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[edit] February 15

[edit] Prison

I was just reading this:

The court recommended a sentence of nine years' imprisonment, which was imposed in April 2005 although the start of the sentence is deferred pending appeals.

The way I see it, this guy doesn't have much chance of having his sentence overturned. A lot of appeals must be like that. So why don't people just leave the country? You'd probably have difficulty getting plane tickets, but it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to pay for bus tickets to Texas with cash and escape into Mexico, where you can take a boat or plane to Europe. And living in a foreign country can't be worse than spending nine years in prison. So why don't these people run? --frothT 00:41, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

For starters, the courts would take away his passport, and if they really thought there was a chance of him running, they can remand him, which means he's in jail anyways until the appeal fails and he goes to prison. Also, if he is to be freed it means someone probably has to post bail for him, which means if he disappears then a bail enforcement agent (aka bounty-hunter) will be coming after him. And I'm sure that his credit cards are monitored so that a purchase at a bus terminal will set off a flag, and the police can intercept the bus. Or maybe they've got an electronic monitoring bracelet on his ankle. Duomillia 00:52, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
OK so no passport, not like mexico is exactly building hundreds of miles of wall. And once you're outside the united states, I doubt you'd see much trouble from the authorities, especially if you hire some drunken expatriot to take you in his boat to south america or even asia. I'm sure as someone making $500000 per month, he would have enough cash on hand to buy a bus ticket.. or just take the trip on foot. If he decides to go on foot, he'd have to get the anklet off, but although I'm sure they set off all sorts of alarms when tampered with, they can't be -too- hard to break with a hammer or rock. And these measures don't seem too extreme at all when facing such significant jail time. I didn't know about remanding, though; how many non-dangerous (like email spamming like this guy) criminals are actually put in jail awaiting appeals? --frothT 00:57, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
True, true, but only if the guy was smart enough to keep all his money under the mattress, right? A mattress in a house the authorities don't know about, because wouldn't they confiscate his ill gotten swag? If he did this, then yes, he's off on his merry way to S.A. If it was me, I would not want to be walking around carrying 500 000$ in my backpack, but then again I've never faced ten years in prison so who am I to judge. Duomillia 01:15, 15 February 2007 (UTC) ps Just had a thought. There are hundreds of US Border Patrol officers on the border (and yes, *they* are building a wall even if Mexico isn't) so I wonder if they are as good as stopping illegal emigration as immigration... if so then this spammer is probably all set! Duomillia 01:17, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Well you hope the border patrol deports you :) And I only mention the 500,000 because someone with that kind of income must have a ton of cash available --frothT 01:20, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
There is also the fact that what you're suggesting would put him into even deeper trouble with the US legal authorities. He would either eventually have to come back to the USA (either voluntarily or involuntarily) to face further charges leading to an even longer jail term, or face the prospect of spending the rest of his life outside his country. He might prefer to cut his losses by doing his time now, rather than compounding the problem. JackofOz 01:22, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Well maybe. But personally I'd much rather leave America forever (it's not all that great anyway) than face 9 years in prison --frothT 01:39, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
You're free to leave. Bye now.  :) JackofOz 02:34, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Whoa wait a second, just because I'd rather leave the country than serve 9 years in prison doesn't mean that I'd rather leave the country than serve the rest of my life to capitalism :) --frothT 03:11, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
That was a joke by the way, I'm not really a marxist. A lot of the stuff he pointed out was accurate though, ironically making my statement valid... ah well I'm just talking in circles now --frothT 03:15, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Well, you can read about the life of Ronnie Biggs, one famous fugitive. He'll probably die in prison, for what is considered a 'minor' role in the great train robbery. Vespine 04:07, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Many countries have extradition treaties between one another, so the convict would have to find a country where this didn't apply. That country, however, would very likely speak a different language and provide little opportunity for the convict.
What are the countries which currently will allow fugitives from U.S. justice to remain therein? With no extradition and no kidnapping by U.S. personnel allowed? Axis of evil? Central/South America? Eastern Europe? Edison 06:23, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
I can't give you a list, but there are several countries which will not extradite accuseds back to the US if there is a possibility that they face a death sentence, even if there are extradition treaties. Corvus cornix 17:43, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Towns

I wonder if Oban, Scotland, my hometown, and Oban, New Zealand, where I'm writing from now could be the two towns with the same name furthest away from each other in the world. Any way to verify or perhaps just say this is likely, or am I totally wrong? 121.73.21.141 01:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

They must be pretty close to the record. If you look at Image:WorldMapWithAntipodes.png you can see that the only places where sizable inhabited parts of the world are directly opposite each other are (1) parts of South America vs. southeast Asia and the East Indies, most notably Argentina vs. China; and (2) part of Spain vs. New Zealand. These are not combinations of places where similar place names are likely to occur, as is true with the U.K. vs. New Zealand, which are close to antipodal but not exactly so. Given the number of European place names like London, Paris, and Madrid that are found in the former British colonies of North America, it seems entirely possible that there is a Spanish place name in New Zealand that would beat out Oban; but I don't know of one, and a quick glance at a New Zealand map doesn't seem to show any.
However, New Zealand does have some place names from England, and one of those might be closer to directly opposite its New Zealand counterpart than the two Obans. Hastings looks like it could come close, for example -- I'm not going to work it out right now.
Interesting question, anyway. --Anonymous, February 15, 2007, 02:20 (UTC).
Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Santa Cruz, Philippines are 12,066 miles apart. The Obans are only 11,719 miles apart. There may be other pairs even farther away from each other. -- Mwalcoff 04:02, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Oban, New Zealand ↔ Oban, Scotland ≈ 18,262 km
Palmerston, New Zealand ↔ Palmerston, Scotland ≈ 18,787 km
− Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:10, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Regardless of milage, Paris, Tennessee is worlds apart from Paris, France. Although each city has an Eiffel Tower, only the one in Tennessee is known to have a giant Catfish sign. (Home of the World's Biggest Fish Fry [1]). Edison 06:28, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
I tihnk Paris, Idaho is a bit farther from France (in mileage as well as population). ;-) V-Man737 02:12, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
This brings back memories. There's a tiny group of islands in the South Indian Ocean called the Kerguelen Islands which are almost perfectly antipodal to the southeastern corner of the province of Alberta. A local group tried to petition the provincial government in the early 80s to change the name of the border crossing there to Kerguelen from Manyberries. It didn't pan out. --Charlene 10:13, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] regions of the united states

Which region of the United States has the fewest people?

Alaska. If in the lower 48, the area around the Dakotas and the deserts in the West.
Here is a population density map of the US and A. --TotoBaggins 03:40, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
US and A?? I've never heard that one before. Care to share where the "and" comes from? Dismas|(talk) 18:29, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Sounds like the United States and America. V-Man737 02:10, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Major Problem of the American Prison System

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There are many controversial aspects of the prison system but the persistence of one problem seems to be unjustifiable no matter the idealogical perspective.

Why are prisons designed to be or allowed to continue to be such fucked up places? As in violent hellholes where at least one inmate a day gets stabbed? Why do we send millions of offenders into a system that seems designed to make them more vicious?

132.239.90.161 03:56, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

My ideological perspective is that criminal justice should be punitive rather than reformative. Fits in pretty nicely with my ideology. --frothT
Would you rather they live outside and stab us non-inmates? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 04:20, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
A place packed full of F'd up people is going to be very F'd up. Maybe if prisons were filled with nice little old ladies they wouldn't be so bad. My advice would be that if you don't want to be in a prison don't break the law.--ChesterMarcol 04:45, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Wirbelwind, you are making the assumption that all convicts (from car thieves to arsonists to rapists) would stab non-cons willy-nilly. I really don't think it's in their nature to stab, or else all criminals would be convicted of stabbing (rather than grand theft auto, arson, or rape). This type of behaviour is endemic to, and indeed it is caused by, the penal system itself. What do you get when you mix hundreds of frustrated, hopeless men into a building, without regards even to their background (e.g. mixing neo-Nazis with "non-whites")? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:50, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Are you being sarcastic, Froth? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:50, 15 February 2007 (UTC)


Okay, I see my question is being taken astray. To clarify: No matter what your idealogical perspective, I assume everyone values their safety. So even if you believe in harshly punitive punishment, you do not want released prisoners to be meaner and more menacing because you will suffer. THAT IS MY POINT. Why isn't there any attempt to reform prison culture (e.g. minimize contact between prisoners) when its obvious that the product is more dangerous criminals out of prison? 66.91.225.188 04:58, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually, there have been attempts to reform the prison system, mostly with it swinging between Retributive and Rehabilitative, with the current trend as a mixture of the two, iirc. The short reason for prisons being how they are is probably just that no one has really found a solution that will work as far as lowering the recidivism rate. Also, I think the main reason more inmates aren't separated, etc, is because of the immense cost associated with it- prisons are overcrowded as it is, with more being built, and there simply isn't enough room to seperate everyone, though I think there is some consideration given in instances where the inmate may be harmed by being put into the general population. Seiran 05:16, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

See Prison reform. V-Man737 05:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
My grandfather is a very active prison preacher, and says that most inmates are very willing to listen and shape up when invited to do so by a preacher. V-Man737 05:22, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Also look at the Stanford_prison_experiment, which demonstrated the human response to captivity, and showed that even non-criminals can react in the same way to the same situation. Seiran 05:43, 15 February 2007 (UTC) 05:38, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Stars" in lights in night time photography

I've made a few night shots in Sydney that were 3s @ f/8 using the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 on a D50. I've noticed that 14 pointed stars appear on most of the lights (example). What are those stars? How are they produced? Are they related to the shape of the pupil (if I remember correctly the lens has a 7 bladed pupil, maybe that's connected?) --antilivedT | C | G 05:30, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Sounds very possible, but also consider internal reflections between the lens elements. How many elements does the lens have in how many groups? Could you post a copy of such a photo so we can see what you're talking about. (Or maybe you attracted 14 UFOs). Try keeping records and shooting the same scene with different combinations of lens opeining and exposure time. If the light images move systematically with the lens opening that might be informative. Do they go away if you use a lens shade to exclude extraneous light? Edison 06:37, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Example is above or here, I can't really try it with different combinations as I am about 3000km from Sydney rihgt now. The lens is quite simple optically, 6 elements in 5 groups, just your standard 50mm normal lens with a UV filter in front. --antilivedT | C | G 06:49, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
It really has nothing to do with the pupil, since this is a photograph. I've often wondered what causes these radiating projections. I never noticed that they had fourteen points; in real life, sometimes it looks like only six, and counting all fourteen is hard to do since when I would try to count all of them, the lines would rotate around their axis as my eyes moved to count them—a hopeless task! But it's very clear from this photograph that there are fourteen. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:51, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Maybe I used the wrong word for it, it's the aperture not the pupil. --antilivedT | C | G 08:01, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Yes, the cause is the aperture iris in your objective. Pupil is a also an OK word (Twas apparently thought that you meant the pupil of your eye, not that of your camera). The more-or-less straight edge of each of your seven iris blades causes edge diffraction in the direction perpendicular to the edge, producing two opposite points of your star. If you are still in doubt and want to convince yourself, take a comparison image with another objective with a different number of iris blades. It happens most strongly at small aperture settings, because the iris opening is most nearly polygonal then, and it doesn't happen at all at full aperture, because the full aperture is circular. There are special-effect filters that purposely produce the same effect through diffraction by linear structures in the filter. Mathematically, the star-shaped point spread function that you see is the squared magnitude of the Fourier transform of the shape of your aperture. By the way,this would be a good question for the science desk. --mglg(talk) 20:07, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Is this phenomenon related to lens flare? --TotoBaggins 22:59, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
This is actually a VERY common phenomenon when taking photos of actual stars. Photos taken with Newtonian telescopes (including the Hubble Space Telescope, like this one), display similar diffraction patterns. This is because in those telescopes the pattern is created by a thing called the secondary spider, or "struts" which hold the secondary mirror in place. Each arm creates a line through the center of the star, in the Hubble Space Telescope there are 3 arms holding the secondary so there are 6 spikes. Much more common on earth and especially amateur telescopes are spiders in the shape of a cross with the mirror in the middle. This arrangement technically creates 8 spikes, but 4 of them are on top of the other 4. Curved spiders have been made, which greatly reduce the spikes, but they are less rigid, and besides, most people find the diffraction spikes aesthetically pleasing. Vespine 23:42, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
In astronomy photographs, a similar effect occurs: diffraction spikes. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 01:17, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Martial Arts

Can anyone give me a list of the martials arts of Asia, such as: kung fu, t'ai chi, hapkido, etc.?

List of martial arts#Asian martial arts ^_^ V-Man737 05:42, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Uploading Audio

Could anybody out there tell me the way to upload small audio bits (in ogg or other formats), like a place name? Also please help me how to link that to the article. Thx so much 07:16, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Start here: Wikipedia:Media and come back for more assistance as required. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Thanks 61.1.250.82 23:37, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Susie O'Neil

Where was Susie O'Neil educated??

What type of emplyment doid she have?

What is her favourite place to go?

What is her favourite food to eat?

What do people feel about her sport?

What words do other people use to describe her sport?

Thanks Carrie

Susie O'Neill is all we have. Do people really have "favourite places to go" and "favourite food"? Are the rest of the questions homework questions or what? --Tagishsimon (talk)
It sounds to me like an ESL exercise, where the student has to read a paragraph from the textbook, then provide answers that're found within that paragraph to demonstrate an understanding of the reading material, and the ability to form proper sentences to convey the answers. Especially the last question makes me think that, because it doesn't sound like the kind of thing people would be "just curious" about. "I'm not sure what somebody's sport is, but I'm curious how other people describe it"? Ehh... not so much... --Maelwys 14:52, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Well, in that case, it would be impossible for us to answer the question without access to the paragraph... =S 惑乱 分からん 00:19, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] help

1.more deaths are attributed to this animal than all the wars ever fought,what am i?
2.i am committed to joining but cannot join my own

Perhaps the first one is the mosquito? According to our article on malaria, between one and three million people die each year from this disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. --Richardrj talk email 09:38, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
The second one, by a stretch, sounds like a Catholic priest, performing marriages but himself being celibate. V-Man737 01:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  1. Vampire Squids, obviously. Mosquitoes are not a single species, but the entire order Siphonaptera. If you want to see a few orders and the diseases they cause, visit this site. The leading two from that site are summarized as follows:
  2. V-Man's answer ("priests") sounds like as good an answer as any.
− Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 06:17, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
UNH! I had no idea there was an animal anything like the Vampire Squid! WOW! Until I was about a third of the way through the article, I totally thought you were joking. V-Man737 07:14, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Holy crap, that's a real animal! You learn something new every day. --Charlene 10:01, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Weren't most of theser people actually killed by bacteria, which aren't animals:) Not including diseases, I am quite sure hippopotomosses kill the most amount of people:(Hidden secret 7 11:29, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What does it mean to "thigh" someone?

Thanks. --Ķĩřβȳ♥ŤįɱéØ 10:05, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

The Language desk is more appropriate for your question. Splintercellguy 16:13, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] News anchors: Why all the papers?

The morning news shows I watch all have two anchors (newsreaders), they sit at a desk, and they have the typical sheaf of papers that they read from and flip over as they recite the morning's news stories. They also have some glass panes inset in the top of the news desk, which I assume are covering a television monitor of some sort. Additionally each one has a laptop computer off to the side. And of course there's the teleprompter in front of the camera lens. What is all that for? What's under that pane of glass in the desktop? Why do they need laptops? And why the old-fashioned stack of papers too? 71.112.2.37 13:52, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Paper: the scripts & running order in case the teleprompter screws up. Dunno about the computer; probably much the same plus access to (what sort of) other information. --Tagishsimon (talk)
The laptop off to the side is probably for things like checking email or researching breaking news or just to look good on camera. The monitor in the desk is probably an on-air monitor so the anchors can watch the stories and see whats going out on the air. As said earlier the paper is is just a backup. -- 17:35, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
The computer is there so that the director can send the newsreader a message during the broadcast. The text on the TelePrompter and the paper copy is of course prepared before the broadcast and even the TelePrompter text can't be changed that quickly. If breaking news happens during the broadcast, it's easier to send the text to the reader via the laptop. The director will generally speak to the newsreader through the small earset most newsreaders wear in one ear and tell them to check the message on their laptop. The laptop can also be used to send other information to the reader, and (especially in large city or national broadcasts) is a great visual prop. --Charlene 09:59, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How to start a Biography about someone.

There are some people that arent on here and I know A lot about them and I wanna put them on here. How do I do that?

First, please see if they are notable enough by checking here. Dismas|(talk) 14:52, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
And then check out Help:Starting a new page and come back here if you need more. --Tagishsimon (talk)
Also Wikipedia:WikiProject Biography and don't forget to read Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons for guidelines on good practice.213.249.237.49 15:30, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Look at WP:BIOGRAPHY and also Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons for guidelines.213.249.237.49 16:56, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Starting a Bio

I want to write a bio about a band I dont know what you mean by click here. Could you direct me through it somehow?

Most of the instructions are above. However, note that in order to create a page, you must either be a registered user, or you have to go to Wikipedia:Articles for Creation and submit your article there for somebody to review and create for you. --Maelwys 16:08, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
I suggest you read Wikipedia:Your first article. Splintercellguy 16:10, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Note that the band would have to fit certain criteria for "notability", though. 惑乱 分からん 16:35, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Click here means move your mouse pointer to the word here, then click the mouse button (usually the left-hand button). Sounds as though you ought to click here as well.--Shantavira 18:11, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Regression Analysis

I've moved your question to the mathematics reference desk, where you're more likely to get a helpful response. --Richardrj talk email 16:07, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Construction

hi, I have searched the internet high and low and to no avail! i am basically lookin to find out what the main characteristics of an effective site layout are!? With regards to resources i.e space time cost etc! i do not expect you to give me the full answer to my brief but any help to direct me in the right direction would be highly sought after and will be recieved graciously!

           Yours, 
                 R.M
Well from first principles, the layout of the site must allow timely access to that which is being built, and to the resources being used to build it. There must be space sufficient to store that which is needed for the construction, and the size of that space is in large part dependent upon the timeliness and regularity of delivery of whatever is being used in the construction. The less space, the more regular the deliveries need to be, the higher the risk that work will be interrupted by lack of materials. The resource cost of marshaling construction materials and moving them to the point where they're being used needs to be minimised (since moving stuff is work which is done at a cost). There are presumably step changes in site layout, as, for instance, tower cranes are introduced to do heavy lifting & moving, or concrete pumping systems are installed. I suppose the subject extends to installation of temporary lifts, &c. Presumably the whole things is constrained by other factors such as health & safety legislation, the security of things stored on the site. Tum tee tum. My five cents. I think there is stuff on the net about this - this google search points to some seemingly interesting pages; they'll not do your homework for you but they may give you some clues. I'd hazard a guess other searches may find other things. Looks like it is a very complex art from the fact the people seem to be throwing neural networks and genetic algorithms at it. --Tagishsimon (talk)
Thanks very much! you seem to but a bit of time and effort into helpin me with the construction questions! consider your 5 pence well earned lol
We get paid for answers?! Why has nobody explained this to me?  :-) SteveBaker 23:18, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Jimbo was trying to decide if he wanted to fire you or just cut your pay, but didn't want to hurt your feelings. V-Man737 04:12, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Book

I cannot remember the name of this book. The title is the name of the main character and there is one chapter with only one sentence, it says "_____ had a stroke." I cannot remember the stroke victims name either.

Not much to go on. I'll plump for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Ah. Except that the title is not the name of the main character. Ho hum. --Tagishsimon (talk)
Guess time. Adam Bede by George Eliot? --Justanother 18:12, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Crash by Jerry Spinelli. The stroke victim's name is Scooter. Rya Min 22:43, 15 February 2007 (UTC) (Link fixed --Anon, Feb. 16, 00:36 (UTC))

[edit] February 16

[edit] The World's "Highest" (Recorded) ADULT IQ

I've come across some literature and seem to have narrowed down the contenders; Marilyn vos Savant with a purported 186 on the "adult test," and Nikos Ligeros with a purported 189. I'm very well aware that it is potentially possible that neither of these individuals have the world's highest IQ, but I would very much like to know which individual (or another) actually has the world's highest RECORDED IQ. Thanks to anybody who can help. Robinson0120 00:42, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

P.S: Please don't use the "220" Marilyn vos Savant for comparison... she took that particular test as a child.

Note that some people have copies of the scoring guides for IQ tests, so it would be a simple matter for them or someone they knew to prep for the test by memorizing the correct answers, then get a perfect score. I have had the scoring guides for some of the tests, as an example. One female psychologist was reported in a news story as training her children this way so they would get stellar scores on the same exams in school, and she defended the practice by a claim that it actually increased the children's IQ scores. It is in no way like measuring someone's strength, weight, or speed. Edison 16:44, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Distances

I need to know the distance from Grants Pass, OR USA to the province of Tuscany, Italy. Humbug71

Using a free version of Google Earth [2], it appears to be 5,877 miles (9,459 km) to the central point. It is about 5,781 miles (9,304 km) to the nearest point, and 5,945 miles (9,567 km) to the farthest. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:21, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
I like http://indo.com/distance Except you have to put a city in for Tuscany, Italy. Pick one from the article if you please!

[edit] library.

prince In library, what is see also reference,cross reference and technical service.

41.204.243.2 13:49, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

What? 惑乱 分からん 14:33, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A list of Australians changing the face of the planet between 1900 and 2007

How can I fing a list of Australian and their interconnectivity to countries and other people by demographic or personal connection?193.108.78.10 14:31, 16 February 2007 (UTC)carl weir

Ehhh, clarification?.... 惑乱 分からん 15:43, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Well, those are kinda subjective criteria - and encyclopedias aren't about subjectivity - but I would start with: Australian Living Treasures and Category:Lists of Australian people. SteveBaker 23:05, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] In 1967 Carnegie Mellon University at Baker Hall had a grant for working on an electric car.

It was called the Starr Car by GE. The person in charge of the project was a Dr. Romaldi.

I didn't see this listed anywhere in Wikipedia and could not find it on the search engine, and didn't know how to add it to Wikipedia. Seems the first info I see on wikipedia about any electric car is in the 1990's

I know close to nothing about this topic, but the article on Battery electric vehicle (electric car redirects there too) does write about this vehicle's history before 1990. ---Sluzzelin 14:58, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
The Henney Kilowatt was an electric car that was around in 1959 and sold in small quantities to the general public. History of the electric vehicle has information about electric cars going back as far as the 1830's. Category:Production electric vehicles lists dozens of electric cars that have actually entered production and Category:Electric vehicles has lots and lots of links to electric vehicle articles. If you have a Wikipedia account then you can create the article by typing the name of the article into the search box, hit 'Go' and if that article doesn't exist already, it'll say "No page with that title exists. You can create this page or request it". Click on the words "create this page" (which are in red) - and you'll be able to create your article. If you don't have a Wikipedia account - then get one! SteveBaker 23:01, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Database of Logos

I'm trying to find what company a logo goes to. Is there a online database somewhere of logs that you can search through. Deltacom1515 16:04, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

We have a bunch of them here. --Tagishsimon (talk)
You can also try to describe, draw, or put a photo of it here to see if anybody recognizes it, if it's not in that category. --Maelwys 16:54, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Or try putting a few key words describing the image into Google and do an image search. Dismas|(talk) 17:43, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Time Zone boundaries

Time Zone doesn't seem to cover this and as we only have one of them in the UK it never bothers us. How is time specified in towns that either straddle or are very close to zone lines? When shops give opening hours and businesses schedule meetings,do they have to specify which zone they mean?

What about commuting to work across a line?Do bus/train timetables have it marked on where they suddenly skip back or forth an hour?Does that mean that you could leave for work at 7.30,travel 1/2 an hour,arrive at 9 and then finish work at 5,travel 1/2 an hour back and arrive at 4.30?What about journeys that cross the line a couple of times?Do you have to keep putting your clocks back and forth? Lemon martini 17:25, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

The time zone lines nearly always wiggle around population centres. --Zeizmic 17:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
As far as talking about the time, I've usually heard (and used) the name of the city or state in casual conversation (e.g., "Michigan time" vs. "Illinois time"). Although Zeizmic is correct that the zone lines don't split population centers, there are plenty of people who live in one zone and work in another. I can't speak for buses or trains, but in my experience airline schedules always list local time for destination and arrival. So, if flying from Chicago O'Hare to Los Angelos LAX (which a two-hour time change), the departure time is listed in Chicago time, and the arrival in LA time. The return trip would list departure in LA time, and the arrival in Chicago time. –RHolton≡– 19:02, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
It's also common for schedules to list three times: departure time in the departing time zone, arrival time in the arriving time zone, and travel time: number of hours spent on the vehicle. --Carnildo 20:09, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Train timetables always show the local time for each stop and include annotations for the time zone as necessary. VIA Rail's "The Canadian" runs through four time zones, and on this PDF timetable you can see where it stops at 06:50 ET/HE (Eastern Time / Heure de l'Est) at Armstrong, and then (35 minutes later) at 06:25 CT/HC (Central Time / Heure Centrale) at Collins. Probably the only example of a commuter (suburban) train service that crosses a time zone boundary is the South Shore Line between Chicago and South Bend, and in its PDF timetable you can see the same sort of thing being done, although the expressed in a different manner: for example, the 8:55 am ET train from Sound Bend makes its first stop (optionally) at Hudson Lake at 8:15 am CT. This doesn't mean the train crews would be resetting their watches on every trip; they'd probably work in CT throughout, as I understand airlines use UT behind the scenes. --Anonymous, February 16, 2007, 6:31 pm EST or 23:31 (UTC); edited 8:47 pm EST or next day at 01:47 (UTC).
Russian railways work (or certainly used to work) on Moscow time throughout the country, even in Vladivostok which is about 8 time zones away from Moscow. -- Arwel (talk) 14:23, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
That's true. I should have specified above that I was talking about North American practice (also Australian if I remember correctly). In Russia it is, or has been, true that the railway simply ignores local time zones. For that matter, until about 40 years ago in Canada, railway timetables respected time zones but were written in standard time all year and ignored daylight saving ("summer" time) -- although each new timetable would come out on the same day the clocks changed, and many trains would "just happen" to operate an hour earlier during the summer. Incidentally, in the 19th century, railways in North America and (earlier) in Britain adopted zone time before it was adopted for civil purposes, so the railway clocks might be 5 minutes off the local time at Oxford, 19 minutes off at Manchester, that sort of thing (I'm just making up the numbers). --Anonymous, Feb. 19, 2007, 15:22 (UTC).

College Corner is a village split between Ohio and Indiana. Until this year, most of Indiana did not observe Daylight Savings Time. That meant that for half of the year, people who made appointments in College Corner had to specify "Ohio time" or "Indiana time." -- Mwalcoff 22:47, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] legal names

What restrictions are there on naming people? Can you change your name to something trademarked, like Super Man? How about a religious figure like Jesus Christ? --frothT 19:24, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Some countries have restrictions on names, but many people have been given very strange names. Have a look at this List of unusual personal names. As for trademarks, there is a guy named Optimus Prime. As for "Jesus", that name is used by some people in Latin American countries, so I wouldn't rule it out. GhostPirate 20:13, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
The birth name of GG Allin was "Jesus Christ Allin". For real. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 21:30, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
There are limits. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the basketball player sued Karim Abdul-Jabbar, formerly Sharman Shah, the football player, who changed his name to Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar. I read Quebec has a law against giving your kid ridiculous names. Someone tried to name their kid "Spatula," or the French equivalent, but the government wouldn't let her. I also read you can't change your name to a royal title in the UK. I don't know how this would affect Prince if he were to move to Britain. -- Mwalcoff 22:39, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
It's my understanding that in France, you have to choose from a well-defined list of acceptable names (names of saints, perhaps?), but maybe I'm imagining that. --TotoBaggins 00:50, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
the "Albin" article says that Sweden has a law regarden the naming of children, but the statement is unsourced. V-Man737 02:35, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
OOH! this sauce, third paragraph down, mentions that Denmark has a ministry that deals with names. V-Man737 02:39, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
You might be interested in this Reuters article What's in a Name? I liked this information from the German Consulate General in Miami:
"German law does not permit first names that are considered arbitrary, scandalous, offensive, incomprehensible or simply not a first name. In particular, family names cannot be chosen as first names (unless they exist as first names as well). Additions like "junior" or "III" (the Third) cannot be officially filed as part of the name. If you have any questions please contact the German Consulate General."
In the UK you can call yourself pretty much what you want as long as it's not offensive. One of the people missing from the list of unusual personal names is "The Occupier", who succeeded in really winding up the authorities. If anyone knows any more they might add him to the list.--Shantavira 09:41, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
It's tough searching for that one, but I'm starting to see why the officials would be irked by that name. ^_^ V-Man737 09:47, 17 February 2007 (UTC)`

[edit] The UN, economic development and the environment

What role has the UN had in regard to the environment and to economic development in the years 1945-91?218.101.69.42 22:58, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Have you read United Nations? There is a ton of stuff there: eg United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Economic and Social Council - read those, follow links, follow links inside the links! There is a ton of stuff about that on Wikipedia. SteveBaker 16:52, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Food and Mood

Hi all. I was wondering what kind of evidence there is on food's effect on one's mood. Short-term, I've noticed that for ~ 20 minutes after I eat, I am tired, tend to be more placid, etc, especially if what I had eaten was rich in meat or hot. By contrast, if I eat something like fruit or vegetables (esp raw) to my fill, I have a lot of energy during that time. I've always assumed that that interim is based on digestion, but now I wonder. Another thing I've noticed is my tendency to get very angry and feel depressed if I haven't eaten anything for a while (say, half a day). Thanks for your help ! Xhin Give Back Our Membership! 23:26, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Oh wow! Idiopathic postprandial syndrome Betcha you can't say that fast! --Zeizmic 01:06, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] F-35 JSF

Hello, I have a question. Can the F-35 carry 4 AIM-120 in internal bays? I heard that the F-35 can only carry 2 amraam.

Thank you wiki...

According to F-35 Lightning II, it's 4 in the A and C variants. Clarityfiend 00:39, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gamelion?

according to the Valentine's Day article, gamelion is a month between january, and febuary, however, the article on th calendar in question places it between December and January. Which is correct?--HoneymaneHeghlu meH QaQ jajvam 05:46, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Who knows the correct botanical name of "Ojon"?

Who knows the plant "Ojon" or the correct botanical name? It is a plant of the western Honduran Rainforests, home to the Miskito tribe Indians. For the past 500 years, the Miskito's have been harvesting oil from a type of palm tree found only in their remote area. Though the Miskito use it for everything from skincare to tea, the palm nut oil is especially revered for its amazing ability to transform the most distressed tresses into a shining mane of happy hair. (The Miskito refer to themselves as Tawria, which translated means "the people of beautiful hair.") As it turns out, this palm nut oil is a super rich source of essential fatty acids, which attract and trap moisture in the hair follicle. (souce: http://www.ojonhaircare.com) Thanks ;-) Sei Shonagon 07:03, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

this seems to indicate the name, but I'm not sure if it's the Ojon you're talking about. Oh, looks like a good article to start on. V-Man737 07:19, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Ähm? Are you kidding? this is a fish of the Scombridae family, like mackerels, tunas, or bonitos. The Ojon I'm looking for is a tropical plant of the western Honduran Rainforest, like Cocoa, Guarana or Damiana. Look [here] and [here] you can see the plant and the fruits. But I suppose the Ojon is just the name of a brand, a product - I would like to know the real botanical name of this tree. Sei Shonagon 08:39, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Wow, that's kind of like naming a soap "trout." ewww. I'll look deeper into it, and if I don't find anything by Monday, consider me pwned. V-Man737 09:24, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
The plant and its fruit look like the American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera), mentioned in the article on oil palm. On the other hand, that would mean the CEO's statement in the promotion video is false: Elaeis oleifera doesn't only grow near the village of the "people with the beautiful hair", it is spread across Central and South America. ---Sluzzelin 11:18, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Googling "Elaeis" + "Ojon" gives you a selection of cosmetic websites listing ingredients. At first glance, it looks like maybe 80% of them list Elaeis oleifera as one of the first ingredients, while 20% list Elaeis guineensis (African oil palm). ---Sluzzelin 11:27, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
@Sluzzelin - Yes, yes, yes! I think "Elaeis oleifera" is just the vulgar American oil palm, which gives the common palm oil. And know I'm asking: What could they mean with Ojon? Is it just the trade mark-name for a plant, that we all know as "Elaeis oleifera"? Or is it a "new" plant? What is that suspicious Ojon? Were are our botanists?! Sei Shonagon 15:01, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
This appears to answer your question. In short, "ojon" is a trademark, it is also the name of Elaeis oleifera in the language of the Miskito people. Carom 15:24, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
(after e.c. which I didn't notice, sorry Carom, who beat me to it): Ok, ok, ok! I was suggesting that it's a brand name for the American oil palm and its extract. I didn't know you knew since you were discussing fish and cocoa, sorry, sorry, sorry. Here's a link saying that Ojon is the Miskito word for Elaeis oleifera. Maybe the soil is special there, maybe there is a variety, but I couldn't find any evidence that it's anything other than Elaeis, usually and in the Mistiko case Elaeis oleifera. ---Sluzzelin 15:27, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
So, now I can specify my question: Who knows if the Miskito tribe has a special variety of Elaeis oleifera? Sei Shonagon 17:24, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Here a nice [pic] of Palma Christi or Ricinus Americanus major from Maria Sybilla Merian ;-) Sei Shonagon 17:44, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Virgin mobile

I just switched to cingular wireless GOphone and now i need to figure out how to deactivate or cancel my Virgin mobile account. Virgin mobile gives me no idea how to do that. Anyone know the way to do it if you once used virgin mobile?--Biggie 08:13, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Which country are you in? The UK? 惑乱 分からん 13:19, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
If you use it once, is it still a Virgin? Clarityfiend 18:18, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
And then leaving on an early call, GOing for another? (Hmmm, let's get serious...)惑乱 分からん 19:30, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
I would go on their website and phone their customer support. Sum0 19:52, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

I live in the USA and i know what their customer service phone is however, im thinking i could find a better way.--206.251.3.129 20:08, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] UK Maintenance Law

Hi. I'm currently paying maintenance to my ex wife who I divorced a few years ago. The terms of the Consent Order say that these payments are due until my son "turns 17 or leaves Secondary Education, whichever is the later". Question: Does a college course (after he has left school) constitute Secondary Education (where the payments will continue) or Further Education (where they will stop after his 17th birthday)? Thanks. --81.145.240.90 15:38, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm sorry - we are not allowed to give legal or medical advice here on the reference desk. SteveBaker 16:13, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
I know this is not a legal advice page, but, the questionner has a nasty surprise coming if his son decides to go to University and then study for a Ph.D. afterwards. Under UK Law, maintenance will continue until the son receives his Doctorate. And that's the truth.
Er. Secondary education, stipulated in the Order, does not equal higher education. A parent is under no legal obligation to support their child through higher education (or at least wasn't a couple of years back), though the funding system has a nasty habit of assuming they will. Shimgray | talk | 21:41, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Er. Sorry. UK Law asssumes a dependent child will remain so (ie. as a Pupil) until he has completed his education - ergo including Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Post Graduate.

You're being misled by the system's use of "dependent", which doesn't mean what it ought to mean in this context. The student funding system for higher education does indeed differentiate between 'dependent' and 'independent' students; 'independent' is roughly defined as anyone over 25, married, with a child, or having supported themselves for three years independently of their parents as of the start of funding. ref
However, "dependent" is not quite as clear a term as it seems. It simply denotes someone the funding body expects the parents to be supporting, rather than someone they are legally liable to support - there is no power to mandate the parent to pay anything, absent a specific maintenance order or the like, and basically all we do is say "you know, you really should..."
If you are the parent, spouse or partner (sometimes referred to as 'sponsor') of a student, you may be expected to make a contribution toward their costs whilst they are at university or college. ...
If your local authority decide that you will need to make a contribution, they will assume that you are doing so. If you do not make this contribution, the student is unlikely to have sufficient money available to fund their study.
(from direct.gov.uk, emphasis mine)
It's one of the major conceptual flaws in the system; if you're the child of well-off parents, you're given a reduced loan & no grant on the grounds that they're expected to pay for you. If they decide to disown you, for whatever reason, you're screwed, because you will continue to recieve reduced funding. This is often a problem with people who wander off to university and decide that (for example) they're gay; argument ensues with parents; parents disown child; child continues to get a couple of thousand a year for living expenses; child drops out of university to work. Oh. there are hardship funds, and the like, but these are really papering over the holes - and by the time they come into play it's often too late. Either there should be a legal liability on the parents, or the system should just pay up without relying on a vague moral obligation; as it is, we have the worst of both worlds.
Hope that makes the matter a bit clearer. I worked for a student union some time ago, and this sort of thing still rankles - I know several cases of people who got caught in this type of funding trap and had to throw two years of study away.
Of course, it's all somewhat academic in this case - the maintenance order quoted above specifically says "secondary education"... Shimgray | talk | 01:01, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Absolutely true. I have been in this situation (as the child). My father continued to make maintenance payments (and pay my school fees) until I was 18 and left secondary education. But he was not expected to pay anything after I went to university, even though I was still technically classified as a "dependent" student and lived with my mother in the vacations. Luckily, I went to university when there were such things as full maintenance grants (which did not take my father's income into consideration, only my mother's) and no fees and we didn't have to worry about such things. I feel sorry for anyone going to university today. As for the parents having to pay until a doctorate has been received, er, no! -- Necrothesp 11:29, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia official releases

I know there has been talk of "Wikipedia 0.5" and "Wikipedia 1.0," but have there ever been any real, official releases of Wikipedia? If so, were they downloadable, or actually buyable on CD, DVD, or in print? Links would be appreciated. Thanks. Steevven1 (Talk) (Contribs) (Gallery) 20:26, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

See 2006 Wikipedia CD Selection. Dismas|(talk) 21:30, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
I believe there has also been at least one "official" snapshotted release of the German wikipedia. —Steve Summit (talk) 22:42, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
The 2006 Wikipedia CD was (and maybe still is) on sale by a charity known as 'SOS Children' - you can also download it and burn your own CD or just stick it on your hard drive. I have to say that I found it rather disappointing. Most of the pictures are only in their thumbnail format and maybe 90% of the links have gone from the articles. I'm sure they did the best they could with the horribly limiting amount of capacity of a CD-ROM - but when you are used to surfing the 'real' Wikipedia, it comes as a horrible shock to only have 2,000 articles available compared to the usual 1.6 million. SteveBaker 04:54, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Picture

I want to upload this image [3] to Wikipedia but do i do it the old fashind way or what?Bewareofdog 04:45, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

It's already on the commons, why would you need to upload it here? It's better to keep copyleft or public domain images over there, since they can be used across all wikipedias that way. Just link to it as normal:

-- febtalk 07:33, 18 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] What are some cool stuff about Australia?

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Hi, our school is supposed to do this decorating competition where we decorate our rooms to a theme of a country and I was wondering since ours is Austrailia, what we can do to our room to make it look good? I looked at some of the other questions here, so I looked at the article myself and I just saw pictures of some parliament building and stuff about Captain Cook. Didn't he drown in a pond or something? But I can't even find that fancy opera house with the "sail" decorations in the article! What else could we do with our room? --student in despair, 03:38, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Australia should get you started; as for Captain Cook, it appears that he was ultimately stabbed to death by angry Hawaiians. V-Man737 03:53, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Oh yeah, and that building is called the Sydney Opera House. V-Man737 03:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Australia is home of the platypus and echidna, the only species of monotremes in the world, that is mammals that lay eggs. Some echidnas live in New Guinea but we ignore that mostly:). Also, the home of the largest marsupials in the world kangaroo.. My other fav iconic Australian things are the Cork hat, the didgeridoo and Uluru. No link for cork hat yet? Google it:) Vespine 05:31, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Fair Dinkum, mate. Rockpocket 09:14, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Your local travel agent will give you free brochures about Australia with lots of good pictures.--Shantavira 09:50, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
A pair of thongs wouldn't go astray. Also try the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is a well-known landmark. We also have a lot of farming and mining communities, particularly in the more central (i.e., non-coastal) areas. BenC7 11:09, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Fosters and Castlemains XXXX beer canshotclaws**== 12:38, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Yabbies. 211.28.131.148 12:51, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

The fact, that they all have to live upside down... --Zeizmic 12:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

  • Bush Bashing. (No. It's not what you think it is. ) 211.28.131.148 12:54, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Meat pies. 211.28.131.148 13:01, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Jumper. (something you wear) 211.28.131.148 13:03, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Vegemite. (It's not an insect) 211.28.131.148 13:05, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Clayton's tonic (the drink you have when your not drinking) 211.28.131.148 13:09, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Dunny. (shit happens there!) 211.28.131.148 13:11, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Grog. (something you drink to get piss) http://www.pi55.com/ (see pisstory) 211.28.131.148 13:14, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Rubber. (What aussies school kids use in school) Can I borrow your rubber? 211.28.131.148 13:17, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Hard yakka. (first meaning: Bloody hard work!) 211.28.131.148 13:20, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Hard Yakka. (second meaning: something you wear) http://www.yakka.com.au 211.28.131.148 13:20, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Kiwi. (unwanted aliens from over the Tasman) 211.28.131.148 13:23, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Wog. (you know, the kind that drives around in boom boxes) 211.28.131.148 13:23, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Pommy bastard. (Gentleman from England) 211.28.131.148 13:28, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Poofter. (A gentleman who is not interested in your wife) 211.28.131.148 13:28, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Port. (Something you drink) 211.28.131.148 13:29, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
[Gee, anybody want to take a wild guess which country User:211.28.131.148 is proud to hail from? :-) —Steve Summit (talk) 13:32, 16 February 2007 (UTC)]
  • Snag. (Not snack food, but it is something you cook and you eat). 211.28.131.148 13:33, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Wanker. (Any guy who associates with Master Bates) 211.28.131.148 13:37, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
They've got more poisonous critters than anywhere else in the world. --Carnildo 20:00, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Last I checked, they have brothels. That makes them cool by default -- febtalk 15:18, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Largest work of reference in sports

Arthur Haygarth's Cricket scores and biographies is a 15 volume work running into nearly 10000 pages covering cricket matches from 1744 till early 20th century (the first 14 were compiled by him; a 15th was done a few years after his death, partly based on the notes that he had left). Is there any work of reference in any sport that is as big ? Tintin 05:47, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:15, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Reference work that is exclusively for a sport or a game ? How big is the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, btw ? Tintin 07:22, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Biggest I've seen is Batsworth's, which is a single (very large) volume. There may be a larger, but I can't think it'll come close to 15 volumes. --Dweller 09:44, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Presumably Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is in there with a shout. --Tagishsimon (talk)
Only if you consider each year's volume as part of a single work. Almanacs usually don't and I don't believe The Almanack does either. --Dweller 09:44, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
I think I will consider them to be part of a single work, just to antagonise. Haygarth's volumes were not published at the same time, but over time. What is The Almanack? --Tagishsimon (talk)
Sorry. I love Wisden's spelling of "Almanack". It's somehow very appropriate in a way I struggle to explain. Grace and a thousand Victorian ghosts stalk every page of the little yellow bible just daring some modern editor to tinker that bit too much. I'll stop there before I wax lyrical. Most cricket traditionalists would understand what I mean. It'd take an Arlott to put it in words. And I'm no Arlott. I'm not even a Blowers. --Dweller 20:09, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Australia tourists

Shall much appreciate help for my grandparents (81 and 78) who are visiting Australia in March/April. They are spending a week in each of Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Thoughts on what they should do/see - and what not to do/see, please. ALSO: How far is Sydney airport from the city ? The taxi fare demanded is 85 (Dollars or Pounds ?). Thanks.90.0.0.126 15:43, 16 February 2007 (UTC)drew

Try WikiTravel. - Zepheus <ゼィフィアス> 20:33, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
You can find distances around Sydney and the rest of Australia using Google maps: http://maps.google.com - type 'Sydney, Australia' into the text box and hit 'Search'. It looks like the airport is right in the center of the city - three miles from the 'official' center of the city. For things to see, I would start off by reading the articles we have about all of those cities. Taxi fares from the airport are here: http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/SACL/To+and+From+Airport/Taxis/Default.htm - it looks like AUS$25 is the fare from the airport into the 'city' - but it's going to depend a lot on where exactly within the city you need to go. SteveBaker 23:12, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
The fare from Sydney airport to the CBD is probably more like AU$40. Downunda 21:53, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] February 17

[edit] 99 cents

How come here in the US it's so common for prices to end in 99 cents (or for bigger items, 99 dollars)? From fast food to exercise machines to home appliances to furniture, so many things seem, systematically, to end in a bunch of 9s - just 1 cent or 1 dollar away from a nice round number. What is the purpose of this, and when did it start? --Lazar Taxon 07:47, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Psychological reasons, I suppose. The round number never exists because of sales tax, but people will disregard that if faced with a price less than one that it could be (the one dollar or cent more). It causes consumers to spend more, since with $100 you'd expect to get 100 items at 99 cents, but really you can only get 93 (in CA); meaning you'd put 100 in the cart and end up paying $110+. z ε n  08:20, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
I would question how much of an effect sales tax has on this phenomenon, since it is also common in other countries (such as Britain) where the price on something in a shop is generally what you actually pay. Far more likely to be attributable to psychological pricing, as Clarityfiend said, plus I heard that it forces the person behind the counter to use the till to get change, and thus prevents them pocketing the money. Skittle 14:03, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
This has been asked before recently. See psychological pricing. Clarityfiend 08:34, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
This seems to be asked weekly. --Proficient 11:14, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Another reason I heard mentioned recently is that the cashier is less likely to pocket the bill if s/he has to open the till for the penny change. —Tamfang 18:52, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Smoking

I recently made a decision to quit smoking. I do not believe I can do it cold turkey so I decided to slow down first. I have already gone from thirty marlboro reds to fourteen marlboro lights a day. I am looking for a brand that has the least amount of harmful ingredients such as tar and nicotine, but I cant find any information anywhere. Can you please help me, I would really appreciate it.

google normally sorts this sort of thing out. --Tagishsimon (talk)
I know this is going to sound trite and patronising, but go for Cold Turkey. That way, you can look yourself in the mirror every day and say, "I have given up smoking". I had to stop 20 years ago when the surgeon said to me, "You have two choices - you can live - or you can smoke - but not both". Guess what? I gave up there and then. And I used to smoke 60 King Size every day, and had done for 20 years plus. And guess what? I crave a cigarette every day of my life. Moral? Once a smoker..................... However, I now see a Cardiologist every 6 months and he always asks me this question, "At Today's prices for 60 per day of the brand you used to smoke, how much money have you saved over the last 20 years?" And at today's prices, the answer in Pounds Sterling is - £128,115, which is equivalent to around US $250,000. Still want to give up smoking? Best wishes and lots of strength - there's no easy way. Oh, by the way, the day I got home from Intensive Care, I bought a packet of 20 of my usual brand - opened it and threw one in the trash can, and kept the remaining 19 in my bedside cabinet where they remain untouched to this day, despite having moved home four times since then. You see, I will never describe myself as a Non-Smoker - Oh No - I will always be a Smoker who is only one cigarette away from being a 60 a day man again. Go for Cold Turkey.
  • Patches worked for mehotclaws**== 09:04, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
  • I don't think you can get much less harmless when you're already on lights unless you start mint cigarettes. I'd suggest you start slowing down on the number you take a day as soon as you can. - Mgm|(talk) 10:54, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cleaning NES Games

I recently bought a nes and some games from my friend. When i load the game, the game doesn't start; the light on the front flashes on and off and the game stops and starts, i have heard blowing in the cartridge is bad, but i'm not sure, thanks to whoever can help ^.^ 67.8.55.119

Happens a lot in NES games. Blow in the cartridge, insert, if it doesn't work, repeat until it does. -Wooty Woot? contribs 03:27, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
It might be dirty contacts on either the cartridge or the console. If blowing the fluff out of them doesn't work you can buy special 'electrical contact cleaner' (sometimes called 'switch cleaner') at some electronics stores - I got mine at Radio Shack. It's in the form of an aerosol - just squirt it on both the cartridge and into the slot on the console (make sure it's turned off when you do that!) - wait a bit then insert and remove the cartridge a couple of times before trying it again. If it's not dirty contacts, it may be that the contacts inside the console have gotten bent out of shape slightly so that they don't grip the contacts on the cartridge properly. With care you can open the console up and very gently bend them back towards the middle. Basically, it's all a bit chancey - but I've had success reviving an N64 that had bent contacts and GameBoy that had dirty contacts - so you can certainly fix them with care. SteveBaker 04:02, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Actually, at least according to the NES article, blowing on the contacts will make them degrade faster. ColourBurst 05:02, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
I think moisture in your breath could cause corrosion - but that would be a long-term thing. In the short term, it might help...but probably not. If you are concerned about that, buy 'canned air' (also from Radio Shack or similar) which is 100% dry - but if you are following my advice to try switch cleaner, that'll blow the fluff out too. SteveBaker 16:33, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
There used to be NES cleaners that you could buy that would include swabs and rubbing alcohol to clean the contacts on the games, and some sort of cleaning device for the NES itself (it was shaped like a cartridge but with a long handle coming out of it; you would put it in and push it down and up again about five times to clean). The former would be easy to approximate; the latter I don't really recall how it worked, so it is a bit more difficult, I iamgine. --24.147.86.187 14:35, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Modern switch/contact cleaner works much better than rubbing alcohol or whatever. They contain all sorts of solvents and lubricants that not only get rid of the crud - but also make the contacts slide together more smoothely. But if you have bent contact then you'll need to disassemble the console and carefully bend the contacts back into shape. SteveBaker 16:33, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
In my experience, unless the game/console is severely corroded/bent, you can sort that by just shifting the cartridge so it connects differently. Open the flap, push the game sideways and reset. If that doesn't work, try moving it slightly the other way etc. You can usually find a position that works. But in the long term, cleaning would probably be good. Skittle 21:19, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Most difficult authour

I am looking for the name of an author that according to yahoo, among what appears to be the greater population as well, wrote a book that is considered to be one of the most difficult to read in the world. The reason they featured this author is because he has a new book coming out either now or in the very near future and the yahoo article feautred a guy who was obbsessed (in the good way) with this author and book. I would really like to know who the author is and what book they were reffering too. Thanks 24.20.52.246 03:23, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Thomas Pynchon, perhaps. Rmhermen 04:06, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/02/06/214754.php perhaps? He is compared to James Joyce who is often considered the hardest novelist to read. 75.138.84.159 19:32, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Personally I found Joyce harder than Pynchon. Aside from the Dubliners I've never managed to finish a Joyce book. Lisiate 04:11, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copyrighted translations

If I make an English translation of some non-English lyrics to a song, does the copyright on the translation still belong to the original author? Hence, would posting the translation - even sans the original - be copyright infringement?

I guess this is asking for legal advice, but I'm hoping it's an obvious enough question for someone to answer. It's way too trivial to pay a lawyer for. --82.14.68.39 14:15, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

The right to translation is part of copyright ownership, and all translations are derivative works and publishing them without authorization would be a copyright infringement unless it fell under a fair use-like clause (i.e. translating a small snippet). Obviously translating for your own personal use would probably fall under fair use, but posting it on the internet likely would not be. --24.147.86.187 14:32, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Lots of Websites post original song lyrics from CDs without permission of the song writers, so it's probably covered by fair use. NeonMerlin 18:15, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
That doesn't follow. Lots of websites are posting copyrighted material illegally.--Shantavira 09:09, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Lots of people smoke crack cocaine, it must be legal. :-P --24.147.86.187 14:21, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
  • If you took a look at those sites you would notice a lot of them have no clue whatsoever about copyright law. As with books, translation rights to songs belong to whoever wrote it in the first place. Posting a translation would be as much a copyright violation as posting the original work. - Mgm|(talk) 10:48, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] India and UK educational degrees

can u help me in comparing Pre-Degree(Higher Secondary) from India and the 2:2 Honours degree in UK 82.37.252.248 13:34, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

I know nothing about Indian education, but on the British end bear in mind that there are about 100 universities in the UK issuing degrees, with no standardisation of degree quality between them. So to speak of a II:2 Honours degree is misleading; any employer or suchlike would want to know what institution awarded it and in what subject. Algebraist 17:52, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Discrete-time systems

What is the relationship between the energy of a non-minimum phase system and minimum phase system?

      If it's Σ hnon-min(n)= Σ hmin(n),

how do you prove it? d@sa 15:41, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

You're more likely to find scientists at the Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science desk. Assuming that's science. I just plain don't understand it. I assume everything I don't understand is Science. It's a strategy that mostly works. Until I go to countries where they don't speak English. --Dweller 09:59, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Free Stuff?

Greetings,

I am wondering, I have found a site, and I can't find anything wrong with it. I want to know if it's legitimate or not.

Here, click here.

AlexanderTG 17:45, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

One thing you know for absolute sure is that companies don't give stuff away for free without some kind of payback. More to the point, because setting up the mechanisms for 'giving stuff away' also costs money, they have to get more payback than the thing is worth. So - the only question is, how are they getting their payback? The answer to that question is the thing you need to know. SteveBaker 18:18, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Advertisement I guess. They said something about working with other companies like yahoo, eb games and others. Has anybody here actually used it? AlexanderTG 20:17, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if the site is legit, but (at the risk of sounding obvious) if they ever ask you for any money, even 'just for postage/packaging' or whatever, or they ever ask for bank details (even just so they can pay you), or even (personally) if they asked for much personal info, I would back away. Oh, and if they asked you to get other people to sign up, particularly if doing so is required to get the prize. Skittle 21:07, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Here's the terms and conditions. To get the free stuff you have to "complete" offers on the site -- for example signing up for a credit card (they require you to use the card for 1 purchase), signing up for a free trial of something (which probably starts costing money if you don't cancel), or buying a product from a certain online store. It takes about 10 offers to get an Ipod Nano. You can also get points through referrals, but this is not required. So it's not a scam, but it's probably easier to just save up $250 and buy the Ipod instead of going through this site and signing up for a bunch of offers. Dave6 talk 21:24, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Ah. Can I take an offer then just cancel? I don't want to spend money or do any transactions like that. I can't do the credit card thing anyway. 63.215.28.114 21:47, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

I havn't looked into it - but they would be incredibly stupid to give you something in return for some paid service and then let you simply cancel - they would go out of business overnight if they worked that way. I would be very, very surprised if you could get out of it like that. But please check these things in very great detail before you sign up - you could come to regret it big time otherwise. Better still, just don't do it. "There aint no such thing as a free lunch". SteveBaker 22:10, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
There have been a number of accounts posted online of the tribulations people had to go through in an attempt to get an allegedly "free" iPod or other item. It's an incredibly tedious, timeconsuming, and difficult process; expect to spend a couple of months -- and dozens of hours over those months -- complying with requirements and figuring out how to avoid the "incidental" monetary costs that inevitably arise. I suspect you'd find it far, far easier to spend those hours working at some respectable job, and earn the money to just buy whatever you want. —Steve Summit (talk) 22:29, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
A google search for "free ipod expose scam" turns up several of the accounts I mentioned. (The one I remembered reading is the one by David Lazarus at the San Fransciso Chronicle. This one is good, too.) —Steve Summit (talk) 22:38, 18 February 2007 (UTC) (edited 22:56, 18 February 2007 (UTC))

[edit] http://sandbox.adv.ualberta.ca/cms3/deleting a redundant copy of a page

Could an editor with deleting privileges delete one of the two copies of the page 'Invective_against_Swans'?

I added a second copy, thinking the first had been deleted for some reason. The copy that should stay has a title with a capitalized 'A' in 'Against'. Also it's longer and has a note and a reference.

So, the copy that should be deleted is named 'Invective_against_Swans'. The copy that should remain is named 'Invective_Against_Swans'.

This isn't urgent, because I have deleted the "category" link in the copy to be deleted, so the poem doesn't show up twice in the list of WS's poems. Also I've changed the link on the 'Harmonium' page so that it points to the copy that should remain. Rats 17:59, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Hi. This sort of thing is a common problem with different capitalisations of titles. I have turned Invective against Swans into a redirect to Invective Against Swans, by deleting what was there and replacing it with #REDIRECT [[Invective Against Swans]]. This means if someone types Invective against Swans into the search box, or creates a link to it, they will get sent to the page at Invective Against Swans. Click the links to see! This also means someone else is unlikely to do the same thing you did! Oh, and in future you'd probably get a quicker, clearer response if you asked at the Help Desk, as they specialise in Wikipedia-related questions. :-) Skittle 21:02, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bamboo for furnitutes and bowls

Would bamboo be a good material to use to make bowls, plates and furnitures? For example, is it durable, strong, hard to tarnish, etc... Thanks Jamesino 19:20, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Bamboo is used to make items like bowls, plates, an furniture. I have a bamboo container from China that's also fireproof, though I'm unsure of the method. See Bamboo#Other uses. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:26, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
I believe the method would be steaming it at high temperature, like induction hardening. I'll ask my mom though in the morning, she was born in rural Thailand and knows for sure! We have a bunch of those things. [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 08:08, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
How does it compare (in terms of durability and performance) with other wooden materials for bowls, plates and furnitures? Jamesino 20:02, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Well, you just have to look at it. The advantage is that bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants and it is cheap and easy to grow in many climates. Durability wise, I guess it would place somewhere higher then wicker and rattan but not quite pine. It is very widely used in Asian countries to make all of the things mentioned above, PLUS very common are bamboo chopsticks and bamboo steamers. I heard once that over 100 million bamboo chopstics are thrown away every day in China alone, and the article seems to verify that claim. So overall, I don't don't durability and performance are the strong points of bamboo as much as cheapness and versatility. Vespine 21:59, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Look at Scaffolding. The Chinese build huge structures using bamboo scaffolds. Search for "bamboo scaffolding" in Google Images. There are some very nice and impressive pictures which answer at least the "strong" part of the question.A.Z. 23:19, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pepto bismol commercial

This is a dumb question, but I still want to ask. Anyone remember that pepto Bismol commercial in which two children make pancakes for their parents, and just as the father takes a bite, the mother informs him that "We don't have the stuff to make pancakes"? What the hell were pancakes made from?—Preceding unsigned comment added by KeeganB (talk • contribs)

I've never seen Pepto Bismol, but I'm guessing it could be mistaken for flour?--Shantavira 09:49, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
  • When it's white it could look like milk I guesshotclaws**== 11:02, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Pepto Bismol is bright pink...available in either a syrupy liquid or chewable tablet.[4] It for upset stomach, etc. I've never seen the commercial, but I think it's up to the viewer's imagination as to what the children actually use to make the pancakes..but the suggestion is that the pancakes will result in a stomach ailment the Pepto Bismol will relieve. –RHolton≡– 12:43, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] invention

help me out..what is long useful and invented by a black american

Traffic lights!! At least, the ones near my home are rather long... List of African-American inventors would be useful to peruse, huh. V-Man737 11:05, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
There's the Category:African American inventors and Notable black innovators, inventors and scientists. ---Sluzzelin, around noon, today (UTC)

[edit] stumper questions

What are good questions (riddles?) to stump a person with considerable knowledge? Include the answer. Thank you!

What is brown and sticky? --TotoBaggins 03:41, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
And what is the answer?
A stick. --TotoBaggins 03:54, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Here's one that I just solved a couple of minutes ago from GEB. Probably copyrighted all to hell, but who cares? Achilles is talking to his friend the Tortoise on the phone and you can only "hear" Achilles's side of the conversation. I cut out the beginning and the end of the conversation to save typing (they're discussions about music only obliquely related to the actual riddle). Email me for the solution, I don't want to ruin it.
...Speaking of fiddling, how would you like to come over and listen to one of the sonatas for unaccompanied violin by your favorite composer JS Bach? I just bought a marvelous recording of them. I still can't get over the way Bach uses a single violin to create a piece with such interest.
A headache too? That's a shame. Perhaps you should just go to bed.
I see. Have you tried counting sheep?
Oh, oh I see. Yes I fully know what you mean. Well if it's THAT distracting perhaps you'd better tell it to me and let me try to work on it too.
A word with the letters 'A', 'D', 'A', 'C' consecutively inside it... Hmm... What about "abracadabra"?
True. ADAC occurs backwards, not forwards, in that word.
Hours and hours? It sounds like I'm in for a long puzzle, then. Where did you hear this infernal riddle?
You mean he looked like he was meditating on esoteric Buddhist matters but in reality he was just trying to think up complex word puzzles?
Aha!- the snail knew what this fellow was up to. But how did you come to talk to the snail?
Say, I once heard a word puzzle a little bit like this one. Do you want to hear it? Or would it just drive you further into distraction?
I agree- can't do any harm. Here it is: What's a word that begins with the letters "HE" and also ends in with "HE"?
Very ingenious- but that's almost cheating. It's certainly not what I meant!
Of course you're right- it fulfills the conditions but it's sort of a "degenerate" solution. There's another solution which I had in mind.
That's exactly it! How did you come up with it so fast?
So here's a case where having a headache actually mgiht have helped you rather than hindering you. Excellent! But I'm still in the dark on your "ADAC" puzzle.
Congratulations! Now maybe you'll be able to get to sleep! So tell me, what IS the solution?
Well normally I don't like hints but all right. What's your hint?
I don't know what you mean by "figure" and "ground" in this case.
Certainly I know Mosaic II! I know ALL of Escher's works. After all, he's my favorite artist. In any case, I've got a print of Mosaic II hanging on my wall, in plain view from here.
Mosaic II is printed in the book, but you can view it here --frothT
Yes, I see all the black animals.
Yes, I also see how their negative space -what's left out- defines the white nimals.
So THAT's what you mean by "figure" and "ground". But what does that have to do with the "ADAC" puzzle?
Oh, this is too tricky for me I think I'M starting to get a headache.
You want to come over now? But I thought-
Very well. Perhaps by then I'll have thought of the right answer to YOUR puzzle, using your figure-ground hint, relating it to MY puzzle.
I'd love to play them for you.
--frothT 03:49, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Which satement is false
  1. At least one of these ten statements is false.
  2. At least two of these ten statements are false.
  3. At least three of these ten statements are false.
  4. At least four of these ten statements are false.
  5. At least five of these ten statements are false.
  6. At least six of these ten statements are false.
  7. At least seven of these ten statements are false.
  8. At least eight of these ten statements are false.
  9. At least nine of these ten statements are false.
  10. At least ten of these ten statements are false.
None of them. Note that's not the same as #10. Gödel's incompleteness theorem. --frothT 04:13, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Fair comment, but the intended puzzle can retrieved by changing the lead-in. "Each of the following statements is either true or false. Which are which?" --Anon, Feb. 16, 00:31 (UTC).
  • What English word is nine letters long, and can remain an English word at each step as you remove one letter at a time, right down to a single letter. List the letter you remove each time and the words that result at each step.
Startling, starting, staring, string, sting, sing, sin, in, i. Found via google I'm afraid --frothT 04:11, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Accepting anagrams: Anticeremonialist, Nonmaterialities, Ornamentalities, Interlaminates, Maternalities, Matrilineate, Trilaminate, Terminalia, Latimeria, Material, Taliera, Retail, Alter, Rate, Tea, At, A. Not sure how many of those are archaic though. 213.48.15.234 08:33, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?
Queue --frothT 04:04, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Mom and Dad have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?
Five --frothT 04:03, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Seven? --TotoBaggins 04:12, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Seven? I can see 8 if you don't get the riddle but seven? Each daughter has one brother. There's only one brother. 4 daughters + 1 brother = 5 kidlins --frothT 04:17, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
How many people in the family? == 5 kidlins + mom + dad == 7. --TotoBaggins 04:21, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Ooh, nice catch --frothT 20:00, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Well, suppose the Mim and Dad had their daughters in previous marriages...you can come up with almost any answer for the total! SteveBaker 01:54, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
  • I turn polar bears white
and I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
and girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
and normal people look like celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
and make your champane bubble.
If you sqeeze me, I'll pop.
If you look at me, you'll pop.
Do you know what I am?
− Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 03:56, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
ANSWERS PLEASE! Gracias.
I'm trying! --frothT 04:09, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Water, or maybe not?... 惑乱 分からん 13:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
I amended this one (the original poster forgot the last line). An interesting thing about this riddle is that your ability to solve it is inversely proportional to your intelligence and education. --TotoBaggins 15:44, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Is the answer "no"? --frothT 20:01, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
"Yes!" :) --TotoBaggins 00:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Q: What do a fish and a pig have in common? A: They both have gills, except the pig. --TotoBaggins 04:23, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
(Groan) Don't you have a ring you need to take back to Kansas? Clarityfiend 13:09, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Actually, I'm on a quest to pour water on the Witch-king of Angmar. --TotoBaggins 00:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Two from me....

What's orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot.

There's also the riddle of the Sphinx, answered correctly by Oedipus (which brought him fame and glory... and misfortune and misery: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening?" The answer is "man", referring to phases of life (crawling, walking, using a stick)

By the way a "stumper" is slang for a wicketkeeper. Depending on the person's nationality, that could very well "stump" them. --Dweller 13:14, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

What's the difference between a bicycle? One of its legs is both the same. Depending on their personality, this will greatly please or annoy them. Unless they already know it, which is likely.
A boy has twice as many sisters as brothers, but his sister has the same number of brothers as sisters. How many siblings are there in this family? Skittle 00:29, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
One I like is the old one about the guy who accidentally drops his gun - then he walks a mile south, a mile east and a mile north - finds his gun right there on the ground and uses it to shoot a bear...what colour is the bear? Well, the only place you can walk in those directions and get back to the exact same place and shoot a bear is at the North Pole - where the bears are (of course) white. Lots of people know that one - but if you ask the same question - except instead of him shooting a bear, he shoots a man - can you still tell where he was at the time? Is there still only one possible place this could happen? Two places? Lots of places? SteveBaker 01:54, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Suppose he did this walking at the South pole? How far East can you go from there?? V-Man737 02:07, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
The Southern Hemisphere answer is that he starts out a bit over a mile north of the South Pole, such that when he walks a mile east, he makes one or more exact complete circles of a parallel of latitude. There are an infinite number of possible starting points, all in a small area. As for bears, though, they are land animals and do not live anywhere near the North Pole. There are none in Antarctica either. --Anon, February 16, 2007, 04:13 (UTC).
Does anything live at the North pole? And for the South pole, you could say he shoots a penguin! Aww, sad... Then again, do they live right at the South pole? V-Man737 07:05, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Well done - yes, the answer is "infinity" - all points in a band from one mile north of the south pole to a point one mule north of where the earth's cross section has a circumpherence of one mile....plus the North pole. But Polar Bears can definitely be found at the North pole - they are excellent swimmers (According to Polar bear: "The polar bear is a semi-aquatic marine mammal"!!) and they move from one floating ice chunk to another in search of prey. "there is evidence of polar bears all the way across the Arctic." ----

Here's a good one that a friend of mine constructed in October of 2005, at which point it had a unique solution:

In a restaurant there is a round table with six seats equally spaced. Three married couples are each occupying a pair of adjacent seats at the table.
Two of the men are seated adjacently; two of the men are seated opposite each other. Likewise, two of the women are seated adjacently, and two of the women are seated opposite each other.
All six people are citizens of the same country -- in fact, none of them has ever been outside it -- and each of them has become fluent in all of the official languages of the country. Nobody at the table speaks any other language, though.
Although the conversation takes place in a mixture of languages, everyone around the table prefers to speak in one particular language. It is, in fact, a truly perfect, symmetrical example of politically correct diversity:
  • each of the three men prefers a different language;
  • each of the three women prefers a different language; and
  • in each married couple, the two people prefer different languages (which must make things interesting when they get to arguing!)
Two people who prefer the same language are in adjacent seats; so are another two who prefer the same language as each other; so also are the third two.
What country is the restaurant in?

(The OP asked for answers. I'll provide one in a day or two, if nobody else does. Here is a giant hint, which I have made small so you don't accidentally mouse over it and see.) —Steve Summit (talk) 13:19, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

I guess that the information is largely irrelevant, except for the fact it is a country with (at least?) three official languages? Aren't there several of these countries? South Africa? India? Have I misunderstood anything? 惑乱 分からん 14:27, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Certainly, there are countries with three or more languages -- the question is, which one? (And that's what the rest of the information is relevant to.) --Steve Summit (talk) 15:44, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
For anyone still wondering, I'm pretty sure (though the friend I got this from is being coy about confirming it) that the original answer was Switzerland Belgium, and that the additional answer today is South Africa. —Steve Summit (talk) 17:08, 19 February 2007 (UTC) [fixed 18:44, 19 February 2007 (UTC)]

[edit] "God's beta testing" theory?

Is there a term for the theory that the universe is still unfinished and that (the) God(s) is/are intermittently making updates to the laws by which it runs? Such a term must exist, since such a theory would be so useful -- applied to the real world, it would provide hope and deter complacency; applied to speculative fiction, it would mean a licence to retcon. NeonMerlin 01:22, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

The closest thing I can think of is the Gnostic concept of the demiurge, which proposes the Earth is a flawed creation of a lesser god rather than the true diety. - SimonP 03:20, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Interesting concept. So "laws" like gravity would be mutable and tomorrow it could work differently. Wow. Reminds me of joints and wine on the beach a long time ago. --Justanother 04:19, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
What a weird idea: God as an uber-Bill Gates. Clarityfiend 07:47, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Who says that there IS a God?--88.109.204.136 06:57, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Tons of people. V-Man737 07:08, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
At its heart it sounds like pure Hume-ian skepticism — just because certain things happened one way in the past doesn't mean they'll happen that way in the future — but mixed with theological underpinnings. In any case it would seem to me to be an unlikely theological position: it makes God's intentions difficult to understand, it does not jive with the relative stability of the observable universe over the past 10,000 years, and it would not jive with any of the long-standing messages put forth by most scriptures. --24.147.86.187 15:04, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

If God exists and made the world, then he made a right pigs ear of it, wars, sickness, adverse weather, crime, etc, so lets hope that it is a beta and that the final result is better than of now.--88.110.98.40 10:37, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

This is only a temporary universe. God will destroy it eventually. So, if Earth is the beta, then heaven is the final version. AlexanderTG 20:05, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm - the problem is that the whole idea of beta testing is that you keep making beta releases until you get it right - then you let the last beta "go gold". Given the mess that this beta is in - we're going to need at least another beta iteration before we rush into a half-finished "final release".  :-) SteveBaker 22:32, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
What if we don't ever reach alpha or RC1? --Ouro (blah blah) 20:01, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Male Orgasm

Is it possible to increase the pleasure of male orgasms? I used to have extremely pleasurable toe curling orgasms.. but now they just don't feel that way. No i am not old and i don't need viagra.. thank you!

This site says what food can lower the pleasure. There was also something I remember about a hold and cold treatment, but that might just be the strength of ejaculation. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 16:25, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
But always be careful about information on sex related websites. Not all are thrustworthy. - Akamad 00:21, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Was that a freudian slip, or a very witty comment? Either way, I enjoyed it.  :) JackofOz 11:12, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Oh boy. Sex-related websites are crazy, they invent and perpetuate all kinds of techniques that never work a wink for anybody I don't think. [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 08:18, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Edging is the best way to increase the pleasure of an orgasm. But you might need some practice. - Mgm|(talk) 10:50, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
  • It means masturbating until you almost start ejaculating, then stop to recover, and start again after a waiting period and repeat it multiple times. - Mgm|(talk) 08:30, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Transit visa at Frankfurt

I plan to travel from India by Air India to Chicago via Frankfurt. There is a two-hour stop at Frankfurt airport for cleaning the aircraft. Do I have to get a transit visa? Jay

I would phone the airline - they'll have good info. SteveBaker 16:14, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
When I had a long layover in Frankfurt five years ago, no transit visa was required. Matchups 17:15, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] February 18

[edit] Absinthe

I live in the UK so have easy access to absinthe. I will be shortly going to america to visit a friend and they want me to bring some over for them. After reading the absinthe page it seems as though america is pretty much the only country in the world that is still funny about all things absinthe. If i were to take a bottle over there would they actually take it off me? would any further actions come from this i.e. would i be considered a smuggler or something? would they even notice i had it? or would they just let me take it through seeing as it cannot be considered a threat in the same way hard drugs are?

The US customs guys with the guns and fat fingers think that it is forbidden to bring the stuff in the country. I would not irritate them. --Zeizmic 13:25, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
The absinthe article discusses this in detail: besides the U.S., it is illegal in parts of Canada, Vanuatu and some Swiss absinthe is illegal in France (because of other components besides thujone) Rmhermen 16:30, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
U.S. airline security is screening everyone's bag for liquids and gels. I would suspect that they would require the same guidelines for incoming traffic as well as outgoing. So, you might not even get it past security if you have a bottle of it. Dismas|(talk) 17:40, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
The US customs people are easily the most humorless customs folks on the planet - I truly wouldn't want to do anything to provoke them in the least. Whilst it might turn out that this stuff is legal, you might not enjoy the body cavity searches that might result from figuring that out. Don't do it. SteveBaker 18:00, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Nevertheless, it's great that you're going to visit your friend. It seems absinthe has made your heart grow fonder. :) JackofOz 03:40, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Am I the only person who got this joke...? --161.45.243.112 19:14, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
It's an illicit drug status in the entire United States as far as I know! [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 08:10, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

I swear I saw some in New Orleans

I beleive it's legal to possess and drink in the states, just not sell. If you empty out a bottle of british liquor, poor in some absinthe, and declare it as an alchoholic beverage, I doubt they'll give you much trouble. -- febtalk 11:45, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Congratulations. You've just advised someone to deliberately attempt to mislead US Customs officials. Way to go. Instead of just getting his bottle confiscated, he'll be detained and possibly arrested or deported. I recommend having a look at our article and the linked references to get started, if you have questions about legality: Absinthe#United States. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:51, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
I doubt it. That import clause seems more intended to prohibit nations from exporting it as a good, rather than a single person to take it in as a personal favor. And also, what's the likelyhood of a customs official testing the substance inside a bottle in the first place, just to see if it's a slightly more shady thing? -- febtalk 15:02, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
I was going to say that a green liquid might arouse some suspicion but then I remembered that mouth wash is commonly green and thus the Customs official might think it's that. Dismas|(talk) 15:15, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
That's bloody stupid advice - do you have any idea how unpleasant your life would be if they caught you deliberately running an illegal substance through customs disguised as something else? If this is on their list of banned substances, you could be in a world of hurt. They won't say "Oh - this isn't so bad - we'll just ignore it" - they'll go into hard-ass mode and start going down the list of things they are required by Homeland Security to do to people who bring illegal substances into the country - that list won't have a special exception for Absynth. They'll do this because it'll improve their arrest rate and because that makes their job more secure. So expect that infamous body cavity search. Expect to be kept in a jail cell for 24 hours while they watch what you poop out to see if you swallowed any condoms stuffed with heroin. Expect to get deported and banned from ever returning to the USA. Compared to the small benefit of pleasing a friend who is already going to be very happy to see you and just as pleased if you bring him/her something legal. Just don't do it...it's stupid, stupid, stupid. SteveBaker 16:46, 19 February 2007 (UTC)


Dude if youve heard of Marilyn Manson then you probably should know Absinthe is banned in the US.

It all seems so over egged just for some damn alcohol, if i can expect those kind of things to happen (i.e. at the least get it confiscated - at worst deportation, body searches (hell no!)) then i'm not bothering, after all i can get the stuff whenever i want it is just my friend that cant! hehe.

The situation is strange indeed. The U.S. Customs website says that you can't import Absinthe or any alcoholic beverages containing Artemisia absinthium. So the short answer to your question is no, you can't bring it in. Have your friends come visit you in the U.K. and drink it there. The odd thing is that the FDA regulation found at 21 CFR 172.510 says Artemisia is a legal flavoring in the U.S. if the finished food is thujone-free. And it is now believed that Absinthe is thujone-free. So ask your friends to write letters to the Customs Service suggesting that they update their own regulations. Crypticfirefly 04:42, 21 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Sea Horses

Hello I would like to know where in the state of FL do you locate Sea Horses. How do I find that info?

In the ocean. Hahahaha. They live in shallow areas with lots of cover. They like to hide in rocks, kelp, coral, etc. Rya Min 03:21, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

They live in the sea, <personal attack removed>. --MikeHunt35 10:33, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Maybe you can go down to the docks over there and contact some fisherman to help you out or something. I'd guess it'll be very hard to find them by yourself. Jayant,18 Years, India • contribs 14:56, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] can i open account with "paypal" if my country is not listed in paypal ?

What country are you in? If paypal has one of those million-country drop-down menus, then I don't see why you can't? Better wait for another response. [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 08:15, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
If memory serves me right, I think PayPal have to check on your bank details. They do this (bizarrely) by attempting to electronically deposit two small payments (less than $0.50 US) into your account - if this works then you're in. If it doesn't then there is a problem. So if your bank can do that then you might be OK despite being in an 'unsupported' country. But why not just try? What have you got to lose? SteveBaker 16:50, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fabricated entry

I know and can prove that an entire entry is false. A user created an entry about an organization that does not and has never existed. How can this be deleted? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.125.142.253 (talk • contribs) 17:01, 18 February 2007

Bring it up at Articles For Deletion -- but be prepared to argue your case. —Steve Summit (talk) 17:32, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
OP seems to be talking about this article. Looks legit, but I wouldn't put anything past a bunch of students. They get up to some weird stuff (both on Wiki and back in 1834).--Shantavira 19:39, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
There are lots of Google hits for "Order of the Bull's Blood Rutgers" - I'm pretty sure it's real. Which probably means that our questioner is a member who is trying to restore some measure of secrecy?! (Hint: If you get Google hits for your secret society then someone blabbed and it ain't secret anymore!) SteveBaker 22:14, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
I have no idea whether the group is real or not, but if you google "Order of the Bull's Blood" Rutgers -wikipedia, you get a very limited number of results. Once question becomes, how many of those hits are based on info from Wikipedia without attribution? I haven't looked into the edit history of the article to know how long it's been around...–RHolton≡– 14:05, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
The policy is clear: If a statement can't be attributed to a reliable source, then it should be removed. In this case, the very existence of the subject can't be attributed to a reliable source; thus the entire article should be deleted. --mglg(talk) 01:54, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
That may be, but: this Reference Desk is not the place to carry about the debate. As I mentioned before, articles potentially for deletion are discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion. —Steve Summit (talk) 02:14, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] footnotes/references

footnotes/referecnes I am not able to get my footnotes to show up in the reference section of the article. I have footnoted using the <ref><ref> feature and then put <reference> down in the notes/reference section at the end of the article, and the footnote citations do not appear (although footnote numbers appear in the text of the article. Please provide assistance. footnotes/references —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rodhurst (talk • contribs).

you have to type <references/> in the reference section not <reference>. In the future, the help desk is the place to ask wikipedia related questions. Jon513 22:35, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
The help desk being found at WP:HD. Skittle 20:55, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] February 19

[edit] Best type of Fencing

Which of the 3 types of fencing is most internationally popular or prestigious? Epee, foil or sabre? Thanks. Jamesino 02:18, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

I prefer wooden ones myself, give much more privacy.
I would think foil is the most popular as it is usually taught first. Rmhermen 01:38, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Épeé is probably the hardest weapon to master. Foil shouldn't be underestimated for its complicated Right of Way rules. Sabre seems to be the most 'prestigious' weapon, only because its equipment costs leagues more than the other weapons'. If you're asking which one to pursue, choose whichever appeals to you. Sabre is more power, épée is aggressive, and foil is ninja skills. z ε n  08:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)


In the US foil is the most common at most competitions there is only like half as many people fencing epee as foil. The fastest of the three is saber but a lot of people thinksaber looks like people hitting each other with sticks. I think foil is the best. Foil Fencer 04:44, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bird Migration & Avian Flu risk (associated with H5N1 viral strain)

Some background first...

I am heavily involved in making pandemic preparations (for a large international company) around the bird flu risk, due to the appearance of the new H5N1 strain of virus.

We were originally warned by medical experts back in 2005 about a 2nd wave of H5N1 hitting the northern hemisphere in 2006/7. This seems to be happening, but on a lesser scale than anticipated.

Therefore my QUESTION concerning bird migration:

With the exceptionally warm winter in the northern hemisphere in late 2006/early 2007, does this have an impact on the bird migration routes of swans, geese and ducks (that are the main carriers of H5N1)? Is the risk of such species appearing higher or lower for the more populated regions of Europe? Does this have an impact on our possible risk exposure to H5N1 (even though it has yet to mutate into a human strain)?

Thx in advance.

XocetmanXocetman 11:42, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

As a famous flu-doctor said: "When you finally get whacked by this flu, it won't be from a duck." (more or less). --Zeizmic 12:56, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Yep - you can take that to the bank! Humans can catch bird flu from birds - but look at the numbers - a couple of hundred people have died from bird flu over four or five YEARS - and then only in parts of the world where people keep flocks of ducks and chickens in and around their homes and are close enough that when a duck sneezes, they inhale the results. Think of all of those billions of people who are more exposed to the disease than you will ever be - then think about just 200 infections. Statistically, the chances of someone who doesn't farm birds to catch it from a passing sparrow is about as likely as them dying because a passing bird smacked into an aircraft engine and made the plane crash onto their house while they were in bed asleep...it's that remote. Bird flu as it is today is an utter irrelevence compared to almost any other disease you can think of. The huge concern is if/when the disease mutates and turns into a human flu. If that happens (and it probably will eventually), it's irrelevent what the flu is doing to birds - you'll catch it from your kid who caught it from another kid at school - or you'll catch it from a co-worker who is too stupid to take the day off sick when they get the symptoms. SteveBaker 16:20, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
FWIW, I can look out my window and see some Canada geese, which is quite strange for this area and time. V-Man737 01:54, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
To hell with bird flu, we must prepare ourselves for the real threat! 69.81.50.3 17:27, 21 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Class Action?

I was recently contacted by some law firm from Miami, Florida about some class-action lawsuit they were assembling that involved a bunch of former and current Wikipedia editors that are suing the Wikimedia Foundation for compensation for all the time they spent improving the site without pay. Has anyone else been contacted about this? What do you think I should do? I've been sweating bullets since I got this phone call. Thanks. Snowboarder77 03:35, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

We don't offer legal advice, but I don't see how anyone can sue for not being paid from volunteering. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 03:41, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Sounds like a scam.--ChesterMarcol 03:45, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
What are they asking you to do? I'm not sure why you're "sweating bullets." Although I'm not a lawyer, I too can't see any merit to the alleged suit, but why should that cause you concern? Are they asking you to contribute money up front? Another question that comes to mind: how did they get your phone number? –RHolton≡– 04:37, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Not interested at this time. If they plan on suing Google to get money for all the searches we do, count me in.scam -- ReyBrujo 04:51, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
There are indeed scams where law firms cast a wide net looking for disgruntled people to use as plaintiffs. The goal is to settle out of court, the lawyers pocketing most of the money, plaintiffs get a pittance for their trouble. These lawyers have got to be exceptionally clueless (listening to Daniel Brandt?), please share the name so I can blacken it to everyone I know. Stan 04:58, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
If you have the name of the law firm or any other information about the case, you can always pass it along to the Wikimedia Foundation's legal counsel, Brad Patrick. (He is User:BradPatrick here on Wikipedia, but for legal issues you're best to contact him offwiki via email: bpatrick at wikimedia.org.) TenOfAllTrades(talk) 05:33, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
I had a similar experience, a gentleman wanted to sell me a portion of the Brooklyn Bridge. V-Man737 11:41, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Now, I know why I all those editors I interact with are so grumpy.... --Zeizmic 16:56, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

user:Snowboarder77 has been indefinitely blocked for trolling. Corvus cornix 19:44, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fencing

I might decide to take up fencing next year at my college team; is there anything I should know? (Let's say I've read the articles) [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 07:59, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

  • Get a good instructor and make sure you always were protective gear. I don't know how the application procedure is in your college, but you probably want to check how to get in ahead of time. - Mgm|(talk) 10:40, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Usually you'd want to start with Foil, and see how you like it. Épée and sabre may seem more fun, but foil is the most forgiving when it comes to rules and regulations. Buy CHEAP starting equipment. Do not spend more than 200 USD on the basic equipment, because you may not like the sport enough to continue your investment. Like other sports of this nature, it may seem fun to give it a go with play bouts, but these exacerbate bad habits and encourage bad form - stick to drills until you are at competition level. Fencing is a great sport and for the short time I have been involved, I have taken lifetimes of enjoyment from foil. Where are you going to college? z ε n  08:41, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Doing others' homework

Why is it, when someone obviously asks a homework related question here, that the first answer is usually "we don't do homework here" but starting with the second response people nevertheless start discussing the original question? This way, I don't see school kids stop asking for others to do their homework. Please answer quickly, my teacher wants it till tomorrow! Thanks, --82.83.96.158 13:12, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps because the best and most useful response is to guide the student to where they can find the information for themselves, which is a) what the Ref Desk is for and b) a sound educational response. If the teacher who set the question did not want the students to refer to any kind of reference material, they would have been more likely to set the question in exam conditions. --Dweller 13:22, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Well, I don't think editors should be posting "Do your own homework" sentences if that's all they have to post. As Dweller pointed out, most editors like to help you out by pointing you to sources or even outlining a reasonable approach to solve the problem. There are ways to help out without in effect doing the original posters' homework for them. "Do your own homework"' should never be the reply, in my opinion. (Of course this is a meta-comment and therefore might get removed, just like the meta-meta comment in this sentence) ---Sluzzelin 13:32, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
When someone comes here with "I have a homework assignment, and I can't get started, can someone help?" it almost always get a positive, helpful response. When someone posts what is obviously a homework question, it seems right to call them out on it and mildly chastise them for being lazy...following up with a helpful nudge in the right direction is also good. –RHolton≡– 13:44, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
The problem with calling out on the poster's laziness is that it might violate WP:AGF. Don't get me wrong, I'm just as guilty, and once posted what I thought was a very clever and witty response about the brain's process of learning, but later I regretted it because it made the original poster (and myself) look bad. Of course, we shouldn't deliver ready-made answers to homework questions, and I understand someone posting a warning so overly eager editors wont give the answer. I don't mind referring to this, if someone is also offering help, I just don't think the desks need to be all too didactic in tone. I appreciate how diligently most of the editors at the mathematics desk handle these questions. ---Sluzzelin 13:55, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
In most cases, the answers people get here are far more detailed and nicely explained than would be required for a homework assignment - the student will probably learn far more from actually paying attention to our replies than they would have done from struggling to do the work by themselves. Besides - what difference whether they learn it from us or from their teacher or textbook? Too many people forget that the purpose of education is to impart knowledge - not to measure it. If a kid comes here with a question and actually goes away with some knowledge and insight - then the world is a better place. SteveBaker 16:11, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
It depends upon the purpose of the homework, which we are not privy to. If the entire point of the homework is to find information, your analysis is correct. However, if the point of the homework is to give the student practice in using a particular resource, or to check for understanding, or to reinforce methods learned, or...well you get the idea. There are benefits to doing your own homework that go beyond simply getting information. It would be a lot easier for me to sit down and do my son's algebra homework than for me to sit with him and help him to learn the principles involved, but only one of those two ways will help my son be successful in life. –RHolton≡– 16:28, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually, almost all of those people posting 'homework' questions never seem to come back. --Zeizmic 16:59, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

It does actually say on the reference desk itself, that "The Wikipedia reference desk works like a library reference desk. Users leave questions on the reference desk and Wikipedia volunteers work to help you find the information you need." (Emphasis mine.) It doesn't say we'll answer the questions for you. It's all too easy to cut and paste a response without understanding why it's the correct answer, or even bothering to read it properly. IMO, questions that are blatently homework should be (politely) pointed towards helpful articles, with a few tips or the start of the answer if it's a particularly hard question. Spiral Wave 17:26, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Images

Can anyone suggest any free easy-to-use software that can be used to lighten, crop etc images? This is to make them possibly clearer. Simply south 17:22, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

This could go to the Computing desk, but I generally find that any photo package will do a good job, and many come free with the camera. However, it does take a good many hours to become proficient. --Zeizmic 17:32, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
I'm a huge fan od "The GIMP". I work with images professionally and I find GIMP to be better than programs that cost a small fortune...and it's free. The website is here: [5].
Adobe Photoshop Elements is by far the most popular. May I also suggest, google "free online photo editor" for a wide selection of websites that allow you to do just that without installing software. ofcourse, they're less advanced, slower and more cumbersome than Photoshop Elements. 209.53.181.150 18:20, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Of you had an Apple Mac, then iPhoto will do it easily.--88.110.158.71 20:16, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Picasa, does that and also manages your photos. --antilivedT | C | G 03:56, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Serbia

I may be visiting Serbia this summer. What is the general attitude toward Americans? Is it different in the cities vs rural areas?129.112.109.250 18:06, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Nothing to worry about; Serbs are generally friendly towards foreigners, and there are plenty of foreign visitors. I've never heard of any incident caused by anti-Americanism. While the general attitude against America is fairly negative, it's more on political than on emotional level and it doesn't tend to pass to individual Americans. Duja► 08:15, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How soccerballs and other stiched balls are sewn.

Hello,

I'm trying to find out about how soccer balls are sewn. They are spherical with the stiches on the inside. How is it possible? I can't seam to find information on this anywhere (pun intended).

Thanks,

Joshua Feinberg

One of the science or learning channels on American cable TV is running a show on how different things are made. They may have done a segment on soccer balls. While I was in a hotel in Virginia, I happened to catch the episode on golf and tennis balls. You might try seeing if they have a DVD of it out. I'm sorry, I don't know which channel specifically or even the show name. Dismas|(talk) 18:35, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
The show you're referring to is probably How It's Made, which airs on the Discovery Channel in the United States. However, it doesn't appear that any of the episdoes deal with soccer balls. Carom 21:49, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
I hope someone comes along with a specific, ball-based answer. Usually, things with the stitching on the inside are mostly sown while inside-out, leaving a tiny bit unsown. Then the thing is turned the right way round through the tiny hole. Then the last bit is carefully sown. Skittle 20:24, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Unfortunately the Football (ball) article doesn't go into the details of construction (but includes all sorts of interesting info about shapes). It does list as a source a book entitled 'How Soccer balls are made' though. Oh and I'm pretty sure Skittle's right, the balls are stitched inside out. Lisiate 21:01, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Yes, I too agree with Skittle. Traditionally the unsown part was then laced up. Tough luck if you head the ball and you make contact with the laces ;-) Downunda 22:09, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
If you examine a soccer ball carefully, you'll find that one or two of the 90 edges (that is, the seams between adjacent pentagons and hexagons) has some diagonal stitches externally visible. (I'd post a picture, but I don't have a ball handy.) These are, indeed, the last ones that were stitched, from the outside, ater the ball was turned right-side-out, after all the rest of the seams (edges) were, as Skittle and Lisiate suggested, sewn more easily and conventionally while the nacent ball was turned inside-out.
You don't have to examine an American football at all carefully to find the last set of stitches -- they're the big and hugely obvious ones! (No one has any interest in hiding or minimizing those, as they're vital in throwing a proper spiral pass.)—Steve Summit (talk) 22:42, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Search" & "Go"

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question but can someone please tell me how to clear the history on the "Search" and "Go" box(es). Man thanks.--88.110.158.71 20:14, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

If you're using Firefox, click "Tools" → "Clear Private Data" → "Saved Form Information" → "OK". --TotoBaggins 20:42, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for this, but I am using Safari on my AppleMac, any other ideas will be appreciated.

I'm not at home right now and therefore not on my Mac, so I'm sorry I can't jog my memory with the program in front of me. But... If you pull down, I believe it's the File menu, there is an option to "Reset Safari". This should delete your search histories although it will also delete all your cookies. So the next time you go to a web site for which you are always logged in, you will have to re-log in since the cookie for that site will have been deleted. Dismas|(talk) 07:48, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for this, much appreciated.. Have yet to try it but I am sure that is the way forward.--88.110.171.142 11:02, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

I did and it was! Thanks again--88.110.171.142 11:04, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Male super orgasm tehnique

By an accident I happened once to rub with my hand my lower stomach just abowe pubic bone during an orgasm, and it resulted incredibly great orgasm. My hand was like enchanted, when I felt how good it feels my hand automatically rubbed that place harder and harder, very strongly and deeply. After that I have rubbed my lower stomach almost every time when I have orgasm. This is why I usually want to have sex at doggy style -my hand is free to rub my stomach. My theory is that this rubbing stimulates prostate. Is that a plausible theory? However I have tried standard prostate massaging methods through anus or perineum without any result or even resulting to temporal unability to have orgasm. Why does rubbing stomach make better orgasm? Nitsimagoi 23:46, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

The prostate sounds strange, but I don't see it unlikely that this could be another erogenous zone. 惑乱 分からん 02:42, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] February 20

[edit] All-district performer in US high school sports (football)

Hello, I am looking for a citable source with a good definition of "all-district performer" in US high school sports. This is to improve our article on Vince Young. Every sports site I can think of takes for granted that the reader already knows what this means. Google brings back plenty of hits, but all the ones I have checked are all just saying "so-and-so was an all-district performer". Vince Young played high school football in Houston, Texas if that affects the definition. I don't know if the criteria is standard across the nation or not. Thanks in advance for any help. Johntex\talk 00:02, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

It certainly is a tough one, as it is a relatively new term and seems to be used loosely in most cases. However, this indicates (to quote) "Being chosen All-District is quite a high honor because it shows the kids' talents are recognized by other coaches in the (eight-team) district." The article continues in that general vein, making "All-District" sound like a runner-up to MVP. Any other information would need to be inferred from the context. V-Man737 01:46, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Googling indicates it likely means he was among the best in Division 5-A, or the quintile of Texas football-playing schools with the highest (male) enrollment. -- Mwalcoff 03:14, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Actually, in this case it means he was rated as one of the top performers at his position among the players at the 8 schools in the subdivision (district) of AAAAA that his school played in. Being among the best in all of AAAAA would be "all-state". Other possibilities are "all-area" (group of districts) and "all-region" (group of areas) and "all-city" (best in metro area, regardless of district or school size). *Mishatx*-In\Out 03:35, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
AAAAA? V-Man737 03:41, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
AAAAA as opposed to AAAA AAA AA or A. Now you see why we need a good source to help explain this nonsense. *Mishatx*-In\Out 03:44, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Not to mention a more convenient style of referring to different groupings. V-Man737 03:47, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
(grin) True, they are often spoken as 5A, 5A, etc. - so at least it is easier when spoken. Johntex\talk 15:01, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Sad, I thought it could turn into a silly Who's on First? type gag... -"Eyy, you're with the AAA?" -"No, AAAA!" -"AAAA? No way! Play AAA!" -"Why play AAA? Way AAAA!" or something... 惑乱 分からん 15:51, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
Mishatx, from your definitions above, it seems like "all-district" is a distinction given at the school district level? Is that right? If so, then it seems like the honor would mean considerably more or less depending on the school district. Some districts consist of just the one high school, for instance. Do you know any source that defines these terms ("all-district", "all-state", "all-area", etc.)? Johntex\talk 15:01, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
No, it's given at the district level, which is a division with the conference. For instance, 25-AAAAA is a district consisting of schools from the Austin, Bastrop, San Marcos, and Seguin school districts. [6] All school distict or all-city awards might only be given out in larger cities where it makes sense, if given out at all. In Texas, all-district teams are selected by coaches in the district. All other teams are usually selected by a newspaper or media organization. I'm looking for good cites. *Mishatx*-In\Out 17:12, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
See page 5, paragraph 13 of this document. *Mishatx*-In\Out 17:17, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Also page 19, section 28. *Mishatx*-In\Out 17:19, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
AAAAAAAAA! 69.81.50.3 17:24, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sport governing bodies

Our article on women's soccer says that The Football Association of England banned women from playing on member teams' fields from 1921-1971. This struck me as strange not only because of the sexism but because of the fact than any organization had that kind of power. Looking into it more, I found the FA claims jurisdiction over all soccer played in England at every level and has a 500-page rule book detailing everything from goalpost standards to the medical criteria of youth academies that presumably must be followed by every organized league in the country.

We don't have anything like that in America. To use American football as an example, every professional, college, amateur and youth league makes its own rules, although of course the basics are the same everywhere. For example, the two-point conversion was adopted by the NCAA in 1958, the American Football League in 1960, the United States Football League in 1982 and the National Football League in 1994. None of the entities needed permission from anyone else to use it. Similarly, the National Basketball Association has had a 24-second shot clock since the 50s; the NCAA adopted a 45-second shot clock in the 80s (it's now 35 seconds); and some states still don't have a shot clock in high school. If the East Poughkeepsie Over-40 Recreational Basketball League wanted to have a 36-second shot clock, nothing would stop them.

On the other hand, I've read that when the North American Soccer League wanted to adopt some of its own rules, like stopping the clock when the ball was not in play, FIFA threatened to kick the United States out of the association. And this was considered an example of American arrogance.

I guess my question is -- other than to arrange tournaments and the national team, what's the point of a sport governing body like the FA or FIFA? Is some trans-Atlantic cultural gap thing going on here? -- Mwalcoff 00:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Their purpose is to have a uniform rule book for everyone. it simplifies the game when everyone is actually playing the same game. This is especially important in a universal sport like soccerKen 00:49, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes but there are many possible rule variations that don't affect the core of the game, such as how to resolve ties (draws), offsides, substitutions, etc. I'm not a big soccer fan, but I understand FIFA has messed with rules like these over the past several years. If those rules are flexible enough for FIFA to change them back and forth, why does every single league from the top-flight to the high school league need to have the exact same ones? In other words, what's wrong with one league deciding to have three substitutions, another five and another 11? Even if that's not ideal, shouldn't it be the right of individual leagues to make those decisions? -- Mwalcoff 02:28, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
I'd say that since it's such an international sport, people want to make sure they are playing it the same way others are. It's an issue of being able to play the same way no matter where you are, I think - something that American leagues differ in, but seem to be moving toward. V-Man737 02:37, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Exactly - there is a world cup soccer event which a vast number of countries participate. International events are really common. If one country has a different set of rules for their national version then it becomes very hard to arrange such events without all sorts of argument and rancor when one team wants to play with the rules they are used to. With American Football, hardly any other countries have any significant teams - and international games are very rare indeed (at least compared to soccer). So I guess there just isn't the need to standardize. The idea of 'stopping the clock' when the ball goes out of play is a bare-faced way to try to make the sport fit the frequent advertising breaks needed to show live Soccer on US television stations. But when you change the game that way, players end up getting frequent breaks in which they can rest for a while - which totally changes the kind of game and (more importantly) the type of athletes you need in order to play it. So that wasn't a small rule change - it was a HUGE rule change - and one that would have changed the entire nature of the game for purely provincial US reasons. No wonder FIFA nixed it! SteveBaker 05:28, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
There needs to be some standard for rules, so people would compete on equal conditions. I wonder, if NASL really would get their rule through, it would only be an international disadvantage, since the players would lack the endurance to play on a high level throughout the game. 惑乱 分からん 16:26, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Perhaps, but the only losers would be the NASL and its players, so I don't see why FIFA had any business getting involved. It might be best for the purpose of this discussion not to think of any particular examples but just to ask: Isn't it -- I don't know, undemocratic, communistic, illiberal, whatever -- to take away the right of individual leagues to make their own rules, good or bad? -- Mwalcoff 23:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Pardon my Americentricism, and no offense, but as far as I'm concerned, Europe suxxorz. Solely because of this. 69.81.50.3 17:22, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Back to the original issue, if I may. While the original questioner asked about FIFA and FA attempts at standardization, and the issue of American football not needing standardization because it isn't played worldwide, let me go to an intermediate situation: basketball. Surely basketball isn't as dominant globally as football (soccer), but it is played in significant locales. But whie the governing body, FIBA, does have its own playing rules for international contests, it does not mandate them on any individual organization. FIBA has no problem with the most prominent professional organization in the world (the NBA), and others, using extremely different rules. — Michael J 16:16, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What is the German festival during the week before Lent?

65.1.226.216 00:56, 20 February 2007 (UTC)mWhat is the German festival during the week before Lent?65.1.226.216 00:56, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Moved from Help desk. x42bn6 Talk 01:03, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

That would be called Karneval, I believe. V-Man737 01:24, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Fasching redirects to Carnival but the article has no further information. Rmhermen 01:25, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Fasching is just another word for Karneval/Carnival. Chl 01:34, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
See also Rosenmontag. Corvus cornix 18:12, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Accounting Policies & Procedures

Dear Sir,

I am a business man in the Gulf Region. I want to expand it to the area of service / professional rendering business. I will be having income as well as expnses and of course around $ 300,000/- as investment. I am qualified in the Accounting Degree. I will be appointing 2 persons to assist me in the operation.

What minimum Accounting Policies & Procedures I have to set up with before starting a new venture.

Regards

Ajish Mathew

Pardon my asking, but wouldn't your accounting degree give you a better handle on this topic than a random web reference desk? --TotoBaggins 23:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
You need three tons of flax. 69.81.50.3 17:18, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] thinner face

does anyone know how to get a thinner face its really bugging me, because i have an oval face that looks roundish because i've got some fat (or puppy fat) around my jaw-line and cheeks and i have a good strong bone structure in my face that i want to bring out but this fat is really annoying! any tips or ideas? thx :)

Sadly you just have to lose weight through diet and exercise. There's no shortcut way to remove fat from around the face. --Richardrj talk email 12:41, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
What about that operation where they suck the fat out from parts of the face, especially the jaw area....liposuction or something..?? Jayant,18 Years, India • contribs 14:39, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
That doesnt sound very smart on your face, you'll probably be left with scarring. I would recommend smiling a little more :) 213.48.15.234 09:01, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

well i have been noticing that my puppy fat is gradually going over time (its kinda now starting on my face) but how do i diet healthyly if i want to make sure that i lose my puppy fat completly and not go overboard?? i dont wanna end up like a lollypop! :)

Actually, you can have a large amount of fat in your cheek area even if you're thin. Some people have buccal fat pads (the fat pad below the cheekbones) that are much larger than others. (Keith Richards vs. Paul McCartney - Keith and Paul were about the same BMI in the 60s but Paul had large buccal fat pads so he looked plumper - and cuter.) They can be removed (and this does not cause scarring), but the face tends to look thin and drawn as you age. Unless your buccal fat pads are so large that you feel you look like a squirrel and you are otherwise not overweight, surgery is your only option - but as said you may not look as good when you get older. No surgeon will touch you if you are overweight with this, though - everyone has this when they're overweight.
But to be honest, most people are way too concerned with how they look and are apt to find faults where none exist. Most people find plump apple cheeks quite appealing, especially on an otherwise thin or average person. It's a sign of health, since the buccal fat pads do tend to disappear during serious prolonged illness. --Charlene 09:07, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Walking on a jumbo jet

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is it possible to wing walk on a jumbo jet in flight —Preceding unsigned comment added by Abs123 (talk • contribs) 12:43, Feb 20, 2007 (UTC)

No. Next time you ask a question, please give it a title and sign your name with four tildes, like this: ~~~~. --Richardrj talk email 12:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
To expand, at the speed and altitude that jumbo jets fly, it would be impossible to stay on the wing. Anyone out there would be blown off the wing very quickly. GhostPirate 13:38, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
The wind would knock you off the wing, so it would be like being in a wind tunnel. I suppose it would be technically possible if you has some really good magnetic boots or some kind of harness or something. But there are other concerns too. If the plane gets struck by lightning, the plane's body acts as a faraday cage, but on the wing you'd get frazzled. So possible, I suppose, but unadvisable. --h2g2bob 14:06, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Even if you had magnetic boots strong enough to stay on the wing, wouldn't the speed do serious damage to the rest of your body, unless you wore a thick astronaut space suit or something like that? 惑乱 分からん 15:10, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
So that Twilight Zone episode where William Shatner is an airplane passenger who keeps seeing some sasquatch-like creature out on the wing was just fiction? alteripse 16:31, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
I believe that was a gremlin (in the episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"), though these traditionally plague pilots, not passengers. -- Deborahjay 21:07, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
  • Wasn't that a prop plane though? A DC10 or something.?hotclaws**== 07:34, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
You would need electromagnetic boots as the wings of a jumbo jet are skinned with aluminium and not going to attract a [Magnet|permanent magnet]]. Even the ribs of the wings are non-magnetic.
Atlant 20:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
I would say yes. Here it seems that approach speed on a 747 is 150 knots (172 mph) and that is 130% of stall speed putting stall speed at 115 knots (132 mph). That is probably with normal fuel and passenger loading. One fight sim site, here, put the unloaded stall speed at only 86 knots (99 mph). Assuming that a very lightly loaded 747 can fly safely at 100 knots (115 mph) then, certainly, "wing-walking" can occur. The stunt person would only need something like motorcycle leathers and a helmet and, of course, be tethered to a cable running along the leading edge of the wing to prevent being blown off. --Justanother 16:33, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Short answer: No way. Utterly impossible.
Longer answer: Magnetic boots aren't going to help you much on non-magnetic aluminium! But even if they were - they would have to be only just magnetic enough so you could still lift your feet - but magnetic enough to hold you onto the wing...that seems impossible to me. You can't lift your foot off the ground with (say) a 20lb weight tied to it - so the most 'down force' the boots could give you might be maybe 40lbs with both feet on the ground - 20lbs when you are in mid-step. That's nothing compared to the aerodynamic forces involved here. The force on a body moving through the air increases as the square of the speed - so while you might be able to stand up in maybe a 50mph wind - at 100mph, the forces are four times greater, at 200mph, they are 16 times greater and at 500mph, one hundred times greater. A jumbo jet flies at maybe 550mph. There is absolutely no way to survive that - let alone stay standing up! For comparison, wind speeds in a hurricane are typically under 100mph - even a cat5 hurricane has top wind speeds of 'only' 150mph and it can demolish solid brick buildings! So there is absolutely no way to do this if the plane is flying at 'cruising' speeds.
But if our 747 has no cargo or passengers and very little fuel on board - then the slowest it can fly without stalling and falling out of the sky is about 100mph. But even that is cat 3 hurricane-force wind. So you're going to need some pretty serious equipment - you'd need to be strapped into some kind of frame fixed to the superstructure of the plane - but maybe it's just possible - if the plane were to fly as slow as it possibly can. But for sure you aren't going to be doing any actual "walking" along the wing.
16:36, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
What would that be roughly in Metrics? x1.5=km/h? 惑乱 分からん 18:09, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Skydivers routinely fall through the air at speeds much greater than 100 mph. That speed of air is not going to hurt a person wearing minimal protective clothing. Building collapse during storms is not a good analogy for a number of reasons. Just for example, most building damage is roof damage due to uplift forces that they were not designed to sustain and that are addressed in modern building codes in hurricane-prone areas. --Justanother 16:43, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
(Remember - the terminal velocity for a human is 125mph - so at 100mph, you are pretty close to that). SteveBaker 16:44, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
That is simply an equilibrium of weight and drag and that figure is likely a fully laid-out position. Much higher speeds are possible depending on the body position of the skydiver and use of low-drag helmets and suits. See[7]. --Justanother 16:53, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[8] tells of a wingwalker on a prop biplane with an added J85 jet engine. The "walking" these days usually just means being supported on top of the plane on a pylon the "walker" is strapped to. Not clear how fast the pilot goes with the walker exposed, but the combination of jet and prop can push the plane to 200 mph. Edison 17:34, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

On an amazing side note, the famous World War I ace Ernst Udet was once flying a two-seater plane when "a shackle on a wing-cable snapped", according to the article. His observer walked out onto the wing and held it together until Udet was able to land! Clarityfiend 08:28, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Yea they used to bring back spies and crashed airmen on the wing in the First World War quite often!!! ---- Zdaman

[edit] Something caught in my brakes?

I have a car that, every once in a while, will begin to squeal while it is in motion. It sounds as if something is rubbing on the disc brake rotors. The sound changes with the speed of the car. However, braking doesn't change the sound, so it doesn't appear to be related to the brake pads. After a little while, whatever is caught in there will go ping! and the sound will go away. What is going on? Any ideas? --Mdwyer 18:06, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

I'm afraid I don't know, but maybe the year, make and model of the car would help narrow it down. Lowerarchy 18:46, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
You know that many disc brake designs employ "squeekers": pieces of sheet metal attached to the brakes' friction pads that are designed to deliberately drag on the brake rotors once the pads wear to a certain thinness. The awful noises that result usually provoke the owner of the car to go get the brakes "fixed" (meaning having the rotors checked/turned/replaced and new pads installed). Often, but not always, the squeeker changes sound when the brakes are applied.
Atlant 20:50, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
If it does it when your brakes are not on - then either your brakes are locked up for some reason - or (perhaps more likely) your serpentine belt is worn and is slipping. SteveBaker 20:53, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
I appreciate your suggestions. It is an 8yr old Subaru. The sound is related to wheel speed, not engine speed, which along with the distinctive 'ringing' of the sound suggests brake rotors to me. The brakes are relatively new, so it shouldn't be a squeeker. Besides, the sound doesn't change when the brakes are applied. That said, the noise has the same qualities, which is why I'm pretty sure it is coming from the rotor. In any case, when I went out for lunch, the noise had already gone away without the usual ping!. Perhaps it was ice that melted? Or maybe backing out of the parking place dislodged it? The car wasn't performing any differently, but still, I wonder if it was a frozen parking brake. I thought those usually only go to the back wheels, though.
I've never heard of something like this happening before, but it has happened to me a half dozen times or so. It sets my teeth on edge! --Mdwyer 21:23, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
I'd have to agree with Atlant, it sounds like your brakes have worn and the sensors are letting you know it's time to get them worked on. Corvus cornix 00:04, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
It can still be the squeal from a loose or worn serpentine belt because whilst it's related to the engine speed, the amount of torque that the belt is transmitting to the devices it drives is also a factor. A slipping clutch is another possibility - you didn't tell us whether it's a stick shift or a manual. But a stuck brake caliper is certainly something to look for. Does the car tend to pull to one side when it's doing this? If so, you can be pretty sure it's a front wheel caliper - if not then more likely it's a rear caliper. SteveBaker 03:31, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
It does sound like what Corvus called a sensor, but the brakes are fairly new, and that doesn't explain the ping! and the noise stopping. Also, these brakes are relatively new. Furthmore, I'm pretty sure this happened before I had the brakes replaced. The squeal would happen when the engine is off, so long as the wheels are rotating. The sound doesn't change with the position of the clutch.
The car doesn't pull, and it doesn't feel like it is dragging, but still a stuck brake could be the problem. It still seems to me like a rock or pebble caught in the brakes, though. Nobody's had that happen to them? --Mdwyer 23:05, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Just one observation. If you took your car to a mechanic and asked him to put in new brakes and he charged you for putting in new brakes and showed you some old brakes, that still doesn't mean that he did put in new brakes. If you didn't watch the actual work being done, and the mechanic wasn't one that you've used for years and learned you can trust, maybe you should have a different mechanic look at the brakes.
Of course there are lots of honest mechanics out there, but cheating does happen.
--Anonymous, February 22, 2007, 04:57 (UTC).
If it's still under warranty, I would take it back to the mechanic to have it looked at. howcheng {chat} 07:50, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Airline emergency escape doors

When flying on large jets, like 777s, I can't help noticing the large emergency escape doors in the rear of the plane. These doors have large levers and clearly printed instructions on how to open them. My question is, is it possible to open one of these doors during flight? What's to stop me from opening that door at 30,000 feet? It is locked somehow while the plane is in the air? GhostPirate 21:15, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Air pressure. The pressure of the cabin holds the doors tightly to their frame while the airplane is at cruising altitude. Note that airplane doors open IN. --Mdwyer 21:24, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Well, actually they open in and then open out [despite the fact that they're bigger than the opening], which has always struck me as one of the greater engineering feats of all time. See also this answer by the master. —Steve Summit (talk) 02:51, 21 February 2007 (UTC) [edited 03:07, 22 February 2007 (UTC)]
Also, "depressurization" is not actually as critical to the aircraft as some movies would let you believe. Unless you "physically" get sucked out of the aircraft, opening the door wouldn't have a disasterous effect on the aircraft, as long as your oxygen mask worked, the pilot would be quite capable of landing the aircraft. There was a case a long time ago when half the 1st class cabin roof was literally torn of due to a structural defect and only one person was lost because they were sucked out of the aircraft. The plane landed safely and everyone else was fine. Another good reason to sit with your seat belt on whenever you can.Vespine 21:44, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
That was Aloha Airlines Flight 243. Clarityfiend 22:17, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
My favorite explosive-decompression story is this one from 1990, where the pilot was sucked halfway out and survived thanks to crew members holding onto him. No fatalities. Of course explosive decompressions does not always turn out so well; this one in 1974 was a major disaster. But it involved the cargo door, which is much bigger than the cabin doors and does open outwards, and the reason it was disastrous is that control cables were damaged. --Anonymous, February 21, 00:44 (UTC).
For ramps in the backs of airplanes, it's a device known as a Cooper Vane (after D. B. Cooper, who used the rear exit of a 727 to bail out after hijacking and ransoming the plane) that generates an upforce on the ramp while the airplane is in flight. --Carnildo 00:29, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cold Nasal Airway

Why is it that usually when one of your nostrils is stuffed up, the other nostril becomes very cold when inhaling air? Im guessing this is partially due to the fact that only 1 nostril has air flowing through it and therefore has to double the load. But why does your nostril feel cold exactly? Thanks. Jamesino 23:59, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

One of the purposes of your nose is to warm the incoming air so it's closer to body temperature when it enters the lungs. When twice the amount of air is pulling heat out of that nostril, it's bound to feel colder. SteveBaker 00:10, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
I have a cold i think, and the cold air is giving me a headache. Is there any risk of a perhaps an infection? Jamesino 00:14, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Any time there's a build-up of mucus, such as if your nostril(s) is/are clogged, there's a chance of infection. However, we cannot offer you medical advice other than to tell you to ask a doctor. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 02:50, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
And to avoid drinking cyanide. V-Man737 02:53, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

There is a membrane in the nose so that when you lie on your side, perhaps in sleep, it fills, telling you to turn over (courtesy of Dr Karl Kruszelnicki).

If you have a deviated septum, however, your ability to breathe may be compromised. This is known for some Apnea sufferers. There is a new experimental cure for deviated septums. A Russian medico has discovered a laser can heat cartilage to a particular temperature where it becomes soft, and may be molded. Current surgery is temporary as a fix, involving anaesthetic, degloving the lip over the nose and eye, and drilling. DDB 10:35, 22 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Train travel in the Balkans

Is there any way of getting reliable train time tables for the Balkan states. I'm interested in inter Railing there in the summer but the normally accurate Deutsche Bahn website is throwing up some odd timetables. eg Sarajevo to Dubrovnik takes about 90hours with 7 stops, including one in Moscow, while Sarajevo to Split take a much more reasonable 20 hours with only one stop! are trains out there real that slow? Ken 00:49, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Dunno about the rest of the Balkans, but Serbian railways is notoriously lax with schedules. Delays of several hours are not uncommon, and even though the international trains get priority, an hour or two delay should be, if not expected, at least prepared for. Although I really have no idea how a train can go from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik and go through Moscow, so there must be some other problem here. Shinhan 11:17, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Have you looked at the relevant Thomas Cook timetable? --Anonymous, February 21, 00:33 (UTC).

[edit] CBSE Exams 2007, India

Dear Sir,

I am studying for CBSE 12th Standard, and preparing for my exams in March 2007. Which are the useful sites I can refer with for my studies for the exam?

Thanks

J R S

  • Try http://cbse4india.com/ and please remember that although I do, not everyone answering these questions wishes to be addressed as Sir (especially the female volunteers). - 131.211.210.20 08:24, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
The official CBSE sample papers really helped me (I wrote mine last year), search over here and the previous years question over here might help you as well. Personally, I would suggest you not to worry too much about these exams and go through a lot of reference books and sample books. They just mess up your head. :-P.. Just keep your preparation simple and know your text books well. That should be enough. Anyways.. Best Of Luck!! Hope I helped! Jayant,18 Years, India • contribs 14:48, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] deleting bio's

How do you delete a bio you started?

If you mean the band then put {{db-band}} on the page. If a bio use {{db-bio}} --Justanother 14:27, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Car Warning Light

I have a 1994 Lexus ES300 and i just got the transmission replaced. As i was leaving the mechanic i noticed the ABS (anti-lock brake system) light was lit up. It has been on for a couple days now. I asked the mechanic but he said not to worry about it. What could the problem be? Did he forget to hook something up correctly, because i never saw the ABS light before then.

This may not be the same thing, but a very similar thing happened to my friend recently, he ended up having big arguments with the mechanic and even taking the issue to consumer affairs. but in the end, no one could actually prove that the mechaninc had done anything wrong so my friend had to shell out about $100 for an auto electrician to fix it.... Vespine 04:48, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
I would take this car to a different mechanic. If he can't give you any more explanation than "don't worry about it", I question his competence. You don't really want to take a chance with faulty brakes, do you? Friday (talk) 15:47, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
It's almost certain that he forgot to reconnect a wheel speed sensor (or accidentally pulled on the cable and broke something inside - or somehow bashed something into the wheel speed sensor and broke something). ABS works by measuring the speed that each wheel is spinning when you apply the brakes. It releases the brake briefly when one or more of the wheels locks up and stops spinning (Hence 'Anti-lock brakes'). Most of the time, the computer knows that your car is rolling down the road just fine with the brakes off - but one of the wheel speed sensors is saying that that wheel is not moving (or moving impossibly fast or something). This is clearly a problem - so it lights up the warning light to tell you that the ABS probably won't work. Your mechanic is 100% wrong in saying that it's OK - it's not OK. Your ABS won't work properly when you need it and that's potentially dangerous. If the problem was not there when you took the car in - and it is there now - then it's his fault and he has to fix it - for free - and without complaining or making excuses. Go back immediately and complain - and keep on complaining until it's fixed. If your car has a tyre pressure warning light, it may come on and off too - you may also find that the brake pedal feels funny sometimes...all due to the same thing. SteveBaker 16:32, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
There's usually a "main vehicle speed" sensor associated with the transmission; that'd be my guess for what your mechanic forgot to reconnect/broke off.
Atlant 20:38, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Whatever happened to the Effidac 24-hour pain reliever?

Circa 1997 (or in the general mid-to-late 90s time range), I remember how the Effidac commercial was comparing Tylenol, Advil, and other pain relievers, and stated that they only worked for 8 to 12 hours. Effidac worked for 24. The commercial ran for some time, but I never heard anything of it ever again. I've never seen Effidac on any OTC medicine aisle anywhere, so what happened to the product? Why did it disappear? --70.179.170.119 21:47, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

I get plenty of hits for Efidac 24 - looks like it's still being sold, at least online. Clarityfiend 22:47, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
Are you sure it was Effidac? A quick Google suggests that the the active ingredient is chlorpheniramine, but that isn't a pain reliever. --Mdwyer 21:27, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Portal

I want to make a portal I already read the instuctions but when it says I should " Create a new page using Portal:Topic as the title of the page " I know how to make a new page but when I put the name of the portal in the 'Type a title:" it says "The requested page title was invalid, empty, an incorrectly linked inter-language or inter-wiki title, or contained unsupported characters".Bewareofdog 02:09, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

What portal topic are you trying to create? (copying to HelpDesk) V-Man737 02:35, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Roman Catholic Church.Bewareofdog 04:32, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

I'll copy this to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Catholicism/To-do list, they'd probably have some sort of prerogative with it. V-Man737 04:57, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Playstation 2 connection to TV (UK)

Hi, i want to buy a PS2, but the TV i want to use it with only has a UK aeriel socket i.e. 1/2-inch diameter round hole with one pin in the middle. will i be able to connect a PS2 to this tv by way of some sort of adapter or would it be a total waste of money? thank you, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.176.105.39 (talk • contribs)

Yes you can. You will have to get an adaptor from a PSX, which connects to the arial port. MHDIV ɪŋglɪʃnɜː(r)d(Suggestion?|wanna chat?) 10:18, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Or you can buy a dedicated PS2 RF unit. If you ask for one at a videogame store, they'll sort you out. Spiral Wave 10:42, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
The PS2 outputs composite as standard - so any composite to RF adaptor should do - the SONY branded one will work obviously too.87.102.36.28 15:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
This will certainly work - but your picture quality will be much worse than if you could use the composite signal directly. If you can find one with a TV/Game switch on it - so you can plug both the aeriel and the PS2 into the box - then plug the box into the TV. You should get that kind if you can because the aeriel sockets on UK TV's wear out and bend very easily and you don't want to be repeatedly plugging and unplugging things if you can possibly avoid it. SteveBaker 17:12, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Accounting Policies & Procedures

Will anyone help me in getting a brief of the Accounting Policies & Procedures to be set before starting an accounting department in an organisation.

Just I need the minimum requirements in a para or 2, for a normal business unit.

Thanks

This must be urgent for multiple posts! Sorry, but I've never seen business research being given away here. Some things you have to pay for... --Zeizmic 16:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Football Teams

How many professional football (soccer) teams are there worldwide, and how many leagues.

What is your definition on professional? Playing full-time for a living, or playing in a higher league? (I believe most woman players in the higher leagues worldwide have to supprt themselves with other things, due to lack of sponsoring) Otherwise, the question seems nearly impossible to answer, but check out List of football (soccer) clubs for a start. 惑乱 分からん 16:07, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
To give you an idea, perhaps, according to the Library of Congress, "FIFA is currently made up of 205 member associations with over 300,000 clubs and 240 million players from around the world." (of which 30 million are women). There's some information on average salaries and revenues further down in the article, but no direct indication of level or percentage of professionality. ---Sluzzelin 20:12, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Help!!!!

Hi i was wondering if anyone can help me with the poetry works of john milton. i am seeking a poem about angels falling fron heaven and beconing hells riders.........i have searched high and low ....am not a poetry person ....im a latin major.........any help to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. thank you for your time.

You're probably looking for Paradise Lost, or possibly Paradise Regained, at a guess. Skittle 16:23, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Lucifer and his various followers are cast out of heaven into Pandaemonium in Milton's Paradise Lost. I have no idea what 'hell's riders' refers to, I have to confess! Clio the Muse 23:49, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Hells Angels? V-Man737 04:28, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Sorry, no, three centuries too early... 惑乱 分からん 14:48, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] slingbox

Can I watch slingbox on my wii? I have a nintendo wii at a house w/o cable tv but with internet. Could I use my slingbox to watch tv?

No, you can't. The slingbox software is only available for Windows PC's and Windows-Mobile PDA's and cellphones. The Wii has it's own operating system and uses the Opera browser - it's not able to run the sling software. SteveBaker 00:08, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] request

how do I make a requestfor an article?

Go to Wikipedia:Requested articles. Clarityfiend 21:20, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How To!?

how do you create your own wikipedia page? Blindman.rms 22:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)Dylan

Well, you can create a new Wikipedia page by typing the name you'd like it to have into the 'search' box and hitting 'Go'. Presuming your title hasn't already been used, it'll pop up a screen that says (amongst other things) "You can create this page or request it". If you click on "create this page" (which is in red) - then you'll be dropped into the editor to get your article started.
One thing though - when you say "your own wikipedia page" - do you mean "a page about yourself"? If so, then you should know that we don't allow people to write articles about themselves - it breaks any number of rules and guidelines. You can create your "user page" by clicking on your name up in the very top of your browser window (it'll be in red because it doesn't exist yet). This isn't a part of the encyclopedia - but really serves more as a place to briefly describe your interests and qualifications - and as a place for people to discuss things with you. My user page is User:SteveBaker...it'll give you and idea of the kind of things people put there. SteveBaker 23:59, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Beckham being sent off

David Beckham was sent off in a league match for Real Madrid on Saturday. Yet he played for them in the Champions League this evening. How can this be? I thought that whenever a player was sent off, he automatically had a one-match ban, across all competitions. Real had no games between Saturday and today. --Richardrj talk email 22:20, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Different competitions. Beckham will serve his suspension in domestic competition. Similiarly, if he was dismissed during a Champions League match, he would be banned for the next European match. Downunda 22:36, 20 February 2007 (UTC)