Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

March 15

Prize Crew

What is a "Prize Crew" in naval terms? Jamesino 02:13, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

When you capture another ship during wartime (the prize), you put a crew on board to man it if it is still sailable. The Royal Navy used to pay prize money when it bought the vessel. Obviously you're not a Horatio Hornblower fan, ye landlubber. Clarityfiend 02:34, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, indeed! Prize money was one of the few attractions of a time when naval life was otherwise governed by 'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash'. Clio the Muse 02:45, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

For some persons,one or all of 'rum,sodomy and the lash' may have been very great attractions... Lemon martini 13:16, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

What was the prize crew in the case of the German WWII battleship Bismarck? Since Bismarck was never captured by the Allies, why did it have a prize crew? Jamesino 14:13, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Do you mean the "prize crew" that is mentioned under "Complement" on the Bismarck page ? That was an 80 man complement carried not to crew the Bismarck itself but to crew any prize ships that the Bismarck captured - see here and here for more information. Gandalf61 14:41, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Prize money was allocated by strictly determined rules, by ship and by rank. To qualify for prize money a ship had to be in sight of the battle. In Hornblower's life he missed prize money on one occasion because he fought to delay the reinforcements, but out of sight of the main British fleet which captured enemy ships. Brutal.86.197.47.172 15:48, 15 March 2007 (UTC)foresterfan

But of course there was no prize money awarded that time, since the capture took place just before war broke out. Hornblower and Bush got a good laugh out of that. Clarityfiend 17:16, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Need cheap Merchant account

I'm doing an internet . Where can i find a cheap, reliable merchant account? (preferably from a well-known trustworthy bank)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.199.1.177 (talk) 02:47, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

For most smallish activities, PayPal is pretty usable. SteveBaker 06:09, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Who has ever heard of a "trustworthy" bank?--88.109.116.185 06:44, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Which

Which brand and style is the most popular 80's glasses for men?100110100 07:31, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Currently, or for the 80's? 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 13:56, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

The film Blues Brothers is widely credited with reviving the Ray-Ban brand of sun glasses. Rhinoracer 16:03, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

History channel

RIGHT NOW, they're discussing BLACK HOLES and the Bermuda Triangle. Can this be placed here ? 65.173.105.125 01:27, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I have a glitch that is causing my sig to be deactivated, as seen here. 65.173.105.125 01:31, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

The science desk might be a better place to discuss black holes. The Bermuda triangle...hmmm...maybe here, maybe science (maybe religion since there are suggestions of the supernatural being involved). I guess the science desk would be the best place overall. SteveBaker 15:06, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure MOVIE!?!?

if there is going to be a movie in production who should play trane, decoy and gabe?? happy suggesting ppl! :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.36.235.99 (talk) 15:34, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

The refrerence desk isn't a messageboard, therefore your question doesn't belong here, sorry. →EdGl 22:01, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Space Shuttle

How thick is the windshield of the space shuttle? Also, what is it made out of? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 199.197.123.198 (talk) 16:20, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

They appear to be made of Fused quartz. [1] According to this NASA document:

The outer panes of the windshield serve as a critical part of the thermal protection system, keeping the high heat of reentry away from the manned compartment of the vehicle. The inner panes form part of the pressure vessel where the crew lives. The outer pane, also called the thermal pane, is a .6 inch thick plate of fused silica glass [quartz], approximately 35" x 45". There are six thermal panes in the windshield, two in the overhead windows (observation windows) and one in the side hatch.

- Rockpocket 18:58, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Vegetarian Humans

I was just curious to know how vegetarians and vegans and the like can live with the fact that they are made of meat?

Because they're not killing/eating themselves. Vegans, et al, do not have a moral problem with the existence of meat; to suggest so is quite silly. On that note, please do not use the Reference Desk as a soapbox. — Lomn 16:54, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

et al is only supposed to replace names on a list of at least six people

1. Not true. According to our own source, depending on which citation style you are using, the term et al. (short for latin phrases meaning either and others or and elsewhere) may be used for a list of as few as three items. Your third term ('and the like') stands for more than one, so I see 'at least three more terms possible.

2. PLEASE sign your edits...so we know who to appreciate for the time and effort here in the reference desk! Jfarber 18:51, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Even if it's claimed they eat each other, in reality they're merely tasting each other... 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 20:00, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

And tasty a vegetarian is not! − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 23:07, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Q

I am sure I am not NT, does this mean I have to have an ASD? Also can someone with HFA get CDD? Finally if someone only almost has AS, would this be called something else?

WTF? Dismas|^(talk) 17:03, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

PBSBBQ. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 23:06, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Translation: I am sure I am not Neurotypical, does this mean I have to have an Autism Spectrum Disorder? Also can someone with High-functioning autism get Childhood disintegrative disorder? Finally if someone only almost has Asperger syndrome, would this be called something else? --Tagishsimon (talk)

WDNOMA. Sorry, couldn't resist. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:25, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

WDNOMA? What is that supposed to mean? "We Don't Need O? More Abbreviations"? Google suggests I might mean "woman"... 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 19:13, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

"We(or Wikipedia) do not offer medical advice." Thought it might not apply to this question fully. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:29, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

THX! ~~ —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Wakuran (talk • contribs) 20:00, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

There is a continuous spectrum from 'normality' through mere 'geekiness' to Aspergers and into 'high functioning' Autism through to people who are totally shut off from the world and cannot function on any level in society. It's very hard to pin a firm label on someone - and utterly impossible to pin it on yourself because the names for these conditions are totally arbitary and the means for determining which label applies are pretty vague. It's not like there is a blood test to say whether you are Aspergers or are merely Geeky - they use a set of diagnostic criteria - which you can read about in the articles already referenced here. There are an enormous number of people who believe they have Aspergers who are in truth pretty normal geeks - there are a lamentable number of people who are close to the Autistic end of the spectrum who are not getting the help they need because they have been labelled as 'merely' Asperger cases. If it matters to you which label you should have - then by all means seek out medical advice (which is hard if you are (like me) in the Aspergers "range" - because that's precisely the kind of contact we shy away from). Personally, I found it to be something of a relief to get a firm diagnosis - but in truth it doesn't change who I am - so in the end the label doesn't matter. The good thing is that unless you are firmly at the Autistic end of the spectrum, the benefits that accrue from this syndrome are more valuable to most 'victims' than the (definite) downsides - if there was a pill you could take to 'cure' Aspergers, I wouldn't take it. If you want to just talk about this, you can find my email address on my home-page which is linked from User:SteveBaker - but if you seek a diagnosis, find a doctor. Good luck! SteveBaker 15:01, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Find a doctor if you want a real diagnosis. People tend to overdo it when self-diagnosing themselves, such as nowadays with geeks and Aspergers. Just being introverted, socially incompetent, and having freakishly good hearing in the high ranges, does not mean you actually have "Aspergers". If it did, it would mean that a person with a sad day every once in a while and a happy day every once in a while was "bipolar". -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 16:04, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Hey, why was my comment deleted :( All I said was thet they shouyld be themselves and that a doctor might try to fit them into a specific category, instead of treating them as an individual :( HS7 20:14, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Guillermo Patterson

Hi! I was reading on Important people on the Republic of Panama. I am the grandson of a very importat Panamanian person. His name is Guillermo Patterson. You can find information on him on google. However, I would like to add him up here. At the same time I (Fidel Guillermo Ponce Patterson) would like to add an external link of my webpages www.panamacruise.com.pa for tourism and www.panamahotrealestate.com if possible as well. Do you think is is possible? Best, Fidel G. Ponce P.

Although Wikipedia is free and open for anybody to edit, in cases like this you have to be very careful about conflicts of interest that could end up creating biased, non-neutral articles. I'd suggest that you add your grandfather to the list of requested articles and leave it up to somebody else to actually create it, so that we can make sure that it's neutral. You can also suggest it to the group that takes care of Panama articles and maybe somebody there will be interested in creating the article. As far as your links go, in order to get them posted here they'd have to be proven to be pretty notable and topical to an article here, since Wikipedia isn't meant as a medium for free advertising. --Maelwys 18:59, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree - we have to be exceedingly careful about bias in such cases. If your grandfather is indeed a 'notable' person (and Wikipedia has some pretty specific guidelines about that) then the best thing would be to find an editor (perhaps someone who has written about other notable Panamanians) and ask if they would create an article for you - based on a more neutral point of view than you would be able to provide yourself. I'm sure that such a person would be interested in any source material you might have or know of (especially any mentions of your ancestor in books and magazines) because these kinds of primary sources can be hard to find. However, referencing your two business websites is quite definitely out of the question - that's 100% contrary to all of our rules here. If I discovered those links in the context of an article about a this person, I would be obliged to delete them immediately and put some kind of a 'this guy is an evil spammer' tag on your user page - so please don't do that! SteveBaker 14:42, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Regional energy markets in the United States

How can I find information about differences between the electricity markets in the south versus in the west? Specifically, information about the operations or organization differences between those markets? Thank you. 66.150.60.2 18:58, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

I doubt that this information is available on Wikipedia, and the best analyses of this question are unlikely to be available online. The best way to research this would be to go to a business library, for example the library of a university business school, that subscribes to academic and professional journals that cover those questions. Some such libraries are open to the public, and large cities often have a business library as part of their public library system. The reference librarian at such a library should be able to help you find relevant articles. You seem to be in Georgia, so you might try the University of Georgia library. Marco polo 14:16, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Start of a Day

My question is :Where does the "Day" start? ie: Chita Siberia, Russia, appears to have a 15 hour jump ahead of Billings Montanan, USA, yet, the Greenwich Prime Meridian appears to be East of the USA, and West of Russia. I am curious, where would the hour "0" be in a case like this. It seems the sun comes up on USA 'before' it does on Russia, yet they are into Friday, whereas we are into Thursday.

Thank you,

Russell A.Palmer <email redacted> —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.145.75.91 (talk) 22:02, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

At the core, you have to remember that any discrete point of "east" or "west" is completely arbitrary. You can only travel north so far, and then you have to go south, but you can go west indefinitely. Just as you note that the sun seems to come up on the US before Russia, what if you start somewhere else on the globe? It rises on England before the US. It rises on Russia before England. So on, and so forth. The Prime Meridian is just an arbitrary point of definition (and note how that reference has varied by time and culture). — Lomn 22:09, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

I think what he is going for is where the day changes first. Today is March 15th, where on earth will it be March 16th first?--ChesterMarcol 22:12, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

In that case, it would normally be on the west side (that is, the Eastern Hemisphere) of the International Date Line -- except, of course, for the various jogs in where the IDL is drawn. I think Kiribati is furthest "east", and therefore the first to see the sunrise of a given day, in the GMT+14 timezone. — Lomn 22:41, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

More precisely, the easternmost of three time zones in Kiribati. Historically the all-time best answer was the easternmost point of the Alaska Panhandle (either near Hyder or along the water border south of there, I'm not sure which) when Alaska was a Russian possession (so the date changed as you crossed the border with British territory, now Canada) and had not yet adopted zone time. At longitude 130°W, the local time there would have been +15:20. Before part of Kiribati adopted time zone +14, this zone existed in eastern Russia during daylight saving time, but according to the tz database, it's not used there any more. --Anonymous, March 15, 2007, 23:48 (UTC).

As best I can tell, the piece of land where the sun rises first on a given date would be Flint Island in Kiribati. Marco polo 15:23, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Of course if you want to talk about sunrise ("day" as in daytime) rather than midnight ("day" as in 24 hours with the same calendar date), you have to consider the effect of latitude. The day may start an hour later in eastern Russia (during daylight saving time) than in eastern Kiribati, but the 24-hour day can include 24 hours of daylight, so the first daylight on a particular calendar date could be in Russia. Of course, that's only at certain times of year. At other times there might be bases in Antarctica that would be first -- I'm not sure offhand what time zones they all keep -- or maybe Chatham Island, which is considerably farther south than Kiribati and has its own time zone +12:45. Near the solstices, though, Kiribati would certainly be first. --Anon, March 17, 01:51 (UTC).

Maybe if you were on a really tall mountain, such as Hawaii, you might see the sun around the side of the earth :) HS7 21:16, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

equiptment

HOW CAN I PURCHASE CD OR DVD MULTIPLE REPLICATION/DUPLICATION EQUIPTMENT WITH PROGRAM —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Styles777 (talk • contribs) 22:10, 15 March 2007 (UTC). IF ANY INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT AT (e-mail address removed).

Removed the email address. anonymous6494 22:35, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Do you mean a CD/DVD burner? If so, any computing shop should sell them. As for software, I imagine most burners come with their own software. Otherwise you can download one of the web, a popular one for Windows is Nero. - Akamad 14:12, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

No hes talking about equipment that can mass produce pirated material. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.167.159.75 (talk) 02:39, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

youtubes as sources.

i was wondering if youtube videos (or videos in general, actually) can be used as sources.

thx, aeymxq 22:14, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

I'd imagine we could if the video stayed there for a good long time. But.... Any video with a notable person probably is copyrighted by some company like NBC, Viacom, MTV, etc. and by using that video as a source you're basically encouraging the copyright violation that the video represents. Dismas|^(talk) 22:45, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

This question has been asked before. The answer is "depends on what it is, and what you are using it as a source for." You have the same source reliability problems with YouTube than you do with anything else. As a further note, not every video on YouTube is copyright infringement. For example, I don't see a problem with a YouTube clip of the 1902 science fiction film by Georges Melies, Le Voyage Dans La Lune. Furthermore, one would not expect to be "encouraging copyright violation" by making use of a lonelygirl15 clip, whether you were using it as a reference for an article about lonelygirl15 or not-- it was deliberately distributed using YouTube, there is no copyright violation involved. Similarly, I wouldn't see a copyright problem with using this clip, which arguably might be used as a reference for Slide guitar. Or this clip of the Electric Slide which I understand was posted by the guy who claims he invented & copyrighted the dance. Hope this helps. Crypticfirefly 01:09, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I certainly agree that the prevalence of infringing materials on YouTube and other social video spaces puts the onus on the viewer to make sure that you only cite legitimate materials...and note, further, that the potential for illegitimacy inherent in socially constructed content spaces casts a potential pall of illegitimacy on ALL such mentions of the site in a bibliography for some professors -- often those same professors who would frown upon use of Wikipedia for a source, for related reasons. But I also think Crypticfirefly's point that much (most?) of YouTube is perfectly legitimate is a good one, though of course the academic relevance of much of the world of YouTube is questionable, unless you're cybersocial scientist Danah Boyd.

But I disagree with Dismas' first point above -- how long the video sticks around on YouTube should have no bearing on whether or not it can or should be used as a source. There is plenty of precedence in academia for citation of esoteric material, from live interviews to speeches to chats and other non-recorded events, and most citation handbooks acknowledge this by providing formats for citing such things. If you experienced it, and can cite it, you MAY use it as a source, period.

That said: many videos on youtube were not posted by their creator, and give no credit to that creator; you may NOT cite the poster unless you are sure they made the video! But without an author to cite, the only info you have left to cite about most youtube videos is the title of the video, and when and where YOU accessed it -- not much of a citation, and much like saying "Hey, I saw this thing called "Skateboard rollerz wow!" yesterday." As above, the less information one can find for a citation, the less trust will be extended to your source (and therefore your information) by your readers. In short, then: you CAN use most YouTube videos...but should you?

As for the more general question (can you use videos as a source at all?) the answer is an absolute "yes" -- in general, you can cite anything that exists, with the above caveats about perceptions of legitimacy; it's on YOU to decide if the source is reliable, but of course you CAN use it if you like, and many videos are solid, wonderfully illuminating sources for may types of work. TheMLA web site has more on this... Jfarber 03:26, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I would say most of YouTube is in fact material that violates copyright. I'm not denying the existance of some material put up either by or with the permission of the copyright owners but it's my experience that most of the material is not. It's important to remember that just because the copyright owner makes no attempt to remove the material doesn't mean it's been put up there legitimate. There is a lot of news material, stuff from TV, music videos etc that have never been removed but in many cases, it's unclear or unlikely that the copyright owner has given permission for it to be there. Obviously there is a fair amount of user created material and stuff like lonelygirl, music videos put up there by the creators etc but I would say it's a definite minority. (Perhaps more importantly, a lot of the stuff which isn't infringing copyright is probably of questionable use as a source. Some of it may be suitable as an external link.) BTW when it comes to wikipedia, in case of public domain material, it's preferble to upload the material directly to wikipedia then link to youtube. Nil Einne 07:16, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Just to clairify my point, I don't think that whether or not a particular video on YouTube constitutes copyright infringement is Wikipedia's problem if all you are doing is citing the video as a reference any more than it is your problem if a book you consulted in the library turned out to be an unauthorized, fake copy. When you find out it is a pirated copy you can worry that they didn't copy all of the pages or left out a key sentence, but the thing you are citing is the original. If I wanted to use a television program as a reference, as in your example, I'd cite the news program as broadcast. (Wall $treet Week, original air date June 24, 2005 or whatever is the right way to do it. Not that I think it is likely that someone will upload episodes of THAT show to YouTube. But imagine for the sake of argument that I saw it there.) Most of the things you are going to find on YouTube that actually have YouTube as the "source" that you would cite are going to be things that are more likely to be non-infringing: self-made instructional videos, videoblogs, home videos, "viral marketing" campaigns, and the like. But I agree, it is more likely that things on YouTube will be suitible only as external links providing additional information rather than being a cited source for a piece of information. Crypticfirefly 07:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Proper citation requires that you cite WHERE you referenced a/v media from for a reason, and most YouTube videos are "clips", rather than whole shows. Citing Wall Street Week as if you had seen it on TV when you did not is both academically dishonest and, potentially, a good way to get things wrong, since any person posting a video can edit it before posting it, and since you have no way of knowing what else happened before and afterwards on the original show even if it has not been changed. No, if you wanted to use a television program as a reference, you must watch the television program itself, not a potentially edited or truncated version, and not on youtube. If, on the other hand, you see something on youtube and want to cite it, every citation format I've ever seen requires you to explicitly cite your source as youtube, so that your readers can decide for themselves if they want to go to the source, and experience exactly what you did, in making their own conclusions. Jfarber 13:32, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Jfarber, I think we are basically in agreement, I just didn't explain myself clearly. By saying I'd cite the program as broadcast, I meant I'd cite the program in question rather than merely citing "YouTube clip of Alan Greenspan posted by user GreenspanFan." (Thank you for clarifying that the cite should also provide the source.) The point I was trying to make, and perhaps I am putting too fine a point on it, is that I wouldn't consider citing the program to be "citing YouTube" but rather "citing a specific television show that the citer happened to access via YouTube." Crypticfirefly 05:05, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

subquestion: any data on "most" youtube videos?

We have a difference of opinion here that matters to the OP's question, I think, folks. Can anyone answer the subquestion: Are most videos on youtube legal or illegal, copyright-wise? The only "proof" I have is a knowledge of US fair use laws and a quick skim of the most recent hundred videos or so...but that's not proof, and I'd like to know. Jfarber 10:28, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Take a look at the terms of use, specifically #4 and #5. These should help clear up some of your questions (or raise more questions...) TomStar81 (Talk) 00:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks...it's good to see the official policies. Unfortunately, as we know, youtube only deletes copyrighted information at the request of the copyright holder...and most copyright holders don't know enough to ask. As such, though the policy may reinforce the relevance of the question herein, AFAIK, it doesn't actually answer the question of whether more information than not currently on youtube breaks that policy...and I don't think the policy itself allows us to assume that information on youtube is within that policy until we are demonstrated otherwise -- in other words, a statement of good faith legalese from the web site itself doesn't lend a good faith assumption to the content, I fear. Jfarber 01:15, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I think the question would be very hard to answer because there is no way that I know of to systematically browse every video on YouTube. But in case it helps, I did take a look at the top 20 most viewed videos for today and came up with the following breakdown: Nine videos obviously uploaded by the copyright holder (e.g. CBS, lonelygirl15, etc.). Three videos which might have been uploaded by the copyright holder, but I was less sure. (Example: a Swedish uploader of a very pixelated video, titled in Japanese, of blond women in bikinis. It *looked* like an advertisement posted by some kind of erotic video seller, but I wasn't sure.) There was a clip from Jeopardy, which is presumably infringement. Three clips from what appeared to be British comedy shows, presumably infringing. One from what appears to be a British news program, presumably infringing. Finally, there were three clips of the exact same video (plus or minus a few seconds at either end) of a World Cup cricket game involving the South African team, again, presumably infringing. Next, I looked at the 20 most recently uploaded videos. Of these, every single one was clearly uploaded by the creator (many of them apparently recorded with cell phones). The only possible copyright infringement was the classical music recording used as background music for a slideshow of pictures from a birthday party (but for all I know the musical recording itself is PD), and the music used as the background for a twelve-second clip of a guy on a skateboard. Crypticfirefly 06:01, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

That's roughly the survey I tried, too, Cryptic. I worry, however, that those who would upload copyrighted content blatantly might do so in batches -- in other words, I wonder if using the most recent 20 posted videos offers a statistically significant estimate, or could be WAY off from a true average. Maybe there's no way to find such an average. Hmm. Jfarber 18:16, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

March 16

Modern armor vs old cannon fire

Just out of curiousity, how would a modern main battle tank such as an M1A2 Abrams or Leopard tank fare against the type of cannon used in the late middle ages? I remember that these tanks have armor suited for the purpose of withstanding penetration from modern HEAT and Sabot rounds. But the cannonball is different and relies more on blunt kinetic impact rather than explosive or penetrating power. If a main battle tank were teleported in a late medieval battlefield, how long would it last?

A long time. My bet is that even large cannonballs would ricochet off of it quite easily. Also remember that a cannonball made of iron would be comparatively soft as compared to a modern kinetic penetrator. I doubt that cannonballs have anything like the kinetic impact as the shaped charges that the M1A2 etc. are meant to withstand. --24.147.86.187 01:14, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Hmm....have a look at Mons Meg. Clio the Muse 05:24, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Looking at English cannon, the largest cannonball listed weighed only 48 pounds. Plus, I'm guessing that the velocity would drop off fairly quickly for a spherical object, so the kinetic energy would not be that great, especially when you consider that an M1 weighs nearly 70 tons. Also, tank armor is designed to dissipate energy. Then there's the fact that modern tanks can fire accurately on the move, while medieval cannon weren't exactly accurate or easy to aim, so it would take a lot of luck to even get a hit. If I had to take a tank on, I'd just wait until it ran out of fuel. Clarityfiend 06:14, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

A bit of hunting for cannon performance figures and some basic physics indicates that a 48lber would dump around 750 kJ into that M1. if it didn't crumple that's enough energy to knock it flying sideways at 10 mph. I think they'd at least know they'd been hit hard. EABlair 04:03, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

That Mons Meg is nothing compared to the Great Turkish Bombard. · AO ^Talk 10:56, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Which is nothing again compared to the Tsar Cannon. --Taraborn 23:44, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I would guess that a direct hit could disable the tank, rather than penetrate it. Canon was designed to bash holes, rather than skewer them. A hit on the tracks would probably stop it moving, a hit on the turret could disable it from rotating and a hit on the gun would probably make firing the weapon rather perilous. It'd be interesting to know if even closed hatches could keep out Greek Fire. If not, you'd have nicely barbecued occupants and probably exploding munitions inside the tank. --Dweller 14:55, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

The Greek fire could probably be compared to napalm. Does anyone know if tanks are flamethrower/napalm-proof? I think some new ones might be, but how well they can hold fire off is beyond me. · AO ^Talk 14:58, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

The fighting compartments of modern tanks are reasonably fireproof as a side effect of the nuclear/biological/chemical defenses, but other areas, especially the engine compartment, are still quite vulnerable. --Carnildo 21:36, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Recent Changes Question

When I view Recent Changes, it has this red or green text that has either something like +86 or -148. What does that mean, user score? --Vscel4 04:50, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

The value is the net number of characters added (green) or subtracted (red) in the previous edit. It was introduced help identify large-scale deletion vandalism, and also to help users spot when vandals, who think they are being clever, try to disguise vandalism with a minor edit summary. Rockpocket 05:45, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

People

What percentage of the worlds population are born, bred, live and die in the same region of the same country? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.144.161.223 (talk) 10:08, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

I don't really understand what You had in mind, but take a look at List of countries by population. --Ouro (blah blah) 10:34, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I think s/he's talking about people who live all their life in the same place. Don't know how to answer, though. 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 10:43, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Pleae allow me to refraze. Most people live very strange little lives in very strange little towns and never do anything of value. What percentage of the worlds population, do nothing significant with thier lives, what percentage of the pop. live in the same town all thier lives?

Oh, like this. Well... I don't think there is an answer. Anyway, you could take a look at travel figures and things like that, but keep in mind that they might not lead you to a precise answer. Another thing you could do is consider rural regions or less-developed places, I'd say people living further from what some call 'civilisation' tend to not move around a lot. No POV intended, just pondering. --Ouro (blah blah) 12:09, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

And why do you think that living your life as a regular person isn't "significant" or "of value"? If it weren't for those "strange little lives", none of us would exist, because they are the backbone of society - economically, reproductively, and even politically. --Charlene 13:08, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Ahh, well, Charlene my dear, all I wish to convey is, what an extrodinary place our universe would be if the backbone of our society was made of Einsteins, and Colombus's and Alexander the greats, rather than boring people who care about nothing more important than britneys new boob job.

I dont think Alexander would have been very great if the rest of the world were like him. Joneleth 14:16, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Actually, probably not the world as a whole, either... =S 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 15:12, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Immanuel Kant, hardly a bore, is one famous counterexample of a great and open mind who spent his entire life in and near his birthplace in Königsberg. ---Sluzzelin talk 15:18, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

To answer the original question, I think that it is likely that most people alive today have never traveled more than 200 km from their place of birth. Possibly a majority have never traveled more than 100 km. (I say this considering that most of the world's population lives in Asia and Africa, where such mobility is the exception.) The percentage who ever left their region of birth would have been very small before about 1900. Marco polo 15:31, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Very, very high. In the world as a whole, the majority of the population has never been more than five miles from their place of birth. Even in a highly-mobile nation like the United States, less than half the population has ever been more than 100 miles from their birthplace. --Carnildo 21:38, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Thats a remarkable statistic, Carnildo. I'd love to learn more, do you happen to have a source for it? Rockpocket 21:43, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Per "what an extrodinary place our universe would be if the backbone of our society was made of Einsteins, and Colombus's and Alexander the greats", I was looking for various studies I've seen done, but I can't seem to get the right search terms. Basically, I recall studies where teams were made up of different sorts of people, of different personalities/intelligence levels/capabilities etc. It was generally found that teams made up only of the most intelligent, driven people were the least successful, since everyone was convinced they were right and had the best way to do things, and the team didn't work. So I world full of Einsteins, Columbuses and Alexander the Greats would probably achieve very little. What good is Alexander the Great if nobody will follow him? What good is Einstein without people to do all the menial work that gives his theries practical application? What good is Columbus if nobody builds ships? Skittle 17:31, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Ref Desk volunteers

I have been coming to the ref desk every day for over 6 months now, answering questions and (never signing my posts) and reading some odd things. My question is I have noticed that many people are regulars too, do you people not have jobs or social lives? I mean this in the nicest of possible ways... Hotclaws, Sturat, 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /),Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント ,JackofOz, Twas now ect

Further more are there ever any sort of Wiki conventions, where one volunteer can meet the others and see who is acctually intelligent and who is a good googler? thanks Xnton (please notice no tiles) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.144.161.223 (talk) 11:09, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

Well, I am also a regular here (but You never mentioned me, sigh), and I have a life and things, thanks. As for meetups and conventions, there's Wikimania, plus a whole lot of regional and local meetings. Depending on where you're from, you should definitely find something! --Ouro (blah blah) 12:05, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm new enough not to resent being off your list (though I'm surprised not to see Clio on it), but I wanted to note a few things:

• I would take issue with the false dichotomy "is actually intelligent" vs. "a good googler". As someone who has worked reference desks and taught info literacy in real libraries for much of my life, I suggest being a good googler requires more skill, practice and intelligence than most assume, and further note that locating info for querents AND sharing it intelligently are clearly part and parcel of being a good "ref desk vol". More importantly, community-mindedness seems to be in most of the regulars as well -- why else volunteer to wade through the oft-mucky and engage?
• My social life is, in part, the life of the mind; my job (teaching info lit and tech literacy integration to teachers and kids) demands that I stay honed, and know wikipedia well. Plus, I like it here, and so again, I cry false dichotomy in the question. The issue isn't whether we are here instead of social lives or jobs; for some of us, the issue is "is this part of our social life / job"? I'm sure I'm not the only one for whom this is both. (That said, I DID trade active blogging for wikiwork, deliberately and before I came in; the time has to come from somewhere, and I have little kids at home.)
• Thanks for asking about RL meetups -- and to Ouro for the response. It's good to know.

Jfarber 12:46, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Ill take that as a no. [2]

Well, to answer your no - I usually spend most of the time in front of the PC because of my job (translator), sometimes I have classes (finishing my studies), and sometimes I travel to lands far away, but... see the big yellow box on my user page ;) --Ouro (blah blah) 14:59, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

You can take it as anything you like, of course. But the fact that you decided that my YES meant NO is pretty funny to my students, who are looking over my shoulder as we speak, learning plenty from this exchange. And the fact that they're watching and learning underscores the "yes" answer I left before. Thanks for your unwitting contribution to our Web 2.0 unit, and specifically, for helping teach them about wikipedia, close reading, trolling-type behavior, community standards, and the importance of signing your statements in threaded discussion, unknown assailant! (p.s. a class full of 13 year olds says hi.) Jfarber 15:18, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

In answer to your original question: yes, I have a job and a social life. Working as a reference librarian (although with considerably less experience than Jfarber) requires me to spend virtually my entire day in front of a computer - and, when things are slow (as they often are, especially during the day), permits me the opportunity to answer refdesk questions - and make other edits to wikipedia. As far as a social life is concerned, I'm happy with mine, although I don't feel it neccessary to disclose the details thereof in this particular forum. Carom 15:28, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I am not on your list but am something of a regular. Others often answer questions before me, though, because I am busy with my job or social life. Marco polo 15:37, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm secretly pleased I didn't make your list, since it permits me to maintain the belief that I don't really spend too much time here. Regarding your question, yes I have both a job and a social life, however the former severly restricts the latter. Moreover, my job is in research and requires me to be at work for long hours, but with periods of waiting inbetween activity. Therefore WP and the refdesk are ideal for short periods of distraction. Rockpocket 17:30, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

RD is a great way to procrastinate for a few minutes. And I know a lot of things, and it is nice to help others. I have a flexible job and a flexible social life, it is not an issue here. By the way, not signing your posts is just irritating. --24.147.86.187 17:32, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

What's a social life? Does not compute. Divide by cucumber error.

I just like learning about things, so if someone has a question and I have a lead or knowledge on it, why not spend a few minutes to answer it, and expect the same in return when I have questions I need help with? And I've been relatively busy to take up a real hobby lately (final semester of undergrad EE, filled with projects and long labs), and I have been avoiding playing games, which gives me a lot more free time here and there. If I wake up and it's too early to go on campus, I check here, etc. And for me, minus my girlfriend, Uni is my social life. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 20:17, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

My job requires me to sit for lengthy amounts of time; fortunately, they also allow me to happen to have a computer in front of me while I sit. Sometimes I have things to do (like the past few days - I haven't had many edits), and sometimes I am left to the wild abandon of Wikipedia. Also, it may be significant to note that I recently became a boyfriend. V-Man - ^T/_C 00:14, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

• I'm disabled and cannot work.I do have a social life but like spending time on the computer to learn,amuse myself and pass on stuff as well.It's more comfortable for me to lie in bed and use a laptop than to sit up and TV is mostly rubbish.I have a lot of blog friends as well so I don't think being on the computer a lot makes me friendless.hotclaws**== 06:51, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't have any sort of life at all :( When I am not on the internet I sometimes spend hours sitting and doing nothing :( And I am not on the list either :( But obviously a full list would take a long time to write :( And also I am not intelligent or any good at anything on the internet, I just know lots of useless junk :) And the idea of meeting other WP fans wouldn't work as they live too far away :) HS7 21:10, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia, like most anything else, can be habit forming, an interesting place to visit regularly. I been away for a while due to other distractions, such as what happens in an interesting life. I returned because I needed to look up some stuff, then an old habit reverted itself. User:AlMac|^(talk) 21:15, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

About executions

I was asking myself: why are executions traditionally carried out at sunrise or sunset? Cthulhu.mythos 11:32, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

One possible answer: There seems to be an instinct in humankind to enact such significant social and personal changes in the context of natural Liminal periods. Doing so helps distance the culture from the act of killing by making it seem ritualized and natural, rather than brutal. Since dawn/twilight happen to the whole word, this helps ownership of the execution remain "safely" at the global or community level, rather than leaving the culture open to a perception of the execution act as somehow about any individual, whether that be the hangman or the noosed himself. See the section Liminality in time for more, as well as the history section of the original article on Execution. Jfarber 12:59, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

It's not that old of a 'tradition' - public executions in France, England, Scotland, the US, and Canada traditionally took place in mid-morning. (See Pepys's Diary and Boswell's London Journal for two vivid descriptions of executions that took place over 100 years apart.) I can't find anything online that gives a direct answer as to why the timing changed, though, and the book Lord High Executioner by Howard Engel doesn't address the matter.

My best guess would be that once executions became private affairs, there was no need to wait until later in the day for the benefit of onlookers. (With most death sentences, the date of execution was either set out in the sentence or was known in advance from precedent - most UK executions took place on the day following the last day of the court session.) The execution couldn't be carried out before sunrise because, although executions were private, they did usually take place out of doors in the prison courtyard, and it would have been too dark for the officials. The timing would also cut down on crowds amassing around prisons, plus it would make things easier for both a nervous prisoner and (perhaps more importantly) the executioners who had to handle him or her. Also, according to Engel, many executioners had drinking problems - I wonder if that would also prompt officials to prefer sunrise hangings.

By the way, many references state that executions took place at sunrise because Pancho Villa wanted a Hearst photographer to document an execution in 1915. This isn't the case. Sunrise executions date from much earlier than this - see Breaker Morant. --Charlene 13:05, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I've heard that executions are carried out often at 12:01 am on the day it is scheduled to take place. If anything goes wrong, there is a last minute appeal that is to be heard, the execution can still take place later in the day. However, it MUST take place on the day listed on the death warrant, otherwise the process must start all over. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Shindo9Hikaru (talk • contribs) 07:31, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

Bought Commissions in the British Army

When did buying a Commission in the British army finish, the family story is that Grandfather left the family after leaving the family and bought a commission but we know nothing about him. He was born in 1875 and was called Fredrick Rossall Hall. I am assuming he jined the army between 1885 - 1914 would this be possible between those dates?12:25, 16 March 2007 (UTC)~

Our articles on Sale of commissions and the Cardwell Reforms state that the Regulation of the Forces Act ending the sale of commissions was passed in 1871. --Charlene 12:32, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

LOOKS

People say I look very dull.But I think I've inherited my dad's shitty looks.I think I naturally have a dull face oval facecut,hollow&fatigued eyes,dull tamarind colour and a non luminous complexion.Morever I have such a pessimistic and guilty attitude towards my life that a normal human would have commited suicide long ago.I am bothering too much about my looks and it is making me feel very girlish and embarrassing.A small comment on my looks is enough to get me into a depression and this is making me look very much stressed.Please help me.13:37, 16 March 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.247.245.23 (talk • contribs)

Could it be Body dysmorphic disorder? 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 13:52, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Your post sounds like a literal "cry for help." We cannot provide psychological counseling or medical advice, but you might wish to see a psychologist, a doctor of medicine or a psychiatrist and discuss your concerns. Personally speaking, people who make unsolicited comments about how you look with the result of making you stressed or depressed are the sort of people I would avoid, and I would question the accuracy and the intent of their comments. Edison 13:58, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I just try to remember that it is not you, it is every one else that is ****ed in the head. You are a normal beautiful person and its every one else that is wasting your oxygen. And I listen to Death Metal music all the time. The two keep me functioning normally, give it a go. Signed: 81.144.161.223

Would the above poster PLEASE start signing his/her posts? It helps readers know where one answer ends and the next begins, and it's just plain polite. Jfarber 14:13, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

no [3]

No worries; I've been invited to sign your work for you. Let me know if that's not going to work out for you... Jfarber 01:49, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Looks are extremely subjective. What is unappealing to one person is very appealing to another. Also, people's perception of a person's appearance actually has a lot to do with that person's attitude. A sunny disposition and a smiling demeanor will win favorable attention almost regardless of the person's features. I agree that you should try talking to a counselor, not so much about your looks, which are probably fine and which you can't change (without expensive, risky, and unnecessary surgery), but about your self-acceptance and happiness, which you can improve. You might also take a look at Cognitive therapy and some of the links from that article. Marco polo 15:46, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

We not so long ago had a very similar question, and the asker even said his/her self-consciousness is making them "feel very girlish" which matches your words. I also believe that the previous asker didn't sign their question - and you didn't either. When you asked the question this time, we all tried to help (myself included) but found your question was too brief and inspecific to impart any advice beyond general advice. Why have you not expanded your question and given us more to go with? and were you not satisfied with the previous answers?
Anyway, to try and answer your question - last time I told you that you feel self-conscious about your looks probably because you feel the need to be (sounds obvious, I know). I also told you that in the long run as you get older you will become slightly less and less concerned about your beauty, and more concerned with things like money, career, etc. - and in fact you are likely to one day meet somebody that likes you the way you are - even when you're not looking your best. I also told you that you should consider seeking out a good hairdresser/stylist if you think changing your hair could improve your self-esteem and how you look (or think you look). You can also improve your makeup regime if you don't have one (asuming you are female) and if you're male then working on your facial hair could also help a bit. Finally you should actually seek advice elsewhere - in fact from a therapist or someone you can trust - perhaps an adult or a family friend. You might say you'd like to go for coffee with them, and simply explain that you find yourself very unattractive and you could use some honest feedback and constructive help on how to improve your looks, and to just talk through the problem - because someone that is meeting you face to face and knows you and can talk one on one is more likely to actually help you.
I should also mention that exercise and a healthy diet can not only improve your mood and outlook, but in fact can improve your complexion and skin tone. Even spending time in the sun can make you look more healthy and appealing, and you should try drink 2-3 litres of water a day (not that you should take any medical advice from me!) because that will improve your skin and general health as well.
Good luck, and try stay positive. If you are young and inexperienced, hopefully as you grow up more and more you will slowly learn to cope better with these things. And another thought comes to mind that as you grow up your looks can change a bit - I remember the less-attractive and chubby girls at my school all turned out fine when they grew up - and equally I've seen real beauty queens messing themselves up with drugs etc and turning out worse for wear when they reached full adulthood. Hope some of this helps
Rfwoolf 18:34, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

To the original question asker: Consider the possibility of going to a gym. Working out makes you stronger which means more confident and healthier. It also cleans and relaxes your mind for a while. --Taraborn 23:50, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

wow this sounds a lot like me

I agree with Edison; it sounds like this is about your perception and feelings, not about how you actually look. It would be a really good idea to talk to a doctor or psychologist (or such like) about this, since they could really help and make you feel better. And, ironically, once you feel better, not only will you look better to yourself, you could look better to other people. Skittle 17:03, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Patience

I always live in fantasies and think nonsense.I simply never had this habit of keeping a goal having a vision etc..I want take up something worthwhile and have a good career.First I want to inculcate patience and relity thinking. How can I do it.```moonytoon —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 121.247.245.23 (talk) 14:05, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

Try meditaion, it might centre you mind.

Something worthwhile would be to improve your internet grammar and spelling :D Splintercellguy 15:22, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Shifting

can I shift a question from archive to the present reference desk column? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 121.247.245.23 (talk) 14:21, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

yes you can, whether or not you should is another issue, but go for it im curious now.

I think there might be at least one person who'd frown upon this (just numbers, it's not pointing at anyone); better post the question anew, and link to the archived discussion. --Ouro (blah blah) 14:57, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Hacking Password

How to hack a yahoo password? Actually I have got an id of a person who is disturbing me by sending mails. so i want to hack the id of that person.please tell me if any one can give me I will be very thankful to him. thanks 203.145.188.131 15:48, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Why don't you just add the person to your spam filter, so you don't have to see their emails? We don't generally tend to give advice here on how to best break laws, sorry. --Maelwys 15:51, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I find this question quite humourous. · AO ^Talk 15:55, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Ask the person to kindly give you his/her password. If that fails, build your own internet. With blackjack. And hookers. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 15:58, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

That reminds me of the time someone in an online game came up to me and asked if I would give him my password. He said he was too high-ranked, and no one would play him, so he wanted to use my account. I laughed in his face, because the main page warned against these guys. Maybe you should do that too 203.145. :) · AO ^Talk 00:35, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

• Ask on Yahoo Answershotclaws**== 06:56, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

If someone on Yahoo is harassing you, contact Yahoo. Yahoo will be able to help you. Attempting to discover somebody's password is illegal. --h2g2bob 08:45, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

getting information

Is there any software or wbsite where i can have a detail information of a person living in India? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.145.188.131 (talk) 15:57, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

Is the person notable for anything? That would make it a lot easier. Dismas|^(talk) 16:14, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

In which case Wikipedia might help, including these ones:

1. Telugu (26,713 articles)
2. Bengali (15,339 articles)
3. Hindi (10,135 articles)
4. Marathi (8,207 articles)
5. Tamil (7,772 articles)
6. Urdu (5,023 articles)

Et (meta:List of Wikipedias) cetera… − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 02:32, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

TV aspect ratios

Why are most modern TV either in a 4:3 or widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio? Could this be because that those numbers are Pythagorean triplets and allow easier calculation of the diagonal? Jamesino 16:24, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

We actually have a pretty great article on aspect ratios. I don't really know enough about this stuff to be able to comment on it directly, but the article is nice :) Oskar 16:37, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

16:9 isn't a Pythagorean triplet. --Auximines 09:29, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I've always wondered why 4:3 was chosen - that's 1.33:1. I would have expected 1.61:1 since that is the golden ratio - a shape that humans find aesthetically pleasing. So many things in our environment are golden-ratio-shaped for this exact reason, it's surprising that TV screens are not. SteveBaker 15:37, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

British Highway Code - Turning Right

Please don't be offended but I would prefer an informed and correct answer if at all possible as opposed to a speculative one. Thanks in anticipation. The question is: I have been driving for 43 years in England and Scotland, thankfully without being involved in an accident, but on two separate occasions yesterday and today, I was nearly involved in a prang. Each time, the cause was exactly the same, in that, when approaching a main road (contraflow) from a minor road, with the intention of crossing the main road and entering another minor road directly opposite, I was confronted by another oncoming vehicle exiting from the minor road opposite. and it was signalling to turn to his RIGHT (across my path). All my driving life, I have believed that in such circumstances, I had Right of Way over the other vehicle and he should have deferred to my intention to cross in a straight line ahead (observing that I wasn't indicating either Right or Left). But each time I set off to go ahead, the opposing vehicle turned Right and nearly cut off my nose. And each time, the other driver blasted his horn, obviously in the belief that he had Right of Way. I have browsed the Internet and also read and re-read the UK Highway Code today but cannot find the answer to this question. Does anyone here know what the rule is? I apologise for sounding petulant as I am normally a very considerate and forgiving driver who doesn't insist on Rights of Way - it would just be nice to know whether all these years I have been driving incorrectly at minor-onto-main crossroads. Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by CasualWikiUser (talk • contribs) 16:35, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

You don't say what the road markings were at the junction, and I would imagine that may inform who has right of way. Were both you and the driver opposite required to give way? Rockpocket 17:20, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I personally fail to see how you had right of way. The only rule I can find is 148..."You MUST give way to traffic on the main road when emerging from a junction with broken white lines across the road.". Having scoured the highway-code site I cannot find an official rule to back-up my interpretation...You give way to traffic on the main-road, therefore you give way to traffic joining the main-road. This way it is consistent: The person entering/leaving/currently on the main road is given the right of way. In your setting the person 'crossing' the main-road is given right of way ahead of someone who is joining the road. This is my interpretation, i've emailed the highway-code authority to try to clarify, this is a very interesting question. ny156uk 17:23, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

This is unfortunately not cited, but certainly in my experience on UK roads, every time I've come to a crossroads that doesn't have a roundabout, those going straight on had priority over those turning right. It leads to cars building up in the lane to turn right, so it must be what other people think too. Looking at 150 in the highway code, this does seem to be expected. However, given the major/minor aspect, and that I'm guessing there were few road markings, it might actually be that nobody has clear right of way, and that people are expected to give way to each other out of politeness. So possibly, if they reached the junction before you, the other drivers thought they might expect you to wait, or they could just be prats. I recommend contemplating this old Google answers thread as shedding some light [4] but unfortunately it also lacks sources. Sorry for the speculative nature of this, I hope for someone to come with something more definate, but a strongly suspect it will turn out there is no clear right of way. In which case, will it be written anywhere? Skittle 17:23, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

• A Speculative Answer for what it's worth:
  

It is my belief that at any four-way intersection, the person that is not going straight (i.e. is turning to their LEFT or their RIGHT) cannot simply obey a green traffic-light and swurve their car in that direction. No. When the traffic-light turns green, and you are to turn RIGHT, you must STOP, and look at the oncoming traffic until it clears... even if this means you wait until Orange, at which point the oncoming traffic should be stopping/slowing down, and you can then edge forward, and turn RIGHT before the traffic-light hits Red.

Now obviously the same rules apply when no traffic-lights exist, and you have come to a 4-way interesection, and you wish to turn right: You have to stop and wait for oncoming traffic.

The exception to this rule is traffic-lights that specifically have a directional arrow light. If for example it shows a right arrow and lights it green, then all vehicles turning right are now compelled to go - even if the normal Green light is still Green. Similarly, if that directional sign is Red, then you are told to *not* drive in that direction and you have to wait.

It should be mentioned that these are my observations of the rules in South Africa and Australia. I appologise if this is not applicable to Britain. Rfwoolf 18:49, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

• I might add an anectdote to all this - that the exact situation you described in your question was exactly what took me by surprise when I passed my drivers' license in South Africa - in my Learners Test (i.e. the theory part of the testing) this type of etiquette at intersections was not actually taught. And as I recall I learned how to deal with those situations when I was having actual driving lessons with my instructor. I remember so clearly because once I got my license, the first few near-accidents I had was exactly that -- at an intersection I would be indicating right, and the light would turn green (and green means go!) and I would motion to turn right (not having checked for oncoming traffic) and almost caused a few accidents.
  

My point is that if the above was to be learned, it was to be learned in practical driving (not so much theory), and so the answers you seek may lie not in the learners theory, but instead in the testing instructors' handbooks or similar.

Rfwoolf 19:37, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

          |           |               A = You (Going STRAIGHT)
          |     |     |               B = Perpetrator (Turning his/her RIGHT)
          |           |               O = Traffic Light(s) ???
          |     |  B  |
         O|  ↑     ↓  |O
----------+ - - - - - +------------
                                   ·
         →             →           ·
                                   ·
 --  --  --  --  --  --  --  -- -- ·
                                   ·
         ←             ←           ·
                                   · 
----------+ - - - - - +------------
         O|  ↑  |  ↓  |O           
          |  A        |
          |     |     |
          |           |
Rfwoolf 19:53, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

• Casual, yes, you had right of way. Highway Code rule 157 shows the procedure for turning right when you believe the other driver is also turning right: [5]. Since you were going straight on, this does not apply, but note the right-side-to-right-side manoeuvre: "turn right side to right side; keep the other vehicle on your right and turn behind it. This is generally the safest method as you have a clear view of any approaching traffic when completing your turn". So, the other driver was not acting prudently. Guy (Help!) 20:15, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

As a Canadian I'm not intimately familiar with the UK Highway Code, but it took me only a minute or so to find section 156: when turning right, "Wait until there is a safe gap between you and any oncoming vehicle." This doesn't actually mention right of way, but it certainly seems to confirm the original poster's point of view.

Of course, as in so many driving situations, it is possible to be correct and still have bad things happen. Or as someone put it, "You could be dead right."

207.176.159.90 01:35, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

You certainly had right of way, though I can't find this explicitly in the Highway Code. I suspect what is happening is that as you get older your driving is getting slower and other drivers are interpreting this as hesitation and taking the opportunity to turn in front of you. --Auximines 09:43, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I asked the original question and have been astounded at the number of intentionally helpful responses, so first let me say Thanks very much to one and all. However, no single response (to my mind anyway)seems to be sufficiently based on statute to be convincing. I appreciate the supportive ones, even that from Auximines suggesting I might be getting indecisive, but I am still not convinced that those responses pointing me to Rule 157 (when the opposing vehicles are on the main road already), will equally apply when both vehicles are waiting at their minor road junctions with the main road. So, I will eagerly await any response that User:Ny156uk might get from The Highway Code Authorities and I thank him here for his efforts. And I will also take caution in future from the wise words of User:207.176.159.90|207.176.159.90 who quite rightly points out that sometimes those who act on their claim to having Right of Way are later proved to be "Dead Right". I am also going to present this question to my local Police Station and will post their advice here (under a new heading probably) if and when I get a reliable answer. Thanks again Folks. I always enjoy your support on Wikipedia. CasualWikiUser 14:27, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

There are people whose turn signals malfunctioning & not know it. Do a walk around & verify your lites outside agree with dashboard inside. Do this for all combinations of your turn signals. Could be the reason you got honked at was you have a turn signal on & you not know it. User:AlMac|^(talk) 21:28, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Driving in USA, I would guess a significant volume of motorists either put on turn signals, then change mind about intentions then not turn them off, or use turn signals to make a shallow turn in which after the turn the lites not off. I come to an intersection, and see turn signals and they not turn, or no turn signals and they do turn, perhaps 5% of the traffic. it is very dangerous. User:AlMac|^(talk) 21:28, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Then there are exceedingly rude drivers. It is like they think "I always have right of way, irrespective of laws, other people opinions." and they perpetually have road rage against everyone who do in fact have contrary opinions. User:AlMac|^(talk) 21:28, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

references on powerpoints

Is it correct to put a reference in mid sentence on a bulletpoint in powerpoints per AMA style? See example below:

  §  With almost 30 drugs available1(supercripted here), HIV+ people are living longer and healthier lives

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.144.46.75 (talk) 16:43, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

Uhh, it depends. If you're doing this for an education thing, ask your instructor. Otherwise, it certainly makes the presentation and the facts presented seem more credible and impressive, even than simply putting sources at the end. Whether it fits is another thing. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 16:50, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Usually you will want to put references in a more discrete location (smaller font, end of sentence). There's no one-way to do this. You might consider also having a handout if possible (see the master on this point). --24.147.86.187 17:28, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

With a few tiny exceptions (see below), I would NEVER recommend putting citation on a PowerPoint slide.

In-text citation interferes with the whole purpose of a PowerPoint slide -- that is, to provide visual support to an oral presentation. The best way to do that? To provide JUST enough information to help audiences understand and stay focused on your oral presentation. If you show citation and full sentence syntax, then your audience is reading sentences INSTEAD of listening to you. And if all you're doing is reading those sentences TO an audience...well, heck, why talk at all? Your audience can read, right?

Citation matters, but putting it on the slide itself interferes with the effectiveness of the medium. As a teacher of info and technology literacies, I have seen many librarians and professors present powerpoint presentations at professional conferences, and I've never seen citation on a slide -- and if anyone knows the answer to your question, it's those folks, eh?

Personally, I put my citations in endnotes slides, and do NOT show them on the screen when presenting (that way, if I need to give someone a copy, the extra slide prints out, too). Alternately, you might make a seperate citation sheet. If you MUST cite info on a slide, I'd put it at the end of the bullet, and make the citation as tiny as humanly possible.

Note, by the way, that if your PowerPoint slides are designed to support an ORAL presentation, the "full sentences" are what comes out of your mouth, not what goes on the slide. UNLESS you have a professor who says specifically otherwise, OR you are NOT using your PowerPoint presentation to support an oral presentation, then, that means full sentences don't go on PowerPoint slides, either. Jfarber 18:45, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

If it helps, I would have presented your original bullet as a series of nestled bullets, as follows:

• Infected people living longer

• Over 30 drugs

• citation, if absolutely necessary, is small, so people skip it visually

• insert other reason(s) infected ppl living longer here (social/medical awareness of treatment?)

Jfarber 18:49, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree with Jfarber; again, check out the Tufte link I put earlier. PowerPoint should be considered like a slide show — a visual augmentation to a presentation or a handout, but not a presentation in and of itself. The only time I would use citations at all is if it is a question of giving credit correctly; i.e. not misrepresenting where you did research or who made that graph and etc. --24.147.86.187 19:55, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

See, I wasn't going to mention Tufte, because I figured he was obscure. But I'm glad to see information design isn't as rare as I thought. A good source for all to consider! Jfarber 20:22, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Tufte can't be THAT obscure, after all there is a Wikipedia article about him! 23:29, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

There are fast approaching 2 million entries in here; no one recognized my reference to Walter Ong in a previous thread. Obscurity is, increasingly, the lot of almost all of us; notability is hardly its opposite. Jfarber 01:27, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

adding to my profile

I'm still fairly new to wikipedia, and I've looked around on these helpfl pages provided, but I've not figured out how to do this yet. On many users prfile page, they've got these little rectangular boxes that give bits of information on them. How do I put those into my page?~~planes~~

They're called userboxes, and all the info can be found here. --Ouro (blah blah) 16:56, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Or, if you're the kind of user who learns by playing, do what many of us do: find one you like on another page, use "edit page" to see how it works, and then cut copy and paste the relevant box code to your own profile page. Jfarber 18:51, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

And feel free to use the wp:sandbox for experimentation. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 20:03, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Go to WP:BOX, click on a category (for example Food), and look for a userbox you like. You'll see something like "{{User Hamburger}}" to the left; paste that onto your page, and save. You can add as many as you like at a time; you don't have to do it one-by-one. (Note: I gave basic instructions just in case you're not a computer geek) By the way, please sign your posts with four tildes, like this: ~~~~. Thanks! · AO ^Talk 22:02, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Copying map to sister wikipedia

I would like to write an article for the Czech Wikipedia on the fertile crescent. I am wondering if it is permissible to transfer the map used in English Wikipedia for the Czech article. Thank you! V.B. 17:47, 16 March 2007 (UTC)V.B.

Yes, if we have permission to display it in one Wikipedia, it is okay to display it in another Wikipedia as well. Marco polo 18:05, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Since that image is uploaded on the Wikipedia Commons, you don't even have to transfer it! Just type in [[Image:Fertile Crescent map.png|thumb]] on the page and it should turn up! Oskar 18:46, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

(In case you didn't know, Wikipedia images have either been uploaded to wikipedia, or to the wikicommons.) Rfwoolf 18:54, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Upload it to Wikimedia Commons, - all wikis can use content on commons. --h2g2bob 08:34, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Price of a can of baked beans W/O VAT + retail profit

Hi I would like to know a qualified estimate of the price of a can of white baked beans (let's say a 400gr with tomato sauce). And I mean the price that the bean factory charges.

In retail they are sold a piece, but if you forget about that and think about the price for a larger delivery/shipment like what can fit on a standard EU pallet. Which must be around 24*6 for the bottom layer * let's say 20 layers = 144*20 = 2880 cans. If I bought this much directly from the bean factory how much would that be in dollars or danish kroner or Euros?

I would like to know because a can of beans is really cheap but what if you didn't have to pay for all the middlemen, how much less would you have to pay.

In Denmark a run-of-the-mill dirt cheap can of beans is anout 3 dkr, which is about 50 cent's or 0.4 EU.

How much is added to reach the final retail price of a can of beans?

In Denmark ?

In the States / UK ? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.81.121.107 (talk) 19:12, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

I don't (yet) have the answers to your questions, but I would point out that the retail markup is not the same as the retail profit. Retailers have to pay for delivery of the pallet, and they have to pay people to unpack pallets of canned beans and to stack them on shelves. They have to pay cashiers to ring up the sale. They have to pay benefits for all of their employees, and they have to cover the cost of leasing and maintaining the buiding. So there are retail costs on top of the wholesale price. The retail profit is just what is left after covering the wholesale price, the cost of delivery, any taxes, and the retail costs. Marco polo 19:32, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Now I must apologize, because I don't think that I will be able to answer the original question in the time that I have available. To my surprise, wholesalers of canned goods, particularly in Europe, do not maintain much of a web presence. My guess is that this market still operates via paper catalogues and live sales representatives. Given the lack of a web presence, wholesalers may be reluctant to sell to anyone but retailers. They may have agreements with retailers not to sell to consumers so as not to infringe on retailers' business. Marco polo 20:04, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

You could try to approximate this by looking for the price of a large quantity of baked beans at a retailer with as small a markup as possible (e.g. warehouse club). A froogle search finds a place selling 660 ounces of beans for US$42.65 which is $1.03 (€0.78) per 16 ounces. You might also be interested in what the bean factory pays the farmer for the beans -- this article gives a price of US$16.90 per cwt for navy beans, or €0.128 for 16 ounces. Dave6 ^talk 20:16, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

• Just to mention that with importing, you buy from your seller the 'export price', which is typically the price of the product at the nearest port - you of course will arrange this all with your exporter. Then you have to book a container (which is always cheaper if you book the whole container and don't share it). From there you pay export taxes/duty, then when it's imported you once again pay import taxes/duty (all of this you have to research to get the rates) -- oh and there's insurance which you would probably choose not to pay for with cheap beans. Then once it arrives and it gets released from the port, you have to have trucks transport it to a wharehouse for storage, and then it get further distributed to supermarkets and other retailers - who then need to unpack them all.

• But if they're manufactured locally, then it starts to depend on whether or not your manufacturer has a distributor or not. A distributor will take large consignments of the product and store them at their warehouses, and then distribute them to the clients (retailers). They will sell them at the price you set, but keep in mind that you can sometimes assign up to 30% of the cost of your product going to distribution alone - that's how much they take! So assuming that you are the retailer that wants to purchase a few palates from a manufacturer, you would either arrange to do this buy taking from one of their distributor's wharehouses (in which case if they're lazy they'll charge you the same as if they had to deliver to your retail branch), or you would arrange to collect these palates from the manufacturer itself - who would probably refer you to their distributors anyway. If they let you get them from the manufacturer themself, only *then* do you start to pay for the manufacture rate.
  

Having told you this, it must be mentioned that in order to sell a product cheaply (after transport and distribution, unpacking etc) - the supermarkets usually order HUGE consignments - it all comes down to economies of scale: Rather make a huge order, put it on a huge truck, allocate a huge section in their distribution centres, make a huge area for them on their shelves, and you'll find that all your costs per unit come down dramatically on all levels - your labour per unit, your pricing per unit, your delivery per unit, your manufacture rate, etc.

Hope this helps

Rfwoolf 20:10, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

(after edit conflict -- looks like RFwoolf saw what I see here...)

I'm not so surprised at your final-anaysis findings, MarcoPolo -- I think you anticipated them in your earlier conjectures above. Wholesalers would have to charge more to everyone if they had to pay for web design, online sales management, and the staff necessary to manage retail markets -- they'd have to charge what retailers do, in other words, if they had to carry the same costs as retailers. As such, one possible answer to the OP question is that because buying direct from wholesalers shifts many traditional retailer costs to the wholesaler, the difference in endcost would be very slight.

You might still have some savings, at least at the (newly staffed and cost-incurring) cash register, I suppose. But I suspect even those just shift somewhere else in the model, and who else is there to take on those costs than the consumer himself? Asking one corporation to take on fully vertical integration of a market may save a BIT because of centralization of services, in other words, but essentially all steps in the can-to-consumer process would still need to be acounted for in either distribution model. And, of course, even after that, if you wanted to buy from the wholesaler (and turn it into the retailer), unless you lived in a heavy industrial production area, you'd end up incurring the remaining extra costs yourself in gas, shipping, etc. The only real savings I see here is the one that buying BULK provides (no need to pay someone to break down boxes, manage displays, etc.), but then the consumer still has to pay more for storage, by adding a room in their house to store all those damn cans of beans. Hence the illusion of major savings in the Costco model -- we save on toilet paper, but we need a new cabinet to store a month's worth of paper in, and are likely to buy a truck to carry home our bulk foods in... Jfarber 20:20, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

This is likely irrelevant, but one of the things that really surprised me in the UK was how incredibly cheap Heinz Baked Beans were. Everything else was more expensive than it is in Canada, but the baked beans were 1/5th the cost. 20 pence for a can that in Canada would cost easily $2.19 Canadian (or about L1 sterling). (Of course, the recipe is also completely different.) --Charlene 04:40, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Duel to the death

I recently came across a mention of a duel between two people who absolutely hated each other. The terms of the duel were "Shotguns at three paces": essentially, pre-arranged mutual murder. Does anyone know more about this? --Carnildo 21:49, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Is this a specific duel you are talking about? It would not necessarily be mutual murder because one of the shooters would probably be slightly quicker with the trigger finger than the other shooter. I believe that is the point of a duel (sort of). − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 02:18, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

This was a specific duel. I believe the reason for "shotguns at three paces" was to ensure that both parties died: you can hardly miss with a shotgun at that range, it's fatal, but it's not immediately fatal, so you can get your shot off even if you're slow on the trigger. --Carnildo 06:58, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

of course if one of the guns didn't work ..:] HS7 19:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

LOgic question

If an aircraft crashed exactly on the border between Canada and USA, and none of the passengers had any relatives or nationality, where would the survivors be buried? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.109.132.119 (talk) 23:56, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

Why whould they bury survivors?--ChesterMarcol 23:59, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Even survivors eventually die... But I suppose it depends on where they lived after surviving the crash. V-Man - ^T/_C 00:35, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

And how can the passengers not have any relatives ? Must involve some sort of abiogenesis, I guess. Gandalf61 00:35, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Lets assume that the parents are both dead Kyrgyzistanies, and he/she doesn't have a brother/sister or a wife/husband or a son/daugther. Oskar 00:45, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Then the passengers would have no living relatives, but that wasn't what the question said. It is impossible for a person to have absolutely no relatives. My underlying point is that if the questioner is going to ask a so-called logic puzzle, they should be more precise in their wording. Gandalf61 13:27, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I guess they would have to get the Anna Nicole Smith judge to figure it out.--ChesterMarcol 00:49, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Or Lance Ito... V-Man - ^T/_C 00:54, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I suppose the government could decide, if you meant that the non-survivors of the crash were to be buried. But this is a common logic question that would make most people assume that without realizing you said "survivors." --Proficient 01:49, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

This is a silly brain-teaser question that I was once asked years ago. The answer is that the survivors will not be buried; they're survivors. Rfwoolf 05:46, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I wouldn't be so sure. Who knows what lengths the authorities might go to in order to stop The Truth from getting out? --88.111.0.168 11:14, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

It's also silly because the US-Canadian border doesn't actually have any width. If an aircraft actually did crash on the border, some of the dead would land up in Canada, some in the US, and some half-and-half. Generally the NTSB and TSBC would make a decision as to who would investigate and some local authority would bury the deceased, likely in the nearest cemetery.

In fact, there actually once was an accident that took place right on the US-Canada border. An aircraft going from Juneau to Anchorage and owned by the Alaska Department of Public Safety crashed on the Mount Fairweather glacier. The aircraft first touched ground in the US but skidded across the border and ended up in Canada. Since it was a state-owned government aircraft going from one US city to another (and since the pilot was the head of the department), Canada said "you deal with it". [6] Luckily nobody was killed or seriously injured. --Charlene 06:03, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

March 17

Luggage question

Is most hardside luggage allowed to be checked and placed onboard any passenger aircraft--logger 00:29, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, most. However, each airline has their individual luggage restrictions. A common one is that luggage must not have any protrusions or weigh more than 50 pounds (unless an additional fee is paid). Airline and Luggage can get you on the right track for more info. V-Man - ^T/_C 00:39, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I knew about the LBS that the luggage should weigh. it's just the issue with the luggage being metal.--logger 00:45, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Which airline are you wondering about? In my experience, the majority of them should be fine with metal luggage, but if you had a specific airline in mind, I could probably dig up a source for ya. V-Man - ^T/_C 00:56, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I am using United and United Express/Trans states.--logger 07:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Lastest model of LG by Verizon Wireless

What is the lastest model of LG by Verizon Wireless? -68.193.147.179 00:48, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia

What is the oldest Wikipedia article? The first? The most recent? Did the founder of Wikipedia created the first article? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.250.185.25 (talk) 01:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

Neat questions, all of which can surely be answered with or from our various statistics pages...with the exception of the "most recent" article, which, like Zeno's paradox, cannot be pointed to faster than a new article can be created. Enjoy your search! Jfarber 01:38, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

By the way, here's the story of the first (surviving) article... [7]. Seems User:Jimbo wasn't the author. Jfarber 01:58, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

See WP:OLDEST --h2g2bob 08:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

For the newest, just scroll up to the top of your browser window and click on the "Recent changes" link on the menu to your left. Scroll down until you find one where the word 'diff' is written in black instead of being a 'blue link'. This would mean it doesn't have a 'diff' with a previous version - so it must be a new article. That article was the most recent at the moment you clicked the 'Recent changes' button. But - as has already been pointed out - new articles appear at a rate of one every few seconds(!) so by the time you've found the 'newest', it'll be maybe the tenth newest! SteveBaker 14:32, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

nymph human maiting

Discussion moved from Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)#nymph human maiting.

does anyone know of any occurence, or myth of a nymph being in the ansectery of a human?? if not what other creatures may this be linked to. i have many vivid lucid dreams where i interact for long periods of time. i am looking for reasons for this and for imformation about reciveing information unknown to myself, even words, ideas, creatures etc. that to my memery i have not hierd before. i am very sensitive to other peopls mood around me, they dont even need to be in contact, i can feal the negitive or positive energy in my suroundings, esspecily in sleep. it can make me happy(rarely, i live in nyc) or cause physical pain from depression and stress i feal that i recieve from others around me especily while they sleep. for 5 years i slept during the day and was awake at night, i still had a stressfull life myself when i was awake but the difference in my sleep during the day as aposed to at night is very different, the difference between wakeing up fealing good and wakeing up mad, upset etc. anyone that can help in anyway on this can eather reply to this post or contact me directly at email removed to prevent spam thankyou for reading this, its been an ongoing thing in my life for awhile, i spent 2 years in vermont and the difference there was amazeing, 1 night in nyc sleeping and i could feal the difference eventhough id be home sick and happy to be home, id go to sleep and wake in stress and unpest, ow also AXSITY comes in alot as well. smokey —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.29.137.159 (talk) 21:04, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

Perhaps you should see your doctor.--Paloma Walker 21:48, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

In reference to lucid dreaming and reciveing information unknown to yourself, there are many ideas surrounding this. A good site for finding information on these topics is www.crystalinks.com, a metaphysical and science website. Think outside the box 14:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

First of all, being a night person as opposed to being a day person is not too uncommon. If I am in certain countries and environments where my allergies are very sensetive, then I usually feel much better at night (when there's less pollen) - but by and large it is thought to be more healthy to sleep by night and be awake during the day because our bodies are supposed to follow circadian rhythms (the patterns of the sun) in several ways. There could be dietary factors as well, perhaps you feel better if you wake up and eat proten - as opposed to waking up and having carbohydrayes.
Secondly, please try and rewrite your question - I can't waste too much time answering a question I don't even understand. Rfwoolf 15:11, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

As near as I can tell, the actual question here is something like "Can supernatural creatures in a person's ancestry explain the fact that I experience my dreams as real or real-like, and also that I experience a predictable relationship between when I sleep and how I feel the next day? If so, which supernatural creatures would explain this? And, if not, what other factors could explain it?"

I think the concept of Lucid Dreaming is one possible explanation for that last question, as are the dietary and other factors you suggest; other possibilities might merely be an active imagination, with a "see also" to Deja vu and other mentally/socially constructed ways humans use to explain the unexplained, and their scientific basis, or even my own issue -- I am very sensitive to both night noise and light pollution, and, as such, sleep much better in Vermont than in NYC. But I'm not sure that a reference desk is a place to answer the other questions, esp. the conjecture that something "inhuman" is happening here -- I see plenty of mythos available, but no encyclopedic or factual content available for supernatural creatures in human ancestry, especially as a way of explaining sleep cycle/mood relationships; Occam's Razor suggests plenty of other, perfectly biological and neurological reasons for this without conjecturing an ancestral line that includes, say, vampires or nymphs. Jfarber 16:14, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

There's an old northern-European tradition about selkies or silkies (essentially were-seals), such that several families are alleged to have some of that ilk in their ancestry. The Secret of Roan Inish (film derived from a book) was based on that tradition. I would not be surprised to discover that other seafaring, coastal, or island peoples had similar legends. -- Ben ^TALK/_HIST 02:08, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

R Lee Ermey says Roswell UFO incident is all Bullshit

File:Rleeermeydoll.jpg

The question is, does this man think anything is not bullshit?

Just seen this on the History Channel/Mail Call today. Agree ? Disagree with the "Sarge" ? 65.173.105.125 02:35, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Is that worthy of inclusion in appropriate articles ? The guy is well known. 65.173.105.125 02:37, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

In fact, he said the whole UFO matter is bullshit. 65.173.105.125 02:39, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Uhm, what exactly did he say? There are essentially two sides of that story, and calling it all bullshit would be rather ambiguous. V-Man - ^T/_C 02:42, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

At any rate, people have been calling the various theories about UFOs bullshit for ages. Likewise, people have been supporting the various theories. I see nothing shocking or new in this. V-Man - ^T/_C 02:44, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

He said the usual Party Line message on the matter, such as "you're a idiot", worse, green men on the show. Someone E-mailed him about the whole thing, and it was on today's issue of Mail Call. 65.173.105.125 02:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

He was in the Air Museum of Wright Patterson AFB when the matter came up, and he spouted chapter and verse the entire Party Line on Roswell and UFOs in general. 65.173.105.125 03:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, if you can cite a reliable source for it, I'd say go ahead and do so on his article. V-Man - ^T/_C 03:11, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

"I'll bet you're the kinda alien that would probe a person in the anus and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give him a reach-around." :) --TotoBaggins 12:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

What makes him an expert? Corvus cornix 05:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Question about links to userspace

I am of the understanding that links in articles that go to Wikipedia userspace are not permitted; and that this would be the case whether it was a link directly to userspace or using the URL for that user's page. Unfortunately, I cannot find a reference on this (no doubt looking in the wrong place). Is this correct? Risker 03:48, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

It requires just a little bit of logical thinking: why would you normally need a link to the userspace in an article? They aren't signed, for one. Two, userspace is not a valid reference for an article. I can't think of a reason one would need it. --Ouro (blah blah) 16:17, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

In general, there is little reason to link to userspace from the article space. However, there are certain exceptions. Jimmy Wales quite reasonably links to User:Jimbo Wales, for instance. (Note that such a link should be formatted as an external link rather than a wikilink.) Perhaps you could provide the details of your specific situation? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 16:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Okay, but Jimbo Wales is an exception. One could thus surmise that should anyone of notability and fame be an editor at Wikipedia (thus having their own article in the mainspace), they could disclose it by linking to their user page. So, tell us who you are :) --Ouro (blah blah) 18:08, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Interesting. I understood this exception to be much narrower -- to only apply if it was someone's association with Wikipedia which was what was fundamentally notable about that person. After all, even if George Bush were a Wikipedian, that would not make his personal userpage somehow relevant to the article George W. Bush. Jfarber 18:36, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Biggest railroad passanger carrying coach manufactuters

Dear Sir, I would request you to mail me the list of top 10 largest rail road coach manufacturers in the world in terms of no. of coach produced per annum in last three years. To my information, the largest coach manufacturer in India is RCF which produce Approx. 1200 coaches per annum. B M Agrawal (E-Mail removed to prevent spammage)—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.94.137.10 (talk) 04:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

Answer has been sent to you via telepathy-mail. Seriously this site does not answer reference questions by mailing answers, rather volunteers post same place you posed the question. User:AlMac|^(talk) 21:37, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

There are several articles in this encyclopaedia which may be helpful to you, such as:

• Rail transport

User:AlMac|^(talk) 21:43, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Speeding ticket and court

I got a speeding ticket when I made a quick right turn and the cop was right there. My tire was on the double yellow line (left tire) because I didnt make a perfect 90 degree turn (because I turned too fast), but the cop claims that based on his experience, what I'm saying is BS, and I had to have been speeding. He said I was going 50 and turned at 50 miles per hour. Is there anything I can say in court to try to get out of it? I feel as if I should have gotten a ticket for turning too fast, rather than speeding, so I'm hoping I can get out of it. Any ideas on what to say to the judge? Thanks guys —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.167.136.84 (talk) 06:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

In most jurisdictions, making an unsafe turn results in greater penalty than a speeding ticket, particularly in the insurance aftereffects. Take your ticket to court, or hire one of those firms that specialises in getting people out of tickets; they have a higher than average result rate. In many jurisdictions, if the cop doesn't show up for court, you will get off because of lack of a witness; and cops are often very busy doing, well, police work. Good luck - and slow down ;). Risker 06:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

No he is going to show up, its LAPD, they are required to show up. They can't give me a ticket for something else later, they can't say you were doing this also and give me a ticket in court. Yeah I think i'm going to have to get a lawyer. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.167.159.75 (talk) 19:46, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

the quality of methamphetamine

how come some methamphetamine tastes bad and burns "dirty" while some tastes relativly decent and burns "clean"? I understand about the cookware being clean or dirty affecting the taste but it seems that if a person does a rinse of acetone it improves both the taste and burning .Do some of the precursors have a shelf life that might affect taste and solubility? Or is it simply the "cooks" recipe that decides the quality of the product ?Shredder0288 07:24, 17 March 2007 (UTC)shredder0288

Shotgun

I was reading the sawn-off shotgun article, and it said how sawed off shotguns are sometimes dubbed 'wristbreakers'. This made me think. Could a person actually break his wrist firing a shotgun (normal length) one handed? If not, why not?Cuban Cigar 08:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Various disorders, such as osteoporosis, can make bones weak and brittle enough that even relatively small forces can cause injury. Certainly firing a shotgun one-handed would be dangerous for someone with such a condition. --TotoBaggins 12:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Just a guess but I would have thought that the OP was thinking of a person without degenerative bone problems. Just an average healthy person. Most anything is possible when you start tacking on diseases, handicaps, the possibility of alien abduction, Nazis, outrageous coincidences, etc. Dismas|^(talk) 15:40, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

A shotgun, especially a 12 gauge, kicks like a mule, and is likely to bruise your shoulder, especially if you do not hold it firmly against the shoulder when firing. If the gun's mass is decreased by sawing off part of the barrel the kick would increase unless the muzzle velocity decreased enough to compensate. If the stock is sawn off as well as the barrel so that the shotgun is more concealable, the kick could be much greater (again unless the muzzle velocity decreases). The energy to be dissipated should be (1/2)*(mass of shot and wadding and gases expelled)*(muzzle velocity squared). I expect that a robber aiming such a gun at a victim is aware that he might get a broken wrist, but the victim could expect much worse injuries from the shot ripping into his flesh, and so the weapon will be effective as a persuader. Edison 16:52, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Wow i thought that a saw-off shotgun would kick less than a regular shotgun (but Edison's formula makes sense so I guess I was wrong). So, if say a a 12 gauge shotgun was sawn off (is this even possible) was fired one handed, could it in fact break a person's wrist (an 'average' person)?Cuban Cigar 23:50, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Derek Plante's name on hockey's Stanley Cup

In June 1999, the Dallas Stars beat the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals (a game made famous by the controversial "skate in the crease" goal scored in overtime by Brett Hull). One of the members of the Stars was Derek Plante, a former Buffalo Sabre, whose name was subsequently engraved on the Cup. However, Plante did not appear in any of the games between the Stars and Sabres in the Final nor did he play 41 regular season games for the Stars (at the time, one of these two qualifications had to be met in order for a player's name to be included on the Cup). Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated. I would have posted this question in the "Arcane Sports" category it existed on Wikipedia. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.243.174.150 (talk) 12:29, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

Question

In the Psychopath thread it notes that most psychopaths have no sight of long term consequences but it also states that most research are done on prison populations. Is it therefore safe to assume that there is indeed Psychopaths with clear long time consequences sight but who havent been researched. Joneleth 15:15, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Safe to assume? I wouldn't assume it. Is it possible? Sure, most anything is possible and there are normally exceptions to every rule. Dismas|^(talk) 15:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

According to the article in question, Psychopathy is defined by only two things: lack of empathy/conscience, and poor impulse control OR manupulative behaviors. The article then notes that the essence of this behavioral set is that "What is missing, in other words, are the very qualities that allow a human being to live in social harmony."

It seems to me that, if you wanted to assume that there were a whole group of psychopaths out there who were distinctly different from those in jail because they could see the long-term consequences of their actions, what you are assuming is that they are exercising that assumed foresight to act in social harmony -- that is, to not act on their psychopathic impulses, and thus keep out of jail.

But if you're assuming THAT...then, according to the definition, you're assuming they're not psychopaths anymore. In fact, I'd suggest you're assuming, instead, that they are just people who have some issues. We ALL have urges which are counter to social harmony sometimes; most of us, however, either choose not to act on those impulses, or are something else which is itself clinically definable (for example, we feel bad about our actions, but we have poor impulse control, which might put us in jail but would not put us in the group of psychopaths being studied there), or seem to be clinically no different from those psychopaths we might see in jail.

Alternately, I suppose, you could be assuming that those folks are either just lucky enough to stay out of jail, or better at hiding. But in neither case does that allow you to assume that they are therefore clinically different from those in jail -- just more skilled, or more randomly lucky.

The answer, then appears to be NO -- it is unsafe to assume that there are psychopaths out there who do not have the same symptom set as psychopaths, because those people are either not psychopaths, or are psychologically matched to psychopaths anywhere. They are jsut either lucky or more skilled (neither of which are clinical issues), OR they just have some of the symptoms and qualities which, when coupled with other specific symptoms that they do NOT Have, are defined clinically as psycopathy. Jfarber 16:32, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Anyone who has spent time in corporations or academia or other organizations may well have observed behavior judged typical of sociopaths: manipulative poeple who see nothing wrong with using others, in those who are clawing their way to the top. The ones in jail or institutions may be those who were less lucky or less successful in getting aweay with ruthless behavior and the using of others. In a business meeting an attorney said it would be immoral to engage in a certain course of action. An executive said "But we would never get caught would we? and could not see the point of discussing morality. The more successful such persons are certainly able to look at the long-term consequences of their actions in terms of the likelihood of being caught and punished. Edison 16:58, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

But are those people still, clinically speaking, psychopaths? By definition, psychopaths are lacking the abilities that allow them to live in social harmony; you've described a coping mechanism that allows people to function socially. Isn't it that very success which makes them NOT psychopaths anymore? (Doesn't mean they don't have psychological issues, but the symptoms and differenced required to earn the label Psychopath seem narrowly proscribed.) I would encourage closer reading of the "related disorders" section of the original article. Jfarber 17:57, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Jfarber the thread also states how Psychopaths learns to mimic emotions and feelings to hide their Psychopathic tendencies but that doesnt make them any less Psychopaths. My thesis where that there is also Psychopaths out there that learned to mimic social behavior in order to get better long term consequences but that wouldnt make them any less Psychopaths either even though they would officially be working members of society. Joneleth 17:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm hoping we're both seeing the same thing, because I'm referring to a Wikipedia entry, while you're describing a "thread" -- the term I'm using assumes that there is ultimately some consensus and fact available, and the term you're using is not one associated with encyclopedia entries, but with opinion-sharing.

That said, and to the question, is it fair to restate your question as asking whether it is safe to ASSUME that the ability to mimic social behavior (at least enough to keep themselves out of jail) is due to a fundamental ability to foresee LONG term consequences...because if the answer were "yes", it would challenge the validity of extant studies of psychopathic behavior?

I assumed that this was what you were really asking. And I assumed that, since this is a reference desk, the question would be answerable using reference materials -- that it is an issue of question redefinition and information location, in other words. If all that is true, then, armed with the definition of "psychopathy", and with logic, I maintain that you cannot assume what you are asking to assume -- that logic leaves other possibilities both available and probable which would contradict your assumptions. There are many other possible reasons why some psychopaths might not end up in jail; there are many possible answers ways to explain the differences between jailed psychopaths and non-jailed (or even non-jailable)psychopaths; we need not assume a fundamental difference in, specifically, the ability to see long-term consequences in order to explain even these differences in behavior. For example, there are plenty of SHORT term reasons why one might be constantly reminded to behave in (mostly) socially appropriate ways; we need not assume a difference in LONG-term psychological outlook to allow for even Edison's examples. Jfarber 17:57, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

IPod-nano

How would I go about putting a new playlist on my IPod nano? I have already created one, but I simply cannot put it on my I-pod. Thanks, Яussiaп F 15:22, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

The following is assuming that you have the most current version of iTunes. Create the playlist in iTunes. Connect your iPod. On the left the iPod should be listed, amongst your library and all the playlists. Click on the iPod. That should bring up, in the main view, info about the iPod. In this window there should be four tabs: Summary, Music, Podcasts, and Contacts. Click on the music tab. Click or unclick whichever playlists you would like to have on the iPod. Hit "Apply" in the lower right. Done. Dismas|^(talk) 15:38, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Danke :) Яussiaп F 15:42, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Bitte.  :) Dismas|^(talk) 15:47, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

U.S. Military

What percent of the soilders in the U.S. military joined after the war started?--ChesterMarcol 17:58, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

In a way, all of them as this is just a continuation of a much older war :] HS7 20:54, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

By "the war", I assume you mean the war on terror; while I do not have any numbers I do recall hering in a local news story that after 9/11 one of the U.S. Air Force recruiting offices here in the city averaged one new recruit a day. I would assume that most recruiting offices had something similar happen, so mathamaticaly the number is probably a few thousand or a few ten thousand. TomStar81 (Talk) 00:40, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

1.4 million people are currently on active duty with 1,25 million more in reserves. I'm not sure what the average length of service is - but if it were 10 years - then 10% of that number would have to be replaced every year - 140,000 active service people per year - about 400 per day - maybe 700 per day if you include the reserves. There is a drive to add 100,000 new soldiers over the next 5 years - but that's only another 54 recruits per day. So I doubt that they are recruiting a few thousand per day unless the average time in service is a lot shorter than 10 years. SteveBaker 14:20, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Animal Pak

Does Animal Pak contain any substances that would show up on a drug test, or would be considered "cheating" in high school or college level sports? And does Animal Cuts contain any such substances? Thank You. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.135.232.208 (talk) 19:18, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

There is an ingredient list on their website. Animal Cuts has an ingredient list here. I don't see anything obvious, in fact a lot of it looks like multivitamin stuff. Anyone know of specific banned substances that athletes need to watch out for in supplements like this? Dave6 ^talk 10:37, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Cricket Rules

What on earth are the rules of cricket? How is it scored and what is a ducky? Ireland are actually doing quite well in the Cricket World Cup and as we haven't won the Rugby Six Nations I need to move on. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.38.3.218 (talk) 20:42, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

The article on cricket would be a good place to start, but if you have specific questions about the rules, please post them here. As to the second part of your question, a duck is a term used to indicate that a batter scored zero runs in their innings. Carom 21:10, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

O hare question

Does the Chicago o hare airport have any observation decks or rooms where aircraft can be watched taking off our landing other than the gate areas.--logger 21:06, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, if you are an air traffic controller, then these towers will allow you to watch takeoffs and landings. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 22:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Counterstrike

How can you find a server where you can kill your teammates without actually going into every server to check? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.185.133.233 (talk) 22:24, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

Article Removed -- Don't know why

I created an article for the Director of Public Health Dr. Jonathan Fielding in January 2007. I use materials provided from his standard Bio and Resume. There were not copywright violations, however, some of those materials are used elsewhere on the web to describe him, e.g. when he is a member of a prestigious committee, etc. I indicated that in the Discussion for his article when someone removed the Overview section since it appeared elsewhere. I can no longer find any history in my contributions either. Dr. Fielding has made major contributions to the field of public health and he is nationally recognized in many areas. Clearly, he should have an entry in Wikipedia. Is there anyone I can write to which will help resolve this. Thanks Dr. Strassburg Mstrassburg 22:40, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Have you tried leaving messages to this effect on the talk pages of the two editors mentioned on the deletion log for that page? Jfarber 01:57, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

If that doesn't work, WP:CP notes that talk pages are limited in thier effectiveness as spaces to "prove" legitimacy of sources, and suggests several alternatives. Jfarber 02:01, 18 March 2007 (UTC) again

I have a question about wikipedia

How do i nominate an article for Featured Artice status?1 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Partapdua1 (talk • contribs) 22:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

Have a look at this page: Wikipedia:Featured article candidates. - Akamad 00:03, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

WP:FAC is a hard test to pass - and nearly everyone tries to get through it before the article is ready for it. In my experience, it is a good idea to first put the article through Peer Review - then when it's been there for a week or two, put it up for "Good Article" candidacy - that's easier to achieve than "Featured Article" and gets you more high-quality feedback. Then, and only then, would I shoot for Featured article candidacy. The reason for this is that your best chance of making it through the barrage of criticism at the FA level is the first time. If your article fails WP:FAC once - then it's MUCH harder to get through the second time because the editors look back on all of the criticisms that were put up the first time as well as making new criticisms of their own! So - I advise taking it slowly and also reading all of the guideline articles listed under 'See also' and 'Advice from individual users' on the Wikipedia:Featured article criteria page. Be 100% sure you are meeting all of them! SteveBaker 14:07, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Jobs...

Can you get any kind of office job with just a highschool diploma? I just want any kind of office job that pays okay. Like I dunno any of those guys you see working in an office building in a movie. (Believe it or not I've never been in a purpose-built office building. Actually I don't think there are any in my hometown.) Anyway, what I'm trying to figure out is do I have to get a university degree or college (community) diploma? Another thing is, like any job, I'm asuming they're gonna expect some relevant experience, and I don't have any at all. I need experience to get experience--where the hell do I start? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.53.181.36 (talk) 23:33, 17 March 2007 (UTC).

You don't say where you live but your IP address is Bradford New Hampshire, so this answer is relevant mainly to the US, and I will assume you are between 16 and 21 or you would have already begun to discover the answer for yourself. I also don't know what you consider "okay" pay; I assume your standards are pretty low if you are asking this question. There are huge numbers of low-paying clerical jobs in offices that require only a high school diploma, but you may lose out to someone else who has at least a little post-high-school schooling (even community college or local business school or technical school). Here are some suggestions:

1. Often the best way to get one of these entry level jobs is to have a connection (friend or relative) in the company, or at least make it widely known to all your friends and relatives that you are looking hard and would be grateful for tips.
2. Do anything to get a little experience that might be relevant. Many schools have "internship"-type arrangements with companies.
3. Take part-time or minimum wage non-office work in a company that has lots of offices. Many managers rise from the ranks and employess usually get first shot at newly opened jobs.
4. Talk to your guidance counselor. Many of them sincerely like to help, and will know much more about local conditions and employers. Most have access to enormous lists of types of jobs that most of us might not think of. If you are out of school, go back to your HS and talk to one of them anyway.
5. Remember that low level office work does not pay as well as skilled craftsman type work. If you hate school that much or have that much trouble with it, maybe an office isn't what you want anyway. If you do okay at school, you shouldn't even be thinking of not getting enough school to get you a job that sounds good to you. Good luck.alteripse 00:46, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Married Wikipedians?

How many Wikipedian couples are there? Just curious to know. bibliomaniac15 23:36, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I guess there's Category:Married Wikipedians. But I doubt it really reflects the entire community. In fact, I doubt there's any reliable statistics for wikipedians as a whole anywhere. —Mitaphane _?|! 00:08, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Repair squeaking floor boards

How do you repair squeaking floor boards? Ross50 00:00, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

You might have to check to see if the board is nailed in right- if not, fix it! :) also, if they're just old boards with problems, you could add new ones, but that would probably be too much work to just get rid of squeaking for some people -Dixie48 01:45, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

You repair them by stopping the sequeak. The squeak is a result of two peices of wood rubbing against each other. You can pull them up, and nail down the underlying layment, then use a glue like ... crap, I forgot the type of glue. OH! Polyurathane. Thats it. use a thin a layer as possible. that should stop the movement of the boards, and the squeaking. 67.180.27.49 03:43, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Grapes of Wrath Online Text

Hello! Does anyone know where I could read "The Grapes of Wrath" online, or download the eBook for free? Thanks - Vikramkr 00:47, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I would start by checking out articles on the refrigerator, as I would assume they would have wrathful grapes :) On a more serious note, I have been told by my fellow student friends that if you have a line or quote of some sort from the text you can punch the entire thing in online and websites with full text copies of the work in question will pop up in the search results. I have no idea how true that is, but you may want to try if nothing else works. TomStar81 (Talk) 00:49, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, it's not in the public domains yet, so any means you find will be likely illegal. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:26, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

(after edit conflict)

Wirbelwind is right that this book is under copyright; we can't recommend illegal activities. edited to add:Also, out of curiosity, I tried TomStar's strategy armed with google and a famous quote from the book, and got no results. Guess you'll not get to illegally download the book! (/end edit.)

But don't despair! There IS a great way to get this and many other eBooks legally, if your local library (or school library) is part of a network which subscribes to eBook or other computer-based subscription services, and if the book is part of that subscription service. Before despairing, I'd march right in to your local school or public library, or call them, and ask someone at the reference desk to help you. Assuming you have a library card, this service IS free, legal, and actually quite easy; I used this system to download a copy of Lord of the Flies just last month through interlibrary loan. (Gee, it seems to weird to refer someone from the Reference Desk to a reference desk...but I guess that's what librarians are for!) Jfarber 01:36, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Project Gutenberg is a great place for free books - it's like Wikipedia in that it's user-supported and run as a non-profit. People go there and type in and proof-read entire books and give them away for free: http://www.gutenberg.org - however, they can only put up books that are out of copyright or with the permission of author/publisher/etc. Since "Grapes of Wrath" was published in 1939 and it's author only died in 1968, it's still within copyright - so Gutenberg doesn't have it. For that same reason, I doubt that anywhere will have a legally downloadable free copy - so you're probably out of luck. SteveBaker 13:56, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

getting rid of it

Hey, I was wondering how to get rid of stomach fat quickly? Do jumping jacks & crunches do it? if so, how many a day? if not, what does? what should you refrain from eating? etc. etc. -thanks alot — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.211.8.100 (talk)

Figure out the number of calories you take in during one day. Burn at least that many during the day. Weight will be lost. It's a simple equation. Where the fat is (stomach, butt, hips, thighs, etc. ) doesn't matter. A healthy diet will help by getting more nutrition from the food you eat. Dismas|^(talk) 03:15, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

How to loose weight: Eat less, work out more. That is what burns fat. I eat plenty of fruit, and especially Bananans. Bannans contain Colene, which stimulates the hippocampus area of the brain, which produces growth hormones naturally. The best type of health/excerise programs convery body fat to muscle, hence you do not lose weight. DO NOT GO ON A DIET WITHOUT THE SUPERVISION OF A PHYSISAN. 67.180.27.49 03:22, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

To lose weight, follow directions @ http://health.howstuffworks.com/calorie.htm. Unfortinately there is no way to "target" belly fat; you have to lose fat all over your body in order to lose it from your belly. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.138.84.159 (talk) 05:38, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

The assertions about 'fat being fat' don't appear to be 100% true. Sorry I'm too tired to look right now, but several recent studies I've read (including a news item from just a couple of days ago) have found that endocrine problems (notably but not exclusively exposure to environmentally-borne pseudo-sex hormones) seem to result in more belly fat. IIRC the same is true of excess carb consumption in insulin-resistant people, although that is from not-so-recent memory. Anchoress 06:05, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

How do you add a userbox to your page?

ditto -Dixie48 01:43, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Answer here. Jfarber 01:44, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

See WP:USERBOXEN --froth^t 14:25, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Chess Club

isnt it ironic that chess players and by extention, the "chess clubs" at schools are seen as nerdy and effete when in reality, Chess is an important element in the study of war and fighting. Indeed, most Medieval squires had chess as part of their training to become Knights. And most chess players in reality today are very martial and fearsome. Hallibrah 02:59, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Is there a question in there or are you just making an observation? Dismas|^(talk) 03:13, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

That is a question. I was like "why is it that . . . ?" Hallibrah 03:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I play chess, as do many of my friends, who are neither 'nerdy and effete' nor 'martial and fearsome', for which I am truly thankful! Clio the Muse 05:23, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

There's no denying that Chess is not a physical sport (it's certainly a mental sport, and any sport if you take forms of organized competition as a sport) - Chess does not increase the heart rate, there's no physical training involved, Chess won't make you physically stronger, Chess won't make you run faster or hit a ball more accurately.

It is nonetheless interesting to note that the chess players I knew in school didn't really participate in the sports, and vice verse. Rfwoolf 08:00, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, there's chess boxing...--Mwalcoff 09:07, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Dirt roads

Why and how do 'washboard' ridges form on dirt roads? 68.231.151.161 06:10, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Suppose there is a little bump in an otherwise smooth dirt road. When a car's wheel goes over it, the springs are compressed and the car bounces up and down a couple of times before the shocks eventually dampen down the motion and the car rolls smoothely again. When the car is propelled upwards, it doesn't put so much pressure on the road and therefore wears it out less - whenever it's propelled downwards, it hits the road a bit harder and wears the dirt off a little bit more than usual. Since every car that goes over that bump does the exact same thing, and cars tend to bounce about the same amount, you get a series of bumps and hollows forming behind that very first bump in the road at exactly the right spacing to hit the 'resonant frequency'. Those secondary bumps and hollows get each car's suspension bouncing up and down still more - so the ripples gradually spread along the entire length and width of the road - and every car that travels along it makes them deeper until - after enough years and enough cars - you have a washboard. Also, if it rains, then the rain will run off the bumps and down into the hollows - then flow along the hollows until it reaches the ditch on the side of the road. That flow will erode dirt out of the hollows - still more emphasising the washboard effect. SteveBaker 13:49, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

And then if the road freezes with a lot of moisture in it, that pressure has to go somewhere. That could create the initial bump. Dismas|^(talk) 13:58, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Champagne cork deaths

How many people die each year from champagne corks popping in their direction? --Candy-Panda 08:25, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

March 18

Wikipedian dies

What happens when a wikipedian dies? I mean what happens to his user page and stuff? Has it ever happened? A.Z. 12:52, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I've no idea what would happen (presumable the account will become inactive) but unless someone notified wikipedia how would anybody know if the person had died and not just stopped using their account? I suspect that in the years that wikipedia has existed and considering the thousands of wikipedians that have helped make it so good that at least one poor soul has died. ny156uk 12:57, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

We have 3.8 million user accounts - although the number of actual people is certainly less than that because some people have sock-puppets. Let's guess at 2 million actual people. The death rate in most of the world where computers are common and Wikipedians are therefore most likely to live is between 5 and 10 deaths per thousand people per year. So between 10,000 and 20,000 Wikipedians die every year. That's between 30 and 60 of our members every day - the odds are good that a Wikipedian died while I was typing this message. Obviously Wiki doesn't know when this has happened - even very experienced Wikipedians leave the project for all sorts of reasons other than death (and some of them return months or years later) - but many, many of those two million users create the account and never edit a single article. But even if you are talking about experienced Wikipedians...I think there are something like 10,000 people with more than 1,000 edits - every year 50 to 100 of them will die. So what happens? Nothing. The account is still there - nobody ever edits it again because the password is (presumably) lost. The user page remains as a memorial forever (Hmmm - maybe I should clean up my user page some - I wouldn't want what I have now to be my perpetual memorial!). If it's someone very well known, we may wonder where they went - perhaps even someone might take the trouble to email and ask how they are - but mostly, probably not. A recent rule change allows people to take over accounts that have very few edits credited to them if they have been inactive for some large amount of time (to prevent the hogging of good user names). But that rule excludes accounts that have more than a few edits credited to them - so if the account owner dies and is a "true Wikipedian" with a bunch of edits to their name - then the account will probably be here as long as Wikipedia continues to exist - which (since we are now the repository of ALL human knowledge) could easily be forever. I think that's a fitting end. I'm going to go off and cry now! SteveBaker 13:32, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Redirect

Hi!
Suppose I want to create an article x₂ , but it already exists under a synonymous headline x₁, ... what are the steps i should follow to redirect x₂ , to x₁ ? Thanks,--Pupunwiki 14:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Try the #R button on the toolbar above the edit box --froth^t 14:22, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

What is the meaning of TBD in the table of super 8 result of ICC 2007

Pls. elaborate the meaning of TBD that appear in the column of the country name in the table of super8 result in the wikipedia page on icc worldcup 2007203.112.218.18 14:23, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

• Probably , you did mean TBC . Well, as it can be seen here -[8], it means " To Be Confirmed ".--Pupunwiki 14:39, 18 March 2007 (UTC)