Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 October 11

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
< October 10 <<Sep | October | Nov>> October 12 >
Humanities Science Mathematics Computing/IT Language Miscellaneous Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions at one of the pages linked to above.


Contents


[edit] Drinking Red Bull while exercising

Is it advisable to drink high-caffeine energy drinks such as Red Bull while involved in strenous physical exercise, such as basketball or cross-country running? Red Bull seems to market their drinks towards athletes but caffeine will dehydrate you and could potentially be fatal. --Jamesino 00:57, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

IANAD, and we don't give medical info on here. You should consult with a physician for confirmation. But this is what I know: a) While caffeine is a diuretic, it is NOT a very strong one, and furthermore, people who are accustomed to consuming it become inured to it, and (IIRC) only fail to absorb about 15% of their caffeinated fluid intake. b) Caffeine is a performance enhancer, and athletes frequently take it. c) A lot of caffeine can exacerbate high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia problems, IIRC. Anchoress 01:39, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
  • Red Bull has less caffeine than a cup of coffee. And caffeine is actually considered (by some) to be beneficial to exercise: Studies suggest caffeine consumed an hour before exercise can enhance performance and make the effort seem easier. Caffeine also mobilizes fat, so more is burned for fuel. Some researchers believe coffee helps athletes burn less glycogen and enhance endurance. The recommended serving of caffeine is approximately 1.5 to 3 milligrams of caffeine per pound (e.g., 225 to 450 milligrams of caffeine for a 150-pound person--the equivalent of 10 to 20 ounces of coffee).[1] And this article debunks the "dehydration" (as well as also recommending caffeine.) Thanks for asking the question; I've taken up the red-bull-before-workout regimen recently, and I've neglected to research the wisdom of it. I just wish the damned stuff didn't taste so disgusting. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 01:41, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Of course caffeine will make you feel like you have more energy. You would have to drink a lot of Red Bull for it to be fatal. A lot. — X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve)02:50, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

I knew of someone who died after drinking Red Bull and then went on to play basketball. He was extremely dehydrated. In my opinion when exercising you should stick to water.

You personally knew them? How unusual, because when I was researching Redbull I only found a couple of people that had happened to, and they'd drunk a lot of it. Skittle 12:38, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
He died after he drank Red Bull, and after that, he played basketball? (I knew what you meant, but it does sound like an urban legend, and I'm sure nobody actually died in this manner) --BennyD 21:57, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Speed of Human Brain

Can anyone give a very rough estimation of the average adult human brain speed in terms of FLOPS? Considering all the cells it must control and move. --Jamesino 01:15, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

A billion fillion. Vitriol 01:19, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Short answer-we don't know. Any such numbers you find in books and whatnot are essentially pulled from the author's hat. --Robert Merkel 01:34, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
You can't. See the articles on the Brain, Human brain and CPU. They work on two conceptually different levels; it would be near impossible of coming up with a benchmark that could compare the two. And if you did those numbers wouldn't mean much. Consider this, the world's fastest supercomputer can't be ranked such because it can't run benchmark software for the offical rankings. FLOPS might be a generalize enough benchmark between general purpose CPUs. But for specific jobs, cranking out floating point operations might not be that useful. —Mitaphane talk 01:43, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Hmmm... I was going to ask a similar question the other day, after seeing the question about the human eye's resolution. So a brain doesn't work the same way a computer microprocessor does, and so What is the clock speed of a brain can't be asked. How fast does a brain work, though. I mean, how quick is the quickest reaction, or how fast of an event can it notice? I'm thinking of the apocryphal story of an American filmmaker who could see one frame of a movie that didn't match the other frames, something along those lines. E.g. that person could notice and react to something happening at 1/24th of a second. Electric lights flickering at 60 Hz can sometimes be noticeable. So using some real-world example like that, can the speed of the brain be at least estimated? --192.168.1.1 6:52, 10 Rocktober 2006 (Boo!)
It's not very fast.. the human brain is very bad at doing repetitive actions and anything more than a few times per second is going to be repeating. The eye and ear are very different though.. I can hear up to the 18000 hz range but that doesnt mean my brain can react 18000 times per second. --frothT C 06:38, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
You guys are talking about measuring the reaction speed of the eyes and ears, not the brain. DirkvdM 06:54, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
According to Human brain, it's been estimated at 100 trillion instructions per second. So I guess that means a fillion is 100,000. Clarityfiend 03:07, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Floating operations work with shifting registers and the brain doesn't have those (afaik). It's funny how when people look for a comparison between the two, they try to fit the brain in the framework of computers. Why not approach it the other way around? We can't redesign the brain. But we can program a computer. So working the other way around might make more sense. For that we'd need a basic operation the brain can perform, write a program that does that and then let the wetware and the software do their best. What such a basic operation might be, I don't know. But trying to find the answer might teach us a lot about how the brain works. DirkvdM 06:54, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

The pattern recognization capabilities alone of the brain is completely beyond all programming ability right now. Speech recognition is one thing; identifying textures from sight alone is quite another. There's a fundamental difference between bitwise calculations and nerve cell interactions. Which would you rather do, Karnaugh maps or the Quine–McCluskey algorithm? --frothT C 20:41, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Could Google BUY Wikipedia?

Hi all! Sorry about the alarmist title, the real question would be more like: Could a multi-billion dollar company (like Google) be able to buy the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its sister projects (such as Wikipedia) for, say, a billion dollars? I guess the logic behind this would be that, like will happen with YouTube (more or less), the actual user-generated content (or the rights to modify that content) wouldn't be bought per se, but the rights to revenue would be acquired to, say, put advertisments into the layout of the pages and profit from those, or at least make the project self-sustainable (thus making donations unnecessary).

Of course, for this to happen, you'd need to somehow annul Wikimedia's status of 501(c)(3) (non-profit organization) (let's just assume some special breed of uber-lawyers could indeed pull this out, k?), as well as the decision of Jimmy Wales (and others?) to actually go ahead with this (I would expect he'd have to go bonkers to actually go through with this IMO:) But a 'cool bil' might sound tasty for just about anyone, right?

Do you think this is possible (within reason)? What could impede this from happening (except the collective willpower of most wikipedians, you'd hope)? Kreachure 02:06, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Sounds plausible. Curse Jimmy if he doesn't take the billion. But then everything would be google-fied! Eeek! I enjoy having TWO designs on the pages I visit, not one. — X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve)02:47, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Sure, given enough money anyone can buy virtually anything. However, the current content is licensed under the GFDL which means anyone else could solicit donations and set up a server farm running the Mediawiki software and put up the exact content that's currently here (at some other URL). Furthermore, whoever bought "Wikipedia" could not change the licensing for any current content (they could theoretically do whatever they'd like with future content, but doing anything based on the current content and licensing it under any license except GFDL would be mighty tricky - GFDL's intent is that this is not possible). I don't know for sure, but I suspect Jimbo has plenty of money and there is effectively 0% chance of this happening (although, Jimbo, if somebody does offer you $1B for Wikipedia, take it, put the money in a trust, and set up www.jimbosnewwikipedia.org with all the current content). -- Rick Block (talk) 03:13, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Putting aside the legal issues, I guess you could but would be the point? The Wikipedia doesn't produce revenue, it eats it. Google, presumably, bought youTube as it was the biggest competitor toward their video service. Wikipedia doesn't have any competition in that it is fighting for a very large profitable market. On top of that money changes everything; you'd see many good editors(the ones that keep wikipedia running smoothly) abandon the project if wikipedia was splashed with ads. You'd think that the Red Cross would get the same amount of donations if a big pharmaceutical company bought them and used them a outlet for their new products? —Mitaphane talk 03:22, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

That's a good summary: a company cannot buy out a charity. Google already has it's 'Ask for Money' service, and there are other services for this as well. The big trouble with these services is accreditation of the experts. In a thin market, how do you know that somebody isn't 'all hat and no cattle'? --Zeizmic 12:47, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

and who here fancies working for google for free? f**k that! (but if you get the chance - take the money and run Jimbo). --Charlesknight 12:59, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Aw, c'mon. If Google bought Wikipedia and started putting ads on the pages it would make a fortune. The reason that Wikipedia "eats revenue" is that it doesn't advertise. If it did it would presumably turn a profit, given what a popular site it is. Marnanel 15:37, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
In case this is a trial balloon being floated here, let's make it clear that the enclosure of Wikipedia would be its death, because none of us are going to work for some corporation for free. If Wikipedia is sold, let's agree that the Wikipedia community will migrate to a mirror site, contribute $ to keep the servers running, and continue the real Wikipedia outside of corporate clutches. Marco polo 20:18, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Few people would rather pay than just see ads and know that google is making money. Check out uncyclopedia's ads, they're unobtrusive --frothT C 20:36, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Why buy Wikipedia? The GDFL means that Google (or you and I) can copy it and sell adverts anyway. Take a look at Answers.com. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 17:29, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Someone bought Wikitravel but people are still donating their efforts there. It seems the company wanted to make money by printing and publishing it as travel guides but it was dumb because under the licensing they could have done that for free anyway right? Nowimnthing 23:18, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Loads of users would still contribute to Wikipedia for free if Google bought it up - there are a great deal of users here who edit because they have nothing better to do. Furthermore, if Google were to buy Wikipedia for a billion dollars, then presumably it would be logical to pay the editors to edit too. --Dangherous 21:50, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kid's satellite TV channels

Why is it that there are so many adverts for loans, insurance etc. on kid's satellite TV channels in the UK? Vitriol 02:56, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Because they figure that the kids' parents will be watching? As for why loans and insurance specifically, I have no idea. --Richardrj talk email 04:45, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
It's mainly because they figure that anyone who is in watching childrens TV with their kids is unemployed, self-employed or housebound, which is why they loans tend to be the "CCJs? Arrears? Bankrupt? Dead? Call Shark Loans now for a loan of up to £99,000! (Average APR 99.9%. Your life may be at risk if you do not keep up payments.)". There's also a lot of those "I tripped on a paving stone. Give me lots of cash" type lawyers who advertise on these channels, on the off-chance that someone is watching with children because they have been injured or disabled in this way. Laïka 16:53, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] East Timor National Flower

What is the National Flower of East Timor?

According to this site, East Timor does not have a national flower at the moment. Hassocks5489 12:18, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
East Timor's politicians and people probably have more important things on their minds than a national flower, given that not that long ago a standoff between the President, the Prime Minister, and much of the army meant that Australia had to send in a stabilisation force to sort things out. --Robert Merkel 01:25, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Titles Of All Articles

Aren't the first letter of every word in a title supposed to be capitalized? So why aren't the first letters of all the words in Wikipedia articles capitalized? That would mean the section headings too. And then there's the template that says, i.e.: iPod, the first letter of the article is specifically supposed to be uncapitalized. It teaches the reader how to write iPod, but then none of the articles have a lineatthetop to say [something like] how you're supposed to capitalize the word, when you should, when you shouldn't, i.e.: if it is the first word of a sentence of in a title, or if it compounded into a name, and never in all other circumstances. What's the deal?100110100 07:44, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

We could capitalise every letter of every title, but that would be unbearably ugly. The Manual of Style advises to capitalise the first letter and any proper nouns in titles. Capitalisation in general is covered here. Natgoo 08:12, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
It should be noted that while Wikipedia capitalizes fewer words in titles than many other references, "Titles Of All Articles" would never be found capitalized as such in a reputable work. Minor words aren't capitalized unless they begin (or sometimes end) the title; "Titles of all Articles" is as far as capitalization could reasonably extend. — Lomn 19:09, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
I have been a professional editor for 10 years, and a common style for titles everywhere I have worked is to upper-case the first letter of all words except for prepositions. Sometimes the exception is only for prepositions of less than 4 letters. Under this style, the title would be "Titles of All Articles". On the other hand, the style used by Wikipedia is also used by other English-language publications and is not too unorthodox. Marco polo 00:57, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Values of the paintings of recently deceased artist Charles E. Barnes

I have a painting here by artist Charles E. Barnes who ehibited work with Andrew Wyeth and at the Worlds Fair. I would like to know it's worth. It is called "A Rocky Road." I halso have two photos of the artist holding the painting and his obituary. Can you please help me.

My Name is Cindy and my phone number is <phone number removed>

Thank you for your attention.

Yours very truly,


Cynthia J. McCullough

Wikipedia isn't an appraisal site. The closest thing I can recommend is that you check eBay and other similar auction sites for prices, or go to a professional appraiser. —Mitaphane talk 09:06, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Steroids in Bodybuilding

Is steroid required in for making a massive body like Ronnie coleman and Arrnold schwarzenegger or it can be done without use of steroids ?

It's my opinion that if you got a 'bad' hand in the genetic poker game, and are a skinny person, then you have to fry yourself with steroids. There are a few people who could build up like that naturally, but it goes with the family. --Zeizmic 13:56, 11 October 2006 (UTC)


[edit] MRI or CAT-scans knocking

Do these machines have a KNOCKING sound to them when they are working? I just saw an episode of (Dr.?) House, and I don't know if it was a special effect or accurate depiction. Thanks in advance. :) 81.93.102.3 20:01, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

The article on MRI doesn't mention noise unfortunately, but yes, an MRI scan is a very noisy process. 192.168.1.1 6:20, 11 October 2006 (PST)
And yes the sound, in my experience, is a loud knocking. --Fastfission 01:35, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Okay. The next question is.... why? Thank you for showing me the answer to this one! :) 81.93.102.3 16:09, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Charge off information relating to lender

Say I have a credit card that is eventually charged off for non-payment. What can the lender/bank do after that? If they claim it on taxes can they still sue me for the money including court costs and outrageous (33-1/3%) interest? If they win the judgment towards me, do they still have the right to claim me on their taxes or does that have to be amended?

If, however, we go to court and work out a payment plan and I pay them, do they still have the right to claim me on their taxes or does that need to be amended also?

Thank you.

Judy B. in Louisiana

Our standard answer to legal questions is: 'Get yourself a lawyer'. However, people do like to embellish things a little... --Zeizmic 14:34, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

I work with lawyers. Give me a break. Someone's got to know the answer to my questions!

You will get an answer if you up the rudeness a bit more. People here just love that NY taxi atmosphere! --Zeizmic 17:10, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

I was not rude but I think you were just a bit. I guess I can't get my answer here.

Most tax codes say that a creditor can write off the debt against tax, but only if they can show due dilligence (nasty letters, legal action, etc.) in trying to reclaim the money. Simply winning in court isn't enough to write the debt off; they need to show they've subsequently tried and failed to regain the money (the most common reasons for this are that the debtor has gone bankrupt or cannot be located). Once they have written the debt off as bad and claimed it back from their tax bill, I doubt (again, in most jurisdictions) that that poses any impediment to their continuing to try to reclaim it (although in practice most won't, as any debt that old is unlikely to be profitably recovered - they might sell the debt on for a few cents on the dollar, generally either to disagreeable types or to suckers who think they can collect a debt that the bank couldn't). The tax code exists solely to make sure someone pays the tax they're owing - if circumstances change and the taxable amount increases, so long as the corresponding tax is paid then no crime has been committed (and the tax code isn't there to impede someone from lawfully collecting a debt they're owed). Thus, should they eventually get the money, if they declare an adjustment (and thus haven't deprived the tax man of monies he's owed) then they've probably not (again, depending on the jurisdiction) commited any crime. Regarding the matter of when they can stop charging you interest, that's a matter for your particular jurisdiction's credit laws, the credit agreement you signed, and any subsequent plan you agreed with them. If you can't afford a lawyer (something, unsurprisingly, most defaulting debtors can't) then you should talk to a non-profit consumer credit councilling service - they'll know the specific consumer credit laws for your area, and will be used to dealing with the credit company. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:29, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Thank you so much, Mr. McWalter. Have a great day!

"or to suckers who think they can collect a debt that the bank couldn't." Banks are just the starting point for a whole hierarchy of middle men and are terrible at collections. It's a huge industry and people have it down to a science. I am on the defense side mostly but I assure you it's not the province of suckers. First, there's a hierarchy of debts and many different types of operators; from your run of the mill collection agencies, to brokers who do nothing but buy and sell debt portfolios, to investigators who take a fixed fee for organizing portfolios by skip tracing, performing property searches, and who perform other data ranking to see if a prospective judgment will be collectible. Down the road are legal collection firms who do nothing but buy these portfolios and put the debt into suit--generally the closer to the statute of limitations, the cheaper the debt, and so on. Here's a dirty little (big) secret they don't want you to know: for most of these cases, if they ultimately go to trial they cannot win. The burden in a lawsuit is on the plaintiff to prove its case. You cannot prove your case if you cannot present the court with a person with knowledge. Since these plaintiffs are assigneees of assignees and the original creditor has no stake in the outcome, they cannot get the testimony of anyone with personal knowledge and thus cannot prove their case.--Fuhghettaboutit 02:42, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Purchasing Skulls

Where should I go (on teh intarwebs) if I wished to purchase a genuine human skull? 64.198.112.210 14:41, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Just go to Germany and start digging around a little, chances are you will eventually find a mass grave where you can harvest a skull from. Joneleth 18:45, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Uh, how about somewhere where I can get one legally without leaving my lovely hometown of St. Paul, MN? 64.198.112.210 18:55, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Well considering a fair amount of schools and universities got authentic skeletons for biology Im guessing its possible to buy it from somewhere, but I dont know where. You could also go to Africa and pick up a skull, nothing is illigal there but granted there are certain risks.Joneleth 19:22, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

I also know that there are places that it is legal to get them from, and I also do not know where. But I'm assuming that there is an easier, horrendously more legal, cheaper, and much safer way to get one than going to Germany or Africa and looking around. But thank you. 64.198.112.210 19:29, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

I've seen many real human skulls on sale on eBay. eBay strictly forbids sale of live human organs but it looks like dead ones are OK. JIP | Talk 20:19, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Sorry to burst your buble but a skull isnt an organ. Joneleth 20:56, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Just don't tell Michael about that. JackofOz 23:03, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
I know. I probably should have said "part", or some other term that covers both bones and organs. JIP | Talk 06:04, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

No I dont think its legal to sell dead organs either, not that I know what use they would be. Joneleth 11:49, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Eating. 64.198.112.210 16:50, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Well you can expect to pay $250 - $2500 and they are available here, scroll to the bottom for the skull section. It appears that it's legal in most places in the US so you will need to check that out. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 17:24, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Ebay apparently only allows sales of skeleton for medical use (but not sales of mummies as we find out today [2]). Rmhermen 17:44, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Musician

I am trying to find out about a musician who set himself on fire, he was a contemporary of the bonzo dog doo-dah band, could his name have been Vivian Stansfield? cant find anything under that name...

Not so much contemporary as chief doo-dah Vivian Stanshall. Sex is like an electric guitar: much improved by a little feedback, completely ruined with too much. MeltBanana 15:54, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
I thought it was Arthur Brown who set his head on fire. 8-? --Light current 17:22, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Yeah. Stanshall died in a fire caused by faulty wiring. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 19:47, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Yeah they were both slightly crazy! 8-)--Light current 17:28, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] English Cities

How many cities are there in england? And what officially makes a city?

See City status in the United Kingdom. Marnanel 15:25, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Maybe I'm just stupid.

>__< Taiga officially fails. Anyway, I must be doing something wrong, or google hates me, because I can't fiond anything about Biotic and Abiotic factors of Taiga, Carnivores, Herbivores, Preditors, Omnivores, Prey, Scavengers, Consumers, Producers. It would be nice to find something with a nice neat little chart like that..Um. SO does anyone lknow where I can find that information?

--Ohiosucks 16:40, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Did you try typing things like "taiga" and "biotic" in the search box at the left and then click Go or Search?  --LambiamTalk 18:02, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Welcome to Wikipedia. You can easily look up this topic yourself. Please see taiga. In future, try using the search box at the top left of the screen. It's much quicker, and you will probably find a clearer answer. If you still don't understand, add a further question below by clicking the "edit" button to the right of your question title.
— X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve)

[edit] Help!!!

Your results aren't helping me in the slightest, so I am asking you and I want an answer that is actually useful: What happened to the London Docklands since 1980? Lewis

We have a very good article on the London Docklands, with a whole section on 1981 to present: London Docklands#Redevelopment. Laïka 17:55, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

If you need to search on Wikipedia for something and don't know what the article would be, always use google. The Wiki search feature kind of sucks. — X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve)19:24, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] movies or dvds

I would like to find out how many DVD (ENGLISH) movies exist or how many movies are available in English.

Thanks

Robert Simpson

What do you mean? English original soundtrack? English dubs? English subtitles? Different titles? Different produced discs? Either way, the question seems impossible to answer... 惑乱 分からん 20:15, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Would you also count every single amateur porn that's released on DVD? If the answer is yes, then your guess is as good as ours. Dismas|(talk) 00:32, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
As a digression, in Germany porn movies are dubbed. Allegedly a popular way to earn extra money for university students... ;) (-"Yeah, yeah, that feels good, baby! Do it faster now!" would be -"Ja, ja, das fühlt gut, Baby. Mach's schneller, jetzt!" or something... ;) ) 惑乱 分からん 10:04, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
As a further digression, the brilliant movie Jesus de Montreal featured that very premise, except in Canada instead of Germany. Anchoress 16:44, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Go to http://imdb.com/list. Type "English" into the Language box. Type "1880-2006" into the Year box. Highlight "DVD" in the "Must have" window. Click on SEARCH. I got 12256 hits. User:Zoe|(talk) 03:05, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] typing up a resolution

We use the Robert Rules of Order for our meetings. I have a question in regards to writing up a relolution. We are terminating our administrator and in his contract it has to be done with a BCR (Band Council Resolution). I found a sample resolution below, how would we write up a BCR with regards to terminating the band administrator.

Whereas, We consider that suitable recreation is a necessary part of a rational educational system; and

Whereas, There is no public ground in this village where our school children can play; therefore

Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting that ample play grounds should be immediately provided for our school children.

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the chair to present these resolutions to the village authorities and to urge upon them prompt action in the matter.

Your best bet would be to get legal advice. It's quite possible that depending on what your administrator has, or has not done, they may feel that they have a position where they could sue you. Not being sure what country you are in but guessing either the US or Canada then there is probably a government department that will be able to help. They do that for hamlet councils in Nunavut. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 16:58, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Please don't terminate your administrator. His relatives and successors might sue you.

[edit] Closed vocational/technical colleges

I need to get a copy of my transcript from a business college in Arkansas that I attended after I graduated from high school. I did not graduate from the business college and they closed their doors several years after I left. How would I go about finding out where to ask for the transcript copy?165.29.178.62 18:54, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Check with the Arkansas Board of Education or equivalent department at the state level. -THB 11:13, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Those big Motorola things

In football games on tv the coaches and important people are always wearing those big Motorola heasets with a microphone and speaker on the left side and nothing on the right side so that they can hear what people next to them are saying. What are those? — X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve)

Exactly what they appear to be. Headsets. They can communicate with their other coaches and not have to go find them amongst the crowd on the sideline. There is also another coach in a skybox above the field, near the reporter's booths sometimes, who is in contact with the head coach as well. Dismas|(talk) 22:14, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Historically, each team brings their own complete set, rather than plugging into stadium wiring jacks, out of suspicion that any provided wiring would be tapped so the home team could intercept communication between the spotter up in the press box and the coaches by the field. The headsets are usually sound powered for simplicity and reliability, rather than battery operated, much like the original phones of Alexander Graham Bell.Edison 05:00, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kinf Edward boys and Family Coats of arms

Good day! I have been trying to fonmd information regarding the King ERdward's boys. My paternal grandfather and Great Uncle were sent to Canada as fatm labourers in the 1800's... I was informed that they were considered KING EDWARD'S BOYS. I can not locate any information regarding this and would like to know if you have any information regarding this.

Also... I have been looking for my family coat of Arms. I KNOW what it looks like... but van find no references to it. Could you be of help? My surname is Rolfe.

Thank you in advace.


Sincerely, James Rolfe

If they were sent to Canada as children as farm labourers, it was much much more likely that they were sent during World War II and not in the 1800s. Can you give me any idea of how old they were and when they were born?
There were thousands of children sent to Canada in between 1939 and 1945 who worked on farms. Many were not treated well; the Canadians, especially those out West who for the most part were not of British heritage and who owned the bulk of the farms, resented the British 'taking advantage of them' in numerous ways during the war. (I could write a book on this, but I won't here.) If this sounds like what your grandfather and grand-uncle underwent, you might want to take a look at books written by Ben Wicks (No Time to Wave Goodbye) and by Geoffrey Bilson (The Guest Children). Many of the children were kept out of school, overworked, and unpaid. (To be fair, most of the farm owners didn't see the need for any child, including their own, to attend school. My mother was one of the first in her family to even attend high school, and she graduated in 1950. She certainly had no chance of attending university.)
They were absolutely never called King Edward's Children, though. The king during World War II was George VI. It wouldn't make sense for the 1800s either, since no King Edward reigned during any part of that century. The only kings who went by Edward in that century reigned between 1901 and 1910 and for nine months in 1936.
I hope this helps! --Charlene.fic 02:03, 13 October 2006 (UTC)


A family does not have a coat of arms in the English or Scottish systems of heraldry. Only people have coats of arms, and their descendants use the same coat with systematic differences. Unless you can prove you are descended from a person who was granted arms, you do not have a coat of arms. Your surname is irrelevant. However, since you appear to be in Toronto, if you can't find a coat of arms you can call your own, you can always talk to the Canadian Heraldic Authority to grant you a new one. Hope this helps. Marnanel 00:07, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm not sure what "King Edward's Boys" means. The only use I can think of is that they may have attended a school called King Edward's Boys School or King Edward's School. When one graduates from school in the UK, one can be called a "boy" or "old boy" of that school, e.g. "King Edward's Boys" or "King Edward's Old Boys". We actually have a list of the UK schools of that name: King Edward's School which may help if you know which part of England they were from originally. --Canley 01:53, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

In the AC/DC song For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) were actual cannons used during live performances?

Think of the consequences. Vitriol 22:09, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Um you can have cannon fire with out the balls thats what they do in civil war reenactments.
On stage, I'd call that a fire risk. Vitriol 01:31, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Fireworks and pyrotechnics have been a part of concerts for decades. (see The Who#Other aspects of their performances) Yes, they're fire risks but they're still used. As far as a cannon... I doubt it's a cannon like what the OP is thinking of, the huge black cast iron barrel sort due to the immense weight and logistics of carrying it on the road. We had a cannon when I worked at a Boy Scout summer camp. It was a small (maybe 12-14" long) cannon that held a 10 gauge blank shotgun shell. We used it for emergencies (three shots and everyone assembled) and you could hear that for ~1.5 miles. I'd imagine that you could put a microphone near it and it would work for a concert. Dismas|(talk) 03:28, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
They use at least two cannons that look as if they were real but are probably replicas (need to install the google player). Also have a look at Cannon#The cannon in music. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 16:34, 12 October 2006 (UTC)


Well, I have been to an ACDC concert and I have been at reenactments that used live canons. I can tell you that if ACDC used real cannons in an indoor concert, the result would be several magnitudes louder than what they were. The real things can make your belly go all squeamish. I imagine if they were used indoors they would cause at least some hearing damage. They probably use some kind of small specially made charge for the sound, but nothing close to the charge that would be used in a real cannon. Nowimnthing 23:39, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Has anybody here seen the movie "Gay Niggers from Outer Space"?

The title is the question.

No. Any relation to the Gay Nigger Association of America? Hyenaste (tell) 22:05, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
We do have an article about it, though: Gayniggers From Outer Space. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 22:08, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
No. --Proficient 06:45, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, good parody.-THB 11:14, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Phrase origin - I can tell you but then I'd have to kill you

I checked quotes on IMDB.com and did a google search. Any ideas? 007 comes to mind, as does Dirty Harry. <3 wpedians

Try google again. Anchoress 22:25, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] English homework help--parts of speech

H, I've been working on this homework for 3 hours but I don't understand it. We have to come up with examples of words from the different parts of speech. I have a noun, a verb, a preposition, an adjective, and an adverb, but I can't find any adnouns in my dictionary. Please help me!!!! Thanx!!!! :( --216.164.192.121 23:23, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Adnouns are just adjectives used as nouns. For example, in "guide-dogs for the blind", "blind" is an adnoun because it stands in for the noun phrase "blind people". You will not see them in your dictionary because they are marked as adjectives! Just about any adjective can be an adnoun, and all adnouns are identical in form to an adjective. Marnanel 00:27, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
"Adnoun" needs an article, if it is indeed an accepted term among linguists, of which I remain to be convinced. It currently rates no mention in Wikipedia, except for this question and Talk:Japanese grammar/adjectives. JackofOz 01:16, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
I believe zee accepted term is gerund. Hyenaste (tell) 01:41, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
A gerund is a verbal noun, not an adjectival noun. I'd never heard the term "adnoun" before either, but I looked it up in the dictionary and this is what I discovered. Marnanel 01:53, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
  • It is described in a few online grammar resources I found on Google.
  • It would be fascinating to document the process whereby (a) a linguistic feature has survived for ever without a label, (b) someone suddenly decides it needs a label and comes up with one, (c) the new term becomes quickly accepted among linguists, (d) it acquires the status of essential knowledge about a language, and (e) it gets taught in schools. JackofOz 02:26, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
And thus a stub is born: Adnoun - Johntex\talk 04:42, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
The system works! Anchoress 04:52, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
Their label is "nouns used adjectivally" or "nouns used as adjectives". Adnoun isnt a very good word- for me it brings up adverb, which is a word that modifies a verb; an adnoun would be a word that modifies a noun- an adjective! This provides no disambiguation at all and only confuses things (is it another word for adjective? what does it mean?). Anyway I guess it has usage somewhere but it's an awful word --frothT C 06:51, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

The old-fashioned term is "nominal adjective". -THB 11:20, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] lenny kravitz video

who is the blonde actress in the american woman video by lenny kravitz?? bet with my husband hope I'm right thanks for your help

Heather Graham. I hope you'll tell us who won the bet.  sʟυмɢυм • т • c  23:54, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../r/e/f/Wikipedia%7EReference_desk_archive_Miscellaneous_2006_October_11_d5da.html"