Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 August 2

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[edit] August 2

[edit] First article.

What was the first article on Wikipedia?M.A.D.M.D. 02:15, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Wikipedia's oldest articles. Rockpocket 02:25, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unicorn picture!

I appreciate that this is a long shot, but this picture here - http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/3491/unicornzsz3.gif was from a promotion for a webcomic which I've coincidentally not read, if anyone could remind me what this webcomic is and where I could get more pictures like this (unicorns!) it'd be much appreciated. - AlmostCrimes 03:39, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Boing Boing has a thing about unicorns. This search may help find more images, if not answer the webcomic question. And I trust you've done a more general google image search?--Tagishsimon (talk)
[1]...have a T-shirt with a less-cropped version of that image on it. It seems to relate to a band The Vomiting Unicorns.

[edit] fish sanctuary in the philippines

please d help me gather datas abut fish sanctuaries in the phillipines and an overview on fish sanctuary for my thesis.thank yu

Do you mean hatcheries, for the commercial production of fish, or nature reserves including lakes and seas ? StuRat 06:06, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bridge Disasters

looking for a history of US bridge disasters, I came upon one not included in your article on bridge disasters. Its web site is: http://www.ctlgroup.com/topic.asp?topic=2351, and talks about: Collapse of Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul. It doesn't mention a date, but the site is dated 2006. Hope this helps c waller

See Lake Street Bridge. We already have an article mentioning this. Rmhermen 03:57, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] medical please

Disclaimer aside, my friend is 8 months pregnant and has kidney stones and is now in hospital, how serious is this. Please help me I am worried about this lovely person. Thank you

Only a qualified medical practitioner can assess how "serious" this is, but both conditions are common, and on the face of it there should be no cause for concern. Our articles on kidney stone and pregnancy will give you more information on causes, treatment, and prevention.--Shantavira|feed me 12:44, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
Actually, it is my understanding that pregnancy is quite serious. Eran of Arcadia 20:41, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What is retrofeminist?

Somebody please kindly tell me the major points of retrofeminist?61.60.242.186 13:10, 2 August 2007 (UTC) Jenny

Well it could be a feminist who is really retro (but that would seem odd), it could be someone who is retrospectively a feminist (again that would be odd). I'm guessing that retrofeminist isn't an article already? otherwise google reveals (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4074/is_200404/ai_n9356704/pg_11) which may help. ny156uk
I'd speculate that it's a feminist that goes back to the old practices of feminism, like burning their bras (I find this to be far more enjoyable than burning draft cards, I must admit). StuRat 06:10, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Not while you're wearing it surely?hotclaws 08:57, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] my question

what will die when it comes in contact with a drop of liquor?

You, or someone else with a similar IP address, asked something similar to this yesterday - see here. --Richardrj talk email 14:15, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

bacteria?

Mooji 00:18, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What persons name produces the most google results?

and is there any list of the names that produce the most results, and lists of people by gender, nationality, occupation etc. Willy turner 15:47, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Jesus? Unless you count God as a person... --antilivedT | C | G 19:58, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
Obviously false: 141 M hits for Jesus but 252 M hits for John Smith. "Jesus" just isn't ambiguous enough. —Keenan Pepper 20:34, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
If you google the name as a whole, though, "John Smith" only gets 2.5 M hits — Lomn 21:11, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
If we include fictional people, it's going to be biased. George Bush turns up about 13.7m GHITS, compared to Superman at about 34m --L-- 21:19, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
Seven gets 294 M google hits. Jon513 11:21, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
I hardly doubt that counts.... 293.9 M of those hits are probably the number. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 22:22, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
And even Britney Spears beats Bush... We live in such a messed up world. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 22:25, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Though Bush will claim victory anyway. -88.109.214.6 12:04, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
you forgot the quotes "britney spears" get 12.6M and "george bush" gets 15M.
that includes dubya and h dubya

Google never shows more than 1000 results anyway. Jon513 19:46, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Performance Management

Other than the Balanced Scorecard framework by Kaplan & Norton, what other framework exists for performance measurement (or KPI)?

From a data delivery viewpoint there are the horrid 'dashboards' that people seem intent on producing, RAG statuses (red/amber/green) that look equally as bad as the job they often do of showing valuable information. Anyway the Balance Scorecard article links to Applied Information Economics that might help? These things, along with project-management frameworks (Six Sigma anybody?) seem to come in and out of fashion with different ones doing the rounds before being replaced by the next 'must have'. ny156uk 16:17, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
There are also capability maturity matrices - see [2]. These delve down into performance management. --Tagishsimon (talk)

[edit] bench pressing

If i weigh 125 pounds and i do sit ups regularly, can i rightly say i can benchpress 125 pounds?

see Bench press...i'm pretty sure they differ enough to suggest your claim is incorrect. I guess doing press-ups would be slightly closer related (you are at least raising and dropping your full body weight) but even then it would be spread across hands and legs, whereas it seems bench pressing is arm based work. ny156uk 18:14, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
I was told that during regular press-ups you are only moving 60-70% of your body weight; handstand press-ups are a different kettle of fish however. It also depends on the individual. Take me - I can shoulder press 65 kgs for 4 sets of 10 reps, but I struggle to bench press 75 kgs for 1 set of 10. I don't include bench press in my training regime, which probably explains why.--TrogWoolley 19:29, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
Sit-ups use completely different muscles than bench pressing. You definately can't say you can bench press 125 pounds based on sit-ups alone. In fact, if all you do are sit-ups and no upper body work, it's safe to say you can't bench press 125. From my experience with machines, ab weights go up to 50 lbs on the machines I use, while bench press can easily go up to however much weight you can fit on the bar, or if you're using a machine, it still goes up pretty high. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 03:46, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
[3]. Heh. No offence, just found that funny. --Taraborn 22:52, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Aversion to discussion of medical subjects

I, rather annoyingly, always begin to feel uncomfortable (mainly in the chest and abdominal regions, but not nauseous) when talking about something being medically wrong with someone to a high degree, whether it be an infection or an operation. This is unfortunate for me because I am very interested about these subjects. For example, I feel uncomfortable watching videos of surgery, and in some cases even talking about it, despite the fact that I find it very interesting. Is there a name for this and is there anyway to prevent it happening? I don't mind the sight of blood or anything, it's just the idea of something not functioning correctly (I think). Thanks for any help you can give. --80.229.152.246 21:20, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Heeby-jeebies maybe? --L-- 21:21, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
HOLY SHIT GUYS, I FOUND SOMETHING WE DON'T HAVE AN ARTICLE ON --L-- 21:21, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
I hate to bring bad news - but ... Heebie Jeebies! Hassocks5489 21:37, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
I'm not entirely sure that's exactly right. I don't feel anxious or anything, just physically uncomfortable. The feeling I get when I am anxious is definitely different to this feeling, although I suppose some parts of it are slightly similar. Thanks anyway. Oh, and Hassocks5489, you just had to go and ruin it didn't you... /sarcasm --80.229.152.246 22:38, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
For me it is the fingers. If I hear that someone managed to close a heavy door or window on their fingers, literally smashing the fingertips, I get a fluttery sensation along the bottom of the ribcage and the diaphragm area. Hearing about other gruesome injuries such as a severe burn, broken neck, chopped off foot or gunshot wound, etc does not have this effect. Maybe various things affect different people differently. Edison 23:50, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
Mine is scrapes, against abrasive concretes, to be precise. HYENASTE 00:24, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Squeamish? (oh look, no article). Capuchin 06:45, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Titles are normally nouns, so perhaps squeam. —Tamfang 19:04, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
To redeem myself for my misbehaviour above (!) ... I know exactly the feeling you mean. It affects my abdominal area, and takes the form of a peculiar, heavy feeling across the abdomen, which also feels a bit "sharp" and pulsing. In extreme cases, it spreads up to my throat area. Fingers have started to do it for me ever since I trapped the top joint of my right middle finger in the heavy swinging door near my desk at work - for some time afterwards, every time I even thought about it, I had a strong wave of "that feeling". Another thing which triggers it is people falling over, falling off bikes/skateboards etc., especially at a fast pace - but not on video/film, strangely! Only if I witness it in real life. I am interested to see it is not just me who experiences this odd phenomenon. Perhaps it has something to do with adrenaline? Hassocks5489 07:47, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Hmmm, I get the same feeling about sandpaper. I can't stand the feeling or texture of sandpaper, and get the feeling if someone files their nails near me. How odd that such a feeling should be common, but in reaction to such a range of stimuli. Skittle 21:20, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Strangely enough, it only affects me if it is on a film or video or being discussed. If it actually happens I don't mind. Oh, and I also hate the feeling of sandpaper or terracotta on my nails. --80.229.152.246 22:57, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Young soccer players

After reading about Rhain Davis in the news, and then finding Wikipedia already has an article on him, I have to ask: Do young players like this, attending a team's academy, get paid? Are there any opt out clauses, if he decides, at 12, that he doesn't really want to play for Man. U? Corvus cornix 21:38, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

According to the BBC, at aged 12 he can earn a full-time football scholarship but currently he is still at a regular school in addition to his training. There may be some sort of financial recompense then, however its likely to be in a form of covering expenses, rather than a salary. In other words, he will not get paid, but that ManU will cover the costs of his training, accommodation, travel etc. He will also be free to leave the academy at any time. See here for some info on football academies. Rockpocket 05:26, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Thanks, Rockpocket. Corvus cornix 20:27, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] karate belt

I have forgotten how to properly tie a karate belt.

Fold it in half, with the tips touching. Then, place the middle of the belt on your lower abs. Bring the tips around the sides of your body to the front, and then tie two half-knots (like the first part of tying your shoes) --Haemo 23:41, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
See square knot. Dismas|(talk) 02:05, 3 August 2007 (UTC)