in the back a handrail of somesort? Are the yellow things all near the handrail? Dismas|^(talk) 05:23, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Ohh....I thought that gray strip at the top was a continuation of the pole. Very nice optical illusion! Since it's the top of a pole, and it doesn't seem to be too high, i'd guess it's just something to keep people from bumping into the pole?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and speculate that the three metal studs are in fact electrical contacts and that some kind of shield-shaped device is placed onto the inset region in the yellow plastic to make contact with the three pins. Where I work, we have nighttime security guards who are supposed to patrol the building at night checking that all is well. Since it's rather easy for those guys to simply fall asleep in their little security booth and not bother to walk around, we have little gadgets built into the corridor walls at intervals that the guy has to touch his special security badge against. Electronics in the gizmo then measure when he passes each point on his patrol which ensures that (a) nobody clonked him on the head and is now stealing the twinkies out of my desk drawer and (b) that he actually is doing his rounds and not sleeping somewhere cosy (with my twikies - in all likelyhood). Anyway - if I had to guess, I'd say that this was something similar. Three metal contacts would make sense (power, ground and one data wire) - the shape evidently ensures that you can't put the badge thingy in upside-down or anything and it's recessed to ensure that the badge locates accurately into the recess with all three metal contacts lined up. But this is all a guess - albeit an educated one. SteveBaker 05:42, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Or maybe it's some sort of landmark to help blind people find a particular part of the platform. NeonMerlin 07:07, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I think SteveBaker's answer is probably the right one. Another possibility is that it's the first part of some kind of new automatic ticket reader, with the remaining parts to be added later. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 07:58, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't look new. Zoom into the image and there is dirt and scratches and what looks like a paint chip. SteveBaker 13:22, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

These three "contacts" look more like screws to me. It's more likely there's a RFID transceiver behind the plastic. --cesarb 13:30, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

It's just something that shaped, a bit larger than palm sized that I found in Beecroft and Pennant Hills (only been into those two suburban stations, can't find it in city ones). This was mounted on a pole on the platform but others are mounted on walls etc. --antilived^{T | C | G} 09:34, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

And I also remember seeing some square rectangular ones... The rims are rubber-ish with acrylic in the middle. They are mounted approximately waist-chest height and no, this one is just in the middle of the platform near some seats. --antilived^{T | C | G} 09:39, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

If you see something new and weird in public transit, it's bound to have something to do with security! --Zeizmic 12:59, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Yeah - could be. They are 'star head' screws which are tamper-resistant. What made me think that they might be doing double-duty as electrical contacts is that I would have used flat-head screws to improve tamper-resistance still more. It's really not going to be possible to guess this from just a photograph. But a close look at the photo makes it look like the top-left screw has been over-tightened and has chipped off some yellow paint. That suggests that the entire center flat part of the yellow 'thing' is a metal plate. That would preclude any of those screws from being an electrical contact. RFID could certainly work too. SteveBaker 16:40, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually the middle is a sheet of clear acrylic glass in front of the yellow rubber-like substance. --antilived^{T | C | G} 18:54, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I go with Steve that they could be part of a Guard tour patrol system (AKA Guard tour system, neither of which likely have articles; I will stub something for now). There are plenty of different RFID-based systems on the market but the RFID seem to usually be small buttons. --Justanother 16:49, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

The system we have at work has things that look like a watch battery glued to the wall with the flat side against the wall. These are actually 'one-wire' devices made by Texas Instruments. So you have to physically touch the guard's security device to the thing on the wall for a second or so in order to register that he passed that point - but an RFID scanner could be completely innocuous. The problem with that in this situation is that you wouldn't need to stick them up on special poles or anything. Active RFID tags have a range of over 300 feet so they could be bolted to the wall much more cheaply/easily than messing around with special posts to attach them to. But if they were using (much cheaper) passive RFID - then the range would only be a couple of feet - so the guard would have to pass right next to one of these gadgets to register. But the fact that the yellow surround is shaped like a shield strongly suggest that something has to be pressed against it. SteveBaker 18:19, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Depending on the size of the item it could be a place for a 'notice' to be put but which currently does not have a notice on it. Like others say though it could have some patrol/electrical purpose. You could always email the transit-authority that look after the station and ask - presuming that the answers above don't give a definitive enough answer. ny156uk 17:43, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Could it sense something else, like when the train is in the station or even how roughly many people are on the platform? I assume from the pic that it is on a 2" dia or so pipe and stands a bit above waist height?

By the way, those "watch battery" things are iButtons Mdwyer 23:22, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Yep - you're right! Thanks for the correction. SteveBaker 05:31, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Stomach swelling

Is it normal to have a stomach that on some days almost concaves in but on other days mushrooms into early pregnancy like gravidness? And why does this happen? Is there way to reduce the flucuation?

132.239.90.232 05:12, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

We cannot give you medical advice, but I advise that you seek the aid of your MD, if it's causing any pain you might want to go to the ER right away -- feb^talk 05:23, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

No, it's not normal. As for reducing the fluctuation, please see a doctor if you can. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:32, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

It may be normal, if you are a woman. Such fluctuations may be linked to your menstrual cycle (bloating just before and during your period). Otherwise, it may be due to certain types of foods - take note of what you've eaten before it occurs, and see your doctor if you are concerned. Natgoo 10:15, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

evidence

how long can police hold evidence75.15.195.81 05:48, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

You'll have to be more specific as to what type of evidence it is, what the case that involves this evidence is, and what jurisdiction you're thinking of. Then we may be able to provide at least a link or two to your answer. Dismas|^(talk) 08:45, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

In the case of unsolved crimes, at least in the UK, evidence can be held indefinitely. Several decades-old murders have been solved recently because advances in genetic fingerprinting have allowed it to be applied to original evidence from the crime scene.--Shantavira 09:06, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Chicago airport

I am landing in Chicago Ohara terminal 5 and have to go to terminal 3 gate K3 for catch a flight to Dallas. How do I reach terminal 3 gate K3? I am visiting America for the first time. Please help. Thank you.

Jay

It's O'Hare Airport. Our article doesn't have a terminal map and even the official airport site seems to have only a series of partial maps.[26]. Rmhermen 16:13, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Your best bet is to consult an agent at the gate when you land at Terminal 5 (or even ask a flight attendant before you land) and get directions from there. There should also be maps throughout the airport. As you can see from this site, Terminals 3 and 5 are not contiguous, so there is probably a highly-visible shuttle service from Terminal 5 to the others. — Lomn 16:16, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Looks like you have to take the people mover between them: the Airport Transit System (ATS): [27]. Rmhermen 16:18, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Ah, you beat me to it. Anyway here is a quote from the above pdf.

The International Terminal is separate from Domestic Terminals 1, 2 & 3 and the Airport Transit System (ATS) is the only means of transport between them.

--Justanother 16:27, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

There will be signs and help but you are looking for this train (from here). --Justanother 16:31, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Found the FAQ here.

How do I get from the International terminal to the domestic terminals to make a connection?

After exiting the Federal Inspection and luggage re-check areas, proceed up one level to the Airport Transit System where passengers can easily connect to terminals 1, 2 and 3 for domestic flights. The Airport Transit System is a free train which runs between terminals every few minutes.

--Justanother 16:35, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks a lot. You have been very kind. --Jay

Speaking for all of us, you are very welcome. Enjoy your trip! --Justanother 16:51, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Cricket bail diameter

Hi, recently I had occassion to seek the measurement details of cricket bails. Only the overall length, barrel length and respective lengths of the short and long spigots are cited anywhere in the relevant sites.

Are there specific measurements for the diameter of cricket bails known?

Ecna 10:49, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

The Laws of Cricket don't sepcify an official diameter of the bails. However, they do state that the bails, when in position on top of the stumps, shall not project more than half an inch (1.27cm) above them →Ollie (talk • contribs) 11:25, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

See http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-8-the-wickets,34,AR.html. Stephen Turner (Talk) 13:18, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

List of Vehicles required

Hi,

I'm new to Wikipedia but have already found it useful for what I'm researching; although not entirely. I trying to find a list of passenger vehicles sold in Australia (or the World) over the last 25 years. I want the list in a simple text format of vehicle make and model e.g. Holden, Commodore Mitsubishi, Magna Nissan, Navara Does anyone now where I might find such a list?

Thanks in advance,

Eightytwenty 12:10, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

List of cars might be a suitable starting point. It has a section on Australia (but that's cars made in Australia]]. Just save the page in text format.--Shantavira 13:52, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I write a lot of car articles here. Finding cars that are/were on sale in Australia is a tricky thing - most cars are likely to be sold in dozens and dozens of countries - and finding out every place where the car was sold would be tough for most people writing articles about cars. Wikipedia doesn't even have a special Category for cars made in Australia - let alone sold in Australia. Even cars like the Mini and Mini Moke that I happen to know were built in Australia at some point of their production history aren't listed as Australian brands as such because they were of British design and assembled in Australia. The List of cars article is woefully inadeqate in this regard. This is a tough question to answer. SteveBaker 16:31, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

A good place to start would be www.autotrader.com.au they will list cars by make and model (in their drop-down lists) and will pretty much only include cars that were on sale in Australia at some point in history (they will include some import-only models/brands but it is probably better than nothing). It would require copying/typing out the details unfortunately, but if you are reasonably proficient on computers you should be able to do that quickly enough. ny156uk 17:47, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Addresses for European Volunteer Fire Departments

Does anyone know where I can get contact details i.e. address, telephone, fax, etc. for European Volunteer Fire Departments?

You're asking about the wrong level, I'm afraid - I sincerely doubt there's a centralised list anywhere about all the fire departments in the EU, much less likely in Europe. Can you narrow it down, at least by country, preferably to the local area in question? --Mnemeson 22:43, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

O'Hara airport history.

Who was the pilot of the first commercial flight into O'Hare airport? Thanks in advance. Don Schweikarth70.183.233.8 16:55, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Don't you mean O'Hare Airport in Chicago?

implications of globalisation for tourism development in tanzani

Hello

Dear Sir/madam

i am looking for the implications of globalisations for tourism department in tanzania. I would like to ahave some iformation on the related topic as this is my topic research for my assignments however i did try to find things but I am afraid i couldnt acess the database properly!! or might have overlooked it. I am specifically looking for... outlines tourism flows to, from and within the country, noting patterns and trends where these are discernable. and furthure i would like to discuss a critical issue from the theories of globalisation that will be of most significant in relation to the country's tourism.

I would be glad to recieve your reply

awaiting ur reply

yours sincerly,

Chaitanya Jani.

pls mail me on email removed — Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.52.5.11 (talk • contribs) 19:05, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Email removed to prevent spam. --cesarb 19:40, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately that sort of research is probably beyond the scope of the wikipedia research desk. You might start by reviewing the National Website of Tanzania. Otherwise, a simple google search of "Tanzania and tourism" might yield some results after some digging. Also, note that we discourage the placement of email addresses on the site, since this often makes them vulnerable to spam. Good luck! --Cody.Pope 05:54, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Football results

Hello, Does anybody know a good website about British football results? not only for the highest leagues, but also for some others, e.g. Southern Division One Midlands, Conference North or Southern League Premier. Thanks for your help, --89.27.194.60 19:47, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Us British would appreciate capitalisation of our country name. ! Good luck in your search.--88.111.98.126 19:52, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

BBC Sport is your friend. They do the results down to conference level. Lower league football beyond that level is probably a more specialist site - best bet is to find the sponsor of the league and try their website. ny156uk 23:35, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

If you want results from below the Conference in the league pyramid, try http://www.nonleaguedaily.com Rockpocket 02:15, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

History February 12

Today is Lincoln's birthday - seems note worthy for your main page.

Thanks! Marrell Livesay

From WP:SA, the criteria for listing anniversaries on the main page: "births and deaths can only be used on centennials, etc.". Since we try to keep things down to 5 events maximum, plus observed holidays, there's no room to include the birthday of every notable person born or died that day. So in a couple more years it'll be Lincoln's 200th birthday, and then it'll get noted there, but not yet. To find the expanded list of what happened today in history, you can just click on the date at the top of the "On this day" box, and get the complete list (which does include Lincoln's birthday, of course). --Maelwys 20:55, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Self-serve checkout registers...?

Isn't it possible to replace the voice of “Miss Annoy”

[Miss Annoy: The name of the voice of self-serve checkout registers that get out of sync or fail in other ways such as requesting removal of the second piece of a two piece item ("...please remove unknown item from bagging area...").

Example: I have to leave this half of the item in the cart or Miss Annoy will have a tizzy and shut the whole line down.]

with a SILIENT message on the screen or at least to reprogram the screen with a mute button at the top to overcome the annoyance of these registers always being behind the actual point of processing as well as to help eliminate the confussion caused by multiple piece items as well as to accomodate the fact that most people can learn the checkout routine in under five or six purchases? 71.100.10.48 23:14, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I've not heard of a button specifically made for the purpose of silencing a self checkout, but I have a couple of ideas whereby one could jury-rig what you describe. The first method would include a large sledgehammer, a strong arm, and a bit of anger for motivation. The second method involves finding a mute cashier at the store of your choice. *sigh* V-Man737 05:54, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

The voice is necessary so that the assistants can hear what is going on. If you get them to say "Please wait for the assistant" enough times, one eventually arrives.--Shantavira 09:32, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

February 13

Preheating Modern Cars

Do most modern cars need to be preheated (keep engine idle for a while) when just starting up during cold winter mornings? I read somewhere that modern cars have complicated computer controlled systems that do not need preheating. If so, how exactly does this computer system work? Thanks. Jamesino 02:33, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

For your first question, no. How it works I don't know. Splintercellguy 03:14, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

At a guess it would be something to do with the now wide spread use of the Engine Control Module and Fuel injection. Those systems are now sophisticated enough to control minute operations of the engine, such as fuel mixture and timing, which in the past were set rigidly with mechanical mechanisms like pulleys and chains and air pressure in a carburettor. Because fuels are more volatile and metal and air expands when it is hot, when those systems are mechanical and rigid you have to decide if your engine is going to be most efficient when it is at temperature OR when it is cold, the answer back then was simple, it has to be most efficient when it is hot because MOST of the time the engine runs it is hot, except for the first few minutes it runs. But now, electronic control systems can adjust the engine's parameters wether it is cold or hot, so it can be efficient regardless of those factors. Vespine 05:37, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

I lust after modern hybrid cas which have electric resistance heat (instant heat) and lament 1940's-1950's cars which had a gasoline burning heater (instant heat). As is you get no appreciable heat for about the first 8 miles you drive, and it takes about 12 miles for the car to get warm. Modern cars seem to have to idle an unreasonably long time to get warm, and unless you are sitting in it, someone will break in and steal it. Edison 06:23, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

I know that the advice I remember hearing was that you shouldn't warm your car up for more than a minute in any case, cause it's just wasting gas. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 09:30, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

It is instructive to open the radiator filler cap and stick a thermometer in there when the car is cold - then start the car and watch the temperature rise. The temperature sits there for a while - not changing much - then, suddenly, when the thermostat opens, the temperature rockets up - and (hopefully) stays rock solid from that point on. You know for 100% sure that there is no point in idling the motor any longer than that...but unless you live in an exceptionally cold climate, you're better off just driving away immediately. In really cold climates, an electrical engine block heater makes a lot of sense. SteveBaker 22:47, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

For the winter, get yourself a good Block heater. This saves the engine (the oil flows!) and the heat works a lot faster! I still run the engine for a minute or 2 before I drive. --Zeizmic 13:05, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Depends on how cold your winters are! I wouldn't recommend one of those here in Texas for example! SteveBaker 22:47, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Popular Mechanics agrees with SteveBaker - just don't bother. Lowerarchy 14:50, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

HDTV

Will HDTV ever be the only type or the main type of TV available? that is replace conventional TV before they come up with something else? will 1080p ever become the de-facto standard for HDTV??

Eventually, when there's enough bandwidth and infrastructure for it. But HD is quite a vague term, and some time in future 1080p may be considered to be too low or something. --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:11, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

In the USA, the transition to HD broadcasting (as opposed to cable and satellite) is already law. The old analog TV channels are to be given back to the US government on February 17th, 2009 - and on that day analog TV sets will simply stop working for broadcast television. The government will re-allocate those frequencies for other things (possibly more cellphone/wireless-internet bandwidth). But have no doubt - this has definitely been set in motion. Once this takes effect, you may still be able to buy analog TV from satellite and cable providers - but if every TV set sold has to have HD capability in order to be able to view broadcast TV - then they might as well go ahead and do the switch too. The theory is that there will be manufacturers who will sell interface boxes that allow you to view the HD channels on an old analog TV - but I'd be surprised if many companies actually make those things. By the time we get to that point, HD TV sets should be fairly cheap and there won't be much of a market for propping up those old analog sets for many more years. It's definitely going to happen.

In truth, we should have already done this. There was a previous FCC ruling that said that analog TV would be dead and buried by Jan 1st 2006 - but the TV studios pleaded that they couldn't make the transition in time - so they got a three year delay. But this new date in 2009 isn't just an FCC ruling - it's law.

Now - as to whether 1080p is 'the standard' - I'm not so sure. HD televisions can typically display a whole range of resolutions and both up-sample and down-sample (so, for example a channel showing only weather forcasts will probably be transmitted at much less than 1080p and be up-sampled by the TV in order to display it. But then a cheap portable TV with a 640x480 LCD display will have to down-sample 1080p to fit it onto its display. Once everything is digital, this kind of thing is quite possible.

As for other countries, see List of digital television deployments by country. Quite a few are lining up around the same dates. SteveBaker 05:28, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't think 1080p "TV" will ever become standard, because by the time it's cheap enough that all our little TVs we have (you know the tiny ones most people have in kitchens, boats, RVs, that we all got for 20$ from wal-mart) we'll be using alternate forms entertainment. On Demand movies and shows, internet, custom content...TV entertainment, as in "Eating what's put on your plate" will be gone, and will be changed to something more like an all-you-can-eat buffet. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Feba (talk • contribs)

Not exactly. Digital TV is mandated, not HD. Normal television sets also still work; however, unless they have a digital tuner of their own, they'll need an external box to do pick it up (digital cable boxes, satellite receivers, etc., which many people already have). Cable and satellite can carry digital signals; satellite already deals purely in digital, and a lot of cable does as well. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 05:33, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Speaking from my own point of view, HDTV has a long way to go before the cost is justified. I'm not keen on paying significantly extra on my cable bill for a small handful of channels that display obvious compression artifacts... -- mattb @ 2007-02-13T05:39Z

It's not like you have a choice - in less than two years time (in the USA at least) there will be no more analog TV - and yes, those cheap TV's sitting in people's kitchens, dens, etc will become paperweights unless you have cable or satellite feeds going to them. Buying digital tuners may be possible - but I'm betting they'll cost more than a cheap digital TV set. SteveBaker 22:58, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

HDTV != DTV. Anyway, my point is more that there isn't a lot of value in paying for HD channels right now. There are few of them and from what I've experienced, they are often (ironically) poorly compressed. -- mattb @ 2007-02-13T23:21Z

Worlds largest CARNIVORE...

Where does the Great Barrier Reef near Australia fit in?

Fit into what? The Great Barrier Reef is made up of thousands of individual corals, I don't think thousands of individuals can qualify as "largest carnivore", otherwise I'd say the population of the states would be bigger then the great barrier reef. ;) Largest organism is an interesting read and actually mentions the Great barrier reef. Vespine 05:26, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

In the mouth, hopefully. Lowerarchy 14:51, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Esper

What could be the equivalent of the espers [or esper mansion] from the phantasy star series in real life?

(copied to Entertainment) V-Man737 05:59, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

War on Wikipedia?

Many of my friends are IP vandals. Just today, one of my friends told me that he was going to vandalize every single page and make "war on Wikipedia" (a la jihadists). How can I deal with these guys, both on and off wiki? bibliomaniac15 05:50, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Report them to WP:AIV, and point out to them that it probably takes us less than 30 seconds to block them and revert all of their additions. Compare that to how long they wasted making them. :) -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 05:51, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Point out to them how cool it is when stuff they do doesn't last for the abovementioned 30 seconds, has no effect on the world around them, and is waaaaaaay fun (compared to lame things like, say, finding a date or paintballing). V-Man737 06:12, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

In my personal case, if all those other methods don't work, I would threaten them with limited blackmail or physical violence, but I don't think this will be considered good advice. --Taraborn 10:03, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, for people like this the only remedy is often to wait until they discover the opposite sex. --TotoBaggins 18:08, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

If you can find other people who feel like you - then having you all point at the offenders and laugh at them can be very effective. If these are in any way intelligent kids, it's also worth mentioning that in the world you guys will be growing up in, everything you've ever done online will likely be accessible to people in the far distant future. So - there will be one of your friends - now matured, successful, serious and a pillar of society in a snappy business suit...running as Governor of New York or something. When the media go 'muck rakeing' (as they surely will) they'll easily be able to turn up all of the stupid and embarrassing things that guy said about what will (by then) be the sole repository of all human knowledge. I tell my son this all the time. Never do or say anything online that you wouldn't want said about you when you run for president (or try to get a good job - or...who-knows-what-else). SteveBaker 20:40, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

• I'd change my friends,they sound like jerks to me.hotclaws**== 09:23, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Postmodern porno

where might I find some postmodern porn? Does such a concept even exist? Thanks.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.198.239.34 (talk • contribs)

What would that even be? CG? Japanese tentacles? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 09:24, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

See Food porn. --Dweller 12:18, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Depends on your definition of "post-modern", I'd guess... 惑乱 分からん 12:37, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

The whole idea of gonzo porn sort of subverts the traditional idea of what pornography is - in fact, what film itself is. I guess that could be postmodern in some sense. But why do you want to know? There are so many different ideas of what "postmodern" is, that to try to apply the term to pornography is a difficult if not futile (not to mention, useless) thing to do. zafiroblue05 | Talk 04:45, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

The rather strange French comic book series "Linda aime l'art" (Linda loves art) by Philippe Bertrand could possibly be classified as post-modern pornography/erotica. It's hard to find much information in English, though: [28], [29]. 惑乱 分からん 13:44, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Maybe your question would be easier the other way around. Some might say that postmodernism ain't nothing but porn. Lowerarchy 14:58, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Fabric name

Hi, I would like to know if there is any specific name for combination of Lycra, Nylon and Polyester? 219.93.153.253 06:41, 13 February 2007 (UTC)Hanny

No. Its a nylon, polyester and lycra blend. Some manufacturers have trade names for specific percentages of fiber blends, but that is a very rare thing. Generally, that's just a blend, especially because you didn't specify the percentages. pschemp | talk 07:46, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

a query

Good day Sir/Madam,

Thanks for having this website available. I just want to ask if there is a place in Cagayan de Oro City which is named Alluana.My foreigner friend told me to look for the exact location of that place, it is nearby the sea and mountainside. He is interested to be there and perhaps make some investment.

More power and thank you very much!

Sincerely yours,

Ms Castillo210.213.194.43 10:48, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, I don't see any place by that name. If you do a google-search for Cagayan de Oro City [30] there are quite a few "official websites" for the area, but none of them mention anywhere called Alluana. --Maelwys 13:37, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

• Could it be a bar or buisness?hotclaws**== 09:25, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Livejournal layouts

Could anyone point me towards a site or community with Livejournal layouts? It's probably the wrong place to ask, but I've reached dead end after dead end through the usual channels (Google).

Thanks, Harwoof 11:04, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Try a website such as http://community.livejournal.com/spiralbound_lj/.

If that doesn't have what you're looking for, look at the profiles of its members. They make belong to other layout communities you can look at. Ohthelameness 02:13, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Question

I remember the story of a chinese soldier under ww2, that got captured by the japanese and was made to fight for them, then captured by the russians and made to fight for them, then captured by the germans and made to fight for them, and finally captured by USA.

I cant remember much about about it I hope anyone can direct me to better sources. Joneleth 11:58, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

I have heard this story too - though the version I heard described the soldier as Korean. -who eventually ended up defending the atlantic wall against the d-day invasion.

See http://www.geocities.com/alvinlee_81/WarPicsChinese.html for more examples.83.100.254.40 12:12, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

This story is told in this book http://www.amazon.com/D-Day-Climactic-Battle-World/dp/product-description/068480137X

Quote from 'D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II' by Stephen E. Ambrose

The so-called Ost (east) battalions became increasingly unreliable after the German defeat at Kursk; they were, therefore, sent to France in exchange for German troops. At the beach called Utah on the day of the invasion, Lt. Robert Brewer of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army, captured four Asians in Wehrmacht uniforms. No one could speak their language; eventually it was learned that they were Koreans. How on earth did Koreans end up fighting for Hitler to defend France against Americans? It seems they had been conscripted into the Japanese army in 1938 -- Korea was then a Japanese colony -- captured by the Red Army in the border battles with Japan in 1939, forced into the Red Army, captured by the Wehrmacht in December 1941 outside Moscow, forced into the German army, and sent to France. (What happened to them, Lieutenant Brewer never found out, but presumably they were sent back to Korea. If so, they would almost certainly have been conscripted again, either into the South or the North Korean army. It is possible that in 1950 they ended up fighting once again, either against the U.S. Army, or with it, depending on what part of Korea they came from. Such are the vagaries of politics in the twentieth century.) By June 1944, one in six German riflemen in France was from an Ost battalion

83.100.254.40 12:52, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

And here are some rumours of war from George Orwell. meltBanana 14:24, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the information that should be enough. Joneleth 14:56, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Blocked sink

Could Bleach satisfactorily clear a blocked sink? 136.206.1.17 14:07, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

(Question copied to Science) --Lph 15:44, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Not really - if it is truly blocked a strong clearance product can be bought cheaply at a hardware store.90.4.245.155 16:23, 13 February 2007 (UTC)petitmichel

Or a classic black rubber plunger - those work wonders on blockages. If even a little water leaks around the blockage (you can tell because the water level in the sink gradually falls over many minutes) then in the absence of any other way - wait for the sink to drain dry then refill it to the very top with hot water (maybe from a boiling kettle) and washing up liquid. This will sometimes clear out a stubborn blockage. It works for toilets too. SteveBaker 20:29, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Naaah. Bleach. Pour it in and let it sit. After a while, bits should float to the top of the water/bleach. After that, all you need is a pair of chopstics to poke down the drain a few times to clear the clog. Swear. This really works. I tried it once. But be warned, the stuff that you pull out with the chopsitkcs is realy nasty. Good luck! :-) Ilikefood 21:34, 13 February 2007 (UTC) (p.s. if you realy wanna clear a drain and youre not worried about nasty chemicals, use Drano. if you dont want hazardous chemicals around, do it this way.)

I agree with SteveBaker. Bleach is NOT a good idea; the quantity of bleach necessary to degrade the contents would be very damaging to your plumbing. I agree that the chemical solution of choice is Drano or something similar, although if you are truly too lazy busy to plunge, a compressed air cannister (available most places where drano is sold) will work as well as a plunger, better than drano, way better than bleach, and will be environmentally neutral. Further to that, per SteveBaker, I find that (for plugs that are mostly soap and gacky stuff from bathing), a cup of baking soda in the dry drain followed by a kettle full of boiling water (repeated if necessary) usually works. The chopsticks thing helps loosen stuff up in between or after. amended Anchoress 21:40, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

I have used one of those compressed air things - they are REALLY impressive and worked extremely well for me. But I have a friend who tried to use one and it blew apart one of the joints in his UPVC drain - causing no end of nasty consequences. SteveBaker 22:52, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Wow. What was his drain plugged with? Concrete? C4? Nitro glycerine? And yes, I know C4 needs a trigger, but it's still funny. Anchoress 02:17, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Probably hair, with a very high Relative effectiveness factor. V-Man737 02:50, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

A Plumber's snake works very well. No smelly chemicals, and no fear of exploding your plumbing. In my experience they're pretty inexpensive at hardware stores. FreplySpang 09:27, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Venus

What are the hottest and coldest spots on Venus? Bryce999 14:54, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

space.com has the answer. Jon513 15:59, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Repost of Earlier Question: My Venus Question

Sorry about getting people confused on my earlier post. It seems that I hadn't seen the rules for the Talk page. Anyway, does anyone know what the hottest and coldest spots on Venus are? If I'm asking on the wrong talk page, please redirect me to the appropriate page for this topic. --Bryce999 15:15, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Topic	Post	Time Stamp
row 1, cell 1	row 1, cell 2	row 1, cell 3
row 2, cell 1	row 2, cell 2	row 2, cell 3

Our article Atmosphere of Venus has some information on the temperature (and the contributing factors to the temperature) on the planet. It seems that the hottest spot would be the lowest valley, and the coolest would be the highest mountain most likely. You can read more information there. --Maelwys 15:28, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

The science desk usually covers geological, planetry and climate questions - that's the place to ask. I'd recommend you put the question there if you haven't got the answer yet.87.102.66.142 18:40, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

do escalators have a standard speed

I was wondering whether escalators (moving staircases) had a standard speed - and is it the same for ascending as for descending. any ideas?

thanks

spiggy 16:10, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

solved. thanks

An interesting point is that the band where you put your hands actually is moving faster than the footsteps. Try holding your hands and legs completely still for an entire ride, and you should notice it. 惑乱 分からん 22:00, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Additionally, if you do this you'll also notice that as the escalator levels out at the top your feet will start to "catch up" with your hand just before the platform at the end. Dismas|^(talk) 01:50, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

If the handrail is going faster at one point, how can it be going slower at another, since it is continuous? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 08:39, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know but go try it. Dismas|^(talk) 10:22, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

It's not the handrail that changes speed - it's the stairs. If you think about the length of one of the treads as 'L' and the height of the 'riser' on the steps as 'R' - then as each step passes a particular point, you are moving a distance equal to the square root of (L²+R²) - which for a 45 degree staircase would be about 1.4 times L. On the other hand, when the stairway levels out and the stairs fold flat, as each tread passes a fixed point, you are only moving L units. So you are actually moving slower on the level parts than on the slope. However, the handrail can't do that - so they have to find a good 'compromise' speed that goes a bit slower than you are moving on the diagonal part - and a bit faster on the level parts. Ah! The power of elementary math! :-) SteveBaker 04:45, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Is that to get those lazy asses to actually walk up, rather than just stand on them? They are designed as steps for a reason! Sorry for the outburst, but I guess this is one of my pet peeves. Or maybe it had to be said. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 08:39, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Umm. I think the whole idea of an escalator is that you don't have to walk up it.--Shantavira 09:29, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

First, the two handrails and the steps are all supposed to move at the same speed; the idea is that for a standing rider, holding onto the handrail will promote safety, and it won't do that if the handrail creeps ahead or behind. But the steps and the two handrails have to have separate drives because they are in different places, and it's possible that things will get out of sync. I've ridden on escalators where the handrails would slow down if people just squeezed them a little; you can see that that would make them hard to synchronize.

Now as for the original question, the answer is no. I don't have a cite, but I've definitely read about different speeds of escalators being used in different places. I think I've read that store escalators, which are more likely to be used by people unfamiliar with them, would operate slower than transit system escalators. And I think I've read that the long escalators on the London Underground move faster than those on the Washington Metro, but slower than some on Russian subway systems.

I believe that most escalators do rise at a common standard angle of 30° above the horizontal, though.

--Anonymous, February 15, 2007, 01:57 (UTC).

I think that is wrong. The handrails are moving faster than the steps due to psychological reasons. If the handrails would have the exact same speed, one would get the feeling the hand was going backwards. As I sadi, try it out! Keep the hand firmly clasped to the handrail for a whole ride. 惑乱 分からん 13:06, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

missing result

What happened to the football game in British Gas League Midlands Division yesterday: Sutton Coldfield vs. Spalding United. Here in cache I found it, but the actual website doesn't show the result. Does anybody know the result or a link where I can see it? Thanks, --89.27.229.216 17:36, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

The match was postponed according to a post on the Spalding united website --84.9.46.145 18:16, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the information. Do you know the new date/time, when the game will start? --89.27.229.216 18:21, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

February 14

Released balloons

What ever happens to the helium filled balloons that are released into the sky? --The Dark Side 00:11, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

The baloons leak, however slowly they do leak, and eventually fall back to earth, deflated. -- feb^talk 00:17, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

You mean they don't congregate in great flocks to mate? The different colored couples don't give birth to plaid balloonlets? Next, you'll tell me there's no Santa Claus! Clarityfiend 01:02, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Some people do "balloon races" to raise money. People pay to buy one or more balloons. All the helium balloons get released. Each has a tag on it with a return address, and somewhere for the people that find it to fill in whereabouts they live. The tag that gets returned from the furthest away wins a prize. We did one at school in Kingston upon Hull, UK - the furthest balloon made it to the Loire Valley in France - a fair distance for a little balloon!

One of my schools did this when I was very little, around 5 or 6... don't remember ever getting a reply. I also bought a pack of baloons and filled them up for like 10$ at a gift shop in a mall a few years back, and let them all go, although I don't think I tied any return cards to them -- feb^talk 23:17, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

But if they didn't leak...

If they don't leak, they get high enough in the atmosphere that they burst under their own internal pressure. The ones that deflate end up wherever they fall, probably over the ocean, and some of them make it into the digestive tracts of marine life. Leatherback turtles get around, so who knows the maximum range? Anyways, balloon releases can be considered a bad thing. Lowerarchy 14:37, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

If the balloon doesn't leak or pop, it will rise to an altitude at which its density is equal to that of the surrounding atmosphere (which decreases with increasing altitude). At that point, it will not be more buoyant than the surrounding air, so it will stop rising. If it never leaks or pops, it will float around up there forever. --TotoBaggins 15:28, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes. As the balloon rises the pressure on the inside doesn't change - but the pressure on the outside drops - so the difference between inside and out gets bigger and bigger until either it bursts - or the density of the outside air at altitude gets to be the same as the density of the higher pressure helium. If that happens, the balloon stops going up and just bobs around. However, helium gas has very, very tiny atoms - only hydrogen has smaller atoms - and hydrogen atoms go around in pairs where helium atoms are entirely separate. These teeny-tiny separate atoms are much more easily able to escape out of the balloon than (say) oxygen or nitrogen in an air filled balloon - so helium balloons tend to lose gas fairly quickly - much more so when the outside air pressure is so low. So even if it doesn't burst, the helium is certain to leak out reasonably fast. When I was a kid, it was common to release balloons with a note attached asking people to post the tag back to the person who released it if the balloon was found. These balloons would be found thousands of miles away - so that suggests that helium balloons don't pop at altitude. Of course it would help greatly if you only put just enough helium into the balloon to get it just a tiny bit lighter than air - if you put too much helium in, it's more likely to burst at altitude. SteveBaker 03:26, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Tiger I vs. Tiger II

Which variant of the World War Two German Tiger tank is more well-known, famous and has more historical significant- the Tiger I or the Tiger II? Thanks. Jamesino 02:19, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

I would say that Tiger I was more significant, based on the number of production and the mention of it in more websites. --[|.K.Z|][|.Z.K|] 09:05, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

More famous too. That's the one you (supposedly) see in movies that make an attempt to be accurate. Has there ever been a war film with a Tiger II lookalike? Clarityfiend 15:17, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Riddle

I saw this riddle and have been stumped:

What do the following words have in common -- David, Mark, Robert, Jasper, Georgia, Roy, Man, Andy and Jackson?

They're all names of people? All men except for Georgia. --froth^T 03:19, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, true, but I think it's something more specific than that -- don't you?

They are all combinations of vowels and consonants. --ChesterMarcol 04:52, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

... which is true of the vast majority of English words. JackofOz 05:00, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

... but not everyone is an American artist of the 20th century: Mark Rothko, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Georgia O'Keeffe, Roy Lichtenstein, Man Ray, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock. ---Sluzzelin 05:22, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

If you got that without googling, I'd be very impressed. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 06:49, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Not that impressive really, when you happen to like most of the artists listed there. The clue was "Roy, Man" - it was early in the morning and I read "Ray, Man". So my bad eyesight helped me stumble on the right association from the get-go. ---Sluzzelin 07:22, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

What about David? I'm sure there must be plenty of American artists called David, but none come to mind that are as famous as the names listed. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 10:07, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Heh, good catch. My guess is David Smith. ---Sluzzelin 10:11, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Painter-ish American residents not Born in the USA + Pop leaning of list might suggest David Hockney... --Shirt58 10:44, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

In fact they were all born in the USA except Rothko. And Hockney is usually considered a British artist. So I don't think it's him. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:21, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Why are US Subs painted orange on the bottom?

This is a question that has been bugging me for some time. Why do some modern US submarines painted half red/orange (Examples: 1, 2, 3). If anyone can help, that would be great. --Gunny01 06:15, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd assume it's like the water line on boats for when the submarine isn't fully submerged, but I'm unsure. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 06:47, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd guess that this is exactly the same reason that sharks have a light belly and dark top, when looking down onto the submarine's dark top against the dark sea below, the submarine is camoflauged. in a similar way, when looking up at a submarine against the bright sky, the orange camoflauges the submarine too. Hope this helps! (I'm fairly certain about the dark top reason I give here, but not so certain about the orange bottom reason, when would anyone every bee looking up at a submarine? It's useful for a shark but probably much less useful for a sub. Time for research!) 213.48.15.234 13:02, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Wirbel is correct, it's the waterline when the sub is surfaced. Note this frigate with the same paint style. Note also that your photo #2 is not the same as this paint scheme but rather a trick of the light and water -- there's simply no way to see the underside of Chicago from that angle.

It is not, however, any form of camo. Unlike aircraft, no one looks for subs from the underside, and subs operating near the surface are far more likely to be spotted by their periscopes or any residual wake reaching the surface proper. — Lomn 13:57, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

army jacket

i am after a US army jacket with a yellow logo on the side with a black dog head on, does any1 know where you can get these and who wears them because i really urgently need 1!!! thx :)

File:1CD SSI.gif

Are you sure it's not this image, which sounds similar? 1st Cavalry Division patch. Shimgray | talk | 13:48, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

yep thats the 1! i remember my cousin wearing some uniform with that on when i was really young and have been wondering what it was since then.

Your best bet is to go to eBay and buy the jacket and patches separately and then have them sown on by a professional tailor or seamstress. You may also buy them at an army surplus stores. (may need an article)

Created redirect article at that location. --Maelwys 16:11, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

paint

how to stop the new paint smell and burning of eyes?

Peel an onion, preferably a large one - and slice it thickly into 4-5 pieces. Lay these pieces on dishes placed around the affected room/area - and I guarantee the smell and fumes will be absorbed by the onion within a day. Simply discard the onion afterwards. And next time, do the onion thing before you begin painting. It works - promise.

Origami

I saw [31] on BBC news, anyone have a link on how to make one of these, or how it was made? 213.48.15.234 12:55, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Our Origami article has several links. A Google search doesn't seem to help for this specific one however. --hydnjo talk 13:16, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Would this be worthy of an article? It seems to be a little piece of history as the first valentines gift from royal mail 213.48.15.234 13:22, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Australia Income Tax and Statute of Limitation

Does anyone know what and if there is a statute of limitation for paying income tax in Australia, or if it is different for states, QLD. Say I left Australia without having done a few years of tax returns and oweing them money. How many years would it be safe for me to return without getting arrested? --195.157.84.178 14:48, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Naive or what ? Imagine a Government allowing non-payment of taxes! Death and taxes cannot be avoided.86.219.38.115 16:48, 14 February 2007 (UTC)doughnut

The statute of limitations is in keeping records of submitted income information, that I believe is seven years, don't take my word for it, I'm NOT an accountant, but I believe if they don't audit your return after seven years you are no longer required to hold evidence of what you claimed.. IF you owe them money, they won't just let you off the hook because you've got away with it for seven years. How long were they chasing Christopher Skase? Vespine 21:59, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Help/Clarificaton

My name is Wes Mullings D.D. I have been solicited by both Metropolitan Who's Who and Cambridge Who's Who out of New York. My question is compared to Who's Who in America what is the difference in exposure or recognition. I had maintained a low profile in the years of my accomplishments for the sake of modesty and wanting to stay in the background. But now as i've grown older would like to be recognized. Part 2 question is how does one go about being posted in Who's Who in America. My email address is (personal information redacted to reduce spam per Ref Desk practice).209.247.22.26 16:04, 14 February 2007 (UTC)wes mullings209.247.22.26 16:04, 14 February 2007 (UTC)(Removed personal info. Edison 16:25, 14 February 2007 (UTC))

A google search is sometimes instructive in these matters. --Tagishsimon (talk)

That is a very common scam - beware. They exist to sell you a copy of the book - nobody but people listed in it will ever buy the thing so it's essentially worthless to be listed in it. Be very, very careful. SteveBaker 03:13, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Christian dating service, right? One time, Poetry.com told me that a poem I wrote was good enough for their publication. I didn't buy the book, seeing that there were about 10,000 poems per book, and they were putting out about two such books per month. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:24, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Age question

What exactly is the period of age called when you are between 18 and 21 years? Simply south 16:15, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

In the US, this is often called "college age" or "college years", even when referencing those who might not be attending a post-secondary school. Mishatx *разговор* 16:33, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Young adult?86.219.38.115 16:45, 14 February 2007 (UTC)doughnut

In the UK - Driving, Voting, Smoking amd Drinking Alcohol - but not yet an adult. You go to jail in Britain between 18 and 21 and you go to a Young Offenders' Institution, and after that, an adult prison.

Other language link FA star

Articles which in other languages are featured have small yellow stars by the language name in the 'other languages' list. (Example: Albert Einstein). In my opinion, the yellow star doesn't look very good, and I'd prefer a different design. Where would be the best place to suggest this? Reywas92^Talk 16:35, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Yuk! I see what you mean. It's supposed to be a bronze star. Anyway, the place to discuss it would be the 'talk' page corresponding to that image. But because it's outside the editable area, it must be stored someplace else. I suggest that you ask at: Image talk:LinkFA-star.png. Good luck! SteveBaker 02:29, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

FAQ for keyboard shortcuts

Wouldn't it be a good idea to post a FAQ for Keyboard Shortcuts or Accessibility? I found what I needed to know (how to keyboard to the Search field) only by making my way to a technical discussion thread and then reading down the entries until I encountered one that included this information. Apparently there is a function that is well known among more expert users, but not to intermediate users like me. The discussion was pretty old (2005?) and at that time there were probably proportionately fewer intermediate users of Wikipedia. Salliesatt 18:50, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

First line of Keyboard shortcut: For Wikipedia keyboard shortcuts, see Wikipedia:Keyboard shortcuts. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Canadian Online Pharmacy

Is it illegal to order antibiotics from an online Canadian pharmacy if I am in America and do not have a prescription? What are the legal ramifications of something like that?

Wow, this is both a legal and a medical question! We can't touch it twice as much! Go to a doctor for your infection, and see a lawyer about legalities. --Zeizmic 20:50, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

And while you're out, kick Bush out of office. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:12, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

rooster's red crown

what is the rooster's red crown called? 63.215.26.146 20:06, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

A comb. [32] Mishatx *разговор* 20:10, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia's corresponding article is cockscomb. ---Sluzzelin 21:39, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

That's got to be the one variant I didn't try. I think I'll add a note at comb. Mishatx *разговор* 22:08, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

I was just as surprised when both comb and the rooster yielded nothing. Then I ran to the chicken article and found the link. I ask the native English speakers, farmers and ornithologists to weigh in here. Is cockscomb the best of all lemmas? Should it also redirect from Comb (rooster), Comb (galliformes), Comb (bird), Comb (zoology) ... ? ---Sluzzelin 22:27, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes I agree - and Wikipedia is "The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit" - so you can fix it! SteveBaker 02:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

(Putting farmer hat on) Actually, we perfer to call 'em "the rooster's red crown." V-Man737 02:21, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Do Brits still commonly refer to a rooster as a "cock?" As in "Has anyone seen my ----?" Edison 06:11, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

We farmers always know where our cocks are. V-Man737 06:13, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Sandman: The Wake

Zulli, Muth, and Vess; who did which parts? I know Zulli pencilled the wake (little w) and the epilogue, but who colored? Who inked the other bits? Was Zulli the penciller for everything that needed pencil? 64.198.112.210 21:02, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Have you seen the article The Sandman: The Wake? It seems to have what you are after. I've only read the Gaiman/Mckean Sandmans.. Was Wake good?

Until next time, I think the question would be better posed at the Entertainment Ref desk. 惑乱 分からん 01:05, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Russian Immigration to Germany and the United States

I was wondering if I could have help finding immigration statistics of ethic Russians migrating to the United States and Germany from the late 1800's to the present. I have to create a graph of my results. Thank you very much!

-Heather Falenski168.103.94.46 23:00, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Immigration to the United States and Russian American have some info. Rmhermen 03:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

indoor garden

Suppose I want to start an indoor garden.

1. Can I grow things like strawberries, blueberries, etc, inside in a pot? To do so, can I just bury any old strawberry with seeds covering it, and it will grow? 2. Do I need to keep a special lamp shinning over it, or will an ordinary lamp work? 3. Any suggestions for what else to grow? Duomillia 23:26, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

A quick google search brings up...http://www.webterrace.com/garden/ This might be able to help, i'm not really knowledgeable about gardening so wouldn't like to suggest anything but I do have some chives that grow happily on the window-sill, and I think many herbs can be grown with little more than water and sunlight. ny156uk 00:32, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Most fruit likes being grown in a greenhouse - so if you put your pot next to a suitable window - it ought to grow OK. Dunno about planting a strawberry though - some commercial crops don't produce viable seeds. You would probably be better off trying to buy some small strawberry plants in a garden center or something. Strawberries might have another problem - their original name was 'Stray Berries' because they stick out long stems that droop to the ground and then stick out new roots at the far end...so you get a kind of chain of connected strawberry plants. If they prefer to spread that way, their seeds might well be useless for that reason also. I'm not 100% sure about that though. SteveBaker 02:15, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

If you are serious you should buy seeds so you know exactly what to expect before you invest your time. Incandescent light bulbs are practically useless for plant growth, you should use Compact fluorescent lamps or some other kind of flourescent lamp. The lamp should be as close to the plant as possible without burning it, to maintain high enough light levels. A small herb garden would probably be easier to maintain than fruiting plants. --Diletante 02:17, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

If I keep my garden inside of a clean apartment, will I need to worry about pests? Duomillia 02:45, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

I tried starting seeds indoors in pots with a 2 tube fluorescent growlamp right above them, for later transplanting into a garden outdoors. I measured the intensity of the illumination and found that it was a tiny fraction of the intensity of bright outdoor sunlight. To provide the plants with the intensity of sunlight would apparently require a great many fluorescent bulbs in close proximity (though lord knows people have reportedly grown pot under lights). With inadequate light intensity, plants do not bear fruit and grow tall and spindly. I have had good luck with flowers such as African Violets. Window light for several hours a day might be more productive than plant lights. If you start with sterile potting soil there should be no pests. Pests which come in through, say, an open window could be dealt with by pesticides or biological control (swat 'em). Edison 06:19, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

February 15

Prison

I was just reading this:

The court recommended a sentence of nine years' imprisonment, which was imposed in April 2005 although the start of the sentence is deferred pending appeals.

The way I see it, this guy doesn't have much chance of having his sentence overturned. A lot of appeals must be like that. So why don't people just leave the country? You'd probably have difficulty getting plane tickets, but it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to pay for bus tickets to Texas with cash and escape into Mexico, where you can take a boat or plane to Europe. And living in a foreign country can't be worse than spending nine years in prison. So why don't these people run? --froth^T 00:41, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

For starters, the courts would take away his passport, and if they really thought there was a chance of him running, they can remand him, which means he's in jail anyways until the appeal fails and he goes to prison. Also, if he is to be freed it means someone probably has to post bail for him, which means if he disappears then a bail enforcement agent (aka bounty-hunter) will be coming after him. And I'm sure that his credit cards are monitored so that a purchase at a bus terminal will set off a flag, and the police can intercept the bus. Or maybe they've got an electronic monitoring bracelet on his ankle. Duomillia 00:52, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

OK so no passport, not like mexico is exactly building hundreds of miles of wall. And once you're outside the united states, I doubt you'd see much trouble from the authorities, especially if you hire some drunken expatriot to take you in his boat to south america or even asia. I'm sure as someone making $500000 per month, he would have enough cash on hand to buy a bus ticket.. or just take the trip on foot. If he decides to go on foot, he'd have to get the anklet off, but although I'm sure they set off all sorts of alarms when tampered with, they can't be -too- hard to break with a hammer or rock. And these measures don't seem too extreme at all when facing such significant jail time. I didn't know about remanding, though; how many non-dangerous (like email spamming like this guy) criminals are actually put in jail awaiting appeals? --froth^T 00:57, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

True, true, but only if the guy was smart enough to keep all his money under the mattress, right? A mattress in a house the authorities don't know about, because wouldn't they confiscate his ill gotten swag? If he did this, then yes, he's off on his merry way to S.A. If it was me, I would not want to be walking around carrying 500 000$ in my backpack, but then again I've never faced ten years in prison so who am I to judge. Duomillia 01:15, 15 February 2007 (UTC) ps Just had a thought. There are hundreds of US Border Patrol officers on the border (and yes, *they* are building a wall even if Mexico isn't) so I wonder if they are as good as stopping illegal emigration as immigration... if so then this spammer is probably all set! Duomillia 01:17, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Well you hope the border patrol deports you :) And I only mention the 500,000 because someone with that kind of income must have a ton of cash available --froth^T 01:20, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

There is also the fact that what you're suggesting would put him into even deeper trouble with the US legal authorities. He would either eventually have to come back to the USA (either voluntarily or involuntarily) to face further charges leading to an even longer jail term, or face the prospect of spending the rest of his life outside his country. He might prefer to cut his losses by doing his time now, rather than compounding the problem. JackofOz 01:22, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Well maybe. But personally I'd much rather leave America forever (it's not all that great anyway) than face 9 years in prison --froth^T 01:39, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

You're free to leave. Bye now.  :) JackofOz 02:34, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Whoa wait a second, just because I'd rather leave the country than serve 9 years in prison doesn't mean that I'd rather leave the country than serve the rest of my life to capitalism :) --froth^T 03:11, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

That was a joke by the way, I'm not really a marxist. A lot of the stuff he pointed out was accurate though, ironically making my statement valid... ah well I'm just talking in circles now --froth^T 03:15, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, you can read about the life of Ronnie Biggs, one famous fugitive. He'll probably die in prison, for what is considered a 'minor' role in the great train robbery. Vespine 04:07, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Many countries have extradition treaties between one another, so the convict would have to find a country where this didn't apply. That country, however, would very likely speak a different language and provide little opportunity for the convict.

What are the countries which currently will allow fugitives from U.S. justice to remain therein? With no extradition and no kidnapping by U.S. personnel allowed? Axis of evil? Central/South America? Eastern Europe? Edison 06:23, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Towns

I wonder if Oban, Scotland, my hometown, and Oban, New Zealand, where I'm writing from now could be the two towns with the same name furthest away from each other in the world. Any way to verify or perhaps just say this is likely, or am I totally wrong? 121.73.21.141 01:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

They must be pretty close to the record. If you look at Image:WorldMapWithAntipodes.png you can see that the only places where sizable inhabited parts of the world are directly opposite each other are (1) parts of South America vs. southeast Asia and the East Indies, most notably Argentina vs. China; and (2) part of Spain vs. New Zealand. These are not combinations of places where similar place names are likely to occur, as is true with the U.K. vs. New Zealand, which are close to antipodal but not exactly so. Given the number of European place names like London, Paris, and Madrid that are found in the former British colonies of North America, it seems entirely possible that there is a Spanish place name in New Zealand that would beat out Oban; but I don't know of one, and a quick glance at a New Zealand map doesn't seem to show any.

However, New Zealand does have some place names from England, and one of those might be closer to directly opposite its New Zealand counterpart than the two Obans. Hastings looks like it could come close, for example -- I'm not going to work it out right now.

Interesting question, anyway. --Anonymous, February 15, 2007, 02:20 (UTC).

Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Santa Cruz, Philippines are 12,066 miles apart. The Obans are only 11,719 miles apart. There may be other pairs even farther away from each other. -- Mwalcoff 04:02, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Oban, New Zealand ↔ Oban, Scotland ≈ 18,262 km

Palmerston, New Zealand ↔ Palmerston, Scotland ≈ 18,787 km

− Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:10, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Regardless of milage, Paris, Tennessee is worlds apart from Paris, France. Although each city has an Eiffel Tower, only the one in Tennessee is known to have a giant Catfish sign. (Home of the World's Biggest Fish Fry [33]). Edison 06:28, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

regions of the united states

Which region of the United States has the fewest people?

Alaska. If in the lower 48, the area around the Dakotas and the deserts in the West.

Here is a population density map of the US and A. --TotoBaggins 03:40, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

stumper questions

What are good questions (riddles?) to stump a person with considerable knowledge? Include the answer. Thank you!

What is brown and sticky? --TotoBaggins 03:41, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

And what is the answer?

A stick. --TotoBaggins 03:54, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

---

Here's one that I just solved a couple of minutes ago from GEB. Probably copyrighted all to hell, but who cares? Achilles is talking to his friend the Tortoise on the phone and you can only "hear" Achilles's side of the conversation. I cut out the beginning and the end of the conversation to save typing (they're discussions about music only obliquely related to the actual riddle). Email me for the solution, I don't want to ruin it.

...Speaking of fiddling, how would you like to come over and listen to one of the sonatas for unaccompanied violin by your favorite composer JS Bach? I just bought a marvelous recording of them. I still can't get over the way Bach uses a single violin to create a piece with such interest.

A headache too? That's a shame. Perhaps you should just go to bed.

I see. Have you tried counting sheep?

Oh, oh I see. Yes I fully know what you mean. Well if it's THAT distracting perhaps you'd better tell it to me and let me try to work on it too.

A word with the letters 'A', 'D', 'A', 'C' consecutively inside it... Hmm... What about "abracadabra"?

True. ADAC occurs backwards, not forwards, in that word.

Hours and hours? It sounds like I'm in for a long puzzle, then. Where did you hear this infernal riddle?

You mean he looked like he was meditating on esoteric Buddhist matters but in reality he was just trying to think up complex word puzzles?

Aha!- the snail knew what this fellow was up to. But how did you come to talk to the snail?

Say, I once heard a word puzzle a little bit like this one. Do you want to hear it? Or would it just drive you further into distraction?

I agree- can't do any harm. Here it is: What's a word that begins with the letters "HE" and also ends in with "HE"?

Very ingenious- but that's almost cheating. It's certainly not what I meant!

Of course you're right- it fulfills the conditions but it's sort of a "degenerate" solution. There's another solution which I had in mind.

That's exactly it! How did you come up with it so fast?

So here's a case where having a headache actually mgiht have helped you rather than hindering you. Excellent! But I'm still in the dark on your "ADAC" puzzle.

Congratulations! Now maybe you'll be able to get to sleep! So tell me, what IS the solution?

Well normally I don't like hints but all right. What's your hint?

I don't know what you mean by "figure" and "ground" in this case.

Certainly I know Mosaic II! I know ALL of Escher's works. After all, he's my favorite artist. In any case, I've got a print of Mosaic II hanging on my wall, in plain view from here.

Mosaic II is printed in the book, but you can view it here --froth^T

Yes, I see all the black animals.

Yes, I also see how their negative space -what's left out- defines the white nimals.

So THAT's what you mean by "figure" and "ground". But what does that have to do with the "ADAC" puzzle?

Oh, this is too tricky for me I think I'M starting to get a headache.

You want to come over now? But I thought-

Very well. Perhaps by then I'll have thought of the right answer to YOUR puzzle, using your figure-ground hint, relating it to MY puzzle.

I'd love to play them for you.

--froth^T 03:49, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

---

• Which satement is false

1. At least one of these ten statements is false.
2. At least two of these ten statements are false.
3. At least three of these ten statements are false.
4. At least four of these ten statements are false.
5. At least five of these ten statements are false.
6. At least six of these ten statements are false.
7. At least seven of these ten statements are false.
8. At least eight of these ten statements are false.
9. At least nine of these ten statements are false.
10. At least ten of these ten statements are false.

None of them. Note that's not the same as #10. Gödel's incompleteness theorem. --froth^T 04:13, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

• What English word is nine letters long, and can remain an English word at each step as you remove one letter at a time, right down to a single letter. List the letter you remove each time and the words that result at each step.

Startling, starting, staring, string, sting, sing, sin, in, i. Found via google I'm afraid --froth^T 04:11, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

• What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?

Queue --froth^T 04:04, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

• Mom and Dad have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?

Five --froth^T 04:03, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Seven? --TotoBaggins 04:12, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Seven? I can see 8 if you don't get the riddle but seven? Each daughter has one brother. There's only one brother. 4 daughters + 1 brother = 5 kidlins --froth^T 04:17, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

How many people in the family? == 5 kidlins + mom + dad == 7. --TotoBaggins 04:21, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

• I turn polar bears white

and I will make you cry.

I make guys have to pee

and girls comb their hair.

I make celebrities look stupid

and normal people look like celebrities.

I turn pancakes brown

and make your champane bubble.

If you sqeeze me, I'll pop.

If you look at me, you'll pop.

− Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 03:56, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

ANSWERS PLEASE! Gracias.

I'm trying! --froth^T 04:09, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Water, or maybe not?... 惑乱 分からん 13:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Q: What do a fish and a pig have in common? A: They both have gills, except the pig. --TotoBaggins 04:23, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Don't you have a ring you need to take back to Kansas? Clarityfiend 13:09, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Two from me....

What's orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot.

There's also the riddle of the Sphinx, answered correctly by Oedipus (which brought him fame and glory... and misfortune and misery: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening?" The answer is "man", referring to phases of life (crawling, walking, using a stick)

By the way a "stumper" is slang for a wicketkeeper. Depending on the person's nationality, that could very well "stump" them. --Dweller 13:14, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Major Problem of the American Prison System

There are many controversial aspects of the prison system but the persistence of one problem seems to be unjustifiable no matter the idealogical perspective.

Why are prisons designed to be or allowed to continue to be such fucked up places? As in violent hellholes where at least one inmate a day gets stabbed? Why do we send millions of offenders into a system that seems designed to make them more vicious?

132.239.90.161 03:56, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

My ideological perspective is that criminal justice should be punitive rather than reformative. Fits in pretty nicely with my ideology. --froth^T

Would you rather they live outside and stab us non-inmates? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 04:20, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

A place packed full of F'd up people is going to be very F'd up. Maybe if prisons were filled with nice little old ladies they wouldn't be so bad. My advice would be that if you don't want to be in a prison don't break the law.--ChesterMarcol 04:45, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Wirbelwind, you are making the assumption that all convicts (from car thieves to arsonists to rapists) would stab non-cons willy-nilly. I really don't think it's in their nature to stab, or else all criminals would be convicted of stabbing (rather than grand theft auto, arson, or rape). This type of behaviour is endemic to, and indeed it is caused by, the penal system itself. What do you get when you mix hundreds of frustrated, hopeless men into a building, without regards even to their background (e.g. mixing neo-Nazis with "non-whites")? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:50, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Are you being sarcastic, Froth? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:50, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I see my question is being taken astray. To clarify: No matter what your idealogical perspective, I assume everyone values their safety. So even if you believe in harshly punitive punishment, you do not want released prisoners to be meaner and more menacing because you will suffer. THAT IS MY POINT. Why isn't there any attempt to reform prison culture (e.g. minimize contact between prisoners) when its obvious that the product is more dangerous criminals out of prison? 66.91.225.188 04:58, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually, there have been attempts to reform the prison system, mostly with it swinging between Retributive and Rehabilitative, with the current trend as a mixture of the two, iirc. The short reason for prisons being how they are is probably just that no one has really found a solution that will work as far as lowering the recidivism rate. Also, I think the main reason more inmates aren't separated, etc, is because of the immense cost associated with it- prisons are overcrowded as it is, with more being built, and there simply isn't enough room to seperate everyone, though I think there is some consideration given in instances where the inmate may be harmed by being put into the general population. Seiran 05:16, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

See Prison reform. V-Man737 05:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

My grandfather is a very active prison preacher, and says that most inmates are very willing to listen and shape up when invited to do so by a preacher. V-Man737 05:22, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Also look at the Stanford_prison_experiment, which demonstrated the human response to captivity, and showed that even non-criminals can react in the same way to the same situation. Seiran 05:43, 15 February 2007 (UTC) 05:38, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

"Stars" in lights in night time photography

I've made a few night shots in Sydney that were 3s @ f/8 using the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 on a D50. I've noticed that 14 pointed stars appear on most of the lights (example). What are those stars? How are they produced? Are they related to the shape of the pupil (if I remember correctly the lens has a 7 bladed pupil, maybe that's connected?) --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:30, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Sounds very possible, but also consider internal reflections between the lens elements. How many elements does the lens have in how many groups? Could you post a copy of such a photo so we can see what you're talking about. (Or maybe you attracted 14 UFOs). Try keeping records and shooting the same scene with differnt combinations of lens opeining and exposure time. If the light images move systematically with the lens opening that might be informative. Do they fo away if you use a lens shade to exclude extraneous light? Edison 06:37, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Example is above or here, I can't really try it with different combinations as I am about 3000km from Sydney rihgt now. The lens is quite simple optically, 6 elements in 5 groups, just your standard 50mm normal lens with a UV filter in front. --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:49, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

It really has nothing to do with the pupil, since this is a photograph. I've often wondered what causes these radiating projections. I never noticed that they had fourteen points; in real life, sometimes it looks like only six, and counting all fourteen is hard to do since when I would try to count all of them, the lines would rotate around their axis as my eyes moved to count them—a hopeless task! But it's very clear from this photograph that there are fourteen. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:51, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Maybe I used the wrong word for it, it's the aperture not the pupil. --antilived^{T | C | G} 08:01, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Martial Arts

Can anyone give me a list of the martials arts of Asia, such as: kung fu, t'ai chi, hapkido, etc.?

List of martial arts#Asian martial arts ^_^ V-Man737 05:42, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Uploading Audio

Could anybody out there tell me the way to upload small audio bits (in ogg or other formats), like a place name? Also please help me how to link that to the article. Thx so much 07:16, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Start here: Wikipedia:Media and come back for more assistance as required. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Susie O'Neil

Where was Susie O'Neil educated??

What type of emplyment doid she have?

What is her favourite place to go?

What is her favourite food to eat?

What do people feel about her sport?

What words do other people use to describe her sport?

Thanks Carrie

help

1.more deaths are attributed to this animal than all the wars ever fought,what am i?
2.i am committed to joining but cannot join my own

Perhaps the first one is the mosquito? According to our article on malaria, between one and three million people die each year from this disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 09:38, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

What does it mean to "thigh" someone?

Thanks. --Ķĩřβȳ♥ŤįɱéØ 10:05, 15 February 2007 (UTC)