Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2006 October 23

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[edit] October 23

[edit] artemis fowl-the book after the lost colony

i've read every single book in the artemis fowl series. ive even read the first chapter of the new one, the lost colony.does anyone know what comes after the lost colony? im curious.

thanks, richard.

According to Artemis Fowl (series), The Lost Colony is the last in the series so far. There will probably be more in the series, but these haven't been announced yet. --Canley 03:08, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] ship a car

how much to ship a car from NYC to Chicago? I'm not flying and driving it back. thanks.

http://www.shipmyvehicle.com/default.aspx --Proficient 05:45, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Building a wall

I want to build a clay brick wall in my garden. It'll be in sandy soil and about 3.5m long x 1.8m high. My question is, what size concrete footings should I use? I was thinking about 300mm x 300mm. — Moondyne 05:53, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

You'll want to put the footings deep enough to go below the frost line for your area. Otherwise, in winter the ground may heave and put a lovely crack right through your new wall. Dismas|(talk) 10:37, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Depends on the strength of the soil as well, and the thickness of the wall, which presumably will be about 200mm wide (a brick length rather than a brick width for a wall of that height). 300mm doesn't sound deep enough for that sort of weight. Depending on the purpose of the wall, you might find it has to conform to local building regulations.--Shantavira 12:57, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Hah! no frost line where I am. Wall will be 100mm thick with 4 piers (200mm, 1 at each end and 2 midway along) and will not be load bearing. I'l make enquiries with my local council I think. — Moondyne 14:41, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Number one rule for these things is to look around at what has worked, and do that! --Zeizmic 15:50, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Paradoxically, a narrower footing may work better. Imagine a footer with a circular cross-section. When a horizontal force is applied to the lever that is the wall, all that keeps the footing from turning in its place is the friction with the soil. No soil is displaced in the process. Now a square is not a circle, but it is a better approximation of a circle than all other rectangles of the same cross-sectional area. Turning an embedded square cuboid around its axis displaces less volume than a non-square cuboid. Assuming one side is not buried but flush with the surface, if the rectangular cross-section has width W and height H, the displacement for a small angle δ is roughly proportional to (2H+W)δ. Maximizing this while keeping HW constant gives H = 2W. My intuition tells me that the turning point will actually be lower than the centre of the rectangle, suggesting an even larger ration of H : W, for example H = 450mm and W = 200mm. If you are not restricted to rectangular cross-sections, you could consider a buried upside-down T shape. Disclaimer: All walls I've built until now have toppled over.  --LambiamTalk 17:47, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
The depth of 300mm is fine as depth is not the issue. We are looking for vertical bearing capacity here and only the x-y plane will matter. See soil mechanics. You do want it deep enough so that if the wall is in one direction only and unsecured at the ends that it won't tip over, 500mm from the surface to the top of the footer will do. Sandy soil has decent bearing strength if it is undisturbed; if disturbed you should compact it first, just flood the ditch and let it dry (sand is pretty much "self-compacting" when flooded) or bash it with something heavy if you do not have access to a soil compactor. I would go with 500 - 600mm for the width. Put two pieces of #15 M reinforcing rod longitudinally for the entire length and tie your vertical stub bars into these. Oh, and I disclaim any responsibility if it falls over. --Justanother 18:19, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] ford focus hatchback

APPROXIMATELY, withing 15% how much did a new ford focus cost in 2003 in 2006 money? A new 07 model today costs about $14,000

2003 Ford Focus; SVT was $19,085 / $18,585 (4-door / 2-door), and the ZX5 started at $15,525 (4-door). The dollar hasn't changed that much in 3 years, so "2006 money" is just about the same as "2003 money".
Google works well for this question, check out the first, second, and third results of this search.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  10:38, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Liar paradox (header added)

what is it that to be true it must be false.the only clue i have is that it has sumthin to do with time.i have tried looking it up but nuthing.................... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.49.84.87 (talk • contribs)

I am lying to you.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  10:40, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
See liar paradox. Time comes into it because if someone says they lied, or they will lie, that makes logical sense, but if they say they are lying (now), you cannot tell whether they are lying or not. --Shantavira 12:39, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
See the above statement I am lying to you. If he was really lying, then it would be a lie, or untrue, that he was lying, and thus he would be telling the truth. But if he was telling the truth, then he is lying, which he cant be, because hes telling the truth. Complicated, I suppose, but interesting.--The Corsair. 22:07, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Micro marketing

What is meant by micro marketing in the world of advertising?

Sarah Lord

Micro marketing is targeting individuals rather than large segments of the population. Made possible by the technology that allows individuals to be reached. michellevieux
Sounds like the ultimate extension of market segmentation. StuRat 20:29, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Also see niche market. 惑乱 分からん 17:45, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
In other words, those arseholes who ring you around diner time. If people here think I am rude at times, they haven't heard me fulminate against those bitches. People complain about spam (another form of micro marketing?), but that's nothing in comparison. I am exposed to spam when I choose to (when I check my mail) and getting rid of it takes but a second. But when they call you, they determeine when and I have to get up for it and then they start lying about their real purpose, trying to keep me on the phone. Luckily, there is talk in the Netherlands of making this form of advertising illegal. DirkvdM 07:07, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
Let me use a typically DirkvdM-style reply:
"We have a no-call list in the US, with strict penalties for anyone who calls those on the list. Perhaps if your country was as civilized as ours, and had a proper democracy, as in the US, you would have this, too." StuRat 15:21, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
And now for a real DirkvdM style answer (because by the man himself). We would have had such law a long time ago here too if we would have an economy that is so immerged in commercials as the US. It has become a problem (ie it started) only a few years ago. And politicians need time to react when something happens in reality (ie it probably has to happen to them first). Now they have reacted and hopefully they will choose the right version. You seem to have opt-out. I hope we're going to get opt-in because that is, of course, much more civilised. :) DirkvdM 04:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
"Immerged" ? Do you mean "immersed" ? Also, you're not using "i.e." correctly. It means "in example". A correct use would be: "I hate telemarketers who call at inappropriate times, i.e., at dinner time." StuRat 05:18, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
Actually, Stu, "i.e." is short for "id est", meaning "that is". See List of Latin abbreviations.  :) JackofOz 12:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
Damn, you beat me to that one. I love to correct people in their own language. Too bad I did make one mistake, and an odd one because the 'g' and the 's' are not next to each other on the keyboard. Oh, and about the real subject at hand. How long did it take the US government to outlaw spam? Or have they? E-mail_spam#Legality seems to suggest so. And Australia seems to have some law against it. The EU has in 2002 given a directive to outlaw spam. Alas the Dutch government is being a bit slow. Alas only two major left wing parties choose the opt-in version. How much spam do you guys get? I get about one every two days, and rarely one that wasn't my own stupid fault. Telephone spam I get a few per year. DirkvdM 08:54, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
To misquote Yul Brynner, "just hang up".  :) JackofOz 12:27, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
Like I said, by then I have already had to put down my fork, get up, pick up the phone and go through the ritual of me giving my name and them answering with "Am I talking to Dirk van der Made?" Yes of course you are, you stupid cow, I just told you so. Of course I could hang up at that point to minimise the irritation, but there is always the off chance that it is a serious and/or useful phone call. Ok, fat chance, so you're right in that respect. But I also want to get a chance to get to tell them what I think of them. "Imagine me cleaning up my attick, coming across some stuf I want to get rid of and then thinking 'hey, what if I picked up the phone book, chose a random number and asked them if they would want to buy it?' Now would that be asocial? Yes? And what are you doing right now then?" That's the friendliest version. I will refrain from typing the other versions because there might be children reading this. DirkvdM 04:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
I liked the Simpsons episode where Homer got an autodialer and used it to call people night and day and say whatever was on his mind. The courts ordered him to apologize to the town, as a result. No problem, he just programmed the autodialer with an apology and let it run all night long. :-) StuRat 05:23, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
And like I said, Dirk, just hang up. Or, say "No, thanks" and then hang up. Stay cool, and return to your dinner. You don't have to allow some anonymous stranger rattle your cage so much. You're totally in control of that. They're used to being hung up on, and it would save a lot of wasted emotional energy on your part. Energy that you could put to much better use in coming up with a magnificent series of contributions to Wikipedia. (Well, we can hope, can't we?).  :) JackofOz 12:43, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
As you may have noticed, I've already got that last bit covered. :) And of course you're right, it would be better for my heart and shit to not get worked up about it, but that would feel like giving in. Imagine some stranger walking up to yo uin the street and hitting you. The most sensible thing (if you limit your view to that one occasion) would be to ignore it and walk on. But there are two problems with that. It makes you feel like a weakling not to have protested and if people can get away with it that easily, they'll start doing it more and more. The only differences with telephone spam are that it doesn't hurt as much physically and that I have to walk up to them. I feel it is my moral duty to let them know what asocial bitches they are. DirkvdM 08:22, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
Giving in? But you are giving in at the moment. Giving in to your egoic desire to be a victim of circumstance. You can choose to not let them get to you. Who's in charge of your emotions - you or them? At the moment, you're letting them dictate your emotional state. If you accept that sometimes phone calls arrive at inconvenient times, then it should make no difference to your emotional state whether it's a telemarketer or your closest friend. JackofOz 09:05, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] powdered doughnuts

Hi, What year were powdered doughnuts commercialized, in other words, when were they made available in stores for purchase? Thank you very much, Cindy

Look for the inflection point for obesity and tooth decay. --Zeizmic 14:07, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Haha nice one Zeizmic --WikiSlasher 14:16, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Ok, they're sugar powdered because they're greasy for your fingers (or you have to open a very big mouth). Every fat pastry in the world needs something like that. Have you known a time when it was not so ? -- DLL .. T 18:49, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Unfortunately, the confectioner's sugar falls off and leaves a trail on your hands, clothes, and all over any office or household unfortunate enough to be afflicted by a a box.  :-) StuRat 20:23, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
But theres no denying the yummy deliciousness. --The Corsair. 22:05, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Actually, pretty much any donuts I've had left a horrid chemical aftertaste. I'd rather have an apple. In fact, I'm eating an apple right now. StuRat 22:43, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Is it a karma apple? JackofOz 12:26, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chocolate bars

The Kit Kat article says it is "...the world's #2 chocolate bar after the Mars bar." Interestingly, Snickers says its the "best selling candy bar of all time". Is there a table somewhere that lists other top selling bars? I'm curious to know where Freddo Frog sits in the rankings. — Moondyne 15:02, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

I think it would rank quite low, since it's neither sold in USA, Asia or the European continent... 惑乱 分からん 15:22, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
FWIW, I've never seen or heard of a Freddo Frog in the UK either. Also I think it would be reasonable to ask for a citation for claims like this in Wikipedia. Manufacturers don't always want to make sales figures public, but if they're availabble at all you should find them on the appropriate company websites.--Shantavira 17:23, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
You've never heard of or seen Freddo Frog in the UK? May I assume that you didn't spend your pocket money at a newsagents? Skittle 21:50, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
I had never heard of Freddo Frogs at all, until I saw the Wikipedia article. And I've been to the UK three times. JIP | Talk 08:10, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
I wouldn't believe much of anything a candy bar manufacturer said relative to its competitors, or anything other than verifiable brand name age and, one would hope, product contents. Candy bar geekMothperson cocoon 23:43, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] USA place name

Does anyone recognize the place name Marcorop {this may not be the correct spelling}. I have a ancestor who, according to the census, was born there in 1876. I believe that it is in Pennsylvania but can not find any reference in gazetteers, google etc.

stmartins

The US Geological Survey database has no entires for Marcorop (and no entries for anyplace starting with Marco- in Penn.) You could try other possible spellings at this link. Or it may just be a place that no longer exists. Rmhermen 16:42, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Looking for 70s Board game

I have been looking for a card game I use to own that was played on a hard plastic board. I thought was called "Solitaire" or "Poker Solitaire" and I don't remember if it was a Parker Brothers game or Milton Bradley game or something else. I've been searching both of their web sites and everwhere else on the web without successfully finding any evidence of its existence. Your reference page to "poker solitaire" or "poker square" is exactly how this game was played. Can you help me find information on this game?

I'm sure I have one of those ugly green plastic things at the cottage, but it's all sealed up and frozen solid now. --Zeizmic 21:27, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Purple streaks

Hi... I've been noticing these short, fairly narrow purple streaks on my legs, buttocks, and recently my right knee. Anyone know what these are? --Anonymous coward

As far as I know they are veins/arteries, I have them on the inside of my left knee, no-doubt I will have them on my right as well soon now that I have started cycling once more. I'm not really sure WHY they are they, one would guess for rapid heat loss. Although if you don't exercise that much it may be your age - I've seen it on various ages, mostly over 50s however. --AMX 19:39, 23 October 2006 (UTC)AMX

(medical disclaimer) - Have you recently been pregnant/lost huge amounts of weight? When one of the two (:P) happened to me, I got stretch marks all over my back and some on my thighs. Hope this helps. Martinp23 23:11, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Another condition which might fit the description is telangiectasia aka spider veins. We don't have any images of them but if you do a Google Images search for "spider veins" you'll see a lot of them. --Fastfission 00:58, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
Thread veins?--Light current 01:20, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] airport luggage checking

My local airport is BWI. Whenever I go there, I check my bags outside the main room (since I get my boarding pass from the internet) on the street.. they have little kiosks where people line up and give the guys their bags. The guys wheel the luggage inside themselves in big loads. Every time I go almost every group in line gives the main guy a $5 or $10 tip.. and this guy serves a family every minute or two! And it's just some scruffy looking airport lug.. making possibly $100 an hour. So I was just curious.. is this job given to the most senior lug, or is he chosen at random, or chosen for the "employee of the week" kind of thing or what? --frothT C 19:33, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Well, comparatively, bartenders can make over a grand a night at a busy station. Tip based jobs are just like that, very chance based. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 23:26, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Perhaps they share their tips with all the other luggage handlers behind the scenes? Lisiate 19:35, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Floppy disk as "save" icon

Floppy disks have been deprecated for several years now, it is practically impossible to find them on retail any more, new computers are sold without floppy drives, sysadmins are discouraging their use and telling people to transform their files to more reliable media. Yet, the floppy disk is almost universally still used as the icon for "save file". Surely this will lead to problems in a few years' time, when the average user has never seen a real-life floppy disk? JIP | Talk 19:50, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

It's more easily associated with saving than a plain grey platter or something --frothT C 20:05, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Not necessarily. We use many symbols and icons that are based on obsolete theories. One of the most common is falling in love "with all your heart". The heart is just a muscle, not the seat of emotion, that comes from part of the brain. Yet we continue to send Valentine's Day cards with a prettified version of the human heart on them. Kids just learn that the heart is a symbol of love from an early age, as they now will learn that a floppy disk is the symbol for a removable storage device from an early age. StuRat 20:06, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Oh, Stu, how unromantic of you. You need to fall in love again (assuming you've ever done that before) - and fast!  :) JackofOz 20:29, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Hmm, should I ask which organ appears on the Valentine's cards you and your significant other exchange ? :-) StuRat 01:33, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
It's ... wait for it ... hearts. Can you imagine telling your beloved that you love her with all your brain? The almost certain emotional response to such a statement would be intense disappointment and disillusionment. This might suggest that the scientific approach to things is not always appropriate. JackofOz 12:24, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
We still "dial" a telephone, even though most phones haven't had dials for years. User:Zoe|(talk) 20:44, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Actually, I just paid US$20 for a nice old Western Electric manufactured type 500 desk set, with a dial and real bells for the ringer.  :-) --LarryMac 20:55, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Cool. I've been thinking about changing the ring tone on my cell phone to an old analog telephone ring. User:Zoe|(talk) 21:58, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

In the 2870s a professor of Symbology will study an early 21st century text editor programme and, from the strange glyphs of the interface, will determine the exact appearance of the mysterious "floopydiks" (hitherto regarded as simply an ancient knob gag) and will conclude that this is the vessel most likely to contain the long sort after, fabled, LINUX he suspects has been suppressed by the evil church of Microsoft. MeltBanana 21:40, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Someday people will wonder what is this "sheet of paper" thing used to be which is still used to signficy a "new file". ;-) Realistically speaking, who knows if the iconography of software functions will change over time — they have only been around for two decades or so, which is just a blip in the history of human kind and human technology. --Fastfission 01:02, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
I know some people who ask why the copy-to address line on e-mails is labeled "cc." When I explain it means "carbon copy," then I have to get into a whole explanation about what carbon paper was (do they even make carbon paper anymore?) and the workings of a typewriter, etc. — Michael J 01:17, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
Just tell them CC means "computer copy", which it mostly does, these days. As for paper, I don't see it going away anytime soon. I don't think there has even been a reduction in paper usage as a result of the computer revolution. For example, as a computer programmer, I find there is still no substitute for printouts. StuRat 01:26, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
Yes you can still buy carbon paper. --WikiSlasher 07:36, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
I believe "CC" now officially stands for "courtesy copy". howcheng {chat} 20:49, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

OK Suggestion. Replace symbol with a safe and an arrow pointing into it! 8-)--Light current 01:27, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I think if you ask a kid, they'll just say: "Oh, that's the save symbol!" --Zeizmic 01:32, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
I used to buy tons - yes really - of A4 copy paper when I worked as a buyer in the civil service. I recall in one buyer/supplier interface aimed at reducing costs, I asked when the paperless office would really arrive, thinking my supplier's strategic thinking would know the answer to such a simple question. Yes, he said, the paperless office will follow shortly after the arrival of the paperless toilet.

And in a similar meeting with my toner cartridge supplier he explained that within his industry, toner ink was otherwise known as "Black Gold".

[edit] Morrisville, North Carolina

I'm about to visit the US for the first time and I will be in Morrisville, North Carolina. I doubt I'll have much spare time outside the meeting I'll be attending, but if I get any. What places should I visit there? - Mgm|(talk) 20:03, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

I would ask them to move the meeting to a more interesting place. alteripse 20:51, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
  • You mean there's nothing remotely interesting there? Not even encyclopedic for an article? - Mgm|(talk) 21:45, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Your meeting has probably been located in Morrisville because it is adjacent to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Morrisville is also located along Interstate 40, one of the most important east-west superhighways (motorways) crossing the United States. I don't know the site of your meeting, but it is probably in one of the corporate hotels or office complexes that cluster near major airports and along major superhighways in the United States. Since this is your first trip to the United States, this will be an excellent place to view the vast and mostly low-density, car-dependent urban sprawl that typifies development patterns in the contemporary United States. The lack of noteworthy sites mentioned in the Wikipedia article suggests that Morrisville, like so many other suburban entities in the United States, is an area of recent residential and commercial development with little of historical or cultural interest. Because of its car-dependent nature, you will need a car to visit the places nearby that have some cultural interest. Among these are two of the most prestigious universities in the southern United States, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The twin cities of Durham, the site of Duke University, and Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, are both nearby. Together, these cities form an urban region that encompasses Morrisville and is known as Raleigh-Durham or the Triangle. Marco polo 22:13, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
That's also the site of the historic US tobacco industry, if that thrills you as much as it does me. StuRat 22:36, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
ask the locals where a good barbecue place is . you won't be disappointed with southern bbq.
Go to an Atlantic Coast Conference basketball game, if you can get tickets. Quite an experience, even if you're not a big basketball fan. Or a high-school (American) football game, if the season's still on. -- Mwalcoff 00:54, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Croissants

I'm looking for a croissant recipe, but they're all talking about packages of yeast when I have no idea how much is in such a package, I'm trying to figure out how much fresh baker's yeast I should be using for it. Also, I'm finding cups an terribly inconvenient measure for non-melted butter. Can anyone help me track down a metric recipe? - Mgm|(talk) 20:03, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

I believe butter sticks are marked in cups on the side of each stick. For butter in a tub, look at the volume of the tub. If you have a 24 oz tub, you need 1/3 of that for an 8 oz cup. A packet of yeast sufficient for my 1.5 lb bread machine is about 4 g or 0.14 oz. StuRat 20:11, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Stu, do you have cook books you can reference? If so, the Cup (unit) article could maybe do with a list of weight equivalents for common ingredients, to give an idea of these things. I would, but none of mine feature 'cups'. Skittle 22:50, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
A fluid ounce of water also weighs one avoirdupois ounce. Therefore, a US cup, at 8 fluid ounces, also weighs 8 ounces, or half a pound. The density of milk is quite close to water, so the same conversion more or less applies. Oil is a bit lighter, but this approximation still isn't bad, at least for cooking purposes. StuRat 01:57, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
  • I probably should've mentioned I'm in the Netherlands. We mark our butter in grams. - Mgm|(talk) 21:05, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
  • Well, you already stated "metric recipe"... Otherwise, you could check out oz and lb for Metric conversion. 惑乱 分からん 21:58, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
My recipe book has a list of those it lists a conversion for oz. to ml. Kind of useless when you're using non-melted butter. - Mgm|(talk) 23:23, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
You could try this recipe, if you're any good at French. Maybe Babel fish could help you. If you just wanted an ingredients list, it asks for:
40 grams sugar
10 grams salt
15 grams baker's yeast
300 ml milk
500 grams flour
300 grams butter
1 egg
Skittle 22:17, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
  • Thanks. A list of ingredients will help. I can use those. - Mgm|(talk) 23:23, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Black Marked Book

Why do some of the books that I buy on line have a black ink mark across the pages on their edge? They are defiantly not accidental markings and the books do not come from a single source. What do they mean?

Thank You, cckst11

Many books are marked like that by bookstores when they are put on the sale shelves. It usually indicates that the person you got it from did not pay full price. alteripse 20:50, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

It might be a way to sell a book below a fixed price, which may only be possible if it is damaged. So they damage it, but not too bad. I used to but lp's that had holes punched through the cover for that same reason. DirkvdM 07:24, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
alteripse and Dirk are correct - it's a remainder mark, indicating that the book isn't to be sold at full price (although I disagree with the article that this isn't often used for paperbacks - I've bought many with the same marking). Natgoo 12:53, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What color are tigers?

Tigers are obviously a dark shade of green. Their "stripes" are only reflections of the moon that bounce off the soft tone of green in their fur. I have found this through many studies in the bermuda triangle. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.73.192.130 (talk • contribs)

Uh...pschemp | talk 21:17, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Most tigers have white bellies with orange backs and black stripes all over. Siberian tigers have slightly different markings. StuRat 21:46, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Paper tigers often have yellow streaks, though... 惑乱 分からん 21:52, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
And African tigers are usually monochrome (unless the old movies in which they appeared have been colorised)  :) JackofOz 01:10, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
The African tigers in the Phantom comics used to be monochrome here in Sweden, but since the 90's the comic book's colorized... 惑乱 分からん 01:36, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
My general knowledge isn't too bad, but it wasn't till I was in my mid 30s that I discovered there are no tigers in Africa. Such is the pervasive influence of Jungle Jim, the Phantom, etc. JackofOz 03:05, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
And lions do not live in the jungle, they live on the plains. Such is the (American!) influence of 'In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight' from The Tokens, Lion King, etc. And no, lions do not walk the streets of our cities in Africa. Sandman30s 08:17, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
  • Detroit Tigers are blue and white(hotclaws**== 16:24, 24 October 2006 (UTC))

[edit] Alternative name for fins

I am stuck on a crossword I need another name for surfboard fins can anyone help me please

How many letters? Have you got any letters already? (You could write in clues here in **X**XX** or similar format...) Also, check out the surfboard article for possible information. 惑乱 分からん 21:50, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
where i am from they are called "gualaja"
What about 'rudder'? Anchoress 23:26, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
I am surprised that people don't ask here for crossword help more often. Яussiaп F 23:55, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, I think that may lead to more cross words between editors. 8-(--Light current 01:18, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Skeg --Zeizmic 01:28, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Many of our regular visitors are cruciverbalists. JackofOz 05:29, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] how do proofreaders miss the blatant error in the headline

especially when they got it right in the first sentence.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aDyskVjHQCNI&refer=us

Sometimes you miss the thing that's right in front of your face. --Fastfission 00:54, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
"Perdue" probably passed the spell-checker. -- Mwalcoff 00:58, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
Sometimes, it's a case perdu, I guess... ;) 惑乱 分からん 01:03, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

stfu

I've noticed blatant errors in headlines myself, including the failure to capitalize the first character, and a lack of a question mark at the end of a question. The only way I can explain it is that the editors just don't care if they write proper English sentences or not. This is even true of many of the question askers here on the Ref Desk. StuRat 07:15, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Although few are as bad as the one two threads down, under 'Jews'. Then again, that one is mostly just weird. DirkvdM 07:29, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ah the little kids!

Help! What does one do with little kids on the internet for an hour and a half? They can barely read, and the computers I have suck badly (school computers, no downloads allowed, no sound, only a few have good media software, and I don't know which ones). I have my laptop (sound, media stuff, downloads allowed), so if someone suggested a few videos, I could show them those...? 204.147.94.154 23:12, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

I think you're missing out on the value of a computer if you just use it to play movies. Show them MS Paint, and let them each draw a few lines on the computer, so together it makes a picture of, say, a house. Then print it out when you're all done (if you have a printer) and pass it around, then post it on a wall. They will like that they each contributed to it, and it will teach them about computers and cooperation at the same time. StuRat 01:19, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
I well know the value of the computer and I reget that I was not more clear. The only programs available for my use are Word and IE. Plus, I'm supposed to be teaching them about the internet. 216.160.53.151 02:38, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

My suggestion would be FunnyAnimalVideos.com - it doesn't need sound, but it does need at least a 512Kbit connection. It plays embedded Youtube clips of cute animals doing odd things. There's also CuteOverload, which is a similar archive of cute animal pictures. Other child-friendly sites I know of are Simple English Wikipedia and Pogo. Pesapluvo 03:05, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

  1. Take them to some age-appropriate sites they might find interesting (like Animal Planet, Sesame Street, the Spider Man movie site, fansites for some of their fave stars and characters, the NASA site, Discovery Channel, etc. You should be able to find home sites for all their fave shows. Show them how to bookmark the sites (they don't need to be able to read to do that), show them how to size windows and how to drag icons of their fave sites to the desktop and then open them.
  2. Show them how to copy pics from web pages and paste them into Word.
  3. Take them to the home pages of some of their fave authors; JKRowling has an awesome website that's really interactive and a great time waster. Also www.the-leaky-cauldron.org and other sites are great fansites for Potter fans.
  4. I'm too lazy to look for you, but I know there are lots of free online games for kids of all ages (down to 2 if you can believe it). Tip: lots of kids movies and stories have interactive mini-games on their sites; I know the WB Harry Potter site has a few. It's not my cup of tea, but sites like the McDonalds home page probably have them too. If their parents wouldn't object, the www.simpsons.com site is kinda fun. Not too fun, just a little bit.
--Anchoress 05:54, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Show them google earth, or some other sattelite world map website. I don't know if they'll like it, but it fascanates me. :) Яussiaп F 11:55, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Google Earth is especially good if you live in a reasonably big town or city, since Google has high quality images of most big settlements, and they should be able to find their houses. Laïka 12:31, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
But, unfortunately, most houses aren't very recognizable from the top. StuRat 05:13, 25 October 2006 (UTC)