Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 January 31

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[edit] January 31

[edit] Leather

Is leather meat?04:04, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Found only in the finest shops and crappiest restaurants. V-Man737 04:33, 31 January 2007 (UTC) (edit: How rude of me to not link you to the article! leather V-Man737 04:35, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Leather is meat. In The Gold Rush(1925) Charlie Chaplin stews and eats his boot. Delish! Edison 16:50, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Would leather taste like whiskey, as they are both made with oak:]Hidden secret 7 20:23, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Why don't you try it? I can't really speak from personal experience. --Xertz 18:34, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Negative & Possitive Numbers by titles of Articles (What is it?)

i haven't logged on in quite some time. What are these negative and possitive numbers beside the title of the article? i saw them when i look on my Watchlist. flipjargendy 18:44, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

The number of characters (number of bits?) that have been added or removed from the article. Big numbers mean big changes. Very large numbers are in bold. Dismas|(talk) 18:59, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Bytes, actually. Characters are encoded in ASCII, which conveniently uses exactly a byte per character. --frothT 19:25, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Characters is more likely the correct measurement. WP is encoded in UTF-8, which ranges from 1 to 4 octets per character. — Lomn 21:10, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
I asked the technical desk about it a few weeks ago and conveniently lost the link they gave me. The number is the number of bytes added or removed since the last edit. - AMP'd 21:16, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Found it: Wikipedia:Added or removed characters - AMP'd 21:18, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Thanks! If i remember right each letter is about a byte. That might help us all know about how many words (mostly letters) have probably been changed. flipjargendy 22:54, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
As was stated before, UTF-8 encoding allows 1-4 octets per character (in theory; unfortunately not everyone implements UTF-8 quite the same). Latin-1 characters (with which UTF-8 is backwards-compatible) take up one octet, and these characters comprise most of what you'll see on Wikipedia. However, characters from higher Unicode blocks require more bytes to represent (for example, Han or Hangul characters). In simpler terms: the byte count will usually correspond to the number of characters, but this may not be the case if the modifications involve a few non-Latin characters. -- mattb @ 2007-02-02T23:06Z
However, small numbers do not necessarily mean small changes. If they deleted a lot of text, and added back about the same amount of text, the number will be small. --Spoon! 01:00, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] farmer boys german goeth metal band

what happened to farmer boys and mathias sayer, i know that wikipedia has an article on them in german, but i can't translate and i haven't been able to find any satisfying info on them, (matthias in particular)

I assume that you are familiar with their work up to their 2000 hit album "The World Is Ours". Here is a somewhat rough translation of the German article on more recent developments:
"In January 2004 the Farmer Boys released their most recent work "The Other Side". Stylistically it connects seamlessly with their earlier work and, while it has been enthusiastically received by fans, it hasn't had the success of earlier albums. The release was followed, as before, by several festival appearances. Because the development of this album also took more than three years (another change of labels to Nuclear Blast), the band had by now completely earned a reputation as a "snoring band".
"Since then there hasn't been much news about the Farmer Boys. According to rumors, the band has supposedly dissolved, after Till and Dennis had taken on family relations. Today Till runs his own tattoo studio, Alex and Ralf play together in the band "Dacia and the Weapons of Mass Destruction". In addition, Alex remains the guitarist of the Stuttgart metal band "Tieflader". Toni has also found a new place for himself in the band "Stereopilot". According to rumors, Matthias is attending university in the USA. As there was never a clear official statement about the further fate of the Farmer Boys, in a certain way the fan community feels neglected."
Marco polo 23:45, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Music

Hi I cant think of the movie (or the name of the music) in which some piano music featured and has gone on to become famous. The only instrument is a piano and there is no singing. Thanks

Hmm. I think we need just a little more information. The first one that came to mind was Chariots of Fire, but with such a non-specific question I am probably way off. JackofOz 23:21, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Two possibilities, perhaps: The Piano, the music written by Michael Nyman, or Elvira Madigan, with a haunting score based on Mozart's Piano Concerto Number 21 in C. Clio the Muse 00:05, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
My guess would be 1973's The Sting, featuring The Entertainer and other piano rags of Scott Joplin, as adapted (and I believe played) by Marvin Hamlisch. The film received seven academy awards (including Best Music for Hamlisch), and Joplin's music had an amazing revival, as Hamlisch's soundtrack album became a major Top 40 hit. —Steve Summit (talk) 00:09, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I remember hearing that most of the orchestrations were done by Gunther Schuller, although Marvin Hamlisch took all the credit. JackofOz 02:23, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
My money is on The Sting too. La double vie de Véronique (1991) by Krzysztof Kieslowski also featured a melancholy piano theme by Zbigniew Preisner who won a César for the score. The tune was titled Puppets and it gained some popularity. One odd coupling of solo piano music and film is David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977), one of the more disturbing movies in my opinion, accompanied by Fats Waller striding away in his bubbly, slightly Dionysian manner in tunes such as Digah's Stomp or Lenox Avenue Blues. ---Sluzzelin 06:11, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] tour of duty in Iraq

How long is a tour of duty for U.S. troops in Iraq? Mr.K. 22:32, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Nobody knows for sure; tours are currently being extended. See Catch-22 for an analagous situation.
Atlant 01:52, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Catch-22 is not exactly analogous. I would even dare to say that it is the exactly contrary to the present situation. Mr.K. 18:09, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I'll bet the soldiers who are being "extended in country" or involuntarily returned for yet-another-tour would disagree with you. And it's pretty clear General Scheisskopf is in charge.
Atlant 20:24, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
More information about the similitudes and differences between the book and the war. Mr.K. 14:36, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
The standard length is 12 months.[1] Rmhermen 03:45, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

One important note: I assume by troops you mean the guys in the army, but the when you expand that to include guys serving in the other branches, such as the air force and navy, the times will differ somewhat. Also, although the tours maybe a year or so long that does not nessicarily mean the soldeirs/sailers/airmen are spending every day in Iraq; it is possible that some of these men are coming back to the U.S. for a week or two or R&R before returning to combat. 70.135.170.58 07:51, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

A friend of mine spent two tours with the Marines in Iraq, each was 7 months long. anonymous6494 20:42, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I believe the "tours" started at 6 months, which is why people speak of being on their 3rd tour, when the war was less than 3 years old. The number of troops in Iraq has been increased by deferring returns and speeding departures. I believe also that in Vietnam a tour was one year. In World War 1 and 2 it was "for the duration." I've read a letter home from a World War 2 veteran of the fighting in Europe who said that if he had been allowed home after winning in Europe and before the projected invasion of Japan, he would have made himself hard to find, having seen what combat is really like. He expected they would be shipped directly to the Pacific to avoid them failing to report for more fighting. Edison 16:58, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] how many watts are needed to power ...

plz help me ive been itching my head trying to find out ...

how many watts (from a generator) are needed to power 2 turntables (decks) and speakers (playing fairly loud).

plz help

Turntables (used to) take about 14W, an amp of 50W powering speakers will be loud in any house - so thats less that 100W (a bright lightbulb). However if you want to make it loud for a concert hall you will need many more watts of power for the amplifier.87.102.2.51 01:26, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I was going to say it is the amplifier that takes the most power, the decks will almost be negiligible. You are unlikely to have more then 100w in a domestic amplifier but proper venues can have more multiple amplifiers all up to 1500w or even more. Without the specs, there is no way to tell. Vespine 02:47, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Just check the label on the back of the equipment for the rated current draw. The actual may be less, but an amplifier will draw substantially more watts than the output audio rating. Edison 17:00, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Learning to ride a bicycle.

I am 23 years old and I never learned to ride a bicycle. I just purchased a regular adult bicycle and have had it for two weeks. It has no training wheels so I just practice riding it but it is frustrating because I continue to loose my balance.So far I can pedal for only a couple of seconds before I loose my balance. Usually I always fall on my left side. Does anyone know what would be a good method to learn to ride a bicycle? Also, how long would it take a person to ride a bicycle?

Just keep trying, and dont give up. A couple of years ago I bought a unicylce and had the same problem it took me a few weeks just to be able to go a few feet, but eventually I got the hang of it.--ChesterMarcol 23:30, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
One small suggestion: perhaps riding on grass would be safer. Vranak
And I guess it'd be best wearing both helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. You'd look ridicalous anyway... You'd probably have to work up your courage to bike reasonably fast, since a wheel gets steadier as faster it rotates... =S 惑乱 分からん 23:57, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Also, as you pick up speed the bike gets more stable. Don't give up, bike riding is so much fun. Keria 00:53, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
One thing that initially helped me stay up is the principle that if you begin falling to a certain side, turn the wheel to face that way. Eventually you'll be able to lean the way you want to go, so that in turning the wheel that way you'll stay up. It get pretty fun once you get that down! V-Man737 01:09, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I feel your pain. I just taught my son to ride a few months ago and it was tough at first and frustrating for both of us (when you've done it "all your life" you forget how hard it is for the beginner). What eventually worked was running along with him and stabilizing him and/or grabbing him as he fell. Now this is obviously a lot tougher if the student is an adult but it still might help to have a friend, or better, two friends, run alongside you. --Justanother 01:13, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
It takes a lot of practice to go very slowly (I remember competing with my friends to see who could take the longest to go a block); just gun it and go fast. You hardly need to do anything at all to stay vertical if you're going quickly. Something to do with angular momentum I think --frothT 02:26, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, I tried that line of reasoning with my son too. He went fast and fell over. A lot. A brisk running pace with me beside him did the trick. It just takes a bit for the body to learn how to work with the bike and not against it. Gyroscopic action (conservation of angular mementum) only goes so far. It doesn't really do it all as we who are used to riding might think. I was surprised. --Justanother 05:32, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Don't try to hard:) You just have to let yourself do it, this makes it easier:) Or you could fill the tyres with water:]Hidden secret 7 11:54, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

What does filling them with water do? I've not heard of that before. V-Man737 12:21, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Well, I guess the theory is that one part of what keeps the bike upright is that the wheels act like gyroscopes. The heavier the wheel on a gyroscope, the more stable it is - so I guess the theory is that filling the tyres with water will make them very heavy and thus add stability. I'm rather skeptical. More gyroscopic forces will make the bike harder to steer and in reality, when riding a bike, you balance by steering and steer by leaning to make the bike unbalanced. This is hard to explain - but most people seem to just take to it after something 'clicks' in their heads. My experience with teaching my son to ride was that he did better when he was riding fast and the problems always came about with getting started and stopped. That's why having someone hold onto the saddle to help keep your balance while starting off works so well. SteveBaker 23:40, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
I vividly remember learning to ride a bike. My mum refused to add stablisers, and it took a long time to get good. The choice of surface is tricky: if you ride on grass it will hurt less when you fall over, but you will fall over far more often as it is harder to cycle. If you cycle on hard surfaces, it will hurt, but you are more likely to succeed. I went for the hard surface, and got good at quickly putting a foot out to catch myself when I started falling. You could try to see if, when you start falling, you can steady yourself (whether with a foot on the floor or through balance/steering) without stopping completely. That will help you get a feel for balancing, and it will feel like you're getting further. It took me several weeks, if not months, to get the basic ability to keep going without falling, but after that it got better very quickly. It just took lots of practice. Good luck! Skittle 13:12, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
It's just like learning to ride a bike...............
Here's a column by someone who teaches adults how to ride a bike. It addresses some of the topics mentioned above, particularly speed. He also points out that, unlike when learning most other physical skills, you have to do the hard part first. I'd follow Justanother's suggestion and ask someone to trot beside you for stability's sake. There's a big difference between a child's and and an adult's mass, impact, and distance of fall from a bicycle. This site] sells stabilisers for adults. Good luck! ---Sluzzelin 22:19, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
If you could find a large person (or 2) to run alongside and steady the bike, that might help. It is one of those odd things that once you learn to ride a bike you never forget. I remember my dad running alongside when I was a wee rider, and I was fortunate enough to pass along the training to the next generation. But it was funny to see Dad riding a bike back in the day, which he clearly had not done in many decades. As an adult, you have the benefit of reading what the balancing principle is and having an intellectual understanding of which way to turn the wheel to correct for the bike tipping. See [2]. Good luck. Edison 17:12, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wilson School District, West Lawn, Pa. 19609

I would like to know the year that Wilson School District changed from being known as the Wilson Presidents to the Wilson Bulldogs.

Thank you very much. Karen F. Zerbe <email removed>

The whole district has a mascot? That's a bit different from the city. (Go Brashear Giants!) From the district's website, you can scroll to the bottom and click on "Questions or comments," which contains the main e-mail address for the school. A pity that they don't have a section on their history; perhaps you can encourage them to add that when you e-mail them! V-Man737 04:48, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] CD Question

I'm not entirely sure which section of the RD this belongs in, so I'll ask it here. I bought the Foo Fighters CD In Your Honor about a two years ago, and the one I got just so happened to have the MediaMax CD-3 software on it. Now, the Sony website it extremely ambiguous when describing what to do if you have one of these CDs, and the lawsuit wasn't exactly helpful, either, so I'm a tad confused.

What happened to me is this: I didn't realize that it was the crazy copy protection that screws with your computer, and I installed the program that lets you listen to their music. Once I discovered that it wouldn't let me import the songs to Musicmatch Jukebox, I went on the internet and found out how to disable and uninstall the software. I did, and was able to rip the CD fine.

But Sony got sued and people started getting cash settlements anyway.

What happens now is that every time I put a CD in my computer (whether is be game, music CD, or DVD to watch), the sound and video begin skipping in the pattern that the software used to prevent me from ripping the songs in the first place! I can rip music just fine, but I can't listen to it or use my CD drive without having issues.

Engadget recently ran an article that states that Sony is going to give 150 dollars to malware victims: [3]

My question is this: do I get any part of the Sony settlement at all? The software itself wasn't the XCP software, so I don't get in on that lawsuit, and I did disable it, which may have voided something-can somebody help me out? I dunno what to do. There's a chance the malware is still on my computer and the CD drive is still messed up. What do I do? --Thatswhatisaid 00:30, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Without getting into your personal case, here is the official Sony-BMG settlement site and here is an EFF site on it. This is the use by Sony-BMG of nasty rootkit software as copy protection without sufficient informed consent.
We have an article on it, too. 2005 Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal. --Justanother 02:44, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
And yes, as of today there is a new wrinkle with the $150 in repair available. See here. --Justanother 03:12, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Editing Papua New Guinea

Could someone please clean up the article of Papua New Guinea? I want you all to find the terrorist pig who put hateful words on the article and never let him or her on Wikipedia again.

The article is back to normal, and as you can see here and here, the perpetrators have both been blocked by Admins. V-Man737 01:17, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wi-fi Wii connection problem thingy

When I got my Wii yesterday and went to the channels that required a connection to the internet, it worked fine (I was using a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector). Today, the USB connector keep disconnecting and re-connecting to the Wii (usually, it stays connected for five minutes, then disconnects for five minutes, and so on). Note that the distance shouldn't be a problem since it worked well yesterday. What is causing this and how can I fix it? –Llama man 01:46, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with the the peripheral. I think you might be able to get a more accurate answer over at Nintendo's website. The troubleshooting questions might help you out. If not, contact them, I've always found their customer support to be prompt and good. —Mitaphane ?|! 03:24, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Run Rocky Run

Image:Run rocky run.jpg

These three frames are from Rocky. What are the tracks? Camera dolly? -- Toytoy 01:55, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

(reformatted by froth)
Seeing as Rocky was set in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia is one of the few North American cities with working streetcar lines, I would say they're streetcar tracks. - AMP'd 02:40, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
But didn't you see the tracks did not go to the other ends of the roads? The tracks are buried in the roads, I guess. However, if the tracks are for streetcars, they probably have to go somewhere. -- Toytoy 03:07, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I must have missed that. Still, it is in general very hard to catch the tracks from a camera dolley (or a camera itself for that matter) in a movie scene that has been edited and professionally produced. Perhaps the tracks that are "buried" are simply the end of the streetcar lines (After all, running over Sylvester Stalone is generally bad. - AMP'd 03:19, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I have a good idea this time: Where Rocky started from is actually in front of a greenscreen or something similar, and the road behind him is actually a backdrop. you can see where the street changes color in your picture. - AMP'd 03:47, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

It was common early in the century to use rail cars to deliver goods through US cities, particularly the industrial areas. Rail delivery of freight has mostly been phased out, and trucks have supplanted it for the most part. Tracks for the trains were originally laid in the streets, to access the loading docks, warehouses, and so on. As the tracks were abandoned, they were pulled up in some places, or paved over. But in some places the tracks remain, abandoned but left in place. Rail delivery has been concentrated in large intermodal rail yards, where goods are transferred from rail cars to trucks, and the trucks then deliver the goods throughout the city. 71.113.119.179 05:59, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't think Sylvester Stalone had the money to do bluescreen photography at that time. He was a poor young man. Moreover, Rocky played catch on the street with a local guy in that scene (Rocky was jogging, a guy threw an apple to Rocky, Rocky got the apple ...). It was unneeded and next to impossible for Sylvester Stalone to film that part with bluescreen.
I wonder if the cinematographer used the existing rail to save dolly money. Maybe they just borrow an unused cart from a junk yard, and put the camera on it. -- Toytoy 12:26, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
The tracks look too wide to run a dolly; dollies normally use ~24 inch track; using what looks like standard gauge or narrow gauge (4'8" and 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) respectively) would be overkill and very expensive for a studio laid camera dolly track (though as the above say, they may be using a converted wagon). I think the rails are still there, under the tarmac; note that the road has an odd sheen where the tracks end. Indeed, this is a good way to find hidden tramlines; after it rains, look at the road; two shiny strips appear, caused by subtle changes in the depth of the road over the tracks. Laïka 20:22, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
  • It would not have been difficult to set up a camera dolley on rails of any width. A sidenote: In large cities where the trolley lines were abandonde decads ago, electric utility systeem engineers keep maps of where the old rails are located below the pavement. They act as an important return path for direct current applied to undergrould high voltage electric cable pipelines. If street work damages the rails, the utility must sometimes restore the connection so that cathodic protection against corrosion works. Edison 17:29, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

The jogging scene was filmed at the Italian Market (Philadelphia). Anyone ever been there? -- Toytoy 03:27, 3 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Elephant Population

So did Stephen Colbert actually triple the population of elephants? 129.116.35.170 03:34, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

If you mean, did his broadcast have an effect on our Elephant article, yes, it certainly did. Countless editors have tried to insert the fallacious tripling statistic, and the page has suffered on-and-off protection ever since. —Steve Summit (talk) 03:59, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I was under the impression that Stephen Colbert actually sired the elephant population, if you know what I mean. ;-) V-Man737 09:06, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] leather

Is leather meat?

Probably not. Splintercellguy 04:30, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Have you tried the first sentence of our article titled Leather? Vespine 04:40, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Unh! I answered this already!The preceding statement was left unsigned by HagermanBot 04:55, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Edwin Lutchens

Can you please give me any information on Edwin Lutchens re his period in Sydney, Australia and the house he built there at Darling Point. I would like the date he arrived when he started construction, when construction was completed and how long he lived there if at all. If he didn't live in the house who was it built for?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.166.103.151 (talk • contribs)

It's 'Lutyens'.--88.110.170.66 07:40, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I can find no evidence that Edwin Lutyens ever visited Darling Point. Where did you get this information?--Shantavira 11:47, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Probably Stephen Colbert. V-Man737 12:33, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Leaky Cat

Is it normal for a cat to drool when being affectionate? I have a cat who does this. I'd understand drooling a little bit all the time, but she only drools when she is sitting in my lap and I am petting her. What gives? V-Man737 05:05, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

It's not unheard of. Recently someone called into National Public Radio's show Calling all Pets with a similar problem. Emmett5 05:15, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

This is not a normal relationship with your feline friend. Do you wake up with whiskers on the pillow next to you & a wierd sensation on your hands? Do you find yourself wondering where she is all the time? You may be in immediate danger. Try to resist, but there is no escape... ;) Spawn Man 05:47, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

According to various books on cats I have read, pet cats tend to have an infantile relationship with their owners, particularly when snuggling up to them; they regard them much as they would regard their mother. Thus, when they sit on your lap, they might purr (as they would do to assure their mother all is well), they might knead your lap (as they would knead their mother to stimulate milkflow), and they might drool in a sort of pavlovian reflex. Skittle 12:52, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
This is very normal for a cat, three of the ones I've had in my life would do exactly as you describe.

I suggest you put a towel under her head before you pet her, to catch all the drool. StuRat 05:14, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

My cat Crystal drools when she's being affectionate too, only when I'm petting her on my bed. It comes out in little clear droplets... this one time she drooled on my lips, it was gross. :P --Candy-Panda 03:51, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] tax exemptions.

can i claim tax exemtions at work to reduce the taxes the government takes out of my check? Danielkarluk 06:23, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

In the United States, you can modify the amount of your withholding by filling out a new form (I believe it's W-4) for your employer. This should generally be done at the beginning of the year, although I don't know if there are any restrictions on altering the amount of your witholding at some other point in time. Reducing your witholding will not modify the total amount of tax that you are obliged to pay, however - just when you pay it. Carom 06:45, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Yes, form W-4. You knew we'd have an article on that ;-).
Atlant 13:25, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I should also point out that there are restrictions on how much/little you can have witheld from your paycheck; these restriction are explained on the form. You can also find information (if you live in the United States) here. You may also wish to consult your employer. Carom 06:48, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
If you're asking about the United States, Form W-4 allows you to specify a number of exemptions and it also allows a "free-from" field that lets you add or subtract dollars from your deduction. But please be aware that the IRS imposes substantial penalties if you've significantly underpaid your taxes as of the end of the year (or whenever the December estimated tax payment is due; is that January 15?). So the smart play is to set your W-4 so that you owe the IRS a little more money when you file your annual return, but not enough additional money to trigger interest, penalties, or the attention of the auditors. But lots of folks just overpay during the year, though, and consider the refund a pleasant surprise (even though they know it was really an interest-free loan to the government).
Atlant 13:30, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] can i contact the person who answered my question?

I think his name was "carom". why must we use tildes? whats the purpose? This is my first time using wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Danielkarluk (talk • contribs)

Yes, you can. You can click on the user's wikilinked name and go to her/his talk page to leave a comment, or you can email that user from their userpage if they have the email feature enabled. That is one of the reasons to use the four tildes to sign; it makes it easier for other users to communicate with you and find out more about you. Anchoress 07:00, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
To clarify; the reason you use tildes is to automatically sign and date your post. The site software converts the tildes to a signature for you. That way you do not have to sign each post yourself like I had to do back in the day while walking 5 miles to school! (joke) --Justanother 13:31, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Five mile, uphill, each way. The 4 tildes mean that someone else does not have to laboriously search the history for the page, find out your username or IP address, then post it. Edison 19:59, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
In waist-high snow in a blinding blizzard. It's difficult on a page such as this to figure out histories, and especially after the day's questions have been archived. If you don't want to physically type in the four tildes, there's a button at the top of the Edit box that will create them for you (it's just to the write of the W with the slash through it). --Charlene 08:17, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

It was ten miles,uphill,on my head,against the force of gravity,waist deep in frozen yellow snow.Kids nowadays don't know they're born... Lemon martini 13:55, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] cassette to CD

Can anyone tell me how to transfer an audio cassette recording to a CD via an Apple Mac. please?--88.110.170.66 08:48, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Connect the output from a cassette deck to the line-in in your Mac and use something like Audacity to record it? Same thing applies to virtually any computer that has a line-in. --antilivedT | C | G 08:58, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
And if your Mac doesn't have an audio input jack, buy one of the USB audio input gizmos that are commonly available. Atlant 13:32, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
All Macs since the iMac Core Duo have digital input jacks, not analog. I'm not sure if this will have an effect or not. [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 18:40, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Apple says (at least some of) the current inputs are universal: "Combined optical digital input/audio line in (minijack)" [4] That, or separate TOSLINK/line-level jacks seem to hold true across the current line.
Atlant 20:19, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Exchange rates and prices

A lot of people are complaining about the Playstation 3 costing USD$599 (which is about GBP£300), yet the UK price for the PS3 is GBP£425: which at current exchange rates is a seemingly massive USD$830. From this, you could just assume that Sony are unfairly racking up the price in the UK by £125, but it seems to me there's more at work. Is it accurate to do a straight conversion and say "Look, consumers in the UK are paying $230 more than they have to" or does the price take into account other things? (It seems to me that, although $599 convented to £300 is a lot, it doesn't seem like a truly massive amount for a console. On the other hand, £425 does sound like a lot for a console.) Sum0 10:03, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Obviously the exchange rate has a lot to do with it, but even discounting that, it's well known that many things (electrical goods among them) cost more in the UK than they do elsewhere. See Rip-Off Britain. --Richardrj talk email 10:11, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
It's not just the exchange rate (you should be grateful it is what it is, a year ago $599 was more like £400), there's also higher sales tax (VAT) than in the US (17.5% against 5%), retailer costs are higher (as staff salaries are higher thanks to the higher minimum wage), import/customs duty, etc. It's probably more than it could be, but not by much. Proto::► 10:32, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
The lack of public support for Hi-Def in Europe (33 million HDTVs in the US vs. under 0.5 million in Germany [5]; hence probably less than 2 million in all of Europe) means fewer people will go out and buy Sony-licensed Blu-Ray movies or the heavily marked-up Progressive cables for high definition. In order for Sony to make as much profit, they therefore must mark up the equipment more. Laïka 12:19, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Australia gets ripped almost as hard, we're getting it for AU$1000, which on pure conversion is US$772. If that makes you feel better. Vespine 23:27, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Taxes would also play a role. I'd bet it's far cheaper in Japan than anywhere else. Also, I'd bet that waiting a year will bring the price way down, can you stand a Playstation 2 for another year ? StuRat 05:05, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Buffalo Nickle 1935

Who is depicted on the otherside of the 1935 Buffalo Nickle, as seen in the cite section of the Buffalo article.

The article on the Buffalo nickel has this to say:
Fraser featured a profile of a Native American on the obverse of the coin, which was a composite portrait of three Native American chiefs: Iron Tail, Big Tree, and Two Moons. The "buffalo" portrayed on the reverse was an American Bison, Black Diamond, from the Bronx Zoo.
Dismas|(talk) 11:37, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Periods for woman

I've taken tablets last month to postpone my periods and i it is postponed and I didnt get my periods on time this month, this is due to the effect of tablets or any problem in my body ........ and what is the cycle for a periods????

We cannot possibly answer this question accurately. You need to talk to a doctor and tell him what tablets you've taken and what happened. If you got these tablets from a doctor, or from a prescription from a doctor, that doctor is probably the best person to answer your question. Skittle 12:44, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Reading the article on the menstrual cycle should make you a bit more informed about what's happening in your body. Dismas|(talk) 13:27, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
You might also want to see Seasonale, a birth-control regimen that deliberately supresses menstruation for two out of every three months. Basically, it skips the week of placebo pills that the ordinary BC regimen imposes. Did you know that the BC vendors could have been doing this all along, ever since the pill was first invented? It was a deliberate decision to design the regimen to mimic the ordinary monthly ovulation/menstruation cycle.
Atlant 13:36, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bad fumes from olive oil in a seasoned carbon steel wok

I have a carbon steel wok which I have seasoned and used a few times. Recently I discovered that when you heat olive oil in it to a high heat on an electric hob, the oil gives off really horrible fumes which catch the back of the throat. It has happened a couple of times, even when I make sure the wok is clean beforehand. There is no chemical coating on the wok; it is just carbon steel which has been seasoned with oil. So I want to know whether this is normal, whether the fumes are poisonous, and whether perhaps it is caused by over-heating the oil. Thanks for your help. Darkhorse06 13:53, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Olive oil is known to decompose at a pretty low temperature compared to other cooking oils. But assuming it was unadulterated olive oil, it's unlikely its fumes are very toxic. Maybe you should season with a more durable oil and stick to cooking with the olive oil ;-)?
Atlant 14:21, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
~EC~ I would say that it's the latter. Olive oil has a relatively low smoke point, and since good quality cookware conducts heat better, your wok is probably getting slightly hotter and faster at the same element setting as other cookware, leading to a different response to oil. My personal preference for wok cooking is peanut oil, although I will take a chance with sesame oil (which also has a low smoke point) if I'm feeling speedy. The alternative (I do this when I'm using my wok to make risotto, which starts out with warming the rice in oil, and I use olive) is to heat the element with the wok off, adding the oil to the wok off the heat, and adding whatever you're cooking the instant it's hot enough. On another note, I have read that smoked oils are carcinogens, but I don't know how dangerous they are or what type of ingestion is required. Anchoress 14:24, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. I wasn't aware of the existence of smoke points for oils but the description of them here fits what I have observed completely. I think I will just try turning the heat down. Darkhorse06 17:22, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

The key is not to let the wok get too hot if you are using olive oil. You can still use strong heat, but not for very long or not unless you have a large volume of food heating up in the wok that you turn frequently so that the wok itself does not overheat. Marco polo 17:25, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

That makes sense. The problem is that I have an electric hob which doesn't respond very quickly to heat level adjustments, either up or down. This means you basically just have to pick one heat level and stick with it throughout the whole cooking time. Darkhorse06 20:37, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

I never fry with olive oil, try like the Chinese and use peanut oil for wok frying, they've been using woks for thousands of years:) Vespine 23:17, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
  • I use virgin olive oil(I prefer the taste) which is thicker than peanut oil so I add a little water to it which solves the problem.hotclaws**== 08:02, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Not while it's hot, I hope? V-Man737 08:05, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] MyNetworkTV

When will MyNetworkTV be expecting telenovelas from Univision?--12.18.90.138 15:37, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Who says they will be? MyNetworkTV is in English, why would they want to broadcast Spanish language programming? Corvus cornix 18:06, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lufthansa's history

Hello, I searched Wikipedia about Lufthansa's History and found nothing.

What i am interested in, is a list of all the cities that Lufthansa offers its service and when did Lufthansa offer this service first in these cities(in what year)

A list of where they fly can be found at Lufthansa destinations, although there's no mention of when they started flying to each place. --Maelwys 16:12, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

This is from the German Wikipedia's article on history of Lufthansa:

Old Lufthansa (1926 - 1945)

April 1926: First scheduled flight: Halle - Erfurt - Stuttgart - Zurich (routing)
May 1926: Nocturnal flight: Berlin - Königsberg (now Kaliningrad)
Other destinations flown in 1926 without month being specified: Berlin - Moscow and Cologne - Paris, as well as various unspecified seaside spa destinations at the coasts of the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
1927: Munich - Salzburg - Klagenfurt - Venice. Employment of Flying boats for Berlin - Stettin (now Szczecin) - Copenhagen - Gothenburg - Oslo. That same year, Lufthansa helped found airline companies in foreign countries, Iberia among others, which flew Madrid - Barcelona.
1928: The Iberia flight was extended to Berlin (via Marseille) making Madrid - Berlin the longest continuous route in Europe at the time. First (unscheduled) transatlantic flight Baldonnel, Ireland - Greenly Island, Canada. Nonstop flights Berlin - Zurich and Berlin - Vienna. Unscheduled flights to Siberia and Tokyo.
1929: Mail delivery routes from Berlin to London as well as to Malmö and from Stuttgart to Basel. Unscheduled flight from Sevilla to Tenerife in preparation of a flight across the South Atlantic.
1930: 24 airmail departures from passengers ships. Unscheduled flight from Warnemünde to New York City. Airmail route Vienna - Budapest - Belgrade - Sofia - Istanbul, shortening the time for delivery from Berlin to Istanbul to 24 hours.
1931: Air commuter service Cologne - Frankfurt for the price of a second class train ticket.
1932: The largest passenger aircraft, the Junkers G 38, is employed for the route Berlin - Amsterdam - London. 36 airmail departures from passenger ships.
1934: First scheduled airmail flight crossing the South Atlantic. Berlin - Warsaw (Millionth airline passenger in September 1934).
1935: Test flight to Cairo. Scheduled flights from Amsterdam to Milan (in co-operation with KLM).
1936: Exploratory flights over the Hindukush and Pamir mountain ranges.
1937: New scheduled airmail flight: Berlin - Bagdad - Teheran
1938: Berlin - Bagdad - Teheran is offered to passengers as well. Daughter company in Peru allows for scheduled flights from Germany to Peru. August 10, 1038: first nonstop flight Berlin - New York City. Scheduled service introduced soon thereafter. (That year Lufthansa delivered over 250,000 passengers and over 5,000 tons of airmail).
1939: Natal - Santiago de Chile is taken over by Syndicato Condor. First nonstop flight across the South Atlantic. Services from Berlin to Bangkok (via five destinations) and Bangkok - Hanoi - Taipei
1939 - 1945: During World War II, Lufthansa was forced to close down many destinations, because the aircraft, manpower and material resources were used for the war.

New Lufthansa (1945 - present)

1955: First flights between Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart. North Atlantic flights from Hamburg to New York City using TWA pilots. That same year Deutsche Lufthansa (Ost), later Interflug was founded in Eastern Germany. I didn't look up their destinations.
1956: First German pilots fly to the United States. New destinations: Montréal and Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Beirut, Bagdad, Teheran. Lufthansa is now the Federal Republic of Germany's flagcarrier.
1957: Connections to Austria. Nonstop flight from California to Hamburg. Cargo service from Germany to the United States.
1958: Nonstop passenger service from Frankfurt to New York City. 30 transatlantic flights a week. New destination: Cairo.
1959: Nonstop cargo service from Frankfurt to New York City. New destinations: Stockholm, Athens, Karachi, Bangkok, Calcutta.
1960: Arrival of the jetplane. First flight with a Boeing 707: Hamburg - Frankfurt - New York City
1961: The Bangkok flight is extended to Tokyo. A network for nocturnal airmal delivery is established.
1962: Passenger services to Africa: Lagos, Johannesburg (with stops in Athens, Khartoum, Nairobi, and Salisbury (now Harare)
1963: First tests with shuttle service without booking, check-in and cabin service. New destination: Mallorca
1964: introducing Frankfurt - Hamburg - Copenhagen - Anchorage - Tokyo. This marks the first scheduled crossing of the Northpole for Lufthansa.
1965: New destination: Australia
1966: New destination: Tunis. First flights to South America's western coast via New York City. Prague and Moscow are the first destinations in Eastern bloc countries. New destination: Dar es Salaam via Khartoum and Entebbe.
1967: New destinations: Bogotá, Belgrade, Zagreb, Bucarest, Budapest.
1968: New destinations: Helsinki, Genoa, Naples, and Tel Aviv.

After 1968 there are no new destinations given at the German Wikipedia page. I doubt very very much that this list is complete, nor could I verify it online. Lufthansa's own website has a history page, but there's far less information there than in the article I quoted from. ---Sluzzelin 01:10, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Native American culture

Who or what were the Indian Police that attempted to arrest Sitting Bull and Rain-in-the-face among others, the article is rather vague. thanks81.144.161.223 16:46, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Not sure either, except that they were Indians: "The unostentatious courage and fidelity of the Indian police, who did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives in the service of a Government not of their own race, is worthy of remembrance." from An Account of Sitting Bull's Death by James McLaughlin Indian Agent at Standing Rock Reservation (1891) Rmhermen 17:26, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Why should the Indian police come against me? We are of the same blood, we are all Sioux, we are relatives.—Sitting Bull

The Indian Police were organized at the Pine Ridge Agency by Dr V. T. McGillycuddy sometime in 1879. They initially numbered 50 and were drilled in regular calvary and infantry tactics. There were twenty-eight under the command of Lieutenant Bull Head near Sitting Bull's camp on Grand river, eleven more (and four volunteers) joined them by daylight on December 15. Six were killed or mortally wounded in the fighting. Mooney, James (1991). The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890. —eric 21:30, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

...Red Tomahawk, like the other police gathering at Bull Head's house, believed deeply in this thing he was doing. The Indian police—with their big, shiny badges—were called Ceska Maza (Metal Breasts) by their people, and Whitehair McLaughlin's Metal Breasts had long been impatient to arrest Sitting Bull. Some of the Blackfeet and Yanktonais among them had old grudges to settle with the Hunkpapa chief. Some of them who were Hunkpapa had old grudges, too, and all of them thought (like McLaughlin) that Sitting Bull was standing in the way of his people. Those whose hearts were not strong for this thing had been weeded out earlier...those who remained were eager to make the arrest. Smith, Rex Alan (1981). Moon of Popping Trees, pp. 155-6. 

—eric 22:59, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Native American Culture II

Please do not misconstrue this question as a racist blog, but were, or are all Native American people of the same race, I realise that they were divided into Tribes or Clans, but were the people encountered by Columbus and the like, the same as the Souix of the North East? Thank you 81.144.161.223 16:59, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

"Race" is quite a fuzzy concept, but I'd doubt it. The article Indigenous peoples of the Americas states that most of these originally came from Siberia. See Indigenous peoples of the Americas#Migration_waves. 惑乱 分からん 17:07, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
The term "race" is no longer accepted by most geneticists or physical anthropologists as a useful way to understand human genetic variation. "Race" is really a cultural concept. That is, a person's race depends on how people in a given culture define race rather than on their actual genetic makeup. For example, there is more genetic variation among Africans than there is between Europeans and Africans, yet in the cultural lexicon of the United State and Europe, indigenous sub-Saharan Africans are seen as members of a single race, distinct from the race defined as including indigenous Europeans. So, to answer your question, in the cultural context of the United States and Europe, all Native Americans are viewed as members of a single race, but this cultural category has little or no significance in genetic or physical anthropological terms. Native Americans may share certain genetic tendencies, but there are also significant differences in the genetic makeup of various Native American groups. It is important to add that genetic variation within a given human group of any size is almost always greater than the differences between the gene pools of different human groups, and that the differences between the gene pools of any two human groups are much smaller than the differences between the gene pools of subspecies of other animals. In other words, humans of all groups are very closely related genetically. Marco polo 17:37, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
See also human genome and population bottleneck. 惑乱 分からん 18:15, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
This is a very controversial and contentious area. See Indigenous peoples of the Americas. The standard theory is that Siberians populated the Americas in 3 waves, starting with the Clovis culture about 11,000 years ago, followed by the Na-Dene people of the Pacific Northwest, and finally the natives of Alaska. Christopher Columbus, the 1607 Jamestown colonists, or the Mayflower Pilgrims would supposedly have encountered the Clovis culture descendents. Recent findings have suggested that stone-age Europeans or people resembling Australian aborigines might have been here before the Siberians arrived. The Kennewick Man skeleton who lived in the Pacific Northwest 5000 to 9500 years ago looks more like Ainu than he does a descendant of Siberians. But suffice it to say there was varied appearance and varied mitochondrial DNA among pre-Columbian inhabitants of America, just as there was between Scandanavians, Greeks, Basques and other inhabitants of Europe. They did not all look alike, but people in different parts of the continent resembled each other more than they resembled those who lived 2 thousand miles away.Edison 19:49, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Actually there is more evidence for settlement earlier than 11,000 years ago, than there is for European or non-Siberian input. DNA studies have found "the Amerindian population in the Americas may be derived from a theoretical founding population with an effective size of as small as 70." (from Models_of_migration_to_the_New_World). So probably much less diverse than Greeks, etc. Rmhermen 21:05, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Marco Polo writes " It is important to add that genetic variation within a given human group of any size is almost always greater than the differences between the gene pools of different human groups, and that the differences between the gene pools of any two human groups are much smaller than the differences between the gene pools of subspecies of other animals." I have often wondered if this is, in fact, true. Any sources? Our subspecies article seems to imply that it may not be true. (However, that article also seems to contradict itself on some points of the definition - which has been pointed out more than once in the talk page.) Rmhermen 21:30, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Population bottleneck says that all humans,( including the Greeks ) descend from "as few as 1,000 individuals" 70,000 years ago. Genetic diversity can apparently emerge over time. Edison 18:56, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

More so than that - there is convincing proof in Richard Dawkin's book "The Ancestors Tale" that all humans are descended from one single individual (he calles this a 'Concestor'). So it all depends how far you care to go backwards. SteveBaker 06:20, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I would say no, Native Americans were not all of the same race, as they migrated to the Americas at different times and then drifted further apart genetically. Natives of South America, for example, have little resemblance to Inuits from northern Canada. They likely do have common relatives, but you'd have to go back tens of thousands of years to find them, which is enough time for races, as most people define them, to diverge. StuRat 04:22, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] World of Warcraft Subscription

If I downloaded World of Warcraft through bittorrent, would I still be able to purchase play time from Blizzard? I know you'd need an account to tie it to, but can you just register accounts at your whim or do you need a unique license key? I'm looking at this if it makes any difference --frothT 18:26, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

As far as I know you can log your account onto any computer and anyone's copy of warcraft, so I don't think the source of the software matters, as long as it has a valid key. There is probably a problem though if the same key is logged onto multiple accounts all at once though, so if you use the key that comes with the rip there is probably a good chance it's been banned already for concurrent log ons. Vespine 22:05, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
You must have a CD Key to register an account. Those pre-paid game cards can only tie time onto a pre-existing account. While I'm not sure about this final point, I expect that Blizzard doesn't let fake keys slip through, since they're provided directly to a Blizz central database when the account is registered (the key has nothing to do with software installation). — Lomn 22:15, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] About Syllabus

What is the difference between ICSE and ISC and CBSE syllabus?

Why not take a look at the articles?

I'm not quite sure what you're looking for concerning "ICS", so the link I've given you goes to a disambiguation page, you can find it from there. --Xertz 01:41, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Niagara Falls Froze Over in 1911

In 1911 Niagara Falls totally froze over, I have seen some pictures of this event. What I have been trying to find out is the exact day(s) it was frozen over and specifically, what was the temperature that caused this to happen and what was the temperature pattern that led up to this astonishing phenomonon.--Timtompkins 19:31, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for anything you can find out.

Tim

In principle, I would think that this could take place only as a result of a period of well-below-freezing temperatures affecting the entire Great Lakes basin, or at least the basins of lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie, such that the rivers flowing into the lakes froze up as well. Otherwise, the water flowing into Lake Erie would tend to lift the ice blocking the Niagara Falls enough to allow water to flow over the falls beneath the ice. But perhaps there is some other explanation? Marco polo 19:40, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Here's some information for you: Snopes --Maelwys 19:42, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I had just found the same site and was going to post the link! According to that site, the falls did not freeze completely in 1911 but did freeze in March of 1848, when ice temporarily formed a dam across the Niagara River above the falls that stopped the flow of water to the falls. Marco polo 19:45, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
If you would like, you may be able to access the historical weather data you want at this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration site, but it will cost you. The obvious place to look would be temperature records for Buffalo or Niagara Falls in 1911. It might also be interesting to look at the records from other Great Lakes cities located in large areas draining into the lakes, such as Marquette, MI; Grand Rapids, MI; Green Bay, WI; Detroit, MI; Toledo, OH; and Cleveland, OH. Marco polo 20:05, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 925

I know 925 on a silver ring means it's sterling, and 999 means it's fine silver. What does 925 mean on a titanium ring? 64.198.112.210 20:28, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

See Millesimal fineness. It is a measure of how pure the metal is. 1000 (or 1.000 would be completely pure (and impossible to attain), .500 would be a 50/50 mix. Rmhermen 21:35, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
ie 92.5 % of whatever it is.87.102.23.143 21:50, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Book?

Greetings,

If I knew someone who published a book, could I post an article about it?

AlexanderTG 21:16, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

This is not a ref desk question- replying on user talk. Friday (talk) 21:27, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Depends on the notability of the author, and the NPOV stance~. 惑乱 分からん 02:51, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] IQ

I'm 12. I scored 126 on the International High IQ Society's eCMA test. I assume it is designed for 18 year olds. Could anyone tell me my actual IQ and my mental age? 71.28.247.144 22:10, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

No one will be able to answer that question, have a read of the IQ test section in the IQ article. Especially "online" IQ tests don't really mean anything, and IQ tests in general don't mean much for people who are very young, to get an accurate indicator of your IQ you would need to be professionally tested in a controlled environment. At your age, how well you are doing at school is a better indicator of how "smart" you are. Vespine 23:04, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
I took both of the tests on their site [6], and I'm pretty sure it's not reliable. First, it's online, which is inherently hard to control for. Second, it doesn't really look like the IQ tests I've taken in the past. I've never before been asked an obscure geography question, for instance, let alone several. Third, the tests (hard then easy) gave me scores of 120 and 114, which are quite a bit below what I'm used to getting. MENSA's requirement is around 130, and I was well above it. Fourth, it claims it's almost guaranteed you won't get the same test twice in a row, but at least a dozen questions were the same. They probably aren't legit, so your score wouldn't be worth adjusting if it could be. There are plenty of real IQ testers around, though, if you want one you can trust. Black Carrot 23:47, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Yes, a huge amount of general knowledge questions, which 'reputable' IQ tests avoid as only revealing a person's ability to memorise facts. Even the supposed 'verbal reasoning' and suchlike questions tended to really be general knowledge questions. Case in point, asking "_ is to Brasil as Pound is to Britain". Now, a verbal reasoning test would be to work out that it is asking for currency, and select the thing that fits that category. Except it has already required you to know that the Pound is the currency of Britain, and the list of options are all currencies, so it is really testing that you know the currency of Brasil! In addition, the pattern-forming questions (and, to an extent, the verbal reasoning) are a perfect example of the old adage that IQ tests really test your ability to think like the person who set them. I could see an argument for multiple answers to many of the questions. Of course, none of this is because I'm bitter that it only gave me a score of 119 :-) Skittle 00:39, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
I find it amusing the amount of people who I come across claiming to have way above 130IQ when that would put them almost into the top percentile of the population. I tend to think that someone who scores over 130 on an IQ test would be smart enough to know not to brag about it whenever anyone brings up IQ tests;) Vespine 04:29, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Heh, and perhaps more importantly, the precise structure of the test can alter the score significantly. While well-structured tests should produce roughly the same scores, IQ tests are pretty finely balanced, and it doesn't take much...my scores, for example, have ranged over a 35 point spread, depending on the particular variant, although the most well constructed tests tend to cluster around the third quartile (from what I can remember - it's been a couple years since I was really into this stuff).
Also, there's a huge amount of literature on the subject of IQ tests, and the debate over their general validity/usefulness is fairly fierce. If anyone is interested, The Mismeasure of Man and The Bell Curve are interesting starting points. Carom 04:37, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
If you took two IQ tests and got slightly different results, could you be a member of Mensa and Densa at the same time? Would that actually make any sensa? Clarityfiend 15:39, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
  • From a psychological perspective, I put no stock at all in IQ tests. It's basically a scam. .V. [Talk|Email] 17:47, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
The problem is that we don't have a good scientific definition of "Intelligence" - and you can't measure something that you can't define. The only thing an IQ test measures is your ability to solve the problems that the IQ test poses. There is positive correlation between things like the dollar amount of your future earnings and your IQ test results - so IQ is some kind of a predictor of future wealth. But a lot of what is claimed for them is untrue. For example, many studies have shown that you can improve your IQ test scores by practicing with old test questions. That doesn't make sense if it's a predictor of anything. I think it's also clear that outrageously high scores and outrageously low scores do indicate things that are very obvious to everyone without the need for the test - but if you take two people who's scores differ by (say) 20 points - I doubt you could find any other objective difference between them. My IQ score is impressively high - but I can't play chess worth a damn - I'm terrible at languages, I don't spell very well and my grammar and punctuation is poor. But I can annihilate most other people at computer programming. So what did my IQ score predict? Certainly it didn't predict my linguistic or chess-playing abilities. Some IQ tests frustrate the heck out of me. You get those ones where you have four geometric patterns and you have to pick the odd one out. I end up finding perfectly good reasons why any one of the patterns could have been the odd one (This one is the only one with a prime number of right angles, but this one is the only one with more than 50% of the figure coloured black, but this one is the only one with order-4 rotational symmetry, but that one is the only one where the correlation between curved shapes and black shapes is perfect)...so I end up having to ask myself which of those differences was the one that seems most obvious to the majority of people. I presume that made my score less than it might be for someone who was unable to see all of the weird differences that I was able to see. The test clearly isn't working for me! The bottom line is: Don't sweat it - IQ tests are mostly bullshit. SteveBaker 22:54, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Does editing WP make you more or less intelligent?

--Light current 18:38, 1 February 2007 (UTC) Well does it?--Light current 22:33, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

IQ tests, like college admissions tsts, probably seem far more accurate, valid, reliable, and fair to those who score high than to those who score lower. The article has some NPOV discussion of their validity and reliability. Editing Wikipedia, especially if you click random articles and recent changes, will lead you to learn many new things and the relationships between them, and how to look things up. Debates improve your reasoning and rhetorical skills. These factors might well raise your IQ score, as mentioned above, when analogical reasoning tsts require you to know the meaning of the terms used.Edison 19:01, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Of course: I've now learned many interesting ways to spell penis (as seen in many articles from time to time)! More seriously, I've always been an "eclectic" kind of learner, jumping around from topic to topic and the richly-hyperlinked environment of WIkipedia is just about my perfect natural environment for learning. It's almost as much fun as watching an episode of Connections.
Atlant 14:15, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
LC, I was not originally going to say anything here but I think there is a point to be made. Editing on wikipedia can be stressful and contentious. It can truly test you. You can rise above the stress and contentiousness and achieve a "higher state of consciousness" wherein you gain new respect for others and for the multifaceted nature of life. Blah Blah Blah. I would say that would be "more intelligent". Or you can "choose" to entrench yourself in partisan positions and shut yourself off from the fruits of observation and discourse. Yada Yada Yada. That would be "less intelligent". This is not a comment on any one person or dispute in particular; it is simply my observation in response to your question. --Justanother 14:39, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Yes of course. You have picked up on the other meaning of intelligence: being smart 8-)--Light current 14:44, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Editing Wikipedia can make a person far more dangerous. Rather than bumbling an explanation of this phenomenon, I'll just quote the excellent words of Pope. It's really the personality of the editor (specifically their humility) that will determine how intelligently they use any newfound knowledge. -- mattb @ 2007-02-02T14:49Z
A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:
There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
—Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism
But, without wanting to be annoying, he isn't saying "It's really the personality of the editor (specifically their humility) that will determine how intelligently they use any newfound knowledge", he's saying "If you learn a little bit about something, you will get 'drunk' on the knowledge. If you keep going and learn all you can about something, you will have a more sensible approach to the subject." It's an interesting observation, nicely put, but it doesn't really match the meaning you've put to it. Skittle 17:22, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
My second statement wasn't meant to be an interpretation of Pope's text, just an additional observation of my own. As I indicated, his words are self-explanatory. Since the quote is two couplets I didn't want to try and put it all in-line. Wikipedia can provide a little knowledge on a broad array of subjects, and in-depth knowledge on just about nothing. Pope's Essay contained several pointed satirical attacks directed at some of his contemporaries that he accused of this sort of "drunk with a little knowledge" behavior. I don't think he meant it to be a totally general statement, but more as a means to criticize the sort of people he perceived to be poor at criticism (though his statement is very often true and thus is often seen paraphrased as an aphorism). Thus my second remark about the significance of personality in all this, for it would be rather cynical to believe that every person with a little knowledge on a subject is instantly blinded as to their own ignorance.
Sorry for the confusion; the last thing I want is to be seen as misinterpreting one of my favorite pieces of satire. -- mattb @ 2007-02-02T18:05Z
Exercising your brain has been shown to improve it. Editing Wikipedia will make you more intelligent than vegging out in front of the TV for the same number of hours. But will it make you more intelligent than playing chess or writing a novel or playing the piano or learning a new skill? I have no clue. Wikipedia editing can be as stressful or as relaxing as you want it to be. If you get involved in all of the politics and try to work on contentious topics - yeah - it's horrible. If you pick a small, obscure field of which you have some personal expertise - then it can be very relaxing and fulfilling. I've written most of the articles on Mini, MINI (BMW) and Mini Moke - and mostly, that's been very interesting and relaxing. But fighting tooth and nail for what you see as 'rational' in WP:Fair Use could get you totally stressed out! SteveBaker 22:39, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
Jumping from article to article on a variety of different topics definitely gives you more general knowledge. --Candy-Panda 04:06, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
Ever since I first got 'into' Wikipedia, I've made it a private rule that I'm going to hit 'Random article' three times before going to bed and I'm going to read all of whatever three articles come up - no matter what. I'm learning a lot of things I didn't know about Pokemon and Japanese railway stations. SteveBaker 06:12, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] International MBA compared with a normal MBA

What is the difference between an International MBA and a normal MBA? Is an International MBA also known as an Executive MBA or are there any differences between those also?

International MBA is the term used when there is some aspect of it taught about other countries, or some of the classes are given in other countries. Thetre is no perceptible difference between this program (in terms if value, future salary, or acceptability) than any other MBA. As always, the wuality of the school, and the experience of the candidate far outweigh that. An "executive MBA" is one that is taken after hour, or on weekends by people currently in industry already, rather than college age kids coming from a B.A. or B.S. It basically means (pay lots more money, take less time, not as hard to obtain). The graduates from this program are usually slightly more capable than a standard MBA, primarily because they have already been in industry, and have experience under their belt, and often use their business to give a context for what they learn, improving their skills in the very area they are already employed. I say that it is easier (not easy) because the professors usually recognize that their students have a great deal of experience already. Because they are usually much more expensive than a standard MBA program, they are big moneymakers for business schools (paid for by a corporation, or an executive who can afford to pay more). The most important criteria should be how well you fit the program you choose. A good fit will mean a great deal of experience that you can step into a job with. The top schools pretty much find jobs for every graduate (Harvard, Chicago, Kellogg, Wharton school, Sloan School, Carlson, Johnson, ...) Atom 22:57, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Also remember that in some countries you simply cannot get into an MBA program right after your undergraduate. There may not be rules, but it's often the practice that only students with five years experience in the business or non-profit world are accepted. --Charlene 08:06, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pricing

Is there any way to find out the fair market price for a consumer item, and how that price varies? Say I wanted to buy an iPod online - is there anyway to find out how much I should expect to spend, and in which countries' websites I should be searching? Black Carrot 23:19, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

There are a lot of websites out there that track prices but I have not come across any that track prices cross-nation. One thing you need to consider when cotemplating purchasing goods abroad is that some products require the payment of taxes on importation. I know I selected a beautifully crafted Faber Castell pen for my birthday and was annoyed to find that the 'bargain' I found online ended up being much closer to the in-store price due to the tax for importing the item. ny156uk 23:27, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Can you give me links to some of them? Black Carrot 23:50, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Price comparison service (engines) is UK-centric. For US, try secretprices.com, froogle.com, pricewatch.com to name a few. --Justanother 15:16, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] South African clothing

what is the clothing like in south africa?

Depends on a lot of things, such as wealth, ethnicity, age, weather, culture etc. For middle and upper class, at least, generally not particularly different from the rest of the Western world. 惑乱 分からん 23:48, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Jeans and a shirt always worked for me. Afrikaans, lower income people seem to enjoy Rugby shorts on men. Shoes seem to be optional. Young Afrikaans people often dress in an equivalent way to european clubbers. while english speakers tend to dress in a more relaxed fashion, hence jeans and a shirt. Native South Africans tend to lean toward a more rap/ RnB influenced fashion sence. However this is a vast and unfair steriotype. So basically wear whatever you want and you will be accepted as long as youre a nice person. Fashion is pretty much the same where ever you go, I find anyway, as most of the clothing companies are international and tend to sell the same clothes in many different countries.81.144.161.223 10:50, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

And because so many of the West's used clothes are bailed up and shipped to third world countries for resale. That why I keep seeing the local university's shirts on kids deep in the jungle/savannah/etc. Rmhermen 17:28, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

There is no longer a term called third world country Garb wire 07:53, 3 February 2007 (UTC)