Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/2006 September 1

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[edit] Can anyone help me name this song?

I only know the melody of this song. It is a rap/pop collaboration by at least 2 singers, both males i think. It is a few years old circa 2000-2004. The chorus is a "whiny" sounding voice, while the verses are sung by a soft rapper with voice resembling to Mario Winan and Diddy's. There might be the word "heart" in the lyrics. A melody of the song can be found at: http://media.putfile.com/Can-you-name-this-song Thanks a lot. Jamesino 00:17, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I dunno, it's not performed by two men, and it doesn't sound exactly as you demonstrated, but could it be 911? —Bromskloss 08:50, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
I think it's tickling something in the depths of my memory by someone like Boyz II Men. There might be an "Everything you do... blah blah" in the melody? Jeez you've got it stuck in my head now.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  16:35, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, i was thinking along the lines of something like that, sounds like a "love" song with lots of expression in the chorus. Jamesino 17:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] robert vaughn

How tall was Robert Vaughn when he made the Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV series?

5' 10" (approx) from here [1]--Light current 01:01, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Taller than David McCallum. (5'8") Clarityfiend 18:08, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bionicle wikia

Hey, how come bs01 wiki has been suspended? THAT was, like, the coolest site (next to wikipedia)! Oh well, back to the high shool wiki. --JDitto 01:05, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Probably because it sucked --Froth 03:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
  • That wiki is totally unrelated to Wikipedia. It looks like their hosting service took them down for some reason. If I had to guess, I'd guess copyright concerns, but I can't be sure. I never visited the site. - Mgm|(talk) 07:53, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "You like masculine/feminine faces" survey.

I recall an online survey a couple of years ago that showed a number of faces, and the person taking it was to select which they found most attractive. At the end, it would tell you how many of the faces were masculine and how many were feminine, and tell you which type you selected most often. Does anyone know where this survey is currently located?

The BBC did a series called Secrets of the Sexes (link to series). Along with it went a Sex ID test in six parts. The fifth part was similar. You were given almost identical pairs of photos in which one had been manipulated, and you had to pick the one you preferred. The two versions were apparently more masculine and and more feminine (but the differences were tiny). (link to Sex ID test here) Telsa (talk) 08:42, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] programming in other languages

How do foreigners do it? I was just looking at this page and the perl is (of course) in english! --Froth 03:17, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Learning to program necessitates learning a new language (the programming lanaguage). Mixing that with another language (like English) isn't going to affect the learning curve too badly. Programmers acquire unfamiliar symbols into their programming vocabulary all the time, it's part of the trade. - Rainwarrior 04:53, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
A much bigger problem might be if there were no manual in any language they speak. DirkvdM 08:55, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I learned BASIC programming language before I learned the English language. I particularly remember discovering that "if" was the same as IF, only that the "then" following it wasn't mandatory. JIP | Talk 09:03, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

That's awesome. You should have just continued talking in BASIC anyways!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  16:31, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
IF everyone would understand that THEN that would be cool ELSE you'd be screwed. DirkvdM 18:24, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
return "Word."; (OMGLOSTINTRANSLATION?)  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:51, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sandwich

Hello, Wikipedia. This is a dumb question, but bear with me. How do I make a tuna sandwich? Do I just empty a can onto a slice of bread, or what? Partisan 5 03:48, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I mix the flaked tuna with mayo and some chopped dill pickle. –RHolton≡– 04:02, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Okay, I have a can of Chicken of the Sea some bread, and a little mayo. What can I do with that? Partisan 5 04:04, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Tuna is gross, you shouldn't eat it --Froth 04:05, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
No. First you open the can and tip the contents onto a plate. Then you dig out all the nasty bits of skin etc and proceed to chop the flesh into small pieces with a knife. At this point you may add some mayo (salad cream) or olive oil or something (not too much). Mix up well with a fork. Now get 2 slices of bread and spread them one one side with butter or margrine. Then, spread the tuna mayo mix onto one of the slices (on the butter side).Place the other slice butter side down on top and press down firmly with your palm. THen get the knife and cut the sandwich into 4 pieces. Put on plate. Sandwich is now ready to eat!--Light current 04:06, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
o_O I don't see any nasty bits of skin. And the tuna is already in small pieces. And I feel like an idiot asking wikipedia Referance dest for a sandwich recape. Partisan 5 04:11, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Just put the tuna on the bread. either mix the mayo in with the tuna or spread the mayo on the bread. —EdGl 04:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
If no skin and tuna in small pieces, you got it made already!--Light current 04:18, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Thanks. My life now has meaning. Partisan 5 04:19, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
No. Your belly now has tuna, thats all (well maybe some bread as well)--Light current 04:37, 1 September 2006 (UTC)!

You will need to drain the tuna before mixing with mayo, I press the lid down into the can and tilt to drain it. If you have a cat, they love the juice. If the tuna is packed in oil, they will spend the rest of the day trying to lick it off their whiskers, always fun to watch ! StuRat 04:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Schucks, I forgot that bit. Partisans probably got a very wet sandwich!--Light current 04:45, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Unless he got one of those Starkist fresh pack things. That is probably why there was no icky skin. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)
Good canned tuna doesn't have skin in it either. You must be getting some cheap crap. StuRat 23:52, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Of course, everyone is forgetting the inventor: The Earl of Sandwich (British)--Light current 23:56, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Slumgonia is gonna declare war against Light Currencia over this matter. You want baps not slices of bread, and even if you did use slices, cutting into more than two is 51% evil. And using butter or margarine in a sandwich is racist against rational people. Anyone sensible would want a bit of sweetcorn and finely diced onion in the mayo mix, but that's just Slumgum's recommendation. ;o)
 sʟυмɢυм • т • c  00:14, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
Onion :OK. Sweetcorn: I no likee too much! Baps are ok as long as they are wholemeal! I like margerine and mayo!--Light current 00:18, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
I like chopped celery, poppy seeds, a slice of melted cheese, and a slice of tomato with my tuna fish sandwich. BTW, what are baps ? StuRat 01:38, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
Buns!--Light current 01:41, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
White flour hamburger buns ? That link just redirects to:
"Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha, or BAPS, 
 is a spin-off from the Original Swaminarayan sect."
I don't want my tuna fish on that, thank you very much. :-) StuRat 10:14, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The first 10 years of a century

The 10 years from 10-19, are called the teens, 20-29 the twenties, and so on, regardless of what century you are in. However, what are the first 10 years, from 0-9 called. The auts, the zeros, the new century??? Is there a specific term, like the teens, twenties, for these first 10 years?

Thanks!! ~Meghan

The naughties?--Light current 04:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

As usual, we have an article on this. See Noughties#Names of the decade. --Richardrj talk email 05:14, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I only call 13-19 "teens". When we start calling 10, 11, and 12 by the names "o-teen, one-teen, and two-teen", then I will include them as teens. StuRat 12:09, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

the dictionary says we can call them o-teen. change your ways sturat Jasbutal 20:02, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
I don't believe 10 year olds are normally called teenagers, they are called preteens, or "tweens". StuRat 23:50, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Or possibly Wikitweenies--Light current 23:54, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Decades

Leaping off the previous question, when did people start thinking of time as separated in decades? The phrase "1960s," for example, carries a lot of meaning behind it, not just in terms of years but in terms of society and culture. We can think of the 50s, the 30s, the Roaring Twenties - but how far back does this go? Since we don't have a universal name for this decade, I have to assume that either 1900-1909 didn't have a well-determined name, or that name has utterly fallen out of favor. Did people call the period from 1870 to 1879 the "70s"? What about 1810-1819, the 1810s? What about the 1670s? The 1230s? and so on... How far back does the concept of decades, of separating social and cultural periods into approximate 10-year stretches more or less aligned with numerical decades, exist? zafiroblue05 | Talk 06:12, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

A guy called Ug found ten fingers on his hands and we have counted in tens ever since. Let's hear it for Ug!--Shantavira 06:28, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Thats funny, I have only 8 . But I have 2 thumbs also! 8-)--Light current 16:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Interesting question. List of decades claims that the practice of referring to decades as historical entities became popular in the 20th Century and that it might not last far into the 21st Century. But a superficial search yielded no further references. (Luckily it was Ug and not Captain Caveman who first noticed the number of his fingers. Otherwise we'd be using octades.) ---Sluzzelin 07:17, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
So, judging by the imperial system, did Brits use to have 12 fingers? DirkvdM 08:58, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
See duodecimal for explanation. 12 can be divided by 1,2,3,4,6 and 12 without remainders, while 10 can only be divided by 1,2,5 and 10 - so explaining the twelve inches in a foot. Interestingly enough, English numbers go up to twelve before going into the -teens, instead of adding -teen (i.e. -ten) to all numbers between 10 and 20. (Dutch as well!) -- the GREAT Gavini 14:13, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
In French, they go all the way to 16 before adding the equivalent of "ten" to a number's name. — Michael J 13:27, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
I suspect they must have had a different number every time they counted! Sometimes 12, sometimes 3, sometimes 8 etc.-gadfium 09:01, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Ten toes plus ten fingers, giving twenty shillings in the £1. I wonder where the guinea (21 shillings) came from … Tonywalton  | Talk 11:55, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
See Guinea (British coin) of course. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 18:40, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
So anyone getting less than 21 had been "stiffed" ? :-) StuRat 12:06, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Anne Boleyn? Proteus (Talk) 12:03, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Zafiroblue's question would be an interesting dissertation topic (and may already have been one). My guess is that practice of naming and assigning characters to decades began in the 1920s and was applied retrospectively as far back as the 1890s (the "gay nineties"). Wikipedia actually has articles on decades. If you check out 1890s, you will find out that it was not called "the gay nineties" until the 1920s. The alternative name for the 1890s, "the mauve decade", was also coined in the 1920s, when Thomas Beer published a book by that title. The practice of characterizing decades suggests the existence of a "public" that would be interested in looking back on trends in fashion and popular culture. It seems to me that the only way for such a practice to gain acceptance would be through popular media such as magazines or broadcasting media. The first popular magazines appeared in the late 1800s, but they tended to focus more on literature and high culture than on popular culture per se. My hunch is that this interest in popular culture was a product of the jazz decade, or the roaring twenties. But this is just a hunch and would require more research.
Of course before the first decade of the 1900s (I think usually called "the aughts" at the time), people such as historians did refer to decades (the 1880s, for example, or the 1790s). I have not come across any evidence, though, that earlier decades were associated as much with styles of fashion or expression. Marco polo 14:11, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
After reading Zafiroblue's question again, I realize that he is interested in the practice of referring to decades at all, even without popular culture associations. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word decade first entered English in the form decad around 1600, but its original meaning was just "a group of ten". This could be a group of ten of anything, not necessarily years. The first clear citation in the OED of the word decad used in its current sense dates to 1837. (By the current sense, I mean"a period of ten years beginning a multiple of ten years after the beginning of the century".) The spelling decade became normal later in the 1800s. Marco polo 16:03, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I searched what is supposed to be an every word index of the New York Times. The first appearance of "gay nineties" in the New York Times was in reference to an amateur circus where people rode in conveyances of the past: "Southampton sees amateur circus," July 19, 1926, p.8. Other entries referred to "a forty-niner wagon," "an 1830 costume," "joy riders of 1840." Thus other period references were to a specific year, not a decade. There did not appear to be today's notion that the 1960's were the same from beginning to end: fashion, music, politics. The first appearance of the other form "Gay 90's" was in an ad Sept 5 1927, p 2, for the centennial of a clothing company, Arnold, Constable. Other eras in ads from the series were referred to by the specific year, i.e. 1827, 1837 rather than by named decades. The first appearance of "roaring twenties" in the NYT was May 14, 1935. p. 1 in an article on monetary policy. Secretary Morgenthau said "We felt rich on that paper during the roaring Twenties. Now we know better." Perhaps by 2015 we will learn what this decade was we are living in now. Edison 18:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Impressed! ---Sluzzelin 08:17, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

The use of "the sixties" creates a false impression of uniformity. Personal memory says that there was a period from our involvement in Vietnam, say 1966 until the exit of Nixon from office in 1974 which constitutes a more uniform epoch than the period from 1/1/1960 (Ike was president) thru 12/31/1969 (men had landed on the moon, and the country were in the midst of war, protest, political awareness, drug culture). Saturday Night Live circa 1976 did a spoof of a TV record ad from the future (30 years later?) looking back at the music of those fabulous whacky 70's, ascribing to the decades a nostalgic glow no one felt. Edison 20:47, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sites that recycle old RD pages

While googling I noticed that there are any number of web pages that just consist of old Wikipedia reference desk pages. This is just one of countless examples. Why do they do it? --Richardrj talk email 11:41, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Many advertising pages seem to just list lots of random words hoping some hapless victim will find their page with a search engine, and increase their page count. At least if they have old Ref Pages, it's possible that the person doing the search might actually find the answer to their question. So, it's a slight improvement over just randomly listing words. To put it another way, copying Wikipedia is a cheap way to get some actual content for their web site. StuRat 12:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Is anyone allowed to do that?--Light current 14:55, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
I don't think anyone has gotten in trouble for doing it yet, though apparently the foundation is kind of pissed about it because they steal bandwidth everytime they update their mirrors.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  16:15, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Yes they are allowed to do that, so long as they abide by the GFDL, a minimum inconvenience in this instance. --Tagishsimon (talk)

[edit] articles

Is it at all possible to have two articles by the same name? If it is, how does one go about starting the second one?

Thirteen Figure Skater

This isn't the place to ask questions about Wikipedia... The help desk is a better place to do so. ColourBurst 14:48, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Though the answer is found at Wikipedia:Disambiguation --Tagishsimon (talk)

[edit] Puzzle of the chess board queen

8 queens can be placed on a chess board such that the power of no queen falls under the power of other 7. If we number the column of the chess board from 1 to 8 and the row from a to h so that the bottom left most corner is numbered a1, can anybody help me in naming the squares where 8 queens can be placed as said above?

I'm not into the chess speak. What do "power" and "falling under" mean? —Bromskloss 16:07, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
See Eight queens puzzle. Dismas|(talk) 16:10, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
[After edit conflict]
A queen in chess can move to any of the squares diagonal to it on the board. Thus a square diagonally upleft, downleft, upright, or downright of a queen piece could be considered to fall within or fall under the "power" of the queen. I'm not even sure if that's chess terminology or anything either. +
Queens can also move and capture horizontally or vertically, so the row and column containing a queen, as well as the diagonals from the queen, are all "under it's power". StuRat 22:54, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
I think the original question asker wants to know how to figure out the possible locations that the queens can be set in so that none of them fall under another's power, but I choose to interpret the question as "What name should I call the position where all of the queens do not fall under each other's power?" I nominate the name octoqueen draw.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  16:14, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

This sounds like a math homework question. Durova 16:22, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

It's the rows (ranks) that are numbered and the columns (files) that are letters, like Excel. Placing the queens as if they were knights will work. Anchoress 16:28, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
The 8 queens problem is a fairly well known comp sci problem that is often used to teach iterative refinement (assuming mastery of certain data structure concepts needed to model the board like arrays of arrays) or iterative searching. The basic algorithm involves solving by columns. Clearly all 8 queens have to be in different columns, so start by placing the first queen in A1, then try to place the next, iterating from B1 to B8. If you suceed, work on C, and so on, till you fail (by running off the top). At that point back up one column and bump that queen up a row (or to the next successful placement location). This search can produce all possible solutions in fairly quick time, far faster than brute force eval of random placement. The hard part (for a budding comp sci major) is actually programming it, this explanation is usually given in the problem setup. ++Lar: t/c 16:29, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
'Name' the squares, you say? I name them 'Sarah', 'Melissa', 'Hariett', 'Lucy', 'Scott', 'Tom', 'Richard' and 'Harry'. As for where, they are, haven't a clue, sorry :). —Daniel (‽) 17:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
No, the squares should be named 'Elizabeth', 'Mary', 'Beatrix', etc. Or possibly 'Freddie', 'Elton', 'Liberace', and 'Oscar'. Anchoress 06:28, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Good article candidate link does not work

Why doesn't it work?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Raylena (talk • contribs)

Where on which page is this not working link? --Tagishsimon (talk)

[edit] Vehicle fuel economy and air conditioning

Does using the air conditioning in your car adversly affect fuel economy to any significant (say > 5%) extent?--Light current 16:13, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Depends on the car, but AFAIK, yes. --Tagishsimon (talk)

So if my car engine is 80kW (it is), then the A/C could be using more than 3kW?--Light current 16:37, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Appears to be a complex subject: New Scientist and Straightdope may be your friends. A study in the straightdope article quotes a premium of 12% for aircon in a golf GTI. --Tagishsimon (talk)
As a sidenote, the TV show Mythbusters tested whether turning on the A/C or just rolling down the window was better for fuel economy. If I remember correctly, it depends on the vehicle's speed. Clarityfiend 17:29, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Did they aslo compare it with putting a wet towel in your neck, to name but something? I've never needed aircon in a car (for various reasons), but I keep on being surprised at how much cost and effort people are willing to go through to avoid having to think about simple solution. 12% of the car's fuel consumption is horrible, considering how much fuel cars guzzle. Is that normal for airconditioning or is it just that cars are difficult to cool down? What about leaving the window spray (or what is that called?) on? Of course, you'd need to refill it way too often and it wouldn't be the most efficient way to apply the principle, but if ac is that costly, an alternative that simply evaporates water might be something to think about. DirkvdM 18:47, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Using evaporative cooling might be a good idea, but would leave water spots where the water had evaporated. Using wiper fluid would be horrid, it would cost more than A/C, pollute the air, and leave blue, crusty dye all over the car. Distilled water would reduce the water spots, but dust from the air would still be captured by the water spots. I suppose people could just learn to live with the water spots, ugly as they are. StuRat 22:48, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Cars are these metal boxes with essentially no insulation, a large heat generator up front, and are generally painted in light-absorbing colors. They heat up faster than almost anything else out there, so it's not surprising that they take a lot of energy to cool. 12% seems a bit high, though: I don't think my car loses more than about 5% when driving at highway speeds - less than I'd lose by opening a window. --Serie 20:44, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
High performance sports cars frequently either lack A/C altogether or disconnect the A/C under full acceleration, so apparently the drag on the engine is significant. StuRat 22:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Commercial use?

Dera Sir/Maddam,

I run a part time buisiness producing DVDs for the Rail Enthusiast www.uktrainwatchers.com my publisher who are Pegasus Entertainment then produce glass master copies for commercial distribution to the general pulic. My question is: can i use paragraphs in the selected Wikipedia pages verbaly to use in my production of DVDs which enhance the publics knowledge of the train watching experience.

Thank you Mr Clive Turner <email address removed>

Hello, Mr Turner. My understanding is that you may use reproduce the content verbally, but still follow the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also Reusers' rights and obligations. Simply, "Wikipedia content can be copied, modified, and redistributed so long as the new version grants the same freedoms to others and acknowledges the authors of the Wikipedia article used (a direct link back to the article satisfies our author credit requirement)." Whether your commercial publisher would accept these conditions is another matter, of course. Rockpocket 17:33, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
INdeed. The section 7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS might give them some comfort. --Tagishsimon (talk)

[edit] recreational sex + christianity

why do monks take an oath of celibacy? Why are priests celibate? I thought Catholics and other Christians too believe sex with a spouse is an integral part of...something or other...what was it important for again!?? sex as a symbol of religion or somethign? Jasbutal 18:25, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Take a look at Celibacy for some answers. If I remember correctly the early Christian church advocated celibacy for all people. This was due to the fact that they thought they were living in the last days. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 18:35, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Well they would have if that idea would have caught on. :) DirkvdM 18:50, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
An important reason for celibacy being imposed upon the early church is[citation needed] to stop church property being inherited by the children of clergymen and therefore the church loosing wealth. Also, if asked to write an essay on the causes of the reformation just write "The reformation happened so that horny priests (and a king) could get laid." you are bound to get an A. MeltBanana 19:49, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
whoa whao! I forgot to add, preferably no comments from people who grew up in Christian households and had it shoved down their throats and tried to be rebellious about it in their teens ("dude, Jesus loves me? That's so gay") so they grew apart from the Church and are now biased and cynical about every aspect of it. THanks! Jasbutal 20:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
That is hardly fair, such people may offer all kinds of info to help answer your question. I admit to being biased and cynical but not about religion any more then any other subject, as neither religion nor irreligion has never been imposed on me. MeltBanana 23:30, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
There aren't very many Shakers left around because of that celibacy thing. User:Zoe|(talk) 23:41, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

There are many christians throughout the world, and they cover a broad range od ideology. It would not really be easy to generalize and characterize how all christians see things, or feel. Hundreds of different sects, at least 17 major sects with more than a million members. There are many christians that participate in recreational sex. There are almost no christians that are celibate after their first sexual interaction. The more conservative branches feel that sex outside of marriage is unethical, or sinful. The very conservative branhces feel that having sex, other than the limited interaction necessary to have children is sinful (oral sex, touching of body parts, all sinful). There are some christians that feel that god gave sex as a gift, and as long as the sex is responsible and consensual, it is not sinful. Most christians, particularly protestants, would say that sex and your sexuality is between you and god, and not anyone elses business. If a generalization were to be made that applied, generally, to most christians, it would be that they think that sex is healthy and normal as part of a long-term relationship, usually involving marriage. Atom 15:01, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

As for the more direct answer to your question, as mentioned by someone else, the catholic church's stand on priests marrying and celibacy is by church policy, and more about church politics than what god wants. The church feels that monks and nuns should devote themselves, and their service, and all of their energy and being to the church. Self gratification, sexual gratification with others (that can lead to children, and responsibilities) takes energy that could be spent on the church. Atom 15:01, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

hmm. strange. I'd heard that recreational sex could bring people closer to God? Jasbutal 03:35, 5 September 2006 (UTC)
  • NIN-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 21:02, 7 September 2006 (UTC))

[edit] Vandalism?

1. How great a percentage of users acting solely as vandals would overwhelm the reverters and render Wikipedia a churning hodgepodge of vandalism, false information, and pranks? Or in the alternate, what is the minimum number of vandals operating simultaneously, 24 hours a day, that would overrun wikipedia and overwhelm the "recent changes" patrollers? 5,000? 10,000? 50,000?

Does anyone have any ideas?

2. Furthermore, how does anyone know that the old adage "one troll drives away five good contributors" is actually true? Does anyone have any verfication of this statistic?

3. Also, if trolls have more lasting damage on wikipedia, how many "vandals" does one "troll" equal in their detrimental effects on Wikipedia?

4. Do Vandals and Trolls work in tandem? In groups? What if they were part of an organisation?

Thanks.Wiki Mirabeau 19:11, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

1.there are anti-vandalism bots. Perhaps 1 bot could revert the effects of 5000 vandals in 10 min?? Jasbutal 19:34, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
In a world where anything can be changed by anyone and nothing is permanent, it is completely up to the absolute ratio of vandals to good contributors. Each side may employ bots for temporary advantage, but as long as there is a higher percentage of good contributors to vandals then it should work. Compare this with RL where one terrorist can inflict massive damage that cannot be fixed. Here we can turn back time very easily and anyone can do it. I guess this is a bit like a democracy, if 60% of a country's population wants to vote for Bugs Bunny for president just to screw up the government I guess they could, but in reality people do like to be constructive members of society most of the time. Nowimnthing 20:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
but how would the bots know what is vandalism?Wiki Mirabeau 23:31, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Well if the United States page suddenly goes blank then it's probably vandalism and the bot will revert. They can also look for the addition of certain words being inserted into articles. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:01, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brain Age Sudoku

I just got the DS game Brain Age, and I have been trying to complete every sudoku puzzles. Does anything get unlocked for completing all of them? -- TheGreatLlama (speak to the Llama!) 19:11, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Try Gamefaqs Nowimnthing 20:08, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] missile defense

http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=3579

How do "fog" and "overcast and cloudy" conditions cancel a missile defense test? Are detection systems dependent on weather? Are missile launches dependent on weather? why? Jasbutal 19:41, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

The complete trajectory needs to be filmed by ground based cameras.--Light current 20:35, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Radar performance (at some wavelengths) may be degraded by bad weather; perhaps they don't want to test in bad weather (difficulty with radar, risk of lightning strikes on equipment, unpredictable winds, etc.) until they've validated the system in clear weather. The testers are probably keen to see the test themselves — video recordings can be used to check missile-based telemetry and ground-based tracking; video can aid in identifying problems and failure modes; and video is a handy marketing tool if the test actually works. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 20:38, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
That said, the effectiveness of missile defence is questioned by many observers; in their view, none of the tests have been realistic simulations of what would actually be required to intercept an actual hostile missile, making the "operational" deployment of the missiles largely a symbolic gesture. --Robert Merkel 00:22, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
I disagree. I have heard reports of highly accurate interceptions esp using Seawolf missiles--Light current 00:31, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
Except that Sea Wolf (missile) seems to suggest that they're used to intercept Anti-ship missiles, which are in no way similar to ICBMs. So essentially, that's totally unrelated to SDI, or any SDI like anti-ICBM systems.--VectorPotential71.247.243.173 11:53, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Plain old sandals

Can anyone give a website where I can buy plain and old sandals that are still worn today by women? Thanks.

Try Ebay.com Search for "Sandals" in the category "Women's shoes." 41,429 listings, believe it or not. Buut the only ones with "old" in the description were by "Old Navy." Perhaps you have a favorite brand to narrow things down. Edison 21:07, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, they will be a mile away, and without shoes, which will make it much more difficult for them to beat the crap out of you." :-) StuRat 22:34, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
I like it!--Light current 00:52, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
Why don't you try looking for geta or zori? They're old, rather plain (and cheap!), and women (in Japan) still wear them.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  16:34, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Actresses

How many actresses appear nude in their movies? not porn movies

Are you including porn movies? 'Cause that would change the number by a lot. --Mnemeson 20:40, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Too few??? Give me a number of how many actresses there are total and I will find a percentage for you. It won't be based on anything real, but then neither will your number. Nowimnthing 20:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
truly, too few. Jasbutal 21:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Has nobody seen About Schmidt?? I'd say "too few" may be a dangerous answer! X-( Dismas|(talk) 23:10, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I figured it out! 42%! :) schyler 01:47, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

No no. Thats the answer to life the universe and everything.Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy--Light current 01:50, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
No No No. It's The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. JackofOz 05:53, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
OK you win 8-)--Light current 17:07, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] RICHWOODS HIGH SCHOOL, PEORIA, ILLINOIS

Is there anybody here who goes to Richwoods High School in Peoria, Illinois? If you do, I am trying to find people to collaborate with to make the article bigger, right now it only includes some E.C. activities. If you are willing to help, you don't have to leave your real names, just your usernames so I can talk to you about it. Please leave them on this page. I would really appreciate it. EAT EM UP, EAT EM UP! (excerpt from the Richwoods fight song)- Proud Knight

You might want to try Classmates.com, as you're more likely to find current and former students there. I'd be careful about giving them your credit card number, however, as they make it damn near impossible to drop your subscription, once they have it. StuRat 22:28, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] I wish to acquire bad-ass potentcy

I'm writing this in an overairconditioned office in Silicon Valley. The pay is great but this cushy internship isn't the vocation of idealized manhood--I worry about that a lot now. So I'd like to compensate for my insecurity by finding a job for next summer that is exotic, adventurous and manly. Wikipedians, what is the easiest way for a California boy to head on down under and become a jackaroo?

lots of issues | leave me a message 23:19, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

See Badass to start--Light current 00:08, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Jokes apart, being a sailor can be quite "manly". I'd have a lot of respect on that front for someone who worked on deep-sea trawlers, say. Sailing ships are pretty cool too - handing a topgallant in a gale is something to be proud of - but not something you're likely to fall into as a job with no experience. PeteVerdon 00:25, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
See the Australian government's visa rules. Note that if your government was a tad less anal about its own visa rules, you could probably get a working holiday visa. But, the way I read it, you can't, so you'll have to get in through one of the other categories, such as employer sponsorship.
By the way, do you realise that as a jackeroo, there may not be eligible women within several hundred miles of your post. But, as compensation, there is always the Bachelor and Spinster Balls...--Robert Merkel 00:17, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
Robert thank you. But how to find a sponsership?
lots of issues | leave me a message 03:05, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
You need to find somebody who wants to employ you as a jackeroo. A google search for "jackeroo employment turns up a number of relevant links. Be aware that as well as potentially lonely, it can be physically demanding, difficult, and sometimes dangerous work, and you'll probably need some training beforehand, particularly if you've got no rural background. --Robert Merkel 06:05, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

..and the sheep! You could call them baaaad asses! 8-))--Light current 00:20, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

A friend of mine takes a few months every few years to follow the trade of his fathers in Alaska. The fishing boats often stay out for weeks in sub-zero weather, and the cook is always one of the crew, so you wouldn't expect any pizza or okonomiyaki. It's pretty hard physical work (fishing), and you don't get much time to sleep, but you get into a (zombie-like) rhythm and you forget what you're doing after a while. The best part is when you get back you get a fat envelope filled with about 30 grand (an average figure, apparently). I consider that pretty adventurous and "manly".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  11:13, 3 September 2006 (UTC)
That's another great idea. Who to contact? lots of issues | leave me a message 22:53, 3 September 2006 (UTC)
This cartoon refers. --Tagishsimon (talk)
I love xkcd. To Lotsofissues: I suggest the best way is to go to Alaska (I suggest Kodiak, Alaska) yourself and check job listings, approach boats, etc. There's not going to be a "Fish in Alaska and Become Bad-Ass" Tour Agency, or an online recruitment page, because, well, they don't do that kind of thing up there.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  07:29, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
Fresh: What's a bad-ass fishing job that won't be disturbingly dangerous like Artic crabbing? lots of issues | leave me a message 22:00, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
  • shrimping in rock pools-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 21:05, 7 September 2006 (UTC))