Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Dante's Divine Comedy dramatised: characters individiualised by dialects & languages

I am in the final stages of writing an Italian/English dramatisation of Dante's Divina Commedia. Naturally, it contains a lot of talk and it has occurred to me belatedly that the characters could be individualised with accents or an occasional word or phrase appropriate to their region, time and status. The dialects/languages are mostly of Italy but there is also Latin, French, Frankish, Aramaic and Greek. I can supply Dante's words (with English) for the character(s). Can anybody help me? All contributions will be responded to and contributors will ultimately be acknowledged in the dramatisations's Programme.

I can supply - not dialect words - but anyhow a related hint. In February 2004 the City Theatre of Gothenburg, Sweden <http://www.stadsteatern.goteborg.se/pressrum/press.asp?fst=dante> presented a highly praised stage dramatisation of the "Commedia". It ran in Swedish, which is not your line. But you might perhaps get interesting impulses from another scenic version of the story.

Priesthood

What is the theological basis for the succession of Levitical Priesthood in the Eastern Orthodox Church?

Formulas

Does someone have a formula for M_w and M_n in terms or W_i and M_i? This is in the context of polymers, thermodynamics, and the Flory-Huggens free energy formula. Thanks a lot! Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 30 June 2005 20:21 (UTC)

Browsing through my copy of Young and Lovell, I'm not seeing anything right off the bat; leave a comment on my talk page in a few days and I'll remember to get back to it.--Joel 6 July 2005 05:07 (UTC)

Are you talking about the weight average molecular weight M_w and the number average molecular weight M_n? --HappyCamper 7 July 2005 04:29 (UTC)

Source of information on National Institute of Health Recommendation

In the Wikipedia entry under "Omega-3 Fatty Acids" the following statement is made: "US National Institutes of Health recommends 650 mg of EPA and DHA, 2.22 g/day of alpha-linolenic acid, all of which are Omega-3 fatty acids, and 4.44 g/day of linoleic acid, aka Omega-6."

I cannot find the US National Institute of Health recommendation for omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. I can find their recommendations for total, saturated, unsaturated and trans fats, but I cannot find a specific reference to omega-3s and omega 6s. Please tell me where to find this information, as I do not see a National Institute of Health reference at the end of the entry.

Thank you,

Thomas Morton

[email, phone number removed]

So far as I know, we never had RDA values set for omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, but now that we've switched to the Dietary Reference Intake they've added softer recommendations for the nonessentials. This pdf (linked to by the USDA here) lists the Adequate Intake for lenoleic (omega-6) fatty acids in the 14-17 g/day range for adult men, 11-12 g/day for adult women, while for alpha-linolenic (omega-3) the numbers are 1.6 g/day for adult men, 1.1 g/day for adult women.

From this it looks like the article is overstating the recommendations, which isn't a big deal since no Upper Intake Limit has been set on them. Don't see any values on EPA or DHA specifically, but I am also very reluctant to wade through the full reports. Not every text by committee recommends that you be bold.--Laura Scudder | Talk 7 July 2005 07:24 (UTC)

That sounds about right to me too. Also note that most infant formula does now include DHA and EPA, since those are found in breast milk and were not previously in formula. Though they don't have information on the recommendations, also see the omega-3 fatty acid and fatty acid articles. - Taxman ^Talk 15:09, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Tovine/help

I have a oil painting by Tovine I would like to know who tovine is How old the painting is or print Icant seam to find anything about tovine anywhere. thank you

stacy

After Leon Trotsky's death, was Frida Kahlo for or against Stalin?

Hi Wikipedians! I have been learning about Frida Kahlo, and it seems that there is an inconsistency b/w the descriptions of Frida's political affiliation after the death of Leon Trotsky within the entry for Frida Khalo and the entry for Diego Rivera.

Diego Rivera entry says:

"Following Trotsky's Death Rivera and Kahlo both became Anti-Revisionists/Anti-Stalinists."

Frida Khalo's entry says:

"Sometime after Trotsky's death, Frida denounced her former friend and praised the Soviet Union under Stalin. She spoke favorably of Mao, calling China "the new socialist hope". Her home was decorated with socialist art, including portraits of Marx, Engels, Stalin, and Mao."

...uh, which is it?

thanks! --David Knight

Lyrics sites

Does anyone know of any external sites which would enhance the quality of our lyrics article? Specifically, the article is missing links to academic sites which analyse lyrics for their political, economic, social or aesthetic value. --HappyCamper 4 July 2005 05:45 (UTC)

Are you a college student? Do you have access to jstor? (you can check you college library's "electronic journal database" or some variant link to confirm). lots of issues | leave me a message 6 July 2005 02:05 (UTC)

Reference page on U.S.S. HENLEY

(preceding unsigned comment by 70.21.138.99 2005-07-05 21:08:44 CDT)

Erm, did you try USS Henley? What was the question? Bovlb 2005-07-06 04:03:36 (UTC)

Identification of a bird

Does anyone has an ideea of what sort of bird this might be ?

• 
• 
• 

Thank you very much in anticipation ! Rama 5 July 2005 12:46 (UTC)

My stamp-collecting history made my mind throw up the name Rock Wren the moment I saw these pictures (also see this photo). However upon closer inspection it might not be. I'm not sure about the colouration range of this species, and the tail arrangement seems different. Well, a guess is better than silence anyway, which is what you've gotten so far... :) Master Thief Garrett^Talk 6 July 2005 21:00 (UTC)

• It would help a lot with these wonderful "identify the photo" postings if the questioner would provide some hints as to where the photographs were taken. jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 7 July 2005 16:11 (UTC)

Oh, sorry, I was out of my mind. The bird was photographed in an urban area, in Switzerland, in summer. I has a very vocal and melodic pattern of singing (as a matter of fact, it seems to favour specific classical music interpreters and sings along...). It has a size similar to a sparrow, but the tail makes it a little bit longer. Thank you for your interest ! Rama 08:04, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Office of Special Plans article...about the annexe to the Committee Report

In the Wikipedia article about the Office of Special Plans, it mentions an annexe to the Report of the Subcommittee on Pre-war Intellgence about WMDs. However, I have not been able to find this annexe on the internet. Could you provide a link where this information can be found?

Robert Wangila

Moved from Robert Wangila:

Was Robert Wangila the only person in olympic history to knockout 5 people???

In case it's not clear, Wangila was a boxer who won an Olympic gold for Kenya in the welterweight division in Seoul. --Robert Merkel 6 July 2005 04:43 (UTC)

1948 London Olympics - photo of Duncan White

Hi someone posted a photo of Duncan White winning Sri Lanka's (Ceylon's) only olympic meddal on here. Duncan White is my husbands grandfather. I'd really like to get a copy of the picture for him, but it is too small a file size to simply print from wikipedia.

How can I get photos of him for my husband?

Thanks Sirajade sirajade@tiscali.co.uk

• I have left a note for the user who uploaded the image. Bovlb 2005-07-06 13:40:44 (UTC)

Forest Management in the United States of America

Is there any reference to Forest Management in the United States of America?

I am a Professional Forester and I am interested in land area, growth and harvest statistics.

Is there any reference to these by States?

Would appreciate it if such is available.

Richard Wheeler Sacramento, California

I would be really surprised if the United States Forest Service in all its statistics available here and here didn't have that information somewhere. Lupo July 6, 2005 15:38 (UTC)

Who is the Violinist

Does anybody know who this is? I found it in article, it only said "Violinist Joaquin 'Chino' Gutierrez" and then says he was the only one accepted into Munich's Musikhochschule in Summer of 2004, but no background info. And does anyone have info on the teacher, called Jens Ellermann, who was allegedly teacher of Gil Shaham and Midori (accdg. to article). Searched both names on Wiki, no results. Thanks. Don Diego 6 July 2005 16:23 (UTC)

• Well, it's Joaquin 'Chino' Gutierrez. A quick Google search shows that he's a 12-year-old Filipino math and music prodigy. Another quick search shows lots of mentions of Jens Ellerman. Always helps to try Google first -- it takes manual labor to get stuff into Wikipedia, so a lot of information (most information, actually) isn't here yet. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 6 July 2005 21:21 (UTC)

And I thought Wikipedia was a "complete" encyclopedia. Pity, that it isn't. Still, thanks a lot. Don Diego 6 July 2005 22:32 (UTC)

i seriously hope you aren't serious about that remark, as a "complete" encyclopedia is kinda impossible. i doubt many others contain the ammount on info wikipedia currently has. Boneyard 7 July 2005 08:28 (UTC)

What you mean like articles on classes of Star Trek ship that were only mentioned once on the TV series? :-) DJ Clayworth 7 July 2005 17:37 (UTC)

• Fifteen-year old Filipino violinist (born March 20th, 1990) studying in Munich, Germany under Prof. Jens Ellermann, who was the teacher of both aforementioned musicians, in the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. Recent achievements include winning the Landeswettbewerb Mathematik Bayern (Bavarian Math Competition), 1st prize and becoming one of the Landessiegern (State Champions). Math and music and science prodigy, good head for languages, knows English, Filipino, German, Latin (claims to have learned 3 years worth in 1 and 1/2 years), Egyptian hieroglyphics. Prolific writer. Multiply intelligent. Et cetera. I suggest you do some research and write an article on him if you want to help make this encyclopedia more "complete." Good luck. James Bell 7 July 2005 23:46 (UTC)

Mrs. Bennet

Adam Gopnik's article on William Dean Howells in The New Yorker described Mrs. Howells as a "Mrs. Bennet". From the context, I gather it means shrewish, but what is the allusion to? My Brewer's fails me. 66.213.119.98 6 July 2005 18:23 (UTC) (aka User:PedanticallySpeaking)

• Try Pride and Prejudice, which says "Mrs. Bennet is determined to see each of her five daughters successfully married to a gentleman of sufficient fortune." Bovlb 2005-07-06 18:38:36 (UTC)

Jane Austen sums up Mrs Bennet's character like this:

She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.

Gdr 7 July 2005 00:03 (UTC)

Motto

A while ago I came across a certain motto along the lines of "foreign to this land, native to the world." Unfortunately I don't remember the source or context. I was wondering if anyone around here has seen it before too and whether a Latin translation exists (if not, could someone try to translate it?). Many thanks. -- Rune Welsh ταλκ July 6, 2005 19:37 (UTC)

Could it be "I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world"? [1]

chocolateboy 6 July 2005 22:06 (UTC)

Or could it be "All lands are our home; all people are our kin" - the one in the infobox in Tamil people - a translation of the opening line of a poem by the classical Tamil poet Kanian Poongundranaar. -- Sundar ^{\talk \contribs} July 7, 2005 08:14 (UTC)

How to find good doctors and hospitals in Mexico?

In the U.S. you can check hospitals with the following web site: www.qualitycheck.org You can order JCAHO's performance reports (on a particular hospital) free of charge by calling 630-792-5800. To Rate hospitals in your Zip- use http://www.leapfroggroup.org/home, but how do the get similar information on hospitals in Mexico?

Also, to get information on doctors in the U.S. one can use these web sites Licensed Doctors in all states-- http://www.fsmb.org/members.htm Board certified U.S. and Foreign Specialists certified in U.S. http://www.abms.org/, but again how do you get similar information in Mexico?

Ed

There are lots of dimensions to "good", and it sort of depends on the problem as well: 2 important dimensions are speaking the same language and being familiar with the diagnoses and way of thinking of American medical culture (so doctor and patient share ways of thinking and talking about the body and disease). If I were looking for a doctor there I would try to make contact with Americans over 40 who have lived or worked in the city where you are for more than a few months. They have likely had personal experience or would have heard reputations or would have contacts that could point you in the right direction. Hotel concierges are at least likely to know those who speak English and want to provide you service, which would be a start if you have no contacts at all. alteripse 7 July 2005 11:09 (UTC)

American consulates keep lists of doctors who claim to speak English (I use the term claim from experiance...). These are not recommendations, but it is a good a place to start as any. Physchim62 7 July 2005 11:18 (UTC)

Rainbow Monkey

How can I get one of this for my daughter?

I'm writing from Cyprus. Can I buy one from internet? Pls advise

Rainbow Monkeys are a fictional product and cannot be purchased. Sorry. -- Cyrius|✎ 7 July 2005 17:52 (UTC)

Significance test between two sets of data

I've got two sets of data which, when plotted as a scatter graph, show two lines with a negative gradient, one slightly above the other. What statistical test can I perform to show whether one is significantly higher than the other?

i.e my graphs, when plotted with their trend lines, looks something like

|
| 
|  \
| \ \
|  \ \
|   \ \
|    \ \
|___________________________

...and I want to show that the line on top is significantly different from the line on the bottom. Note that the lines may not be exactly parallel (or even exactly straight...).

Thanks!

Well I slept through a lot of that part of my stats classes, but I think that is just an ANOVA problem. At most, translate the data along one of their regression lines so that they are essentially vertical, then do the ANOVA on their mean X values. Off the top of my head that's the only way to do it to avoid the complication of MANOVA. Our anova article doesn't give you anything about how to do it, but you should be able to find lots of info on the web or in a decent practical stats or data analysis textbook. Hopefully someone else can provide a more definitive answer. - Taxman ^Talk July 7, 2005 16:13 (UTC)

There's an ANOVA Applet here that does the calculation for you (I've never been forced to do one by hand in any stat class), but I think you don't need to do an ANOVA test if your data has error bars. A weighted linear regression should produce error values for your slope and intercept. If your slopes are within error of eachother but the intercepts are two or more σ apart, then that's something like 95% confidence that they're different as most weighted regressions assume a normal distribution for each point. That's how a physicist rather than a statistician would do it. --Laura Scudder | Talk 7 July 2005 18:00 (UTC)

Using the intercepts in that way without translating the data is very non-robust. Small changes in the slopes can change the intercepts by a lot depending on the data. Your method basically involves trying to decide based on one point, while ANOVA basically gets information from the whole dataset. I'm still not sure there's not a more standard way than what I proposed, but sorry, I know your's isn't good. :) I'll see if I can't ask a friend of mine who is a statistician what he would do if no one else gets to it. - Taxman ^Talk July 7, 2005 20:36 (UTC)

Using the intercepts is very robust against false positives, ie, you will probably find that there is no difference between the intercepts unless your data are very good (possible false negative). If the data are paired, you could try a chi-squared test... Physchim62 8 July 2005 10:25 (UTC)

Yes, after consulting my statistician friend, he agreed, testing on the intercepts gets about as much information as you can for this. He said without details on the data sets and how they were collected, that was about all you could try. First of course, you would have to test for and possibly exlcude outliers and plot and examine the residuals to see if there are any patterns there. With outliers excluded, and the normal assumption being reasonably good, the error estimates on the intercepts will give a decent idea of whether the lines are different. This is all assuming the slopes are esentially the same, which is what your original question was I think. - Taxman ^Talk 15:26, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the input. The problem with ANOVA, MANOVA and chi-square are that they all, I believe, deal with discrete data. Here the problem is that the sets themselves vary over time, and so I don't believe that any of those tests work. Also, I can't compare means since the data isn't evenly sampled across the lines.

The closest test I've come up with is the ANCOVA (analysis of co-variance) test. However, that requires the two lines to be parallel, and mine are decidedly not.

Is there any equivalent of a ANCOVA test for non-parallel lines?

And, a second question, is there any test to determine is the difference in slope of the two lines is significant?

Thanks!

Well then that is a very different problem. All of the methods previously discussed assume you are sampling the data from a consistent population. If the sets vary over time, then you will have to either create a much more carefully designed test, or look to some much more advanced data analysis methods. For non parallel lines, then I think the tests discussed above don't really make any sense. We'd have to know a lot more about the nature of the data and your test set up to be able to give you any more info, and at that point it would be way beyond me at least to help you. If this is important, you really should get the services of a qualified statistician, and do so before you do much more data gathering. If you collect the data improperly you may not be able to draw any conclusions, no matter how good the data analysis, or what data analysis methods are used. You really need to look at your testing methods and structure and design it in a way that you get useful data. If you don't do that, you could waste a lot of work. - Taxman ^Talk 15:26, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Disabled people and how they cope

Hi. I was just wondering about what therapies they used for people in wheelchairs. Also, are there any specially made houses for them. And what is the biggest size for a wheelchair.

Check out laws governing people who have Disabilities. I live in an apartment complex which sometimes has a resident in a wheelchair. They get a ground floor apartment because the only way upstairs is via stairs. There is a special ramp so their wheelchair can get up the curb and into their lobby. There is a portable Handicapped parking sign that is stuck in the parking place closest to the entrance. AlMac 8 July 2005 14:44 (UTC)

loratadine

Is loratadine safe for dogs'allergies?

Ask a vet (and realize that most drugs are not completely safe). ¦ Reisio 2005 July 7 14:03 (UTC)

I would be very careful giving dogs antihistamines without first asking a vet. I know that benadryl in particular acts completely differently in dogs than humans; my vet has told me it's actually more effective against motion sickness for dogs than dramamine because of the difference in pathways between the species. Even over the phone your vet may be able to recommend something.

I don't know what type of allergies you're dealing with here, but I used to have a Golden Retriever with bad skin and ear allergies. They're vastly improved by switching to a food with fish (the essential fatty acids such as omega-3 are important for skin and immune system health). I know that Iams and Canidae both produce lines with a balanced diet including fish. I also avoid foods that list any animal byproducts as ingredients. Some people also swear by switching to an oatmeal shampoo, but in my experience the food that goes in is more imporant than any treatment you can apply externally including prescription ear drops and such. --Laura Scudder | Talk 7 July 2005 18:15 (UTC)

communion

why the use of unleavened bread in your communion?

Not knowing what "your" refers to, it is hard to give a denomination-specific answer. While there has been much controversy and disagreement in past centuries over the nature of the eucharist and its relationship to Christ, the form of the bread is generally considered adiaphora theologically. Adiaphora is a useful greek word used in theology to indicate something of "indifference" from a doctrinal perspective. In other words, it is a matter of local church custom not worth disputing. A simple practical reason some churches use unleavened hosts is that they keep longer than baked bread. Does that answer your question? alteripse 7 July 2005 12:50 (UTC)

Actually there is a theological reason too. Communion derives from the Jewish Passover - Jesus was celebrating passover when he instituted communion. The part of the Passover that most resembles a Christain communion involves unleavened bread. But as Alteripse said, practice varies. As a rule Catholics use wafers, Protestants use regular bread and Anglicans vary, but there are a lot of exceptions even to that. DJ Clayworth 7 July 2005 17:32 (UTC)

I know that many Orthodox churches use leavened bread as a sign of the Resurrection, and some Protestant groups use leavened bread for adiaphora reasons. However, the Roman Catholic Church uses unleavened bread universally, and it is forbidden to use any other substance. (There are very clear rubrics on Eucharistic matters, which must be followed to the letter.)

I was raised Southern Baptist, and for many years our Pastor used Matzo brand unleavened crackers for the eucharist. At other times we used little premade, circular wafers, similar (possibly identical) to those used at many Catholic masses I've attended. Of course, since each Southern Baptist congregation is tradionally able to set its own rules on these matters, I can't say how many other protestant churches, or even other Baptist congregations use similar foods. I can imagine some more conservative Baptist churches not cottoning to using Jewish or Catholic sacrements in the church. Brian Schlosser42 19:39, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

The reason for using unleavened bread is usually cited as the Last Supper. Most churches see the Eucharist as instituted at the Last Supper (when Christ said "this is my body" "this is my blood"), and the Gospels record that the Last Supper was the Passover meal. Part of the Passover custom is to remove all leaven from the home, and leavened bread is not present during Passover meals. Jesus would therefore have used unleavened bread for the first Eucharist, and in light of that, the tradition continues in many Churches. -- Essjay · Talk July 7, 2005 17:36 (UTC)

Another interesting note is the drink used. I understand that Catholics use red wine, but almost every Protestant church I've been to (all in the US) uses grape juice. A visitor from a country (I've forgotten which) in Africa once explained to our church how expensive grape juice can be in his part of the world, and how a substitute is usually mixed up with food coloring, sugar water, and Sprite. And the LDS custom is to use water, according to a Mormon friend from high school.--Joel 01:08, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Lotto in Germany

Can someone please explain how the lottery in Germany works? I want to bet but I don't know how it works. --anon

You get poorer. They get richer. --Heron 7 July 2005 19:33 (UTC)

• If you don't know how it works, its probably a bad idea to bet in this lottery. I would not recommend trying it anyway. - Mgm|^(talk) July 7, 2005 21:27 (UTC)

I want information, not advice. What I do is my choice. Give me the rules of the US lottery then, bec. by analogy, if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Please.

• There is no "US lottery". The lottery article should explain well. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 8 July 2005 02:50 (UTC)

It does not explain how muc ha lottery ticket should cost. And what happens once you pay for it.

The way lotteries work in the U.S. (there is no single lottery, several states usually join together for one large lottery but there isn't a nationwide one as yet) is that you go to a dealer of the tickets, usually located at newsstands or convenience stores and purchase a ticket. The ticket is normally a dollar for one "draw" or five dollars for 5 draws, etc. A draw is one set of numbers, usually 3-6 numbers. Normally the numbers are between 1 and 40-60. You can get a randomly chosen set or choose your own numbers if you have a personal set of "lucky" numbers you would rather play. On the ticket will be the date and time of the drawing. They're normally televised before the evening news (roughly 6 P.M.). They are also printed in the larger newspapers that cover the same area that that particular lottery is played in on the day after the drawing. If you win less than ~$500 then you can go to the nearest lottery ticket agent and claim your prize with your winning ticket. If the prize is larger you have to show it to a local lottery official by first calling the phone number on the back of the ticket or asking the local ticket dealer to contact them for you. They will look at the ticket to make sure it's genuine and if so, award your prize. As for how the Germans do it, your guess is as good as mine. Dismas 8 July 2005 14:51 (UTC)

Thanks a lot! :)

Is Wikipedia's Political Slant Left?

I happened upon Ann Coulter's page within the Wikipedia site and after reading it, it seemed to really point out lots of negative details of her past. I then chose to go to see how Al Franken's page compared. Compared to Ann's, Al's page is very stripped down and streamlined, clean, no controversies highlighted. I then went to several other pages including both conservative and liberal subjects and noticed the same trend. Why is that?

From an American political standpoint a lot of Wikipedia editors probably lean left, but there are lots of editors on the far right end of the spectrum too. American politics leans very far to the right. So centre- to right-of-centre Europeans are, by American definitions, liberals. Wikipedians also tend to be young and literate, a demographic which leans further to the left than do older and less literate demographics. But you pick a bad pair of article to contrast - Al Franken doesn't spend his time making such obviously ridiculous statements as Coulter. Coulter is basically a troll, only she does it in old media. So of course she is surrounded by controvery - she goes out looking for it. To leave that out of an article would be whitewashing it. I am unaware of similar controvery surrounding Franken. Sure, he's a partisan, sure his book titles are inflammatory...but FOX News sued him for using the words "fair and balanced". His controversies don't leave him looking ridiculous, hers do. Moore is treated in a similar way to Coulter because he is also inclined to make outrageous statements. Guettarda 7 July 2005 17:39 (UTC)

To clarify a bit: Wikipedia's official editorial policy is to provide a neutral point of view—one that represents all reasonable points of view fairly and does not exhibit bias on matters of opinion. That is, we aim not to have a political slant at all. It's difficult for writers to see their own biases; perhaps we just have more liberal editors writing on political figures. If you have suggestions for making these articles more neutral, start or join a discussion on the talk page. Coulter is a more controversial figure than Franken, from what I've seen, so in an effort to make all sides happy with the state of the article, every last point has to be taken out and discussed, and it looks like that's still going on. Mindspillage (spill yours?) 7 July 2005 17:48 (UTC)

To comment a bit further: Wikipedia explicitly supports only the concept of NPOV - or "neutral point of view". If you find an article that is not written in a neutral point of view, please feel free to discuss about it on the talk page, get involved, and edit it! The idea is, articles on Wikipedia are always work in progress. They might not be perfectly neutral when you first encounter them, but hopefully with a series of goodwilled edits, they improve and approach the ideal NPOV. Granted, this might not be realizable immediately, but you've got to admit, it's a pretty noble cause to achieve over time. Sometimes, you'll encounter articles that are slightly leaning left, then 3 months later, slightly leaning to the right, and maybe a year later as neutral as humanly possible :-) --HappyCamper 7 July 2005 17:51 (UTC)

Maybe you're experiencing a hostile media effect. I think Wikipedia, in general, is pretty good in terms of bias. Most articles that have NPOV problems are labelled as such. I have seen various talk pages asserting bias from the left and the right, which inclines me to think that Wikipedia is pretty much where it should be. The one place where Wikipedia may have a liberal bias is in it's insistance on being completely secular. Wikipedia strives to be morally relativistic which probably puts us at odds with some religious fundamentalists on the right. --CVaneg 7 July 2005 18:36 (UTC)

Folks, just go look at the pages I spoke of before you start telling me that I'm "experiencing a hostile media effect". I'm not interested in having anyone on the left or right tell me where I stand, I know where I stand. And allow me to apologize for not clarifying the political scale of American left and right.

There is also an unmistakable slant toward "cultural" rather than political progressivism. You can find arguments from political right and left on many pages, but no one here speaks up for the majority of human societies which support/have supported non-progressive views on gender and sexuality issues. If they do, they are quickly reverted or driven away with self-righteous hostility. It is so all-pervasive, like in modern western, urban culture, that most of the editors don't even realize it is a minority perspective and quite controversial in a global perspective. See for example the discussion in talk:gender role and the article. So I agree that wikipedia is very much a product of western, liberal, city, progressive editors and that is the dominant perspective. alteripse 7 July 2005 19:48 (UTC)

I do have the impression that Wikipedia is politically slanted to the left. Take a look, for example, at the Lawrence Kudlow article I mentioned above on this same page. There are few people who want to edit the article, probably in part because Kudlow has conservative tendencies.

Then you can look at the history of the article about Paul Krugman, who has quarreled on CNBC with Lawrence Kudlow on Bullseye and with Bill O'Reilly on Tim Russert's program. You see that, before, the article did not even mention an iota of his liberal viewpoints.

But despite of that, you see that, since, the Paul Krugman article has been modified a bit. So I suggest that you do the same to articles you don't agree with, or at least discuss what you don't like on the talk pages. You can edit the Ann Coulter or the Al Franken article, for example.

What User:Guettarda from Trinidad and Tobago said above on this section ("So centre- to right-of-centre Europeans are, by American definitions, liberals") is nonsense. Gerhard Schröder, for example, is from a left party, and I don't think that Americans with conservative tendencies would perceive him as pro-American or "conservative". That is absolute nonsense and "Quatsch".

What is true is that Wikipedia is edited by many people from different countries, and many of those people have Anti-American tendencies, so in many cases you are going to feel like articles are "left-leaning". That many people around the world are Anti-American is a fact, and there are always gonna be those kind of people. I take it for granted. It's a reality. 2004-12-29T22:45Z July 7, 2005 20:26 (UTC)

Not quite sure what you mean here. Socialised medicine is considered a "liberal" issue in America, but I rather doubt many centre-right European politicians would dream of taking such a stand. How is that nonsense? Coming from Trinidad and Tobago leaves me more aware of European politic than most Americans, while the fact that I have spent 8 of the last 11 years in the US means that I have a pretty solid outsider's view of US politics...and I am still shocked my what passes as "moderate" positions in American politics. Of course, on the other hand, the level of acceptance of racist anti-immigrant politics would be unimagineable in 'centrist" American politics.

I don't see how "Anti-Americanism" explains too much of the difference in coverage of Coulter and Franken, since they are both American. It's a fallcy to equate anti-Americanism with antipathy towards the Bush Agenda. Guettarda 8 July 2005 01:14 (UTC)

I think it should be noted that Wikipedia is often left and often right. There is a quite a bit of controversy around Al Frankten that isn't represented here. On the other hand if you look at Answers in Genesis there is no controversy there either. Wikipedia is by no means perfect however the goal is NPOV. Falphin 7 July 2005 20:48 (UTC)

Shouldn't a summary of this discussion go into Wikipedia:Wikipedia is? -- Sundar ^{\talk \contribs} July 8, 2005 07:33 (UTC)

Some facts:

"Right":

• Ann Coulter: 1 non-English Wiki
• Bill O'Reilly (commentator): 0 non-English Wiki
• Lawrence Kudlow: 0 non-English Wiki

"Left":

• Al Franken: 1 non-English Wiki
• Paul Krugman: 4 non-English Wikies

OK, I have only done 5 pundits so possibly I am wrong. But, as you can see, many right-wing pundits are simply worthless outside the U.S. If people outside the U.S. don't care about them, do you really think they deserve a carefully-written and well-researched article? If only their supporters could write. -- Toytoy July 8, 2005 08:17 (UTC)

Just a small correction: O'Reiley has two articles in other languages. Jeltz talk 8 July 2005 15:04

(UTC)

I completely disagree. First of all Al Franken only has 1 non-english wiki. Bill is in 2 and it should noted that he airs in UK, Canada, etc so he is harly useless. He can't air in France because they have been banned there. Fox News is on television is something like 45 countries so surely there are contributers outside the U.S. By your logic supporters of Maltese artists shouldn't be on wikipedia either since they are only known in Malta and maybe Italy. Falphin 8 July 2005 17:12 (UTC)

It has been proposed that this section be renamed to "Is the USA's Political Slant Right?". Upon reaching a clear consensus, please rename the section and remove the notice, or request further assistance (if necessary).

really. If you think the GFDL is communism, I suppose WP is far left from where you stand. If you want to count articles, WP is Slanted Pokemon :P dab (ᛏ) 8 July 2005 17:29 (UTC)

I think Dab means "Is Wikipedia's Political Slant Right?" above. -- Sundar ^{\talk \contribs} 11:18, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

OK, I followed your request to "go look at the pages" you mentioned. I agree with the comment that Coulter and Franken aren't directly comparable, because Coulter's style is much more antagonistic, so she's much more likely to be dishing out and receiving sharp words. I suggest you go look at four pages: The tone of Ann Coulter is fairly similar to that of Michael Moore; the tone of Al Franken is fairly similar to that of William F. Buckley, Jr. If I wanted to prove Wikipedia's right-wing bias, I would note how respectfully Buckley is treated, compared with the extensive elaboration of criticisms of Moore. If you compare apples with apples, though, it's harder to find a bias in either direction. JamesMLane 01:35, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

General Black Jack Pershing, Vs, Quealling of the Muslims in Philippines 1909 - 1910

Can you give any account on the actions of General Black Jack Pershing ? 1909 as miltery Governor of the Moro province and the insurection of the Muslim Terrorist, How did it end ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alertjoe.@midtel.net (talk • contribs) 2005-07-07 13:12:08 CDT (UTC)

I assume you've looked at John J. Pershing. It doesn't seem to answer your question. You might try asking on that article's talk page. Bovlb 2005-07-07 18:26:01 (UTC)

Hertfordshire geography

I recently read on a website that there is either a town or village in Hertfordshire that is called "Owles". I cannot find any other information on it. Does anyone know anythng about it?

Elizabeth

Searching Multimap's gazetteer doesn't find anywhere - there's an Owlswick in nearby Buckinghamshire, but it looks like a minuscule hamlet. Warofdreams 7 July 2005 21:08 (UTC)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=owles%20hertfordshire%20england ¦ Reisio 2005 July 7 21:51 (UTC)

Search http:www.getamap.co.uk reveals nothing for "Owles"; but "Owls", "Owl" reveals:

• Owlsmoor, Bracknell Forest
• Owlet, Bradford
• Owlswick, Buckinghamshire
• Owl End Cambridgeshire
• Owlcotes Derbyshire
• Owler Bar, Derbyshire
• Owlpen, Gloucestershire
• Owlerton, Sheffield
• Owlthorpe, Sheffield

and of course for "oul":

• Oulton, Cumbria Cumbria
• Oulton, West Yorkshire, Leeds
• Oulton, Norfolk, Norfolk
• Oulton Street Norfolk
• Oulston, North Yorkshire
• Oulton, Staffordshire, Staffordshire
• Oulton Grange, Staffordshire
• Oulton Heath Staffordshire
• Oultoncross Staffordshire
• Oulton, Suffolk Suffolk
• Oulton Broad, Suffolk

But none of these is in Herts. Dunc|☺ 8 July 2005 11:45 (UTC)

There is an Owles Hall just outside Buntingford in Hertfordshire, off A10, about half way between Hertford and Royston. (source: AA Hertfordshire Street by Street). Gandalf61 July 8, 2005 12:30 (UTC)

Plame case

Being on the wrong side of the Atlantic, I haven't kept up-to-date enough on the case details. But why isn't Robert Novak facing jail time instead of Judith Miller? Has he ever said where the leak came from? Wasn't he the guy who broke the story in the first place?

• We don't know what he might or might not have said, and he isn't telling. Grand jury proceedings are secret. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 8 July 2005 01:59 (UTC)
  • Here is a good article outlining some of the speculation on why Novak hasn't been charged. - SimonP July 8, 2005 16:57 (UTC)

Etymology of "ten hut"!

What is the etymology of the military phrase, "ten hut"? We assume that it means "attention", but how did the actual spelling evolve?

According to various Merriam-Webster dictionaries, "hut" may be derived from the interjection "hep". The interjection "hut" is used, amomg other things, to mark cadences when marching. It is also used by quarterbacks of American football to mark a cadence before the center snaps the football on a play. 2004-12-29T22:45Z July 7, 2005 23:47 (UTC)

It may be a corruption of "Attention!" (Attention...Ah-ten...tion...Ah-ten...shun...Ah-ten...hun...Ah-ten...huh...Ah-ten....hut!...ten-hut!) or possibly a combination of "Attention!" with "hup", "hep" or "hut" which I imagine could easily have bean completely made up for: "hup, two, three, four". ¦ Reisio 2005 July 7 23:57 (UTC)

Which, in turn, probably came from a slurred "up". Or something. Ah the joys of our screwed-up language... :) Master Thief Garrett^Talk 8 July 2005 04:59 (UTC)

Format of "local part" of e-mail addresses

Is there any kind of standard (e.g. an RFC) on the Interent that says how to create a "local part" (=identifier or username) of an e-mail address? For example, if a person is called "John Smith", then what should be the part of the e-mail address before the at sign (@)? Should it be "jsmith" or "smithj" or "johnsmith" or "smithjohn" or "jsm", or anything else? Is there a standard, or does it just depend on the taste of the "webmasters" of Internet domains? 2004-12-29T22:45Z July 7, 2005 23:38 (UTC)

You can use whatever you want if you have the appropriate access. ¦ Reisio 2005 July 7 23:46 (UTC)

It depends on the taste of the postmasters of the internet domains, and see RFC 2822 for the valid syntax. --cesarb 8 July 2005 01:03 (UTC)

Quite right, but a nonspecialist may find that RFC opaque on a quick perusal. As a quick answer to the question of whether John Smith's mailbox name should be jsmith or smithj or heeersjohnny, there is absolutely no Internet standard regarding this. In early days mailbox names were the person's username in a computer's operating system and were thus under OS restrictions; many people would have been limited to 8 alphanumeric characters, for example. Within that, naming styles would have been up to corporate policy or the whims of the sysadmin; and as it happened, many companies' first Internet connections were in research departments furthest from the reach of the corporate policy makers, so there was a lot of whimsy on the early Internet. Current e-mail systems allow for much greater flexibility and allow for more meaningful (if dreary) options like John.Smith or John_Smith. I have worked in places where your e-mail name was generated based on your personnel records, and John's mailbox name would be Homer_J_Smith whether he liked it or not. Call it the revenge of the corporate policy makers. Sharkford July 8, 2005 17:18 (UTC)

I guess the most important thing is to think of a logical system that has enough addresses to go round, and then stick to it. That lets people guess email addresses if they cnat for whatever reason look them up. Dunc|☺ 8 July 2005 18:14 (UTC)

The local part of an email address can have letters, numbers, underscores, hyphens, dots, plus signs ... but can't have comma, bang, colon, at, quote, angle brackets, or other characters that have special meaning to the mail system. Some common ways people generate email addresses from their names include:

• First initial, last name: jsmith
• First name, dot, last name: John.Smith
• First name, last name: johnsmith
• Initials: jps (for John Paul Smith, say)
• Initials followed by year of account creation (or hiring, matriculation, etc. as apporopriate): jps05

The initials form is common among folks who are, or want to make reference to, old-school hackers (in the sense of "computer wizards", not "criminals"). Many famous hackers -- GLS, RMS, ESR, JWZ -- are known by their initials, a form which originated as a username convention.

Historically, many email systems were based on older Unix versions which required usernames to be no longer than eight characters. Very few modern systems have this limitation (including modern Unix systems) -- and many Unix mail servers today don't use Unix accounts for mail accounts but rather use an LDAP directory or other system which doesn't have username limitations.

Many sites support multiple naming conventions, using a short username (such as jsmith) for the user's actual login name, but longer forms (such as John.Smith) as email aliases.

Many mail servers use the plus sign specially, to indicate "address extensions" to a given address. For instance, if your email address is jsmith@example.net, then the address jsmith+foobar@example.net would be an address extension. Mail to this address gets delivered to your same mailbox, but you can (with the right software) choose to have mail specially filtered based on the extension. People can use this as a sender password, or as a cheap 'n easy way of generating throwaway addresses. The ezmlm mailing list software lets users set up mailing lists on their address extensions ... but ew, that means running qmail. --FOo 8 July 2005 19:22 (UTC)

True Oxymoron?

Is "near miss" a true oxymoron or does it fall in the "contridiction of terms" catagory?--mmssvs

No, it's the way the English language works (and what a screwed-up language it is!). It doesn't actually contradict itself.

"This expression originated during World War II, when it signified a bomb exploding in the water near enough to a ship to damage its hull. Soon afterward it acquired its present meanings.". <-- see? It's a "miss" but it was still "near" enough to cause harm. :) Master Thief Garrett^Talk 8 July 2005 04:56 (UTC)

In fact I'd say "near miss" is quite an honest term; it's a miss but it's still near. Contrast that with other common terms like "virtual reality" (ie, not reality), "potential threat" (ie, no threat yet) or even "accused killer", in which the speaker wishes to exploit the emotional impact of the latter term but as a sop to accuracy qualifies it with a term that effectively negates it. I wouldn't call these oxymorons or self-contradictory; perhaps self-negating would be a better term. In this light "near miss" is modest and precise. Sharkford July 8, 2005 16:48 (UTC)

Kenneth Bianchi

Did Kenneth Bianchi, convicted California Hillside Strangler travel through Lexington, Kentucky in 1977 or 1978?

The Hillside Strangler article doesn't mention anything about Kentucky...and considering it explicitly says the area was the hillside in California above Los Angeles, I think it likely a trip to Kentucky would've be mentioned. ¦ Reisio 2005 July 8 03:10 (UTC)

looking for importers & distributor of bicycles in zambia

hi, we are a leading manufacturer of bicycles in India.Currently we are in the process of expanding our business and therefore looking for importers of the same in Zambia.Any information regarding the importers along with there email id,phone no. & fax no. will be very helpful.

Try a Sterling Export Corporation, a South African export company with intrests in Africa. Tel:(27-11)705-3225 Fax:(27-11)465-8774 Email: sterlingATacenetDOTcoDOTza --Jcw69 8 July 2005 12:26 (UTC)

Music Artist in movie

Need to know of an artist who sang a song in the movie ,"STRAIGHT FORM THE HEART " W/ TERRI pOLO & ANDRREW MACARTHY, i THINK THE TITLE WAS "NOBODY RIDES IN A COWGIRL RODEO UNLESS THEY GOT THEIR BLUE JEANS ON THANKS

• Kevin Banford [2] Bovlb 2005-07-09 13:16:28 (UTC)

Clarification

I was trying to discern the difference between the opening of the London Underground ("London Underground") in 1863, which SEEMS to be the date that steam trains first ran under the streets of London (rather than ELECTRIC).

Also, it SEEMS to me that the New York Subway is the LONGEST / LARGEST in the world, but your article states it is "among" the longest / largest, but does not specify -- it is larger / longer than London's, so which other one could possibly have that title?

Last, but not least, I tried to find out when the Tokyo subway first openeed, but the page on Tokyo's subway did not have the same kind of content that the "London" and "New York" pages had.

Please advise.

Thanks!

Sanja99@yahoo.com

1863 is the year in which the first underground railway opened in London, the Metropolitan Railway running between Paddington and Farringdon, and yes, trains were steam-operated at that time, which is why the the early lines (todays' Circle line and Hammersmith & City line) are shallow and were built under main roads by the cut-and-cover technique. The deep "Tube" lines were not built until electric traction was available, in the 1890s. The actual term "London Underground" dates from the creation of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. As to which metro network is the largest, the definition of how this is calculated can vary - either length of routes, length of track (not necessarily the same, if some stretches are multiple track and others are single track or loops), or number of stations - so it's prudent just to describe them as "among" the largest, or "one of" the largest. The relative lack of information on the Tokyo Subway is presumably because English-speaking Wikipedians are less familiar with the system - please feel free to expand the article if you are able. -- Arwel 8 July 2005 14:46 (UTC)

model number of patek philippe watch

how and where we can find the model number on available antique wrist watch

[merged 4 headers from an anon into one question as it's the same sort of question Boneyard 8 July 2005 08:26 (UTC)]

Have you considered asking a professional jeweller for advice? --Robert Merkel 9 July 2005 04:41 (UTC)

tablets started for menstruation??

hi there.. my cuzin aged 17 had a major operation of Thelisima in 1999.. well like other girls..her hormonal changes are bit late..so recently dr prescribed her tablets named.. PROGYNOVA.. i wanted to know if its correct one and also how does it help to start menses... i m wiating for guidance..thanks in advance for ur cooperation.. byee

I assume this is a brand of medroxyprogesterone and was given for 5 days. In the US this is known as a "Provera challenge" and is used to try to trigger a single menstrual period. If it does, it confirms that estrogen levels are adequate and there is no outflow obstruction and there is a normal endometrium. If a period doesn't happen, then there is a problem with one of those three things. The 5 days of pills are a diagnostic test, not a treatment. alteripse 8 July 2005 14:39 (UTC)

You might want to take a look at the article on delayed puberty, which states that normal treatment is estradiol and progesterone. This page says Progynova is estradiol. --Laura Scudder | Talk 8 July 2005 14:44 (UTC)

I tried to answer this more fully earlier today, but apparently the save didn't work. Thanks for looking up the drug. I assumed it was progesterone for diagnostic purposes because thalassemia much more often causes delayed puberty or anovulation than primary ovarian failure and 5 days of progesterone is often used as a diagnostic test in secondary amenorrhea. Estrogen without progesterone (like this) is rarely used in chronic anovulation or secondary ovarian failure because it produces endometrial hyperplasia and irregular and unpredictable bleeding, but is typically used for a few months to induce puberty when it is just delayed, or (more often) used for a couple of years to induce pubertal development when the ovaries are completed nonfunctional (e.g., Turner's syndrome. The brief clinical information leaves me curious about the exact circumstances. alteripse 8 July 2005 22:01 (UTC)

cattle egret

i read the very rounded beatiful article about that bird. my question is: a large flock of that species has placed itself in a city dense neighbourhood on top of high trees, causing commotion, dirt and unbeareable causing health-hazard to asthmatic people. how can we transfer the flock in a humane way to a rural area with lots of cattle and sheep??? please help. Arik. my email:arrina-s@zahav.net.il.

I have moved your question to Wikipedia:Reference desk. Please check there, although this is a rather unusual question. Best, Meelar (talk) July 8, 2005 13:58 (UTC)

In some places it is possible to hire someone who has a raptor (generally on a leash). A couple of scary visits from Mr Hawk and the birds depart. Your local airport may employ such a person. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 21:56 (UTC)

uniform civil code

• Did you try Uniform civil code? What was the question? Bovlb 2005-07-09 13:18:56 (UTC)

why such cowards

why are you such a closed minded lot, when my sister put an article on your site it was rejected by closed minds, not a problem with this but now one of your people are sending her hate email ,and stalking her to the point I will go to the police or come and visit you myself ,what cowards you people are ,should it continue ,be aware I fight back ,if you should wish to contact me you may at greenjacket10@hotmail.com .Put a stop to it now or else,I will not give you any further warnings ,enough said ....My sister is Tracy Renee ..

Hate email? Not only are no examples cited, I do not think sending email requesting someone to be reasonable is "hate mail". Hate mail is not "stalking", furthermore, which any person has the right to send as a form of freedom of expression, especially if it was declared in the user account. If someone came to her house, that can be considered stalking, until then I don't see private life being violated. As for "close minded lot", have fun branding 300,000 users into one lot! Cowards? Ironic. Come and get me, ye hordes of censors, let's do battle at Tiananmen! Let us be martyrs for the freedom of information! Legal and other threats do not intimidate me. Let's see you come. -- Natalinasmpf 8 July 2005 16:33 (UTC)

Do you realize that we have no idea what you're talking about or even who you're talking about? What article was removed? Dismas 8 July 2005 19:58 (UTC)

I think she refers to the deletion of the 911 Horoscope article. See Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/911 horoscope. -- Natalinasmpf 8 July 2005 20:01 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:No Original Research and Wikipedia:Neutral Point of View.--Tothebarricades July 9, 2005 03:43 (UTC)

US State widths, lengths, and mean elevations

I'm attempting to chase down the source for the figures in the Wikipedia U.S. state articles for width, length, and mean elevation. Does anyone watching this page know where they came from or know of an authoritative source? I've looked at www.usgs.gov and haven't been able to find these numbers. The figures were originally added in all the articles I've looked at by user:sfmontyo who has not been active here since July 2004. Thanks. -- Rick Block (talk) July 8, 2005 18:28 (UTC)

There's a USGS bulletin that I recall has this information in it. I believe it is this one: Boundaries of the United States and the several States : with miscellaneous geographic information concerning areas, altitudes, and geographic centers by Franklin K. Van Zandt. Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1976. I see a similar work in the LC catalog too: State and national boundaries of the United States by Gary Alden Smith. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co, c2004. PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:45 (UTC)

Detainee vs. Prisoner

The prisoners in Iraq and Gitmo are usually referred to by the Bush administration and the press as "detainees". Is there some legal difference between a "prisoner" and a "detainee", i.e. is it a legal term of art or is it another example of Newspeak? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

It's probably because the term prisoner is too close to prisoner of war (for which there is a definition in the Third Geneva Convention) which the Bush administration has specifically stated does not apply to the detainees. --CVaneg 8 July 2005 22:47 (UTC)

That's probably true, and a few other potential (that is, speculative) reasons:

• They probably don't consider Gitmo a "prison"
• They don't want to make it (falsely) appear that there has been any sort of "due process" observed
• They don't want to imply that the people there are necessarily serving any sort of fixed sentence, but are "just" being indefinitely "detained"

--Fastfission 8 July 2005 23:19 (UTC)

• My personal view is that "detainee" is a less emotive term than "prisoner", i.e. prisoner sounds worse. The Bush administration obviously doesn't like people thinking badly of it. How anyone could ever do that is a mystery to me...Rob Church 19:47, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

• Merriam-Webster Online says that a detainee is "a person held in custody especially for political reasons" and a prisoner is "a person deprived of liberty and kept under involuntary restraint, confinement, or custody; especially : one on trial or in prison." Going by these definitions, a detainee is simply held in custody. A prisoner, on the other hand, is held involuntarily and deprived of liberty while in a prison (which, as Fastfission notes, is not a glamorous name for Gitmo) or while on trial (which isn't the case). --Think Fast 15:21, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

North Carolina courts

In some states criminal proceedings are The State v. John Doe. In others it is The People v. John Doe. How are cases in North Carolina styled? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

In North Carolina, criminal cases are styled "State v. Person". Other states (including New York) use "People v. Person," and Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, & Kentucky use "Commonwealth v. Person" (because they are technically Commonwealths, not states.) -- Essjay · Talk July 9, 2005 08:58 (UTC)

They are not true commonwealths. They're just states. Nelson Ricardo 00:24, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

California uses "People v. Person." When cases go up on direct appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court from any state supreme court, either State or People is replaced by the name of the state. --Coolcaesar 9 July 2005 17:12 (UTC)

Regina versus

In Britain, Canada, and some other countries, prosecuties are in the form of R. v. Doe, "R" standing for "Rex" or "Regina" depending on the sex of the sovereign. How does one read the title of such a case aloud? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

Having seen a plethora of dull US courtroom dramas, I'd say they'd read it out in full, like "case of William Bryant Snr. against the United States of America" or some such thing. I am not a lawyer of course, but that's what I assume. :) Master Thief Garrett^Talk 8 July 2005 22:47 (UTC)

I think they say "The Crown" instead of "R" when speaking (but maybe that is a different kind of case). Adam Bishop 8 July 2005 22:58 (UTC)

No, the abbreviation is not expanded (in England, at least): R. v. Bush is read ar vee Bush. However some Privy Council cases are styled as Bush v. The Crown (these are appeals, so the participants are reversed). Physchim62 17:15, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

TV characters in wheelchairs

Besides Raymond Burr on Ironsides, Jason Ritter on Joan of Arcadia, and Sarah Rue on Zoe, can anyone name a regular character on a television series confined to a wheelchair? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

Professor X in the various X-Men TV series. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 20:07 (UTC)

Steven Kenarban on Malcolm in the Middle. --Laura Scudder | Talk 8 July 2005 20:11 (UTC)

If you count "recurring" as "regular", Davros (from Dr Who) uses a motorised chair (although it may or may not have wheels, it clearly serves the same function). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 20:14 (UTC)

Andy Pipkin in Little Britain (although technically he's faking it, and so isn't "confined" per se). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 20:16 (UTC)

Timmy in South Park. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 20:44 (UTC)

Brian Potter in Phoenix Nights -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 20:44 (UTC)

Penny Pocket in Balamory. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 20:48 (UTC)

There was also that guy, what was his name, Ironside? Y'know, that ancient detective dude? :) Ah, yes, Ironside (TV series), played by Raymond Burr no less. Master Thief Garrett^Talk 8 July 2005 22:44 (UTC)

What, as in apart from Raymond Burr...? :)\

Perhaps he's beside himself. I might be, too, if I were so ignored.

I said I could write, I never said I could read! :) Yeah, I somehow missed that bit. Garrett^Talk 13:08, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Norton Drake in the War of the Worlds TV series. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 23:20 (UTC)

"Lifeguard" (Daniel Benjamin Burroughs) (1987-1990; played by Jim Byrnes) in the Wiseguy. -- Toytoy July 8, 2005 23:47 (UTC)

"Eli" (played by Daryl Mitchell) on Ed. -- Rick Block (talk) July 9, 2005 00:04 (UTC)

Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) from The West Wing was in one for a while after a terrorist attack, as was President Bartlet in some episodes due to his MS, I think. -- Essjay · Talk July 9, 2005 00:19 (UTC)

Joe Swanson from Family Guy -- Essjay · Talk July 9, 2005 00:19 (UTC)

Spike was in one for a while on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Longer than he needed to be, actually. Of course. --Mothperson 9 July 2005 00:39 (UTC)

Cleo Bellows in MythQuest played by Meredith Henderson. - Mgm|^(talk) July 9, 2005 07:47 (UTC)

Logan Kale in Dark Angel, played by Michael Weatherly. Gdr 16:23, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Sandy in Crossroads and, I believe, Chris Tate in Emmerdale. Steve block 17:12, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Supreme Court resignations

If the President or Vice President of the U.S. resigns, he sends a letter to the Secretary of State as required by Title 3 of the U.S. Code. I know it is customary that Supreme Court justices write the President when they choose to leave the court, but what, if anything, does the law say about how justices resign? How do judges of the lower courts resign? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

Really? I thought there was no formal law or policy about where anyone should write to resign, even the president. I heard once that Nixon thought it best to resign to the Attorney General, though I might be wrong. Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 8 July 2005 20:20 (UTC)

Title 3, Section 20 of the U.S. Code reads: "The only evidence of a refusal to accept, or of a resignation of the office of President or Vice President, shall be an instrument in writing, declaring the same, and subscribed by the person refusing to accept or resigning, as the case may be, and delivered into the office of the Secretary of State." [3]. When Nixon resigned, his letter was addressed to Henry Kissinger and presented while Nixon was 30,000 feet over Illinois on his way back to San Clemente. Read his letter here. PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 20:23 (UTC)

Thanks for the information! I never knew that. As for justices resigning, you can find a copy of Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation here [4]. I'm afraid I can't help you any more, but I'll see what I can Google up. Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 9 July 2005 01:52 (UTC)

All I can find is that most, if not all, U.S. Supreme Court resignations have been directed to the president. See this quote from U.S. Supreme Court: "Chief Justice Earl Warren, who announced his retirement "at the [president's] pleasure" in a letter to President Johnson". Otherwise, I can't find any law saying who they should resign to (aside: I almost ended this sentence with a preposition!). Hope this helps! Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 9 July 2005 02:02 (UTC)

Font in movie posters

What is the name of the font used in movie posters and advertisements to list the credits? It is a thin, narrow, sans serif font. PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

SF Movie Poster looks like your best bet. I'm sure there's an official for-money font that's used, but these are probably virtually identical.

You could also try this one, but be aware that if the fonts say "Generated by (program name)" they are almost always illegal rips of for-money fonts' data, so watch out if you plan to use these in situations where illegality is a no-no. I'm only talking about this second option, mind, the SF (ShyFonts) ones are definitely legit. Master Thief Garrett^Talk 8 July 2005 22:42 (UTC)

More generally, I would recommend Identifont. OpenToppedBus - My Talk 11:44, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Youngest peer, dame, knight

I was reading today about Ellen MacArthur, who earlier this year was created a dame, the youngest ever. Who was the youngest dame before her? The youngest knight? The youngest non-royal peer? The youngest life peer? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

The youngest dame is difficult to identify since traditionally it has been rude to ask a woman's age, but MacArthur is a candidate BBC. My guess is the youngest life peer inherited it from his father aged very young, but could be difficult to identify and you'd probably need to accurately define life peer. James VI of Scotland became King of Scotland when he was one year old immediately springs to mind. Knights could be more difficult since they go back quite a way and there are more knights than lords. Someone could probably inherit a Baronetcy quite young. Dunc|☺ 9 July 2005 07:57 (UTC)

? Life peers don't inherit - they've got to have actually done something to get awarded a peerage. As for hereditary peers, I imagine that it's possible to inherit at birth if their father died in the previous 9 months (didn't that happen to some French king?). Inheritance is a funny thing - I think it was the Chairman of the LMS Railway, Sir Josiah Stamp who was killed in a WW2 air raid with his heir - the courts ruled that the father had died a fraction of a second before the son, which conveniently rendered the family liable to two sets of death duties! -- Arwel 9 July 2005 17:32 (UTC)

The latter is the standard rule in English courts: if two people die at the same time, or if it can't be determined who died first, then the elder is presumed to have died first for all legal purposes. This allows wills to be executed, inheritance to be received and so on. Gdr 16:16, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

43 Million uninsured

The statistic that there are approximately forty-three million Americans without health insurance is frequently cited, but what is the original source of this number? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

The government, most likely. After all, they offer you the healthcare, so they'd keep stats on their "customers". And then compare that to their population censuses and you'd find the uninsured percentage. Master Thief Garrett^Talk 8 July 2005 22:35 (UTC)

In the US health insurance is a particularly sticky issue and for the most part it is provided by private entities. Although there are programs like Medicaid and Medicare, they by no means cover everyone. On the other point, though, you are basically correct. The US Census Bureau does track coverage data[5] and you'll see in the second bullet point the number is now ~45 million --CVaneg 9 July 2005 00:17 (UTC)

Heads of states and passports

In Standing Beside History, Ronald Reagan's chief Secret Service agent states all the agents travel on diplomatic passports and that the president has one as well. I thought heads of state did not carry passports, e.g. I recall reading Queen Elizabeth II does not have one, presumably as, traditionally, foreign sovereigns were immune to arrest. PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 19:59 (UTC)

According to Slate "The president of the United States, his immediate family, certain top officials, and diplomatic personnel are issued diplomatic passports" [6] and according to the official website of the British royal family, "As a British passport is issued in the name of Her Majesty, it is unnecessary for The Queen to possess one." [7] however all other members of the royal family must carry one. --CVaneg 8 July 2005 22:29 (UTC)

Also note that diplomatic immunity applies to many people (Not just foreign sovereigns), but that does not excuse them from owning a passport. Presumably it makes it easier to verify that the person standing in front of you is in fact the President of the United States rather than just some random hick from Texas. --CVaneg 8 July 2005 22:35 (UTC)

Note that many countries (the UK included) do not issue diplomatic passports—there is no need to have one to benefit from diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention. Diplomatic immunity is separate from the immunity of heads of state. Physchim62 17:21, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Race and employment

Every job I have applied for has a section on the application saying something to the effect of "We don't discriminate on the basis of race, but please list your race on this form just so we'll know anyway." How is it lawful to ask about applicants' race? Is it lawful to discriminate against those who decline to answer such questions? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 20:18 (UTC)

In reply to the query below, this question applies to the United States. PedanticallySpeaking 15:07, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

I believe that it is illegal to discriminate or hold it against anyone who refuses to answer those questions. Most applications I have seen have the section marked "optional" or something similar to that. Most companies only collect the race, gender, and other information to form a picture of the company- i.e. know the demographics, etc. Hope this helps. Flcelloguy | A note? | Desk 8 July 2005 20:22 (UTC)

In particular, I think they collect these statistics in an effort to show they aren't discriminating. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 21:29 (UTC)

I think it's insurance against discrimination lawsuits (or EEOC audits), so that they can present their statistics as a defense and show that so much of their workforce happens to be of the same race and gender as the plaintiff. Therefore, the plaintiff is wrong when he or she asserts that the defendant has a pattern and policy of discrimination. Unfortunately, I don't know too much about employment law, so I'm not totally certain about this.

Which country are you talking about? Practices differ enormously! Physchim62 17:22, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Public authorities in the United Kingdom are legally required to monitor the racial makeup of their workforces. The following section concerning private sector employers is taken from the site of the UK Commission for Racial Equality:

"Although it is not obligatory under the Race Relations Act for private sector organisations to keep ethnic records, without them it would be difficult to establish the nature or extent of any inequality, the areas where action is most needed, and whether measures aimed at reducing inequality are succeeding. Without ethnic records it is virtually impossible to know whether or not people are being racially discriminated against.

The most reliable and efficient way of monitoring the effectiveness of a basic equal opportunities policy is to carry out regular analyses of the workforce and job applicants, by ethnic origin."

Physchim62 11:20, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Gunshot wounds

The hero of the novel I am working on suffers a gunshot wound in the leg, something akin to what befell Martin Crane on Frasier. Could anyone refer me to books or web-sites that discuss, in detail, the process of treating gunshot wounds and the therapy that would be necessary afterward? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 20:20 (UTC)

This is a fun read. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 21:30 (UTC)

Senators as children

Joseph and Rose Kennedy were the parents of three United States Senators, John F. Kennedy, Edward Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. Has any other family produced three or more senatorial siblings? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 20:25 (UTC)

In general, see the most excellent List of U.S. political families. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk July 8, 2005 21:22 (UTC)

South Korea's President

President Roh Moo-hyun's name is usually spelled "Roh" in the press, e.g. The New York Times. But apparently it is pronounced something like "Noh". Why is it transliterated with an "r" if it is said with a "n" sound? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 20:29 (UTC)

In English, r is a voiced retroflex flap made with the tip of the tongue, n is a voiced alveolar nasal, also made with the tip of the tongue. In other words, the only difference between the two sounds is whether the tongue fully touches the roof of the mouth or not. Most confusions on transliteration occurs because a language has more phonemes than English, and we must simply approximate our closest sound. Since r and n are so close I would then guess that the sound in Korean is somewhere between our two sounds and so it sounds rather like n despite being transliterated as an r. But I'm not a linguist or speaker of Korean. --Laura Scudder | Talk 8 July 2005 20:45 (UTC)

The spelling Roh Moo-hyun is Yale Romanization. In South Korea, where Revised Romanization of Korean is now official, his name is No Mu-hyeon. There is a difference in the pronunciation of the name between North and South Korea — the r sound is heard in the northern dalect. --Gareth Hughes 8 July 2005 21:44 (UTC)

Allison Janney's childhood

In The West Wing episode "Behind the Podium", where press secretary C.J. allows a PBS documentary crew to follow her for a day, the narrator tells us C.J. grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and then shows some home movies of her as a child. Some of them are at an amusement park. Since Janney really is from Dayton, is this footage from Kings Island, about thirty miles to the south of Dayton? PedanticallySpeaking June 29, 2005 14:16 (UTC) (This question was erroneously transferred to the "answered questions" archive, so I'm reposting it. PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 20:40 (UTC))

Ah, BUT did they actually dig up real footage of her or just make their own to fill a gap? I mean, the West Wing is fictional, so I'm sure they could embellish details to some extent. In which case it could be filmed in Jerusalem for all it would matter. Of course having not seen the episode I can't say if this footage looked fake or not, but that would be something to look into. Maybe ask around on a fansite forum, or heck, you might even find an episode summary that's already sorted out its origins and locations and whatnot. Master Thief Garrett^Talk 8 July 2005 22:54 (UTC)

It looked like Janney in the film, which had the appearance of vintage home movies. Yes, yes, that can be faked, but for a television series it would be costly to film all this with roller coasters and actors for a wholly unnecessary sequence that lasts a few seconds. That's why it leads me to believe it's the genuine article. PedanticallySpeaking 15:10, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Eyepatches

Besides Nelson, what other famous people wore eyepatches? PedanticallySpeaking July 8, 2005 20:42 (UTC)

1. Moshe Dayan --Gareth Hughes 8 July 2005 21:24 (UTC) and those listed at eyepatch --Gareth Hughes 8 July 2005 21:28 (UTC)
2. Not purely for comic value, take a look at pirate, to see some mention of the eyepatch being adopted as a style statement. --Gareth Hughes 9 July 2005 15:20 (UTC)
3. Gabrielle the singer does. --Sophiebristow 21:56, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

According to Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, "there is no evidence that Nelson ever wore an eye patch, though he was known to wear an eyeshade to protect his remaining eye". rossb 10:28, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Ah. I knew he had only one eye and presumed he wore an eyepatch. Thanks for the info. PedanticallySpeaking 15:11, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Titles of R. C. Sherriff's 1st and 5th plays?

R. C. Sherriff's 1st was written in 1921, and I think the 5th in 1925. — Jeandré, 2005-07-08t10:54z

Naval crisis, reciprocity, French-English tension in Canada

1. What is the Naval Crisis, and what happened in it?
2. What is Reciprocity?
3. What are some examples of French-English tension in Canada, and what are the dates they happened on?

You can read a bit about the Naval Crisis at Military history of Canada#The creation of a Canadian_navy, though Wikipedia really should have more on this issue. In the context of Canadian history Reciprocity refers to the Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty of 1855. French-Canadian and History of Quebec have some content on French-English tension. Some specific examples include the Lower Canada Rebellion, the Manitoba Schools Question, the Conscription Crisis of 1917, and the long history of Quebec separatism. - SimonP July 9, 2005 15:18 (UTC)

Online gambling

How do online gambling websites -- such as those that allow you to play poker against real people for real money -- prevent people from using card counting software? It seems like it would be a really easy thing to do, and in the long run affect the odds considerably unless they were using a system wholly unlike actual deck behavior. But I might be overlooking something. --Fastfission 9 July 2005 02:25 (UTC)

According to an answer at the FAQ linked from Online poker, they "use random number generators to ensure the cards dealt never fall into any predictable pattern.", as if the decks are shuffled every time — so counting doesn't help. — Jeandré, 2005-07-09t19:40z

Shuffled every time would seem to change the game quite a bit from real poker, wouldn't it? --Fastfission 02:45, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

We're talking poker, where the cards are shuffled after every hand. You may be thinking of blackjack, where multiple decks are used but shuffling only occurs when the card stack gets low, thus making card counting a potentially useful strategy. --Robert Merkel 09:27, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

I don't think this is what you're asking, but I'm adding anyway. There is software out there such as [Winholdem] and another I can't remember the name of that are bots that will play for you. They are not very effective, unless you're playing heads-up. The scarier part though is that multiple bots can be sitting at the same table, and telling each other which cards they are getting. The poker sites usually combat this by statistical analysis of your play, and by detecting if you're running such software. -- BMIComp (talk) 10:49, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Death by fright

Is it medically possible to die from being in a state of terror? I know that Hans Selye's work suggests that one can die from prolonged stress, which seems related.

My question arose after reading the following paragraph in the Arnold Schoenberg article:

Schoenberg suffered from triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number thirteen); it is said that the reason his late opera is called Moses and Aron, rather than Moses and Aaron (the correct spelling with two As) is because the latter spelling has thirteen letters in it. He was born (and, it turned out, died) on the thirteenth of the month, and thought of this as a portent. He once refused to rent a house because it had the number 13, and feared turning 76, because its digits add up to thirteen. In an interesting story, it is believed that he feared Friday, July 13, 1951, as it was the first Friday the 13th of his 76th year. He reportedly stayed in bed that day preparing for what he thought as his death day. After begging her husband to wake up and "quit his nonsense," his skeptical wife was shocked to find that her husband in fact had died that day he had long feared, as he uttered the word "harmony" and died. His time of death was 11:47 p.m., 13 minutes until midnight.

Assuming the above information is accurate: I find it hard to believe that this is coincidental and imagined that his immense terror on that date led to his death. So, any studies of this phenomonon, or more specific details on the death of Schoenberg would be helpful. Thanks. --Tothebarricades July 9, 2005 03:49 (UTC)

Schoenberg's triskaidekaphobia is quite famous (he invented twelve tone music!) and yes, he did die on friday the thirteenth, but he had been in extremely poor health for years [8], having suffered a nearly fatal heart attack in 1946 (the inspiration for his marvelous string trio). So perhaps his death resulted from a combination of 13-related stress and other, more conventional causes. David Sneek 9 July 2005 09:58 (UTC)

Psychological stress raises the demands on the heart, so it may well play a part in a fatal heart attack or similar fatal event. However, stress (or fear) is very hard to measure in figures so you are unlikely to find more than anecdotal evidence such as the Schoenberg example. In a few words, don´t give your old grandfather a fright but, if you do and he dies, then he probably died from something else as well. Physchim62 19:07, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Dotted borders

I am an amateur cartographer. I would like to know how to convert a straight line (thick) border to a dotted (or dashed) one using Photoshop/GIMP. Thanks. User:Nichalp/sg July 9, 2005 05:38 (UTC)

GIMP: If it's rasterized, you'll basically be starting from scratch, but if you have a path (or want to remake it from scratch with a path):

• Make the path
• Click the Stroke path button on what is usually the left-side ("The GIMP") panel
• Set Line Width: (about 2.0 px seems good)
• Expand Line Style
• Select Dash Preset: Dense dots
• Stroke (button)

However...if you're doing maps, I strongly urge you to stick to vectors - you might look into Inkscape. I don't have it at the moment, but I assume making a dotted line is possible and similarly easy—will try and come back with instructions for it later. ¦ Reisio 2005 July 9 13:54 (UTC)

Yeah, it's much the same in Inkscape:

• Make the path
• Select it
• Bring up the "fill and stroke" dialog
• Select the "stroke style" tab
• In "dashes" pick the desired style

--Finlay McWalter | Talk July 9, 2005 17:55 (UTC)

Thanks for the response, this is the first time I'll be using paths, so I'll brief you if anything goes wrong. User:Nichalp/sg July 9, 2005 18:13 (UTC)

For the Fill and Stroke dialog, btw, just right-click on the selected path, or hit SHIFT+CTRL+F ¦ Reisio 12:50, 2005 July 10 (UTC)

What is the population of the United States?

• According to United States, it's 296,500,000. Bovlb 2005-07-09 13:31:37 (UTC)

• 295,734,134 according to The CIA World Factbook. --Think Fast 15:41, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

The US Census Bureau has a population "clock" on their front page. -- Cyrius|✎ 18:20, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I AM A Relative of WILLIE AUCHTERLOANIE

My grandmother Katherine Gourley Tant was WILLIE AUCHTERLOANIE's cousin and has passed away some years now but I remember my late father telling me that Willie Auchterloaney was my grandmothers cousin and I would be grateful if you could send me a picture and any information on him as I would be overwhelmed to recieve any pictures or information in conection with him winning the first open SCOTTISH GOLF championship or any pictures of him at Saint Andrews House where I believe he was an honerably member for a quarter of a century.

Thankyou Yours sincerly Miss Susan Ann Tant you may E-Mail me at the forwarding address.

s.tant@btinternet.com or if preffered (personal contact info removed)

From Google lots of issues | leave me a message 9 July 2005 14:41 (UTC)

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&safe=off&q=%22willie+auchterlonie%22&spell=1
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22willie%20auchterlonie%22&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&sa=N&tab=iw
Wikipedia also has a short Willie Auchterlonie article. ¦ Reisio 2005 July 9 14:45 (UTC)

Emailed. — Asbestos | Talk 23:44, 9 July 2005 (UTC)

Voltage limiting circuit

After frying an expensive electrical component, I'm a little bit on edge and would like to whip up quickly a circuit that will limit an input voltage to between 0 and 5 volts. Actually, it doesn't even need to be between 0 and 5. Between 0.5 and 4.5 would suffice too. Any suggestions? --HappyCamper 9 July 2005 14:27 (UTC)

• A 4.5-volt zener diode in parallel with a large capacitor (mF range) should do the trick quickly and cheaply. Otherwise, a stabilsed 5 volt power supply is not overly expensive (try looking in school supply catalogues, or ask at your local high school!). Physchim62 17:30, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Try something like this:

D1 is a 4.7 volt Zener diode (e.g. BZV85C), which will restrict your voltage to about (-0.7 V, +4.7 V).

D2 is a small Schottky diode (e.g. BAT43), which will narrow the range to about (-0.2 V, +4.7 V)

U1 is your expensive device.

R is to stop you frying the diodes. Its value depends on the current you want to put into U1. If U1 has a high-impedance input, then use about 1 kohm.

I tried to err on the side of simplicity. Most expensive devices can tolerate a small negative input, but if yours can't then you will need a more complex circuit. Good luck! --Heron 17:46, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Will the circuit still work if I bias each diode branch with a 0.2 V voltage source? --HappyCamper 20:17, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Yes. Just make sure that the 0.2 V source has a much lower impedance than R. --Heron 14:21, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

A quick-and-dirty solution is to run your circuit from a USB connector. They supply 5 V, and, as a bonus, limit the current (to 50 mA, if I remember correctly).--Joel 19:29, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

500 mA. --Heron 19:30, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

what does OPAC means?

Online Public Access Catalog -- Essjay · Talk July 9, 2005 15:35 (UTC)

Or do you mean OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries? Dismas 05:27, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

I thought about that when I saw the question, but OPAC is fairly prevalent around public & university libraries so I went with that. -- Essjay · Talk 05:35, July 10, 2005 (UTC)

iris weiss bennett

I am looking for information on either Iris Bennett, wife of Thomsas Izod Bennett, Godfather of Thomas Merton and/or her father, who is described as a great Protestant patriach who dominated French Calvinism from the Rue des Saints-Peres.

Photo: shopped?

I reckon this image (URL below), used by Channel 4 News in a gallery of images about the 7 July 2005 London bombings, is a poor image manipulation.

What do you folk think?

http://www.channel4.com/news/gallery/2005/london_blasts/index.html

(In case further photos are added later which changes the URL of this photo - what you should be seeing are raindrops reflecting the Union Jack). --bodnotbod 19:32, July 9, 2005 (UTC)

I wouldn't say the image has been manipulated, as such (reflections in dropplets really do look like that), but would imagine that the colors had been hightened to emphasize the red and blue much more than they would be naturally. This is difficult to say whether they've really been touched, because we can't see the surroundings to work out the lighting, but under natural lighting you'd probably need to color it in by hand to make the red and blue that saturated. Most likely, though, the picture was taken under lighting that already was pretty saturated, and a simple Adobe filter brought them out more strongly. — Asbestos | Talk 20:00, 9 July 2005 (UTC)

Patenting scientific revolutions

Say a scientist worked out the solution to a ground-breaking scientific phenomena, for instance, worked out how to reliably get cold fusion to work. Would he be able to patent his technique and stop other people from using it? If he didn't patent his technique, would someone else be able to come along and patent it? How about if the scientists were working for the US Government, say the department of energy. Would the US Government be able to patent the technique and stop other countries from using it?

-Madd4Max 20:55, 9 July 2005 (UTC)

Would he be able to patent his technique

Yes

and stop other people from using it?

No

If he didn't patent his technique, would someone else be able to come along and patent it?

Yes

Would the US Government be able to patent the technique

Yes

and stop other countries from using it?

No

Reisio 21:20, 2005 July 9 (UTC)

One book which might be interesting to you is Scientific Authorship, edited by Mario Biagioli and Peter Galison. It is all about science and intellectual property. It's a big field of research at the moment in the history and philosophy of science.

I think Reisio is correct except for two points:

1. As for "prevent people from using it" -- it depends. There was a case not too long ago where a scientist sued his former university (Duke, I believe) to prevent them from using a machine/technique he developed and patented, and though universities and scientists generally are supposed to use anything they want for "purely research" purposes, the court ruled that in this case the university's mission was research so it wasn't "pure" or something like that. At least, that's what I recall, I believe it is one of the horror stories from Innovation and its Discontents but I might be wrong.

2. If he didn't patent his technique, no one else could patent it if he published it first or documented it in some other way. Patents are granted for innovations and according to priority -- if he came up with it and had a record of that, that would serve as evidence that it was not "innovative" and thus in a perfect world the other patent would not be granted (even if the second fellow had never heard of the first). In the U.S., the system is "first to discover" not "first to file."

One last elaboration: Would the U.S. government be able to patent the technique? Depends on their funding arrangement (assuming they had funded it). Since the Bayh-Dole Act the government generally tries not to patent much, only to retain certain types of abilities to license the privately held patent (i.e., lets the contractor hold the title, so long as the government can use it freely in their own research labs, etc.). As for preventing other countries, it depends on interlocking trade agreements. Much ink has been spilled over whether countries in Africa, for example, should be allowed "marching rights" to infringe on U.S.-company held AIDS medication patents and whether that would violate various U.S. trade agreements and so forth. --Fastfission 02:42, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Fastfission is, of course, speaking of how it's supposed to be. My responses reflect how it is. ¦ Reisio 12:43, 2005 July 10 (UTC)

How to contact Hilary Swank

Our group is sponsoring a Women's History Month event in March 2006. We would like to show "Iron Jawed Angels" and would like to have Hilary Swank as our guest of honor. We need the name and phone number of her agent, or an address to write to Hilary Swank, or an e-mail address to contact her. Thank you.

According to an article in a Dallas magazine, Swank's publicist is Troy Nankin, "the Senior VP of publicity at Baker Winoker and Ryder in Beverly Hills". [9] The magazine misspelled the agency's name (correct is Winokur). Try to reach Mr. Nankin at: Baker Winokur Ryder Public Relations Inc., 9100 Wilshire Blvd., 6th Fl., Beverly Hills, CA 90212; telephone 310-550-7776. The firm appears to do public relations rather than agent-style representation, although an article in the New York Daily News, February 22, 2005, identifies Nankin as her agent. [10] Well, if he's not, I'm sure he can direct you to the right person. I believe Swank lives in NYC, so, as a fallback, you might also reach her through Baker Winokur's office in Manhattan: 212-581-8685. JamesMLane 02:37, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Who was beaten with a pudding stick? And why?

I know there is a nursery rhyme where someone gets beaten with a pudding stick. Otherwise I never would have heard of a pudding stick. But I have gone through my complete library of nursery rhymes (okay - it's two books, but one is a Helen Oxenbury and this is just her sort of cup of tea), and I cannot locate the rhyme. I need to know. And yes, there is such a thing as a pudding stick, or I wouldn't have ended up "quoting" a rhyme I can't remember! Gaahhhh. Help me. --Mothperson 23:11, 9 July 2005 (UTC)

A Google search reveals [11], with the lines "The spit that stood behind the door / Threw the pudding-stick on the floor." But no-one gets beaten, so I don't know if that's what you're looking for. It's the only one I found, though. — Asbestos | Talk 23:35, 9 July 2005 (UTC)

Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention that I tried to google, and the words "pudding" with "stick" and some form of the verb "to beat" are, like, a totally diabolical combination for this search. But thank you very much for looking. I need someone with an eidetic memory, I guess. And a taste for nursery rhymes. --Mothperson 23:52, 9 July 2005 (UTC)

Makes me think of Punch and Judy shows as a kid, if that's of any help at all... Physchim62 18:55, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

incorrect information

Inside the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:European_countries, I see the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which is not a legal state, under international Low, instead of Cyprus which is a European Union member states and a United Nations Member till 1960.

Well, then just correct it, for heaven's sake. 2004-12-29T22:45Z 01:09, July 10, 2005 (UTC)

Does Fox McCloud have any Siblings?

Does Fox McCloud in Star Fox have any siblings that people know about? Thanks!

What kind of dinosaur is Tricky?

What type of dinosaur doe Tricky resemble in Star Fox: Adventures? Thankyou!

Looks like some variety of triceratops to me. Maybe a young one, hence only one horn? Not sure. [12]. Maybe a Chasmosaurus or Protoceratops? --Fastfission 13:21, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Even without ever seeing Tricky, I would go for triceratops — Tri-ky → tri-cera.. --Gareth Hughes 15:52, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

How do I kill fruit flies?

How does one kill fruit flies? They are infesting my kichen? Help!

It explains how to kill them on the very same page you just referenced for your question. Dismas 04:29, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Uck! I had those nasty little buggers last summer, and they about drove me out of my mind. Let me add a few points that weren't mentioned in the article:

• Consider filling your sink with water (like you were going to do dishes) and spike it with Lysol/Mr. Clean and leaving it whenever it isn't in use. That will keep them out of the drains. (If you do the boiling water thing, they'll just go right back.)

• Remove any unsealed bottles (like those decorative bottles) of vinegar you have in the house; they'll lay eggs in them. Also, remove any unsealed bottles of alchol or flavored syrups (like you would see in a cafe for flavored coffee) because they'll get into them. Keep anything fruity, alcoholic or vinegary (including wine) tightly sealed.

• Put your dishes in the dishwasher (if you have one) or the oven (if you don't) and keep it shut & locked; they'll go after any food residue on the dishes.

• Take out your garbage daily, and if possible, keep it in a tightly sealed container. Any particularly attractive trash (fruit peels, etc.) should be taken out immediatley (I put mine in plastic grocery bags and tie it up, then took it out.)

• Keep all food either in a sealed container (cabinets don't count, they get in anyway) or in the refrigerator. If they find anything to breed on, you'll have them for weeks.

• You might consider setting off pest foggers in the

house (make sure to follow the directions carefully, and don't forget to put out any pilot lights or other flame sources.)

It took about two weeks (the eggs hatch like every week or so) to get rid of all of them, but it worked. Hope it helps! -- Essjay · Talk 05:01, July 10, 2005 (UTC)

You should cover all foodstuffs to prevent this insects from bothering you as a preventive measure. There's a kind of ultra-violet tube available for flies in general. These creatures are attracted to this wavelength and are zapped by the high voltage. User:Nichalp/sg 08:00, July 10, 2005 (UTC)

A bug light with dead flies on it really does not sound like a very hygenic way of getting rid of fruit flies... On the patio is fine for those things but to have one where one prepares most of their food, no thanks! Dismas 10:05, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Generally...just keep your kitchen clean (you might look around for something rotting on the shelves or something). ¦ Reisio 09:40, 2005 July 10 (UTC)

Make sure to put your dishes in the dishwasher right away... do not leave them in the sink. The lysol/bleach/mr. clean in the sink can be really effective. Also, if you have a garbage disposal, you may want to cut up an lemon and put it in there once a day, as that helps kill them. Also, make sure to have a clean garbage can, with a tight lid on it. Good luck. -- BMIComp (talk) 10:27, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

They're harmless. Working in a biology lab you do get the odd escaped one flying around. In a lab you're supposed to kill or anaesthetise them them with ether, which usually makes you a little dizzy as well (if you like that sort of thing!). They really like bananas. Dunc|☺ 12:48, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

THANKS so much all. I'll try all of these. I'm also copying this section to the fruit flies area.

Hypothalamus

What blood tests (if any) are there for the HYpothalamus. Particularly those relating to Hypertension, dizzy spells and temperature regulation? Thanks. Calvin

There are no routinely available clinical blood tests for humans that directly assess hypothalamic function. There are blood tests that assess the combined hormonal function of the hypothalamus and pituitary:

• T4, T3, TSH for hypothalamic/pituitary control and function of the thyroid
• ACTH, cortisol at 0800 or in response to various stimuli such as CRH, synthetic ACTH, hypoglycemia, and dexamethasone for hypothalamic/pituitary control and function of the adrenal glands
• IGF1 and GH response to various stimuli for for hypothalamic/pituitary growth hormone release
• LH, FSH, and testosterone for hypothalamic/pituitary control and function of the testes in post-pubertal males
  • LH, FSH, and menstrual pattern for hypothalamic/pituitary control and function of the ovaries in post-pubertal females
• urine specific gravity or osmolality in the morning for hypothalamic/pituitary control and function of vasopressin and water conservation

The first big problem of course is that these are really crude and indirect tests of only a few hypothalamic functions, and there are many types of hypothalamic malfunction that do not show up in these tests. The hypothalamus is involved in regulation of appetite, adipose mass, resting energy expenditure/basal metabolic rate, temperature regulation, sleep/wake cycles, physical energy and initiative, blood pressure, heart rate, glucose sensing, responses to stress, many aspects of digestive and gastrointestinal function, timing of puberty and other aspects of sexual development and reproductive behavior, parenting behavior, and many more than I am willing to sit here and think of. It has close ties to parts of the brain involved in (among other things) emotion. How do we know these things? Mainly from animal experiments, and from observation of people with injuries or diseases that affect the hypothalamus. We know of a few inherited congenital disorders of the hypothalamus that can involve these functions, and for a few of these, we understand them down to the molecular level (e.g., the rare mutation of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene that leads to red hair and obesity because of disrupted communication between the hypothalamus and body fat}.

The second big problem is that we have very few direct treatments for hypothalamic disorders. Depending on the nature of the disorder, treatment may involve

• surgery to remove a tumor, or a gland that is overproducing hormones,
• replacement of missing hormones,
• various drugs that sort of compensate for the problem by affecting the affected system in the desired direction (e.g., pills to lower blood pressure)
• changing by effort and will some of the daily activities affected (e.g., eating and physical activity).

The physicians who treat some of the hypothalamic problems are endocrinologists and neurologists. The academic and research discipline involved in invstigating the hypothalamus is neuroendocrinology.

Sorry for long answer to short question. Executive summary: we can often guess that a person's hypothalamus is not doing its job correctly, but we can rarely confirm it by easy testing, and if we do confirm, we have only a few satisfactory treatments. alteripse 14:03, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

art

the difference between the greek sculpture and the roman sclupture

Greek sculpture originates from Greece (etc.) or Greeks, Roman sculpture originates from Rome (etc.) or Romans. ¦ Reisio 12:07, 2005 July 10 (UTC)

Not exactly, Reisio; Roman sculpture finds its origins in Greece too. But generally Greek sculpture is considered more idealistic, whereas Roman sculpture tends more toward realism. David Sneek 15:06, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Children's Sporting Performance

We knew that average (most) kids are pretty good at sports (that is, their "sporting performance" are pretty good, so they could compete well with other children) Nevertheless, we also knew that some (small?) portion of children simply aren't good at all at any sports (well, they probably could do sports anyway, but their "sporting performance" are very poor, so they couldn't compete with other children), even though they are healthy, well-fed, well-nourished, and don't have any physical disabilities. My question is: What caused it? (genetics?) 222.124.18.135 14:43, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

My answer is: there will be no single factor identifiable. Sporting performance is not a single parameter defined by a single measure, but a complex quality judgement presumably based on multiple measures, right? Among the performance variables: size, agility, strength, energy, mood, recent sleep/eating/activity/health history; attitude toward the activity; the response of teammates and adults to the child's efforts. The other half of the equation is of course how an adult reaches a conclusion that a child "isn't good at all at any sport" or "can't compete". Anyone with intelligence, common sense, and empathy can sit here and think of additional factors as quickly as they can type them. I'm tempted to answer, from extensive personal experience, that only a phys ed teacher or a coach could think such a question has a meaningful single answer, and that a large factor resides in that attitude. alteripse 15:19, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Well, I think I have found the answer myself (actually, what I want is "physical fitness" instead of "sporting performance" — well, I can't seem find the right phrase anyway), but thanks for trying to answer anyway. 222.124.18.135 15:46, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Physical fitness is also a multifactor variable, though without as great a component of adult subjective judgement and social factor influence. There are many studies of physical fitness in children in the pediatric medical literature (e.g., see the search results at the Am Acad of Pediatrics site [13]). I suspect there are many others in the academic educational and sports literatures. To identify the factors contributing to "poor" physical fitness, the first challenge is to refine the concept of physical fitness to a measurable quality (e.g., as a combination of performance measures on tests of stamina, strength, speed, agility, or whatever you want to include that can be measured objectively and is a valid measure of the quality you want to investigate). The second step would be to identify all the factors you already think are important (e.g., size, maturity stage, fatness, past athletic participation, parental history, psychological factors, social factors, and many more). There are statistical tests (multifactorial analysis) you can do to identify how strongly each of your identified factors is associated with a high "fitness score." The third step would be to see how much of the inter-child variability in score is still statistically unexplained by the factors you have already identified. If it is significant, you have to do some thinking and hypothesizing about what factor you are missing. When you have some ideas, you test them by controlling for the other factors and seeing how strong the association is. What a difference the way you phrase the question makes to how I or you answer it! alteripse 17:30, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Double sharps in a major scale?

Are double sharps allowed in a major scale? For example, A#, B#, C double sharp, D#, E#, F double sharp, G double sharp? I was reviewing theory online (oh, it must have been a year ago) and I remember coming across something saying double sharps couldn't be in a scale, yet I was at a Southern Gospel singing school a couple weeks ago and my teacher said they were allowed. I was wondering which is correct? Hermione1980 13:51, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Sure, they are allowed - but it depends on the school of thought. Notationally speaking, the major scales with extra sharps are not "allowed" because it isn't necessary for them. For example, D# major is enharmonically equivalent to E-flat major. For reasons of aesthetics and simplicity, it isn't necessary to overcomplicate the key signature with an excessive number of sharps or flats. --HappyCamper 14:52, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Amen to that. I can't play the piano very well in any key with more than 4 flats or 2 sharps. So both my teacher and my online resource are right. Thanks. Hermione1980 14:56, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

There are no rules - that's why it's called music theory. ¦ Reisio 15:57, 2005 July 10 (UTC)

To give a practical example where a major key including a double sharp is used: Chopin's Mazurka, opus 6 no. 2, has a short passage which is effectively written in G sharp major; that is, eight sharps (everything sharp plus F double sharp); he chose to write it like this rather than in the more common A flat major (four flats) because the surrounding sections are in C sharp minor (four sharps) and he uses G sharp as a pivot note between the two keys; switching from sharps to flats and then back again would have lacked a certain logic and (I think) have made the music quite a bit harder to read.

Chopin doesn't use a G sharp major key signature (I don't think I've ever seen a double sharp or double flat in a key signature); he just uses a lot of accidentals. I daresay there are plenty of other similar examples. --Camembert 14:44, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

'One word for many' Softwares

It is easy enough to find the meaning(s) of a single word, with very effective and useful tools like wikipedia available. But what happens when you have more than one word, like a phrase or an expression? Are there any such tools available for download or on a CD? I mean something like a revese dictionary. If there are, I would be really pleased to know about them. -anon

Google is surprisingly good with phrases. If you could give a couple of examples of phrases or word combinations that you had trouble finding, I would be happy to make more specific suggestions on how to search for them quickly. alteripse 15:00, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Windows 5.2?

I administrate a phpBB forum that has a mod that shows me statistics. Recently I noticed that it showed 1 hit from a Win 5.2 machine! I know that XP=Windows NT 5.1, but what version is 5.2? Is that Longhorn, 2003 Server, CE, or something else? Thanks. — Ilγαηερ (Tαlκ) 16:41, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Microsoft Windows 95 = Microsoft Windows 4.0
Microsoft Windows 98 = Microsoft Windows 4.1
Microsoft Windows ME = Microsoft Windows 4.2
Microsoft Windows 2K = Microsoft Windows 5.0
Microsoft Windows XP = Microsoft Windows 5.1
Microsoft Windows 03 = Microsoft Windows 5.2

--jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 19:36, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Can you Free Krystal Before the End of the Game?

Is it possible to free Krystal from the ice before the middle of the game? If so how?

I think you need gamefaqs.com for that, not Wikipedia! Gdr 17:43, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

The cost of Windows Longhorn

A lot more than the cost Linux, which you can get for free (as well as an Office suite and any other necessary software). ¦ Reisio 21:34, 2005 July 10 (UTC)

Newton's 1st Law of Motion, "The Law of Inertia"

Thanks - Much appreciated. --Don 18:34, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

"Corpus omne perseverare in statu suo quiescendi vel movendi uniformiter in directum, nisi quatennus illud a viribus impressi cogitur statum suum mutare." ("Every body perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon.") [14] [15] David Sneek 18:45, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

• Galileo came to very similar conclusions about a century earlier, but his statement is only in paraphrases and examples in the "Dialogue on the Two World Systems"—he also had problems reconciling his ideas with circular motion, which he did not quite understand. Physchim62 18:47, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
  • The Newton reference above is (apparently, I haven't checked with the original ;) to Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), published 1687. Physchim62 18:52, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Broadband Filters

I'm planning to get broadband pretty soon but I'm a bit confused over the need of phone line filters. I'm aware I need one for my modem, but not sure if I need one for every phone in the house. Am I likely to get noticeable interferance using filtered and non-filtered appliances together ? - Robmods 19:20, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

When I had it, one was needed for each phone, but they were provided with the broadband equipment. -- Essjay · Talk 19:23, July 10, 2005 (UTC)

If you are getting DSL (via your phone service provider) you will need a filter for each phone (usually provided by the phone service folks). If you mean broadband via cable then phone filters will not be required. hydnjo talk 19:31, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the amazingly quick response, even if it means I'll have to get extra filters ( the ISP I'm looking at only provides 2 ) - Robmods 19:48, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Then ask them to provide for how ever many you need. It's their problem, not yours. After all you do have alternatives, and let them know that. hydnjo talk 20:23, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

If I'm not mistaken, you should NOT have one on the dsl connection itself. If you did, that would filter out the network communication. Superm401 | Talk 11:05, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Actually it depnds on how the telephones are wired. If the phones are attach in a series (like they usually are in Sweden) then you only need a filter for the first phone. I believe that in the USA all phones are gnereally attached parallel. I'm only familiar with how it works in Sweden and here one only get one filter for the first phone. Jeltz talk 11:17, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

'Mo' abbreviation

Why is "megabyte" sometimes abbreviated as "Mo"? There is no 'o' in the flipping word! Nickptar 20:24, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

• Mo is an abbreviation for megaoctet. Octet and byte are often used interchangeably; however, an octet is always 8 bits, whereas the number of bits in a byte varies according to a computer's architecture--a byte is 8 bits on virtually all modern computers, but the number of bits in a byte varied on older computers. Chuck 20:37, July 10, 2005 (UTC)
  • D'oh. Thanks. (Plus, it seems to be an especially French usage - I guess the word 'byte' doesn't exist in French.) Nickptar 20:40, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
    • The word for "byte" in French is indeed octet, possibly to avoid confusion with bite, a slang word for "penis". Physchim62 11:23, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

sticky situation

Is there actually a difference between cocktail sticks and toothpicks? I'm in the uppermiddleclass echelon and should know the difference if there is one. Ta --Sophiebristow 21:29, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Cocktail sticks are round in cross-section. Toothpicks can be round but the better ones have a triangular cross-section to make them fit in the interdental spaces, and they are made of softer wood. You won't find many mint-flavoured cocktail sticks, either. --Heron 21:35, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

One you put in your mouth to get food in, one you put in your mouth to get food out... More accurately, a cocktail stick is a long cylinder pointed at both ends; it's about three, four inches long - about the size of a cotton swab. A toothpick is generally shorter, at least in my experience, often blunt at one end, and often not cylindrical - a triangular cross-section is quite common. Shimgray 21:38, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Also, cocktail sticks can have those little multi-colored cellophane frills attached to them. No self-respecting toothpick would. --Mothperson 21:44, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Dice

This question is about dice. I found a 30-sided die in my room. Is there like a maximum number of sides a dice can have. I'm guessing that one could make a gargantuan one with thousands of sides if one wanted to. --Sophiebristow 21:54, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Nope, really no limit. You could technically think of a sphere as having an infinite number of degenerate sides though. I've seen at most 100 in practise. --HappyCamper 21:58, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Depends on the rules you play by I suppose; if you require that each face a regular polygon of the same size, and with faces arranged in the same manner around every vertex, then the maximum would probably be an Icosahedron with 20 faces. Obviously larger dice numbers of sides break some of these rules. --Neo 22:05, July 10, 2005 (UTC)

If you drop the requirement that the faces be regular polygons, but still keep the requirement that every face be identical—not only in shape, but also in its arrangement relative to other faces—there are other shapes besides the Platonic solids which are theoretically fair, by symmetry. These are the Catalan solids, the right regular bipyramids, and the right regular trapezohedra.

The Platonic solids are the typical 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, and 20-sided dice used by gamers. Of the Catalan solids, the only one I've seen used as a die is the 30-sided rhombic triacontahedron, which is probably the one Sophiebristow has. The other Catalan solids could be used for dice with 12, 24, 48, 60, or 120 sides. The bipyramids and trapezohedra could theoretically be used for dice with any even number, 2n, of faces, where n is an integer greater than or equal to three. These quickly become impractical with very many sides, though, since both of these have n faces meeting at two of the vertices. However, the typical 10-sided die used by gamers is a pentagonal trapezohedron.

I've seen the 100-sided dice that others have referenced here, too, but I'm skeptical whether it would be close enough to fair to be usable, since it doesn't belong to any of the "theoretically fair" shapes above. Chuck 19:26, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Hah! After digging around a bit more, I found that the commercially-produced d100 is known as a Zocchihedron. And the article confirms my suspicions: "A test performed by the White Dwarf magazine concluded that the frequency distribution of the Zocchihedron was substantially uneven, although there was no particular bias towards rolling high or low numbers." Chuck 20:05, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

There has been at least one commercially-produced D100 (hundred-sided dice), though I think it was effectively spherical rather than faceted. I have a vague recollection of hearing about someone producing a die with a few hundred sides - one to three hundred, not sure what - but can't seem to find anything, and it'd have been a hand-made curiosity at best. Shimgray 22:16, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

HappyCamper is surely right, but just for reference - my brother collects dice and plays lots of games that use them, and the most-sided he has actually ever used had one-hundred sides. ¦ Reisio 22:19, 2005 July 10 (UTC)

Maybe if you counted golf balls, then you'd have 300+ sided dice if all the dimples are labelled. --HappyCamper 22:56, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

How do you tell which number is the top one? MyNameIsClare talk 15:38, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

This is the limiting factor on number of sides. -- Cyrius|✎ 18:25, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

records

Who holds the most world records? I guess that (s)he would have 2 more records than the runner-up, one being the "record of the most records". Thanks again, you are very good--Sophiebristow 22:10, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

A google search of "most world records" turns up this BBC article stating that a guy called Ashrita Furman holds the most world records. According to the article, they are in such consequential endeavours as "fastest time to climb the CN Tower with a pogo stick". --Robert Merkel 02:48, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I also think it's Ashrita Furman. His website is here. --Think Fast 15:58, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Gloomy sunday

How long does suncream last? I dug up an old bottle of some in the niches of my room, the "best before" date being 1999! It unopened AMBRE SOLAIRE stuff, and according to the sticker, cost £15, if that helps. --Sophiebristow 22:14, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

I am really tempted to say, "If your skin turns green, you can assume it has gone bad..." but I won't. Lots of people ask about expiration dates on food and drugs. What the date means is that the manufacturer wants the store to sell it before that date and replace it afterwards. It is usually to the advantage of the manufacturer to claim a short shelf life because it encourages turnover and new purchases. With respect to drugs, it often means that the manufacturer has tested it and it retains 95% of original potency when stored under "controlled room temperature" (which means no temporary extremes of hot or cold temperatures) for the indicated length of time. Most products do not go bad immediately after the expiration date, and most chemical-type products (as opposed to perishable foods) "go bad" very gradually. Finally, if the active ingredient of a sunscreen is an inorganic compound, like zinc oxide, the main ingredient may never go bad, just dry out or separate from its lotion or vehicle. For sunscreen it is probably not dangerous to assume if it looks ok it probably is ok (but if your skin turns green, don't come cryng to us...). Finally, if you if think 1999 is ancient, you should check your parents' drawers and cupboards. alteripse 22:43, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

I would also check the active ingredient to see if it has PABA or another compound since off the market. And as mentioned, I would be more likely to use an old inorganic than an old organic sunscreen. Never know what will happen with those benzene compounds. --Laura Scudder | Talk 21:10, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

*shudder*...*ugh*...don't even say that!!! --129.97.248.72 02:49, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Concerto for a butterfly in a jar

I recall reading in some music history textbook a description of a type of composition possibly entitled "Concerto for a Butterfly in a Jar". To play the composition, a butterfly is placed in a glass jar with a lid, and opened in front of a church audience. A side window of the church is also opened. The composition ends when the butterfly flies out of the window. Could someone provide a source for this? I cannot seem to find it, and I've already dug through the archives that I have at home already. Thanks! --HappyCamper 23:01, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

I don't believe it's called that. It's one of La Monte Young's early Fluxus-esque works. Dysprosia 06:22, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Ah yes! Of course!! I completely forgot about these Fluxus-esque works - this little comment was exactly what I needed - thank you! :-) HappyCamper 07:28, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Jesus H Christ

The above is a well-known expletive. Does the H stand for anything in particular? JackofOz 23:33, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Have you read the article, Jesus H. Christ? Dismas 23:48, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

Thanks. I should have trusted Wikipedia to cover it. JackofOz 00:52, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

drug numbers

Is it possible you ment CAS registry numbers? Gentgeen 02:11, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Need HELP with child with true " Special Powers" Please HELP?

I have a son who is now 10 and I know he has Special powers but I dont know what to even call this powers. Let me tell you a little about us and our story If you dont believe please stop reading because I believe it and really need help. My son was about 8 when I knew he was differt. One day I was in the kitchen and my son was in the living room (about 30ft) from each other. We were argueing and my son has some things he believes and when he does he stands his ground as I have taught him.But our arguement become very heated and he really got angery I will never forget what happened next Here is my baby glaring at me with his fist balled up One of those "if looks could Kill" faces and then I felt two large hands push me just hard enough to knock me on my butt.Instantly my son starts saying he's sorry with tears in his eyes over and over he kept saying he was sorry I did my best and told him he couldn't do it momma slipped and that was all he never expted that but we ended up on the floor crying and saying we were sorry for everything First before judging me or my son please understand a few things my son is and has been in honor classes since 2nd grade. He is very macure for his age.At the age of 3 my son and I lived alone at the age of 5 it was dicovered that I had brain cancer and that there was a good chance that I would die from the treatment.So at 5yrs old I had to sit down and talk to my son let him know what was going on and mom might die, where did he want to live and thing of this matter very hard for both of us it only him I thank for being here today. I didnt want the treatment i knew it would make me sick but he made me go 2yrs of sickness and wishing I could die I held on my son took care of me more than any one.He made people let him do it if you have ever had chemo or rad. treatment you know how bad it can be .My son cleaned up after me when I got sick to my stomack ever thing. My son would come in and lay his hands on me and give me his energy I know i sound crazy someone must under stand he would overwelm me in this blue light I could feel his warmth.He can light up any room. He can get his glass to slide to him across the table when he dont try IM NOT CRAZY HELP PLEASE -- vonda_pat@earthlink.net

What exactly is the problem? ¦ Reisio 02:27, 2005 July 11 (UTC)

You might be interested in James Randi's million dollar challenge for demonstratable paranormal/supernatural/occult powers or events under test conditions. -- Cyrius|✎ 02:34, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

It might be helpful for both of you to visit a psychiatrist. He could probably help you more than us. Superm401 | Talk 11:11, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

It's tought for a young child to have to deal with serious responsibilities such as the illness of a parent, and it can leave a lasting effect on the child's personality and how they form relationships. For example, it could lead to the expression of anger that you sense (in a very physical way) coming from him. Please consider asking his school's guidance office, or a social service agency, to recommend a family counselling agency. Sharkford 15:08, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Low income housing

I am looking for information low income housing. -- Deborah Garrett

You might start here... HUD Dismas 03:31, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Assuming you are in the US, you might try a local social worker, or the office of your state representative (google search state represenative your state) or local congressman [[16]. Both types of elected officials have staff workers who will usually make at least an effort to connect you with the appropriate agency. alteripse 03:49, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Chemical Reactions

Name two elements necessary for ALL chemical reactions to take place.

Proximity and time are the elements (not chemical elemants obviously). alteripse 04:31, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but I suspect the two elements Homework and [sloth] were at least partly responsible for the posting of this question.

Seriously, while it may be pitched above your level of current knowledge, you can try the article on chemical reaction and more specifically reaction rate for hints. I would have said "heat" as another candidate for an essential item.--Robert Merkel 04:35, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Heat's wrong. Exothermic reactions don't require it. An example of one of those in every-day life is in a hot pack. I seriously there are any common elements to every reaction. Superm401 | Talk 11:00, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Exothermic reactions do require heat to overcome the activation energy: not very much sometimes, but a little bit all the same. Physchim62 11:08, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

At least one chemical, and...erm...a jar to put it in? -- Cyrius|✎ 04:39, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

A Shilgin Guinea

My ex-slave greatgrandfather passed down verbally that he was a Shilgin Guinea. I can find no reference to Shilgin. I thought it might be Shogun corrupted to Shilgin, but I could find nothing about a shogun Guinea. Does any one familiar with Guinea research have any idea of a name, place or tribe that sounds somewhat like Shilgin?

Etta M Ladson July 11, 2005

I'm no expert on the area (try asking user:Mark Dingemanse maybe?) However, it's worth noting that Guinea in those times had a significantly larger sense than it does now - at one point it was a generic term for the whole of Black West Africa. As for Shilgin, the only name that's come to my mind so far is Sherbro, a tribe of Sierra Leone, but that's not that similar... Or there's the Arabic word Shergiyin "Easterners" (in a Bedouin accent). But nothing convincing comes to mind. Good luck! - Mustafaa 12:43, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I've not very much time on my hands right now, but I'll nonetheless try look into this. The following article: Rodney, Walter (1969) Upper Guinea And The Significance Of The Origins Of Africans Enslaved In The New World, The Journal of Negro History, vol. LIV, no. 4, 327–345 looks like a good starting point. Etta, I can email you a fulltext version of this article if you contact me via m a r k ( a t ) v o r m d i c h t ( d o t ) n l. Regards, — mark ✎ 21:16, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Found another good source (haven't got hold of it yet though): P.E.H. Hair (1967) 'An Ethnolinguistic Inventory of the Upper Guinea Coast before 1700', African Language Review, vol. 6. P.E.H. Hair is an important name if you want to dig into the history of Upper Guinea / West Africa during the Atlantic Slave Trade. — mark ✎ 22:15, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

A quick question - how did he pronounce Shilgin? I can see two or three possible ways, and if we know what the pronunciation was then we can take a guess at possible corruptions of the word. Shimgray 08:47, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Richard C. Zaehner

Does anyone know what the "C." in R.C. Zaehner stands for? - Ta bu shi da yu 05:58, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

"Zaehner, Richard Charles, ed. and tr. The Bhagavadgita with a Commentary Based on the Original Sources. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1969. .." (from Google). Sounds right. Certainly needs a mention in the article though, as that's the first thing a reader might wonder when they see an abbreviated name. Garrett^Talk 06:43, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

How big is a Monopoly square?

Yes, it's Stump the Wikipedians Vol. I!

I want to know what the dimensions of a corner square are. That's the entire square inside the black/edge borders, not including them. You can give the dimensions in cm, mm, inches, whatever's the most exact. It's for a board overlay so needs to be as accurate as I can get it.

I know many of you will be able to answer since Monopoly is so common; I wouldn't have to ask at all if my beloved NZ-with-UK-names edition wasn't an hour's drive away!

Of course, knowing my luck, by the time anyone reads this I'll have found a Google keyword arrangement that gives me the answer... :) Garrett^Talk 06:48, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

UPDATE: my apologies, upon further investigation of the problem I need the diameter of the black line as well, but separate from the measurement of the square istelf. The rest will have to be guesswork. :) Garrett^Talk 08:32, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

<div style="
float: left;
width: 64.3mm;
height: 64.3mm;
border-top: none;
border-right: 1.175mm solid black;
border-bottom: 1.175mm solid black;
border-left: none;
background: #baffc4;
"></div>
<div style="
float: left;
width: 38.1mm;
height: 64.3mm;
border: 1.175mm solid black;
border-top: none;
border-left: none;
background: #baffc4;
position: relative;
">
    <div style="
    float: left;
    width: 38.1mm;
    height: 12.75mm;
    border: none;
    border-top: 1.175mm solid black;
    background: slateblue;
    position: absolute;
    bottom: 0;
    "></div>
</div>

Print it. About as near to perfect as I'm willing to do. I'll see if I can do a complete board and fix it so the colors print later...someone on a forum I frequent wanted this sort of information, too. ¦ Reisio 00:46, 2005 July 13 (UTC)

Wow, thank you, that's excellent, better than I was expecting! The colors are not as much of a concern; as I said it's an overlay, and indeed the original was printed on brownish paper (go figure).

Strange though, people readily answer questions about Latin and Arabic and such but balk at reaching for a ruler! :)

Thanks again! Garrett^Talk 01:08, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

The legal minimum age to send and recieve e-mail in the USA

In the USA, what is the minimum age for legally sending e-mail to an adult and recieving e-mail from the same adult? Does a minor legally need consent from a parent, guardian, or babysitter to send e-mail to and recieve e-mail from an adult who is not a relative of the minor, is not a friend of a relative of the minor, is not a guardian of the minor, is not a friend of a guardian of the minor, is not the minor's teacher or anything like that? Does it legally matter whether or not the adult and the minor who send e-mail to each other are the same gender? What is appropropriate to send or say to a minor and what is not?

Curious: why do you want to know? - Ta bu shi da yu 09:14, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

First of all, I must say, this is a rather odd question indeed and I'm trying to figure out why a person would need this information unless they had some nefarious purpose in mind. Second, I'm not a lawyer, nor do I intend on being one, so take my response with that in mind... I know of no statute or law on any state or federal level that requires a person to be of a certain age to send or receive e-mail to anyone. Although, minors cannot legally enter into contracts and thus cannot have credit cards in their names, enroll in contests, etc. That particular age of consent can vary by state. As far as what you can send them, that is where even more grey areas appear and not much is black and white. If the material is about illegal drug use, pornographic in nature, etc. then you could be held liable for delinquency of a minor. Simply asking a minor about their school work and other rather innocuous subjects should be rather safe. Also, since the minor is not technically in charge of their life and their decisions, if you'll forgive the term, the parents would have rights to read the emails and even, if desired, cut off communication with anyone that their child may be e-mailing for any reason. Dismas 09:29, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Just a minor fix. In the US, minors can enter into contract, but the difference is they cannot be held to it. In other words to them, every contract is voidable (as if it never was valid) if they want it to be. I believe that is standard across all states, but it could vary I suppose. The exception, I believe is with emancipated minors. Since they are legally responsible for themselves, I believe at least in some states, they lose the ability to void every contract. As far as I know there are no other laws relating to communication about what a child can do that are different from adults, but there are restrictions on the kinds of things adults can send to children. I'm sure it would vary by jurisdiction, but I know I've read about child protection laws, and I'm sure decency statutes could restrict certain types of communications to children. - Taxman ^Talk 15:55, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

I've seen this sort of problem crop up (in the UK and France) in disputes between parent-with-custody and absent-parent. A parental ban on emailing a given person is almost impossible to enforce. It would be illegal in Europe if that person were a relative of the child (unless a court order was in force) under the right to family life provisions of the European Convention of Human Rights. As for content, a parent could apply to the court for a restraining order if the content were thought to be unsuitable (not necessarily illegal). Physchim62 11:34, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I agree that separated parents is the likely context. In the US an attorney who practices family law could probably name the applicable state laws, none of which would have been written with email in mind. I doubt there are any applicable federal laws unless the content of the messages is clearly illegal. If you really think that there would be more benefit to your child to cut off contact than to monitor it and allow it, your lawyer can advise you on how to do it, but you may find it costly in several ways. It might be far simpler to monitor your child's email and discuss it and there are lots of ways to do that.

About the right to sign contracts, I know that many websites would ask whether you were older than 13, and require that you had your parent's permission otherwise, but I noticed that I was able to create a Hotmail account with my date of birth showing me to be a 6-year-old, and no warnings were given. — Asbestos | Talk 12:11, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

As a minor footnote to all the above, in the US and Canada there are laws restricting advertising to minors, so if the adult's response (even if solicited) were of the form "make your parents buy you one of these!" then that might be problematic. But the question (except, perhaps tellingly, for the very last part) is worded from the minor's point of view, as if there was a minimum age for legal Internet use, like driving or buying alcohol. I'm pretty sure that's a big No. As for "what is appropriate to say to a minor", whoa, what a question. Unless you're in some kind of professional kids' help line thing, I'd definitely avoid topics of sexuality, offensive language, and especially any hint that the minor should conceal anything from their parents. Avoid asking personal questions about health or family, or that could identify where the minor lives; and don't suggest that you meet them. It wouldn't hurt to suggest occasionally that the minor should mention the dialogue to their parents. Basically act as if the parents will eventually study this correspondence with a paranoid mindset. And be aware that in some jurisdictions, if the child's correspondence suggests child abuse, you may be legally required to report this to authorities. Sharkford 14:57, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Translation to Latin

My four years of high school Latin are useless. Can someone translate the following to decent Latin?

• The Book of Lesser Demons
• If you can't read this, you shouldn't be reading this.

Mothperson 09:43, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

You're not writing Pratchett fanfiction, are you? And sorry, my Latin is way too rusty to attempt a translation, I'll leave that to somebody who knows what they're doing :P Ferkelparade π 09:57, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

• Liber/codex daemonis minoris.
• Si hunc legere nescis, non legendus hic.

--Gareth Hughes 10:44, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I forgot that you wanted the plural: not daemonis minoris bur daemonum minorum. --Gareth Hughes 11:46, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Your second translation is slightly off, but I assume that was intentionally. What you've written is "if you can't read this, this should not be read" - which is not quite the same as what Mothperson requested. You should add a "tibi" to the second part of the sentence as a dativus auctoris, so it translates to "..., this should not be read by you". Nightstallion 11:54, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Thank you thank you thank you both. No, I'm not writing Pratchett fanfiction. I am concocting some faux BtVS memorabilia. Sorry about this next - another w.i.p. - my signature --[[User:Mothperson|Mothperson cocoon]] 14:14, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Actually, I like both versions. If I want "this should not be read by you", the tibi goes in front of "non legendus hic" without other change? [[User:Mothperson|Mothperson cocoon]] 14:21, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Word order is mostly arbitrary in classical Latin anyway, so you can pretty much place it wherever you want. I'd say "non tibi legendus hic" sounds most natural, but I'm not quite sure I'm in any position to judge what seems natural after only six years of Latin... Nightstallion 20:26, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Passport expiry

I ahve heard that some nation states will not give entry to a traveller if their passport, although valid, is near to its expiry date. Does anyone have any solid information on this? --Gareth Hughes 11:36, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Check out [17]. Quote: "Some countries require that your passport be valid at least 6 months beyond the dates of your trip. Check with the nearest Embassy or Consulate of the countries you plan to visit to find out their entry and visa requirements." I suspect that no reference is made to a particular list countries simply because entry requirements change all the time. You'd be best to follow these instructions if you plan to travel outside your country. Just call the appropriate place and ask everything until you feel confident about travelling abroad. --HappyCamper 13:48, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I assume that the rationale is that they want to ensure that your passport is still valid when you leave the country. It's not always easy/possible to get passports renewed in a foreign country. — Asbestos | Talk 13:56, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Thanks all. My UK passport (http://www.fco.gov.uk) expires in 16 months, and Turkey requires that my passport should have at least 6 months left to run by the time I leave — I better not stay for more than ten months! --Gareth Hughes 18:49, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

You better not, for a number of reasons. Or do you have regular access to an internet connection there? :P — mark ✎ 22:42, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Sticky?

Why are sugary stuff (e.g. fruit, sweets) typically sticky? What's the mechanism behind their stickiness?

A few factors actually, the most important probably being hydrogen bonds. Sugars like fructose and glucose have plenty of -OH groups attached to the molecule, and so their viscosity (a good measure of stickiness) is quite high. Also, the molecular weight of sugars is a reasonably high number, so that helps too. Contrast this with water, which hardly anyone would consider as "sticky" - it has even more hydrogen bonds than sugar, but since the molecule is so small, the "stickiness" isn't felt. Also, any sort of polymerization of the sugar would also increase its stickiness simply due to the effect of high molecular weight. --HappyCamper 13:31, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Does Fox McCloud have Any Siblings?

Does Fox from the game Star Fox, have any siblings that anyone might know of? thankyou

Does Fox McCloud have a Mom?

Does Fox McCloud have a Mom?, and if so what is her name?

You've been asking a lot of these sort of questions. Have you considered finding a Starfox fan site? They'd know more about this than the random people around here. -- Cyrius|✎ 18:28, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

fibre-cement

what is fibre-cement? what are it`s components?

According to this fibre cement is made of cellulose fibre, cement, ground sand and water. What is quite interesting for me is to learn today that cellulose is part of it. I'd be very interested to know the structure of these cement types if anyone could help elaborate... --HappyCamper 07:39, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Leonard Clark

You have removed Leonard Clark as running against Senator Kyle of Arizona, yet he has been arrested and is facing court martial for that very act. He is challenging the Senator and is doing so from Iraq. Is Wikipedia factual or political. Leonard Clark should be referenced somewhere in your Encyclopedia.

As it says all over this site, if you feel that a change should be made that adds to an article in a positive way, Be Bold! and change it. I'm not from Arizona and have not heard anything about this so it may very well be an interesting read from the sound of it. Dismas 20:53, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I think the person was frustated at the fact that he was bold and added a reference to Leonard Clark to the article on Jon Kyl, and someone else deleted it. (Note the history on the Jon Kyl article.)

To the person who posted the first comment here, I would suggest to you that you might try adding the mention of Leonard Clark in the body of the Jon Kyl article, rather than in the Infobox section, as you had done previously. (The Infobox is only for brief information, and it's only appropriate to put something in the "succeeded by" box there once he has been succeeded by someone else. But information on potential challengers might go into the text of the article itself.)

If someone else removes the information once you've added it into the body of the article (and note that the "you" who removed your earlier addition is just one Wikipedia editor, much like yourself, and probably doesn't even read the reference desk page), you'll need to discuss it on the Talk:Jon Kyl page, rather than here at the reference desk.

You could also start a separate article on Leonard Clark himself, if you believe he meets the criteria set out in Criteria for inclusion of biographies. Chuck 21:06, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Ah, I searched briefly and didn't see an entry for "Kyle" since I was using the original poster's spelling. So I was flying blind, so to speak. Dismas

what does watch your head mean?

It really depends on the context. Usually it means "look out/beware for this, it may hit your head otherwise". For example, if you were walking with someone and they noticed a steel girder that was at eye-level, they'd probably say, watch your head so you'd know to go under it. -- BMIComp (talk) 21:12, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

The sign under a British Rail luggage rack always used to say "mind your head". In Scots the verb to "mind" also means "remember" or "don't forget", leaving the sign to be waggishly misinterpreted as meaning "when alighting from the train, don't forgetfully leave your head in the luggage rack". -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:31, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

in ovo respiration of avians

Our article Egg (biology) says "There are tiny pores in the shells of eggs to allow the unborn animal to breathe. The domestic hen's egg has around 7500 pores.". This leaves me asking:

• So this means air travels down these pores, through one or two membranes, diffuses through the albumen, crosses the yolk sac, diffuses through the yolk and then into jr.bird. Does this all work by simple diffusion (sounds like a hard road to me). And how does the CO2 that's inevitably produced by all the aerobic chemical reactions that sustain his metabolism get back out?
• A human's lung reportedly has the same surface area as a cricket pitch. I guess a chicken's lung has a proportionate surface area, say the size of a pool table. Yet the surface area of the egg is tiny by comparison. Without the muscular action of respiration moving air in and out, how can such a small surface supply jr.bird with enough oxygen to sustain his breakneck growth?
• how does jr.bird get the oxygen from the liquor surrounding him into his bloodstream? I assume his lungs function in ovo as gills, but how does he get oxygen before these form properly, and how does the oxygen move around his circulatory system before his heart starts (I'm assuming that in mammals this works because they're "bootstrapped" from the mother's blood pressure, but there's no eggy equivalent). So I suppose jr.bird just floats there in the oxygenated pudding until his CV system is mission-ready (and he can't grow bigger than the limit of respiration-by-osmosis until that point)?

Thanks. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:22, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

I wouldn't write off the whole diffusion idea - apparently the smallest mammals, which I believe would probably have roughly the same surface area as an egg, can survive without breathing simply from oxygen diffusing across their skin, although being a coma-like state. --Neo 21:55, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Blood flow in mammals is not "'bootstrapped' from the mother's blood pressure", because that would have some nasty immunological effects: the blood supplies are kept seperate, and any exchange happens by diffusion. See placenta. You're right that diffusion is a long road, but it's not so long as it might be, since the embryo is fairly near one wall of the egg. Also, I imagine that once muscle activity starts, there's some circulation of the albumin. As an aside, I understand that adult birds have much larger than proportional lung size, the same way piston airplanes have larger engines than equivalent automobiles; they also have structures mammals don't to make their lungs work better. Lastly, I imagine growth processes are more efficient than movement since evolution has had more time to optimize them, so demand might not be all that high.--Joel 01:51, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

While "bootstrap" is an irrelevant metaphor (used precisely bootstrapping alludes to a self-starting process) for the maternal-fetal circulation, the circulation itself is common all the way to term with respect to pressure, water, and small molecules. Circulating cells and large molecules (like larger proteins) do not cross the "placental barrier" from mother to fetus without some special mechanism, but water and small molecules flow back and forth. This is the reason why a newborn's blood glucose or blood calcium is often the opposite of an abnormal maternal blood glucose or calcium: high or low levels of glucose or calcium cross while insulin or PTH produced by mother stays in mother's circulation and insulin or PTH produced by fetus stays in fetal circulation. It takes the fetus some hours or days to readjust after separation if intrauterine levels had been high or low for an extended time prior to birth. However some proteins, such as maternal immunoglobulins, can cross. These antibodies provide immunity to several infections for a few months and in rare cases can produce problems. More bizarrely, evidence now suggests that some cells can cross and even become integrated into the other's body. Incidentally, this is a good demonstration of, "if you don't know the answer to the question, change it to one to which you do know the answer." Sorry I don't know squat about egg physiology but in my ignorance would vote for simple diffusion and partial permeability of the shell. alteripse 12:01, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Classical Arabic Phrases

Wikipedians;

I am researching for a book of fiction. I require a number of terms and phrases which might be uttered by a character, an imam, speaking in, "classical", arabic. Since the book shall be in English, I shall need the phonetic English, 'interlinear', translation to subscribe the Arabic text.

Two examples of what I am purposing to include might be: (a) what might be the Classical Arabic equivalent phrase used to describle a soiled garment discarded by a woman after her monthly visitation? And (b),the Classical Arabic equivalent phrase for a pot of boiling/stewing monkey meat (haram).

This is my first post on this site. If I am in the wrong place, I apologise. Any help in locating an appropriate source which can further my research will be greatly appreciated.

ruuster

No, the reference desk is the right place (on the english wikipedia, at least), although to my knowledge we don't have many Arabic speakers here (I can think of only one off the top of my head). You might have better luck asking on the Arabic Wikipedia →Raul654 01:16, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

FWIW, there's twenty or so Arabic speakers listed via Wikipedia:Babel, though I don't know how many are active, or if any read this page. Shimgray 01:36, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Upon further investigation, only three of those people actually speak it fluently -- User:Eagleamn, User:500LL, User:FayssalF →Raul654 02:59, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

your two examples are enough to conjure up uncomfortable notions about your 'book of fiction' and how it is going to portray Islam. Make sure you also research the theology and culture, not just the language. dab (ᛏ) 08:29, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Is it just me?

Or did everything suddenly get really tiny here? Mothperson cocoon 23:28, 11 July 2005 (UTC) Never mind. My computer seems to have had a fit. Mothperson cocoon 23:28, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Just you. If you're serious, you might want to try to go to View -> Text Size and set it to "Medium" or "Normal".

Or go ask Alice... alteripse 06:08, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

No, it's not just you. On two seperate visits to this page yesterday my Firefox browser made everything very small and described it as Normal text size. Perhaps someone who enjoys using Bugzilla can report it. --Gareth Hughes 08:14, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps you guys are accidentally holding CTRL whilst you move your mousewheel? ...or hitting CTRL+- or CTRL++? There are at least those shortcuts. ¦ Reisio 15:08, 2005 July 12 (UTC)

What is 'cow' in Japanese?

That's pretty much it. I'm trying to name a cat and all I can find online is the character for it and not the English pronounciation. Thanks. StopTheFiling 03:41, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

If you don't get an answer soon, you might ask at Wikipedia:Japanese Wikipedians' notice board. -- Rick Block (talk) 03:45, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

With Hepburn romanization it's "me-ushi". I'll try to find the symbols (hiragana and kanji) in Commons. EnSamulili 08:51, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

I just learned something myself: 牛 (ushi) means both, cow, bull, and ox. め牛 (me-ushi) is just cow. EnSamulili 09:02, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Did You Know: Wiktionary has translations (not *always* but often), see: wiktionary:cow. In future, Ultimate Wiktionary will try to always have translations. Kim Bruning 09:57, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Thanks everybody, it even sounds like the cat's current name which is Japanese themed (and yes, she looks like a cow). It just might stick - it's also good to know that wiktionary is a decent resource for these things. Also as a somewhat interesting sidenote, my attempts to find the translation for "cow" online gave me 牛 and not both め牛 - for my purposes I think I'll stick with me-ushi or something similar. :) StopTheFiling 17:53, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Freuds personal life

I heard a comment about Freud that I have not been able to confirm,

Did Freud know about his father molesting his sisters?

---anon from texas

I just checked with him. He looked startled and said, "that explains a lot..." Your question sounds like you are privy to personal information about his family that the rest of us know nothing about, so perhaps we are wondering how you know? alteripse 06:04, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Well, as I remember it Freud thought that girls who said their fathers molested them were simply acting out in their fantasy life the latent Electra complex until they became convinced their wishful thinking was true. Conclude from that what you will. --Laura Scudder | Talk 15:14, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

UK threat levels

On the site of BBC News, doing a search for "threat level" brings up several of the UK's national threat levels. I didn't think that there was such a thing. Could I please have a list of them in order and any other info you have. Thanks,--a student 07:35, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Strangely, the Home Office says there is no such thing too. MyNameIsClare talk 12:13, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Maybe they use a different wording like "danger" or something. Garrett^Talk 13:05, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

The Police, the Cabinet Office and the Military all have different 'threat levels'. However, the definitions of these levels will not be disclosed to the public as they do not reflect the threat level to the general public. --Pigeonshouse 17:18, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

• See BIKINI state. Note that this corresponds to the US Defense Condition. Bovlb 14:27:28, 2005-07-12 (UTC)

Color of seagulls legs

Is there any reason why some seagulls have yellow legs and some red? I think it is something to do with aging, but it may be just the species. I can upload a photo if this would help. --Fir0002 08:09, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

I thought it had something to do with the pigmentation in different species, and also due to aging as well. Maybe upload the pictures so the Reference Desk can have a look? :-) --HappyCamper 08:31, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

file transfer

I'm trying to transfer large files (2-5G) from an OS X box to a linux box. both computers are behind firewalls, blocking ftp connections. ssh connections work, so I tried rsync over an ssh tunnel. The thing is, the linux box is on adsl connection and keeps changing its IP, and connection typically breaks down after transferring 1-2G, after which it starts over. What is my cheapest bet to get a transfer that will continue with a partially transferred file (keep in mind that I will have to install software both on linux and on OS X, and I don't want to spend a day compiling). dab (ᛏ) 09:07, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

The first thing that comes to mind is BitTorrent, but that would require two separate and simultaneous internet connections (which I'm not clear you have). Well maybe you can use it over a network but I doubt it. Garrett^Talk 13:03, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Use rsync's --partial and --inplace command-line options.

—Ghakko 14:04, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Something's very wrong if the IP address changes on a running system. No normal DHCP implementation would do this, and you'll find that lots of things will break if this is really happening. Prevail upon your ADSL provider to fix this. Sharkford 14:54, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

thanks. (it's great to use RD instead of reading man pages :p ) anyway, it appears this adsl provider has some really annoying dynamic filters. bittorrent doesn't work, either. But the --partial option should at least solve my more urgent troubles. dab (ᛏ) 15:36, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

You could try punching a hole for Passive FTP into the firewalls, rather than the promiscuous default. If you're not transferring several gig of arms deals and trade secrets, it might be faster than encrypting (ssh) the traffic. Or maybe a mate's (or a workmate's) DVD burner. As Sharkford says, the Linux box should keep its lease on the IP address at least until the next reboot (which is not due for another year or so :-). If that's not the case then either your mate should get a new ISP, or you should get a new mate :-)

chocolateboy 21:12, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Why not configure your firewall to allow traffic between both these hosts and block others, then use something like wget -c? Dysprosia 06:18, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

simple, I don't get to configure the firewalls. One is the university's, the other one the adsl provider's. A dvd burner may indeed be the most practicable solution (sadly) dab (ᛏ) 07:09, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Um, have you considered chopping the files up into smaller pieces with split and then putting them back together again with cat at the other end? Makes this kind of thing much easier. --Robert Merkel 06:59, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

that should work, too. It will be tedious, since there isn't a lot of extra space on the harddrives, but I suppose that's the way to go. dab (ᛏ) 07:09, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

bittorrent certainly isn't the easy way to go and like mentioned a computer shouldn't just change ip addresses while it's running, that's very odd. and in the end i agree that splitting up is prolly the best way to go. most systems will have zip / rar / tar, you should be able to pull it off with that.

Here's a script for doing passive retrying gets with wget over ftp- http://www.mcwalter.org/technology/shell/retry_ftp.html As you want to use ssh as the transport, capture the local port with -L (see the "X11 and TCP forwarding" section of the man page). You'd put the line for this in at the start of the script. To get the retry to start automatically (without you being there to reenter the password) you'll need to enable password-free operation by copying your local public key into your remote account's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 10:47, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

Sorry, that uses ncftpget instead of wget. If you don't have it installed, it's free from http://www.ncftp.com/ -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 10:51, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

Hyde Park London

Why is Hyde Park so called?

Brendan

I don't know, but the park may be named after a landowner (as much of London is), or it could come from hie, meaning to hasten, chase, which would reflect the park's past. --Gareth Hughes 09:27, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Possibly from "hide", a measure of land - Hyde Park is about three hides, though. Shimgray 10:23, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? - Mgm|^(talk) 10:47, July 12, 2005 (UTC)
  • I think Hyde park had its name centuries before Stevenson wrote the story. It needs an article. Anyone care to oblige? alteripse 11:41, 12 July 2005 (UTC)
    • Hyde Park has a good dozen or so articles when you consider the other places; I'll add a redir... The royal park itself dates to the c16th, but not sure how old the name is. Shimgray 11:53, 12 July 2005 (UTC)
    • I will admit to embarrassment at having suggested an article without even checking the link color to see if we have one. Sorry. alteripse 12:29, 12 July 2005 (UTC)
      • Sorry - not your fault, mine! I put a redirect in at Hyde park pretty much as soon as you posted a redlink; it occured to me that it's a fairly sensible one to include, as people are often iffy about capitalising such names. Shimgray 17:34, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

I just looked it up in Brewer's Names. The result is now in the Hyde Park article. --Heron 19:46, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Identifying a dog

Can someone pleae identify the species of this dog:

File:Uknown dog.jpg

Unkown dog

It was approx. 60 cm from head to backside (not including tail). Thanks, --Fir0002 09:37, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

IANADB, but it looks a lot like an Irish Setter to me. OpenToppedBus - My Talk 10:52, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Seems a pretty good guess to me, though IAalsoNADB. Shimgray 11:22, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

I can guess what the I, A, N, A, and D mean, but what does the B stand for? MyNameIsClare talk 12:15, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

"Breeder" maybe? --HappyCamper 14:05, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

That's what I meant, though I can't speak for Shimgray. OpenToppedBus - My Talk 14:32, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

I am not a dog breeder either, no. Mind you, neither am I a dazed Bulgarian or a drunk builder, so it's probably a multi-purpose abbreviation ;-) Shimgray 17:37, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Known dog

Looks like some sort of spaniel to me, maybe a Cocker Spaniel. It seems too small a dog, too round a head, too short a nose, too long an ear to be a setter. Compare the English Cocker Spaniel to the right. — mendel ☎ 20:00, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Of course, to be pedantic but maybe helpful, the species of that dog (and of all other domesticated dogs) is Canis lupus familiaris. — mendel ☎ 20:02, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

I asked my girlfriend, who's been grooming dogs for the last ~6-8 years, and she says that she can't be certain but the first one looks to be a Irish Setter-Cocker Spaniel cross of some kind. The face look like a IS but the ears are too big. If she had a different picture she would be able to better say what it is but she's about 95% sure. The second she says is an English Cocker Spaniel. As for what IANADB stands for, I have no clue. Dismas 02:38, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Unfortunately that is the only photo I took - I was at a Sunday market at the time and didn't have too much time for photography. But the owner of the dog looks like a regular, so maybe I might catch him again. What would you be looking for? BTW thanks for all the helpfull suggestions above, maybe it's just a mongrel? --Fir0002 07:32, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

A picture of the dog standing from the side kinda like in the second would be useful for identifying body-type. Can only tell so much from the head and face. --Laura Scudder | Talk 14:55, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Which Recording for Wagner's Ring Cycle

After seeing a documentary on Australia's first full production of the cycle, I decided to buy a complete recording. I am looking for:

• A perfect Brünnhilde
• High sound quality (stereo is a must)
• An Unrestrained orchestral interpretation (putting it simply, I prefer the Glyndebourne version of Porgy and Bess to the Houston)

After looking on Amazon, opinions seem to be very mixed, with many people having more than one version. Help would be appreciated. --Alexs letterbox 10:19, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

The Solti recording, with Birgit Nilsson perfect as Brünnhilde, is really fantastic and has just the orchestral playing you're looking for. Late 50s, early 60s, but the sound quality is very good. David Sneek 12:59, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

J. Blanchard of Weaton College.

I am somewhat confused and would appreciate any help you could provide. From the Yahoo search page I followed the below link

Wheaton College, Illinois - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaWheaton College, Illinois - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To the entry for Wheaton College. At this point I selected the link Jonathan Blanchard for a little research on the first president of the college. This same paragraph indicates that the school was founded in late 1853 as the Illinois Institute.

The Jonathan Blanchard link yielded the following information:

Jonathan Blanchard (1738–1788) was an American statesman who was a delegate for New Hampshire to the Continental Congress in 1784.

I must remark that President Blanchard was a truly remarkable man in that he served as college president and helped create campus buildings some 65 years after his death. Little wonder that one of the buildings should be named after him.

Certainly a wrong link,,, Father… son? Uncle?

If you could provide any information on the Blanchard of Wheaton College I would appreciate it.

Thank you. Bill of St. Petersburg, Fl.

W. Paul

To avoid confusion, I've added one sentence to the Jonathan Blanchard article. Hopefully someone knowledgeable will write more. You can see Blanchard's picture here, and this is a review of a biography. David Sneek 15:18, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

I don't have time to go into it right now, but the two are blatantly not the same person. Wheaton College was founded 1860. The Blanchard of our article died 1788. Please correct the Blanchard article. I'll try to make a disambig later. Superm401 | Talk 22:18, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Done, though the articles on both people are stubs. Superm401 | Talk 00:27, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, that's what I should have done. David Sneek 07:06, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Francophone persons living in Prince George's County, Maryland

Hello. I am working on a project to translate materials into French for persons living in Prince George's County, Maryland. I have met a large number of people from Francophone countries here in PG County. For many of them, English is a second language. Having lived in countries where English is not commonly spoken, I can relate to the difficulties that arise when you live in a place where your native tongue is not the lingua franca (forgive the pun). However, in order to get funding for this project, I need verifiable statistics on how many people in PG County speak French as their first language, where they live, where they are from, etc. Could anyone have access to these numbers?

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.247.90.12 (talk • contribs) 2005-07-12 10:20:49 CDT (UTC)

• This information is available from the U.S. Census, but it took me a while to be able to find it. Here is a link on language use in the county; the first table would probably be of most interest to you. The big number is that 1.4% of the population of the county 5 years and older speaks at home either French or French Creole (which is related but certainly not the same). I hope this is useful; it was a bit challenging to look up :)--Pharos 21:47, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

common misconception about the uncertainty principle.

In the article on this topic on your website, the statement is made about a common misconception about the uncertainty principle: "that observation of an event changes that event." If this has nothing to do with the uncertainty principle, is there something else that it is related to? Perhaps another aspect of quantum physics? Thank you for whatever clarification that you can bring to this.

I think you might be interested in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. --Laura Scudder | Talk 20:41, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

That statement means that, scientifically, the uncertainty principle applies only measurement of the position vs momentum of electrons, and not to 'events' per se. →Raul654 20:43, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Taking a scientific conclusion and smearing it all over an unscientific premise is covered, for better or worse, in the Sokal Affair.

chocolateboy 21:34, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Calvary Baptist Church Located in Albany New York abt: 1882

I am trying to find out about a Church "Calvary Baptist Church" that was located some where in Albany around December of 1882.

To be more procise, I have a bible that was given to a Great Grandmother of mine in December of 1882. I would like to locate the Church and or the records relating to this church so that I may find out more about her Great Grandmother and her family that might have attend that church during that time. Any information that might lead me in the right direction to someone I can talk with that might have more information on this would be very helpful.

Yours truly, Glen Carman from Connecticut Ph: 860-485-1519 any time email: gcarman AT peoplepc DOT com

• It seems to still be around (see www.calvarybaptistministries.org). I suggest contacting contacting them at info AT calvarybaptistministries DOT org.--Pharos 20:22, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Abbreviation: "A" vs. "An"

Let's say we are talking about a book: a Lord of the rings (LOTR) book. As I just said there, I said a lord of the rings book, but when you use the abbreviation LOTR, the sound changes. The first sound in "LOTR" is a hard "ell", not soft like in "lord". Now saying "a ell-oh-tee-are book" sounds wrong because the abbreviation starts with a vowel. When a normal word starts with a vowel, you use an not a. So, my question is, do you say/write "A LOTR book" or "An LOTR book"? ·Zhatt· 20:29, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

I think this is a question of writing versus reading. I would never read out loud the abrreviation "ell-oh-tee-arr" whether it's written that way or not, so I would never write "an LOTR book" but rather "a LOTR book". In contrast I would say "an ell-bee-ell group" so I would probably write "an LBL group" rather than "a LBL group". --Laura Scudder | Talk 20:39, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

I was going to say that there are no hard and fast rules, but I managed to prove myself wrong. The Chicago Manual of Style in this Q & A says that you should use a and an the way you would pronounce the letters, so in the case of LOTR, you would use "an LOTR book". That's the way I've always done it, anyway, so it's nice to have the experts agree. However, this implies that the above post is probably also correct: if there were an acronym, say "NAS", which is pronounced "nas", you'd probably say "a NAS protocol" (or whatever). — Asbestos | Talk 21:30, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Intresting, yet a problem arises when the reader does not know what NAS stands for and is not familiar with the acromym. The reading still may try to read it aloud as en-ay-ess. Just to clearify:

• "A naval air station"
• "A Nas"
• "An en-ay-ess"

·Zhatt· 21:39, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Precisely. I think the CMS's point was that it's dependant on how the acronym will be read aloud, which at a certain point is an editorial decision on the part of the writer. AIDS is always pronounced "aids", AOL is always pronounced "ay-oh-el", ASAP ...? (Personally, I always run away from people who say "ay-sap", but that's just me). You've got to make a judgement call, but I'd tend to err on the side of assuming people will pronounce the letters individually. — Asbestos | Talk 21:54, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

When and how did Corporations get rights of individuals

This has been moved from the village pump proposal page. It was posted by an anonymous user. Superm401 | Talk 20:58, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Hello All:

I am making a first post to Wikipedia.

The basic question I have concerns how the rights of corporations have changed since 1789. It is my understanding that corporations had charter rights of limited duration previous to a supreme court decision, I believe in a footnote changing the status to full individual rights of a citizen.

where would one go to find written commentary on this issue. -anon

What you are thinking of is the 1886 Supreme Court decision Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company. [t]he Court does not wish to hear arguments on the question whether the provision of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does. - Chief Justice Morrison Waite. Go here →Raul654 21:06, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

This question is addressed (in a critical way) in great detail in the Canadian documentary The Corporation.

chocolateboy 21:48, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia itself has the articles Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad and Corporate personhood. My personal advice would be to approach study of this issue carefully. It's easy to misunderstand what "legal personhood" is; many people who are critical of corporations seem to like to exaggerate the importance of this ruling and of this phrase. Corporations are not people, this ruling did not give them the full rights of "natural persons", and the courts do not treat the two as the same thing. There are many subsequent rulings that further define the artificial personhood rights of corporations, and it's probably worth looking into the details about exactly which rights natural people have that corporations do or do not have. The extention of rights to corporations does give them more power, and that's an important event, whether you are a critic who think that giving more power to corporations is a mistake, a supporter who thinks they should have greater protections against government regulation, or anyone else, for that matter. -- Beland 01:34, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Bio on General Wesley Clarke

• Is this what you're looking for? -- Ferkelparade π 21:09, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Karl Rove and July

Does anyone think that the timing of the probable scandal involving Rove and the White House fortuitously coincides with start silly season, when people tend to pay less attention to the news? Is it common for poilitical scandals to come out in July/August? --anon

Actually, October is probably the best month. See October surprise →Raul654 21:17, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

But you're assuming the power of when the scandal came out is in the power of those who want to harm Rove/Rebublicans. Is July/August the best time to release news if your aim is to have the news make as few waves as possible? Is there a precedent, and might there have been any controlling by either side of when this news came out?

It's true that news usually will make fewer waves in the summer. Remember that Chief of Staff Andrew Card said that the Bush administration started pushing the idea of attacking Iraq only in september 2002, because "from a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." [18] But it does seem unlikely that the White House can decide in this case when the prosecutors act; if they had such power over Fitzgerald, why wouldn't they just tell him to call the whole thing off? David Sneek 22:11, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

David is right -- in this case, it was a scandal that was slowly brewing for 2 years. What really broke it open ever-increasing pressure on the journalists Matt Cooper and Judith Miller (Miller is, by the way, a total sleazeball) that finally forced them to disclose their sources. THe administration didn't really have much control over that, because it's a judicial matter. →Raul654 22:45, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

High energy compounds

I was wondering what the three basic components are that make up a high energy compound. Is it phosphate or adenotriphosphates or something like that? Or is a certain bond of some sort? Thanks.

Rach

Using Pictures from the Website

I am interested in using a specific photograph i found at wikipedia website for the cover of my novel. How could I get the rights/permission to do that?

• Which image? It depends on the license it's been released under.--Pharos 22:14, 12 July 2005 (UTC)
• If it's an image on a MediaWiki project site (like this one), just find its page (usually just by clicking on the image itself) and look for the copyright/use information. For example, this image's page explains that that image is in the public domain. If you don't see any information like that, try contacting the person that uploaded the image about the usage rights. A photograph of a book cover would probably fall under fair use in most cases, but does depend on how you plan to use it. ¦ Reisio 22:19, 2005 July 12 (UTC)

• Many pictures here are also of course on the GNU Free Documentation License, and technically you don't really need to contact the uploader for that or PD images or other "free" licenses, but prudently one would anyway to ensure the license info is correct. Actually, I rather doubt putting an image on the cover of your novel that comes from another book cover would be considered fair use; in fact, it's probably legally questionable to use any "fair use" image on the cover of a book. BTW, what image are you so interested in, anyway?--Pharos 00:15, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

• He never said he wanted a book cover image. He said he wanted an image to use on the cover of a book. They are very different. I myself am wondering whether he could use a GFDL image and license only the cover under the GFDL, without licensing the book under that license. Would it be "mere aggregation" or not? (that's what happens when you use licenses outside their original intention) Superm401 | Talk 00:38, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

Student visa

I have a lodger. He is from Japan. He has a visa which allows him to work in France, where he studied for a year (he had a student visa). He wants to work in a charity shop. As this doesn't involve actually gettin income, is this possible? I hope not, otherwise he'll be lodging in my house all summer. I'm too kind to kick him out! He has no english bank account, nor national insurance number, but has a valid passport. Thanks, u ppl are sorting out lots of my major/minor problems --Sophiebristow 22:37, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Sophie, we noticed that! It sounds like you don't really care whether this guy works or not, just that he moves on, right? I suggest you politely explain that you need the room for someone else in the near future (say, a relative of a friend to whom you are greatly indebted) and you need him to do you a favor and stick with his original plan to move on. Tell him when you need it by and don't waver. This saves face for both of you, and he doesn't have to feel evicted and unwanted unless he wants to, and you can still see him off nicely. The working rules really may not solve your problem, but we can! Glad to be of service. Let us know how it goes... alteripse 00:10, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

I don't see how you can consider yourself to have saved face when you negotiated a problem only through the use of deceit. Why don't you make the ethical choice and tell him you're uncomfortable with him staying longer? Superm401 | Talk 00:52, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

That was actually my first thought, but the more I thought about it, the more I changed my mind. Deceit for good as opposed to bad purposes is social grease. Brash honesty appeals when you are young, and you can certainly defend it idealistically, but as you go a little farther in life, you realize that social relationships and even your own responses to them are worth a little more art and care, and certain kinds of "dishonesty" are actually kinder than invarying brutal honesty. Make a "note to self" of this and re-read it in 20 years. I predict you will see this issue as less straightforward. Ultimately, though, this is "Sophie's choice," don't you think? alteripse 02:14, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

I don't see how it's a good purpose. The landlord is doing it for his own benefit. I don't really think the dishonesty in this case is kinder. It means you are rejecting them and must hide it. My solution, however, admits the real reason which probably has nothing to do with the particular lodger. The truth is easy enough to accept. Superm401 | Talk 12:32, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

(edit conflict, so there may be some overlap - this is what I wanted to reply to Superm401:) This is a good ethical argument. I used to think exactly like you. I now see it a bit softer. The point is: Does what I say respect and empower others? Honesty is only a means to that end. Many people feel, based on cultural background or personal preferences, more respected by a polite white lie than by blunt criticism. None of us has the nerve to try and please everyone. Telling someone that they don't please you means making a demand. (For most of us, and certainly for Asian people.) A demand for attention, time and energy which they may rather spend on other issues. If someone feels up to discussing it and wants to learn from you, of course, be honest – but don't force your criticism on them. Saving face is something you give to others, out of love and respect. — Sebastian (talk) 02:22, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

I don't see how it's a criticism just to tell someone you don't want them living in your house any more. It certainly doesn't demand correction. Also, when you lie, you're not giving someone the choice about whether they prefer the truth. It seems foolish to assume they do. Superm401 | Talk 12:32, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

I agree with the above that a white lie to get him to move on is probably in order if you really do want him to leave. In answer to your visa question, it's a different system, but when I was in Germany on a student visa I was only allowed to get paid for 20 hours of work a week. I don't think the restriction applied to nonpaying jobs at all. This rule of course did not stop almost everyone I know from getting paid under the table for extra work. So I wouldn't count on the visa issue saving you. --Laura Scudder | Talk 04:12, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Laura made a good point: "if you really do want him to leave." That was my assumption. This is absolutely "Sophie's choice"! Thus, the white lie is no "deceit", because it doesn't mislead the guest into making a choice. If, however, there is something he can concretely do to make you change your mind, and you feel you can talk about it, then give him a chance by letting him know your concerns. — Sebastian (talk) 08:02, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

It is "deceit," because it misleads the guest into thinking there is a genuine requirement for him to leave. I must ask, "What is a Sophie's choice?" Is it related to the novel Sophie's Choice?Superm401 | Talk 12:32, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

help me find an internet flash cartoon site

I recall seeing this flash cartoon on the internet once quite a long time ago, and I was hoping to find it again, but without knowing what it's called, I'm having a hard time finding it, and was hoping I could get some help.

I can remember a couple of cartoons from the site. One was about some kind of satyr like creature who sleeps in a tree and gets into trouble with some weird creatures playing by the river. Another cartoon was about a hitchhiker who travels a long way at night with another traveller that he is convinced is a psychotic axe-murderer or something. One was about a farmer who gets the runs while on his tractor early in the morning. And a couple more of them were about magical or mythological creatures, like the one about the satyr. I don't think any of them was voiced.

And that's about all I can remember.

I don't think it's listed in List of Flash cartoon sites, though I will certainly add it if I can find it.

Does anyone know this cartoon? thanks -23:34, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

http://www.biteycastle.com/content/animation.php ¦ Reisio 01:12, 2005 July 13 (UTC)

English Wikipedias for regional English varieties

Does it make any sense to start Wikipedias in different varieties of English, e.g. British English or American English, or is it uneconomical? Would such a thing make sense in the near or distant future? 2004-12-29T22:45Z 02:54, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

• There has recently been established a Wikipedia in Scots (Guid tae see ye at the Scots Wikipaedia, the first encyclopaedia in the Scots leid!), which is sometimes considered a variety of English, and sometimes a separate language. But certainly anything much closer than Scots to 'Standard' English would be almost all repetition and rather defeat the point.--Pharos 03:10, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Speaking of Scots: In the text Lufe God abufe al and yi nychtbour as yi self, is the "y" a "þ"? — Sebastian (talk) 03:38, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

You might want to check out the Report an Recommends o the Scots Spellin Comatee, which is linked to from sco:Wikipedia:Spellin an grammar. --Laura Scudder | Talk 05:09, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Of course, the language has changed. I didn't find the exact word "yi" or "thi". I got two contradicting clues: "thy" is in the spelling list, which points to "þi", and the grammar section lists "ye" as a pronoun, which hints to "yi". — Sebastian (talk) 08:25, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

• There's also a Simple English Wikipedia, but I believe that's intended for ESL students and younger readers. —Ghakko 15:40, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Symbol on John C. Frémont marker

Detail – the symbol is:

Can anyone identify the symbol on this marker for men lost in Colorado on one of Frémont's expeditions. I am only assuming that Fremont means John C. Frémont as the years match his period of exploration. --Laura Scudder | Talk 04:45, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

What a good mystery. I have no idea... aliens maybe? It is slightly possible that it is a trademark from either the stone or metal worker, but that seems unlikely since it is so large. Just a thought, no idea really. --Lord Voldemort 14:02, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Stolen babies

Copied from Stolen Babies Bovlb 04:48:32, 2005-07-13 (UTC)

I would like to buy a copy of stolen babies starring Mary Tyler Moore as I think it has to do with my husband being "bought" by his grandmother in 1950 Memphis, Tennessee. Please tell me where I can get a copy. Thank You Cecily Miller 702-242-8178 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.200.116.196 (talk • contribs) 2005-07-12 23:35:26 CDT (UTC)

Try this link: ISBN 1418421758. That should take you to various online stores where you can order it. Garrett^Talk 10:45, 13 July 2005 (UTC) --oops, sorry, the movie not the book! Well you can read about it at the Internet Movie Database. Notice the purchasing box thing in the top-right corner and you'll see Amazon stocks it, but only in the UK and Germany. You could also try some other online retailers. Hope that helps. Garrett^Talk 10:50, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

organic chemistry

Explain the Electrophilic substitution reaction in Durene. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.63.116.186 (talk • contribs) 2005-07-12 23:55:45 CDT (UTC)

news agencies

I just want to know the full list of all the news agency in the wholewide world and I also want to ask why are they located on hotels? and how do they function? what are the types of news agencies?

Do you mean news agencies like Reuters or Associated Press, or retailers who sell newspapers and magazines? If it's the former, there's an extensive, though not complete list in the news agency article. If it's the latter, there's no way we could possibly list them all. --Robert Merkel 06:53, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

US Supreme Court retirees

Which Justices of the supreme court retired at the same age or younger, than O'Conner?

anyone know? KeBe

This could be helpful. David Sneek 07:51, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

anti-climb paint

Does anti-climb paint work? Whenever I've seen walls with a warning sign about anti-climb paint, I always think that I can see little to hinder a potential climber, and the walls do not appear unusual in any way. How long does it last anyway? Jooler 10:59, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

I believe it's made to be extremely matt and thus super-slippery, meaning you'd easily lose your footing and no doubt fall and hurt yourself. Or maybe that's just what they want you to think! :)

I'd say it would last about as long as normal paint would, although with time it would no doubt lose its slickness just as textured paints lose their specks of sand (or whatever that stuff is).

Having never seen this paint in person that's only an educated guess.

You could always do a test yourself, just stick your shoe up against it and see how easily the sole slips on the surface. Garrett^Talk 11:44, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

I was always under the impression that anticlimb paint never fully dried. So you are trying to climb up a liquid film. Theresa Knott (a tenth stroke) 16:53, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

New use of motion Detectors

I am looking for the article on the news July 12, 2005 about a busy housewife trying to take care of her children in summer and her aged father in law. New tecnoligy now allows her to check up on him on line through the use of motion detectors which tells her how often he goes into the bathroom, if he takes his medications, etc. I was half way through the archives when I was closed out is there any way I can find out more about this topic? Thank you Pauline Spaulding 703-820-3117

Was this it? David Sneek 16:54, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Tv Advertising - permitted times'

Is it corect that the current time restrictions of advertsing on Commercial TV are going to be scrapped. The Times of 12th July seems to imply that.

Alan Dick

Television Advertising - permitted maximum

I read in the business pages of The Times of 12th July, 2005 that Commercial TV will lose it's restrictions of 12 minutes advertising per hour. Does this effect all UK Commercial Stations? Brooke1.--Brooke1 15:01, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Identify this bridge

<image removed beacuse it contained two topless women> This is the image. (Providing a link to the image in case anyone else wants to check the bridge (or the women, I guess) out.) -- Essjay · Talk 17:32, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

What is the name of this bridge? Broonee 17:17, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

Sorry, I think I'm going to err on the side of conservativeness and remove that picture for now. There are lots of people who use the reference desk. --HappyCamper 17:24, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=bridges+new+westminster+canada&ll=49.205822,-122.896317&spn=0.007767,0.010009&t=k&hl=en
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=bridges+new+westminster+canada&ll=49.207568,-122.894268&spn=0.005074,0.010009&hl=en Looks highly likely that's it. ¦ Reisio 17:27, 2005 July 13 (UTC)

FYI, It's called the Vancouver Skybridge and it crosses the Fraser River between New Westminister and Surrey. Robojames 17:36, 13 July 2005 (UTC)