March 17

Luggage question

Is most hardside luggage allowed to be checked and placed onboard any passenger aircraft--logger 00:29, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, most. However, each airline has their individual luggage restrictions. A common one is that luggage must not have any protrusions or weigh more than 50 pounds (unless an additional fee is paid). Airline and Luggage can get you on the right track for more info. V-Man - ^T/_C 00:39, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I knew about the LBS that the luggage should weigh. it's just the issue with the luggage being metal.--logger 00:45, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Which airline are you wondering about? In my experience, the majority of them should be fine with metal luggage, but if you had a specific airline in mind, I could probably dig up a source for ya. V-Man - ^T/_C 00:56, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am using United and United Express/Trans states.--logger 07:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

this says nothing about hardside luggage, so I'm sure you'd be fine. ^_^ V-Man - ^T/_C 01:00, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Lastest model of LG by Verizon Wireless

What is the lastest model of LG by Verizon Wireless? -68.193.147.179 00:48, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This seems to indicate that it's a version of Chocolate, but with such a trendy and active industry, you'd get a new phone pretty often. V-Man - ^T/_C 23:37, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia

What is the oldest Wikipedia article? The first? The most recent? Did the founder of Wikipedia created the first article? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.250.185.25 (talk) 01:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Neat questions, all of which can surely be answered with or from our various statistics pages...with the exception of the "most recent" article, which, like Zeno's paradox, cannot be pointed to faster than a new article can be created. Enjoy your search! Jfarber 01:38, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, here's the story of the first (surviving) article... [1]. Seems User:Jimbo wasn't the author. Jfarber 01:58, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:OLDEST --h2g2bob 08:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

For the newest, just scroll up to the top of your browser window and click on the "Recent changes" link on the menu to your left. Scroll down until you find one where the word 'diff' is written in black instead of being a 'blue link'. This would mean it doesn't have a 'diff' with a previous version - so it must be a new article. That article was the most recent at the moment you clicked the 'Recent changes' button. But - as has already been pointed out - new articles appear at a rate of one every few seconds(!) so by the time you've found the 'newest', it'll be maybe the tenth newest! SteveBaker 14:32, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As for the oldest article - yes, WP:OLDEST tells you the the first article to be put into the Wikipedia system - but a bunch of Wikipedia articles were created by taking an out-of-copyright edition of some print encyclopedia or other (I have a feeling it was the 1910 edition of Britannica). Those articles were typed in 'verbatim' from the original sources and are in a sense much older than Wikipedia itself. SteveBaker 14:42, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

nymph human maiting

Discussion moved from Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#nymph human maiting.

does anyone know of any occurence, or myth of a nymph being in the ansectery of a human?? if not what other creatures may this be linked to. i have many vivid lucid dreams where i interact for long periods of time. i am looking for reasons for this and for imformation about reciveing information unknown to myself, even words, ideas, creatures etc. that to my memery i have not hierd before. i am very sensitive to other peopls mood around me, they dont even need to be in contact, i can feal the negitive or positive energy in my suroundings, esspecily in sleep. it can make me happy(rarely, i live in nyc) or cause physical pain from depression and stress i feal that i recieve from others around me especily while they sleep. for 5 years i slept during the day and was awake at night, i still had a stressfull life myself when i was awake but the difference in my sleep during the day as aposed to at night is very different, the difference between wakeing up fealing good and wakeing up mad, upset etc. anyone that can help in anyway on this can eather reply to this post or contact me directly at email removed to prevent spam thankyou for reading this, its been an ongoing thing in my life for awhile, i spent 2 years in vermont and the difference there was amazeing, 1 night in nyc sleeping and i could feal the difference eventhough id be home sick and happy to be home, id go to sleep and wake in stress and unpest, ow also AXSITY comes in alot as well. smokey —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.29.137.159 (talk) 21:04, 16 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Perhaps you should see your doctor.--Paloma Walker 21:48, 16 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In reference to lucid dreaming and reciveing information unknown to yourself, there are many ideas surrounding this. A good site for finding information on these topics is www.crystalinks.com, a metaphysical and science website. Think outside the box 14:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, being a night person as opposed to being a day person is not too uncommon. If I am in certain countries and environments where my allergies are very sensetive, then I usually feel much better at night (when there's less pollen) - but by and large it is thought to be more healthy to sleep by night and be awake during the day because our bodies are supposed to follow circadian rhythms (the patterns of the sun) in several ways. There could be dietary factors as well, perhaps you feel better if you wake up and eat proten - as opposed to waking up and having carbohydrayes.
Secondly, please try and rewrite your question - I can't waste too much time answering a question I don't even understand. Rfwoolf 15:11, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As near as I can tell, the actual question here is something like "Can supernatural creatures in a person's ancestry explain the fact that I experience my dreams as real or real-like, and also that I experience a predictable relationship between when I sleep and how I feel the next day? If so, which supernatural creatures would explain this? And, if not, what other factors could explain it?"

I think the concept of Lucid Dreaming is one possible explanation for that last question, as are the dietary and other factors you suggest; other possibilities might merely be an active imagination, with a "see also" to Deja vu and other mentally/socially constructed ways humans use to explain the unexplained, and their scientific basis, or even my own issue -- I am very sensitive to both night noise and light pollution, and, as such, sleep much better in Vermont than in NYC. But I'm not sure that a reference desk is a place to answer the other questions, esp. the conjecture that something "inhuman" is happening here -- I see plenty of mythos available, but no encyclopedic or factual content available for supernatural creatures in human ancestry, especially as a way of explaining sleep cycle/mood relationships; Occam's Razor suggests plenty of other, perfectly biological and neurological reasons for this without conjecturing an ancestral line that includes, say, vampires or nymphs. Jfarber 16:14, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There's an old northern-European tradition about selkies or silkies (essentially were-seals), such that several families are alleged to have some of that ilk in their ancestry. The Secret of Roan Inish (film derived from a book) was based on that tradition. I would not be surprised to discover that other seafaring, coastal, or island peoples had similar legends. -- Ben ^TALK/_HIST 02:08, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And then of course there is Aeneis' father, or uncle, or something

R Lee Ermey says Roswell UFO incident is all Bullshit

File:Rleeermeydoll.jpg

The question is, does this man think anything is not bullshit?

Just seen this on the History Channel/Mail Call today. Agree ? Disagree with the "Sarge" ? 65.173.105.125 02:35, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Is that worthy of inclusion in appropriate articles ? The guy is well known. 65.173.105.125 02:37, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In fact, he said the whole UFO matter is bullshit. 65.173.105.125 02:39, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Uhm, what exactly did he say? There are essentially two sides of that story, and calling it all bullshit would be rather ambiguous. V-Man - ^T/_C 02:42, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

At any rate, people have been calling the various theories about UFOs bullshit for ages. Likewise, people have been supporting the various theories. I see nothing shocking or new in this. V-Man - ^T/_C 02:44, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

He said the usual Party Line message on the matter, such as "you're a idiot", worse, green men on the show. Someone E-mailed him about the whole thing, and it was on today's issue of Mail Call. 65.173.105.125 02:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

He was in the Air Museum of Wright Patterson AFB when the matter came up, and he spouted chapter and verse the entire Party Line on Roswell and UFOs in general. 65.173.105.125 03:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if you can cite a reliable source for it, I'd say go ahead and do so on his article. V-Man - ^T/_C 03:11, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"I'll bet you're the kinda alien that would probe a person in the anus and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give him a reach-around." :) --TotoBaggins 12:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What makes him an expert? Corvus cornix 05:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Question about links to userspace

I am of the understanding that links in articles that go to Wikipedia userspace are not permitted; and that this would be the case whether it was a link directly to userspace or using the URL for that user's page. Unfortunately, I cannot find a reference on this (no doubt looking in the wrong place). Is this correct? Risker 03:48, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It requires just a little bit of logical thinking: why would you normally need a link to the userspace in an article? They aren't signed, for one. Two, userspace is not a valid reference for an article. I can't think of a reason one would need it. --Ouro (blah blah) 16:17, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In general, there is little reason to link to userspace from the article space. However, there are certain exceptions. Jimmy Wales quite reasonably links to User:Jimbo Wales, for instance. (Note that such a link should be formatted as an external link rather than a wikilink.) Perhaps you could provide the details of your specific situation? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 16:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, but Jimbo Wales is an exception. One could thus surmise that should anyone of notability and fame be an editor at Wikipedia (thus having their own article in the mainspace), they could disclose it by linking to their user page. So, tell us who you are :) --Ouro (blah blah) 18:08, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting. I understood this exception to be much narrower -- to only apply if it was someone's association with Wikipedia which was what was fundamentally notable about that person. After all, even if George Bush were a Wikipedian, that would not make his personal userpage somehow relevant to the article George W. Bush. Jfarber 18:36, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Biggest railroad passanger carrying coach manufactuters

Dear Sir, I would request you to mail me the list of top 10 largest rail road coach manufacturers in the world in terms of no. of coach produced per annum in last three years. To my information, the largest coach manufacturer in India is RCF which produce Approx. 1200 coaches per annum. B M Agrawal (E-Mail removed to prevent spammage)—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.94.137.10 (talk) 04:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Answer has been sent to you via telepathy-mail. Seriously this site does not answer reference questions by mailing answers, rather volunteers post same place you posed the question. User:AlMac|^(talk) 21:37, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There are several articles in this encyclopaedia which may be helpful to you, such as:

Rail transport

User:AlMac|^(talk) 21:43, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Speeding ticket and court

I got a speeding ticket when I made a quick right turn and the cop was right there. My tire was on the double yellow line (left tire) because I didnt make a perfect 90 degree turn (because I turned too fast), but the cop claims that based on his experience, what I'm saying is BS, and I had to have been speeding. He said I was going 50 and turned at 50 miles per hour. Is there anything I can say in court to try to get out of it? I feel as if I should have gotten a ticket for turning too fast, rather than speeding, so I'm hoping I can get out of it. Any ideas on what to say to the judge? Thanks guys —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.167.136.84 (talk) 06:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

In most jurisdictions, making an unsafe turn results in greater penalty than a speeding ticket, particularly in the insurance aftereffects. Take your ticket to court, or hire one of those firms that specialises in getting people out of tickets; they have a higher than average result rate. In many jurisdictions, if the cop doesn't show up for court, you will get off because of lack of a witness; and cops are often very busy doing, well, police work. Good luck - and slow down ;). Risker 06:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No he is going to show up, its LAPD, they are required to show up. They can't give me a ticket for something else later, they can't say you were doing this also and give me a ticket in court. Yeah I think i'm going to have to get a lawyer. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.167.159.75 (talk) 19:46, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

the quality of methamphetamine

how come some methamphetamine tastes bad and burns "dirty" while some tastes relativly decent and burns "clean"? I understand about the cookware being clean or dirty affecting the taste but it seems that if a person does a rinse of acetone it improves both the taste and burning .Do some of the precursors have a shelf life that might affect taste and solubility? Or is it simply the "cooks" recipe that decides the quality of the product ?Shredder0288 07:24, 17 March 2007 (UTC)shredder0288[reply]

Because you're burning something made in someone's basement? Luigi30 (Taλk) 17:26, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Shotgun

I was reading the sawn-off shotgun article, and it said how sawed off shotguns are sometimes dubbed 'wristbreakers'. This made me think. Could a person actually break his wrist firing a shotgun (normal length) one handed? If not, why not?Cuban Cigar 08:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Various disorders, such as osteoporosis, can make bones weak and brittle enough that even relatively small forces can cause injury. Certainly firing a shotgun one-handed would be dangerous for someone with such a condition. --TotoBaggins 12:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Just a guess but I would have thought that the OP was thinking of a person without degenerative bone problems. Just an average healthy person. Most anything is possible when you start tacking on diseases, handicaps, the possibility of alien abduction, Nazis, outrageous coincidences, etc. Dismas|^(talk) 15:40, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A shotgun, especially a 12 gauge, kicks like a mule, and is likely to bruise your shoulder, especially if you do not hold it firmly against the shoulder when firing. If the gun's mass is decreased by sawing off part of the barrel the kick would increase unless the muzzle velocity decreased enough to compensate. If the stock is sawn off as well as the barrel so that the shotgun is more concealable, the kick could be much greater (again unless the muzzle velocity decreases). The energy to be dissipated should be (1/2)*(mass of shot and wadding and gases expelled)*(muzzle velocity squared). I expect that a robber aiming such a gun at a victim is aware that he might get a broken wrist, but the victim could expect much worse injuries from the shot ripping into his flesh, and so the weapon will be effective as a persuader. Edison 16:52, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wow i thought that a saw-off shotgun would kick less than a regular shotgun (but Edison's formula makes sense so I guess I was wrong). So, if say a a 12 gauge shotgun was sawn off (is this even possible) was fired one handed, could it in fact break a person's wrist (an 'average' person)?Cuban Cigar 23:50, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is still a poor question. Do you want 'statistics'? Do you want to know if it has ever happened? I'm sure it's happened, just as I am sure there are ways to minimise the chance of it happening. Tape up your wrist and such. Have you even thought what it means to break your wrist? Do you mean actually break a bone in your wrist? Because that's probably less likely, but if you mean tear a ligament or badly sprain something then I'd guess it's not so unlikely. Vespine 21:36, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Derek Plante's name on hockey's Stanley Cup

In June 1999, the Dallas Stars beat the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals (a game made famous by the controversial "skate in the crease" goal scored in overtime by Brett Hull). One of the members of the Stars was Derek Plante, a former Buffalo Sabre, whose name was subsequently engraved on the Cup. However, Plante did not appear in any of the games between the Stars and Sabres in the Final nor did he play 41 regular season games for the Stars (at the time, one of these two qualifications had to be met in order for a player's name to be included on the Cup). Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated. I would have posted this question in the "Arcane Sports" category it existed on Wikipedia. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.243.174.150 (talk) 12:29, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Question

In the Psychopath thread it notes that most psychopaths have no sight of long term consequences but it also states that most research are done on prison populations. Is it therefore safe to assume that there is indeed Psychopaths with clear long time consequences sight but who havent been researched. Joneleth 15:15, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Safe to assume? I wouldn't assume it. Is it possible? Sure, most anything is possible and there are normally exceptions to every rule. Dismas|^(talk) 15:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

According to the article in question, Psychopathy is defined by only two things: lack of empathy/conscience, and poor impulse control OR manupulative behaviors. The article then notes that the essence of this behavioral set is that "What is missing, in other words, are the very qualities that allow a human being to live in social harmony."

It seems to me that, if you wanted to assume that there were a whole group of psychopaths out there who were distinctly different from those in jail because they could see the long-term consequences of their actions, what you are assuming is that they are exercising that assumed foresight to act in social harmony -- that is, to not act on their psychopathic impulses, and thus keep out of jail.

But if you're assuming THAT...then, according to the definition, you're assuming they're not psychopaths anymore. In fact, I'd suggest you're assuming, instead, that they are just people who have some issues. We ALL have urges which are counter to social harmony sometimes; most of us, however, either choose not to act on those impulses, or are something else which is itself clinically definable (for example, we feel bad about our actions, but we have poor impulse control, which might put us in jail but would not put us in the group of psychopaths being studied there), or seem to be clinically no different from those psychopaths we might see in jail.

Alternately, I suppose, you could be assuming that those folks are either just lucky enough to stay out of jail, or better at hiding. But in neither case does that allow you to assume that they are therefore clinically different from those in jail -- just more skilled, or more randomly lucky.

The answer, then appears to be NO -- it is unsafe to assume that there are psychopaths out there who do not have the same symptom set as psychopaths, because those people are either not psychopaths, or are psychologically matched to psychopaths anywhere. They are jsut either lucky or more skilled (neither of which are clinical issues), OR they just have some of the symptoms and qualities which, when coupled with other specific symptoms that they do NOT Have, are defined clinically as psycopathy. Jfarber 16:32, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone who has spent time in corporations or academia or other organizations may well have observed behavior judged typical of sociopaths: manipulative poeple who see nothing wrong with using others, in those who are clawing their way to the top. The ones in jail or institutions may be those who were less lucky or less successful in getting aweay with ruthless behavior and the using of others. In a business meeting an attorney said it would be immoral to engage in a certain course of action. An executive said "But we would never get caught would we? and could not see the point of discussing morality. The more successful such persons are certainly able to look at the long-term consequences of their actions in terms of the likelihood of being caught and punished. Edison 16:58, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

But are those people still, clinically speaking, psychopaths? By definition, psychopaths are lacking the abilities that allow them to live in social harmony; you've described a coping mechanism that allows people to function socially. Isn't it that very success which makes them NOT psychopaths anymore? (Doesn't mean they don't have psychological issues, but the symptoms and differenced required to earn the label Psychopath seem narrowly proscribed.) I would encourage closer reading of the "related disorders" section of the original article. Jfarber 17:57, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Human behavior is extremely complicated and multi-faceted. Beware of the halo effect and its opposite, the devil effect, which cause many people to judge others as either being all good or all bad. A person might well show manipulativeness and lack of empathy toward some people, or in some contexts, while being a veritable eagle scout in other contexts. As I heard a comedian say recently, "You kill one person, and people call you a murderer." The same business executive who ruthlessly destroys his competitors, bending and twisting the rules as necessary, might contribute vast sums to a children's hospital. He might let you step in line ahead of him at the grocery. In fact this inconsistency is so common it's almost a cliché: predatory capitalist becomes noted philanthropist (see: John D. Rockefeller, Howard Hughes, Bill Gates, etc.). There are good and bad traits in everyone, and often it depends on who you ask. For example, in nations such as the USA, driving automobiles is taken for granted, nobody sees anything wrong with it, but automobiles are a greater source of violence than what is ordinarily labeled crime, not to mention the resulting petroleum dependency that pushes the USA into ceaseless military involvement in the Middle East. To someone who sees the problems with automobile dependency, much of the ordinary population in the USA appears to be sociopathic, but of course no psychologist would define sociopathology that way, any more than a murderer in a whole society of murderers would be sociopathic. The average person just doesn't notice the external costs he or she dumps on others, except where his or her culture happens to be making an issue of some item of external cost. --Teratornis 16:18, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Jfarber the thread also states how Psychopaths learns to mimic emotions and feelings to hide their Psychopathic tendencies but that doesnt make them any less Psychopaths. My thesis where that there is also Psychopaths out there that learned to mimic social behavior in order to get better long term consequences but that wouldnt make them any less Psychopaths either even though they would officially be working members of society. Joneleth 17:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm hoping we're both seeing the same thing, because I'm referring to a Wikipedia entry, while you're describing a "thread" -- the term I'm using assumes that there is ultimately some consensus and fact available, and the term you're using is not one associated with encyclopedia entries, but with opinion-sharing.

That said, and to the question, is it fair to restate your question as asking whether it is safe to ASSUME that the ability to mimic social behavior (at least enough to keep themselves out of jail) is due to a fundamental ability to foresee LONG term consequences...because if the answer were "yes", it would challenge the validity of extant studies of psychopathic behavior?

I assumed that this was what you were really asking. And I assumed that, since this is a reference desk, the question would be answerable using reference materials -- that it is an issue of question redefinition and information location, in other words. If all that is true, then, armed with the definition of "psychopathy", and with logic, I maintain that you cannot assume what you are asking to assume -- that logic leaves other possibilities both available and probable which would contradict your assumptions. There are many other possible reasons why some psychopaths might not end up in jail; there are many possible answers ways to explain the differences between jailed psychopaths and non-jailed (or even non-jailable)psychopaths; we need not assume a fundamental difference in, specifically, the ability to see long-term consequences in order to explain even these differences in behavior. For example, there are plenty of SHORT term reasons why one might be constantly reminded to behave in (mostly) socially appropriate ways; we need not assume a difference in LONG-term psychological outlook to allow for even Edison's examples. Jfarber 17:57, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

IPod-nano

How would I go about putting a new playlist on my IPod nano? I have already created one, but I simply cannot put it on my I-pod. Thanks, Яussiaп F 15:22, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The following is assuming that you have the most current version of iTunes. Create the playlist in iTunes. Connect your iPod. On the left the iPod should be listed, amongst your library and all the playlists. Click on the iPod. That should bring up, in the main view, info about the iPod. In this window there should be four tabs: Summary, Music, Podcasts, and Contacts. Click on the music tab. Click or unclick whichever playlists you would like to have on the iPod. Hit "Apply" in the lower right. Done. Dismas|^(talk) 15:38, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Danke :) Яussiaп F 15:42, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bitte. :) Dismas|^(talk) 15:47, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

U.S. Military

What percent of the soilders in the U.S. military joined after the war started?--ChesterMarcol 17:58, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In a way, all of them as this is just a continuation of a much older war :] HS7 20:54, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

By "the war", I assume you mean the war on terror; while I do not have any numbers I do recall hering in a local news story that after 9/11 one of the U.S. Air Force recruiting offices here in the city averaged one new recruit a day. I would assume that most recruiting offices had something similar happen, so mathamaticaly the number is probably a few thousand or a few ten thousand. TomStar81 (Talk) 00:40, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

1.4 million people are currently on active duty with 1,25 million more in reserves. I'm not sure what the average length of service is - but if it were 10 years - then 10% of that number would have to be replaced every year - 140,000 active service people per year - about 400 per day - maybe 700 per day if you include the reserves. There is a drive to add 100,000 new soldiers over the next 5 years - but that's only another 54 recruits per day. So I doubt that they are recruiting a few thousand per day unless the average time in service is a lot shorter than 10 years. SteveBaker 14:20, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Animal Pak

Does Animal Pak contain any substances that would show up on a drug test, or would be considered "cheating" in high school or college level sports? And does Animal Cuts contain any such substances? Thank You. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.135.232.208 (talk) 19:18, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

There is an ingredient list on their website. Animal Cuts has an ingredient list here. I don't see anything obvious, in fact a lot of it looks like multivitamin stuff. Anyone know of specific banned substances that athletes need to watch out for in supplements like this? Dave6 ^talk 10:37, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cricket Rules

What on earth are the rules of cricket? How is it scored and what is a ducky? Ireland are actually doing quite well in the Cricket World Cup and as we haven't won the Rugby Six Nations I need to move on. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.38.3.218 (talk) 20:42, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

The article on cricket would be a good place to start, but if you have specific questions about the rules, please post them here. As to the second part of your question, a duck is a term used to indicate that a batter scored zero runs in their innings. Carom 21:10, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Two minor points: firstly, they are batsmen not batters (at least in England; batter was common in the 19th century and possibly into the 20th). Secondly, to get a duck one needs to score zero runs and be out; 0 not out is not a duck. And while I'm here, congratulations to Ireland for their ludicrously good performance in the world cup! Algebraist 18:03, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What Algebraist said, but... Strictly speaking, 'duck' is either the score of any batsman who did not make a run before being dismissed; or, the score of any batsman who has not been dismissed but has not yet made made any runs - in cricket parlance, they are still 'on a duck'. When a batsman who had previously not made any runs in an innings makes his or her first run/s and remains undismissed, they are said to have 'broken their duck.'

Under the standard Laws of Cricket, two undismissed batsmen must be 'at the crease' for an innings to continue (this rule may be ignored in Backyard cricket); when there are no wickets left to fall at the end of an innings, one batsman will have not lost his or her wicket, and will be 'not-out'. Perversely, and just as Algebraist said, a batsman who is 'not-out' but has scored no runs is not considered to have made a 'duck'. Why? Who knows. Cricket's a funny game. ps: Vale Bob Woolmer.

O hare question

Does the Chicago o hare airport have any observation decks or rooms where aircraft can be watched taking off our landing other than the gate areas.--logger 21:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, if you are an air traffic controller, then these towers will allow you to watch takeoffs and landings. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 22:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

O'Hare International Airport doesn't mention any specific observation deck, but I'd bet there are numerous lounges, etc. where you can watch planes taking off and landing. You can also often see this from the parking areas. StuRat 01:30, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Counterstrike

How can you find a server where you can kill your teammates without actually going into every server to check? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.185.133.233 (talk) 22:24, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Isn't that defeating the purpose of being on the same team. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:49, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Surely it would be easier to kill people on your team , as they wouldn't be expecting it :] HS7 18:58, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes but most servers which have FF on will usually kick you plenty fast if you kill your team mates on purpose. In response to the question, many servers with FF on say so in their server names Nil Einne 02:38, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Article Removed -- Don't know why

I created an article for the Director of Public Health Dr. Jonathan Fielding in January 2007. I use materials provided from his standard Bio and Resume. There were not copywright violations, however, some of those materials are used elsewhere on the web to describe him, e.g. when he is a member of a prestigious committee, etc. I indicated that in the Discussion for his article when someone removed the Overview section since it appeared elsewhere. I can no longer find any history in my contributions either. Dr. Fielding has made major contributions to the field of public health and he is nationally recognized in many areas. Clearly, he should have an entry in Wikipedia. Is there anyone I can write to which will help resolve this. Thanks Dr. Strassburg Mstrassburg 22:40, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried leaving messages to this effect on the talk pages of the two editors mentioned on the deletion log for that page? Jfarber 01:57, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If that doesn't work, WP:CP notes that talk pages are limited in thier effectiveness as spaces to "prove" legitimacy of sources, and suggests several alternatives. Jfarber 02:01, 18 March 2007 (UTC) again[reply]

I have a question about wikipedia

How do i nominate an article for Featured Artice status?1 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Partapdua1 (talk • contribs) 22:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Have a look at this page: Wikipedia:Featured article candidates. - Akamad 00:03, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

WP:FAC is a hard test to pass - and nearly everyone tries to get through it before the article is ready for it. In my experience, it is a good idea to first put the article through Peer Review - then when it's been there for a week or two, put it up for "Good Article" candidacy - that's easier to achieve than "Featured Article" and gets you more high-quality feedback. Then, and only then, would I shoot for Featured article candidacy. The reason for this is that your best chance of making it through the barrage of criticism at the FA level is the first time. If your article fails WP:FAC once - then it's MUCH harder to get through the second time because the editors look back on all of the criticisms that were put up the first time as well as making new criticisms of their own! So - I advise taking it slowly and also reading all of the guideline articles listed under 'See also' and 'Advice from individual users' on the Wikipedia:Featured article criteria page. Be 100% sure you are meeting all of them! SteveBaker 14:07, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Jobs...

Can you get any kind of office job with just a highschool diploma? I just want any kind of office job that pays okay. Like I dunno any of those guys you see working in an office building in a movie. (Believe it or not I've never been in a purpose-built office building. Actually I don't think there are any in my hometown.) Anyway, what I'm trying to figure out is do I have to get a university degree or college (community) diploma? Another thing is, like any job, I'm asuming they're gonna expect some relevant experience, and I don't have any at all. I need experience to get experience--where the hell do I start? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.53.181.36 (talk) 23:33, 17 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

You don't say where you live but your IP address is Bradford New Hampshire, so this answer is relevant mainly to the US, and I will assume you are between 16 and 21 or you would have already begun to discover the answer for yourself. I also don't know what you consider "okay" pay; I assume your standards are pretty low if you are asking this question. There are huge numbers of low-paying clerical jobs in offices that require only a high school diploma, but you may lose out to someone else who has at least a little post-high-school schooling (even community college or local business school or technical school). Here are some suggestions:

Often the best way to get one of these entry level jobs is to have a connection (friend or relative) in the company, or at least make it widely known to all your friends and relatives that you are looking hard and would be grateful for tips.
Do anything to get a little experience that might be relevant. Many schools have "internship"-type arrangements with companies.
Take part-time or minimum wage non-office work in a company that has lots of offices. Many managers rise from the ranks and employess usually get first shot at newly opened jobs.
Talk to your guidance counselor. Many of them sincerely like to help, and will know much more about local conditions and employers. Most have access to enormous lists of types of jobs that most of us might not think of. If you are out of school, go back to your HS and talk to one of them anyway.
Remember that low level office work does not pay as well as skilled craftsman type work. If you hate school that much or have that much trouble with it, maybe an office isn't what you want anyway. If you do okay at school, you shouldn't even be thinking of not getting enough school to get you a job that sounds good to you. Good luck.alteripse 00:46, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

you can get a high-paying office job without a college degree. it's really not hard - you just have to know where to look. also, do not expect to make much the first year, but after that you'll be making more and more as long as you stay with them (if the company is decent). Coolsnak3 19:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Married Wikipedians?

How many Wikipedian couples are there? Just curious to know. bibliomaniac 1 5 23:36, 17 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I guess there's Category:Married Wikipedians. But I doubt it really reflects the entire community. In fact, I doubt there's any reliable statistics for wikipedians as a whole anywhere. —Mitaphane _?|! 00:08, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Repair squeaking floor boards

How do you repair squeaking floor boards? Ross50 00:00, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You might have to check to see if the board is nailed in right- if not, fix it! :) also, if they're just old boards with problems, you could add new ones, but that would probably be too much work to just get rid of squeaking for some people -Dixie48 01:45, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You repair them by stopping the sequeak. The squeak is a result of two peices of wood rubbing against each other. You can pull them up, and nail down the underlying layment, then use a glue like ... crap, I forgot the type of glue. OH! Polyurathane. Thats it. use a thin a layer as possible. that should stop the movement of the boards, and the squeaking. 67.180.27.49 03:43, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's not as easy as it sounds, though. Once you glue two boards together, you will frequently find they will then move relative to the boards on one or both sides. You may end up having to glue the entire floor together, only to find that it insists on moving relative to the walls. For a quick and dirty fix you can put baby powder in the areas that squeak, and be sure to get it down between the boards. The talc acts as a lubricant, allowing the boards to move relative to each other silently. StuRat 01:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Grapes of Wrath Online Text

Hello! Does anyone know where I could read "The Grapes of Wrath" online, or download the eBook for free? Thanks - Vikramkr 00:47, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I would start by checking out articles on the refrigerator, as I would assume they would have wrathful grapes :) On a more serious note, I have been told by my fellow student friends that if you have a line or quote of some sort from the text you can punch the entire thing in online and websites with full text copies of the work in question will pop up in the search results. I have no idea how true that is, but you may want to try if nothing else works. TomStar81 (Talk) 00:49, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, it's not in the public domains yet, so any means you find will be likely illegal. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:26, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

(after edit conflict)

Wirbelwind is right that this book is under copyright; we can't recommend illegal activities. edited to add:Also, out of curiosity, I tried TomStar's strategy armed with google and a famous quote from the book, and got no results. Guess you'll not get to illegally download the book! (/end edit.)

But don't despair! There IS a great way to get this and many other eBooks legally, if your local library (or school library) is part of a network which subscribes to eBook or other computer-based subscription services, and if the book is part of that subscription service. Before despairing, I'd march right in to your local school or public library, or call them, and ask someone at the reference desk to help you. Assuming you have a library card, this service IS free, legal, and actually quite easy; I used this system to download a copy of Lord of the Flies just last month through interlibrary loan. (Gee, it seems to weird to refer someone from the Reference Desk to a reference desk...but I guess that's what librarians are for!) Jfarber 01:36, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Project Gutenberg is a great place for free books - it's like Wikipedia in that it's user-supported and run as a non-profit. People go there and type in and proof-read entire books and give them away for free: http://www.gutenberg.org - however, they can only put up books that are out of copyright or with the permission of author/publisher/etc. Since "Grapes of Wrath" was published in 1939 and it's author only died in 1968, it's still within copyright - so Gutenberg doesn't have it. For that same reason, I doubt that anywhere will have a legally downloadable free copy - so you're probably out of luck. SteveBaker 13:56, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Good call on Gutenberg, Steve, but see above -- library books are free; library eBooks are free & legal downloads. The only caveat is that you don't get to keep them...and you have to return them on time, lest they stop being free. Jfarber 18:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Project Gutenberg of Australia has similar goals to PG but works on works that are public domain in Australia. Such works may still be copyrighted in other countries. In this case, it is rather unlikely the book in question is public domain in Australia either and it doesn't appear to be there but it might be a useful for future reference. Bear in mind the legality of downloading and using books from either project depends on where you live. If you live in Australia, I think all books in the normal PG are legal but I'm not sure. However it's rather likely that some books on PG-A are not legal in the US. If you live somewhere else, you will have to consult your local laws. Nil Einne 02:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Completely OT but I like eMule. It's a great program. Nil Einne 02:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

getting rid of it

Hey, I was wondering how to get rid of stomach fat quickly? Do jumping jacks & crunches do it? if so, how many a day? if not, what does? what should you refrain from eating? etc. etc. -thanks alot — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.211.8.100 (talk)

Figure out the number of calories you take in during one day. Burn at least that many during the day. Weight will be lost. It's a simple equation. Where the fat is (stomach, butt, hips, thighs, etc. ) doesn't matter. A healthy diet will help by getting more nutrition from the food you eat. Dismas|^(talk) 03:15, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How to loose weight: Eat less, work out more. That is what burns fat. I eat plenty of fruit, and especially Bananans. Bannans contain Colene, which stimulates the hippocampus area of the brain, which produces growth hormones naturally. The best type of health/excerise programs convery body fat to muscle, hence you do not lose weight. DO NOT GO ON A DIET WITHOUT THE SUPERVISION OF A PHYSISAN. 67.180.27.49 03:22, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

To lose weight, follow directions @ http://health.howstuffworks.com/calorie.htm. Unfortinately there is no way to "target" belly fat; you have to lose fat all over your body in order to lose it from your belly. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.138.84.159 (talk) 05:38, 18 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

The assertions about 'fat being fat' don't appear to be 100% true. Sorry I'm too tired to look right now, but several recent studies I've read (including a news item from just a couple of days ago) have found that endocrine problems (notably but not exclusively exposure to environmentally-borne pseudo-sex hormones) seem to result in more belly fat. IIRC the same is true of excess carb consumption in insulin-resistant people, although that is from not-so-recent memory. Anchoress 06:05, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I concur.

On the one hand, eating loads of greasy bacon and fat-laden sausages is likely not going to improve your silhouette, but on the other, you've got loads of evidence to suggest that fats and oils from fish, and from olives, are exceptionally good for you, and as such probably aren't a bad idea to start bringing the belt size down. Vranak

How do you add a userbox to your page?

ditto -Dixie48 01:43, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Answer here. Jfarber 01:44, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Userboxes --⁪froth^t 14:25, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Chess Club

isnt it ironic that chess players and by extention, the "chess clubs" at schools are seen as nerdy and effete when in reality, Chess is an important element in the study of war and fighting. Indeed, most Medieval squires had chess as part of their training to become Knights. And most chess players in reality today are very martial and fearsome. Hallibrah 02:59, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a question in there or are you just making an observation? Dismas|^(talk) 03:13, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That is a question. I was like "why is it that . . . ?" Hallibrah 03:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I play chess, as do many of my friends, who are neither 'nerdy and effete' nor 'martial and fearsome', for which I am truly thankful! Clio the Muse 05:23, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There's no denying that Chess is not a physical sport (it's certainly a mental sport, and any sport if you take forms of organized competition as a sport) - Chess does not increase the heart rate, there's no physical training involved, Chess won't make you physically stronger, Chess won't make you run faster or hit a ball more accurately.

It is nonetheless interesting to note that the chess players I knew in school didn't really participate in the sports, and vice verse. Rfwoolf 08:00, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, there's chess boxing...--Mwalcoff 09:07, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Great link! I also recall a game invented by Alan Turing, called running chess or around-the house-chess or something, where both players make their moves in the time it takes for the other opponent to run (or walk, if already exhausted) around the house. ---Sluzzelin talk 15:46, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dirt roads

Why and how do 'washboard' ridges form on dirt roads? 68.231.151.161 06:10, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Suppose there is a little bump in an otherwise smooth dirt road. When a car's wheel goes over it, the springs are compressed and the car bounces up and down a couple of times before the shocks eventually dampen down the motion and the car rolls smoothely again. When the car is propelled upwards, it doesn't put so much pressure on the road and therefore wears it out less - whenever it's propelled downwards, it hits the road a bit harder and wears the dirt off a little bit more than usual. Since every car that goes over that bump does the exact same thing, and cars tend to bounce about the same amount, you get a series of bumps and hollows forming behind that very first bump in the road at exactly the right spacing to hit the 'resonant frequency'. Those secondary bumps and hollows get each car's suspension bouncing up and down still more - so the ripples gradually spread along the entire length and width of the road - and every car that travels along it makes them deeper until - after enough years and enough cars - you have a washboard. Also, if it rains, then the rain will run off the bumps and down into the hollows - then flow along the hollows until it reaches the ditch on the side of the road. That flow will erode dirt out of the hollows - still more emphasising the washboard effect. SteveBaker 13:49, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And then if the road freezes with a lot of moisture in it, that pressure has to go somewhere. That could create the initial bump. Dismas|^(talk) 13:58, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The seminal study on this surprisingly complicated topic was done by nuclear physicist Keith Mather and reported in Scientific American in 1963: [2]. Cheers Geologyguy 15:29, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A wonderful book aimed squarely at this and similar imponderables is "The Flying Circus of Physics". --TotoBaggins 23:55, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

no, acctually it is caused by rain water falling ion the road and running off to the side, when raods are made, dirt roads, they try to get the middle higher than the edges so water will runn off, thus you will not have a muddy road, ridges are an unavioidable side effect.81.144.161.223 15:18, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you start a sentence like that with 'no', it is expected that you will be disagreeing with previous answerers. If you read SteveBaker's thorough reply, you will see that your answer is included in his as a minor way in which this effect is enhanced. You will also see that the source provided by GeologyGuy backs Steve up, and describes an actual study someone did which produced this effect in the way that Steve described it. You will also notice that that the study found a road had to be dry for this effect to emerge. Do you have a source for your answer? Skittle 16:30, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The effect can't be caused by water runoff alone because that would produce an irregular set of ridges. The defining thing about washboard roads is the amazing regularity of the ridges. They always seem to be spaced such as to produce the worst kind of vibrations in your car. You can actually measure the distance between the ridges and they are exactly regular over hundreds of feet of road. This is not a coincidence - they form at the resonant frequency of the suspension systems of 'typical' cars. If they were formed by water erosion alone, they would form sinuous, forking patterns of erosion at random spacings. SteveBaker 01:06, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Champagne cork deaths

How many people die each year from champagne corks popping in their direction? --Candy-Panda 08:25, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Snopes.com lists this rumour as unanswerable. A lot of websites and emails state it's likelier to die of a champagne cork popped at you than from a poisonous spider. Statistically, that's true in my case, as I'm far more likely to meet a flying cork than a spider to begin with. But seeing as snopes can't find any evidence anyone ever died of a champagne cork, I'd say it's a myth. If it ever happened, someone would've reported it. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:45, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There have been many people bruised, cut and (rarely) blinded by a popped cork, (and for that matter, soda bottle caps) but as the previous poster mentioned, Snopes.com has no evidence of it. With that said, common sense should tell you that death by cork is extremely unlikely, if not impossible, due to the extremely low mass of a popped cork. While a Champagne cork's ejection speed is around 60MPH (if I remember correctly), it's such a light and rounded item, it doesn't have the shape, let alone the mass to pierce skin, much less bone.
To compare, The Discovery Channel show MythBusters proved in the "Penny Drop" episode that a penny dropped from the Empire State building can't kill a person; it would only give them a small cut. Even though the penny's terminal velocity was 113MPH, it did not have enough mass to accumulate the energy needed to pierce someone's skull. A cork may be larger, but its mass is similar to that of a penny, and is spread across a much larger surface area. That would make it less dangerous than the penny. --Kelaniz 06:33, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If the cork enters you mouth, it could make you choke and die. But as this is extremely unlikely to occur, it may very well have never happened Nil Einne 02:51, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You can probably increase the champagne death rate by always using the sabre method to open your bottles. Nothing mixes quite so well as alcohol and sword play. Even though it's a crowd pleaser, I do find it's a terrible waste of good champagne. - Nunh-huh 03:50, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

March 18

Wikipedian dies

What happens when a wikipedian dies? I mean what happens to his user page and stuff? Has it ever happened? A.Z. 12:52, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've no idea what would happen (presumable the account will become inactive) but unless someone notified wikipedia how would anybody know if the person had died and not just stopped using their account? I suspect that in the years that wikipedia has existed and considering the thousands of wikipedians that have helped make it so good that at least one poor soul has died. ny156uk 12:57, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

We have 3.8 million user accounts - although the number of actual people is certainly less than that because some people have sock-puppets. Let's guess at 2 million actual people. The death rate in most of the world where computers are common and Wikipedians are therefore most likely to live is between 5 and 10 deaths per thousand people per year. So between 10,000 and 20,000 Wikipedians die every year. That's between 30 and 60 of our members every day - the odds are good that a Wikipedian died while I was typing this message. Obviously Wiki doesn't know when this has happened - even very experienced Wikipedians leave the project for all sorts of reasons other than death (and some of them return months or years later) - but many, many of those two million users create the account and never edit a single article. But even if you are talking about experienced Wikipedians...I think there are something like 10,000 people with more than 1,000 edits - every year 50 to 100 of them will die. So what happens? Nothing. The account is still there - nobody ever edits it again because the password is (presumably) lost. The user page remains as a memorial forever (Hmmm - maybe I should clean up my user page some - I wouldn't want what I have now to be my perpetual memorial!). If it's someone very well known, we may wonder where they went - perhaps even someone might take the trouble to email and ask how they are - but mostly, probably not. A recent rule change allows people to take over accounts that have very few edits credited to them if they have been inactive for some large amount of time (to prevent the hogging of good user names). But that rule excludes accounts that have more than a few edits credited to them - so if the account owner dies and is a "true Wikipedian" with a bunch of edits to their name - then the account will probably be here as long as Wikipedia continues to exist - which (since we are now the repository of ALL human knowledge) could easily be forever. I think that's a fitting end. I'm going to go off and cry now! SteveBaker 13:32, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Although the death rate among Wikipedians should be lower than that among the general community, because most Wikipedians are in their 30s or younger, so barring accidents and comparatively rare illnesses most will have a good few decades of editing to look forward to. In the end, of course, death comes to us all... -- Arwel (talk) 18:01, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I just found there is actually a page dedicated to wikipedians who died.[3] A.Z. 15:17, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've learned about one Wikipedian who died after some serious illness but only because their family reported it to their Wikipedia userpage. But since most Wikipedians are young, they probably won't prepare something to be sent to Wikipedia for when they die. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:40, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Are any Wikipedians known to have died from remaining at the keyboard too long, ignoring the need for sleep, food, water, bathroom breaks, employment, education, socialization, and hygiene? Edison 04:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Probably old Dirk has died at his keyboard, in his lonely room, but nobody has discovered the body yet.. :) --Zeizmic 11:49, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I remember the good ol' days; him and Stu duking it out... :`-( · AO ^Talk 13:15, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm I dont remember that-- but there agian I was a relative newcomer to the RDs. Any way Im sure Dirk is still alive and has indeed found a new life outside WP.(unlike some of us) 8-))

This brings up an interesting point, when considering the mortality rate of Wikipedians one must take into account the quantity of contracts Wikipedians take out on each other. :-) StuRat 01:16, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah hows it goin' Stu? I see you havent been editing much since I left (was banned) 8-))

Redirect

Hi!
Suppose I want to create an article x₂, but it already exists under a synonymous headline x₁, ... what are the steps i should follow to redirect x₂ , to x₁ ? Thanks,--Pupunwiki 14:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Try the #R button on the toolbar above the edit box --⁪froth^t 14:22, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You create the article x₂, and put on that page nothing but #REDIRECT [[x<sub>1</sub>]]. If you can't remember what you need to type, click the #R button on the toolbar above the edit box when creating the article x₂. If you preview the page, it will look like it hasn't worked. You can't see if you got it right until you save the edit. Oh, and the help desk will usually give you a better, quicker, answer to any questions about Wikipedia than the reference desks will. Skittle 16:14, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks a lot !--Pupunwiki 17:08, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What is the meaning of TBD in the table of super 8 result of ICC 2007

Pls. elaborate the meaning of TBD that appear in the column of the country name in the table of super8 result in the wikipedia page on icc worldcup 2007203.112.218.18 14:23, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Probably , you did mean TBC . Well, as it can be seen here -[4], it means " To Be Confirmed ".--Pupunwiki 14:39, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

- TBD=To be determined. TomStar81 (Talk) 17:35, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

what is the meaning of the name "GUINNESS"

hi there ..... my name is "GUINNES" yes i use only single "s" in it ....... now i looked all over the net ...and only thing i found out ...is that my name is irsh(and i m not sure of that either).... now i am asking you guys to help me out with the meaning of my name ...<email removed>.... i would appreciate it ....if u help me with my name ....(sounds stupid but i really cant find the meaning of my name ).

It is an anglicisation of the Gaelic name Mag Aonghuis, meaning son of son of Aonghuis. It goes back to a fifth century chief of Dalriada, an Irish kingdom established in what is now Argyllshire in Scotland. This information is, of course, for the double ss spelling. Clio the Muse 15:15, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

BBA World Championships

I sit possible to talk to the participants of the BBA World Championships over the internet these days? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 63.215.27.199 (talk) 15:31, 18 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Brian Peppers

What's the real story behind this Wikipedia article? Why is it write-protected? It seems like if worst came to worst, someone could write a short, properly sourced stub article, and that article could be protected. What's up with this? Thanks. Steevven1 ^{(Talk) (Contribs) (Gallery)} 17:19, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Checking the deletion discussion [5] it seems that the main argument was 'Wikipedia is not a sex offenders registry, nor a repository of Internet rumors'. So yes, such an article could be written, but it was decided it should not be. Algebraist 17:52, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is a test of empathy and compassion. If you argue that the article should be re-created, you fail humanity 101. alteripse 05:21, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The idea is that it takes more than a physical deformity to make a person notable enough for inclusion. --TotoBaggins 13:05, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

not always

Matrixism

Why isn't there a Wikipedia article on Matrixism?

I've read stuff about notability but there seem's to be quite a few reliable references for Matrixism. For example the following;

Bouma, Gary (2007). Australian Soul, Cambridge University Press. ISBN-13 978-0521673891

Kohn, Rachael. The Spirit of Things, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio National, August 20, 2006.

Possamai, Adam (2005). In Search of New Age Spiritualities, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN-13 978-0754652137

Morris, Linda. They're All God Movies in Mysterious Ways, The Sydney Morning Herald, May 19, 2005.

Jordison, Sam (2005). The Joy of Sects, Robson Books. ISBN 1861059051

206.188.56.88 19:44, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Have you read the deletion discussion? Algebraist 20:07, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

After reading the deletion discussion you suggested I still can't understand why the creation of a Wikipedia article on Matrixism has been blocked. Is this due to prejudice? Is prejudice a major problem in Wikipedia? 206.188.56.24 20:32, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The overwhelmimg majority in the deletion discussion voted to merge the article on Matrixism into wikipedia's article on The Matrix. There is however no mention of Matrixism in The Matrix's article. 206.124.144.3 07:06, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect that any article on Matrixism would be a steaming pile of tautologies and assorted other nonsense. The Matrix trilogy doesn't make any bloody sense under close scrutiny. The first one's very good stylistically of course. Vranak 01:11, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting POV but it doesn't address the question at all. 206.124.144.3 07:06, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The deleted content was mainly an advert for a website that promoted the "religion". If you believe there is now a case for notability, take it to WP:DRV. Rockpocket 07:19, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Note that the closest analog, Jediism, does not exist except in reference to an external event which invokes it (the census response). --24.147.86.187 12:22, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Jediism is not Matrixism's closest analog. The Jedi religion is a phenomenon of census polling wereas Matrixism was designed intentionally. Closer analogs to Matrixism would be The Church of All Worlds and Scientology and both of these religions have their own articles. 206.188.56.88 23:23, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure about Church of All Worlds but Scientology is definately more notable than a religion with supposedly 400 followers. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:39, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Of course being as notable as Scientology isn't the standard. By any reasonable standard Matrixism is notable enough. 206.124.144.3 09:45, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

We don't use "any reasonable standard" here. We use a particular standard, one which has been carefully and collaboratively developed over time. THAT SAID, I note that the NONarticle in question was last "deleted and salted" before many of the references cited herein were first published. It is POSSIBLE, depending on what those references say, that notability by WIKIPEDIA standards should be revisited. But it is up to YOU, dear anonymoose IPhuman, to bring forth the relevant quotes in those texts to convince us. The act of salting, as I understand it, shifts the onus of notability from the default ("create away, and we'll check it as it develops") to the claimant ("here, I've written this draft and posted it on a talk page, come discuss it and we'll see if we can build a political, gentle, and appropriate case for UNsalting").

Note that this latter process requires a friendly attitude and willingness to work with the collaborative process, not harsh language, Anti-cabal-esque behavior, and/or dismissal of others' standpoints and standards as "unreasonable". If I were you, I'd get to work on both the page you think should exist, and the appropriate, nice way to bring that page forward when you have a draft in hand. But I'd also be prepared for the possibility of both disagreement and, if others cannot agree that the notability standard has crossed the fence, a "no" or "not yet" at the end of the process. Being able to work WITH others, and accept the collaborative process, is a basic requirement for convincing the community of anything. Jfarber 13:50, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I would move forward as you suggest but the Matrixism talk page has also been locked and salted. Why has the Matrixism talk page been salted? I don't know for sure but it is hard not to think that it would be to prevent discussion and transparency. 206.124.144.3 16:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As already noted, the correct place to move this discussion forward is WP:DRV. Please take your case there, as this is not the place for such a debate. Rockpocket 20:37, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

March 19

photography

how to take moon pictures with quataray manual —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.10.153.198 (talk) 01:32, 19 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

The reference desk isn't Google; without complete sentences it's hard for us to figure out exactly what you want to know. I'd suggest starting by attaching the lens to a camera, pointing the glass part at the moon, and pressing the button. Seriously, though, rule #1 for any night photography is to use a tripod, and a remote. If you don't have a remote, digital cameras usually have a timer mode; the 2 second timer is great for taking the photo without camera shake. Any general set of instructions on moon photography, like any of these should be helpful, regardless of your specific gear; and generally the manufacturer of the camera body matters much more than the lens manufacturer (which is spelled 'Quantaray', by the way) anyhow. The specific properties of the lens matter as well; the difference between a 50mm f8 and a 800mm f1.4 are much more significant than who made them. --ByeByeBaby 07:25, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, there's a good chance (particularly if you have a zoom or telephoto lens) that you won't need a tripod if you're taking pictures of the moon in isolation -- it's easily a bright enough object to do hand-held photos if it fills an appreciable fraction of the frame. My non-eclipse moon photos are usually shot around 1/200 second exposures. — Lomn 13:43, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Use a telephoto lens or set the zoom lens on its longest setting, since the image of the moon will be tiny with a normal lens, and if it is a film camera use high speed (400 or 800 speed) film. A tripod would help, but if you don't have one steady the camera on something like a railing or a car to minimize blur. Use the automatic setting or try a variety of time exposures (1/25 second, 1/10, 1/5, 1/2, 1, 2, 5 seconds) PLEASE turn off the flash, since it will in no way make the moon brighter. See [6] and [7] for suggestions. Edison 05:15, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

IP addresses

Can people tell where I live just by my IP address? Is there a list on Wikipedia that shows the IP addresses for different countries? --124.180.64.158 02:53, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

An IP address can narrow down where you're editing from to a city but not to exactly where you are working/living. Dismas|^(talk) 02:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Near the bottom of the page User_talk:124.180.64.15 there are links that let you research IPs. There are databases of IPs and their corresponging locations, but probably only your ISP can connect your exact location to an IP address. -- Diletante 02:59, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It is actually an audit requirement that your ISP log IP information and be able provide that information to authorities under applicable warrants. Mainly thanks to patriot act.. Vespine 04:14, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You are in, or near, Melbourne Australia does that answer your question?--ChesterMarcol 04:19, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes! It does! Thanks! :) How could you tell? Is 124 the number for Melbourne or something? --Candy-Panda 04:30, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You might be interested in our article on WHOIS, or if you're interesting in tinkering with templates, {{IPvandal}} has some useful external links--VectorPotential^Talk 04:35, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Typing in an IP on [8] , or another website like it, will give you the city.--ChesterMarcol 04:40, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I can't find any links that let you research IPs at the bottom of the User_talk:124.180.64.15 page Think outside the box 12:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That's because the page hasn't been created yet. If you edit and save the talk page, some bit of the wiki software automagically puts WHOIS lookup links at the bottom. Dismas|^(talk) 14:16, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's not BELOW the edit box - it's just above it. There is a box labelled with a blue 'i' in a circle. Look at the last line of text in that box and click on 'IPinfo'. Right there, it says 'Melbourne Australia'. SteveBaker 15:14, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Voltage and Amperage in AC adapters, or: Why the wide variety in consumer electronics DC power requirements?

Anyone who is knowledgeable in electronics or electrical engineering will find this question incredibly stupid, but for the initiate, this is really a mystery. I have a box filled with close to 100 electronic devices with varying degrees of functionality. This box also contains a similar number of AC-DC adapters for those devices. Almost every single adapter's supplied power is different, and to a lesser extent, the plugs.

What I need to know is: How is it determined what voltage and amperage these adapters need to supply? Also, why are all these devices power requirements so vastly different when their design is so similar?

To further clarify my question, let me list are a few examples:

Example #1: Identical Items. I have two Linksys WRT54G consumer routers, exact same model, different revisions (1.0 and 1.1, I think) The v1.0 router's AC adapter outputs 5V, 2.0A, while the v1.1 adapter is 12V, 1000mA. Why did the later model jump to 12V, while the supplied Amps dropped by half?

Example #2, Rechargeable items. First is a rechargeable toothbrush. Its charging adapter outputs 1.45V, 120mA. Compare that to a much smaller Sanyo cell phone AC adapter that outputs a (relatively) much higher 5.4V 900mA! Both use the same type of battery (Ni-Cd), and the cell phone's battery is 1/4 the size of the toothbrush's battery. Why does this cell phone require more power to charge than the previously mentioned router?

Example #3. Seemingly Backward Power Usage. First is a Sony digital answering machine, with lots of LEDs and a bright screen. Its AC adapter outputs 12V, 200mA. Second is a Panasonic of similar size with no LEDs and no screen. Its adapter outputs 12V, 1200mA - Why so different? I've taken them apart, and aside from the LEDs and screen, the components are practically identical in size and quantity.

I just don't get why one item would require 4.5V, 1500mA, and another would use 12V, 200mA. Why couldn't it use 6V, 400mA, or any other combination of the two?

Thanks in advance for any non-ridiculing answers. This has bothered me for years. I've read tons of material on electronics, and so far, haven't found an answer that made sense to me yet. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.196.200.57 (talk) 06:10, 19 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Let's first address the voltage issue. Different components, for various reasons, often require different voltages to operate at. There are many ways to accomodate this. You could use passive voltage dividers with a single common voltage rail, but this is terribly wasteful since all the power dissipated by those resistors is more or less wasted energy. You could also use several DC to DC converters, which are fairly efficient, but add additional parts cost. This is a simplistic explanation, but basically it behooves you to set the main DC power supply voltage somewhere that is close to the voltage most of your components operate at. The less conversion hardware you need the better, since extra hardware carries additional components (cost and reliability concerns) and uses more energy.

Now to the current issue, which is a little simpler. If two devices use power adapters that output the same voltage, but one with a higher current rating, then the one using the adapter with the higher current rating probably requires more power (electrical power = voltage drop * current draw). Note that the current rating on these adapters is usually a maximum sustainable current output; it's unlikely the connected device will always be drawing that much current. In your last example it's quite possible that the larger adapter can deliver much more power than the device actually needs, but was packaged with that device for economics reasons (perhaps it was cheaper to include over-rated adapters from a large stock already on hand rather than purchase a new stock).

Rechargable cells often use chemistry that is very particular about proper charging rate and voltage, but batteries usually contain multiple cells in some series/parallel combination. This partially explains the variance in charger voltage/current you observed between two batteries using the same chemistry (there are often additional charging electronics to consider, as well). Also, cells with different characteristics can often be attained even within the same family of electrochemistry. Someone else might chime in on the specific issue of rechargable battery chemistry, since I can offer little by way of explanation.

So in recap, adapter voltage is usually chosen to suit the operating voltages of components in order to reduce power losses and device complexity. Current rating needs to be chosen such that the adapter can supply more power than the device should ever draw under normal conditions (there is usually a margin of error built in, too). -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T07:00Z

Philadelphia, MS

Hello I hope you can help me. I am doing research and I am having a problem. I hope you can help. Can you tell me if Philadelphia, MS is in the "Delta Region" (Mississippi Delta U.S.A.)? If not, can you tell me about how far it is away from the region?. Iwould appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks and take care. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.142.24.69 (talk) 08:15, 19 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

No, it's on the other side of the state. alteripse 10:50, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Mississippi Delta is the region between the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers. It is about 75 miles (120 km) east of the closest part of the Delta, measured along a straight line. If you were to drive to the Delta along Mississippi Highway 16, you would reach the Delta at Jonestown, Yazoo County, Mississippi, after driving about 90 miles (144 km). Considering that the roads between Philadelphia and the Delta are simple two-lane country roads, it would probably take you close to two hours. Marco polo 15:00, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Weather

can you tell me what will the swell and sea level be at Sydney, Australia tomorrow (20/03/07)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 220.239.241.139 (talk) 09:07, 19 March 2007 (UTC). –220.239.241.139 09:43, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It says in the article on tides that in southern Australia the tidal range is pretty small, so I think the sea level at Sydney will be sea level. Since there is bound to be some variation, the tide will be highest when the moon is above Sydney, or above the part of the Earth opposite Sydney, and the tide will be lowest when the moon is perpendicular to the line formed from the Earth's centre to Sydney. Let's say ± 2m above/below sea level. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 11:27, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This surf forecasting site provides most of what you're looking for. Swells are forecast to be close to two feet tomorrow morning, a few inches lower in the afternoon. Apparently weather conditions will keep swells mostly low all week. High tides tomorrow in Sydney are at 9:00 a.m. and 9:27 p.m. Tides will be higher than usual, at around 1.8 m. Low tide will be at 3:15 p.m. Marco polo 15:10, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sure Twas tried to do his level best, but I think Marco's answer was just swell. StuRat 00:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

D'you think Wikipedian editing skills are related to the moon? - AMP'd 01:26, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That would be lunacy, and wouldn't tide well for any of us. I'm sure anyone surfing the net would gibbous the chance to wax their surfboard, anyway. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by V-Man737 (talk • contribs) 02:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

AC/DC contest funny sound clip?

Quite a while back I heard the (in my opinion classic) clip of a Australian(?) radio contest where a man had to spell AC/DC. I can't find this now, but I have a great desire to find it again. Could someone please point me in the right direction? Thanks Clq 09:31, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

atom bomb

can any one tell me what was the actual size of the atom bomb which was dopped in hiroshima and nagasaki. and what is the regular size of an atom bomb or nuclear bomb. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.145.188.131 (talk) 13:21, 19 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Are you wanting physical size or TNT-equivalent tonnage explosive "size"? Anyway, you can start with Little Boy and Fat Man for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, respectively. There are a wide range of modern nuclear weapon sizes (by either of the criteria), but at the time, those bombs were exactly the "regular" size -- seeing as how they were the only two nuclear weapons in the world (when they were dropped, the Trinity bomb was so much radioactive dust). — Lomn 13:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

From the articles - Little boy was 10 feet (3 m) in length, 28 inches (71 cm) in diameter and weighed 8,900 lb (4000 kg). Fat Man was 10 feet 8 inches (3.25 m) long, five feet (1.52 m) in diameter, and weighed 10,200 pounds (4,630 kg). Modern nuclear weapons are much smaller and can be fitted into artillery shells. Even by the 1960's, the W48 nuclear artillery shell was about six inches in diameter and eighteen inches long - although the yeild of those things would be pretty small. SteveBaker 14:43, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Missles can carry several nuclear warheads at once; I believe the number was over a dozen. · AO ^Talk 14:47, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Depends on the missile, but you are referring to MIRVs. I believe the maximum number is something like ten (which is what the LGM-118A Peacekeeper carries, each one 25 times the power of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombs). I think the Trident II can technically carry 12 though they only carry 8 on account of treaties. --24.147.86.187 00:29, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Would it be possible to work out how big a nuke was after it had exploded? If you look at a crater, can you find out either how big it was, or how big the explosion was, if you couldn't measure it before the explosion, such as the 1908 disaster :? HS7 19:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You could estimate its TNT equivalent (e.g. "15 megatons"), but it is very unlikely that you could estimate the actual physical size of the bomb. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:44, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How might I go about doing that :] HS7 19:46, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think it would be very difficult for a non-specialist to do this. You would have to take into account the terrain where the bomb exploded (sand? concrete? forest?), the weather (rainy? windy? sunny?), and so forth. If you only want a rough approximation, then look at the blast marks left at atomic test sites, and based on the TNT equivalent used at those sites, gauge the unknown blast mark from that. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 20:36, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It does seem like it would be very complicated :( Of course if you were actually there at the time there is that thing with the paper you can do, but I expect you would have to be some sort of genius to do that too :( I think it would be best to just say they are all huge, above a few megatons you don't really need to be accurate, unless you are actually studying them :] HS7 20:50, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Take a look at the article on nuclear weapons yield — it describes some of the ways this is done. After the fact, though, you'd need to know, among other things, the height at which the bomb was detonated to make any sense of the crater. If you knew that, though, you could come up a with a rough estimate just by comparing crater sizes of detonations of known yields. --24.147.86.187 00:29, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

homer simpson kung fu gif

i saw this really funny homer simpson gif a while ago on gifdump.com where he is doing martial arts and whacking snake targets, but gifdump.com is closed for some reason does anybody know when its open again or where i can get this gif? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.42.113.97 (talk) 15:44, 19 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Never heard of the site, but I can tell you that the image you're looking for comes from the episode Whacking Day. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have a copy of the same image on Wikipedia. --Maelwys 15:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Is this it (http://ytmnd.com/sites/profile/528343) you have to click the 'site title' link to see it. ny156uk 17:43, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Recording Contract

So, my band and I have played a few gigs and have a demo CD, the next stp is for us to get sponsored, and have a five album deal. How would one go about this? Send our demo to EMI/Sony/Geffen, and say what? Give us money? Thanks. Oh and further more, how would one go about copyrighting our songs so the record company doesn't steal em thanks81.144.161.223 16:20, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It depends on what your ambitions are. If you contact a record company, though it can't hurt, odds are against you of actually getting a contract. An other way to go about it would be to get people listening to your music through free services online. Myspace would be an alternative, of course it is the worst website ever, but quite some bands got popular through it. Another option would be the podsafe music network ( http://music.podshow.com/ ), allowing people to play your music on their podcasts. If your music is good and a lot of people start playing it people will start reccomending it to others and so the ball starts rolling. The Podsafe music network also allows you to put your music up for sale, and you retain full ownership of your music. The iTunes music store would perhaps also be an option, but I have never used it myself. Clq 19:58, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You won't get signed telling them to send you money. These days it is much better to learn about the music business first hand. Try running your own label and organizing shows in your city. Anyway, your songs are already copyrighted! However, you might want to look into copyright registration to ensure that you have proof of your copyright. Your IP address tells me you are in the UK, so read copyright law of the United Kingdom and try this site for registration. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:51, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with others that are suggesting your band is thinking too big, too fast -- unless you're already a product of the machine (a performer made BY the mass production machine, like Jusitn Timberlake and Britney came from the mouseketeers), why should a label spend their hard earned money on one of a million unknowns?

So the trick is to start by becoming less unknown. Myspace alone is no good -- how will people know to seek out your page among the millions of others? You need promotion! One way several bands have "won" record contracts recently is to send mp3s to the usual round of mp3blogs. Though most such blogs get far too many unsolicited emails to post them all, if your band is a good fit for any of the bloggers out there, those bloggers MAY post your songs, with a small blurb describing what they like about your sound. They will usually also promote tour dates, and provide a link to your myspace or other account, as part of their promotion.

Okay, now you've got someone out there touting your band, and they're sending their usual readers to you, and those readers are listening to your tuneage on their iPods and what have you, and shoving their earbuds into their friends' ears to help spread the word. But you're still not popular enough for a big label to take a chance on you. So (the indie route goes), once you have created the buzz, the next step is to contact a SMALL recording company and offer to pay your OWN money to record a CD (or you could find a patron...). Start small and lowscale on the recording end -- low-fi sells, these days. Then, when you've finished the CD, you can send it to those blogs again, and they'll remind people about it... (and let THEM pick which is to be your first indie single)...but, more importantly, they'll promote the new CD itself, and send people to your CDBaby page to buy it.

If you're REALLY lucky, having this buzz will allow to you book even MORE shows, this time slightly bigger -- after all, your listening public is growing, and there's fans in every city across the reach of the internet. Finally, when you've sold all your CDs but ONE copy, and your tour is stil growing, and venues are willing to give you Saturday next time, instead of Tuesday night slots...THEN you take that last copy of the CD, and you send it to a promoter who's got bigger record company contacts, and you invite them to your BIG show -- they'll know it's serious, because, after all, it's Saturday night in the hottest venue in town, and that speaks for itself. If you're REALLY, really lucky, they'll show up. If you're even luckier, they'll like the show enough to take your CD to a major label -- you just can't get in the door there without being the bigshot promoter, who the label trusts because they brought them the last big thing.

Then, if you're really, truly, one in a million, the label will either offer you a ONE ALBUM contract...or, more likely, they'll save their dough and rerelease your indie album on their own label, but this time, they'll spend some money making sure radio stations play the song. That will cause a whole new audience to appear, who will buy your record, and clamor for new shows...and then, if the sales are good enough, and the shows are selling out, the label will pay for you to record.

Look, there's many ways here -- this is the INDIE route, and I offer it because most folks above were still offering the more traditional way...or the "come to me" way, which seems a bit limited. But the bottom line stands: You will NOT be able to get a five record contract if you have no way to show you can even sell one record; you will NOT be able to convince a record company to pay their own money towards the cost of recording even one SONG if you cannot demonstrate FIRST that you have a listening audience ready to buy your CDs and come to your shows -- many bands spend years on the road before they are deemed to have enough of a following for a record company to take a chance on them. Jfarber 01:10, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

One more thing. Anyone seriously contemplating signing with a record label simply has to read Steve Albini's magisterial essay The Problem With Music. You can access it here. --Richardrj ^talk ^email 18:04, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You could try getting your music played by a college radio station. Lots of groups have started by word-of-mouth. If the students like your songs, they might start asking other stations to play it, and those stations could get in touch with you for copies, and things can snowball from there. Corvus cornix 18:09, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Family Matters

Where in Chicago was the Exterior of the Winslow's house from Family Matters Shot? 75.54.61.158 17:03, 19 March 2007 (UTC)Chicago tourist[reply]

British Highway Code - Update - For Those interested

Higher up in the Reference desk is a question about the Highway code and how to deal with crossroads when 2 people are on opposing sides. This is the somewhat cryptic reply to the email I sent to the highways authority...

"Rules 85 and 86 of the Highway Code deal with signals. In particular, you should see the short introduction to that section of the Code immediately before Rule 85 - the rules of the Code do not give anyone right of way in any circumstance. Available on-line at http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/06.htm"

To summarize they seem to be pointing out that "the highway code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help avoid an accident". I think this basically means there is no hard-fast rule. It would seem most sensible to me that the user 'crossing' the road is given priority from a 'safety' point of view as theirs is the most dangerous of manouveres, whilst the person turning onto the main-road is at least joining the flow of traffic. Entirely personal interpretation but there you go. Kinda hoped the answer from the highway code would be more final but that's the official advice. ny156uk 17:57, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks ny156uk. I really appreciate your re-response and want to say "Thanks again". I haven't yet asked at my local Police Station but fully intend to and will let you know their interpretation in due course. I also used to work as an Administrator (not a Secretary!!!!!!!!!!!) in this country's Supreme Courts and have a few contacts there amongst the Practitioners, though from experience, every time they are asked a question as basic as "Good Morning, how are you?", they send a fee-note for £2000 for replying, "Very well thank you - and you?" So I don't expect to get any change from there. But thanks again.CasualWikiUser 20:28, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Heart

I can't feel my heart or my pulse. What should I do?

Relax. Either you are dead, in which case it doesn't matter anymore, or you are alive and are simply unable to detect it. If you have concerns about your heart rate, either get a pulse monitor [9] or see a health professional. Rockpocket 18:48, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried feeling it in your throat? I can't feel my pulse in my wrist, but find it easily in other places :) Also you could try running a lot before you try to find it :) Or maybe you just have very low blood pressure :( You can find out by running up lots of stairs- if it feels like your head is spinning in three directions at the same time as is about to explode, you might have low blood pressure :( HS7 18:49, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If I want to take my own pulse, the place I usually feel for it is just in front of my ear. That's easiest for me. --Anonymous, March 20, 2007, 22:24 (UTC).

Also you shouldn't be able to feel your heart :) I can sometimes, but then I might have Green Sickness, so if you can't feel your actual heart beating that is usually a good thing :) HS7 18:51, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Call a mortician.--ChesterMarcol 19:15, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And they'll want cash in advance.... --Zeizmic 20:22, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you have two new puncture wounds on your neck, stay out of the sun, throw out your mirrors, and don't go to church. Clarityfiend 22:09, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Nice one, Clarityfiend :D -Dixie48 23:40, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have the same problem. Also, automatic doors don't open for me, automatic sinks don't turn on, and automatic toilets don't flush for me. It really sucks to be a vampire these days. StuRat 00:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And when you walk along the beach and there's no footprints behind you, that is rather disconcerting too — Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}#top|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]])

That's funny -- I can't feel your heart or your pulse either. In all probability, and armed with nothing but logic, brash confidence, and a netfull of biases, I am forced to conclude that one of us is dead. - Jfarber 01:18, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You could ask someone with first aid or medical training how to find your pulse. It can be difficult to find it in the wrist, and much easier to find it in the neck. Cardio monitor are cheap and work pretty well. Edison 04:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How can you have an automatic toilet, that doesn't make any sense to me :] HS7 12:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

An automatic toilet has a proximity sensor (typically infrared, I believe) and flushes when you walk away from it. Public facilities in some places often use this technology for urinals and it can be done for toilets too. For sinks it's done in reverse, you get water when you put your hand under it (usually in not quite the right place for actual washing). --Anonymous, March 20, 2007, 22:28 (UTC).

You feel your pulse by touching the artery with your finger, so maybe you have Hansens Disease, and can't feel anything with your hands :] HS7 13:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This question reminds me of the dialogue on House, where the highschool/college-age kid was asked to count his heartbeats or something, and said some extraordinary large number. House goes, "Either you're going to die in three seconds, or you're an idiot.". Three seconds later, he says, "you're an idiot." and walks out. -Wo o ty Woot? contribs 21:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

HS7

This is probably not a good place to ask this, but I will anyway. I suppose i could just delete it if everyone complains, but anyway... What I wanted to ask was what people here thought I should do. Do you think I should go away and give up answering questions here? Or do you want me to make less rubbish jokes? Of course this should probably go on my talk page or somewhere, but does anyone ever read them? Thanks for any help: HS7 19:20, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And try to be honest, I don't mind :) HS7 19:21, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't visit the reference desk much and haven't seen any of your replies or jokes, but as far as I'm concerned people in this area are never a bad thing. The more people, higher the possibility of people getting an answer. I don't think people mind jokes, as long as any information presented as facts is backed up with sources. Clq 19:44, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I thought the purpose of the reference desk was to facetiously practice our wit. (Or, alternatively, to demonstrate our lack thereof.) − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:55, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've always gone with the wit! Too be sure, you can look at my talk page, and see the complaints from 'serious' people, but they always seem to die sooner or later, of their own intensity... --Zeizmic 20:17, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, the purpose of the reference desk is to see who can Google and present the answers fastest. -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T22:05Z

I win! -- and with a site that even my middle school students note is primarily made of cut-and-pastes from Wikipedia! Jfarber 01:15, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cut-and-paste sites suck. HS7, stick around. I enjoy your personality. V-Man - ^T/_C 03:02, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

answers.com is not a cut and paste site, but a legit Wikipedia fork. Sites like them are why Wikipedia uses the GFDL license. Corvus cornix 18:11, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have a personallity :( HS7 10:43, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Doesn't matter, as long as someone's enjoying it... 惑乱分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 11:37, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Who says you don't have a personality? You said just above you joke a lot. Contradictory no? · AO ^Talk 12:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It says it at the bottom of this section

Well, I doubt you can leave. You've been here for a while, and both you and us will feel something's missing. · AO ^Talk 14:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I can leave any time I want, I just don't want to :] HS7 15:33, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No offence people, you are all lovely I'm sure, but this really should be on HS7's user page. Vespine 21:45, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Boro

Was looking for Boro Park, Brooklyn parking/no parking data, but came across your article that says the orthodox Jewish population there may total 250,000. Under Community Board 12, which includes most, if not all, of Boro Park, plus, your article shows the total population at 185,000. Recap??

Howard Kleidman <email removed>

There does seem to be a very serious discrepancy. You yourself could look up the relevant census data and correct either or both articles. Incidentally, the Borough Park article does not seem at all balanced. It seems to be less an article about the neighborhood, which is not exclusively Jewish, than an article about Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn. It may be that the 250,000 figure is an estimate for Orthodox Jews in all of Brooklyn. If you do not want to undertake this research and correct the article yourself, you might try posting on this page, where you will find editors dedicated to improving articles on the City of New York. Marco polo 23:51, 19 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Apparel fashion corporate offices in Portland, Oregon

What are the different apparel fashion corporate offices located in Portland Oregon? christi`23:11, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

This site lists clothing wholesalers and manufacturers in Oregon. Note that the list is two pages long and includes companies outside of Portland and companies that may not be in the fashion business. Some of them appear to be retail stores. Here are some other possibilities. Here is one more. Marco polo 00:55, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

March 20

Aztecs

I was wondering if the Aztecs still exsisted and have modern descendants like the Maya. Could someone tell me me? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Hmrox (talk • contribs) 01:14, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

The article indigenous peoples of Mexico might be useful. Aztec was the name of a nation; it contained many different indigenous ethicities. --24.147.86.187 02:07, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Aztec empire contained a number of different ethnic groups, but the dominant ethnic group were the Nahua, and the state language of the empire was Nahuatl. Both ethnic Nahua and the Nahuatl language exist today. Marco polo 16:06, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Google Earth

How often is Google Earth updated? How long could one expect it to take for an area without a clear picture to be brought into focus? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.117.135.99 (talk) 02:09, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

The areas where the resolution is lower (it isn't as much a focus issue as a resolution issue. The images are in perfect focus, they just aren't that high in resolution) are generally rural areas of little governmental importance. Most of the images for Google Earth, if I'm not mistaken, come from government satellites. It's just the economics of it, they don't need really high res pictures of Ottumwa, Iowa but do for New York City. Sending a satellite over an area costs time and money. Dismas|^(talk) 03:32, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

To add to the above, some pictures are also areal photos taken privately which somehow ends up in the possession of Google. And to answer the question, in Googles own words, "The images in Google Earth are updated on a rolling basis", meaning they are updated when updates become available. I wouldn't hold my breath though the aircraft photos including my house have not been updated since early summer 2004 (the pictures just happened to include a moving van outside out house, so I could probably narrow it down to the exact hour if it is needed) Clq 06:11, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

silver platters.

I have picked up a couple of silver items recentley. I would like to know if it is real silver or silver plated? The platters are made by,"Oneida". Do I have real silver here or just silver plated? Thank You.02:54, 20 March 2007 (UTC)Podosmom

If it's not plated it should be marked as Sterling or for its silver content (see some of the Oneida marks here). Maybe Oneida can help you with your question. They make both real and plated silver. - Nunh-huh 03:44, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See also /www.925-1000.com/--88.111.180.64 09:05, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Isn't there some thing that only real silver can do? I can't remember what it was, but it might have something to do with electricity :) And you can do that greek thing where you drop in ito water and see if it has the same density as silver :) HS7 10:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Northern Industrial workers

I am doing a report in US labor history and there is a term Northern Industrial workers and I need to give a brief descrption on this term that was used at the end of the civil war?

I don't know where you'd find information about this specifically within Wikipedia but you might try going through the American Civil War article and the articles linked off of it. Basically though, the North had quite a bit of industry and, compared to the South, very little agriculture. While the South was, for the most part, the opposite with large plantations with good farm land. Due to this, many generalizations were made about one half of the country in reference to the other. See American Civil War#Economics for a pretty good start to an answer. Dismas|^(talk) 07:35, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

'Northern Industrial workers' is such a vague term that it could mean virtually anything, from a particular labour organisation to, well, northern industrial workers. Have a look at the Economic history of the United States and Labor unions in the United States. Perhaps these may take your quest a lttle further forward. There is also quite an informative article entitled A Short History of American Labor, which you will find here [10]. Clio the Muse 08:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have to correct Dismas's statement that the North had very little agriculture. It had the corn belt of the Midwest. A crucial part of the pre–Civil War economy was that the Midwest produced corn, pork and other foodstuffs that were sent south along the Mississippi River and its tributaries to feed the slaves on the plantations. In return, the Midwest got a share of the profits from cotton export. This broke down during the Civil War, and the Midwest found a new market in feeding the troops and the growing legions of industrial workers, many of them involved in the northern war effort. At the same time, the South suffered economically in being forced to shift agricultural land from the profitable production of cotton for export to the production of food crops formerly purchased from the Midwest. The South also suffered from being cut off from Northeastern producers of manufactured goods. Marco polo 16:13, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Redeye

how do u make red eyes clearer faster? :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by BongHits4Jesus4Ever (talk • contribs) 09:40, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

I saw a commercial about a product that specifically has this function. Can't remember the name, sorry. --Taraborn 09:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Safyblue eye drops always made our eyes go white after a heavy smoke — Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}#top|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]])

Visine? Dismas|^(talk) 10:30, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Tesla's mind

I read somewhere Tesla made an essay, article or book about the working of his mind, but can't remember the name. If there are more than one, could you please name the most focused on the topic and comprehensive one? Thank you. --Taraborn 09:40, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried this place here? It is the online version of "My Inventions" by Nikola Tesla, printed in Electrical Experimenter Feb-June, 1919. Reprinted, edited by Ben Johnson, New York: Barnes & Noble, 1982. It might have the information you're looking for. 81.241.156.157 13:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Banned?

I was banned cuz they didn't like my old username, BongHits4Jesus. What was wrong with it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by BannedFromWikipediaButBackForRevenge (talk • contribs) 10:06, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Someone was offended by it, so I banned it per WP:USERNAME. Nothing against you personally, you're more than welcome to create another account with an uncontroversial username. ˉˉ^anetode╦╩ 10:09, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Who was offedned by it?

Someone. Anyone. Doesn't matter. If your username was something like "anteater4000", no one would care. If you username has the word "bong" near the word "jesus", then a little light should come on in your head to tell you "Hey! This might not be a good idea!" ˉˉ^anetode╦╩

I am offended by your username "Anetode". I find it personally insulting and ridicules my religion. --Taraborn 10:28, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

WP:AIV is but a click away, my dear sir ˉˉ^anetode╦╩ 10:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

FREEDOM OF SPEACH!!! how can you bann someone for thier name? I though Wiki was all about intelligence, but if this is the kind of thing that gets done it is a dark dark day for us all. I am disgusted, and am gonna change my username to FuckWikiVolenteers. see you later. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.144.161.223 (talk) 10:40, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Freedom of speech is a right granted you by the government, not by a community. Because your attendance here is VOLUNTARY, we have the right to clarify what behaviors are appropriate here. Jfarber 12:16, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It would help if you spelt it right :] HS7 10:51, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No need to be rude to him. English may not be his first language!!!!!!!

An even bigger reason, trying to get it right... 惑乱分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 11:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm back, after the regengade anectoe banned me a few times over my usernames, which is showing intolernece and ditaroship. I think we should all get along here, and people like him are ruining it, and shouldn't be here. Not only that, but he LIED to all of us. He pretended someone had being offended by my name to try and make his decsiion to ban me look good, but he then said that no one was offended, he had done himself. I am also offended by Anetotes username, Taraborn, but more offended by his conduct. Is there anyway I can lay a complaint against him to the moderator? --BigHatsForJeebus 11:47, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm offended by your attitude if that's any help.hotclaws**== 11:51, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There is nothing that says we all have to be tolerant of everything here. This is not the USA -- it's not like your rights have to be protected because you are not otherwise empowered. This is a community; it has standards; there is no cabal; we ask everyone to respect the sensitivities of others, and not abuse the trust of the community; we are empowered, each of us, to a greater or lesser extent, to sustain that community. Anetode's actions (and username) are within the COMMUNALLY AGREED UPON community standards. Your username was not, as it contained incendiary language. If you are not comfortable being part of a community with such standards, we'll miss you. Jfarber 12:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The "BannedFromWikipediaButBackForRevenge" username isn't much better. You'll probably get banned again. · AO ^Talk 12:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think I should point out that technically Anetode was offended :] HS7 12:58, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Banning an 'offensive' username is ridiculous. I'm sorry but it is. The important issue is the quality of the article edits/writing that the user puts, not the name they go by. If you are offended by connotations/comments in someone's username you might want to consider whether you have a little more time to be offended than others do. Yes there are standards and yes the claim that 'freedom of speech' means it is ok is wrong, but this community exists to produce the highest quality, most varied, indepth, editable encyclopedia. The 'back office' pages of wikipedia show usernames, but the rest show a seamless article that could be written by one indivdual, but more likely has been edited by 10s/100s of individuals. Of course all this said if the user has a sense of community they will respect the standards laid-out and realise what is important is the quality of articles, not whether or not they get to have their preferred username showing when making edits. ny156uk 17:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Have you read WP:USERNAME#Inappropriate usernames? That's policy. Corvus cornix 18:14, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am concerned that your current username might not be acceptable. I have started a discussion on your talk page, maybe we can talk about that there rather than on the reference desk. -- Diletante 18:14, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Noone has found my username offensive yet :) HS7 19:25, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am normally all for free speech and freedom of expression but the people making the arguments here are really not getting "the point". Any name you select with the word Jesus in it you are doing with only one intention, and that is to offend someone. There is NO other reason for it, if it wasn't offensive, you wouldn't be selecting it, the way you've reacted, mock offended yourself just proves it. SO! If your pure and only intention is to offend people, you have no argument and my sympathy does not extend to you… And it's not like the amnesty international basic human right to a name applies to whatever you make up as a wiki moniker. If you want to argue free speech, go get a shirt printed with bong hits for the Quran or bong hits for Jews and see how long that lasts, Jesus is just a cheap target at the moment. I personally am in no way religious btw, but I am sensible enough to recognise some things that shouldn't be made fun of, freedom of speech is one thing but doesn't mean lack of respect is your right.Vespine 21:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Measurement of Business Synergies

Without success, I have searched the internet, including Wikipedia and various Business School websites for models that enable the evaluation of business synergies.

Specifically, I am seeking to ascribe quantifiable business benefits within a Discounted Cash Flow context (i.e. within a range of possible financial maxima and minima) arising from relocating 175 posts from several departments - to the company HQ which is about 40 miles away. I have no difficulty in defining the costs side of the equation. However, there seems to be a large gap in the benefits side for want of a financial reflection of synergies arising from the whole workforce being in the same place.

I understand this is a major challenge for business and analysts and any model is likely to be less than wholly accurate. However, it would be very helpful to know if any such models exist. 89.242.35.182 10:35, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

AFAICT it looks like you are asking for the benefits of moving people to the HQ, is this what you want :? HS7 13:23, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes but specifically in the areas mentioned. I have quantified a range of other benefits but have been unsuccessful so far with the synergies.

Big Nose Baby B

A while ago, there is a Japan cartoon and there was also a chinese version. In the chinese version, it was called "Big Nose B" which was about a baby with a big nose that carries a magical umbrealla whereever it goes. I was wondering, is there a name for this show in English? –220.239.241.139 11:12, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Question on Siamese twins

The more delicate minded should look away now.Having just seen a program on Siamese twins who share a body but have separate heads,I got to thinking-if you were to have sex with Siamese twins and one of the twins refused to give their consent,would it be possible to prosecute for rape?Theoretically,since it was her body and she refused consent,that would count,but since the body also belongs to someone else and they gave consent,it wouldn't.Any ideas on what would happen legally? Lemon martini 12:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Of course they could prosecute, people do it all the time for any reason, or even no reason at all if they are good at lieing :( HS7 13:32, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Would depend on if the lower body is separated or connected. Btw, consent is crucial. 惑乱分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 13:39, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This sounds like a legal question which we cannot really answer. I would imagine that this would vary depending on the wording and interpretation of local laws. -- Diletante 16:11, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

IANAL, Wikipedia does not give legal advice, but (since I assume this isn't actually a query about something that will involve you, or anyone you know) I would say both twins would have to give consent for it to be anything other than rape, morally and probably legally, if they both shared a single body. Anything other than consent from both is forcing someone to have sex. Skittle 16:13, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

When midget sex just isn't enough… − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 18:08, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

…WHAT?! No article on midget sex? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 18:08, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds like it has the makings of yet another sexual fetish. Genetic testing might be able to determine if the pudenda were genetically those of one or the other heads, and neurological testing might be able to determine whether one or both heads sensed the acticities in the nether regions. Both heads morally should have a say over what is done to or with their shared body, in either event, especially since a pregnancy or STD would affect both. It would be pure speculation as to what would happen if such a case reached court, but consider Chang and Eng Bunker who were twins jioned at the chest(the original "Siamese twins"). They each married separate women, and would alternately spend 3 days with each wife. One fathered 10 children and the other 12 children. The article does not say if the non-husband would merely avert his eyes and snooze while the other engaged in marital relations. Edison 18:21, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Isn't it fantastic to have a place to post these kind of questions with the (off)chance to get serious answers? This is why I love skimming through the RD... Clq 21:53, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Does power corrupt?

Pleasy post your views. 209.81.119.178 15:00, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not always. Case in point? God, if you believe in Him. · AO ^Talk 15:17, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How do you know he's not corrupt :] HS7 15:32, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Good point, but maybe s/he's just tired... 惑乱分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 15:37, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, power can indeed cause corruption, especially if there's a sudden spike or loss of power during a read/write operation. To recover your data there are a number of special tools and software available, but generally it's easiest to avoid the problem entirely by using a surge protector, or UPS. --Maelwys 15:49, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Nietzsche would probably say that a lack of power corrupts. -- Diletante 16:02, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hello. This is a reference desk, not a chat board, so asking for people's views like this isn't really appropriate. If you want to chat with people, there are lots of places on the internet for that. If you want to know about power and corruption, why not look at the Wikipedia articles Power (sociology), Political power, Reserve power, Power (international), Power (communication) and John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton. You might also like to read the works of Machiavelli. Skittle 16:08, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As Skittle's reply shows us, everyone is Wikipedia has some power over the community -- including the power(s) to add/edit, to redirect, and to act as an agent of the community standards. If power DOES corrupt, we are all therefore corrupted, and have been since the inception of Wikipedia. I would posit, however, that if it is true of everyone, it is normative, not corrupted -- there is no longer an ideal state extant to have been corrupted FROM. Therefore, power must not corrupt -- or at least, equal power does not lead to corruption, but a changed overall state which redefines corruption to no longer apply to any individual. (Note: this is not my VIEW, it is just a bunch of empty syllogistic logic. By previous precedence, such things would seem to be acceptable responses on the ref desk...as long as one does not merely say "I agree, yes, we're voting, here is my favorite book!)Jfarber 16:20, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ask Lord Acton. -- mattb @ 2007-03-20T21:36Z

BANKING COMMISSION

I AM TRYING TO GET AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE GHANA, AFRICA GOVERNMENT TO REGULATES BANKING IN THAT COUNTRY. COULD ANYONE PROVIDE THAT FOR ME?

THANK YOU,

CLARK KENT —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Superman28642003 (talk • contribs) 15:13, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

According to this directory, the agency regulating banking in Ghana is the following:

BANK OF GHANA

One Thorpe Road

P.O. Box 2674

Accra, Ghana

Phone : (233-21) 666174 - 6, 666361-5,

666902 - 8, 666921-5

Fax : (233-21) 6662996

Telex: 2052, 2541 GHBANK GH

Cable: GHANABANK, Accra

E-mail: bogsecretary@bog.gov.gh

Internet: http://www.bog.gov.gh/

Marco polo 16:23, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cataloguing medical articles

Sirs, I am a physician and have a very large collection of articles that I have copied from a wide variety of journals. I have read most of these and refer to them frequently, since I write and speak extensively. I don't have web access to these journals for the most part. They are on a broad range of topics, but mostly related to pain, pain medicine, and palliaitve care.

My question is what would you suggest as the best way to catelogue and organize these articles?

Sincerely,

John F. Peppin, D.O., F.A.C.P. Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine Diplomate, American Academy of Pain Management Diplomate, American Board of Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Pain Subspecialty Diplomate, American Board of Pain Medicine — Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}#top|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]])

Dear Dr. Peppin (may I call you John?). There are many organizational models available, and as you surely know, many fields use their own model -- generally because that model best serves their particular type of research needs. In addition, the subjective need matters too -- modern research into the brain suggests, different kinds of thinkers and learners benefit from vastly distinct types of organization. Given both of those factors -- the objective and the subjective -- I would suggest that what works best for any of us may not be what works best for you. For example, I am generally best served by my own organizational method, which consists of small, overlapping piles strewn through my workspace, each of which contains that work most likely to be relevant to a particular type of task, and with the most pressing project materials piled most closely to my laptop. On the other hand, my sister, a more linear thinker, benefits most from an Alphabetical organization by author, and my librarian coworkers prefers the Dewey decimal system. I would encourage, therefore, that you start by considering WHY you believe your current organizatial system needs re-engineering, and then either modify your extant system accordingly, or develop a new one based on how and why you use your own resources. You might also check with folks you consider to be like-minded, either by profession or by temperment, and see if their own particular organizational system seems to have potential for your own use. Good luck! Jfarber 16:29, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

When I had a filing cabinet drawer full of Xeroxed technical articles, I filed them by author, alphabetically. I then had a card index which listed each (in case someone borrowed it and did not return it) and a cross index by topic. Today I would use a computer database for the crossindexing. I wonder if you could use an existing online database of technical articles to do whole text searches, even if you do not have online access to them? If the article are not searchable through an existing online service, I wonder if you could legally scan them and have the computer do character recognition to allow your own personal whole text search? Edison 18:04, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Further to Edison, I used to work as a filing consultant. I think Edison's idea is good, and I also recommend using coloured file labels and coloured stickers (like dots) to further organise by topic, publication, year, and any other criteria. You might also consider investing in a scanner, with which you can scan your articles to plain text on the computer, and thereby exponentially increase your filing and organisational options. Oh, I see Edison already suggested that, ;-). Anchoress 20:03, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

newspaper archives

My grandmother was involved with a robbery that took place at the bank she was working at in the 1970's. I am trying to find the newspaper articles that were written about it. Can you tell me where I might be able to find them. The bank name is Citizen's Bank and Trust, in Frostproof, Florida, and her name is Freda Brown. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.101.153.84 (talk) 19:03, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Did you find a lot of money in the attic, that you would like to donate to Wikipedia? --Zeizmic 19:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I sincerely doubt that you'll find the articles online as this happened ~30 years ago and newspapers aren't always archived on the net. Your best bet would probably be to go to your local library and get copies of the local newspapers from them. Dismas|^(talk) 19:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

dialog database

Is there a TV episode or movie dialog database anywhere that I can use a keyword search to find a comment I remember to locate the name of the movie? Nebraska bob 19:33, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. Anchoress 19:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

From what I know your best bet is to search on google to be honest, perhaps 'wikiquote' might be able to help though. I would structure your search term as " " quote in google. So for example to find the origin of the quote "leave the gun take the cannoli" from Godfather you would try variations such as:

"leave the gun take the cannoli" quote
"Leave the gun" take the cannoli quote
Leave the gun "take the cannoli" quote

Of course after the first search an answer comes up, but for more unusual film quotes the key is to try and include some portion as quoted (this means it must appear together) but not to have too long a line for it, this is because often people don't put everything perfectly together in their webpages. Of course if it isn't a reasonably famous quote my plan probably won't help hugely. ny156uk 19:59, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

(after double ec)Or try IMDb if the quote is notable enough. Algebraist 20:00, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sometimes just the keywords is better; per the example I'd start with 'gun cannoli movie quote' (note the lack of double quotes). The context is important; for less-well-known movies, or more generic quotes, the exact words as remembered plus the word 'movie' is good. In such cases omitting the word 'quote' is sometimes better, because the phrase might appear in a fansite or something, but not a quote aggregator. Anchoress 22:30, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Who owns CUNY? Who generally owns a university?

Suddenly one day I realized that schools are not like mother's milk, simply put in place for the nurture and development of persons. Schools are human-made. If they last long, schools are businesses. Therefore, they must belong to someone or some group. I think I know how to learn about their founders and their history. But out of curiousity and for no further reason, I wonder who generally owns a college or university? And specifically, who owns City University of NY?74.226.204.78 20:43, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

CUNY is, IIRC, owned and operated by the State of New York, possibly through some kind of holding non-governmental organisation. Shimgray | talk | 20:50, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, though it receives funding from both the city and the state.--Pharos 20:56, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Some universities are private and are usually owned by/run by corporations (i.e. groups of people vested with business control, more or less — usually their functions are separated in some way from the academic/educational functions of the university on a day-to-day level, though they often make big, structural changes in how the university works). Some are public and are technically agents of cities or states. Both types receive funding from a wide variety of public (federal and local) and private sources. --140.247.248.59 21:23, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Some colleges can be described as "semi-public" in that they are (largely) publicly funded but have an independent corporate existence. Penn State University is like that. -- Mwalcoff 22:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Spoons

Can someone recall the name of that russian guy who could (allegedly) bend spoons using only his mind? Much appreciated.Cuban Cigar 21:04, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

One guy is called Uri Geller not sure if he is Russian though. ny156uk 21:06, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

how to obtain a licence...

i currently live in california and there seems to be alot of medical marijuana clinics. i am intrested in obtaining a licence so i can legally grow and sell to the clincs. i just dont know what steps to take in order to do this. i cant stress enough the element of doing this legally. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.171.10.132 (talk) 21:23, 20 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Have you tried contacting a doctor or clinic that dispenses the marijuana? They should be able to point you in the right direction as far as what governmental body would issue the licenses as well as names of people to speak to. Dismas|^(talk) 21:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Also be aware, even though it may be legal at the State level, it remains illegal at the Federal level. So while the State/Local police can't do anything, the FBI/DEA may still be able to. Cyraan 22:30, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

painful dream

Hi, I had a dream a few days ago that was kinda different. I'm not completely sure of what happened in the dream, but at one point, a certain event happened or a heavy object had hit my leg and I woke up abruptly. Right when I woke up, I noticed that the leg that was hit in it was causing me excrutiating pain, which was probably just a charlie horse or something, but I here's my question; is it possible to have a dream actually cause you pain or does the pain just work it's way into your dream as a way to make you notice it? It happened twice to me in the same night. -Dixie48 21:59, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

poem

Could anybody locate this poem for me & put it on here? I can't seem to be able to go on google or another search engine at the moment... well, the author is Félix Arvers & the poem is Un secret. thanks!

Not putting the poem by Félix Arvers here because it could be a copyvio. [HERE is a version online. Anchoress 22:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

PASTRY DISHES

172.189.6.70 22:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)WHAT IS THE PASTE THAT IS USED FOR POMMES DAUPHINE, GIVE SOME OTHER USES FOR THIS PASTE[reply]

The name of the pastry is listed HERE; try elsewhere on the site or google for other uses. Good luck! Anchoress 22:37, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]