Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 July 17

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[edit] Trying to find an old book

I am trying to find the title and author of a book. I only remember small parts... It is probably in the science genre. It was probably published between 1950 and 1960 as it describes transporters (in theory) with out reference to Star Trek. I also remember a picture in the book in which a man is sitting on a recliner reading a book, while a tiger a prowling in the jungle- interleaved in the same picture.

While I realize this request is vague, I would appreciate any help anyone could give.

If no one can help- where can I continue to search?

Thanks for your help

If no one here winds up helping you, you can try rec.arts.books on Usenet. Good luck.—msh210℠ 07:32, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Just a wild guess here but how about The Stars My Destination, which was largely about teleportation and was also published as Tiger! Tiger!. DJ Clayworth 19:09, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

-Thanks for your help so far... The Stars My Destination does sound like a good book to read...but it is not the one I am looking for. Thanks for the the suggestion though! Sounds interesting.

I don't know how to utilize usenet- But I'll give it a try. Anyone else have any ideas?

You don't need to use Usenet these days - you can access newsgroups through Google Groups instead. --Richardrj 11:14, 18 July 2006 (UTC)


Small Update: I found the book I was looking for. It was "Science In Science Fiction" (ISBN: 0517653354) by P Nicholls. I was way off on the publishing date though... It was released in 1987. Thanks for your help!

[edit] Question about Vic Mackey's Sunglasses from The Shield

I have looked everywhere and have not been able to come up with an answer. What brand and specific make are the sunglasses that Vic Mackey wears in the series The Shield? Thanks for your help.

JLee2911

Update 20060906: According to a newsletter from The Shield, Det. Mackey wears discontinued model Polo Sport 1071. They also note that a similar replacement pair is the Polo Sport 1048.

Actually, they are not 1071. They are Polo Sport 1048 H4A (gunmetal frames). The model 1071 is similar to the ones that Mackey wears, but 1048 is the correct model number. However, they have been discontinued by the manufacturer since about 2002. Vic did wear Polo Sport 1048 0003 's for a brief time in season 2 (these had dark black frames instead of gunmetal frames).

[edit] Friday night lights TV Show theme

What is the name of the song playing for the commercials of Friday night lights show? Thanks --(Aytakin) | Talk 06:18, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

I know the band is called Fort Minor, but I do not know what the song is called. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 09:35, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
According to [1] it is indeed Fort Minor and the song is called "Remember the Name." GassyGuy 09:41, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Azalah Grid, Templars & Shamir

I have scoured the Web for information about the Azalah Grid - apparently complemetary to something called (I believe) the Icarus Grid - and only found a couple of referemces to it in some discussion thread (http://listserv.freestate.net/pipermail/shamir/2003-April/000103.html

and a couple of broken links.

All I have managed to gather is that Cyprus is at the centre of this grid, which interests me enormously due to the island's connections with Atlantis, Mary Magdalene, the Holy Goddess Well in Bellapais (Cyprus), and the Templars.

Could anyone possibly enlighten me? Limited resources are so frustrating!

Thanks very much.

Tigerboxer.

ohmygod, I just looked that up. Here's a link [2] You can link up any arbitrary thing with those arbitrary grids, including volcanos and earthquakes, and Bermuda triangles. Have fun, and enjoy reading novels about the massive conspiracies that hide all this from the people. --Zeizmic 14:13, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Geomagnetic/Magnetic North Pole

Has anyone reached both the Geomagnetic and the Magnetic North Pole within 12 months of each other?? (already aware of Hempleman Adams Expeds).

[edit] Call Centres

I would like information on how to go about setting up an inbound call centre. I have read many articles on it - but none of them gives a step by step guideline as to what to do. Does anybody have this information or can point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance Estelle

I would suggest contacting your local telephone companies. They probably have brochures about how to go about this, and will be happy to advise you on the whole process, especially if they think they might get the installation contract.--Shantavira 14:13, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] KPA's and KPI's

Does anyone have a draft copy of the KPA's and KPI's (Key Performance Areas and Key Performance Indicators) for a Customer Service agent in an inbound call centre. I have found many references to it - but no complete list of KPA's and KPI's. Any assistance will be much appreciated Estelle

Isn't that very much dependent on your employer? Are there generic KPIs for an entire industry? Which country do you live in? JackofOz 10:12, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes - the employer plays a role - but there should be some generics. I.e. Frienliness, prompt answering of phone etc. I live in South Africa.

When you say "there should be some generics", do you know that is the way the system works in SA, or are you expressing your personal opinion of how you think it should work?

I have found generics on www.arau.gov but they had nothing on Customer Service. It can be relevant to any country - as one can adapt it for your own use. I just need a framework to start from - any suggestions? Estelle 13:36 17 July 2006 Appologies for not signing correctly --Estelle 11:50, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Since the call centre business is so mundane (low barrier to entry) and so cut-throat competitive, I doubt that you'll find anything free that's any good. It's somewhat like finding the instructions on how to run a successful fast-food joint. (Remember the movie where the rip-off guy had the full set of McDonald's manuals?) --Zeizmic 12:00, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Can you not work them out from first principles? Such things as:
  • Utilisation of Agent
  • Average Handling Time per Agent
  • First Call Resolution Rate per Agent
  • Idle Time per Agent
  • Turnover Rate of Agents
  • Timekeeping of Agent

--Tagishsimon (talk)

[edit] whistle-blowing

Internationally, corporations are increasingly encouraging whistle-blowing to improve corporate governance and boost performance. Discuss its effectiveness with particular reference to the banking & finance sector, both locally(singapore) and overseas.

When is your essay due? Notinasnaid 15:50, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
I'd rather not. Too much homework of my own. --Howard Train 15:56, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
I'm in Singapore? Why doesn't anybody tell me these things? --LarryMac 15:58, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Actually, I can give an example of whistle blowing. Suppose that, hypothetically, we were able to identify your question as coming from a student in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Now suppose we were able to further forward information to the head of department that could allow the person who asked this question to be asked. That would be whistle blowing. What would the effect be? Perhaps this student would be discipled, and the effect on the others would be to encourage them to do their own homework. The effectiveness of the education might be improved by helping students in the School of Business & Accountancy to understand that there are consequences to their actions, especially important in careers like banking and finance where high standards of ethics are expected. Notinasnaid 16:05, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Ask a referree. DirkvdM 18:29, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
  • There was indeed a lot of corporate whistle-blowing at the World Cup in Germany. - Mgm|(talk) 23:25, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
  • I head-butt you for the bad joke!hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 07:58, 18 July 2006 (UTC))

[edit] Question about YouTube

What I want to do is post a tribute to a wrestler on YouTube (I haven't made it yet.) Now, my question is is it illegal to post videos from WWE.com there? What about pictures? I ask because I've seen many video involving tributes deleted, but absolutely no picture-involving tributes. Thanks.

You have to own the copyrights of whatever you post. If you photograph wrestlers yourself there may be no problems, provided you avoid trademarks. Notinasnaid 16:06, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
From our very own article, many WWE videos have been removed, but can be searched under a strange term. My suggestion is that if you did not take the photos yourself, then it would not be a good idea to post the triubte, since if you see many of them being taken down, then that should mean something. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 19:41, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
[Insert reference to Cheese Souffle here.] --Mark (Talk | Email) 17:03, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] redirection

I added redirection pages for coast-watcher and coast-watchers to Coastwatchers, but now I see that there are more variations, e.g. coast watchers. Do I need to create additional pages for each one, or is there some other way of handling this? Clarityfiend 16:03, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes, my understanding is you need to creat redirects for each one Baron Von Westfall 16:09, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Terrible spyware infestation

Lately I've had at least ten or twelve different popups appearing at random times on my computer. All kinds of stuff, ranging from amaena to partypoker to adultfriendfinder etc. Pretty basic spyware problem.

And yet my anti-spyware software isn't doing anything. I have both AdAware AND Spybot Search and Destroy running, yet neither of them are picking up ANY of these dozen-or-so different pieces of spyware. I figured it might be because they're new, so I updated my definitons. Still nothing. So I thought I'd wait a month or so for the respective anti-spyware software to update their definitions (putting me where I am now). STILL nothing. It's as though BOTH my spyware programs have just stopped working. What else can I do? Battle Ape 16:10, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

It seems like you did everything you can. It may be so bad that you will have to reinstall. After you do (or even before), use Firefox as it has almost no security flaws and will ensure that things like this won't happen again. If you are not using any proprietary programs, and just use standard word processing, Internet browsing etc, consider switching to Linux. Linux is extremely stable compared to windows. Popup ads of the kind you are describing are unheard of on Linux. I would recommend Kubuntu, but there are many other fine distrubutions. If you are not ready to switch operating systems consider a dual-boot. Jon513 16:27, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
You might consider downloading Windows Defender [3] from Microsoft. Its rather good, and is regularly updated (i've had 2 updates in the same day once). It might just be the definitions of the other two are out of date. CaptainVindaloo t c e 16:54, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
This may be a stupid question, but do you have the free version of AdAware? If so, are you manually running scans every so often? Only the pro version does it for you automatically. I used AdAware and did not have any problems. Also, I agree with Jon513. I recently switched to Firefox and no longer need to run AdAware. (Now if they could just fix the Firefox bug that cuts off long Wikipedia articles after I edit them...) Clarityfiend 17:24, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
In the same vain, did you keep the anti-spyware software up-to-date before running your scans? - Mgm|(talk) 23:22, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
clarityfiend, I think that bug was discussed her before. I have never experienced it myself, but from what I understand it is not in the most recent version of firefox (1.5.0.4). Upgrading will probally fix it. Jon513 17:58, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Thanks. That update seemed to do the trick. Clarityfiend 00:52, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
I take that back. 1.5.0.4 truncated a long article (Arthur Conan Doyle is safe from my depredations for the moment). Curses. Foiled again (twirl moustache). The consensus seems to be that you need to uninstall the Google toolbar. It's listed as bug 5643. Clarityfiend 02:52, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
Look into HijackThis. (It will fix just about anything, but you need to be an expert.) zafiroblue05 | Talk 12:26, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
A friend of mine had a similar problem, and her spyware programs weren't fixing it because it was a trojan. Her antivirus (AVG) didn't work either, she had to install something new.--Anchoress 03:43, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
I go along with Anchoress. If your antispyware isn't picking it up it's probably a trojan.

[edit] Cannelton Statuary Co.

I am trying to find any information on the Cannelton Statuary Co. Like years of operation, what they made is there any people living that worked there. Like I said any info. All I know is that it was located in Cannelton, IN.

BILL

[edit] Housing Bubble

I am concerned about a the US housing bubble. What are some prudent steps I can take to preserve capital? Would investing in stocks be wise if home prices are expected to fall? Also, is there a good indicator I can look to to tell me when home prices have bottomed? I would like to purchase my first house if/when the housing bubble pops and results in widespread selling & deep discounts in homes. Where can I find important statistics like the average home price as a percentage of annual income, etc. Baron Von Westfall 16:17, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

I have been involved with investing in the UK housing market for many years, and I know very little about the US market (except its more volatile than the UK, and it is even more regional) but my advice may still be applicable to both markets, particularly since nobody else has offered any.
What are some prudent steps I can take to preserve capital? The book by JP Calverley, Bubbles and how to survive them, 2004, ISBN 1857883489 which discusses UK and US housing bubbles, describes how in the UK at least it would be in theory possible to make a large Spread Bet which would protect against a fall in house prices. I cannot recall if this is possible in the US.
Would investing in stocks be wise if home prices are expected to fall? I do not think an investment in stocks would be a good idea - in the UK the two markets are positively correlated, I expect it is the same in the US. They are both affected by changes in interest rates.
Also, is there a good indicator I can look to to tell me when home prices have bottomed? I would make a graph of the year on year percentage house price rises or falls for each month. You need to get good quality reliable and regularly published statistics - sorry I dont know where you'd get these in the US. (Do not mix statistics from different sources - stick to the same series!!) I would get the statistics from at least a year back or more to be able to plot the line in the past, not just the present. If there is more than one series available, you could plot them both on the same graph (or you could plot their average - techinically speaking a geometric average would be best). Hopefully they will make quite a smooth curving line (at least they do in the UK) and when you see the direction of this line become horizontal and then starting to change direction (from down to up or vice versa) this tells you the market is changing direction. The UK market bottomed by this measure in the autumn of 2005.
If your line is not a slowly changing curve then you could get try getting statistics from a larger area to smooth out random fluctuations, or you could plot moving averages, or use exponential smoothing.
There are many other indicators you could invent - for example how long houses take to sell. I do not know which of them would be best - try monitoring several. There are no standardised ones that everyone relies upon. There are no indicators which say "If the indicator is above X, then buy" (although some people may try this with the price/income ratio which I disagree with).
If you are numerate you could try doing quantitave forecasts. Unfortunately the Wikipedia article on Forecasting is rubbish. The articles on Time Series are too advanced. I suggest getting instead an introductory book on forecasting. There was one published since the 70s or 80's by 'Makridikas' (I'm sure I've spelt that wrong) that has been through many editions - it might have been called "Introduction To Forecasting" - cannot remember. I suggest trying that to start with. If you manage to get hold of a series of statistics going back decades you could try using ARIMA, which is the best forecasting method. There are two or three free downloadable software programs that will calculate ARIMA automatically. Unfortunately I dont know of any free programs that use the simpler methods. Quantitative forecasting can require a lot of skill, study, and knowledge to produce non-misleading results - be careful.
I would like to purchase my first house if/when the housing bubble pops and results in widespread selling & deep discounts in homes. If you has tried this strategy in the UK you never would have bought anything over the past 10 or 20 years or so since prices fell a little in the early 90's, and they have risen several times since then. You could find yourself left behind. However, as I said, I think the US is more volatile. In the UK there is a shortage of building land, so supply has not been keeping up with demand. Over that time there were respectable economists emphatically predicting a collapse in the UK market in the near future because of their naive faith in the price/income ratio, but in actual fact prices kept increasing. (It may be like predicting a fall in the stock market - people said it would happen many years earlier than it actually did).
Where can I find important statistics like the average home price as a percentage of annual income, etc. I do not know for the US. I do not approve of this statistic for at least the UK as here mortage payments are variable. See my comments added to the discussion page of the Housing bubble article. I did not agree with Calverleys book - people like him so often seize on the price/income ratio because in the UK at least it is so sensational, yet they are being too simplistic and what they really should have is a multivariate model that takes into account things like interest rates, unemplyment and so on, yet this requires far too much PhD-level skill for journalists or writers to do. I suggest using a statistic of monthly_mortgage_cost / take_home_income if you can.
In the UK there are frequently sensational headlines in the press foretelling doom or the reverse - I'd take all of these with a pinch of salt. All journalists know nothing about the statistical technicalities of the market and usually write uninformed speculation as if it was fact and also make a lot of stupid mistakes.
I'm very interested in this subject so if you want to discuss this more I will be happy to.
I would be interested in discussing housing & housing bubble issues with either of you. Please feel free to leave a comment on my talk page, if you want to discuss the issue, as an in depth discussion might not be approprate on the RD. Sindweller 14:41, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Longest Beach

Can you please tell me what is the longest public beach on the east coast of the United States. I have a bet on this; I say Revere Beach in Massachusetts, my friend says Jones Beach in New York.

Please advise; we may both be wrong!

Thanks so much!

See Geography of the United Kingdom#Coastline, a major determining factor is the shape of the beach, not what you would think of as "longest". Jon513 18:02, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
He's after the USA, not the UK. --Richardrj 11:16, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
My point is that a beach can be very long if it is measure with very small units. A beach that is bumpy at the end can be much longer than a straight beach. This is a major issue for measuring the coast of UK as it is infinitly long. Jon513 00:05, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Arguably, the Outer Banks of North Carolina could be considered a very, very long public beach in the sense that the majority of the seafront is protected as the Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores. The beaches are public in the sense that anyone can access them. Of course, if you mean public beach in the sense of a locally/municpally owned recreational beach, I have no clue. Brian Schlosser42 18:06, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Unless there's a longer barrier island somewhere, the Outer Banks wins. It's hard to beat a sandbar a hundred miles long. --Serie 23:16, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
just wondering did anyone look at Beach#How beaches are formed and the Long Beach, Washington articles? There is some more information here. Can't tell if it's public or not. On the other hand what about beches in Alaska? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 18:37, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Using hide/show in articles?

Is it OK to use the hide/show feature in articles? I have seen it used on project and user pages. It could be very useful. Hopefully, the example below will work!

Pillboxes... blah, blah, blah...

Typres of Hardened Field Defences. Select show to expand.

Other stuf... blah, blah, blah...

Thanks in advance. Gaius Cornelius 18:13, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Whats the point of hiding relavent information? Philc TECI 18:18, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Simply, that in an article there may be technical details that some readers may wish to ignore. With hide/show you can read as a general article and only look at the details if you wish. this article of mine being a case in point. Gaius Cornelius 18:22, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
But they can ignore them even if they can see them, the section headers do enough to explain whats in the following text. It just hides it from people who dont notice the drop down boxes. Philc TECI 19:18, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
I'd strongly recommend leaving it out of articles. It's cumbersome and particularly useless to people without Javascript enabled. Try using a sidebar for the technical stuff; those can be scrolled past without interrupting the rest of the article. — Lomn | Talk 19:44, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reference

What is the cliche/phrase:

1)[something]

2)???

3)Profit!!!

a reference to? I have no idea how to look this up. Mo-Al 18:20, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

It's from an episode of South Park, featuring Underpants Gnomes. --LarryMac 18:46, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
For the future, things like this that are common across the internet care called memes, and articles like Internet phenomenon, 4chan, and Something Awful are good places to start.--droptone 22:52, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Article Naming

With regards to naming an article, if a country and a subdivision of another country share the same name, which should be placed in the article namespace according to wiki policy. Philc TECI 19:29, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

What, like Georgia? Disambiguate unless one is significantly more relevant than another (say, Brazil vs Brazil County, Oregon). — Lomn | Talk 19:42, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
But what defines more relevant, as an english speaking encyclopedia, is the meaning of relevance not subject to POV, for example if a state of the UAE shared its name with a large english speaking country in northern america, which would get the namespace then, the obscure UAE subdivision, or the country. Philc TECI 22:59, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
That's an entirely pointless example - on almost any plausible way of determining relevance, an obscure state of a small country is less significant than the entirety of a large country. Shimgray | talk | 23:01, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Exactly, you through your own POV decided that one state was obscure, and that a small country is less significant than a large one. Dirkvdm's point sums up my thoughts perfectly. The one of the higher order should occupy the namespace because of that reason, because thats the only way you can seperate the two into a hierarchy that doesnt depend on POV. Philc TECI 20:08, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
Ah - in your statement of the question you called it an "obscure... subdivision" ;-)
My point was that regardless of any metric we choose, the large English-speaking American country will win out. Do we do it on size? Large country. On "order", per Dirk? Country beats region. On familiarity to our readership? Country. On likelihood of our readership needing an article? Country. POV doesn't come into this example, because we've defined the example so that under any concievable neutral and abstract prioritisation, the same one loses. Shimgray | talk | 09:07, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
  • I would use Lomn's suggestion. - Mgm|(talk) 23:20, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Ah, but who determines the relevance? Relevant to whom? If it is a country vs a subdivision of a country, I'd say the country should get the namespace. Take, for example, Washington . The state is an entity of higher order, so it gets the namespace. The same is even done with New York, even though the city is much better known. Few people who know of the city know it's also a state. Only recently did I realise that this is what the lyrics 'New York, New York' are about. That the same is not done with Georgia is US-centric, I suppose. Can anyone think of more examples, so we can come up with a systematic approach? DirkvdM 15:37, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
Victoria (in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Seychelles, etc) is a good example. Perhaps List of misleading place names could give a few more...I'd agree that Georgia should point to the country over the subdivision. Grutness...wha? 02:05, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
I've put up a question at Wikipedia_talk:Naming_conventions_(places)#Political_subdivision_prevalence because the discussion should be held in a broader perspective. See what that results in. DirkvdM 18:14, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] DJs, scratch DJs, and records

Why do DJs use turntables and records nowadays to play music? Wouldn't digital equipment be smaller, faster, and take up WAY less space?

How do 'scratch DJs' scratch their records like they do without tearing the record all up, especially the threads which hold the needle on the record?

And finally, a sort of rediculous question, does anyone remember that scene from Shaun of the Dead where the two main characers used records to dispatch a zombie? If one could fashion a device (using compressed air or the like) to shoot records out at high speeds, could it really cut the head off of a zombie?

Thanks, 68.52.187.248 20:33, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Just on the second part - get any object moving fast enough and it will decapitate a zombie :)--inksT 21:23, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Right, it's definitely possible to cut off the head of a zombie this way. Not so much because records are very sharp or a record launching device would be able to shoot at a very high speed, but because zombie bodies seem to be quite fragile. The poor creatures lose arms, legs and heads all the time - this is of course one of the main attractions of zombie movies, where most of our knowledge of the undead comes from. While vampires and many other monsters are virtually indestructible, zombies can often be smashed to pulp with a baseball bat or blown to pieces with a single shot. Their strength is in their numbers, individuals are expendable. So with a decent record shooter you should be safe in case of a zombie attack, provided there are enough records around. David Sneek 21:31, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Some DJ's do use digital equipment. Some use a combination of digital and "old-school." I might be pushing this analogy a bit, but you may as well ask why all artists don't use computers and graphics pads nowadays. My only DJ-ing has been of the radio station variety, but there is still something to be said for the hands-on method. Additionally, dropping the needle at the right place is a very visual activity, and I'd imagine that the whole performance DJ experience is a lot more right-brain than left.
I don't really understand what you mean about "the threads which hold the needle on the turntable." Generally a turntable platter can be disengaged from the drive motor so that it can freely rotate in the "wrong" direction. The stylus sits at the end of a well-balanced tone-arm, and DJ equipment is made to withstand some amount of this wrong-way rotation. The vinyl records do indeed suffer some wear and tear, but that's why DJ's have lots and lots of records.
Finally, I didn't see that movie, but I'd say that zombies probably have weak necks, what with the decomposing and all. --LarryMac 21:34, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Oddly, the hole seems to suffer even more. A much-scratched record (that is nevertheless still used) need a piece of paper in the hole to keep the record from wobbling. DirkvdM 18:11, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] APA

How would I site an article for a paper from your encyclopedia in APA format?

Firstly, please don't double post. Secondly, there's a link on the left hand side (under search) called "Cite this article" this contains all sorts of ways to cite wikipedia articls including APA format. Benbread 21:33, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
Third, you cite articles, you don't site them. ;) - Mgm|(talk) 23:17, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jackson, Wi

The article about Jackson, Wisconsin says John May Currently lives in Jackson. Who is John May?

There's no clue from the article. The info was added by an unregistered user on 21 June 2006. I've removed it, not least since there are no obvious John May candidates in Wikipedia, nor does Google throw up an obvious candidate. Thanks for bringing the issue to our attention. --Tagishsimon (talk)

[edit] Tour de France

What is the name for the cook/nutritionist at the Tour de France bike race? Is it a team of cooks?

  • I know next to nothing about the Tour, but I think I heard on television that each team has their own cook. - Mgm|(talk) 23:16, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Statistics on male viewers for typically female-interest shows

Would anyone know how much of a male-viewing audience The View (talk show) has? If not, where could I find out ASAP? Thank you. Rocketta

[edit] Opium Pipes

Is there any manufacturer of traditional opium pipes? Is there any source to order them? Thanks --helohe (talk) 23:00, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

  • I tried typing "opium pipe" and "wholesale" into Google and came up with Quyen Thanh Souvenirs in Vietnam. Perhaps it is of help, though it is unclear whether they are actually manufacturers of these items. Crypticfirefly 03:00, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Explosive Devices

I would like someone to teach me how to make a fertilizer bomb and how they work. Or any kind of bomb for that matter. I'd like to be able to make it out of things i could find at wal-mart. Thanks —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.193.144.143 (talk • contribs) .

How about a water bomb? JMiall 23:30, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
You should ask this guy, he seems to have experience with water that bombs. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 01:19, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
Your IP indicates that you are from the US. The Anarchist Cookbook is legally available there. Jon513 01:45, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
Can we nominate him for the Darwin Awards before he blows himself up, or do we have to wait? Adam Bishop 01:56, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
Don't they sell black powder and plumbing pipes at Wal-Mart? Why get fancy with fertilizer, you are well on your way to a nice pipe bomb. Seriously, you could hurt yourself or others with this stuff so keep it theoretical. Crypticfirefly 03:18, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
You know the NSA is reading all of this, right? --Bmk 04:11, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
Is this even a legitimate question? --Proficient 04:36, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
The Poor Man's James Bond is also easily found in the U.S. Dismas|(talk) 04:41, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
  • Learn to type with fewer fingers as well! -hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 08:03, 18 July 2006 (UTC))

Acetone Peroxide is quite easely done and can quite easy blast away your fingers.(dont drop it) helohe (talk) 12:38, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Can't you also get guns at wallmart? Or is that just another story to make the US look stupid? DirkvdM 18:14, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
I'm sure some Wallmarts are licensed gun dealers. --Serie 23:18, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
You can get ammunition at wallmart. I'm not shure if they also sell guns. helohe (talk) 01:10, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
Sure they do, just look in their catalog. Rmhermen 02:17, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
Oh dear, so it is true. Well, that solves it then. In the land of 'war on terrorism' you can buy your bombs at a supermarket. DirkvdM 07:20, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
Although Wal-Mart sells some groceries, it isn't a supermarket, or at least not in the American English way the term is used. It is primarily a discount department store. Most of the store is taken up with things like clothing, cooking utensils, tools, toys, camping equipment (including hunting gear such as guns), hardware, yard goods for sewing, knitting wool and other craft supplies, cosmetics, linens, holiday decorations, electronics, record albums, lawn furniture, office supplies . . . you get the picture. Private gun ownership is legal in the U.S., it shouldn't be a surprise that there are stores there that sell them. Crypticfirefly 03:49, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
Well, a department store then, but you get the point. I hope. You are aware that that is preposterous, aren't you? Why don't they sell heroin as well? DirkvdM 06:25, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
This question is obviously guerilla advertizing from the Waltons. Check out the rest of the questioner's contribs. --GangofOne 03:09, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sega Genesis video game

Dear whomever can answer my question, When I was around 8 or 9, I would play this game on Sega Genesis from our subscription to the "Sega Channel" (a program in which every month, tons of games are offered to be played as a demo). There was this one game that was a bit like "Art Alive", yet you only had to place things and choose their colors and compose your own environme by choosing a background, and the life and add music and props. You could even compose your own music by moving boxes with pictures on them and drag them to the central box and choose what character plays what instrument. Please tell me what game this is, it's been bugging me for ages.

Sincerely, Kyle Smith

I don't know the answer, but you could start by looking at List of Sega Genesis games, and maybe the archives of Sega Channel's webpage ([4]). Could you give us an approximate date so we could refine the search? Ziggurat 03:20, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Beginning of Augusta GA Riverwalk

Can you tell me the name of the advertising agency that originally handled the marketing and public relations for the Augusta GA Riverwalk promotions; and the names of the people at the agency who did their creative work at that time? I met some folks from there, but have forgotten their names. Thanks.