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

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[edit] October 31

[edit] Becoming a USSS Special Agent

Looking at the US Secret Service official website [1], the requirements to becoming a Special Agent (the kind that protects the President) seems fairly lax. A bachelor's degree and 3 years of police-related training (plus the 11+ week course). This led me to wonder, do the agents that protect the President have further levels of previous training? Obviously, when one is just starting off, the assignments and duties will be small. But suppose one reaches the highest level and is assigned and entrusted to protect the President, do these agents, for example, have former special forces training? Or is a special force background not required, as protective services is not as intense? Thanks. Acceptable 00:35, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

A bachelor's degree or 3 years of police-related training, actually. But I imagine the 11 week training course is hardly a walk in the park. And as you say, those protecting the President would be the most qualified and most experienced. FiggyBee 01:11, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
One of the requirements is to pass the background check, and I'm sure that isn't lax. Near the bottom of their website's home page we read that they recieve "11 weeks of intensive training" followed by "16 weeks of specialized instruction" - for a total of 27 weeks (right at six months) of not-your-ordinary-job training. All of that training is after being accepted, and I'm sure that applicants with more experience and training will have an edge over applicants who have only the minimum requirements. Basically, you're going to end up with some well-trained agents from the start, and that's before they really begin to learn their jobs. 152.16.59.190 02:28, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Remember that the Secret Service is part of the Treasury. Most agents will be tracking down kids trying to pass photocopies of $20 bills, not protecting high officials. (Er. was Treasury, now it's in Homeland Security) Rmhermen 18:29, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
The 11-week course is training at FLETC - fifty different federal agencies all send their agents for that course. Then they get specialized training back at their own agencies. (In all 80 different agencies send their officers for training there - that an idea of how many different kinds of federal agents we hav in the U.S.) Rmhermen 18:50, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
I would imagine that new hires in the Secret Service don't immediately begin on a Presidential security detail. ("Here's your gun, your badge, your parking pass, and your bulletproof vest. Try to stand between Dubya and the craziest looking guy in the room – not counting Dick Cheney – at all times. Coffeemaker is down the hall on your left; the photocopier passcode is 1-2-3-4. Good luck!")
My best interpretation of what I can dredge up from the 'net is that Secret Service Special Agents are part of classification 1811 (Criminal Investigating Series) of the General Schedule (GS) Classification System: [2]. The 1811 Series is described in this PDF. Classifications described within 1811 run from GS-5 (essentially a closely-supervised trainee) to GS-13 (responsible for extremely complex nationwide or international criminal investigations). I would expect that going from the lowest to the highest classifications would tend to require many years and extensive training (formal and on-the-job). If you're interested, it appears that the Secret Service is currently recruiting Criminal Investigators at the GS-5 through GS-9 levels, with the potential for eventual promotion as high as GS-13: [3]. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 21:25, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] diversity in basball

Anyone know where I can get a few articles on racial diversity in baseball? Numbers and percentages and whatnot are good too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.101.53.151 (talk) 04:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

You can start with this, I suppose. Zagalejo^^^ 04:57, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Here's another article. Zagalejo^^^ 04:59, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tax Question

Does anyone know ... are the premiums that one pays for Health Insurance tax-deductible in the United States, on one's federal income tax return? Thanks. (Joseph A. Spadaro 06:05, 31 October 2007 (UTC))

I think it's yes for work related monthly payments (the health insurance you get from work) but nothing for any others. you're best off checking with a tax attorney or the IRS. Cryo921 07:14, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Go to www.irs.gov and download Schedule A&B and the instructions for same. It appears that in 2006, medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI were deductible (for 1040 filers) on Schedule A. The instructions for Schedule A say that includes insurance premiums, with some restrictions. So if you have high premiums (or low AGI), or if you have other qualified medical expenses to eat up the 7.5%, then some or all of the premiums might be deductible. No warranty on this obviously; I'm not an accountant, just reading the documents on the site. --Trovatore 08:05, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
If you're self employed, insurance goes right off. But medical expenses need a 7.5% of income which I never meet despite shelling out a lot in medical expenses. I guess for not self employed, insurance would have to be the 7.5% or more. William Ortiz 19:53, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Thanks to all for the helpful information. (Joseph A. Spadaro 04:38, 5 November 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Your friendly annoying neighborhood park pigeon is tasty...

...or is it not? It has come to my attention that the common "flying rat" Feral Pigeon is supposed to be - in the words of the person I heard it from - "good eatun". I know historically people have enjoyed a smidgen of pigeon so I am curious as to whether the taste of the braised breast of this urban nuisance approaches that of their wild cousins. Additionally, other than being harried by enraged old ladies, urban birdwatchers, and various animal rights factions what danger might my pigeon-kebab hold? Toxins bioaccumulating within them due to their ... rather urban diet, perhaps? Protective laws rubber stamped by obviously misguided and deranged officials? And before anyone flips a lid and chastises me for murdering one of these defenseless feces machines, I have not actually committed the sin of pest control .... yet. Sifaka talk 05:54, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I moved this question to the Miscellaneous desk because I posted it on the wrong refdesk page! Sifaka talk 06:56, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
...in addition to the scampering rat, quit tasty to street people, eaten raw or sometimes cooked over an open flame of newsprint or wood. Clem 06:15, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Apparently they are best when young: "tender young birds (squabs) were taken as a delicacy mainly in the breeding seasons of spring and late summer. They would often be roasted on a spit or baked. Older birds are tough and needed prolonged stewing before use in pigeon pie a dish mainly eaten by servants."[4]--Shantavira|feed me 09:13, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
In public squares or such like they can be remarkably easy to catch - just scatter some grain on the ground, and as they croud about eating it, drop a cardboard box over them. DuncanHill 09:52, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
See also the recent discussion about eating gulls and pigeons on our Science Reference Desk. Feral pigeons are fat and their tameness makes them easy to catch but I'm not sure that their diet would make them very tasty. You would have to make sure they were cooked thoroughly to avoid any bacteria as they can carry diseases (just like rats). GaryReggae 11:03, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Smelly Colleague

Hi, me and a few of my friends at work are in a predicament....this girl always wears the same thing everyday and realy realy smells, not just a lil bit but loadz!! but i realy dont know what 2 do about it as i dnt want 2 hurt anyones feelings or ruin what is a nice working environment but me and some other people all agree that this realy isnt hygenic (soz cant spell) and it duz make ur day go a bit sower if u happen to be in close proxcimity 2 her has anyone got any ideas how 2 solve this as it is quite a delicate matter thanx x —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 09:58, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

There's probably no delicate way to break the news to the individual that her body odour is a problem. If the issue is causing problems, it is a management issue and should be dealt with by whoever deals with human relations within the company. I suggest you should take the matter up with your company management. --Tagishsimon (talk) 10:40, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
You could always drop her a subtle hint by putting a bar of soap or can of deodorant on her desk when she's out of the room, that way you avoid the embarassment of telling her but it will probably still hurt her feelings. On the flip side, it's probably better to break it to her like that as if you leave it, somebody less considerate might tell her in a more offensive way. A manager where I work used the bar of soap trick once and apparantly it worked. GaryReggae 11:07, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
If you're sure it's not just you, and you feel that she is an OK person but that most reasonable people won't tolerate her odor, and you like her and want her to thrive in life (which are three very big if's), sit down with her and flat out tell her. Tell her that you like her, you care about her, and you don't want to see people look down on her or talk smack about her, but you think that people are doing so because of her perfume/body odor (I'm not sure whether she is filthy or just poorly cologned, based on your original post). Be like a wikipedian -- be bold in addressing the problem, but be open to feedback. If she tells you that she's smelly because she can't afford laundry detergent and deodorant, you might have to offer to let her use your washing machine and/or buy her some product to help her out. You don't have to be afraid of hurting her feelings if you treat her with respect and your actions are geared around helping her out as a person. If you're lucky, you might make a friend. (If you're unlucky, she might tell you to get bent, and then you have to listen to her gripe, but if you have to buy nose plugs, you might as well get earplugs, too...) Good luck. Faithfully, Deltopia 13:26, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Maybe the problem goes deeper than that. Maybe she does not want companionship. I knew a girl at tech school who did not shave ynder her arms (yuck) but instead of repelling most guys it really turned them on. She wore the same clothes almost everyday but apparently did at least wash them every night. Instead of handing her a bar of soap or a stick of deodorant several guys started leaving here dresses and clothes and stuff. One guy even gave her an electric razor. After awhile she softened up and it turned out pretty nice. In fact she started looking hot so other girls got jealous and treated her bad so she went back to wearing the same clothes and letting the hair grow under her arms (yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, Yuck!). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.100.9.205 (talk) 16:29, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I went under this guys desk to stick an air freshener to cover up his stink and there was a dozen already there placed by other workers. Its a management problem not a worker problem. They can sort it as they get paid for that sort of stuff. Paul

[edit] Airsoft guns

After asking the crow/chicken question earlier, someone suggested an airsoft air rifle as a solution. A quick check showed me that they're illegal in Australia. So I was wondering whether there are any other countries out there which also ban them? --Psud 11:02, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] hd dvd

i have a ps3 and a samsung dvd recorder....does this mean i can play hd dvd's?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 11:11, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

The PS3 cannot (it's a Blu-ray player). Unless the Samsung advertises itself as an HD-DVD player, it cannot -- however, you've not given enough information to say. If it can, the HD-DVD logo will no doubt be plastered on the front somewhere. — Lomn 13:07, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
  • I was under the impression that it was possible to play HD-DVDs in a normal DVD-player (of course, you wouldn't get the 'better' resolution), but I distinctly remember preferring HD-DVD because it didn't mean parting with yet another few hundred/thousand euros/dollars of your hard-earned cash. I hate it when new systems are forced down my throat and if I remember correctly, HD-DVD is gonna win and Blu-ray is gonna die out. I just hope I'm right...- Mgm|(talk) 10:03, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Paul Bunyon's boomerang?

What is this thing? [5] [6] [7] Dismas|(talk) 12:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Looks like aeroplane wings to me. Couldn't say for what sort of plane, though. --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:03, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
SteveBaker "inspects" windmill blades after being caught short
SteveBaker "inspects" windmill blades after being caught short
I was thinking it might be the blade from a power generating windmill - those are similar in size to an aircraft wing. SteveBaker 13:06, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
But not similar in shape to the object on the truck. Identifying that orange hazard symbol would be helpful, but I'm drawing a blank so far. FiggyBee 19:18, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
I looks vaugly like a Pi symbol with things radiating out of it. --Mdwyer 00:00, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
Looks like a dolphin's tail to me. Any weird exhibits opening up near you? Matt Deres 13:20, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] ipod video convertor?

anyone know a good free convertor to convert videos into ipod format? thanks. :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.238.26.235 (talk) 13:04, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

See Video converter, although that article is a blatant advertisement for a particular product and there must be other things around that do the same. I use a program called ffmpegx, but that's just for Mac. Basically you want something that will convert formats like .mp4 and .avi into .mov format. I just got a new iPod and .mov seems to be the only format that plays on it. --Richardrj talk email 15:30, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
I've just downloaded ipodifier and its really really simple to use and converts from most things to either mpeg4 or h.264 (both ipod recognisable formats) --AMorris (talk)●(contribs) 06:46, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] alaska green

what exactly are alaska's marijuana laws? I've heard that persons 21 and older can legally own up to one ounce with absolutely no legal repercussions whatsoever. Is this true? --MKnight9989 14:43, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

There does seem to have been a ruling on state law in 2003, but it was being appealed - not sure what the outcome was. I think the key point to make is that possession is still illegal under federal law, and the police in Alaska apparently continue to pursue stoners. Browse google for more. --14:50, 31 October 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tagishsimon (talk • contribs)
Legal advice? hmmm. DuncanHill 14:59, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
FFS. Please try to see the difference between legal advice and confirmation that yes, there is a law. It's like confirming that there is a law against murder. (More's the pity, sometimes.) --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:03, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
My tongue was in cheek - I have no objection to legal information being given out, however on the talk page there is a somewhat heated debate on this sort of thing. I'm sorry I didn't make it clear that I was being light hearted. DuncanHill 15:14, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Oops. My bad. --Tagishsimon (talk) 16:58, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
No bad at all - I should have been clearer, and remembered that I'm not the only one feeling stressed! DuncanHill 18:06, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Have you read Places that have decriminalized non-medical marijuana in the United States? Corvus cornix 16:15, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
It's interesting that that article does not mention the federal level. My assertion, above, was from a quick google search, and IINAL. Do we have an article on US federal law w.r.t. cannabis? Would it be useful to caveat that article with the Federal overlay? I seem to remember vaguely someone in CA getting busted by the feds for growing medical marijuana. --Tagishsimon (talk) 16:58, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Well, there's Legal history of marijuana in the United States. And yes, a doctor and her husband, a lawyer, in Sacramento were convicted on federal pot charges just last month in Sacramento, even though they were following California law on the growing and distribution of medical marijuana. Corvus cornix 17:27, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bruce Lee II

Seeing the above question has prompted me to ask a question which has been a point of heated debate between my friends and I for quite a while now: If Bruce Lee and Mike Tyson/Mohammed Ali were to fight, both being in thier primes, who would win? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.191.136.3 (talk) 16:59, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

With respect, these sorts of questions are not really within the remit of a Reference Desk. Its impossible to know and therefore its impossible for anyone to provide your with a reliable or verifiable answer. Rockpocket 17:17, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
party pooper. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.191.136.3 (talk) 17:20, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Wouldn't it very much depend on the rules of the fight? Anyway, if you just want an straight answer without a heated debate, I'll simply announce it's Mohammed Ali.--Shantavira|feed me 18:30, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Aw, I thought the vandalised version was just as valid an answer. :P FiggyBee 20:41, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Indeed, but I just can't let sleeping vandalism lie. I'm pretty good at mixing metaphors though. --LarryMac | Talk 20:44, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Well, Muhammad Ali fought Antonio Inoki to a 15 round draw in 1975, and this was under rules that were very favorable to Ali. It would depend on the rules. Under current UFC rules, Bruce Lee would probably win. He was one of the first people to study many different kinds of martial arts, and would probably be able to use his knowledge/skills to take Ali down to the mat, something Inoki was not allowed to do. As for Tyson... Would he be allowed to bite? MookieZ 04:35, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] UK automated text messaging on the cheap.

Can anyone help me with the following. I am the editor of a charitable magazine and we wish to set up an texting service whereby people can send short messages to be printed. At the moment it's simply a mobile phone with no credit, it picks everything up OK but that's about it.

What sort of software / hardware would be needed to send an automated text back saying something like 'thank you for submitting your text, your message will be printed in next month's issue'.

I have a feeling this is one of those simple ideas that is going to be way outside our non existent budget! I've seen lots of free texting websites and wonder if there is anything free or for a small subscription that may be useful to us. Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.144.30.22 (talk) 18:53, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Contact the service provider, give them your charitable organisation number and see if they will provide the service for free. Worth a try. How many times a month are you expecting to respond? If it's under 300 then an O2 pre-pay phone being topped up with £10 credit each month is given 300 free texts (at least I am in my pay-as-you-go phone) so that might be a good value alternative.ny156uk 19:57, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
You need some kind of SMS gateways. Googling SMS gateway software brings up a lot of hits, but I cant recommend any. As for hardware, you just need a cellphone with interface cable (pretty easy to find in mobile specialty stores, at least around here). The problema are in the cost of software (maybe there are open source alternatives?), cost of each SMS (check different payment plans with your phone provider for best deal) and the difficulty of programing your SMS gateway software to auto respond to each SMS after storing them in database. — Shinhan < talk > 19:14, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Moving far away. How do people do this?

I'm planning on moving somewhere to another state. It'll be about a 12 hour drive and I have so much stuff I will need to rent a U-haul truck. My main question is how exactly do people go and find a place to go to that's so far away? I'm hoping to find a detached home for rent and well I can't really visit and an airplane flight would take months in advance to schedule and going back and forth waiting through the whole airplane stuff would take all day.

So how do people do these long range moves, how do they find a good place from so far away? William Ortiz 19:54, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

There are a lot of web-based rental searches, such as apartments.com. I'm not sure about homes. Corvus cornix 20:24, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
I have done several long-distance moves in the United States. Unless you have very expensive furniture and gear, it may be cheaper to sell your belongings (via Craigslist, for example) in your present location and then buy new or used furniture in your new location than to transport everything. (Though you should steer clear of used upholstered furniture, which may carry bedbugs.) Gear that is worth transporting includes your clothes, your kitchen gear, camping gear, and maybe books. (Though this would be a good time to sell or otherwise dispose of books you won't need in the future.) Once you have pared down your belongings to the minimum that you need and is worth transporting, you may find that Amtrak Express Shipping is cheaper than a U-Haul rental, if Amtrak serves both your starting point and end point. You can rent a cargo (utility) van and move your stuff between your home and Amtrak at either end, and it will still probably be cheapter than U-Haul. If Amtrak Express is not an option, a mover or freight forwarder still might be cheaper than U-Haul. As for finding a place, that is harder. It helps to have friends to stay with for a week or two once you get there while you look. Failing that, you might try a cheap motel with weekly rates. In either case, you might need to put most of your stuff in storage and live out of a suitcase and/or backpack while you look for a place. Alternatively, you could fly to your destination for a weekend early in the month before you plan to move. You don't need to schedule flights months in advance unless you fly around a holiday. You will get low fares as long as you schedule the flight 2-3 weeks in advance. Here is how this could work: Say you want to move into your new place January 1. You could make a flight reservation now or even halfway through November for a visit to your destination the weekend of December 8-9. You could book a room for one or two nights at a motel at your destination and reserve a rental car at the airport for those two days. Meanwhile, you could research real estate agents online (or Craiglist listings, or wherever landlords advertise rentals where you want to live) and schedule several appointments over the course of your weekend. By the weekend of December 8-9 (roughly three weekends before you want to move), most of the rentals for January 1 will be on the market, but many or most will not yet have been filled, so your chances of finding something suitable would be good. Then you would have someplace that you could actually move into on January 1. If you want to move December 1, you could schedule flights, motel, and appointments for the weekend of November 10-11 right away. You might not get the best air fares, but it would not necessarily be too expensive. If you want to move before December 1, then you may just need to get rid of as much stuff as possible, send what you really need, drive there, check into a motel, put your stuff in storage, and look while you stay in the motel. Marco polo 20:38, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the info. I'm in the same situation and was planning on asking some of the same questions. (Although I am job-hunting in several cities, and researching housing in all of them, that is a difference.) What I also look at in addition to the apartment websites, is the online versions of the local newspapers. Most of them have classified ad sections that list homes and apartments. If you are in the U.S., you can find a list of just about every newspaper at NewsLink. — Michael J 22:02, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

For apartments, noise travels through the walls too easily and is unbearable. Also the smoke of tobacco and illicit drugs as well as bad cooking odors travel through the gaps between walls so I'd try for a detatched cottage.

As for job hunting, I did that out of college nationwide. I found that employers really were so picky they wouldn't hire anyone who was far away as they wanted in person interviews. Even if you somehow land the job, without a contract, who knows if the employer isn't going to then decide not to hire you or sack you shortly after you join. William Ortiz 22:32, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

In my experience, I have found that you will probably want to move out of the first place you get while relocating after at a year, as you will have been acquainted enough with the area to figure out where you would like to live and be a bit more picky. I recommend selling off any furniture that is not sentimental or worth much. And in many cases when you move with a U-Haul you end up spending about the same amount of money as you would hiring a company to do it, plus all of your time (assuming you consider your time to be valuable). You might check into cheaper moving companies (google their names to make sure they aren't scams, of course)—I've had really good experience with a few (moving cross-country a few times), and found that once you add up the gas mileage for the U-Haul, it ends up not being quite as cheap as you might think, and a hell of a hassle. --24.147.86.187 02:18, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
I have known people who did corporate moves, (going to a distant town to take a professional job) and who flew to the town for a weekend, had a real estate agent show them four houses in their price range with the requisite number of bedrooms, and signed the papers to buy one of them. Then the movers delivered their stuff. Edison 04:05, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
If it's a 12 hour drive, I would put my stuff in storage in my home town, go to the new place with a couple of weeks worth of clothes, a sleeping bag and a minimal set of kitchen stuff. Travel light. Now you can find an apartment (William Ortiz is clearly in a bad part of town - my apartment is quiet, free of smells, generally a nice place to be - it's a matter of what you can afford and how hard you look!). Once you are generally sorted out with a job and someplace to live, you can take a weekend with a U-haul to go back and collect your stuff. That way if something goes horribly wrong - you aren't committed to the move. One other benefit is that some jobs will pay your relocation expenses - which means that they may just pay for someone to take your stuff out of storage and move it into your new home for free. SteveBaker 15:07, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
I agree with the advice to first find a hotel in the area with low weekly rates. I've had good luck with Extended Stay America. I'd never agree to live in an apartment, sight unseen, as they tend to look far better in the brochures than in reality. Similarly, when they show me a model unit and say "don't worry, you're unit will be just like this one" (except for the smell of urine ?), I turn around and leave.
Another issue you may have is your car or cars. If you rent a U-haul trailer, you can drive one car in front, if that car is suitable for towing the trailer. If you have a tiny car, you might do better to tow it behind a full-sized U-haul truck. If there is only you and you have more than one car (or boats, motorcycles, etc.), you might do well to sell off the excess vehicles before the move. StuRat 15:21, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
It's unlikely you'd be able to safely tow one car with another - the golden rule for safe towing is that the trailer should weigh no more than half the weight of the tow vehicle. In this case, the car you are towing PLUS the trailer it's sitting on should weigh no more than half of your larger vehicle. Since the trailer will probably weigh in at about 1000lbs - unless one car is a MINI Cooper and the other is some ungodly SUV or a large pickup truck - this isn't going to work well! Towing more weight than that is something you might maybe consider risking for a short trip across town - but over 12 hours it would be dangerous and it would wreck the engine & transmission of the tow vehicle. You can tow a reasonably sized saloon car with a medium-sized UHaul truck - or you can tow a smallish UHaul trailer with a reasonably large sized car. As I said before, your best bet is to plan on two trips - on the first one take your car - get someplace to live - get sorted with a job. THEN either rent a UHaul for the weekend and do a round-trip back to wherever you left your stuff - or take a Greyhound bus back and rent the UHaul one-way. But turning up in a strange place with an apartment full of furniture in a rented truck and no place to put it is madnessSteveBaker 22:48, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
My advice was either to tow a small trailer behind a large passenger vehicle (full-sized car, SUV, or pick-up truck) or tow a small vehicle behind a large U-haul truck, but not to do both simultaneously. StuRat 18:51, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pros/Cons of joining the army

Hi I'm eighteen, turning nineteen in a few months and I'm interested in joining the US army. Just wanted to hear an "unbiased" opinion here. I want to join as a linguist, and my recruiter says after the DLI I'll be an E4 specialist. What would happen after that? I understand I would be living at a fort, but when it's my turn to be shipped out to Iraq or afghanistan or whatever, what will I do there? Thanks--Goon Noot 20:10, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

There are some case profiles here (though, since these are provided by the Army, its obviously not a neutral source). There appears to be 3 different types of roles for linguists in the Army:
  • Interrogators, who conduct debriefings and interrogations, translate foreign intelligence documents, and processes intelligence gathered
  • Translator/Interpreters, versatile positions designed to meet the varied linguistic needs of the US Army. You may be doing anything that requires communication.
  • Voice Interceptors, specialists in uses electronic means to detect, locate, and monitor foreign signals. They record and transcribe language transmissions, performs basic analysis and prepare intelligence reports.
It sounds obvious, but many people don't really give due to consideration that joining the army of a country at war is among the most hazardous jobs one can do! Before signing up give it a lot of thought, and good luck with whatever you choose! Rockpocket 20:39, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Well yes, but will I also be patrolling the streets of Baghdad or what?--Goon Noot 21:23, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Well, no-one can tell you that for sure until your report for duty (by which time you have already signed a contract!) When you join the Army your contract pretty much says you will go wherever you are told to do pretty much whomever you are told to (certain legal conventions notwithstanding, of course). By the time you are trained the US Army could have all but withdrawn from Iraq.... or it could have invaded Iran. I'm certain there are linguists in the US Army who patrol the streets of Baghdad at the moment, but the probability of you being asked to do that is difficult to judge. For one thing it probably depends on what language you specialize in. I'm sure an Arabic speaking linguist will be more likely to end up in Baghdad than a Korean speaking linguist, for example. If you wish to patrol the streets of an Iraqi city, I would suggest that a translator/interpreter is much more likely to do so than an interrogator or voice interceptors Rockpocket 21:47, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I'm sure an Arabic or other Middle east language interpreter is likely to accompany fellow soldiers on patrol for liaison purposes with the locals. Acceptable 21:54, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

These Yahoo! Q&As may interest you also [8] [9] Rockpocket 22:12, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

alright thanks. Now here's the sorta scary/spooky/decisive question: where can I find information on the distribution of casualties amongst the different army classes? If possible, I want it by rank, and also by MOS.--Goon Noot 01:18, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Befor I try to help you with that question let me give you one piece of general (very important) advice. No matter how much you trust your recruiter; no matter how nice s/he seems. Get everything of importance that they tell you IN WRITING. Recruiters only job is to get people into the military (or whatever). That’s what they're paid to do, and they routinely lie to get a person signed up. Also, go to the library and do some backgrounds reading about the military in general, it never hurts to be well informed before you make a decision as important as this. As to your question, read Casualties of the Iraq War to star of with. This is also a good resource as is this. Unfortunately translators are sometimes in more danger than solders because they are lightly armed if at all and are targeted by insurgents (who know how important they are to the war effort). In your place I would also think about mental toll war takes on people. Consider whether you are prepared to experience thing like this, and whether you feel you could still do your duty in such a situation. Finally I would like to echo Rockpocket, good luck whatever your decision. --S.dedalus 03:35, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
You seem to be a fine and brave person as well as a thoughtful one. All the best to you. Have you also considered going to college after high school? There are lots of scholarships. work study programs, and low intrest student loans available. ROTC is also an option, as are the reserves. Edison 03:59, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
Dedalus. Yes I understand that, I'm no fool. I take what the recruiter says with a grain of salt. He's already taken me to a restaurant; he paid for it. I know he's trying his best to recruit me. But I also have a mind of my own. But you're wrong about the translator thing. I'm not going to be hired as a translator, I'm going to be a soldier with translator duties. In other words, I'll be in full combat attire with M16. I am not afraid of the sight of blood or brutality (years of Internet shock sites have dulled my sensitivity in that regard). That's also an entry question; you'd be disqualified if you were scared of bloodǃ I know it is a tough decision, that's why I've decided not to make a decision until a few months from now. I'm in my 2nd year of college and I want to do Spring Semester as well.--Goon Noot 05:37, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
Good, you seem to have given this far more thought than some recruits I know! Best of luck whatever your choice. --S.dedalus 19:03, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
  • Suggestion: go to Wikipedia:Userboxes/Military, click on relevant user boxes (such as "This user has deployed to Iraq"), then click on "What links here" to see Wikipedians who might be able to give you good answers on what interpreters do. Better suggestion: don't sign up for this pointless war! --Sean 14:04, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
  • Oh, in answer to your second question: this excellent site allows you to do queries on the OIF casualties. 1st Lt's have the highest casualties, but obviously that has to do with their numbers. --Sean 14:09, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
  • I'd like to mention that a good translator, especially one which speaks languages spoken in Muslim countries, can get a job which pays better and has less risk than an army combat solider. For example, the CIA has jobs for translators inside the US (interpreting intercepted communications, etc.) and the UN also pays big $ for translators. StuRat 15:01, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Wow thank you sean for that, it's just what I needed. By the way StuRat, wouldn't I need a language arts degree in that language in order to meet the qualification? Because the army is offering me free classes to obtain the degree at the DLI.--Goon Noot 04:21, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

A degree, no, but obviously you need to know the languages for which you would be hired. I expect that most translation jobs would give you a test to determine if you are qualified. Which languages do you know, other than English ? StuRat 15:31, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Right now I speak Farsi (Persian), English, and Spanish, but I would be interested in learning arabic. --Goon Noot 22:46, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

also, having checked icasualties.org, it appears that within my age group (18-20) the rank with the highest death count is Private First Class:


  • 174 Private First Class
  • 82 Specialist
  • 41 Private
  • 16 Corporal
  • 2 Sergeant
  • 1 "Not reported yet" (as of Nov 2, 2007)
      • Total is 316 soldiers aged 18-20 have died in Iraq

I knew learning statistics would pay off. But now I'm hungry for more data. icasualty.org doesn't break down Specialist by category. Nor does it give death rates (deaths / total soldiers), or trends.

Now as far as my own desired MOS (linguist), I've tried googling the names of the Specialists to see if any news stories have further identification as to their job. I've found medic and "infantryman" so far. icasualties.org doesn't list postmortem rank promotions either (is the reason private casualties so low is that they were posthumously promoted to private first class?) --Goon Noot 00:48, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

PFC is a rank that is easy to achieve soon after reaching permanent duty station, even if a soldier entered the army as an E-1. Soldiers in the U.S. Army rarely remain private E-1 or E-2 very long. If someone entered basic training as an E-1, they could reasonably expect to be E-2 by the end of AIT or soon thereafter. After that, promotion to PFC is in the not-too-distant future. Basically, most permanent duty stations are PFC heavy and Spec/Cpl heavy. There aren't that many E-1's or E-2's walking around. The few privates are simply new to the service and will soon be promoted to PFC if they keep their noses clean. 152.16.59.190 02:45, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Precise digital Scales

Is there a name for the very accurate digital balances/scales found in laboratories? Or are they just called "Digital Balances". As well, how much does a good one usually cost? I would like to buy one to measure the weight of small postage stamps. Thanks. Acceptable 20:52, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Per our article weighing scale, the high precision ones seem to be called analytical balances. Algebraist 21:24, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
As for costs an analytical balance costs around £1000 (in the UK) and measure to 0.0001g Less accurate laboratory balances cost from £100 but these only measure to 0.1g which would be no good for you. One costing £200 - £300 would probably do. How much does a stamp weigh? Theresa Knott | The otter sank 21:35, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
I know a full sheet of ordinary paper masses in the neighbourhood of five grams; a stamp has an area roughly a hundredth of the area of a sheet of paper; from that I'd estimate a mass of about 50 milligrams per stamp. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 21:52, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Balances designed for extremely small masses (precision down to micrograms or better) are also often described as microgram balances or microbalances. The price of these instruments starts at five or ten times what you'd pay for a balance that's good to 1 or 0.1 milligrams. How precisely do you need to know the weight of your stamps? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 21:52, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I think 2 decimal places is good enough. Acceptable 21:55, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

You could just use a less sensitive balance to weigh a large number of stamps. anonymous6494 05:32, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
Depends on why he wants to weight the stamp.If he needs an average weight that method will work fine. Theresa Knott | The otter sank 17:48, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
I think Scientific American had an article a while back on how to make a very, very sensitive balance scale (using the needle from any electrical gauge). So sensitive it could measure the dehydration of an ant. But in your case, just weigh 100 stamps, and divide by 100. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mjm1964 (talk • contribs) 05:48, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Does Mikasuke=Miccosukee?

The State of Muskogee supposedly had a capital at Mikasuke, according to the Flordia Department of State: [10]. Is Mikasuke the same as the present day Miccosukee, Florida? --Filll 22:20, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

That town is old enough and associated with the correct tribe - but note that Miccosukee is the current name of a Florida tribe and may have been applied to more than one place. Rmhermen 02:07, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
The name Miccosukee (variously spelled) is probably not only associated with more than one place, but Creek and Seminole towns (or "talwa", historically often called "tribes" in English) frequently moved to new locations while retaining their names. Sometimes the relocations were quite distant. So present-day Miccosukee, Florida, even if it was once the site of the talwa/town Mikasuke, may or may not be location of Mikasuke when it was supposedly the capital of the State of Muskogee. There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the specific locations of historic Muskogee townsites. Pfly 07:01, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] convertables

which convertable cars have 3 passenger seats in the rear? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.140.231.104 (talk) 22:33, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

The Saab 9-3 does, and various forums report that the Toyota Solara and Chrysler Sebring do as well (though it looks to me like the current Sebrings do not). It's probably not hard to dredge up others via a Google search of 5 seat convertible. — Lomn 22:50, 31 October 2007 (UTC)