Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Wikipedia:Reference desk/headercfg

April 16

"Stop" in Telegrams

In movies and TV shows whenever someone is reading a telegram they always say stop at random times while reading it. Why? and yes I've read the article telegram--ChesterMarcol 03:23, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

"Stop" is short for "full stop" which was the original name for the punctuation mark which, in North America, is currently called a "period". I believe the word "stop" was used so as not to have it be confused with an stray mark on the paper on which a telegram was printed. (I am more certain of the first half of this answer than the latter.)Bielle 03:52, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

According to this article[1], it was cheaper to use the word "stop" in a telegram than it was to use a period. Punctuation cost money, but a four-letter word was free. --Charlene 06:29, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

There must be more to it than that, surely. Why have a pricing system where a small dot costs more than four letters? In any event it ought to be explained in the Wikipedia article so I put a note at Talk:Telegraphy. --Mathew5000 14:48, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I can find many references via Google that repeat the information that Charlene has mentioned, but nothing that seems authoritative. There is also a reference within the full stop article. --LarryMac 15:06, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I think I've found the answer at telegraph-office.com. That site contains a reproduction of a 1928 booklet entitled "How To Write Telegraphs Properly". The booklet says:

If you do not intend to stipulate that marks of punctuation be transmitted, write your message without punctuation and read it carefully to make sure that it is not ambiguous. If it seems impossible to convey your meaning clearly without the use of punctuation, use may be made of the celebrated word "stop," which is known the world over as the official telegraphic or cable word for "period."

This word "stop" may have perplexed you the first time you encountered it in a message. Use of this word in telegraphic communications was greatly increased during the World War, when the Government employed it widely as a precaution against having messages garbled or misunderstood, as a result of the misplacement or emission of the tiny dot or period.

Officials felt that the vital orders of the Government must be definite and clear cut, and they therefore used not only the word "stop," to indicate a period, but also adopted the practice of spelling out "comma," "colon," and "semi-colon." The word "query" often was used to indicate a question mark. Of all these, however, "stop" has come into most widespread use, and vaudeville artists and columnists have employed it with humorous effect, certain that the public would understand the allusion in connection with telegrams. It is interesting to note, too, that although the word is obviously English it has come into general use In all languages that are used in telegraphing or cabling.

The booklet elsewhere mentions that each punctuation mark is counted as one word for purposes of the fee. Thus you can see how the journalist writing the AP story got it wrong; it isn't that a period costs money while "stop" is free but rather both cost the same but if you go for the period there's a danger it will be accidentally omitted. --Mathew5000 15:57, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Sorry - but I don't buy any of the previous explanations for why 'STOP' is used in place of '.' - the true reason is surely that telegrams were frequently transmitted by morse code which only has dot/dash codes for the letters A-Z and the digits 0-9. If you want punctuation or any other kind of typography - you have to spell it out. Even something like a dollar sign has to be spelled. Telegrams also arrived ALL IN UPPERCASE - same reason - there is no lowercase in morse. Given that 'STOP' has to be spelled out, it's not surprising that they charged for punctuation at the same rate as normal words. If you wanted your telegram to have proper punctuation, it would have to be retyped by someone at the receiving end (using a normal typewriter) with all of the punctuation manually converted back from words into symbols - which obviously cost a lot more. SteveBaker 22:30, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Do you have any source for that, SteveBaker? The 1928 source I referred to above doesn't say anything like that. Also the Wikipedia article Morse code does give representations for punctuation marks. --Mathew5000 06:52, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

[2] says that by 1928 80% of telegrams were sent by Teletype. [3] has the lyrics of the comic "Telegraph song" with the use of stop. Many images of old telegrams from the early to mid 20th century, sent via teletype, show periods. [4] from 1944 from the War Department spells out "period." Googling images of telegrams shows some with periods, some with "stop" and many with just run on sentences. Edison 19:07, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

bartending in Louisiana

I just would like to know how old do you have to be to be a bartender in louisiana specificly Alexandria,La. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.193.219.201 (talk) 06:17, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

According to this page[5], the age everywhere in Louisiana is 18. Also you must be licensed by the state to serve alcohol, which apparently requires that you take a course in liquor laws and handling[6]. --Charlene 06:26, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Ironically, in many US states you can serve alcohol before you can legally drink it. StuRat 16:10, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

A piece of trivia - the provincial government in Alberta, Canada was recently pressured into backing down from a proposed plan to make it legal for 12-year-olds to work in bars. Yippee for the Wild West! Anchoress 23:38, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Did they decide all the 12 year olds were needed as airline pilots instead ? StuRat 00:53, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

David Lee

In the 1970's was there a painter by the name of David Lee, if so how & where do I get more info regarding his work? Thanking you in advance, 68.63.204.253 06:43, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Can't find much biographical info for you, and we don't appear to have an article on him. However, there are some prints available to buy credited to a David Lee [7]. They look kinda 70s-ish to me, though I'm no art critic. Rockpocket 07:24, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

What they show, Rockpocket, is some very strong Japanese influences, particularly the Rimpa school! Clio the Muse 08:08, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Vehicle detection

Does anyone know the technical term for the black rubber hoses that are are laid across roads (at least in the UK), presumably as some form of vehicle counter or speed measurement device? – Tivedshambo (talk) 06:54, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I've heard them called traffic counters, vehicle counters, volume counters and hose counters. The latter is used to distinguish the hoses you're talking about from actual humans whose job it is to sit by the side of the road and count vehicles. I would generally use the term hose counter (get a hose count, get hoses on a road, etc.) from my perspective as an engineer who would want hose count data; I'm not interested in the technical details as much as the fact that we need hoses somewhere. I make the big distinction between hoses and humans; the former can count 24/7 as necessary, but the latter can count things like vehicle occupancy or turning movements at an intersection.

Searching for vehicle counter is probably your best bet, since on the Internet, a "traffic counter" is how many people go to your website. A device with a single hose can only count the number of axles driven over it, but when arrayed in sets of hoses (pairs or more), advanced counters can produce information on the configuration of vehicles (i.e. how many axles and how they're laid out), the speed of the vehicles, which lane they're in and so on. There will always be a small, nondescript metal box on the side of the road (usually chained to something) that has the actual count mechanism, and the processors needed to transform hose hits into usable data. The whole system is the counter; I'd guess the hose itself is called a hose, but it's useless without the box. --ByeByeBaby 07:59, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I thought they were called automated traffic counters. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:45, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. I was trying to find an article about it, but it doesn't seem to exist (yet!). – Tivedshambo (talk) 11:59, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Social Incentives

How can social incentives be used to promote ecological conservation, particularly in an online environment? (Any relevant research or some good examples would be useful. Specifically, I am looking into promoting alternative transit, but examples of social incentives in other areas would also be useful.)

Martivg 07:35, 16 April 2007 (UTC)MVG

You might want to look at other attempts at using social pressure, such as the positive social pressure exhibited by the National Recovery Act in the US during the Great Depression, including blue eagle stickers for store windows that said "We Do Our Part": [8]. For an example of negative social pressure, how about the One Child Policy in China ? As for online versions, you could give free access to a web site with wallpapers, games, blogs, etc., for those who do something ecologically responsible. StuRat 16:04, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Alternative LTERNATIVE DEFINITION; NOT COMMENT

Reputable Dictionaries such as Oxford/Chambers offer equally valid alternative definitions of the same term. Why does Wikipedia does not do the same?

To illustrate my point below is a posting I wish placed alongside the current conventional Wikipedia definition of Psychiatry. Bear in mind history proves wide acceptance does not validate or make fact.

The conventional definition may be verifiable in its own terms but repeats myth and is based on unverifiable inferences such as that related to biomedical cause-effect, and omits verifiable facts such as denial of Human Rights and abuse.

There is no factual difference between my submission and the conventional definition of psychiatry. Indeed mine is entirely factual because verified by considerable academic, peer-reviewed work of the past 40 years, some of which is patronisingly cited in the listed definition (Laing; Szasz et al). The conventional definition is not.

True science welcomes and thrives on dispute; quackery fears and rejects it without serious consideration - as psychiatry ignores dissent from a position of unarranted power apparently endorsed by Wikipedia. Does this not defeat its basic purpose?

85.210.54.175 08:58, 16 April 2007 (UTC)Dixie Dean (prof)85.210.54.175 08:58, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Five pillars. This is the reference desk in any case, you would be better bringing up issues with an article on that article's talk page. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 09:00, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Wiktionary would be a better place for alternate meanings of words. Wikipedia articles tend to only deal with the primary meaning(s). StuRat 15:55, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps you should let us know what your definition of psychiatry is, and/or add it to the article and see if it flies. I see no evidence in the psychiatry page that you;ve tried to do that; perhaps you're confusing omission with censorship, when it's more likely to be the mere absence of anyone stepping up to the plate. The Psy article does have a tag stating that it is from a US point of view and encouraging a world view. Meanwhile I can think of any number of articles which posit more than one viewpoint about a subject. Homeopathy would be a case in point. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Spiders

How long can the average house spider go without food? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.144.161.223 (talk) 09:07, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

There is really no such thing as a house spider, which is a generic term for a number of species. Larger spiders can go longer without food without then smaller ones, certainly several days, but remember that they package their food and store it, and they don't use much energy just sitting around, so they keep going pretty well. Moisture is more critical then food, and they will go looking for it, which is why you often find them in the bath.--Shantavira 10:39, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, to come back to my original question. There has been a spider on the windowsill in the bathroom for about 6 months, there has never been anything is his web (greg is his name) so yesterday I gave him a small caterpillar worm type thingy, and he seem quite happy. but he has lasted a long long LONG time without anything so, how long can a common house hold spider live without food? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.144.161.223 (talk) 16:09, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

Also, the spider's quest for a drink will lead them to craw all over you at night - drawing liguid from around you mouth and eyes. Think outside the box 11:39, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, but I find both of these answers dodgy. I accept that dehydrated spiders need to drink, and will imbibe from water droplets. But IMO spiders are found in the bath merely because they cannot get out of it if they chance to get in it. I'd want convincing that they know that baths have an association with water. As for "they crawl over you at night", that looks like nothing more than a scary story for little children and arachnophobes [9]. Using the RD to spread myths such as this is to be deplored - it's not big, it's not clever, and it is not the purpose of the RD to spread mis-information. --Tagishsimon (talk)

A myth; I'd like to see you prove that. One link is not proof. Any studies done on it? Think outside the box 09:15, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

I once woke up with a spider on my face, I sure couldn't get back to sleep that night. StuRat 15:53, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm. Are you sure it never caught anything? They usually take their prey out of sight, off to a corner or into their funnel. And even a tiny fruit fly could sustain a small spider for some time.--Shantavira 17:58, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

cockroaches can go for a long time without food, and they tend to run around a lot. You can prove they aren't eating anything by cutting their heads off.

Man, I wish I hadn't read this thread.

You may get a better idea of the spider's activities by looking for its detritus on the floor beneath the spider. There, you may find insect (prey) exoskeletal bits and also spider excretions.

Atlant 13:17, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I once had Karl living in the mirror casing of my car (drivers side), where he could build his net hanging below the mirror and attached to the cars body. He stayed for about half a year and vanished, probably dead. Most spiders have a short life expectancy, even if they have plenty of food. Btw, how could I have found out whether Karl was actually Karla?

Haven't you ever read Charlotte's Web?

Atlant 17:22, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Without a picture of "Karl", the best way to find out would have been to kill the spider and use dissect it under a microscope, and look for the sex organs. Also in general, female spiders are usually larger.--Kirby♥time 08:49, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Old South African Prisons

In the Old Apartied South Africa, were the prisons segregated? Or were Black, White, Indian ect people seperated. If so were they in sperate prisons or was it just different wings of the same institute or building? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.144.161.223 (talk) 09:14, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

Yes, the prison system was subject to the same rules of Apartheid as the rest of South African Society. You will find some detailed background information here [10] and here [11]. Clio the Muse 09:43, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Question

When did celts stop being celts and start being germans? Joneleth 10:33, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Who told you that celts were Germans? Aren't celts a group of people that were all over Europe, not just Germany? Think outside the box 11:37, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

when they stopped supporting the 'hoops' (celtic football culb) and started supporting rangers football club(sometimes called 'the huns')- bad football joke Perry-mankster 11:41, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Ah, a joke! I love jokes. Think outside the box 11:50, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

ah, sarcasm! I love sarcasm.Perry-mankster 12:34, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Joneleth, you might as easily have asked when an elephant stopped being an elephant and started to be a dove! The answer, of course, is that the Celts and the Germans are two quite different peoples. Once widspread across Europe, the Celts today are largely confined to Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Brittany, and Galicia in north-west Spain. Their cultural and linguistic roots bear no relation at all to that of the Germans. If you are interested in obtaining some more in-depth information on the subject I would recommend The Celts: a History from the Earliest Times to the Present by Bernhard Meier. Clio the Muse 13:17, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I hate to contradict, but the archaeological and genetic evidence do not support the identification of Celts as "a people". What exist instead are peoples speaking Celtic languages and peoples speaking Germanic languages. The former group (Celtic speakers) includes some minorities in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Brittany, and arguably the Isle of Man and Cornwall (where dead languages are being revived). There are currently no Celtic-speaking peoples in northwest Spain, although the ancestors of some people in northwest Spain spoke Celtic languages in ancient times. Germanic-speaking peoples include the national group we know as the Germans. Germanic-speaking peoples also include the English, most other inhabitants of the British Isles, and most Americans of all races. About 2,500 years ago, peoples across northwestern, central, and even parts of southwestern Europe and in Asia Minor spoke Celtic languages. Peoples living in parts of present-day Germany, including the area around the Rhine and Mosel valleys and much of southern Germany, spoke Celtic languages 2,500 years ago. The archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that those peoples' descendants still live in those regions today, although they now speak German, or dialects of German. We lack written records documenting this social and linguistic change, but archaeological evidence and fragmentary written references in Roman records suggest that the change took place over several centuries from around 200 B.C. to around 700 A.D. In many cases, the change happened in two stages: 1) The local warrior elite was defeated by the Romans, and the local Celtic-speaking population was subjected to a Latin-speaking elite; 2) Germanic-speaking warriors defeated the Romans several centuries later and gradually imposed their languge and other elements of their culture on the local population, which may by then have been speaking a form of Vulgar Latin. In some areas in central Germany, there is evidence that Germanic-speaking tribes conquered and intermarried with formerly Celtic-speaking peoples, who then adopted Germanic speech, even before the arrival of the Romans or outside the area under Roman control. Marco polo 14:56, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Do not hate to contradict, Marco; do it, and do it boldly! Clio the Muse 15:05, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

The simple answer is that parts of Celtic land was conquered by Germans in around 600BC, and presumably Germanic culture was forced on the Celts then, but they were always two separate groups, mostly defined by their language.

read the articles on Celts and Germans

Clio helpfully gave the links to those articles. As the article Celts notes, a Celt is "a member of any of a number of peoples in Europe". This is why I think that it is too simplistic to say that Celts and Germans were "two separate groups", because the Celts were not a separate group in any way other than sharing related languages. The Celtic-speaking peoples were (and are) plural, and have been at least since the time of the early (Bronze Age) Hallstatt culture, before 1000 B.C., when proto-Celtic may have been spoken by a single people who spread their language by trade or conquest to surrounding regions. The Germans as such did not exist until the Middle Ages and so could not have conquered any Celtic-speaking peoples in 600 B.C. It is possible that some Germanic-speaking groups conquered some Celtic speakers around that time, but this was before even the most fragmentary written records exist for this region, so we really cannot be sure about the ethnicity of groups involved in conquests, even if those conquests left some archaeological trace. It is clear that Germanic-speaking elites conquered Celtic-speaking and formerly Celtic-speaking groups from the time of the Roman conquest of Gaul onwards. Finally, we really cannot know whether Germanic culture "was forced" on Celtic-speaking groups. Language change tends not to happen by force, with some recent exceptions. The most common scenario is that a new elite, speaking a foreign language, takes charge. Their language becomes the prestige language. In order to advance socially or attract mates, younger generations of the subject group adopt the language of the elite. This is largely what has happened in Scotland and Ireland, for example, in recent centuries. Marco polo 18:34, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

If the Celts were not a people, then is Celts#Population genetics incorrect? Corvus cornix 23:07, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Corvus, I have read the section of the Celts article on population genetics. I have no disagreement with the arguments made in that section and am somewhat familiar with the research on which it is based. The research suggests that the areas where Celtic languages are now spoken are populated by the descendants of an ancient, almost certainly pre-Celtic, perhaps pre-Neolithic migration from the Iberian peninsula. These regions have less evidence of more recent genetic additions than most other areas of Europe, including the region around the upper Rhine that is probably the strongest candidate for the original homeland of proto-Celtic. What this suggests is that relatively small groups brought Celtic languages to the northwestern periphery of Europe, where they were adopted by the indigenous population, some of whom still speak Celtic languages today. How is this inconsistent with the assertion that the Celts were not a people (or at least not after proto-Celtic had evolved into the various continental and insular Celtic languages of ancient times)? Marco polo 01:31, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I am reading the Celts article as saying that they are genetically similar, which makes me question how we can say that they are not a single people. Corvus cornix 20:47, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Phone/battery

Ok. So in front of me I have a mobile phone, without a battery. Without using anything that would be (only) found in any other telephone/mobile phone/modem, or any phone rechargers, is it possible to make the phone work (without the battery).Cuban Cigar 12:27, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

The battery supplies electrical power. Presumably an external power supply could be used to do the same, if you know what voltage & current is required. That external power supply might be a mains converter, or for all I know a bundle of conventional AA type batteries. Does that help? --Tagishsimon (talk)

If your supplier has told that batteries are no longer available for a particular model, don't believe him. I was told this once, but a quick internet search gave my (solid, reliable, and audible) old phone a new lease of life.--Shantavira 18:03, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

And FWIW it'll make a great paperweight just as it is :) --Tagishsimon (talk)

I was thinking of a more detailed explenation. A power supply will be needed yes, but how would you go about attatching it to the phone? I just took out my battery and had a look, and it acutally looks pretty complex. Cuban Cigar 06:05, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Isn't the whole point of a mobile phone that you do not need to attach it to an external power supply? ^^

Depends on the design of the phone and the equipment available to you. You might be able to rig up connectors which emulate the battery & press against the contacts on the phone. You might have to solder connections to the phone terminals - this is somewhat less reversible. You might want to open up the phone and connect to whatever the phone's connectors are attached to: it might well be that there's a flexible wire connector behind the contacts which might be a better bet for a soldered contact. Or you might be able to clip to this supposed wire connector. It's not so much complex as small & fiddly, and not designed to be hacked as you wish to hack it. Bench power supply connectors (crocodile clips, banana plugs &c) tend to be larger in scale that you're looking for, which is why soldering might be the only way to go. Good luck. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Car Prices

Can you please help settle a family argument?

Are cars cheaper in New Zealand or America? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 125.236.135.123 (talk) 15:48, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

Intuitively, the answer has to be the "cheaper in the US". They have a very much larger market, and have their own auto industry. NZ is a small market geographically remote from, err, anywhere. Empirically, you have to start comparing prices in each market. I've just done so with the BMW 335i. The NZ price is $115,900 NZD, which equates to 85 290.81 U.S. dollars. The US price for the same car is $40,000 USD. Now I'm sure I have not taken all tax issues into account, but I'm satisfied that the US is cheaper by a country mile than NZ. --Tagishsimon (talk)

I believe the primary cars sold in NZ would be what, in the US, would be called "economy cars". Therefore, the question comes up as to whether you want to compare the same car in both markets (as in the above response) or the average car for each market. You might get quite different results using the two methods. StuRat 17:07, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

A toyota camry is 36500 in NZ$, 19000 in US$. The NZ price converts to almost 27000 US$, so definately a higher price in NZ.- Czmtzc 17:23, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

And some more gratuitous info. In 2006 in NZ, 99,986 new cars were registered, and 136,615 used cars were registered. By contrast, 1,542,229 new cars were sold in the US in the month of March 2007.--Tagishsimon (talk)

Whatever happened to Buena Vista Plantation?

Buena Vista Plantation was located on the Philippine Island of Mindanoao, approximately 30 miles from Zamboanga; in the same direction as, and about 15 miles beyond, the village of Bolong. Paton Island, one of the Panubigan group of islands, lies about 3 miles offshore of the plantation site.

The operation began as the Zamboanga Plantation Company in 1912-1913 and was reorganized as the Buena Vista Plantation Company in 1916. The Principal was an American, Colonel John Hudson Poole, who published a book titled "Buena Vista - An American View of the Philippine Islands" in 1925. As that time, the 2000 acre plantation boasted some 50,000 coconut trees and more than 600 head of cattle.

During World War II the Buena Vista employees dispersed and management fled. I understand that Col. Poole died in the US with disposition of the plantation uncertain. I am curious to know if the plantation and/or Buena Vista organization still exists in some form today.

My name is John and I'd appreciate any information that people may add. —The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]Jdfbowman 03:27, 18 April 2007 (UTC)] comment was added by Jdfbowman (talk • contribs) 18:29, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

feminist movements in the Middle East

Have there been or are there currently any feminist movements comparable to that of the USA in the Middle East?

141.213.140.104 18:41, 16 April 2007 (UTC)Jennifer

Google middle east feminist finds this feminist webpage as the first entry. A wikipedia seach of the same words returns Islamic_feminism on the first page. -Czmtzc 19:39, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Feminists in Islamic countries receive many threats, some obvious, and some veiled. StuRat 00:20, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

While I've noticed and enjoyed your proclivity for punning StuRat, please, please tell me that one was not intended in this particular case ;) --38.112.225.84 06:09, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't know myself any more, I just naturally speak Punglish. StuRat 14:53, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. 'Nuff said.--Kirby♥time 08:50, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Units clothing store

I am curious about the old Units clothing stores. They seemed to be everywhere in the eighties. Who owned them? Were they a stand alone company? Any information would be greatly appreciated. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.230.206.75 (talk) 18:57, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

Here is an article that sheds some light. Here is another. Marco polo 01:35, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Dolphin shorts

Why are Dolphin shorts called Dolphin shorts? Were they originally a brand?

For those who were as confused as I was after reading this, here are a couple links I found on Google that show pictures of what Dolphin shorts are: [12] and [13] Dismas|^(talk) 21:59, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I see, they are shorts so low at the top that the butt crack becomes a handy place to store your pencils, much like lowrider jeans. How practical ! StuRat 00:18, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

If you have $178 burning a hole in your pocket, you can buy these dolphin shorts from Neiman Marcus. The description says something about a "dolphin cut", but after a little more searching, I still don't know what a dolphin cut is. It isn't cheap, though, at least at Neiman Marcus. --Elkman ^(Elkspeak) 01:34, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

April 17

grade one hair

His hair had been razored to a grade one. Would someone tell me what it means? Grade one hair means short hair or what? Thanks.61.60.242.186 16:13, 18 April 2007 (UTC)Jenny

Yes. I'm not sure offhand (and Google isn't telling me) exactly how short; a few millimetres. The grades (which go up to eight, I think) refer to the different sizes of guard used with hair clippers. Grade nought means no guard at all. Algebraist 21:09, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Thank you.61.60.242.186 14:00, 20 April 2007 (UTC) Jenny

Mac & Cheese

Mmmmmm....

<<<<<You could just melt velveta and use that.>>>>>>>>

I've been trying to make Macaroni and cheese and so far they had ended in spectacular failures. I managed the Macaroni part fine but had great trouble with the cheese sauce. Recipes indicate that I need to melt cheese in milk, so I tried with mozarella and cheddar cheese, and both made the milk curdle and form into substances like boiled egg whites. Even if I remove the milk, making melted cheese, it sitll looked different than the store bought version (with all the cheese powder and other things). So, my question is, does it only work with American cheese and not blocks you buy from supermarket? What make the milk curdle like that? Is there a way to avoid it?

yes I'll admit I don't have much experience in cooking --antilived^{T | C | G} 02:16, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Cheese sauce isn't just cheese melted in milk; what you really need is a good basic white sauce, made from a roux of melted butter and flour, to which milk is added, making what is (more or less) a Bechamel sauce. Once that sauce is thickened, then you add the cheese,resulting in a Mornay sauce. There are probably a million recipes on line; let's see... here's one that looks about right. I've never tried this particular one, but it seems to be similar to the recipe I use. Once you have the sauce, toss it with your cooked pasta, put more cheese on top, and bake the whole thing until it's heated through and bubbly. (Or, just skip the baking and eat it with a spoon.) - Eron ^Talk 02:21, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I think successful cheese sauces all depend on something acting as an emulsifier. In Eron's recipe, the roux serves that purpose . For a fondue, the alcohol serves that purpose. For recipes based on American cheese (including Cheez Whiz and Velveeta), the cheeses already contain emulsifiers. And so on...

Atlant 13:23, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Yes, making it manually doesn't work at all well. The basic problem is that oil separates out of regular cheese when it melts. Instead, try using a powdered cheese like parmesan or romano, or use a "cheese" specially formulated to melt nicely, like Velveeta. Of course, since this will end up costing far more than the stuff in the box, why not just stick with that ? I like to use that cheese power but omit the milk and butter/margarine and use spaghetti sauce instead. This results in a much healthier and still tasty treat. You can even add broccoli to make it more healthy. StuRat 02:25, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

So basically the "alternate recipe" in here is just rubbish? I guess I'll just stick the boxed stuff since it's a lot easier than making it yourself... --antilived^{T | C | G} 03:08, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Well, you can make it from scratch, I just don't see much advantage. Notice that some other things made from scratch, like baked bread, are much better, so I would recommend that. StuRat 06:35, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

This might not be what you're wanting, but when I make homemade mac and cheese, I cook the pasta, then use about 2-3 slices of American cheese per cup of pasta (it tends to depend on my mood, level of laziness, and whether or not it looks like enough when it's melted). I fold the cheese into eighths, then drop it on the pasta (it helps the melting process). Add a little butter, and a little milk, to make stirring easier, and keep adding cheese til it looks right. Then, depending on your preference, you can sprinkle some cheddar in also, and stir that up...add salt and pepper to taste, and it should be pretty good. Seiran 03:39, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

So yes you do need American cheese for that... Ah well then I'll just eat my cheese with my crackers. Thanks guys. --antilived^{T | C | G} 03:50, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Kraft Dinner is the way to go, if they sell it in New Zealand.--ChesterMarcol 03:58, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I wouldn't say American cheese is strictly necessary for Macaroni and cheese. It's just my personal preference, and necessary in making it the way I like it =P I assume the same thing could be done with other types of cheese, assuming they were sliced finely enough to melt. It's really a trial and error thing. And hey, your macaroni failures sound less dramatic than some I've had- unless you've managed to set yourself on fire too! Seiran 04:01, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Normal cheese is not thick when they melt, like American cheese; They are actually quite runny and believe me I got that from first hand experience (wasted half a block of cheese just trying to make that cheese sauce). --antilived^{T | C | G} 04:19, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

If you want good macaroni & cheese, see if your local supermarket stocks Annie's. It's the best. Vranak

I'm reading these answers, but at the same time I'm banging my head against the keyboard. Cheese sauce is the easiest thing on Earth to make. You don't need that crappy greasy overpriced "American" cheese either - any good cheese (except Mozzarella, which is too stringy) will do. Asiago, cheddar, marble, Gouda, Havarti, Gruyere, Swiss - I made it with leftover ricotta once. Make a white sauce, grate your cheese, add it, and whiskwhiskwhisk until it's incorporated.

The trick is not to walk away from the stove when you're making it and to use a whisk, not a spoon. Don't just stir the thing around - whiskwhiskwhisk like mad until it's done. It takes about ten minutes. Most recipes can be doubled. --Charlene 02:48, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately I don't see how you can whisk it when it's like 2cm high in the pot... I shall try again tomorrow with a proper white sauce (not just melting cheese in milk). One thing though, will it work with margarine or vegetable oil? I don't think I have any real butter at home. --antilived^{T | C | G} 03:59, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Pretty much any oil will do the trick. (Er, cooking oil; don't try this with Pennzoil). I think butter tastes better, but it isn't essential. Equal amounts oil and flour - I use 2 tablespoons of each. Heat the oil in the pan, whisk in the butter and cook for a few minutes. Then add a cup of milk. (It's best to use warmed milk - not boiled, but almost. Maybe nuke it for a couple of minutes.) Whisk it in. There will probably be a few lumps, but as you continue to cook and whisk they should disappear. After a few minutes the sauce will thicken. That's when you add the cheese. - Eron ^Talk 11:27, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

If you want to give the sauce a little bit of extra flavour, I really like to sprinkle in some mustard powder and worcestershire sauce into the mixture. It gives the finished mac and cheese a little extra subtle flavour, try it sometime! --Maelwys 19:28, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Bacon bits make a nice topping for mac & cheese. StuRat 06:13, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Well this time it's a lot better. I think I should've put more milk and cheese into the cheese sauce, and probably cooked it a bit longer as I can still taste the flour, but still quite nice, a lot less "artificial" than the boxed stuff. Thanks guys (and girls). --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:41, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Upper chest injury

Yesterday, I was wrestling with my dad while watching a hockey game, and he got his arms around my chest and managed to squeeze pretty hard to the point where it hurt pretty bad. I know this is not professional medical advice here, but it seems likely that he did something to me around my sternum. Sitting up brings on pain, and I can't breathe deeply without the same pain, which I would describe as somewhat sharp. Yes, I do plan do see a doctor if it continues through tomorrow, but does anyone have any idea what my injury might be? It seems to be completely internal as well.70.51.52.63 02:33, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

Cracked rib? See a doctor to be safe. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.109.222.205 (talk) 02:42, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

Likely just seized up muscles. A good blow to the sternum may help un-seize them. Vranak (not a doctor)

The funny thing with that injury is, that it ends instantaniously. The muscles snap back, and in a split second, you are perfectly healthy again. If it is a cracked rib, a good blow to the sternum is probably not the right form of therapy. ^^

Please do not give such advice. If there is a broken rib, such a blow might cause severe injuries. Edison 18:41, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. Broken ribs can have sharp ends. --Kurt Shaped Box 18:47, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Whoa whoa whoa, the lesson here is that two sports mixing creates a dangerous reaction. Combining Hockey with wrestling will never end well, just as watching Basketball while playing football will result in many broken vases and rare collectible Frank Sinatra plates. Croat Canuck Go Leafs Go 19:48, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Paint my car?

I want to do it myself (the car is worth less than what it would cost to take it to a shop). What kind of sandpaper do I need to use to strip off the old paint? What kind of primer and paint do I use? Is there a web site with instructions? I was unable to find one. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Shindo9Hikaru (talk • contribs) 03:04, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

You need more advice than Wikipedia can easily provide; please consult a book specifically about car refinishing. Getting a really good paint coat will require either very deft use of spray cans or more-professional spray painting equipment.

Atlant 13:28, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Experience has shown that even with cans of "professional quality" automotive spray paint and very careful sanding and priming and spray technique, problems such as lower pressure from the can than from a compresser driven spray gun and overspray drifting back onto the surface can leave a dull finish. Brush or roller painting can cover the old paint but are not apt to look very showroom quality. It is easy to paint a car so it is all one selected color, but very hard to get a high luster finish like an automotive paint shop achieves. It is also easy to have sags and runs if the technique is less than perfect. Would you settle for a car that looks ok from 40 feet away? On the other hand, the cans of paint run $8 or so compared to a cool thousand or more for professional painting, so depending on wtah the car is worth there is no one right answer. A couple of friend with professional spray equipment have been able to get a good automotive finish. Edison 18:38, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Long Distance Powerlines

Where was the first long distance (over 20 miles) transmission of electricity from? I have heard the Folsom Powerhouse to Sacramento, CA and others. Teak the Kiwi 03:20, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I seem to recall one from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, New York in 1896. According to our article, that was just about 20 miles: Niagara Falls#Impact on industry and commerce. StuRat 06:27, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

That's my memory as well.

Atlant 13:31, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I absolutely love questions like this, because there are so many answers, depending on the exact parsing of the question. Telegraphy transmitted electricity about 38 miles from Washington DC to Maltimore MD in 1844, but it was in tiny amounts and intended only for signalling. Low voltage DC does not travel long distances efficiently, so look to early high voltage AC powerlines. "Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930 (Softshell Books) by Thomas Parke Hughes, Paperback: 488 pages. Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993). Language: English. ISBN-10: 0801846145 ISBN-13: 978-0801846144 is a great sourcebook for the history of electrical transmission. I do not have it handy, but there were European demonstrations of high voltage AC transmission over respectable distance long before the Niagrara project. They were hampered by the lack of a good transformer, and by the lack of a good motor before Tesla's 2 phase induction motor.Electric power transmission says "The first transmission of three-phase alternating current using high voltage took place in 1891 during the international electricity exhibition in Frankfurt. A 25 kV transmission line, approximately 175 kilometers long, connected Lauffen at the Neckar and Frankfurt." It used 25,000 volts per [14] That same site says "1893 Folsom, California; Three-phase, 60 cycle, 11,000 volt alternators installed at plant on American River. Power transmitted 20 miles to Sacramento." I believe there was long distance transmission of single phase AC before this, in Europe the 1880's but do not have the Hughes book handy. [15] says AC was transmitted in 1886 from Cherchi, Italy, to Rome over a distance of 17 miles, and that the first AC power transmission in the U.S. was a 13 mile line in 1889 between the generating station at Willamette Falls in Oregon City, Oregon, and downtown Portland, Oregon. Edison 18:16, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Thank you everyone! Teak the Kiwi 03:03, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

recipe for tea cake

what should we do to improve the shelf life of a tea/seed cake? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.56.231.116 (talk) 03:43, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

1) Use lots of trans fats. That will, of course, shorten the lives of the people who eat it.

2) Irradiate it (for the sterilization effect), once packaged.

3) Make it fat-free, thus preventing the fats from going rancid.

Actually, this isn't at all true. A fat-free seed cake (if it were even possible to make one at home - the fat emulsion is necessary to hold the batter together without commercial emulsifiers) will dry out and become stale and unpalatable long before the fat would have become rancid. Fat-free homemade baked goods have an average shelf life of 24 to 36 hours. A seed cake should last over a week. --Charlene 03:06, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

4) Use artificial sugars, since microbes can't eat those. StuRat 06:24, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

If I were a microbe, I'd eat whatever the eff I wanted... V-Man - ^T/_C 01:36, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Again, sugar helps to retain moistness in the cake and aids in keeping the batter from separating, and in the amounts used in cake baking can actually retard fungal contamination. Microbe infestation and fat rancidity are not why most sweet baked goods spoil; the real enemy is staleness.

To keep your seed cake from going stale, it helps to use the full amount of fat called for in the recipe, to use solid fats such as butter and hard margarine rather than soft margarine, to keep the cake covered (well, of course), and (if possible) to replace one of the eggs with two tablespoons of applesauce. This works better if you're making one of those huge recipes containing 10 eggs. --Charlene 03:06, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

You seem to assume it will be left sitting out, while I assumed it would be kept in an airtight container to retain moisture. StuRat 05:21, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

5) Keep it in a sealed, airtight container in the refrigerator (if possible). StuRat 05:23, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

"Who rides the wrecking ball into our guitars?"

I saw this as a cheat code for Heli Attack 3. I also heard some people say this over various multiplayer games. A search on Wikipedia does not bring anything up, and a search on Google brings no lyrics. What is it? Raptor Jesus 05:55, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

a search on google suggests that it's misheard lyrics from "We Built This City" by Starship. --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:53, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

A slight improvement, IMO. Anchoress 07:45, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Head of international News

What does the head of international news do at a news channel? What are his specific responsibilities?

sibshaSibsha 05:57, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

how do i found a town?

a group of us live in a county but no city and we want to form a city. how? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.198.239.34 (talk • contribs)

So you want to form which? A town or a city? Where? The definition varies according to which country you live in.--Shantavira 08:36, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Shantavira is right this would be a matter of state law, and would vary from state to state or country to country. Assuming that you are in the USA I would start looking with the office of the secretary of state for your particular state. -Czmtzc 12:24, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Many hamlets or villages have incorporated in the past, electing a mayor and city council, passing ordinances, hiring a police chief, etc. and then decided it was too expensive and too much bother and given up their status, becoming once again an unincorporated part of the county. Is there an adequate tax base and civic minded people to support a city government? Edison 17:53, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Based on your IP address, you appear to be in South Carolina. The requirements and procedure for incorporating a municipality are in Title 5 of the SC Code of Laws. Basically, your proposed municipality has to a certain population density and be prepared to offer some municipal services. If you're within 5 miles of another municipality, you usually have to try to get annexed by it before you can incorporate on your own. If you meed all of the criteria and get signatures from 15% of the qualified electors in the proposed municipality, you can get the issue of incorporation on the ballot. Then you have to get a majority to vote in favor. -- Mwalcoff 22:54, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

how do i form a state in the US?

I have moved this question to Humanities Desk for more discussion. You can find it here: Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities#how_do_i_form_a_state_in_the_US.3F. --Parker007 15:42, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Cape Wilson, Australia?

I've seen several times a "Cape Wilson" being mentioned on the internet as an Australian cape; from what I understand it's supposed to be the southern-most point of the Australian mainland. More frequently, however, this point seems to be called "South Point", which is located in the Wilsons Promontory National Park. Oddly, I haven't yet found a page where South Point and Cape Wilson are described as synonyms or so. So is "Cape Wilson" just another name for South Point? If so, why are there two names (specific historical reasons?)? Or is it a "false name" (due to the name of the national park?), a different cape, ...? Thanks, Ibn Battuta 07:05, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I live in Gippsland, but have never heard of "Cape Wilson" being the name of anything at Wilsons Prom (or anywhere else in Australia for that matter, but I'm no geographer or cartographer). I can't find any google references to an Australian "Cape Wilson". There is an Antarctic "Cape Wilson", which might be in Australian Antarctic Territory, but this has nothing to do with the Australian mainland. If you ask 100 Australians what the most southerly point of the mainland is, 99 would say "Wilson's Promontory". However the link "Continental Extremities of Australia" at South Point makes it clear that Geoscience Australia consider the most southerly point to be South Point, which is a part of Wilsons Promontory National Park. -- JackofOz 05:19, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

What answer would the other Australian give? --LarryMac 13:45, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

"No f *** in' idea, mate". Possibly followed by "Why are you asking, are you some kind of poof!", or some equally rude remark. Oh yes, we're definitely a nation of sophisticated vulgarians.  :) JackofOz 06:11, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks! I must have mixed up some search parameters--I had found quite a few pages with what I thought was "cape wilson" and Cape York, but I can't find them anymore, so I seem to have messed up big and/or they were referring to the antarctic cape (which I had thought to have taken out of the search, but I don't remember my exact search)... The only page that I still find now says The whole east Coast of Australia, from Cape Wilson to Thursday Island is strewn with the wreckage of ships lost from time to time over a hundred years. ... which may either be plain wrong or refer to any cape along the coast. Thanks for your help, Ibn Battuta 09:33, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

That text is headed with a reference to August 4, 1907, then proceeds to talk about the wreck of the steamship Gothenburg lost off Bowen on February 24, 1875. This confuses the hell out of me, and I therefore discount the quality of the subsequent text. Maybe it was known as Cape Wilson back then (1875-1907), but maybe it's just an error on the part of the anonymous writer. JackofOz 13:42, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Cape Wilson, Antarctica is in the part of the continent claimed by New Zealand.

honorary doctorate degree in Humane Letters

What rights and privildges go with such an honor? What kind of regalia is appropriate to wear, if any at all? (cap, gown, hood) I have searched the internet but found no answer.

Thank you

Joseph Joseph0641 09:17, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Our article on Honorary degrees suggests that the practical use of honorifics (such as "Doctor") is frowned upon in most cultures, allows for postnominal titles (such as in James Fletcher, PhD) only when specified that the title is honorary, and mentions no other benefits. As such, it seems the only "right and priv" here is the pomp and circumstance that go with the conferring of the degree. This pomp and circumstance usually includes the wearing of the appropriate regalia for the conferring ceremony, but it may be considered ostentatious to wear the regalia afterwards, especially if you're just going down to the shops. Jfarber 11:38, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

As for colors and academic regalia: a quick google search of the name of the degree plus the word "regalia" reveals that the color for the LH.D. degree, which is pretty much only conferred as an honorary degree, is brown. This would be the color of the velvet on the hood; the other coloring (satin) would be that of the conferring institution, usually a two-tone. A doctoral-cut gown would be worn, probably in black (but there is some flexibility here), and with brown velvet piping to reflect the hood. Jfarber 13:15, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

... though you should keep in mind that this is just US-American (or Anglo-American?) custom (esp. the pomp). Other countries have no gowns etc. at all, neither for honorary degrees nor for others. (And titles are often indicated differently as well, not necessarily as a postnominal title, but for example before the name as "Dr. h. c.":doctor honoris causa = doctor for the cause of honor.) --Ibn Battuta 16:19, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

It's not just American, or I would have said so; the article specifies the UK, Australia, NZ, and the US as SOME of the places where such honorifics are phrased as mentioned above. But since the querent specified an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, which is a degree particular to those countries, and since the gown parameters I mention come to the US via the UK, which is the origin of Aussie and NZ academic standards as well, I stand by my answer as comprehensive, factual, and complete.

Incidentally, it is true that honorifics appear different in other cultures; my sense is that this is partially due to differences of linguistics. The concept of "postnominal" does assume english language conventions, I think, but in cultures where the lingustic convention is to use the title before the name, the point still stands: it's not generally considered in good taste to use honorary academic titles unless you're Ben Franklin. See the related links in our article for some examples of DHC recipients, and recipients of honorary doctorates from, say, China, none of whom ever used their honorifics to the best of my knowledge. The title position relative to the name is therefore moot -- since the title never gets used.

Of course, if you have some solid citation for non-western honoraria that would add value to our article, I'd encourage you to add it. Anecdote, however, isn't going to stand up to Wikistandards.

As for pomp: you're telling me that HONORARY degrees don't come with some sort of fanfare or announcement in "other" countries? Then whyever do they give them out? And why is it that this site lists plenty of ceremony and pomp surrounding degree recipients from China and Brasil, among other places? Jfarber 17:12, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Do you somehow feel offended? Just curious. (...) .

As it happens, there are more countries both in the West and beyond it than just English-speaking countries with traditions originating from the UK plus China and Brazil. And yes, anecdotal evidence (relax, I'm not gonna include it into the article!) shows that some countries are less pompous than the ones you've mentioned. I can best compare the US and Germany, and there you can find a wide difference when it comes to "honor stuff" (excuse my wording, but that kinda describes a certain attitude in one of the two countries, I won't tell which one... :o)). That doesn't mean that there aren't some who wish nothing more than to copy the pomp (and don't always stop at wishing). But the differences do exist, and I don't see anything surprising about different countries having different traditions.

As for the Humane Letters, that point goes to you. If such honorary degrees are awarded beyond the countries you've mentioned, at least I don't know about it :o) ... - Goodoh, let's take a deep breath ;o) and enjoy the day (here it's raining, and I'd lie if I wrote "currently"... should I add that I'm about to leave?... :o) ... ). "It's just a wiki", and "It's just raining", and "Enjoy your day because if you don't you'll miss a day of enjoyment"! ;o) --Ibn Battuta 19:25, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Having reread parts of my earlier entry, I just want to clarify in case it sounded wrong (it did, right?): I didn't mean to say "No other countries have (gowns, pomp, etc.)", but rather "There are other countries which do not (...)" ... Oh, well. And I've had a look at your user page, Jfarber, and something tells me you might not be much so much luckier with the weather... Oh... well. ;o) --Ibn Battuta 19:32, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Hehe, this is getting better and better... and I've seen now that "Anglo-American" seems to be restricted to the UK and the US (I intended to include "British influence", thereby coming much closer to your reply...). Ah well, there is such a deeply fulfilling joy in learning... ;o) --Ibn Battuta 19:35, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Dialling codes

I have a phone number +1 415 xxx xxxx. Where is this? And how do I dial it from South Africa? Zain Ebrahim 09:22, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

It appears from the format to be a phone number for the San Francisco area of the United States. I don't know how you'd dial it from South Africa though as I'm an American and have never needed to call my home country from outside of its boundaries. Dismas|^(talk) 09:26, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Does 09~091 1 xxx xxxx make any sense to you?--droptone 09:28, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Did you mean 09091 1 415 xxx xxxx? It didn't work. Is there a different international dialling code for each state in the US? Zain Ebrahim 09:56, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

@ Droptone, did you get that information from this website?

Zain, I've found here that The dialing code to dial out of South Africa is "09" followed by the country code and telephone number (...), so I'd suggest 09 1 415 xxx xxxx. Especially if you want to make a longer call, you may want to check out where from to make that call as prices will probably range widely depending on whether you call from a private phone (using a calling card or not) or a place which offers special fares for international calls, etc.--unfortunately, I don't know what the best offers are in South Africa, but you can probably find that online, too.

BTW, yes, there are different codes within the US, but they're not for entire states, but for "areas" (parts of a state or even just parts of a larger city). As for the 415 code, Area code 415 tells you more. Good luck with your call, Ibn Battuta 10:02, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

As far as I understand it you would dial 00 1 415 xxx xxxx. 00 is international prefix to dial somewhere outside of S. Africa, 1 is the International Code for the U.S.A. If you are using a calling card however it might be different. 38.112.225.84 10:07, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

00 1 415 xxx xxxx worked. Thanks a lot, you guys. Zain Ebrahim 10:25, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Glad it worked! BTW, I've just seen why we've had the differences between "00" and "09": the dialling prefix for international calls made from South Africa will change from 09 to 00. The last date when the "09" was working was 16 January 2007 (source). Sorry about the wrong advice! Best, Ibn Battuta 10:29, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Happy to have helped :) --38.112.225.84 11:17, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I hope you didn't wake them as even right now it's only 5:30 a.m. in San Francisco. Dismas|^(talk) 12:32, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Nah. Its a 24 hr support service. Zain Ebrahim 12:36, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

One small correction: There are a few U.S. states with small populations that have only a single "area code". But most have several. In the case of California, there are at least 20. Marco polo 12:37, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

... and I was actually thinking that there might be some states with just one area code... yeah, I should've checked! (Apparently even quite a few: Alaska, Delaware, [DC,] Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming - i.e. 26% + DC!)... :o) --Ibn Battuta 16:12, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

PS: ... while California is leading with 38 (!) area codes... just to add some more random knowledge ;o) ...--Ibn Battuta 16:14, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Just few bits of area code trivia:

• Besides the US, country code 1 includes Canada and 15 countries or dependencies in the Caribbean. (Caribbean places usually are in country code 1 if they speak English, but have their own country code starting with 5 if they speak Spanish or another language. There are probably some exceptions to this.)
• The codes were first assigned in 1947, well before direct long-distance dialing was available in most places. At that time all codes that included an entire US state or Canadian province had a middle digit 0. All codes that included only part of a state or province had middle digit 1. This pattern did not persist for very many years.
• Middle digits other than 0 or 1 were not allowed until the 1990s.
• The 15 Caribbean places used to all share area code 809 but now each have their own code. The Dominican Republic got to keep 809.
• Canada's three Arctic territories share one code, 867. Before this code was introduced, different codes from the nearest provinces extended into different areas of the Arctic.
• See North American Numbering Plan for more.

--Anonymous, April 18, 01:26 (UTC).

thanks folks. gina x Gina d82 (talk) 06:45, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Tektronix Guernsey

Why did Tektronix Guernsey CI close down (before I could get a job there?)

Uhh, it didn't turn out to be the cash cow that Tektronix was hoping for? (Seriously, I don't know. But you probably guessed that already.)

Atlant 17:19, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps the owners spotted a better opportunity elsewhere and mooved on ? StuRat 06:53, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

They may have herd you were coming and left for greener pastures. V-Man - ^T/_C 01:44, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Or perhaps the competition was horning in on their business. StuRat 05:31, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Maybe were was not enough 'scope' for expansion?

countries of the world

There are five united states in the world, what are they? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Michellecas (talk • contribs) 15:48, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

There are a lot more than five according to Wikipedia. See here. (Ignore those in italics.) --Shantavira 15:56, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

If you are asking about countries of the world they are United States of America and Mexican Unites States. See United States (disambiguation). Duomillia 16:01, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

The standard English form of the official name of the second country is "United Mexican States". JackofOz 04:58, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Ah! United States (disambiguation) is probably the article that the original poster wants to read. --Anonymous, April 18, 2007, 08:44 (UTC).

holla

1.how much would it cost me to buy like 500 grammes of creatine supplement.and get it shipped to kenya.total cost i would incur is around how much.

2.what was first introduced\invented in 1972 for women who want to look or make themselves beautiful.am not sure if the answer is charlies revlon fragrance

Pong. :) The big inventions that year were the microprocessor, Pong, the TI calculator, the CT scanner, cup noodles, and Pop-Tarts. 'Charlie' was introduced in 1973 according to the Revlon Corporation, which should know. At any rate, perfume doesn't actually make anyone beautiful; it just makes them smell different (and Charlie smells terrible to me). --Charlene 02:12, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

3.which 80s soul group have a name that sounds the same as a red wild fruit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.126.160.180 (talk • contribs)

The Cranberries are NOT a soul group. Jfarber 23:25, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

public domain works of the gov

Are the images below the title of this website public domain?

http://www.eere.energy.gov/ —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 130.126.160.180 (talk) 16:51, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

It seems probable that they are: the copyright notice on the website says that "materials on the EERE website are in the public domain." BUT the probability is not absolute, as the same paragraph also goes on to say that "some materials on this site have been contributed by private individuals, companies, or organizations and include a copyright notice." I see no copyright notice next to those images, but since the images change, it is possible that some are copyrighted, and no one bothered to say so there; due dilligence seems to require that you still contact the webmaster at the EERE before republishing or using the pictures as if they were public domain. Jfarber 17:29, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

If the images were created by the DOE (and not just a contractor) then they shoudl be PD no matter what. But as Jfarber says you need to confirm that the materials on the site were actually created by the DOE and aren't just being hosted by them. Anything which says "DOE picture" or whatever should be fair game no matter what. --24.147.86.187 23:34, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I would like to expand on the question a little further. Let's say, for example, that I use the CIA World Factbook as a source. Do I need to cite it by law, even though it's in public domain? I believe somewhere on the official page it mentions "citing CIA World Factbook as a courtesy" or something like that; does that mean I can use it without citing it and citing it is just being polite, or do I have to cite it? Please include the information relevent to US copyright laws. Thanks for the help. --71.117.44.98 02:42, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Every article I can find on Citation or related concepts (such as legal citation, for example) refers to citation as a standard, which is something very different from a law. Each also discusses the various standards relevant to its particular topic and subject area. The legal code which governs fair use and copyright for the US makes no mention of citation standards at all. Thus, I think we can assume the following:

1. There is no legal obligation to cite anything, unless the copyright holder has clearly made such citation or attribution a required parameter of use of that copyrighted material, as in some creative commons citation formats.
2. Since the legal status of works created by government employees as part of their jobs is that of public domain, not of creative commons-esque copyrights, there is no legal obligation to cite those works.
3. However, as our articles on citation make clear, depending on the reason WHY you are using those works, and the format in which you are using those works, your works may not be considered legitimate by the standards of a particular field or arena of material output if you choose not to cite those materials. For example, you might expect that an astute professor with a clear policy about uncited material would fail you for handing in work that used public domain governmental materials without citing them, or that your document might not be eligible for its own copyright protections if it borrows but does not cite. Or that wikipedia editors might delete your photographic or textual additions to a page about the CIA factbook as unattributed (and therefore not valid by Wikipedia standards).

In short, then: yes, you can use without citing, but it would definitely limit what you could then do with that final product. Depending on what you wanted to do with that information, it might make your final product illegitimate by a specific community or field-specific standard, and would certainly make it less valid. Hope this helps... Jfarber 17:58, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

living in Santa fe, New Mexico

Why do people relocate to Santa Fe, New Mexico ? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.234.102.110 (talk) 20:04, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

It's warm there. --ChesterMarcol 20:06, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

There may be as many reasons for moving to Santa Fe as there are people who have moved there, and it is impossible for us to know them all. For example, a friend of mine moved there to take his dream job. People other than retirees and the independently wealthy tend to move for economic reasons. For example, Santa Fe has a lively arts scene, and many artists have moved to the area to be able to sell their work easily. That said, Santa Fe has attracted many retirees, independently wealthy, and self-employed people who may have been drawn by the dry, moderate climate (though winters can be cold); the scenic beauty and the aesthetics of the town itself; the proximity of activities such as hiking and skiing; the cultural attractions, such as the music and arts scenes; and the relative safety. Marco polo 22:18, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

And people have heard of it. They aren't likely to move to somewhere like Qiqihar, as very few people have any idea where that is.

I'm sure that plenty of people move to Qiqihar. Just not many Americans. I could have added that Santa Fe is popular among Americans because it does require learning a foreign language and dealing with foreign customs, but that seemed obvious. (For that matter, those few Americans interested in moving to China might not choose Qiqihar, with its January average temperature of -26°C (-15°F)!) On the other hand, there are places in the United States that few people have heard of. But those places do not have the cultural amenities of Santa Fe. Marco polo 12:52, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, bad example. People aren't going to move to somewhere like Shikmona as very few people have heard of it.

To open up a restaurant? --Maelwys 17:43, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

April 18

US Subsidize domestic agriculture/manufacturing

How does the decision for the U.S. to subsidize domestic agriculture/manufacturing affect global trade? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.35.222.219 (talk) 04:12, 18 April 2007 (UTC).

I'm aware that the US subsidizes farming through agricultural price supports, but am not aware of any US program to subsidize industry. StuRat 05:12, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Maybe these two texts might help you along: United States - Subsidies on Upland Cotton and Implementing WTO Rules through Negotiations and Sanctions.

And StuRat, yes, the US has been subsidizing auto and oil industries [16] in the past and aircraft industries [17] only recently, for example. -- Meister 09:15, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Google with search term "US agricultural subsidies" shows news articles about this. The decision certainly generates ill will towards the US amongst Australian farmers.Polypipe Wrangler 03:03, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Cho Seung-Hui, Isma'il ibn Jafar, and Wikipedia

Greetings,

I ran across an article in Yahoo! News, called “Va. Tech gunman writings raised concerns”. An excerpt follows:

“The Washington Post quoted law enforcement sources as saying Cho (Seung-Hui) died with the words ‘Ismail Ax’ in red ink on one of his arms, but they were not sure what that meant.”

No big surprise that the Washington Post wouldn’t delve further into that item. So, ten seconds later, at about 0030Z 18 April, I had located the following on your site:

Wikipedia’s find feature first listed: “Ismail bin Jafar, the religious figure of which Ismaili Shiah Muslims follow and are named after.”

This link led to the following:

“Isma'il ibn Jafar (Arabic: إسماعيل بن جعفر, c. 721 CE/103 AH - 755 CE/138AH) was the eldest son of the sixth Shia Imam, Jafar as-Sadiq. To protect him from persecution, his father sent him into hiding and publicly declared him deceased.

As-Sadiq had, at one time, designated his son Isma’il as his successor, but Isma’il died before his father. Isma’il Axe is the name historically given to those closest to Isma’il who protected him in exile. Most Shi’i followers turned to the eldest surviving son of al-Sadiq, Abd-Allah, who claimed a second designation. When Abd-Allah died within weeks without an heir, many turned again to another son of as-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim. This crisis of succession led to doubts about the true designation of Jafar as-Sadiq and many clung to the original designation of Isma’il and proclaimed the son of Isma’il.

Those who believe that Isma'il was the rightful successor to Jafar are known as Ismailis, while other follwers of Musa Al-Kazim are known as Twelvers. They went on to recognize five more Imams after Musa. The Nizari Ismaili Shias follow a living Imam directly descended from Isma'il ibn Jafar & Ali. Those Imams are the Aga Khans.”

I copied this to a Word document and printed it, but did not take a soft copy of the document with me. So, at about 0230Z 18 April, I went to the same link on your site to create a soft copy of your “on Isma'il ibn Jafar” page and at this point in time, the text had become:

“Isma'il ibn Jafar (Arabic: إسماعيل بن جعفر, c. 721 CE/103 AH - 755 CE/138AH) was the eldest son of the sixth Shia Imam, Jafar as-Sadiq. To protect him from persecution, his father sent him into hiding and publicly declared him deceased.

As-Sadiq had, at one time, designated his son Isma’il as his successor, but Isma’il died before his father. Most Shi’i followers turned to the eldest surviving son of al-Sadiq, Abd-Allah, who claimed a second designation. When Abd-Allah died within weeks without an heir, many turned again to another son of as-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim. This crisis of succession led to doubts about the true designation of Jafar as-Sadiq and many clung to the original designation of Isma’il and proclaimed the son of Isma’il.

Those who believe that Isma'il was the rightful successor to Jafar are known as Ismailis, while other follwers of Musa Al-Kazim are known as Twelvers. They went on to recognize five more Imams after Musa. The Nizari Ismaili Shias follow a living Imam directly descended from Isma'il ibn Jafar & Ali. Those Imams are the Aga Khans.”

As you see, the relevant sentence was omitted. Peculiarly, the page this is quoted from indicated “This page was last modified 16:46, 21 March 2007.” Gentlemen, I’m not one to subscribe to conspiracy theories, but this is definitely a peculiar occurrence. Please explain to me why this relevant sentence was deleted from your entry on Isma'il ibn Jafar. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.120.3.123 (talk) 05:14, 18 April 2007 (UTC).

Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone, including you. Here is the history of edits to the article. You can go back and find the point at which it changes, and identify the author who changed it. It is not peculiar. It is the way this encyclopedia works. I recommend reading of Wikipedia:About. Actually, having checked further, I see it was deleted in the current revision (21:58, 17 April 2007) and the reason given was that the assertion was unsourced. The sentence was first added to the article in the revision as of 17:22, 17 April 2007 (talk). So the assertion lasted on wikiedpia for 4.5 hours. Meanwhle, you might be interested in more speculation on Ismail's Ax on Boing Boing. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Salt on the creature's tail

I've been trying to think of the (mythological?) creature that you can supposedly render immobile if you pour salt on its tail. I remember hearing this tale of the tail when I was a kid but I can't remember what creature it was attributed to. Anyone know? Dismas|^(talk) 06:36, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

This and this talk about putting salt on a bird’s tail. And this tells us there was a 1910 movie called "Salt on the Bird’s Tail". JackofOz 06:48, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

For some reason I thought it was more specific than just "a bird" but then I could be wrong. That would explain though the incident described in the article for Woody Woodpecker. Dismas|^(talk) 08:15, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

What about an army. Since armies used to be paid in salt, giving them more might be a way to stop them fighting you, and the back of an amry is likely to be a safer place to get to than the front.

You can supposedly kill slugs by pouring salt on them. Tomgreeny 11:49, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Done that many times. Dismas|^(talk) 12:34, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Prevalence of freezing temperatures

Hi

I've asked this question on the science desk, but to no avail, so I'm hoping someone that frequents the misc help desk will know something. I'm looking for some numbers for an introduction about how common temperatures below OC are on Earth. I'd love to be able to say "90% of the Earth's terrestrial environment experiences temperatures lower than 0C each year" or something like that. Does anyone have any insights and/or references about this? Thanks heaps for your help!

Aaadddaaammm 07:54, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Firstly just some semantics - "Earth's terrestrial environment" can be shortened to "terrestrial environment". Then it would depend what you mean by that. Are you talking about a list of temperatures recorded by all the meteorological stations in the world? Or are you talking about temperatures below the crust (caves etc.) and/or in the atmosphere? What would the cut-off point in height be - the top of Everest? If it's just cities you want, then you would have to source these lists and do the maths. Seasonal variances would come into play as well. I'm sure you appreciate the immensity of this. I would be surprised if such a study already exists. Sandman30s 11:31, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

I would guess they want information about the eaths surface during winter, everywhere that tends to have some time under 0C during an average year. Maps of data like this probably exist, but I wound't expect much information with them. You could work out the percantage by copying the map into an art program and counting how many pixels there are, but this will take hours.

A couple of additional issues. There is a substantial portion of Earth's surface that experiences temperatures below 0°C occasionally, or most years, or even 99 years out of 100, but not "each year". For example, it is conceivable that in a rare year, the temperature in London might never fall below 0°C. It would be unlikely to find a map that shows this datum. Maps generally show climatic means. It might be possible to find a map that shows places with an average annual minimum temperature of 0° or lower. The next issue would be the projection of that map. The method suggested above would work only for a map using an equal-area projection. Marco polo 13:03, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

If you didn't need an exact number but could be satisfied with a very rough estimate, you could use 50° of latitude as a very rough estimate of a line poleward of which the surface, or near-surface, temperature drops below 0°C in an average year. (Land surface minimum temperatures will drop below 0°C much closer to the Equator, particularly at interior or high-altitude locations, but most of Earth's surface is ocean, and in winter the oceans are much warmer than land masses at the same latitude, such that, in many ocean zones far from land masses, ocean-surface winter minimum temperatures will be somewhat above 0°C even at 50° of latitude.) Unfortunately, it is beyond my math skills to calculate what percentage of Earth's surface is north of 50°N latitude and south of 50°S latitude. Maybe you should try this question at the math desk. Marco polo 19:17, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

23.4% Algebraist 20:53, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

"Marco polo" must be in Europe. In North America, except for the west coast, 50° is way too far north. --Anon, April 19, 01:05 (UTC).

home cinema and cheap petrol

how do movie companies decide which cinemas to show their films at? If you owned a home cinema (perhaps with a few seats for your friends), would it be possible to screen the latest films?

also, given that petrol in the UK is expensive, and that it's relatively cheap in the US, and that the $/£ exchange rate is very good at the moment, would it be possible or even worthwhile trying to import petrol from the US (assuming, of course, that you have somewhere safe to store it etc)

thanks, Spiggy 08:31, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't have any figures to back this up but I doubt very much that you could make it economical on a small scale to import petrol from the U.S. to the UK. All your "profit" would be lost to transportation costs, tariffs, taxes, etc. Dismas|^(talk) 08:35, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

thanks Dismas

• If cinemas in Leicester Square, London are anything like other cinemas around the world, it appears they choose what to screen themselves provided they can pay the money it costs to screen the film. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:09, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

• • Our articles on Film distributor and Movie theater may be of use. --Charlene 09:35, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

On petrol, the difference in price between the UK and US is entirely due to the taxes in the UK. The price of petrol, before taxes and/or subsidies, is the same worldwide, using current exchange rates. If the pre-tax price of petrol were lower in the US than in the UK, then oil companies would profit by importing US petrol into the UK until the US price rose to UK levels. This does not happen because no one is willing to sell petrol for less in the US than they could get in the UK before taxes. Importing US petrol into the UK and then selling it at the standard price or slightly below, while pocketing the difference instead of paying tax to the UK authorities, would be illegal and could result in very hefty fines or imprisonment. Marco polo 13:27, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Marco, there are also transportation costs involved. Any company would be more than willing to sell oil to X for $5/barrel less if it means $5/barrel more profit. For example, despite being the world's largest oil importer[18], the USA is also the world's 15th largest oil exporter.[19] Why? It's cheaper to move oil from Alaska to places like Japan and western Russia than back into the Lower 48. — Lomn 14:52, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

The US does not currently export any crude from Alaska to Japan or anywhere else (we did export up to 7% of Alaskan Crude to Japan and South Korea from 1996-2000 -- but NONE now) - all Alaskan crude comes to the lower 48. All the crude we export - a whopping 22,000 barrels per day (compare 10,000,000 barrels per day imported) -- goes to Canada, and most comes back to us as refined gasoline. All the rest of the exports on the page cites are of refined products - and about a third of that is petroleum coke, the dregs of refining, most of which goes to Mexico. [20]. Cheers Geologyguy 15:09, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

You are right that I left out transportation costs. This is why Alaskan oil goes to Seattle and not to Japan: because Seattle is closer and it is cheaper to transport there. Because transport costs are lower, profits are greater on Alaskan oil at the port of Seattle than they would be on comparable oil shipped from Indonesia or the Middle East. Whereas the differential is not as great in Japanese ports. Transport costs largely explain where oil from a given source ends up. Marco polo 15:44, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

The actual price of petrol in the UK is largely tax. A typical price today would be 92 or 93 pence per litre, of which Fuel Duty (which is imposed the moment the fuel leaves the refinery, or in your hypothetical situation, at the port) is 51.52p/litre for unleaded petrol (48.35p/l for ultra-low sulphur or sulphur-free petrol, 57.68p/l for leaded petrol);[21] don't forget that VAT at 17.5% is charged on the Fuel Duty as well as on the rest of the price of the fuel. On top of the tax, extraction costs, transport to the UK and refinery costs will typically add 27 or 28p (+17.5% tax) to the price. Then there's the retailers' profit margin, and the cost of transporting the stuff from the refinery to the filling station, which is the part of the price where there's much variability - it's more economical to use a 30,000 litre fuel tanker than a 20,000 litre one, but the price will still tend to increase the further away you get from the refineries. -- Arwel (talk) 19:31, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

E

How would I go about creating a new email adress, as well as the one I already have. I want to use them both for different things, so different people can contact me in different ways. Is there any way I can do this just using Internet Explorer as the rest of my internet access had stopped working for a while.~ ~ ~ ~

Yes, you can create a free email address that you only need Internet Explorer for (or any other web browser). The two most popular ones are Yahoo and Hotmail. Yahoo is far better IMHO. Just go to Yahoo or Hotmail and sign up. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 09:59, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, I signed up to Hotmail as none of my choices of email adress were left on yahoo.

It's your call, of course, but in my view you'd be better off with a yahoo account and a username you're not 100% happy with, rather than a Hotmail account and a username you like. Yahoo has a simpler, cleaner interface, better spam and virus protection, fewer annoying ads and integration with all of Yahoo's other services. The capacity is the same on both - 1GB. Why don't you open one of each, try sending a couple of emails to yourself and see which one you like best. I'm betting it'll be Yahoo (and no, I don't work for them!). --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:06, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

I'll send you a Gmail invitation if you want a Google mail address. Dismas|^(talk) 12:34, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Gmail is probably the best one yet. It has alot of space, good virius protecton, etc. I love it more than yahoo or hotmail, so far.

Car brake lights

Why are the car brake lights always red and not someother colour?

Well, to be universally intelligible, they all had to be some one colour ;-). And red, probably because it is the colour of fire (or at least, burning coals) has always been associated with "danger!", "stop!", etc.

Red also has the handy characteristic of not damaging your night vision so it makes the best choice for tail lights/brake lights.

Atlant 13:41, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

The Wikipedia entry on Automotive lighting has a lot of information and links to various laws and standards. Brake lights are red because laws governing automotive safety and construction require them to be red. Now, why was red picked? I think Atlant is probably on to something. The references in Automotive lighting may also help with that. - Eron ^Talk 13:47, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Red is also 'nature's' classic danger colour because of blood being red, and as humans are one of nature's creatures, we respond strongly to that colour (this hippy dippy answer was brought to you by Perry-mankster 14:02, 18 April 2007 (UTC) peace man)

surely red should mean the car is going as red means hot and engines are hot when they are working. So then break lights should be blue as engines are cold when they have stopped. or it could be red as the breaks get hot when the car is stopping. This is rather confusing, whoever invented it should have organised colour coding better.

Well what would you have picked? I can't see what would be any better than red. It's a strong colour that is easy to see even when the sun is shining brightly, unlike many others, and as mentioned above, doesn't blind you at night. It's the perfect colour for brake lights. --Alex16zx 14:42, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Red is commonly used in traffic signs and lights. Stoplights and stop signs are both red. Red is the color used to mean 'stop'Ipmin 15:09, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

also red light has the shortest wave length, ergo is least likely to be 'scattered'(defused/dimmed) by air molecules, exhust fumes, fog etc Perry-mankster 15:29, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Well, "longest", but your main point is correct ;-); colors towards blue are far more strongly scattered by rain, snow, fog, etc.

Atlant 16:13, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

thanks Atlant, answer done in a hurry, should have thought it thru first;-)Perry-mankster 09:47, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

hotel rates

What sort of rates can I expect at common types of hotels?Ipmin 14:36, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Where? City, country... they vary wildly from place to place. - Eron ^Talk 14:40, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

In the Western United States.Ipmin 14:49, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Even then, the variance is huge. Cities are generally more expensive. Weekends and weekdays may vary. The quality of hotel will drastically affect rates. Why not check out either generic travel websites or specific hotel chain sites and do some sample pricing? At a rough guess, though, anywhere from $30 to $200 a night could fall under "common". — Lomn 14:55, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree with Lomn. With those caveats, my experience is that you can expect to pay about $100 a night for a decent room in a decent hotel in a decent neighbourhood. You can get rooms for $50 or less, but for the most part these will be lesser quality rooms at lesser quality hotels in worse neighbourhoods. At the other end of the scale, the sky is the limit. - Eron ^Talk 14:59, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

$100 is what you will pay for a decent room in a budget hotel in major U.S. cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, or Seattle. At a more standard business traveler's hotel, such as a Sheraton, you would pay more like $180 in a major metropolitan area. On the other hand, you can have a perfectly decent room in a budget motel, such as EconoLodge, near a freeway at the edge of a metropolitan area, for around $60. Marco polo 15:39, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Since you said USA, there are also these which may offer a lower per-day rate, but typically assume you will stay for about a week or so. Also Category:Hotel_types has a few things to say, but it looks a tad incomplete. HTH. dr.ef.tymac 17:09, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Las Vegas is an exception to the normal pricing structure. Since they assume that guests will blow a lot of cash at their casinos, many casino hotels will offer rooms at rather low rates to lure the suckers customer in. So, you might be able to find a nice weekday room for $30 a night, with a good special. StuRat 04:55, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

US ARMY M1 CARBINE

HOW MANY ROUNDS IN A CARBINES CLIP...AAALIBRIS

According to the entry for M1 Garand rifle, eight. - Eron ^Talk 22:11, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

But you asked about the M1 Carbine, didn't you? It was magazine-fed (didn't use a clip) and the magazine capacity was fifteen. - Eron ^Talk 22:19, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

The article says 15 or 30, actually. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:33, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

From what I read, 30 was for the M2 version, so I didn't include that. As to what the original question wanted, I'm still not sure. M1 carbines used magazines but M1 rifles had a fixed internal magazine that was loaded by means of eight-round clips. I think the desired answer is somewhere in there between the two entries. - Eron ^Talk 02:04, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

The op probably meant Magazine (firearms), as that article explains in the opening paragraph, they are commonly and incorrectly referred to as Clip (ammunition). Vespine 01:37, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I want to go to Somaliland (Part 2)

So I've found a round trip ticket from Luton to Istanbul for $300. And a sub $300 ticket from Istanbul to Yemen. But I still can't get the cost of going to London down. How do I get a cheap summer fare from LAX to London? I see that Expedia advertises London rates before May 31 for $400 something but the cheapest summer flight I can find is $950. lots of issues | leave me a message 22:09, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

A cheap summer fare from the US to Europe?! Good luck. That's when everyone wants to go, so the airlines charge what the market will bear. I would suggest trying for a last-minute ticket, which can be cheap because the airline wants to fill the seat. But in summer, there are few unsold seats, and you could end up missing your connection in Luton. Marco polo 01:06, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

April 19

kenya

who knows a popular kenyan figure who met his wife while running for office

A number of senior Kenyan politicians have multiple wives, some of whom were married during their political careers. See Vice-President of Kenya and President of Kenya for a few of them. Rockpocket 06:19, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Another handwriting question

What is the nature and extent of the link between handwriting and nationality? I've noticed that many North Americans' handwriting is very similar; it's hard to describe, but it looks italic and cursive. Anecdotally, many French people's handwriting also seems to have similar characteristics. In Britain, handwriting styles seem to vary a lot more. I guess this might have something to do with the way handwriting is taught in schools. Anyone else noticed what I'm talking about? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:28, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I certainly have. A number of European-born friends (Germany, Russia, Yugoslavia) of mine seem to have a similar distinctive handwriting, quite unlike that of people from other parts of the world. JackofOz 08:37, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

North America is a big place. What kind of writing are you referring to? English Alphabet--Kirby♥time 08:54, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I know it's a big place. If I could find an example image file, I'd post it here. I'm just saying that some North Americans' (Americans and Canadians) handwriting is recognisable as being by someone from that part of the world. The same applies to other nationalities, I think. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 09:03, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree with Richardrj, and I suspect it's the template that elementary school teachers use to teach handwriting. Anchoress 09:23, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

hi richard i think it may have something to do with 'fashion' of the time, i remember that at primary school, in the early eighties, nearly everyone espically girls, started writting in a 'bubble' style of writing, curvey and not 'joined up'this was opposite to the style taught, rigid, 'joined up' writing, i think it was due to a bubble like font used in teen magazines but i could be wrong - sorry the area i live in is east coast scotland, but i have noticed this type of writing at uni, in other area's of scotland again, predominatley females using itPerry-mankster 09:54, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

market planning

1. discuss factors affecting marketing planning 2. discuss key players in market planning

• Please read the instructions at the top of the page. These questions are too general and sound very much like homework. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:54, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

market planning

players in market planning

planning marketing

factors affecting marketing planning