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September 22

any officials in Asian countries of African origin?

Countries like Australia, the UK. Canada, and the US all have plenty of popularly elected officials,senators, governors even presidents now of African origin. Is there even one such person in even one Asian country? If not, why aren't Asian coutntries ever considered racist they way the countries mentioned are? 04:00, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

What Asian nations have significant populations of African origin? Clarityfiend (talk) 04:10, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I recently spent some time looking through the lists of MPs in Japan to see if there were any of non-Japanese ethnicity, and I couldn't find any (i.e. I couldn't see any non-Japanese names). Japan does, although, only have a 1.2% foreign national population (though that number is a bit construed). 210.254.117.186 (talk) 05:59, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Naturalised foreigners tend to be given Japanese versions of their names, as in the case of Wagner Lopes, the Brazilian player for Nagoya Grampus Eight. Therefore, even if there were any foreigners in the cabinet, they may be hard to spot just by looking at their names. I'm not saying there are or there aren't any, but I am saying that you would need to delve into the individual biographies of each person to find out the status of their nationality, both past and present. --KageTora - SPQW - (影虎) (talk) 12:39, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I stand to be corrected here, but if by "African origin" you mean black, I'd be surprised if Australia has any such elected officials. There are no names in Category:Australians of African descent that appear to be politicians or the like. There might perhaps be a few white people born in places like South Africa or Zimbabwe who have been elected to public positions in Australia. -- JackofOz (talk) 08:44, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

It's possible that some of the West Asian countries have had black officials although many of them are not popularly elected. In any case, many are considered racist given their treatment of black people, foreign workers and Jewish people (although that's complicated by the fact it's perhaps mostly religion that they care about, not ethnicity). Countries with somewhat multicultural societies, e.g. Singapore and Malaysia have had quite a number of popularly elected non majority (Chinese in the case of Singapore, Malay in the case of Malaysia) officials although both have been accused of racism and the Malaysian political set and law is largely implicitly racialist and some say racist and the treatment of non Malay indigenous Malaysians (particularly non Muslim ones) has been controversial (and I don't think any expects a non Malay PM anytime in the near future). In Indonesia there surely been large numbers of non Javanese elected officials including I suspect some Melanesians, although the Javanese don't even have a majority anyway. Indonesia's treatment of Indonesians of Chinese descent in the past has been controversial and their Transmigration program is also controversial. In India, Anglo-Indians are guaranteed political seats by law. Taiwanese aborigines are similarly guaranteed representation in the legislative Yuan. In other words, this is not to say that racism doesn't exist in Asian countries particularly against black Africans (it does) or that they haven't been accused of it (they have) but that the lack of black African leaders is unsurprising given the minute percentage of the population it represents in most such countries as 210 and Clarity have mentioned. Note while I specifically mentioned the complicating factor for Jewish people, in many cases, racial discrimination is complicated due to language, culture and religion. It may not be so much what 'race' you are. This [1] may be enlightening. In a similar vein to JoOz's comment here in NZ (which you didn't mention) accusations of racism have been made particularly regarding our treatment of Māori and non European immigrants (mostly Asian and Pacific Islanders). The lack of elected black Africans doesn't tend to come in to it... In terms of elections Māori are guaranteed representation via the Māori seats (which in itself is sometimes called racism) and there have also been Māori elected via more general means and a some Asians and Pacific Islanders in recent times although I believe their numbers remain lower then their share of the population. Nil Einne (talk) 12:02, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't know about africans, but Marutei Tsurunen is the first foreign-born member of the Diet of Japan. Astronaut (talk) 17:42, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't know any Asian countries that have officials of African origin but, in Africa, there is Mauritius who is African (being member of the AU, SADC, COMESA, ACP, etc...). yet most of its leaders have been of Asian origin and some of European origin. 41.212.167.138 (talk) 18:56, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Israel, which is technically in Asia, has had two Ethiopian-born members of the Knesset: [2] -- Mwalcoff (talk) 01:40, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

First one must define one's terms. The late Israeli Foreign Minister, Abba Eban, was born in South Africa. I assume you would not be refering to him, but someone with a negroid ethnic background. In which casr, except for the previous item, the answer is "No." B00P (talk) 01:54, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

There is the "Russian Obama", although he hasn't actually won an election yet. "If elected, [he] would be the first black person elected to public office in Russia." Most of Russia is in Asia, geographically. — jwillbur 05:57, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Facebook Fakebook!

Recently, I took out my Goblet of Fire copy that I bought years ago when I was a kid. While re-reading it, I found a few mistakes that made me feel that the copy might not be an original Bloomsbury copy. For example, in page 503, where Dumbledore, Moody and Fudge are conversing, Fudge's name is misprinted as "Crouch". Also, unlike all my other Potter books (which are definitely original ones), this one became tattered too easily. Is it possible that it's a pirated copy? Also, can someone in the Ref-Desk, who has a copy of Goblet please check whether it says "Crouch" instead of "Fudge" in their book as well? Thanks in advance! 117.194.226.128 (talk) 08:22, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

My son's copy (bought through Amazon) has the same mistake, it happens. Mikenorton (talk) 10:52, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Indeed, one way of identifying early editions of the third book is through the presence or otherwise of a particular misprint. 94.168.184.16 (talk) 13:15, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

If it makes you feel better, page 503 of my copy doesn't even have Dumbledore or Fudge/Crouch on it! And speaking of typos, it's MooNy. ~ Amory (user • talk • contribs) 14:23, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't have the book in front of me BUT I think you're wrong. Dumbledore and Fudge/Crouch were likely talking with Alastor Moody and NOT Remus "Moony" Lupin since Lupin was still an unregistered animagus. Dismas|^(talk) 04:05, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Pirated copies will be photo-reproduced from a good copy, so misprints are no indicator that it's pirated. I'd be surprised if anyone could sell pirated mass-market books in the west and make much profit. In the Far East it's a different story, but over there the poor quality of the paper and printing will be obvious.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 15:03, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

[3]. "Crouch" was indeed an error which was fixed in later editions. FiggyBee (talk) 15:39, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I think it is actually Moody that is referred to as Crouch, which he actually is, but that hasn't been revealed by that point. --Tango (talk) 04:13, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

According to the site I linked, both "Crouch" for "Fudge" on p503 and "Moody" for "Crouch" on p594 were errors in the first edition. FiggyBee (talk) 03:26, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

respond to high inflation

what does Monetary authority do to cope with undesired high inflation?

See Monetary policy. They'd work to restrict the supply or availability of money and/or increase the cost of money by increasing the rate of interest. --Tagishsimon (talk) 11:13, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

This is assuming that they dare to apply these measures, which run the risk of sending an economy into recession. Marco polo (talk) 14:15, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Today, of course, this isn't an issue. Much of the developed world is suffering from extremely low inflation or even (as in the US) deflation. DOR (HK) (talk) 02:46, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Godesses/lady liberty history

i am doing a assignment on godesses/lady liberty history and i came across an icon/graphic/symbol thumbnail that looked the same as the statue of liberty but originated from somewhere else and had a different meaning/related to something obscure. i cant find this graphic now. i have searched all lists and libraries on the wiki site. your assistance would be appreciated. thanking you in advance --120.16.156.19 (talk) 11:11, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Possibly Lady Justice. Also check out all the images in Statue of Liberty, such as Jules Joseph Lefebvre's painting La Vérité --Tagishsimon (talk) 11:15, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Maybe the Goddess of Democracy from Tianenmen Square? Adam Bishop (talk) 12:47, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Check out La Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic.Froggie34 (talk) 14:31, 22 September 2009 (UTC)DT

And here she is --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:38, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

And let's not forget Liberty Leading the People, whose topless form was once featured on the 100 Franc bill. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 16:53, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

She's an avatar of Marianne. She was taken off the bill when Jean d'Ashcrofte ascended to the French cabinet. PhGustaf (talk) 20:46, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The Statue of Freedom stands atop the dome of the United States Capitol. --- OtherDave (talk) 20:39, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Writs of assistance

Why was it particularly hateful to the colonists?Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 14:18, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Per Writ of assistance, probably because they allowed customs officials to search anywhere for smuggled goods without having to obtain a specific warrant. That sort of thing will tend to annoy. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:23, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Also, before the 1760s, New England merchants had carried on a very lucrative, but technically illegal trade with French and Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. British colonial officials were probably aware of this trade but turned a blind eye to it. During the 1760s, the Writs of Assistance were used to crack down on this trade, which resulted in a serious loss of income for merchants and seamen in New England ports, especially Boston. Marco polo (talk) 18:57, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Education

what are the ways of improving the functions of technical teachers?

Hello, what project is this for?Froggie34 (talk) 14:31, 22 September 2009 (UTC)DT

Teach them to cook? Give them loud hailers? Give them some work experience? Make them sit exams every year? The list is endless....--Shantavira|^{feed me} 15:09, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

One of the biggest deficiencies I've noticed in university professors is lack of ability to speak English (or the native language, whatever that may be). And, more generally, they lack communications skills. They may very well be experts in their field, but that does the students no good if they can't communicate. Thus, they should be required to take courses on English and communication, and should regularly be evaluated based on those skills. Their continued employment and raises/bonuses should become contingent upon their communications proficiency. StuRat (talk) 19:48, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Stamp Act

What were 3 ways colonists reacted to it? Btw i know someone is bound to say this. So, yes this is a study guide for a test. And these questions are the ones i could not find. So No, I am not asking for every answer just the harder ones to find in my book.Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 14:29, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Stamp Act 1765 is a bit too long / didn't read, but even at a distance I can pick out a) protests and b) Stamp Act Congress. I'm guessing a close reading will find a third, such as ignoring it. Ingrate colonists. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:37, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

The short sighted tyrants should have known better. Googlemeister (talk) 14:40, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh come on; everyone loved the service but no-one liked paying for it. Plus ça change. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:46, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

National Lampoon's High School Yearbook Parody noted in its American History section that the Stamp Act was followed by the Intolerable Acts, the Abominable Acts, and then the Unnatural Acts. War was inevitable. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 16:51, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

[ec] It's not at all clear that most colonists loved the "service". While Britain had expanded its empire (at some cost in colonial lives), colonists derived little benefit from this. At the same time London was attempting to impose the Stamp Act, the Proclamation of 1763 prevented colonists from expanding into the lands that London had won from France, again at some cost in colonial lives. Meanwhile, London began enforcing the Navigation Acts, cutting off the lucrative trade especially between the New England colonies and the Caribbean colonies of Spain and France. Finally, colonists were forced to lodge British troops in their homes at the colonists' expense. British troops often abused colonists or treated them with disrespect. Understandably, many colonists were less than thrilled to pay for this "service", particularly when they had no voice in the Parliament that imposed the tax and these policies on them. Marco polo (talk) 16:53, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Deflection of sound or noise

The speed of sound or note can be measured.The volume of sound can also be measured.Can the volume of sound be stopped,minimized ,deflected or muffled by any electronic device inside and outside a building?15:52, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Probably the best we have on this is the article Active noise control. In short, at the scale of a building, or even a room, it is difficult to do; it may work reasonably well at the level of headphones but not so well on a larger scale. Sound masking and Architectural acoustics tend to be favoured methods. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:59, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Active noise cancellation basically involves some piece of electronics listening to the sound and generating the exact opposite of that sound through some kind of loudspeaker. This is fairly effective - but only at the point where the 'anti-sound' is being generated. Because sounds spread out in concentric rings, the rings radiating out from the anti-sound generator don't match up with the rings spreading out from the original sound source at any place other than immediately around the anti-sound generator. Hence, it works for things like headphones where the listener is very close to the anti-sound machine - but increasingly poorly as you move away from that point. Eventually, the anti-sound actually makes matters worse - adding more noise! That's really the heart of the problem - while you can indeed measure the volume, speed, pitch, etc of incoming sound - the exact shape of the sound wave is different at every point in space. Counteracting that pressure wave in one tiny spot is fairly easy - but doing it everywhere within the volume of (say) a whole room would be virtually impossible. SteveBaker (talk) 16:17, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

So, it then follows that we should put the noise-canceling devices directly on the noise generating devices, so the concentrate spheres of noise and anti-noise will closely match. We can put a collar on each barking dog and loud child, for example. And, just for kicks, we might as well make them noise-triggered shock collars. :-) StuRat (talk) 19:34, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

It's hard to read StuRat's small font. Is that "just for kicks" or "just for kids" ? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 19:55, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Kicks. BTW, did you know you can increase the font size in most browsers ? It's typically something like View + Text Size on the top menu. StuRat (talk) 20:06, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

"Other people's kids" would suit me. BTW it is Ctrl + mouse roller in MS IE v.8 in Vista. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 16:23, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Proof of guardianship

In Canada, what constitutes proof of guardianship of a minor child? As a follow-up, what would generally be required to obtain that proof, assuming no complications? Matt Deres (talk) 16:36, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

If you are the minor’s guardian and birth parent, a marriage certificate (if your surname is not the same as the child’s), or a copy of the child’s birth certificate showing your name, may be sufficient. Adoption papers showing your name and the child’s name would also be appropriate. Here’s a link to a podcast on current laws about guardianship in Canada. I don’t know if it answers your question as my sound card recently gave up the ghost and I can’t preview the material for you. Your question may devolve into requiring legal advice, but I can point you to several other links. This one suggest that, if you are the guardian because the minor is a visitor in this country, Canada Customs has a form to be filled out and seems to require a notarized statement of preparedness from the guardian. (A fill-in-the-blanks form that purports to do this job can be found here.) From this site, about documents required for travelling with minors, there is this rather loose explanation of what such “proof of guardianship” might be: Custodial parents or legal guardians must attach a copy of supporting documents, such as a court order or letter of authorization if the application is for a child under 18 years of age who will be travelling with a non-custodial adult.

As yours may be a situation requiring specific proof, I suggest you ask those who will be determining if you have that proof, exactly what it is that they require. // BL \\ (talk) 02:37, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, I will check out those links when I get back home. I'll provide a bit more info, if it helps narrow things down. My daughter stands to get an inheritance, but as a minor she can't deal with the insurance companies herself. Since it's my relative who left the money, I'll be the official guardian for all this. The insurance companies are based in the US and have no clue what kinds of documents we use in Canada, and so cannot give me something specific to fill out. I would have thought a simple search of the government sites would get me some kind of standard form to get filled out with a notary or something, but it seems that non-broken, non-dysfunctional families are now so rare as to not require support. :-) If we'd been divorced like normal people, one of us would have court documents proving guardianship, but that ain't the case. I'll ask my contact if a legal copy of the birth certificate will be sufficient, but I fear that would only prove paternity, not guardianship or fiduciary trust. To help keep this off the line for "advice", I'm officially not looking for an opinion about what might work, but rather a link to a Canadian (or Ontario) government site that spells out the various requirements. Matt Deres (talk) 13:11, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Most common LEGO brick

Which brick is the most common LEGO brick? --88.78.230.207 (talk) 16:56, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Define what you mean by "most common". →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 17:00, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I would have thought "most produced" and "found in largest quantities in homes" and "most used" would all be the same thing...(I'm not the OP, I just don't see how there is more than one answer.) Vimescarrot (talk) 17:21, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Which brick is the most produced LEGO brick? --88.78.237.73 (talk) 18:08, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Based on my childhood collection, I would state that it is most likely the standard 2x4 brick. Googlemeister (talk) 18:12, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

See Peeron reports based on mixing one of every set into a big pile. It says the 1x2 is the most common. The results aren't what I expected, I thought the 2x4 were more common. And I'm pretty sure white is more common than black whatever that database says. The tubs analysed at [4] re probably more typical. Dmcq (talk) 18:36, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Take the Peeron reports with a grain of salt — or at least be careful about what they're tallying. Their totals are looking at what you would get if you took exactly one copy of each set LEGO ever marketed. In practice, some sets will have sold much better than others, so the distribution of blocks sold (and found in homes) will not match the distribution in the Peeron reports. As an example:

• Set A contains 2 1x2 blocks;
• Set B contains 1 1x2 block and 1 2x4 blocks;
• Set C contains 2 2x4 blocks.

By the Peeron reports method, a random pile of six blocks will contain three each of the 1x2 and 2x4 blocks. Now, suppose we knew that LEGO had actually sold a million of Set C, and only a hundred thousand each of Sets A and B. If you take a random six blocks from all of the ones sold, odds are you're going to get five 2x4 blocks and just one of the 1x2 blocks. I suspect that something very much like this has happened in real life. The specialty kits (Star Wars, etc.) are probably more likely to contain small blocks, and there are lots and lots of different specialty kits. On the other hand, there are relatively few big-tub-o-blocks kits, but I expect that historically those have sold very well. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 20:09, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't doubt that if you took Lego sets...ie things like houses and fire stations, etc - then the smaller brick sizes would dominate - but if you include the "bulk buckets" (the big red and blue plastic 'buckets' that are shaped like gigantic Lego bricks) then the 2x4 would dominate the count by far. Those bulk buckets sell bricks in much larger quantities than the kits. So the answer is going to depend on the kinds of things you pick for your samples. SteveBaker (talk) 23:39, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Money question

In theory, physically destroying units of cash causes the currency's value to rise. How can this work in practice? How will the economy know a particular number of units of cash has been destroyed? JIP | Talk 17:47, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Given that money supply is no longer particularly dependent on physical currency, I don't know that your premise can be safely assumed. That said, if it's the case, it's a simple supply curve. The economy as a singular entity doesn't have to "know" anything; rather, it's the general reflection of the value of scarcity. — Lomn 18:14, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, obviously, given that physical currency is nowadays only a small proportion of the overall money supply, the effect would be very small, but still non-zero. After all, the only way I could get the currency back would be to ask the state to print more money and give it to me (required to keep the balance - I wouldn't have been compensated for destroying the cash, so I shouldn't have to pay to get it back), which lowers the currency's value, so I thought the initial act would have the opposite effect. But when the state prints or destroys cash, it is done as a controlled and noted act, which affects the currency's value directly (albeit in a very small way). When I would do it, it would take time for the economy and market to realise there's suddenly a little less money floating around. It's this difference that caused my question. JIP | Talk 18:38, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

As for knowing in general, the "economy" is just the sum of its buyers and sellers. They don't automatically know anything. If an alien transported all the gold out of Fort Knox, and nobody checked it regularly (ha), the economy would go on humming away as usual until someone had need to go get some of the gold. Then there would be some troubles. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 20:22, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

¶ The real-world mechanisms by which this effect is felt or noted are now, as said above, made very murky by the increase of M2, M3 and other measures of money that include much more than coins and paper-money. However, it should be fairly easy to mentally reconstruct how things would work in a simple, textbook world where all money has a single concrete form (M0), because almost all of us encountered similar situations as children.

• Remember those board games, such as Monopoly or Scrabble, which had a limited number of pieces, counters or tokens? Don't you remember that in the normal process of child's play over the months, that some of those tokens or counters would eventually get lost? And sometimes you'd hit a limit, where there were no longer enough tokens to play a sensible or enjoyable game? ("We've got 15 greens, but only 6 reds.") You'd either give up on that particular game, buy a new copy, borrow similar tokens from another game, or make up substitute counters, the equivalent of printing money. If the game required you, for example, to amass sets of six colours, and the total pot included 20 each of five colours but only 5 reds (since 15 had disappeared over time), then each player would be willing to exchange more than one of his blues or whites for one red. The players would usually know this at the start of the game, but even if they didn't (perhaps because game's owner who acted as banker kept the knowledge to himself), they'd eventually get the feeling that red was scarcer and "more valuable". In fact, many games like Scrabble start out with uneven quantities and values of pieces (many E's worth 1 point and only one Q worth 10 points). There's a similar process in many card games, where play changes noticeably after the draw stock of unplayed cards is exhausted. —— Shakescene (talk) 20:56, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

There is no difference between burning your money and refusing to use it. If you do that, the economy perceives decreased demand for goods and services. A consequence is a rise in interest rates because the risk of loss for investors in production has increased. That means better returns for investors in the currency so the price to buy the currency using other currencies goes up. A parallel example is the sale of jewel diamonds. That effectively freezes money away from circulation. Jewel diamonds are valued unrealistically highly. If large numbers of owners put their gems up for sale in a free market their price would plummet. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:20, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

It is simpler than all of this (I feel). Money created by banks can only be done so from a base of deposits by players in the economy. Banks create money based on the legislated (or customary) reserve ratio. If you destroy a bunch of money, it cannot become Bank reserves and the bank cannot multiply it into deposits. The money supply decreases by an amount much greater than the amount of money you destroy. Consider an auction. If i was auctioning off some item and I gave all the bidders $50 in play money they would pay a price close to $50. If replayed the game and only gave them $20 suddenly that item would be won for $20. See quantity theory of money203.214.104.166 (talk) 16:59, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

US Business Visa

I am Vignesh from chennai - India. I have B1 Visa to US. and I am going to Travel to United states. Whether I can take my wife along with me to US. Suggest me what are the Procedures.

You should check with the relevant authorities. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services is probably a good place to start. The USCIS site suggests that your visa does not extend to your wife, but notes that some travelers do not require visas. Customs and Border Protection may have further info about entry procedures and requirements. I expect that various Indian government agencies can also be of assistance. — Lomn 18:19, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Assuming that your wife is a citizen of India, she would probably need a B2 (Tourist) Visa to accompany you, since visas are apparently required for all travelers from India. As Lomn suggested, the best way to know for sure is to contact your local US Consulate. According to this page, you should expect to wait 3 days to obtain a tourist visa in Chennai, though the website advises that it can take longer, so it is best to apply as far in advance as possible. This page describes the procedures. Marco polo (talk) 18:36, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Considering this a little further, before US consulates grant visas, they try to determine whether the person receiving the visa intends to return to his or her home country. I do not know your situation, but it is possible that the consulate granted you the B1 (temporary) visa partly because your wife was remaining in India, which would be evidence that you intend to return to India. It could be that the consulate would be reluctant to grant your wife a visa, on the grounds that the two of you might decide to stay in the United States once you get there. (I am not suggesting that you intend this or expressing an opinion on this in any way.) So it might be wise to consult an immigration attorney and/or to think of ways to convince the US authorities that you both intend to return to India after your trip (assuming that you do intend to return). Marco polo (talk) 18:46, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Marco polo does not suggest you intend to stay illegally in the US and neither do I. However US visa officials are explicitly instructed to assume all applicants intend to immigrate illegally until they manage to convince them otherwise. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 19:49, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Buying American food in the UK

I live in England but I'd like to get my hands on some American food such as Cracker Jack, Candy Corn and Lucky Charms cereal. I've looked at some sites but they seem to charge the earth,(Lucky Charms at around £8 a box). I've looked on eBay and you can get stuff slightly cheaper, but is there not a store in England that sells this sort of thing at a reasonable price? As a kid we used to get them from the US Marine base.Popcorn II (talk) 18:52, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

The Defense Commissary Agency lists six commissaries at USAF/RAF facilities in the UK. I don't know which, if any, are accessible to visitors without military ID, but they all have phone numbers, so you can call the nearest one and ask. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 19:01, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

You sure have a sweet tooth, don't you ? You might well find comparable products on sale there, particularly for Cracker Jacks. For example, do they have Fiddle Faddle, Poppycock, or Crunch 'n Munch there ? If all else fails, you could make your own Cracker Jacks. Just make some popcorn, drizzle a caramel glaze over it, add some peanuts, and toss it in the fridge to harden. StuRat (talk) 19:25, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Imports probably have a high "protective tariff". →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 20:14, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

As with StuRat I would be surprised if caramel popcorn doesn't exist in the UK. While I've never tried it myself it appears to exist here in NZ [5] albeit perhaps not that easy to find Nil Einne (talk) 20:25, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Butterkist sell various (rather nice) flavours over here. 94.168.184.16 (talk) 21:59, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

No one has said it, so let me. Candy corn?!? Really? I have never met anyone who even remotely likes candy corn, never mind craving it. Actually, considering the reputation of English culinary quality, I am surprised they aren't swimming in candy corn... --Jayron32 23:27, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I like it. I don't eat it often, but when I do, sure, it's enjoyable. Sorta like Play-Doh, except sweet. What's not to like?

Another lowbrow/childlike pleasure: Those little pieces of paraffin wax, maybe half an inch long, shaped like a Coke bottle and filled with sweet, vaguely fruitlike liquid. Don't remember what they're called. Easy to find in the South; not so much around here. --Trovatore (talk) 23:34, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Nik-L-Nips ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 00:22, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

England has a worse culinary reputation than the US? Where's that? --Tango (talk) 23:35, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I think English food is pretty much universally reputed the worst in the world, which to be fair, is not entirely fair. The English are not great at main dishes (the best bet in London is to eat at Indian restaurants all the time — great Indian food there) but they're very very good at desserts. --Trovatore (talk) 23:41, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

British desserts are mere trifles. PhGustaf (talk) 23:45, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Candy corn is good, but very sweet, so you can only eat so much of it. Regarding British food, I recall two things. One was John Cleese answering the question of why the British never took the time to develop great iconic dishes: "Well, we had an empire to run, you see!" The other is the old saying, "If your guest is Italian, serve French; if French, serve Italian; and if English, boil anything." →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 00:05, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually, the English reputation for bad food is outdated. It was true when I first went there in the 1980s (apart from a few high-end restaurants in the big cities), but if anything I'd say that, on average, for a town of a given size, you are now likely to eat better in England than in the United States. Marco polo (talk) 00:16, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

US food may not be a good comparison, since it seems that only Americans like US food. Everyone else finds it ridiculously sweet and/or salty. --Tango (talk) 01:18, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Hence the lack of popularity of McDonald's, Coca Cola, etc., around the world. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 01:47, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The MacDonald's UK website says a Quarter Pounder with Cheese has 2.2g of salt, the USA site says 3g. That is a sample of one item (the first I picked) and I can't guarantee it is comparing like with like, but it is still interesting. And Coca Cola isn't food... --Tango (talk) 03:51, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

What is "US food?" Other than hamburgers and hot dogs (which are of German origin), there's very little identifiably "American" food, as far as I know. Just about everything we eat comes from somewhere else, except turkey. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 01:34, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Turkey, yes. Cranberry sauce. Okra. Grits. Black-eyed peas. Catfish. Man, don't make me hungry; it's not time to eat yet. --Trovatore (talk) 01:38, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I just mean food in the US, wherever it comes from. Americans take a dish from somewhere else and either add salt or sugar (or both) to it. For example, the chip (or fry, it you prefer) - most American restaurants I've been to add enormous amounts of salt to chips in the kitchen despite there being salt on the table. I am perfectly capable of adding salt myself if I want it, so why not give me the choice? I once had coleslaw on an American Airlines flight that was so sweet I genuinely thought it was some kind of desert when I first tasted it - that is more extreme than most American food, but it is a good example of the kind of things you get in the US. --Tango (talk) 01:44, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Americans generally like their food bland, generic, and bad for you. Bleh. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 02:25, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

You say "Indian", but it is food served in Britain, often made by British citizens, it just has Indian origins. Few countries can claim to have a large portion of their food entirely their own creation - it's all based on other foods from countries they have historically traded with or had immigration from. --Tango (talk) 01:18, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Whether the "Indian" food can be considered British or not would depend on if the same Indian food can be found outside of the UK. Much American food is a combination of different nationalities, but with an American spin on it, since the US is a nation of immigrants. Thus we get hot dogs and chili dogs, which are based on German sausages, but adding the bun and toppings really makes them into entirely different foods. Or take pizza, which came from Italy (although tomatoes are from America), but the idea of adding toppings you select and getting it delivered is all American. Or take Chinese-American food, which bears little resemblance to authentic Chinese food. And the fortune cookie was actually invented in America. Even countries with a supposedly rich tradition in iconic foods borrow much from other cultures, like the Italians getting spaghetti from Marco Polo's visit to China. StuRat (talk) 03:42, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The UK has delivered pizzas with pick-your-own toppings, so by your definition that can't be considered American. Chicken tikka masala is apparently the most popular Indian dish in the UK and it is quite likely a British invention (the exact origins are disputed) and I think it is quite rare outside the UK. --Tango (talk) 03:51, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I suppose I should have said that the food can be claimed by a nation if it originated there, in it's final form. So, if chicken tikka masala originated in the UK, they can claim it, even if it has spread elsewhere. Similarly, I'm pretty sure delivered pizza with toppings you select is a US invention. Interestingly, in old movies it's always "pizza pie" (or in the song That's Amore). The "pie" apparently was dropped somewhere along the way. StuRat (talk) 13:52, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Also interestingly, Hawaiian pizza is not American, and anecdotally, I'm told most "Indian" cuisine in Britain is more Bangladeshi in style and meat content. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 14:08, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for all your answers. As an adult I don't tend to eat loads of sugary sweets but I've got this nostalgic memory of Candy Corn, etc. from when I was a kid. Yeah we've got toffee popcorn, etc but nostalgia can be a pretty specific thing. Maybe I'll get a friend in the US to send me a package. BTW, George Orwell wrote a great essay called 'In Defence of English Cooking'. He does tend to concentrate on all the cakes and puddings but also has a good word to say about Lancashire hotpot, Shepherds Pie, Yorkshire Pudding, etc. As well as loads of cheeses... Stilton, Red Leicester, Yarg, etc. Mmmmmm! Popcorn II (talk) 07:19, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

There's a shop in the Trafford Centre which sells Lucky Charms. I *think* the price was around £5 a box, but no promises. Vimescarrot (talk) 07:55, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

This blog says £7.49. This Yahoo Answers post mentions a few places - Chester, London - though nothing specific. This thread mentions 2 for £10 in the Trafford Centre Selfridges store. Vimescarrot (talk) 08:00, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Out of curiosity, have you tried peanut butter? --Blue387 (talk) 08:45, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Peanut butter is popular in both the US and UK, although we don't tend to eat it with jam (or jelly, in American English). --Tango (talk) 16:11, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

So, I'm curious, what exactly do you do with peanut butter, then ? Myself, I put it on bread with sliced bananas (although they are more properly called "nanners", in this context). StuRat (talk) 14:07, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Personally, I don't do anything with it. I'm not really sure what other people do with it - peanut butter on toast is popular, I believe. --Tango (talk) 20:36, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

To specify, American English uses both jelly and jam, depending on if there are bits of fruit still in there (jam) or if there is no bits of fruit (jelly). We also have preserves, but I am not clear on how that differs from jam or jelly. Googlemeister (talk) 16:30, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Our article on preserves only touches on the conservation of fruit and indicates that the word is used interchangeably with jam; however vegetables can also be "preserved" through the process of pickling. -- Александр Дмитрий (Alexandr Dmitri) (talk) 17:01, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

And there's also marmelade, which I believe also contains zest (hopefully the bits of peel, not the soap), making it more bitter. StuRat (talk) 14:07, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

September 23

John Maynard Keynes's videos or color pictures

Do John Maynard Keynes's videos or color pictures exist? --百楽兎 (talk) 01:21, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

And his voice records.--百楽兎 (talk) 01:23, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Google returns a few. He was on the cover of Time magazine. Likewise Google video. DJ Clayworth (talk) 13:26, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

bread loaves' twist ties

The twist ties on almost all loaves of bread are the reverse of the normal "righty tighty, lefty loosy" principle. To put it another way: nuts, bolts, screws, jar lids, dials etc. tighten by turning clockwise and loosen by turning counter clockwise. Is there a logical reason for bread twist ties to be the reverse?

I know there is logic to some tire lug nuts being reversed, so the tire action will not loosen them. And I am told that propane tankes are reversed to prevent idiots from making home made contraptions using the tanks. But I can not think of any reason why bread twist ties are reversed.

Napper48 (talk) 06:30, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I've noticed some that are "double twisted", meaning they twist the first bit one way, then grip the twisted part tightly and twist the rest the other way. This makes it exceedingly unlikely to untwist accidentally, but also makes it quite difficult to untwist when you want some bread. StuRat (talk) 13:42, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The solution to this problem is to move to a place where the other kind of bag closer is used, a flat square piece of plastic with a central hole and a slit connecting this to the edge. No twisting or untwisting required, you just push the end of the bag through the slit into or out of the hole. This is standard here (Toronto) on both bread and milk bags. I see that WP has no article on bag closers; I wonder if they have another name and there is an article under that. --Anonymous, 20:40 UTC, September 23, 2009.

Bread clip. Mitch Ames (talk) 03:00, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks! --Anon, 10:00 UTC, September 29, 2009.

Of course, once the bag is open, everyone I just do the "Twist and flip it under" close method. --Jayron32 20:44, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Same here. StuRat (talk) 14:44, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

What's a milk bag? —Tamfang (talk) 23:38, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

I would guess it's to do with the machinery in the factory.I use these for re-sealing all bags,most effective. http://www.globalsources.com/gsol/I/Bag-clip/p/sm/1017721839.htm hotclaws 15:42, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Lady Liberty Lost

i sent a message yesterdaY bout a lady liberty icon/symbol that i couldnt find...i have found it so ne need to assist... thankyou --120.16.247.191 (talk) 07:28, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

(Added header.) Here it is. There's a list of posts in the 'contents' box towards the top of the page. 94.168.184.16 (talk) 10:36, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Simple book binding with glue

Hi, I'm making a series of small books from printed paper (thick paper, but not as thick as card), and I was looking online for a guide to making a paperback book without resorting to folding and printing the pages in sections (i.e. just gluing the spine), and I came across this: page. It recommends gorilla glue, which unfortunately I can't get in my country, so I'm wondering if there's a more generic solution to this? I've tried using a type of cement glue especially made for paper, and while it works pretty well, I don't think the book could take nearly as much wear and tear as the book in that tutorial.

Can anyone recommend a (generic) type of glue that might work better? Might it be better to use one of those super glue-like tubes, where you mix two containers? Thanks! 124.154.253.31 (talk) 08:22, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

(For reference, 'my country' seems to be Japan.) Gorilla Glue is a polyurethane glue. I know nothing about glues, so can't say whether that's sufficiently specific to let you find a similar generic glue, but it might be a starting point. 94.168.184.16 (talk) 10:41, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I used to make a small number of books for training purposes, and we never used glue. Our books were either 3 or 5 hole punched and placed in a binder, for books we made ourselves, or were spiral-bound (meaning many small holes along the border and a spiral of metal wire that goes through them) for those made for us by a print shop. You might want to consult a local print shop, as they can tell you which solutions are cheapest for small batches (and can do it for you, too). I think glued bindings only make economic sense for large batches, as machinery needs to be set up for each book. StuRat (talk) 13:36, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

There's also plastic comb binding [6] [7]. Manual machines are quite cheap and so are the plastic combs so you may be able to find a binding service for a relatively low price (in Malaysia it was quite easy to find places, it's commonly used for school projects, reports etc, they're commonly used in NZ as well and I've seen machines at universities but never looked into the price of a commercial service). Depending on your requirements, it may even be worth it buying a machine yourself (a quick search reveals them for under NZ$100). As a plus, when you have a machine it should be relatively easy to change pages if you need to. Nil Einne (talk) 18:10, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Gorilla glue is really unlike anything else I've used. It foams up as it dries and forces itself into tiny little gaps. I could see why it would be good for this kind of book-binding activity - and I can't think of an alternative that does that. The kind that you mix from two tubes is generally an epoxy-resin and I think that would be unsuitable for this. It seems to me that you need something that penetrates between the pages for a few millimeters - but which remains flexible when it dries. Sadly, I'd recommend Gorilla glue for that - but if you can't get it (or some equivalent) locally, I'm not sure what the fallback would be. SteveBaker (talk) 16:25, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

In the internet age, you should be able to get Gorilla glue, albeit at a higher price. Googlemeister (talk) 16:28, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The binding process used for most paperback books is called Perfect binding, and is a gluing process. There's a page in Wikibooks on it: [8]. Google gives some good results searching for "Perfect binding glue." Maybe you can find some of that available in your area, ideally in consumer quantities.–RHolton≡– 20:16, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I've seen this done successfully with RTV, but I'm not sure it would be cost-effective compared with ordering Gorilla Glue from an overseas supplier. Tevildo (talk) 20:25, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Room-temperature vulcanization, to disambiguate. Tevildo (talk) 20:27, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

It sounds like perfect binding uses a molten glue eg EVA glue as found in glue guns (google search confirms this) - in fact the EVA sticks would be ok (maybe even the same) - eva remains quite flexible when set.

You can get EVA glue anywhere? - Consider using a heat gun to melt eva onto a thicker cardboad cover. Sounds easily doable.83.100.251.196 (talk) 21:49, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

According to this forum PUR glue is also used http://printplanet.com/forums/postpress-binding-finishing-discussion/19230-eva-glue-perfect-binding

PUR is "PUR Glue is an ultra fast drying polyurethane based wood adhesive" [9] -you can get it from most hardware stores - it's wood glue (paper=wood) eg [10] both EVA and PUR are readily available and cheap.83.100.251.196 (talk) 21:55, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Thanks everyone for the info! Sending gorilla glue isn't really an option but EVA and PUR seem promising so I'll have a look at the hardware store. Thanks again! 124.154.253.31 (talk) 03:10, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

VC-25

Who typically pilots the American aircraft VC-25, also known as Air Force One? I would imagine that there are probably 2 or 3 flight crews to comply with flying regulations, and I think that they are USAF officers, but does anyone know specifically who they are? Googlemeister (talk) 15:21, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Air Force One is usually an aircraft operated by the 1st Airlift Squadron, part of the 89th Airlift Wing. I would think their membership is a matter of public record (some pilots are identified in photos on the site), and their public affairs address is provided. Why not ask? — Lomn 15:28, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

In particular by the 89th's Presidential Airlift Group. The commander of that unit was Air Force Colonel Mark S. Donnelly until 2001, then Air Force Colonel Mark W. Tillman until sometime in early 2009 - I don't know who Col.Tillman's replacement is. This CBS News story says that Tillman himself flew almost all the presidential trips. He'll have several more junior officers rotating through as FOs for different flights, but their names don't appear to be public. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 15:41, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Tillman's replacement was USAF Col. Scott M. Turner. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 15:52, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

And indeed Tillman's resignation specifically calls Turner "the presidential pilot". -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 16:02, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

History questions that I couldnt find in textbook (US road to independence)

Who was Burgoyne? Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 16:11, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Which one, we have articles on many Burgoynes. Nanonic (talk) 16:13, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The one that did something on the road to US independence.

Try John Burgoyne. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:08, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Also, what Is inflation?Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 16:15, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

By inflation, do you mean monetary inflation? Or inflation as a balloon? Googlemeister (talk) 16:26, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Who was Robert Morris?Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 16:18, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Who was Haym Salomon?Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 16:20, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Who was Henry Clinton? Btw yes I couldnt find alot...Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 16:21, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried Wikipedia? Wikipedia is an internet encyclopedia that has a lot of articles, I bet they have some on those persons you mention. They might even have one about the Amercian war of independence. --Saddhiyama (talk) 17:01, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Indeed despite knowing very little about US history (I'm not an American), I answered all of these with a simple Google or wikipedia search (I tried both and yes for every question here) and a little common sense. Perhaps you go to an odd school but it's generally expected if you didn't find the answer in your textbook, you should try looking at other sources yourself and finding the answer to all these questions is exceptionally easy. Incidentally, it took me less time then I expect it took you to write out your questions Nil Einne (talk) 17:30, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Seriously Accdude92, if you figured out how to post the question here, you should have figured out how to use the search box on the left over there <-----. Just type the name in there, and voila, you get an article about that person. All of these people are major figures in American and/or British history, and so have extensive articles at Wikipedia about them. This sort of rapid fire posting of questions whose answer you could have just found out on your own VERY easily is getting a but disruptive. --Jayron32 19:02, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The search box is in the top-right on the beta. Vimescarrot (talk) 10:00, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I've taken the liberty (a non-lost sort of liberty :) of wikilinking the subjects of your queries. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 12:16, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

There's a very good short, readable history of the American Revolution and the early U.S. called The Birth of the Republic by Edmund Morgan ISBN 9780226537573 or University of Chicago Press (US$15 new, but available much more cheaply used in equally good earlier editions; also from many libraries). The whole book is now 224 pages long, but that includes some basic texts (always useful) such as the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution; the chapters on the coming of the Revolution would be less than 100 pages. It should answer almost all of your questions, but in a far more enjoyable way than ploughing through a study guide and a list of bullet points. The relevant chapters of Samuel Eliot Morison's Oxford History of the American People would be a bit more plodding but also serve the same purpose. —— Shakescene (talk) 05:02, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Youtube Email

Does youtube has a customer support email address? I've searched their help desk and "Contact Us" section, but cant find anything. Chaosandwalls (talk) 18:46, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

On the main Contact Us page, it says "If you need help, please visit our Help Center. We've answered the most common issues our users have, and if you can't find your answer there, you'll be directed to a form where you can email Customer Service for help." Xenon54 / talk / 19:05, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

I saw that, read it all, couldn't find the answer to my question, but can't find this form Chaosandwalls (talk) 19:59, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Wow, you're right. After doing a search, I found a forum post that had the same problem and a link to http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/bin/request.py, which seems to be what you're looking for. Apparently there isn't a "catch-all" public e-mail address anymore, if there ever was one in the past. Xenon54 / talk / 20:15, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh well. It wasnt incredibly important anyway. Thanks for your help Chaosandwalls (talk) 20:49, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

YouTube's unwanted-e-mail-from-customers aversion tactic succeeds again! Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:51, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Google Inc. own YouTube so why not start at the top? These are the folks you can try to contact. I don't find their e-mail addresses but some of them surely use gmail which Google also runs. You could make a video with your message to youtube and upload that! Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:46, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Like Wikipedia, YouTube has users of its free online service but does it have any customers ? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:53, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Capilano

There are a number of places, particularly in Canada, that bear the name Capilano. Does anyone know the origin of this name, please? (I have drawn a blank with Google searches). Bridgeplayer (talk) 22:47, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Most of them in North Vancouver appear to be named after Joe Capilano. Nanonic (talk) 22:59, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

We have Capilano Honey in Australia which led me to find this great little piece of information for you: "The name ‘Capilano’ has a nostalgic connection. It means ‘rushing water’ in the language of the native American Indian tribe, the Squamish, who occupied the Capilano district near Vancouver in Canada. It was here that Tim Smith met his wife, Jill, while stationed in Canada as a RAAF flying instructor in World War II." From the capilano honey "about" website. Vespine (talk) 05:44, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Splendid contributions, thx. Bridgeplayer (talk) 00:12, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

September 24

Two-day-old cooked Chinese food: safe to eat?

Okay, long story short, I had swine flu last week and I'm extremely behind now, but have to pull an all-nighter for a couple of tests tomorrow. I'm going to have a can of NOS (not all at once, but 260 mg of caffeine over a period of three or four hours), but I'm guessing it's better having eaten food. I'm not going to drink it until around 1 AM or so, but I had dinner at 5:30; I have some leftover Chinese food from Monday that has not been refrigerated, and other than that no food. Safe to eat, or...? · AndonicO ^Engage. 01:02, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Man, just throw it out and go get a cheeseburger. You don't have time to worry about this! And if you can't tell if it is spoilt or not, we surely can't. Instead of procrastinating, just go grab something quick at the closest place that sells food that would still be open, then hurry on back. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 02:41, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

All kinds of bacteria could be living in that stuff - and even if you cook it and kill off the actual germs, their toxins would still be there. It's just not worth the risk. Shuttlebug (talk) 02:45, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I bet if you called the place you got it from and asked them they would say definitely not! It's probably only a small chance you'll get sick, but there's also a small chance you'll get really really sick. Vespine (talk) 05:37, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

females on banknotes

the US. has only males on banknotes. How many other countries are like this, having no females at all? Most countries have at least some. I noticed on my last trip in Australia every single note had a female. Are there other countries like this too?

[[:Image:10royals.jpg|thumb|James Cook on proposed Australian 10 Royal note (never issued)]]

Well, at the very least that's not true due to this image. I have no information, but it depends on how each nation decides who appears on their currency. In the US, they are all Presidents or people who deserved the position more than others, and as such there are no men. There have been two US coins featuring women, namely Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea. ~ Amory (user • talk • contribs) 03:48, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Various U.S. coins, such as the Dime (United States coin), used to feature "Lady Liberty", but those images were eventually replaced by Presidents and such. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 03:53, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

(EC)The situation in the U.S. is largely due to the the attitude towards banknote design in general; unlike many countries which do more frequent redesigns of their banknotes, and change portraits on a regular basis, the U.S. has had the same set of portraits on its bills since at least 1928, probably earlier (see Federal Reserve Note). Indeed, from 1928-1996, the notes were virtually unchanged for almost 70 years, except for very minor changes. Since 1996, all bills larger than the $1.00 have gone through two additional designs, the "large portrait" version from 1996-2003 and the "multicolored" design which has been in place since 2003. Still, in all that time, every denomination has had an invarient subject for its portrait. The same "dead president" has appeared on the same bills for at least 80 years at this point. Large-sized note indicated that the 1914/1918 series was similar to the current distribution, with the $5, $50 and $100 having the same portraits as today. The $1.00 bill has undergone no major changes at all, at least on the obverse, and looks pretty much identical to what it did in 1928, when it was a "Silver Certificate". --Jayron32 04:08, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I wonder how much the situation in Australia and England is due to the fact that England has had some powerful and respected Queens as Monarchs. By default it means a women's face on every coin in Australia, it seems plausible this has at least had some effect towards acecptnace of other women's faces on the notes also. Vespine (talk) 05:28, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

There was also a degree of cynicism in putting women on the dollar coins, since the typical American does not use dollar coins at all and typically gets rid of them (i.e. spends them) as quickly as possible if getting any in change. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 04:36, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

For money without women, I'd look at countries where women have relatively low status and that are currently ruled by a male monarch or dictator. The Saudi Arabian riyal article says their king is on all their denominations of paper money. --Anonymous, 04:40 UTC, September 24, 2009.

Fascinating reading. If it only it weren't a redlink. Maybe he meant Saudi Arabian royal family →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 06:40, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

No, I meant Saudi Arabian riyal; I just didn't notice the article was called something else. Thanks to Sluzzelin for supplying the redirect. --Anonymous, 09:08 UTC (copyedited later), September 24, 2009.

In the UK it is a legal requirement that the Queen's head appear on banknotes. Presume that Australia as part of the Commonwealth follows the same path.Froggie34 (talk) 07:33, 24 September 2009 (UTC)DT

My understanding is that in Australia, the lowest denomination Australian bank note always has the Queen on it, but the others do not. I don't know if it is a "legal requirement" or just a convention, and I can't find anything to cite as a reference, so I could be wrong. "Lowest" used to be one dollar, but is now five dollars. Mitch Ames (talk) 12:51, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The pre-1966 £sd notes had the Queen on the 1 pound note but Matthew Flinders on the 10 shilling note, so the "lowest note for the monarch" rule has been around only since 1966. -- JackofOz (talk) 13:03, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

When a monarch dies, do the old notes stay in circulation, gradually replaced by the image of the new monarch? Or do they try to replace them as soon as possible? →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 08:40, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Certainly old coins stay in circulation; there were still plenty of George V and VI coins in circulation when the UK and Australia decimalised, and even coins with Victoria on were not unheard of. I imagine a similar policy would exist with banknotes, although paper notes only last a couple of years anyway. FiggyBee (talk) 15:29, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The current England & Wales £5 bank note shows Elizabeth Fry. The £10 notes in circulation 1975-94 showed Florence Nightingale. Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:07, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

All of this pales next to France's old 100 Franc bill, which featured a rendition of the topless lady, Liberty Leading the People. Maybe the U.K. should spice up their currency by featuring Page 3 Girls. And with modern engraving techniques, they could be rendered in three dimensions. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 09:13, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Danish banknotes had females on 3 out 5 (admittedly one had both a male and a female on it, so it was an equal score), (Johanne Luise Heiberg, Anna Ancher and Karen Blixen). But now Denmark is in the process of getting some new banknotes with no persons on them at all, only bridges. --Saddhiyama (talk) 09:21, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

That image above is of a proposed note for a proposed currency that never saw the light of day. The Australian Royal was the name favoured in the early 1960s by the then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, an über-arch-royalist; it was roundly pooh-poohed and was shelved in favour of the more acceptable, if more pedestrian and unimaginative, Australian Dollar. I've changed the caption so as not to mislead our readers. If we discount the Queen, on the original 1966 series of Australian decimal currency banknotes there were 6 men and no women at all. The $5 note was issued in 1967, and it had Caroline Chisholm on one side and Joseph Banks on the other; the score was then 7:1. They later issued two more notes that had 2 men each; the score was then 11:1. The current series, released between 1993 and 1995, has a man and a woman on every note apart from the one the Queen is on (her note has a design of the Parliament House on the reverse), and if we add the Queen back in, there are in fact 6 women and only 5 men. How times have changed. -- JackofOz (talk) 10:20, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Of the five current regularly Banknotes of the New Zealand dollar, two have females albeit one is QEII i.e. the current monarch. All 5 do have watermarks of QEII as well. All the Coins of the New Zealand dollar also have QEII. All banknotes and coins only have portraits on one side. Nil Einne (talk) 10:25, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

All of the banknotes of the Malaysian ringgit past and present feature the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Featuring the current Agong is problematic as it changes every 5 years. None of them, except for the very latest which features the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj albeit not as a potrait have/had other people on them. The coins don't and haven't ever had any potraits or people Nil Einne (talk) 10:44, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The Japanese Yen has only ever had males on it and the Euro banknotes have neither men or women. Nanonic (talk) 10:39, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually, according to the article, the 2000 Yen note (which admittedly sees even less circulation than the US dollar coin) has a portrait of Murasaki Shikibu. FiggyBee (talk)

In Canada the Queen is only on the $20 bill (although she used to be on the $2 bill as well). However, the current $50 bill also has The Famous Five. Otherwise all the portraits are (male) prime ministers (no Kim Campbell!). Adam Bishop (talk) 12:56, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Banknotes of the pound sterling show the United Kingdom isn't exactly pushing back the boundaries of representation. Only Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry since the introduction of "famous Britons" in the 1970s. With the £20 and £50 redesigns featuring men, the race for a woman to replace Charles Darwin or Elizabeth Fry (or both!) is on.... 80.193.130.5 (talk) 13:01, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Can't wait for the arguments once Margaret Thatcher passes on.... Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:22, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Arguments about what? The order in which British citizens will have to line up in order to dance on her grave? SteveBaker (talk) 18:32, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

There have been females on the obverse side of US coins, most recently Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea. 99.166.95.142 (talk) 15:45, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

...always on those popular $1 coins then? SteveBaker (talk) 18:32, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The unpopularity of dollar coins is a recent phenomenon. The gold and silver dollar coins (generally featuring Lady Liberty) certainly circulated widely. --Carnildo (talk) 23:12, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Folding-money is much more convenient. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 23:22, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes - but a US $1 bill costs 12 cents to make and only lasts 2 years. A $1 coin could easily last 50 years and costs 40 cents to make. Coins are therefore something like 10 times cheaper than notes - and they are much less economical to forgers. As inflation gradually decreases the value of $1, it makes sense to switch to a coin. People argued the convenience point in the UK when the 10 shilling note, then the pound note were turned into coins. Now we have two pound coins - and I don't think many people would go back to the grubby banknotes. An alternative would be to switch to plastic banknotes - some of the countries that tried that have had success - others have had disasters. SteveBaker (talk) 03:01, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

The only reason I can think of that coins might be less convenient than notes is that the people you deal with aren't used to them. Even the Canadians can figure out the C$1 "loonies" (loon on one side, some sort of waterfowl on the other) and C$2 pieces. The US has lots of virtually unused small currency: the $1 coin is found only in Post Offices, the $0.50 coin only in Vegas, and the $2 note noplace. People have even had interesting adventures trying to pass a Jefferson. PhGustaf (talk) 04:05, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

"Even the Canadians", heh. Adam Bishop (talk) 04:11, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

People don't like having to carry more coins than necessary, because they are heavy. It's been said that a lot of men in Europe carry "purses", due to the weight of the dollar coins that the government has imposed on them. American men don't like to carry purses for some reason. Also, people are much wealthier than they were in the 1910s when a large, heavy silver dollar was something you likely would not have had all that many of in your pocket. Of course, men wore suspenders a lot more in those days - maybe because their pants pockets were their "purses". →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:36, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

It was more likely that because the buying power of $1 in the early 1900s would be closer to $10-$20 today, one would not have needed to generally carry around more then a couple of dollars in coins to have a reasonable amount of purchasing power for day to day activities. $20-30 worth of purchasing power in today's coins would be quite annoying. Googlemeister (talk) 16:52, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I learn from clicking on the link that fob pockets were designed to carry a pocket watch, but surely they've always been used for coins too. I've seen countless old movies where some avuncular type produces coins from his fob pocket and hands them to a child. These days they're in the trousers. Was that the case in the good old days, or were they only in waistcoats? -- JackofOz (talk) 19:26, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Ooo. I'll take any chance to pipe up with my opinion that any unit of currency that can't by me a Coca-Cola belongs in my pocket with my jingling money, not in my wallet with my folding money.

It's time to retire the dollar bill in favor of the coin. I don't want it associating with the REAL money in my wallet any more.

(While we're at it, lets eliminate the penny and the nickle as well, that'll lighten our pockets a bit at no real expense to us.) APL (talk) 18:59, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

arm socks

Could you tell me if these things have a specific name. I've always just called them "arm socks" but I'd like to know what their real name is, if they have one. Many thanks!

Arm warmer.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:01, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

For complete warmth I need 5 of them and the 5th has to be elastic.Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:24, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The latter item is in fact marketed, and is called (on the packaging) a willy warmer, but surprisingly we don't yet have an article on this clothing accessory (and no, I'm not about to write one). 87.81.230.195 (talk) 12:00, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Sensory illusion

We have articles on optical illusion, auditory illusion, vestibular illusion, even touch illusion and thermosensory illusion. Does anyone know good examples for illusions of taste or smell? (I mean reproducible illusions, not hallucinations). Thanks! ---Sluzzelin talk 10:04, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Given that taste and smell are not so cleanly defined in the physical world, I doubt it. What would constitute such an illusion?--Leon (talk) 10:08, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The acetone in nail varnish makes it smell like pear drops. Someone[11] says their urine smells the same.Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:21, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

(reply to Star trooper): Simply put: The reproducible sensation of tasting or smelling something that isn't there. ---Sluzzelin talk 10:24, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Orange juice tastes really different before and after using toothpaste - does that count? SteveBaker (talk) 12:50, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, there's the obvious connection between expectations and taste/smell. If you think that each of the different colors of Fruit Loops are really different flavors, one can easily perceive them as such. Close your eyes and pick randomly, and you find they're all a similarly indistinct "fruit" flavor. Your eyes and associations are what make the red ones cherry, the yellow ones lemon, etc. There are lots of other examples, popular amongst elementary science fairs. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 14:30, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

It's always struck me as odd that shampoos and soaps have quite different smells to their taste, considering how close smell and taste are. You can get peach flavour shampoo which smells lovely but I can assure you it doesn't taste too good.Popcorn II (talk) 15:37, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

In order for something to have a smell, it needs to give off airborne particles that can reach your nose. The chemicals that contribute the strong bitter taste of soap are water-soluable solids, so they can contact your tongue, but not your nose. --Carnildo (talk) 23:25, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

My guess would be that if you took away the perfumes, you could, in fact, smell the soap's natural smell to some extent. Which is presumably part of the reason they add those perfumes, to overwhelm that natural smell. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:32, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, it is very easy to fool a human sense of taste, but I do not think it is customary to call that an "illusion". For example, Saccharin and Cyclamate (artificial sweeteners) or Lead(II) acetate (a poison) taste sweet even though they have little or no nutritional value and are not related to sugars chemically. Some fruits (e.g. "miracle berry") alter the sense of taste profoundly, producing an illusion of sweetness in foodstuffs not normally perceived as sweet. Salt enhances the flavor of food even if that flavor is not perceived as "salty"; and so on. --Dr Dima (talk) 18:01, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Yeah - Monosodium Glutamate is an obvious example. It makes everything taste...more...more of whatever it tastes of already. SteveBaker (talk) 18:24, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Cranberries in cranberry sauce taste like cherries when eaten with vanilla ice cream. With the nostrils pinched shut, an onion tastes about the same as an apple or a potato. Similarly, various flavor jellybeans can't be distinguished without the sense of smell.If one is habituated to his own body odor or flatulence, he can't smell it. PTC is a chemical which tastes bitter to some, and is tasteless to others, depending on their genetics. Edison (talk) 21:28, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The Bitter End (short story) —Tamfang (talk) 00:47, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Brain tumours and the like can sometimes cause the sufferer to perceive smells that have no external source. One famous example of this is George Gershwin, who complained of smelling burning rubber on and off for three years, before he was diagnosed with a tumour, and died on the operating table. See also Phantosmia and Parosmia. -- JackofOz (talk) 19:18, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Steel axle

My carburetter has a cast aluminium housing in which turns a steel axle. The diagram shows the metals a = aluminium, s = steel. My problem is that the axle surface has rusted so that it can no longer turn in the housing. I have tried prolonged soaking with WD40 (a penetrating oil in spraycan) without success. I don't mind damaging the axle because that can be remade but the housing is valuable. It is a Weber 40IDF twin-choke carburetter. Have you ideas for getting the axle out ?

 aaaaa     aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa     aaaaaa
 aa     -      aaa   aaa     -      aa
 aa   -- --    aaa   aaa   -- --    aa
 aa  -     -   aaa   aaa  -     -   aa
:aa -       -  aaa   aaa -       -  aa:
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
:aa -       -  aaa   aaa -       -  aa:
 aa  -     -   aaa   aaa  -     -   aa
 aa   -- --    aaa   aaa   -- --    aa
 aa     -      aaa   aaa     -      aa
 aa            aaa   aaa            aa

Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:10, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

WD40 is only the measure of FIRST resort. Now, you need to go to your local car parts store and find the serious stuff. The best stuff usually come in cans with extremely poor standards of graphic design. If you can find one covered in writing in three different fonts and four colors - with lots of exclamation marks (it should have the word "MIRACLE!!!" somewhere in the name) - then that's the stuff you need! But seriously - there are much better penetrating agents out there than WD40. However, that may only be enough to get it to rotate...if the diameter of the steel shaft has been increased by the corrosion then penetrating oil isn't going to help - it doesn't get rid of the rust. Drilling it out is a possibility - but it's going to be tough because one slip off of the hard steel onto the soft aluminium is going to wreck the housing. Using force is similarly not recommended - those aluminium carb housings crack quite easily. If I were restoring this - I think I'd try to get the shaft to rotate using penetrating oils and other mystery unguents (sorry "MIRACLE!!! MYSTERY!!! Unguent!!!!") - then clean up the visible rust using a dremel tool with the wire-brush attachment. SteveBaker (talk) 12:48, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I would take it to a machine shop. I wouldn't like to guess what they would do but maybe with a very accurate rig or lathe they could drill out even a hard metal from a soft one, then fabricate an oversised axle. -- Q Chris (talk) 12:55, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I want to agree with a mechanic what he may try in advance because the job will certainly be at my own risk. My non-progress so far has been to drill little holes through the housing towards the axle and attempt to squirt WD40 into the bearing. Using force to turn the axle has only caused it to twist. The outer bearings are ball races (which I added to the artwork) and seem ok. It is the inner steel-in-aluminium bearings that are seized. Reboring for an oversize axle is a good suggestion for after the rusty axle is out. I think the new axle should be stainless steel and that SteveBaker is promoting snake oil. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:54, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried hitting it - ie impact wrench - rust sticks - but isn't very strong. You can also soak in petrol or diesel (don't use lube oil) - they're pretty much the same as WD40 in effect.And whatever S.baker is selling I'm buying83.100.251.196 (talk) 16:08, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Any excuse for a photo of Toad!

[[:Image:Toad map.jpg|thumb|200px|Toad plans his drive.]]

I restore classic cars as a hobby - I run a mailing list for fellow classic car restorers - I actually know what I'm talking about. WD40 (and stuff like gasoline and diesel) are only the first line of attack. Trust me - there are MUCH better penetrating gunks out there. I've had all manner of stuck bolts and seized bearings the WD40 wouldn't shift - yet other mystery 'stuff' would free up after one night of soaking. I have a collection of four or five of these 'snake oils' - and it's rare indeed that one or other of them doesn't work...they are certainly poorly marketted - and some of the best ones practically say "dubious snake-oil" right there on the can! But they work. I strongly advice against using force...DEFINITELY not an impact wrench! Thin, 50 year-old (or whatever) aluminium castings are very easy to crack - and insanely difficult to repair because aluminium is hard to weld. If this part is "valuable" (as our OP says) - then some patience and some better penetrating stuff is worth trying. Try (for example) "Marvel Mystery Oil" (Look! It says "Marvel" and "Mystery" right there on the bottle - it's even written in a horrible font - so it must be good stuff!) Trust me - I'm honestly not kidding. I've been there - dozens of times! SteveBaker (talk) 18:18, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

You could try encouraging more rust so that the steel will completely rust and can be removed by force. Saltwater would probably work, or you might be able to set it up so the steel acts as a sacrificial anode. anonymous6494 19:38, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Yeah - I think the guy who sold me my last Mini used that restoration technique - he was evidently taking that approach over almost the entire car! SteveBaker (talk) 03:29, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I shall consider heating the object. Axle diameter is 8mm. Estimated difference in expansion coefficients of aluminium and steel is (23 - 12) = 12 µm m^-1K^-1. So every 100 deg C rise will expand the gap between the metals by .05mm. Aluminium melts at 660 deg C. My known unknowns are what the rust layer will do when heated and whether the cast aluminium alloy housing behaves significantly differently to pure aluminium. How am I doing so far? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:57, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Probably ok - but I think the rust maybe acting as 'glue' rather than jamming (it can be 'sticky' stuff) - I was thinking about something to dissolve the rust - eg like kettle descaler etc (specifically the non-acidic EDTA type)- maybe that is an ingredient in some of the MAGIC WONDER SPRAYS steve baker recommended - there is plenty of stuff that will dissolve rust but not attack steel. However Al is a different thing - before trying anything 'wet' or 'chemical' I'd try it on some Al foil first - see if it does anything..83.100.251.196 (talk) 19:19, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Just realised there's an issue with this - the Al might reduce the rust and be corroded itself.83.100.251.196 (talk) 23:58, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Your unknown unknowns include the alloy in use (pure aluminum melts at 660C, but nobody uses pure aluminum) and the temper condition (if you heat it too far, you'll convert it from the tempered version to the annealed version, with an enormous loss of strength). --Carnildo (talk) 22:03, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

There's some figues here for generic Al alloys [12] - probably ok for a few minutes at 100C when the lowest annealing temp is ~300C for 2-3hrs.83.100.251.196 (talk) 23:58, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

The thing with aluminium is that while it does corrode easily, for some reason, the initial corrosion seems to rapidly isolate the pure metal from the environment - so you get a thin layer of corrosion - then it stops - and that's that. The characteristic dull grey of aluminium is really the oxide. Shiney aluminium turns dull in just days. These miracle/magic/mystery sprays are intended for automotive use - you don't have to worry about them reacting with aluminium. Using heat certainly might work...I tend to use that with care because once your part has been soaking in WD40 for a day or two, it has a tendancy to burst into flames when exposed to anything really hot. But using a hot air gun should be OK. SteveBaker (talk) 01:27, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

To heat it I would use a temperature controlled oven. The one in my kitchen is calibrated to 300 deg C. That will make the thing too hot to touch. I wonder whether Weber carbs work in Antactica where -89 deg C has been recorded. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:39, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Letter 'e' on shampoo bottle

I've noticed on some fancy shampoos, conditioners, and possibly some other beauty products, there is a lowercase "e" printed on the bottle. It seems to always be next to the bottle's capacity. What does this "e" signify? You can see a picture of it on the bottom of this bottle. Thanks! StephenJennings (talk) 11:18, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

See Estimated sign. Nanonic (talk) 11:21, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

A-ha, thank you. I don't know how I would have figured that out otherwise StephenJennings (talk) 11:34, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Ah, interesting. I was pretty sure this was one of those EU standards things, but I always assumed that therefore the E must stand for Europe. Thanks for the explanation! --Anonymous, 19:20 UTC, September 24, 2009.

2nd degree burn marks on legs when will they go?

I was burned with hot oil about 5 months ago on my legs. They healed fine but I am left with brown and red spots from where the oil was. I have used cocoa butter, vitamin E oil, Bio- oil and diaper rash cream. It is barely fading, the doctor I went to didn't have much advice. But I have heard they will fade, how long does it take? Is there hope?

Yes, your best hope is time. Congratulations on having healed already. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:08, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I believe that the color will fade with time. However, scar tissue (which is usually white), doesn't ever seem to totally go away. There are a number of cosmetics specifically designed to cover up scars, and you might want to look into them, or perhaps use a more general "foundation" type cosmetic. I'm assuming you're female, but if you're a typical male the scars are likely less traumatic than being caught wearing make-up. In that case, just wear long pants until the scars diminish. StuRat (talk) 14:16, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

It is exactly because we are liable to make unqualified assumptions that we do not offer any medical advice on treatment or prognosis here. The fact that skin cells are continually replaced gives a good expectation, that's all. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:40, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

It seems clear to me that the question is asking for a medical prognosis, which we can't give here. If your own doctor can't help you, you could try getting a referral to a dermatologist. On the other hand, the use of makeup does not fall under the category of "medical prognosis", so I'm not going to delete the answers given above. --Anonymous, 19:27 UTC, September 24, 2009.

Minimizing the appearance of a scar falls under cosmetics advice, not medical. That's why the doctor didn't have any advice, it's outside of the medical arena now. StuRat (talk) 12:59, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

While your advice on how to cover up the scars was fine, as anon mentioned, it sounds to me like the OP was looking for therapeutic/medical cosmetic advice not cosmetics advice. They want a way to treat the scars including making them fade, not simply cover them up. In a number of countries products making such claims are indeed regulated accordingly. [13] [14] (yes outdated but from what I can tell the new law still has the same effect [15]) [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]. There may be ways to get around these regulations (e.g. by making it clear you aren't making a therapeutic or medical claim) and this doesn't apply everywhere but I think as the RD we shouldn't be supporting loopholes some unscrupulous manufacturers use to mislead people into thinking their products are actually effective at treating the appearance of scars. Indeed as the RD, even though this isn't the science RD, we should be be concentrating on the science. And yes, the way to treat the appearance of scars IMHO is clearly medical advice and a doctor of some sort (perhaps a dermatologist or a cosmetic surgeon) would be best suited to provide advice. Which brings me to my main point. The reason the doctor was unable to was likely not so much because it was outside their field of expertise but there is little to recommend. Our article scar doesn't mentions this very well but from what I can tell from e.g. [21] many products which are claimed to be able to treat the the apparance of scars actually have little evidence for their effectiveness and some of them may even make the condition worse. P.S. Notice the article is in "Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology" not Cosmetics or some such? Nil Einne (talk) 17:47, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Crazy dream about me and the devil

I have had this dream 2 times, Im in what I assume is hell. And I'm floating in this ball of fire, the devil puts this bone mask on my face. Kinda like phantom of the opera style. Which I took as some sort of wedding ceremony. Then I get extremly turned on and we have sex. Afterward I wake up just so freaked out!! Im sweaty and then I cry. I would like this interpreted, does it mean im a bad person or what?

Why do you suppose that your nighttime dream can be interpreted any more than any other idea you have? Because it was non-premeditated and sort of random and arbitrary? If so, why do you suppose a random, arbitrary thought would mean anything? DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 12:19, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Carl Jung and others believe that dreams are messages from the subconscious to the unconscious. They are in symbolic form, and only the dreamer really knows what the symbols "mean" when converted into language. There are various books that purport to reveal the meanings of dream symbols; whether they're on the money in any particular case, only the dreamer could verify. But I feel quite safe in assuring you that no dream means you're a "bad person". -- JackofOz (talk) 12:40, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I find that dreams typically symbolize something going on in real life, or more likely, multiple things going on that kind of get rolled together. Recurring dreams usually reflect an anxiety of some kind. Think about things that have happened to you recently and see whether any of it vaguely connects to the dream in a symbolic way. Otherwise, write it down and maybe you can turn it into a B-movie script someday! →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 12:59, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

AFAIK you are not crazy nor bad. A book Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud may interest you. You can read it online but please be aware that Freud's simplistic interpretations are not the final word. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:18, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Just to put it out there, it's not at all clear that interpretation of dreams does anything except act as a post facto way for the dreamer to talk about what's on their mind. Dream symbolism is highly dubious, and it's not clear that dreams aren't mostly just firing of random neurons while your brain takes a break. Jung and Freud both believe that dreams are a magic code into the subconscious, but there's no evidence of that, and in Freud's work it's quite clear that he was just making up a lot of it as he went along (his whole game is taking something innocent and saying it is obscene, and taking something obscene and saying it is innocent). If talking through the dream helps you talk through your own life, by all means, give it a shot. But if you're willing to just say, "the mind does funny things when one dreams, and I'm certainly not personally accountable for anything that I dream," then go ahead and do that. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 14:25, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Thank you that's very interesting. Tell me, how long have you had this feeling that random neurons fire in your brain? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:34, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Dreams don't mean ANYTHING. Everyone who ever claimed that they do mean something has either been discredited (notably: Freud) or had no evidence for that claim in the first place (notably: Freud). Not one single scrap of solid evidence exists that dreams predict anything or inform us of anything. As far as we can tell, your subconscious is doing the equivalent of 'defragging' the hard drive in your computer - rearranging memories in order to store them more efficiently. If you happen to awaken in the course of doing that, some crazy juxtapositions of half-rearranged thoughts and memories happen - fortunately, our brains are wired to erase the memory of dreams fairly soon after this happens - and we don't remember dreams at all if we don't wake up in the middle of them. So don't worry about it. SteveBaker (talk) 18:04, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, please remember that Freud's and Jung's "theories" (technically hypotheses) have no evidence and are currently unfalsifiable. Mr Baker can say that dreams are the result of EM waves sent from the pink, piano-playing aardvarks on the dark side of the moon and it's equally as likely to be true. --Mark PEA (talk) 19:14, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, you could falsify that theory in that EM waves do not pass through the moon (Hence no radio contact). Googlemeister (talk) 19:37, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I was in a rush and didn't think it through. I meant some sort of (currently) immeasurable entity, like gravitons/gravitational waves were in earlier history. (If my understanding of physics is completely false then just ignore me!). --Mark PEA (talk) 21:04, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The aardvarks use relays at L4/5. —Tamfang (talk) 03:26, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

It is not the case that dreams don't mean anything. They are typically symbols about things that are going on in your life or about various anxieties. But they don't predict the future, they reflect the past. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 23:20, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

On what possible basis can you claim that? Where is your evidence?

There is zero evidence - it's nothing more than urban legend. If there was solid evidence, there would be a broad agreement across the field of study - and there is not. What we have is a bunch of guesswork and wishful thinking - along with some tentative inferences based on solid science - but not 100% conclusive. Such neuroscientific evidence as there is reads like this: (quoted from Contemporary dream interpretation): "Hobson & McCarley’s activation-synthesis theory was the first neuropsychological theory of dreaming that strongly criticized Freud (Cheniaux, 2006). According to this theory, during the REM sleep there is a reduction in the aminergic activity, and an increase in the cholinergic activity, particularly in the brainstem. As a result, during the REM sleep the ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) spikes periodically generated, which are considered to be the main stimuli of dreams. Their origin is in the brainstem. They are reproduced in the lateral geniculate body of the thalamus and reaching to the visual cortex (occipital), they activate it. Thus, the images of the dream are generated based on stored visual memory traits. This cortical activation takes place randomly. Thus, chaotic images are formed, which subsequently undergo a process of synthesis, building a sequential narrative. Therefore, dreams are generated in the brainstem without any meaning, reflecting clearly the brain activity (Hobson, 1999; Hobson & McCarley, 1977; McCarley, 1998)." - contrary opinions come from people who aren't using fancy scanners to actually measure what's going on - they come from people who are guessing. SteveBaker (talk) 02:28, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

It would probably be more accurate to state that, for the observant, the symbols in dreams can be recognizable to the dreamer. In that sense they can be "meaningful". Not in the Biblical sense, where God warns people in dreams, and such stuff as that which is arguably in the realm of fairy tales. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 08:26, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Obviously dreams are based on your memories, they are just crazy visions with bits from many memories mxedtogether. Your defragging the hard drive explaination backs this up.

Getting back to the original question, Jack had it right when he cited Jung's viewpoint that only the dreamer himself can really know what the symbols mean. As far as the "bad person" thing, that's false. Dreams are just dreams, and have nothing to do with morality. Words and deeds define morality. Dreams do not. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 08:34, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

We can note correlations in the OP's dream narrative. It's duducible that the OP is familiar with English language and culture and has specific experience of wedding ceremonies, the theistic concept of The Devil, a popular musical and has a low emotional threshold. Then before trying any psychoanalysis, look for a physical cause. These expressions: hell, ball of fire, (something) on the face and sweating could all be prompted by overheating. Tonight try sleeping with thinner bedclothes and better bedroom ventilation! Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:32, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I need to make enough money to by a laptop

So are there any good jobs a 17 year old could do to quickly earn the required cash?Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 13:25, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

must...resist...making...obvious...suggestion. Sadly it's not easy to gather enough money to buy expensive items, otherwise everyone would be doing it. I would say most jobs suitable for 17 year olds aren't going to net you enough to make buying a laptop a feasible proposition in the near future. You'd have to save up for quite some time. If I were you I'd look at alternatives. In the first place, though, do you really need a laptop, or would it just be nice to have one? You obviously have access to a computer already; will that do for now? If you really, really need a laptop (which I doubt, quite honestly) then maybe you could borrow one off of a friend or family member? Or borrow the money from your parents? Or maybe look at payment deals where you pay off the money a bit at a time, although I'd be surprised if many computer shops would advance that kind of credit to a teenager. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 13:35, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I have seen many teens get enough money to get one. There are 100-300$ computers you know.Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 13:44, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I agree. Let's say a teen gets a job that pays $5 an hour after taxes and crap are taken out, and works 20 hours a week, that's $100 a week. At that rate it will only be a few weeks. Working and saving for items you want is also an excellent life lesson. StuRat (talk) 13:53, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Then you've already got your answer, it seems. Take cues from your peers, find a similar job, and there you go. $300 doesn't take long to save, even from a low-end job, when you're not having to pay rent or utilities. — Lomn 13:49, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Be a barrista, waiter/waitress, something like that. I have a friend who has worked at McDonald's since he was 16. Everyone says it's a bad idea, but he said it was great - paid well, good flexible hours, and tons of free food. If you work after school and a weekend day, let's say 12 hours total a week, at 10 bucks an hour that's 120 a week; you'd only need a month. ~ Amory (user • talk • contribs) 13:52, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Other jobs that don't require experience are delivering ads to houses, delivering newspapers, working as a stockperson in a store, etc. StuRat (talk) 13:55, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, your userpage doesn't have any useful information about where you live and such but some possible suggestions are doing yardwork for your neighbors (raking leaves if you live in the northern hemisphere, cutting grass in the southern), waiter, busboy, dishwasher, golf caddy, etc etc etc Dismas|^(talk) 13:59, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Laptops that are several years old are almost worthless e.g. because they lack functions such as USBs, DVD, CD, camera and SVGA graphics. People throw them away. Find a thrower. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:28, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean by "several," but a laptop from 10 years ago would almost certainly have USBs, DVDs, CDs, and certainly SVGA graphics. (Probably not an integrated camera, as those are more recent. And, most importantly, probably no Wifi!) 20 years, probably not. They are almost worthless not because they are from the stone age, but because they often lack in speed and size compared to current ones. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:47, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Actually I'm pretty sure many 1999 laptops would not have DVD drives. They would most likely have CDs, USB (albeit only 1.0 or 1.1) and SVGA graphics though Nil Einne (talk) 23:57, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

If I understand you, you're suggesting that he buy a secondhand laptop. But if it's so useless as to be thrown away by its previous owner, it's unlikely that it'll meet the OP's needs either. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 14:50, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

We can not determine that as we do not know the OP's needs. Googlemeister (talk) 15:49, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

My needs are that it has a wifi card installed.Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 17:04, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

When I was in High School, some 18 years ago or so, I worked at a local mom-and-pop pizza delivery place and easily cleared $100-$200 a week. I'd work a 12 hour shift on a saturday would often clear $100 in tips alone. And that was 18 years ago. --Jayron32 17:11, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Have you considered a netbook? Such a thing would be slower than a regular laptop, but brand new, and cheap. Also look into the OLPC machine, which may fit your needs. And keep looking on Craigslist, though the owners of those laptops always think they are worth a lot more than they are. Keep working at that $10/hour job. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:18, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

This is a tough time for anyone to be finding a job in most parts of the world. However, I managed to find a job during the last deep recession, when I was 18, and when US unemployment rates were similar to today's. I got a retail job working as a stocker and cashier in a chain drugstore. It didn't pay a lot. As others have said, if you don't have to pay for rent or food, you can quickly save hundreds working even at this kind of low-wage job. The trick to finding the job, for me, was pounding the pavement. I went door-to-door and probably filled out more than 50 applications before the drugstore manager looked at my application and granted me a quick interview on the spot. She told me to show up for a trial week of work the next Monday. I got through the trial and kept the job for a few months until I found something better. Ask your parents' friends if they know of any jobs you could do. Ask your friends' parents. Ask other adults you know. Pound the pavement. There aren't a lot of jobs out there, but there are a few, and if you're persistent, you'll find one. Marco polo (talk) 18:31, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Not sure where you live, but here in the UK a lot of computer companies now give away free laptops when you subscribe to mobile broadband (typically £10 a month), so as long as you can earn £10 a month from a job you can in theory have a laptop straight away... This does however mean you also need to have a mobile phone but you can also get those on reletively cheap tariffs or even Pay As You Go, which I am sure also works with mobile broadband... Either way there are cheap options out there... Not sure whether this setup exists in US or not if that's where you are... Gazhiley (talk) 08:15, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Who'd have thought 30 years ago that teenagers would be expecting wifi cards... We made do with these. But we were happy then. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:31, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Supermarket? I work in one and I'm 16. I earn €9.50 an hour, a phenominal amount of money for a job like it. I bought this high spec computer with the money (Well €9.50 goes miles when I odn't have to pay the bills or for food). 92.251.255.16 (talk) 21:06, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Effective cat deterrent for the garden

We've tried powders, granules, gels and sonic repellents but the darn things keep crapping in our garden. Can anyone recommend any more effective deterrents, short of buying a dog or placing mousetraps in the borders? Would a bird deterrent like this work at all?Popcorn II (talk) 15:29, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

There's this page from WikiHow, but the first deterrent is ridiculous. 99.166.95.142 (talk) 15:50, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

The others are not that much better, either. Trap the cat and drop it off at the animal shelter? Come on, it's probably just your neighbor's, and if we start trapping each other's pets every time they annoy us, god knows what happens next. Cover the ground with chicken wire? Surely the cat crap is easier to ignore than that.

It sounds like the OP has tried everything sane, short of the dog (but even with a dog, the cat may come at night—though in my experience they start avoiding the yard after a few run-ins). (No, mousetraps aren't not sane, that's just cruel.) The thing about cats is that they are extremely mobile, intelligent up to a point (but not great at generalizing lessons), and if they enjoy pooping in your garden, they'll probably keep that up. My recommendation would to buy a little pooper scooper and just throw it out. I know, technically it ought not be your burden to carry, but having a garden means maintenance, and this is really not that much work, as far as gardening goes. Sometimes dogs crap on our lawns, too—that's life. --Mr.98 (talk) 17:22, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Get your own cat. This will keep everyone else's out of your garden. --TammyMoet (talk) 17:17, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Just make sure it's a bigger cat. I've heard ocelots make nice pets. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 16:35, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I've got a book that recommends rue, onions and vinegar. Hut 8.5 18:27, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

How about a cardboard cut-out of a cat's predator? (I've know idea what their predators are though). --Mark PEA (talk) 19:04, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

They don't have predators, and I'd be surprised if a cat was fooled by a cutout. They are not as smart as a dog, but they are smarter than that. --Mr.98 (talk) 19:43, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Theyre a lot smarter than dogs, which is one of the reasons they would never be fooled by cut-outs or scarecrows.--Saddhiyama (talk) 21:07, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:55, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Your typical cat ignores the TV, so a cardboard cutout wouldn't likely do anything. However, if a cat hears a cat or dog on TV, it catches their ear. So if there were a motion-sensor that would trigger the loud, angry bark of a dog, that might have a chance of scaring them off. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 16:37, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

According to Cat deterrent and Cat repeller, lion dung is often effective (why do we have 2 articles on this subject?). I suspect that spending a few evenings squirting water at any cats which approach your garden, might be just as effective and easier to obtain the materials. Astronaut (talk) 04:27, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

They're merged now. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:17, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

You want to replace cat dung with lion dung? Good idea. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 16:37, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

When I was a kid (30 years ago), it was common practise in my neighbourhood to put orange peel in places where cats were suspected of entering gardens to do their business. That seemed to work. --KageTora - SPQW - (影虎) (talk) 08:31, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Orange peel sounds easy enough, I'll give that a go. It's just we've got 4 cats on one side and 1 cat on the other side and no cat of our own so our garden is just a toilet for the local cats.Popcorn II (talk) 12:04, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

1) If you can identify the cat(s) and their owners, and prove this (maybe with a pic), you can take it to the neighbor and request that they either keep their cat inside or clean up cat turds on your lawn from that point on. I would have said you could ask them to train their cat(s) to use a cat pan, but that's unlikely to work if they are now adult cats. Be polite when talking to the neighbor(s).

2) You could also build a better fence. Cats are good climbers, so either a wooden fence or a chain-link fence are easy for them to climb. What you need to add is that part on top of the fence that extends horizontally out from your fence. It's normally made of barbed wire, but that's not needed here. Make sure local ordinances don't forbid this type of fence, or get a variance. Of course, you also need to make sure there's no holes in the fences or open spots at the bottom.

3) If they only visit at night, maybe a motion-sensitive light would scare the cats off. StuRat (talk) 12:45, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I've heard that artificial bobcat urine, which should be available in hunting supply stores, is pretty effective at scaring cats away. You might want to try that. John M Baker (talk) 18:00, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Cats like to use as toilet a loose granular surface which they can claw over to bury the evidence. Cat sand from a pet shop is ideal. The OP can put out a tray of sand (out of the rain) and maybe that will divert the cats. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:31, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Record a big dog barking and play that occasionally. If neighbours complain you know what to say. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:35, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Coleus canina is a plant marketed under the names Pee-off and Scaredy-cat. It is said to repel cats and other mammals from the garden. SteveBaker (talk) 22:05, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

An option if your neighbours cherish their cats but you don't particularly cherish their opinion of you is to put up a sign saying CATS WANTED FOR MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:55, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Sunscreen - how thick?

When I put sunscreen on I rub it until it disappears and my skin no longer feels greasy. My wife slathers it on thick so that her skin is clammy and I can tell where she has applied it. Is she going overboard, or am I not applying enough? Also, what effects do wearing light or dark clothing have on blocking UVA and UVB?

I've seen articles stating that most people use too little sunscreen. Here's one such. Marco polo (talk) 19:45, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Package instructions also mention the need for repeat application at intervals depending on activity (swimming, sweating). Product-specific information can be searched on manufacturers' websites, which usually have FAQ and Contact us features. For personal sensitivity and local solar radiation levels, it might be worthwhile consulting your family practicioner or perhaps a dermatologist. -- Deborahjay (talk) 13:44, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

ICBM numbers

I would like a list of the 5 permanent members of the UN security council with the number of nuclear armed ICBMs each possesses. We don't seem to have such a list here, does anyone know that data? Googlemeister (talk) 19:49, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

They are in List of states with nuclear weapons with the amount of warheads they possibly have, but not the amount of individual missiles as some will be multi-warhead and some will have no warhead fitted at this time. Nanonic (talk) 20:05, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

That list of warheads will include things like gravity bombs and short ranged cruise missiles as well as ICBMs. I am looking for # of ICBM warheads only. Googlemeister (talk) 20:18, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Our article on ICBMs references this estimate of the US and Russia's inventories. Per ICBM, France and the UK deploy only sub-based ICBMs (and on comparatively few subs), so those should be easy to tabulate. This site estimates China's inventory. — Lomn 21:09, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

On the "List of states" page there are references in the total numbers that lead back to articles published by the NDRC in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Those generally break down the total numbers (estimated, of course, since stockpiles are closely guarded secrets) of deployed weapons and the particular delivery vehicles. --Mr.98 (talk) 02:19, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

September 25

How big is pepsi?

I boycott Pepsi because of how anti-gun they are. I apologize for any typos, I'm quite shitfaced.

I was wondering how big Pepsi is? How much do they make on average in USD per year? How much are they worth in total assets? How much are they worth in stocks? how much are their stock worth on average? I know they own (basically) the United State; How would it affect the US, and the world if they shut down? Wow, I type better when I'm drunk!

Figures...I guess between the obsession with guns and the getting shitfaced, you didn't have time to read PepsiCo? The financial information is right there. They do not in fact own the USA - they are only a little larger than The Coca-Cola Company, McDonalds and Google - quite a bit smaller than Microsoft, barely a blip on the map compared to Ford Motor Company who in turn are barely a blip on the map compared to WalMart, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corporation and ConocoPhillips. How it would affect the US if they went away is speculation - and we don't do speculation here. SteveBaker (talk) 01:27, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Hmmm - aside from a bunch of rabid fanatics making claims that were only substantiated by references to other rabid fanatics - I was unable to find any reference to Pepsi actually saying anything in favor of gun control. If they are promoting it, they are being amazingly inept at doing so! In fact, on one site (ramdac.org), I found this statement that is claimed to have been obtained by phoning the PepsiCo customer relations hotline: "The pepsi company is not for gun control and is not against it. If you can find out how this other person recieved this information, then we would love to hear from you again, so we can correct what he may have heard, and make a formal statement on the issue. It is a myth, and we do not have a side on the matter.". So I guess your fears are misplaced. <shrug> SteveBaker (talk) 01:45, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I thank you gentleman. Once again, I apologize for being drunk. One more thing though. Is 'Signbot' broken? it didn't sign my post.24.15.217.137 (talk) 01:49, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

The problem is not being drunk.... the problem is posting while drunk! ;-) Signbot is kind of temperamental and sometimes misses them. No worries. --Mr.98 (talk) 02:32, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, Sinebot is temporarily down. See that user page for more. Dismas|^(talk) 02:34, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Editing Under the Influence is relevent reading here. --Jayron32 04:08, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Where's the citation for Pepsi being "anti-gun"? →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 09:28, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Hmmm, getting 'shitfaced' and loving guns (so much so that the OP is boycotting a company based on what appears to be a rumour) is not a wonderful recipe. --KageTora - SPQW - (影虎) (talk) 10:45, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I was going to suggest that they either put down their gun or drink something non-alcoholic, like Pepsi. StuRat (talk) 12:54, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Yeah - my recommendation is: Go get a Starbucks Frappuccino or a Lipton Iced Tea to wake yourself up - then sink some Gatorade to get rehydrated and perhaps eat Quaker Oats to settle your stomach before filling up on Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos, Rold Gold. Ruffles or Tostitos. Then you'll be in good shape to check out the info-box on PepsiCo. SteveBaker (talk) 13:59, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Others are boycotting guns because of how anti-Pepsi they are, so it balances out. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:21, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Cops

I think ive seen it where they turn on their lights just to speed, can they and do they do this?Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 02:09, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Well, how would you know they were doing it "just to speed"? I've certainly seen cops turn on their lights just to go through red lights when they were apparently not on emergency missions, but it's hard to judge the latter as an outsider, of course. Can they do it? Sure. Who will stop them? Other cops? There's not a lot of risk of that—it's like a perk of the job, and I imagine the consequences for ratting on fellow cops for such a petty thing would not be very pleasant, career-wise. Now if they did that and created a huge car accident, they'd probably get in trouble. But otherwise? Probably not. --Mr.98 (talk) 02:25, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Coincidentally, yesterday I saw a cop who was in the left turn lane and stopped at a traffic light. All of a sudden, he turned on his lights, went through the light, travelled maybe a quarter mile and pulled into a church parking lot. That's where I passed him. He was in the middle of the parking lot with no other cars around him nor any obvious reason to be there. What I think happened was that he got a call to respond to something, turned on his lights and went through the intersection. He was then notified that he wasn't actually needed and turned into the church parking lot simply to turn around, go back to the intersection, and make the left turn (now right) that he was intending to make moments before. I didn't think there was any nefarious purpose since I couldn't, and still can't, think of any good reason why he would interrupt traffic just to hang out in a church parking lot. Dismas|^(talk) 02:32, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

This is a question involving local laws. You're going to have to specify where you live if you need help looking up the local laws on such matters. Tempshill (talk) 05:46, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I just love the way people make assumptions about police motives with next to zero information. 86.4.186.107 (talk) 06:05, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm hearing Gomer's voice now, hauling down Deputy Fife: "Citizen's a-ray-yest!" →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 09:27, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I noticed something that bothers me on highway turn-arounds. The sign says "EMERGENCY VEHICLES ONLY", not "EMERGENCIES ONLY". If taken literally, this means they can be used by a police car just on it's way to the donut shop, but not by a mother trying to get her dying child to a hospital in time to save them. StuRat (talk) 12:52, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I think if you had a sudden, actual emergency and felt compelled to use the highway turnaround, they wouldn't fault you for it. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:20, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I wouldn't count on it. There was a recent case of a car pulled over for speeding while trying to get their dog, which was choking to death, to the vet. When the policeman was told this he continued slowly writing out a ticket, and just said "If he dies, you can just get yourself another dog". The dog died. StuRat (talk) 14:27, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Lot of difference between a dying child and a dying dog. Speeding puts human lives at risk (not just the driver's) and while most people would say that was an acceptable risk if a child was dying, far fewer would say it was acceptable if a dog was dying. DJ Clayworth (talk) 15:03, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Speeding merely increases the risk. It doesn't put lives at risk; driving a car (at any speed) does that. The point at which one ceases to drive at a legal speed and starts to break the law is essentially arbitrary. I know cops who, rather than callously continuing to write out the ticket, would have given the dog's owner a police escort, just as they would do if a woman were about to give birth in the car unless she got to the hospital quickly. -- JackofOz (talk) 19:07, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

That complaint may be a "correlation does not imply causation" debate; (we don't need to debate that here). Either way, there is no doubt whatsoever whether speeding is correlated to traffic accidents and traffic-related deaths. Back in June, I cited numerous case studies on speed-related traffic fatalities. If you really do not believe that speed causes traffic deaths, then you should at least acknowledge that it is very strongly correlated. E.g., your risk of fatal crash doubles for each 2.5 mph over the speed limit (based on Australian statistics!) Nimur (talk) 20:34, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

So we should abolish all speed limits because then the fatal crashes would trend to 0 :) Googlemeister (talk) 20:51, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I certainly wasn't advocating that people should exceed the speed limit; nor was I doubting that reckless driving is a major factor in road deaths. Just that the speed limit varies from place to place and is essentially arbitrary; if the authorities in their wisdom raised the general city speed limit from 60 to 80 kph, the number of road traffic deaths would obviously rise, but the number of "speed-related" deaths would drop, because what constitutes "speeding" would have changed. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:44, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

As others have stated, it likely depends on jurisdiction. In NZ, it's definitely not okay for a police officer to speed if it isn't a genuine emergency e.g. [22] (while this would likely include unmarked and private cars the same principles would apply). I believe there was a specific case a few years back but I was unable to find it. There's is an in/famous where members of a motorcade for the then Prime Minister were prosecuted and although the convictions were quashed on appeal I'm pretty sure the reason was primarily because the people involved believed there was an emergency even if there wasn't as mentioned in [23]. Also it being an emergency is obviously no guarantee you won't be fined or prosecuted [24] [25] it likely depends on the circumstances as DJ Clayworth said [26]. The same of course for breaking traffic laws in other ways [27]. And even if in a genuine emergency and legally allowed to speed you do still need to drive relatively safely [28] Nil Einne (talk) 19:11, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

In the UK I believe the relevant legal phrase for police officers being allowed to break traffic laws is "in the performance of their duty". So it's not a case of it being an emergency, but of whether it's part of their job. That gives them a reasonable amount of latitude. However I dimly remember a police officer being prosecuted for illegal parking of their police car while they went to get their dry cleaning - it being argued that collecting their dry cleaning wasn't part of their duty.

On the other hand, policing is a job where you deal with the worse elements of society on a frequent basis and you are in frequent danger (or at least more frequent than I am) so if the perk they get is to run a red light every once in a while, good luck to 'em. DJ Clayworth (talk) 19:32, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Reliable witnesses saw a driver speed from Dealey Plaza to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Police can identify the driver who has never been fined. Was this a cover up? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:00, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Clay walker Song

I am trying to purchase the music to a Clay Walker Song, "I'd Love to Be Your Last," for a wedding. Can you help me.

I just took a look in the iTunes store, and it's 99 cents American. Download the iTunes software for Windows or for Mac, then run the iTunes browser to get to the iTunes store, then search for "Clay Walker" in the search box in the upper right of the iTunes browser window. This song is in the top 10 search results. The task of burning the song to a CD is left as an exercise for the reader. Tempshill (talk) 05:43, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I think the OP probably wants to purchase the sheet music. :) It doesn't appear to be immediately available at any of the major on-line sheet music stores - it might be worth contacting Curb Records directly. Tevildo (talk) 11:40, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Vancouver Schools Spreadsheet / Database?

Is there anywhere I can download a spreadsheet or database with information about schools in the vancouver area? (Address, public/private, number of students, principal, contact info, academic performance, etc?)

Which Vancouver do you mean? The one in British Columbia or the one in Washington State? --Jayron32 03:24, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Vancouver. If there any any B.C. or Canada-wide databases, then I be happy to use those and pull out the Vancouver schools.

Automotive air filter cleaning chemicals

Being quite a Petrolhead, I use a lot of re-usable air cleaners in motor cars as well as my Bikes. The products available on the marker are very expensive and to me it seems like it is chemicals a DIY man has in his workshop anyhow. What is the chemicals they use ? I would think that a bio degradable degrease / Soap would do fine getting rid of the dirt in the filter......through the prorrep cleaning procedures of course. The trick for me is the "Special Polorised Filter Oil" !!!!! Would a oil aerosol like CRC, WD40 or Q20 not do the same job without compromising filter life/performance ? Is it not possable to use some type of Inviromently Friendly oil ? Bennie3813 (talk) 08:49, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm a big fan of the re-usable filters. But I would definitely stick with the official oiling stuff - it may be a little more expensive - but that's nothing compared to the cost in terms of gas consumption of a blocked filter - or the cost of a trashed engine due to a filter that's letting crap into the cylinders...and one can of the stuff lasts you practically forever. SteveBaker (talk) 20:50, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Steve, I have a bit of a issue as the "Goodies" are not readily available from Shop Shelves were I live and needs to be shipped in from Major Centers. Purchase cost run around $28 and lasts for 3-4 applications as per indications. I will never dispute their effectiveness but would not mind getting past the middle man’s profits.Bennie3813 (talk) 00:24, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Bats

Own an apartment house for30 years. A woman moved in last spring & all of a sudden this is the 3rd bat in the apartment. Could she have brought them with her & been living there this long?

Maybe she keeps them as pets? More likely, you've got a hole in the wall or eave someplace and they're getting inside. Small creatures don't need much space to get inside. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 17:14, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

It's almost certainly just a coincidence. Be careful how you eradicate them - bats are protected species in a lot of places. SteveBaker (talk) 20:47, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Call an exterminator, don't do it yourself. There can be rabies issues as well and you want them to test the bats. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 01:17, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Call animal control, or your local equivalent, not an exterminator as most species of bats are protected in some way or another. _{Also they could be Draculas.} Daduzi ^talk 09:48, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Bats can be quite useful, by eating mosquitoes and other disease-spreading insects. Therefore, you might want to provide them with an alternative "bat house", then convince them to move (maybe by playing loud music in the attic ?). StuRat (talk) 11:34, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:36, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Currency - Economic

How many currencies exist in the world?

182. --Tango (talk) 23:20, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

181. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:29, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Now we have to debate the definition of "currency". The Zim dollar still exists and can be used, but very few people choose to. --Tango (talk) 21:39, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

First we debate the interpretation of "exist". Lots of obselete currencies "exist" in museums. What can you use one Zim dollar for (outside a bathroom) ?Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:49, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

How about Linden dollars or Monopoly (game) money? Dmcq (talk) 21:07, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

September 26

Hai Ti!

Does anyone know what happened to Hai Ti!? The website doesn't look like it has been updated in almost four years. For a supposedly famous webcomic in Namibia, you cannot actually even read the comic any more, because none of the image files forming the comic are there any more. Even the whole article hasn't been non-trivially edited in almost four years - in fact, there's been only one edit in the last three years, and even that was only a trivial bot cleanup. JIP | Talk 00:20, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

That is precisely why we have notability criteria - that article should probably never have existed in the first place. Our criteria for inclusion of web-based content is that it has to meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. The content itself has been the subject of multiple non-trivial published works whose source is independent of the site itself. This criterion includes reliable published works in all forms, such as newspaper and magazine articles, books, television documentaries, websites, and published reports by consumer watchdog organizations except for the following:
   • Media re-prints of press releases and advertising for the content or site.
   • Trivial coverage, such as (1) newspaper articles that simply report the Internet address, (2) newspaper articles that simply report the times at which such content is updated or made available, (3) a brief summary of the nature of the content or the publication of Internet addresses and site or (4) content descriptions in Internet directories or online stores.
2. The website or content has won a well-known and independent award from either a publication or organization.
3. The content is distributed via a medium which is both respected and independent of the creators, either through an online newspaper or magazine, an online publisher, or an online broadcaster; except for trivial distribution including content being hosted on sites without editorial oversight (such as YouTube, MySpace, GeoCities, Newgrounds, personal blogs, etc.).

I don't see how this long-gone web comic fulfills any of those criteria...hence the article should never have been written.

I have flagged it for speedy-deletion. SteveBaker (talk) 02:10, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

[29] suggests the website itself was last updated in 2007. [30] also has results from November 2006 at the latest. Frankly I'm not surprised. It's not uncommon that someone will come up with some initiative or idea, or whatever only for it to be abandoned when no one keeps up with it. Ditto it's common to develop a website and then no one bothers to up date it. While you don't see this quite so much in developed countries, at least with professional initiatives but the state of the schoolnet website is similar to what a number of Malaysian websites are like. Another example the Brunei/Bandar Seri Bagawan airport website [31] schedules are fron July 2004 Nil Einne (talk) 11:11, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

What bothers me is that it gives me, an arbitrary foreigner, access to the schools' exam results, complete with full first and last names of the students (but missing any social security info, if Namibia even has such a thing). At least here in Finland, exam results are strictly available to students and staff only. The website should ask for a username and password before showing exam results. JIP | Talk 19:04, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Even One Vote Counts

When I was thirteen, back in 1981, my History teacher told us that many years ago, the United States once voted to decide on their official language, and that English won over German by one vote. I believed that for years, having no reason to doubt it, and then at some stage just recently, but I cannot remember where, I heard the same thing again from a totally different source. I decided to check Wikipedia, but there doesn't appear to be a reference, and in fact the article on US Languages actually said the US doesn't actually have an official language, unlike here in New Zealand, which has English and Maori. Is what I was told in High School back then true ? I'm assuming the vote happened in the 1800's, and may not be so unbelievable, since Germans are identified as the single largest ethnic group in the US - more so than Anglo Saxons. - The Russian. Christopherlilly (talk) 08:03, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

The German in the United States article has some information on this - it looks like the 'German as the official language' thing is mostly an urban legend, and that they were instead voting on whether or not to issue official documents in German as well as English. Today, despite the fact that Germans are ethnically well-represented in the US, not many Americans, German-American or otherwise, speak the German language - I'd be surprised if the percentage of people fluent in German was over 2%. AlexiusHoratius 08:29, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

...looking again at the article I linked to, 1.38 million Americans currently speak German out of a total of 305 million or so, although in the early 20th Century the percentage of German speakers in the US was as high as 6%. AlexiusHoratius 08:47, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

See this explanation at the always-useful snopes.com The German Vote. However, Rhode Island's final ratification of the United States Constitution by a vote of 34-32 might have been thwarted by the arrival of two Antifederalist delegates who could not cross the water to the state's readjourned ratification convention in May 1790. Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 states to ratify, so this would not have stopped the other states continuing under their new constitution (Washington had been inaugurated in New York City on April 30, 1789.) —— Shakescene (talk) 08:57, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Since the vote in question was in the US Congress, it seems odd that they couldn't find an actual important bill that came down to a single vote. Especially in the Senate, with only 100 members, which tend to be divided almost evenly between Democrats and Republicans, I'd expect bills to pass or fail by a single vote all the time. For example, the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, which required a 2/3 vote to pass, failed by a single vote.

In fact, Johnson was well and truly impeached - by the House of Representatives. What the Senate voted not to do was to try him on the charges specified in the impeachment bill. -- JackofOz (talk) 09:31, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Oh, they tried him. They didn't convict him. Same as with Clinton, except the Clinton vote wasn't nearly as close to a conviction.

I've heard that some historians claim that the Johnson impeachment, even though it failed, drastically weakened the power of the presidency for quite some time after that. Supposedly that's why it's so difficult to remember the names of late-19th-century presidents. Sadly, it didn't work that way this time. The presidency badly needs taking down a notch or five; that applied to GWB and it applies to BHO also. --Trovatore (talk) 10:03, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

But, if this is supposed to indicate the importance of you voting in national elections, it doesn't work. The chances of one person out of 100 million casting the deciding vote is, well, one in millions. And even if it did happen, there is enough uncertainty in the vote (hanging chads !) that it would actually end up with the courts or Congress deciding the issue, as happened in the first election of the last Bush. However, on small local elections where only a few people vote, your individual vote might actually make the difference. StuRat (talk) 10:48, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

The notion that American know English is also an urban myth.Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:22, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

We took British English and improved upon it. :) The notion of this vote has got to be spurious, since there is no "official" language in the USA. The USA speaks English, but only by custom and by overwhelming numbers. →Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 19:02, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Arguably, you took British English and we improved it. American English (at least in terms of spelling) has more in common with English at the time of colonisation than British English does, as I understand it. --Tango (talk) 21:52, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Spelling, I don't think so. There was a partial spelling reform (surely, one of the very few examples of a self-conscious spelling reform actually working) promoted by Noah Webster.

There are certainly examples of features that changed in British English, and we didn't copy the change; that's always going to happen. One that comes to mind is the use of the present subjunctive in mandative clauses: It is important that you be/are prompt. Americans are more likely to use be than the British are. --Trovatore (talk) 22:00, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Of course it is the British who have corrupted their version of our common language. Americans have faithfully preserved much of the pronunciation and grammar that the colonists brought with them hundreds of years ago. Meanwhile, the Brits have abandoned [r] after vowels, most of the subjunctive, and various other useful bits of our linguistic heritage. That said, I am willing to politely accept the British version without comment, so long as they don't trash our version. :-) Marco polo (talk) 01:40, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

In differences like "-ize" vs "-ise", "color" vs "colour", etc., I believe the American way is the more traditional one. (The Oxford English Dictionary even refuses to move with the times and use -ise.) --Tango (talk) 10:00, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

American and British English spelling differences is probably of some relevance as it mentions a number of examples and when they arose Nil Einne (talk) 10:27, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

At the restaurant the Englishman pays his bill with a cheque while at the diner an American pays his check with a bill. An educated English person is greatly pained to hear such abominable expressions as "Absent his duty some dude out of LA snuck off of base and wrote a pakistinian disencouragising him from snikkering how he'd gotten laid September eleventh." Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:34, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

What language is that, exactly? Not American, that's for sure. --Trovatore (talk) 19:51, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Condo association question!

Are there rules to two out of three trustee in a condo association, being on committee with-in that building's association?

I don't understand your question; you haven't given us enough details. My guess is that the question is either governed by the association's by-laws or by the laws of the state, province, country (e.g. Scots law) or nation (if not federally-organized) where you live. Also remember that the Reference desk is not able to give specific or detailed legal advice, so while we can answer general questions about laws and constitutions, we can't advise anyone as to the best or soundest course of legal action or inaction in a particular situation; we can't even say whether someone's past, present or proposed actions are legally-justified or not. —— Shakescene (talk) 15:36, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Another weight gain question

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Uk disability living allowance for extreme

Does agoraphobia and being scared of interacting with people in the real world fall under the qualifications for disability living allowance in the UK?

I can't find anything about the UK, but it does not fall under the Americans With Disabilities Act in the US (i.e. you can get fired in the US for being agoraphobic). Xenon54 / talk / 17:53, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Well this site [32] says "The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities...

substantial means neither minor nor trivial

long term means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions)

normal day-to-day activities include everyday things like eating, washing, walking and going shopping

a normal day-to-day activity must affect one of the 'capacities' listed in the Act which include mobility, manual dexterity, speech, hearing, seeing and memory".

It gives a link to the Government's guidance and interpretation about what constitutes a disability. From this information, it would appear that it's entirely possible that the conditions given would qualify for DLA, but that a lot would depend on severity and duration. --TammyMoet (talk) 18:47, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

The DSM IV says that agoraphobia is not (by itself) a 'codeable' disorder - and suggests that what matters is what symptoms accompany the phobia. So (for example) panic attacks caused by agoraphobia might be considered a mental disability (although evidently not under US law) - but that's because of the panic attacks, not because of the agoraphobia. I don't know whether the UK disability laws use that kind of criteria - but it wouldn't surprise me. They aren't going to fork over a living allowance to someone who just says that they are afraid of open spaces or interacting with people - there has to be some set of demonstrable symptoms - and the symptoms are what make you disabled (or not). That's probably why the DSM lays things out the way it does. SteveBaker (talk) 21:36, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Possibly. If you look at our article on Disability Living Allowance you will see that there are 2 types of DLA - care and mobility and that these both have different criteria. It's possible that someone with agoraphobia might qualify for low rate mobility, since they would be unable to walk in an unfamiliar place. It could be argued that they would be virtually unable to walk at all, which is a qualification for high rate DLA. However, the decisions are subjective, and I would suggest talking with someone with specific expertise. You could start by ringing your local Citizens Advice Bureau. --Phil Holmes (talk) 15:55, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

My mother-in-law in the UK received nothing for her extreme agrophobia.Froggie34 (talk) 16:29, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

It's possible that she's too old to claim. It's also important to get help in applying, since the form is complex and it's easy to answer questions with unhelpful details. --Phil Holmes (talk) 17:53, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

No idea about the UK, but I've known of two agoraphobics in the US who receive disability allowances. In both cases, the agoraphobic lived with someone who handles things like shopping, etc. One of the two eventually became gainfully employed in an online job; the other, to the best of my knowledge, never did, and last I heard still is on GAU. - Jmabel | Talk 07:05, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Boston restaurant

Hi. I'm hoping someone can help me with the name of a restaurant in Boston that I went to in 1994. I don't know if it's still even around. All I can remember is that it's an Italian restaurant in the Little Italy section that served excellent pasta to order, had a huge wait outside on the sidewalk since it did not take reservations and did not have a bar (at least that I remember), served pasta to order, had everyone basically sit around a large open kitchen in the middle and served your order in the same metal bowl in which everything was cooked. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. 68.82.136.142 (talk) 23:14, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

September 27

Political Cola

Is there any truth to idea that Coke and Pepsi have political affiliations, with Coke being favoured more by Democarat Presidents, and Pepsi by Republicans, but with some exceptions ? Do they interfere in political circles ? It seems right, since Republicans like Arnold Schwarzenegger product placed Pepsi in a lot of his movies, but then, so did Micael J. Fox, whom I understand to be a Democrat. Personally, I prefer Coke to Pepsi, but I also like Mirinda as well as Fanta, and prefer Mountain Dew to anything Coca Cola has, although this means nothing since our political parties in New Zealand may not be directly comparable to those in the US ( Trouble is, we sometimes have as many as thirty on the ballot at election time. Most of these weirdos come and go ) -- This unsigned query was posted at 06:25 on September 27, 2009 by Christopherlilly

Product placement in a film may result from considerations other than the personal political affiliation of the producer or other individual. Otherwise, and this is historical (mid-1970s, at least), PepsiCo participated in the Arab states' commercial boycott of Israel while the Coca-Cola Company has been bottling (and contributing to the local economy) in Bnei Brak since 1968. Period collector's items included 7-Up bottles with Arabic lettering and Coke bottles with a Hebrew logo in stylized script mimicking the original. -- Deborahjay (talk) 06:56, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

The party affiliations you mention conform to the view of J.C. Louis in his book Cola Wars (1980, Everest House, ISBN 0896960528, not to be confused with the novel of the same name, and I see that our article Cola Wars is about something else: competition between Coke & Pepsi in the 1980s). - Jmabel | Talk 07:12, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

making money to live

is there a way one can be online doing some research work for some company and earn a living,especialy for the immobile?

There are lots of jobs that allow you to work from home, but you need to get a proper job, not sign up to a "get rich quick" scheme or similar. If you either have to pay to get the job, or the application process does not involve some kind of interview, you can be pretty sure it's a con. In many countries employers are legally obliged to make reasonable changes to accommodate disabilities, which could well include working from home, even when it wouldn't otherwise be allowed (you'll probably still have to go into the office from time-to-time, though). Alternatively, you could try running your own business from home. That is probably the most flexible option, but is not a reliable way to make money. --Tango (talk) 10:48, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Patent authorities and lawyers do searches for prior art when a new patent is sought. Much of this work is done online, even starting at Wikipedia. If you have the technical insight necessary this could be a job for you. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:58, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

You generally have to have training for that, though. They don't let just anyone be a patent examiner, you need training in the relevant field, so you can understand the complexities of the inventions in question. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:23, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Let's not assume anything about the OP's background. Much of patent search work is administrative, such as collecting linked patents, and can be done by a secretarial assistant. Patent examiners do indeed need authorization but they also need staff. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 19:08, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Sure, let's also tell them about potential opportunities working for the circus, at home. I mean, who knows? Maybe the OP is a lion trainer, and maybe this career which we don't know much about actually farms out their work to people at home! --Mr.98 (talk) 20:12, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

One of my relatives does some sort of service where she is someone's remote secretary during the day, working from home. She makes phone calls and schedules his appointments and things of that nature. I've no idea how she got the job, but it sounds like the sort of thing you might be looking for. It is a "real" job and not a scheme. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:23, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Contract programmers, and even contract writers, can earn a living while working from home. In the case of programming, you have to be good enough to earn jobs; and contract writing is becoming less profitable as free information proliferates on the modern web. Nimur (talk) 15:51, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Certainly contract computer programming is one example. Writing or translating technical manuals for complicated products is another. There are companies that allow full-time employees to telecommute (work from home) - but most require occasional (weekly, perhaps) "in person" meetings - which might be a problem for our OP. These are not low-skill jobs though. There is a (perhaps unfortunate) feeling with many companies that low-grade employees would cheat and work much fewer hours than they are required to work - so it's only in the more highly professional skills where you are judged by results in which this can apply. Contract work can be done this way because the company are paying for a final product and they really don't care how many hours you have to work in order to get it done.

But - please, please - beware of scams. Any business that requires you to put in your own money "up front" for anything whatever is highly likely to be a scam. Illegal - or just barely legal - pyramid schemes (aka Multi-level marketing) are rampant. Many of the jobs which require monotonous typing in of printed materials (phone books, for example) are rigged so that you cannot win - they do things like paying you $0.10 per entry typed and then DEDUCTING $5.00 for every one that's done inaccurately. (They'll have two or three people type in the same entries - then compare the results and look for discrepancies.) They set the ratio of these two numbers such that they hardly ever have to pay you anything at all...and may indeed require you to pay them.

SteveBaker (talk) 16:23, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Economics

I dont know what Sticky Prices are. the article here sucks. I was wondering if you guys could give me some examples of sticky prices. John Asfukzenski (talk) 10:29, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

As the article says, wages are the best example. Products in a pound-store or dollar-store could also be described as sticky (unusually, they are sticky in both directions). A sticky price is just one that won't easily change when the market changes. --Tango (talk) 10:43, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Sticky Prices can arise from Privatisation of public services. A private operator can run a public service more efficiently, which is the rationale for the privatisation. However the new private operator is handed an effective monopoly with pre-established prices and is likely to absorb all the resulting profit than reduce the prices. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:47, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

So-called bargain prices almost always end in the digit "9" as in the example "SALE PRICE $19.99". Introduction of a $9.99 note would save some fumbling with coins. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:53, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Except it wouldn't. Almost everything has tax that pushes it beyond the .99 anyway (into very un-round numbers like .14 or .23), and even if everything really DID stay at .99, you'd be saving yourself all the trouble of having ONE penny as change, which again is a lot better than the kind of change you get from those other odd numbers (a nickel, a dime, two pennies, etc.). --Mr.98 (talk) 14:17, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

There are two good reasons that stores (without EPOS) like to stick with retail prices (which in most places include any sales taxes) ending in .99 of whatever currency is applicable. One is the well-known phenomenon of N.99 sounding disproportionally cheaper than N+1.00, thus drawing more business. The other, less well-known, is to discourage staff dishonesty. With a price at N.00, many people will tender N.00 to the cashier and not wait for a receipt: this potentially allows the cashier to pocket the money without operating the till; however, almost no-one will tender the exact money for an N.99 price, thus forcing the cashier to operate the till to give change and (usually) a receipt and making any pilfering much easier to detect. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 15:54, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

That's not really true. In the UK, where the stated price traditionally INCLUDES tax (in the US, prices traditionally - and confusingly - EXCLUDE tax) STILL tend to end in '.99'. The staff-cheating reason doesn't apply (because here in the USA, the price tendered is not the XXX.99 amount). It can only be to convince people that the price is $1 (or 1 pound) less than it really is. SteveBaker (talk) 16:07, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure what you are saying is "not really true", Steve; your slightly unclear restatement doesn't appear to disprove anything I said. I am in the UK, am a former retail shop worker, and know first hand that many items are where feasible deliberately priced at (to put it slightly differently) £(N-1).99 for the psychological appeal of sounding less than £N.00; my mother still is one in the Charity sector, and has worked for more than one organisation that officially advises its managers to adopt £N.99 prices explicitly to lessen the opportunity for pilfering as described. In any one outlet, either or both reasons might apply, but EPOS renders the latter less important because avoiding its use is more noticeable. The effect of US-style excluded sales taxes changing the price from N.99, as suggested by Mr.98, is a red herring because the manufacturer or retailer can often (I agree not always) simply adjust their before-tax price so as to make the price-plus-tax total add up to N.99. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 05:28, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

A better example of sticky prices are the ones you see for sold-on-TV gadgets. The TV series "Pitchmen" showed just how critical this price point actually is. There are a couple of price points for these items that simply cannot be breached (either up or down) - $19.99 is certainly one of them. When an item is really worth less than $19.99 - they'll sell you two of them - or add other bits and pieces to 'sweeten' the deal to push the "value" to $19.99. When things cost more than $19.99, watch out for insanely high "packaging", "handling", "restocking", "administrative", "shipping" fees - that sometimes rise to more than $10!! On still more costly items, we're seeing "three payments ofJUST $19.99!!" - or "You can try this in your home for 30 days at no risk for just $19.99" - with (amazingly) no indication whatever of the actual price of the item! $19.99 is the cost to rent the item for one month!! Very often, you see "...and we'll DOUBLE this offer and all you have to pay is the extra shipping and handling!" - with a highly inflated shipping & "handling" cost. It's quite amazing to see the lengths they'll go to in order to avoid saying anything other than "$19.99". SteveBaker (talk) 16:07, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

The only things I've seen here (in Canada) that are priced to come out with a round number are newspapers. They will be 87 cents (or whatever), plus tax, to come to a total of exactly $1. I suppose this is because it is impratical to put 99 cents in a newspaper box. Adam Bishop (talk) 19:02, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Backing up from a truck

Movie scene: a truck is carrying another vehicle. E.g. in the first five minutes of Transformers 2 there is a motorcycle (three-wheeler?) and a car. The back ramp of the truck is lowered while the truck is in motion (usually fast for dramatic effect), and the vehicle inside backs up, hits the road, and starts driving forward.

Will that work well in reality? The vehicle is backing up down the ramp, then suddenly its back wheels hit the asphalt, and need to start spinning rapidly forwards. A second later front wheels follow. Do the gearbox and the engine think such a sudden reversal of direction is a happy fun not-at-all-void-your-warranty idea? 88.112.58.122 (talk) 11:20, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

You may not need to be in gear when going backwards - a good push combined with air resistance and a slightly sloping ramp might do the job, then you could engage a forward gear and rev the engine while in mid-air and hit the ground running, as it were. Alternatively, you could get a stunt double to do it in multiple shots. --Tango (talk) 11:41, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

(ec) To "back up" does not mean the vehicle is in gear when it hits the road. It could roll down the ramp in neutral or declutched. Aeroplane tyres are hitting runways like this all the time. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:43, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Aeroplane wheels is an excellent point! Though there is a difference: aeroplane wheels are passive -- there is no engine that turns them. So in the truck scenario maybe if the driver is suitably trained it will work: "land" in neutral, rev up the engine, at just the right speed (engine turn rate equals wheel turn rate) switch to drive? Not trivial but doable? 88.112.58.122 (talk) 13:06, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Now it strikes me that I'll need to suggest this to MythBusters. 88.112.58.122 (talk) 13:12, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Haven't they actually done something like this? Or was it only driving a car into a moving truck with a car? --Saddhiyama (talk) 14:33, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

It was driving into a moving truck with a car. Not quite the same question, because you're not talking about anything changing directions (or going from zero to whatever instantly). --Mr.98 (talk) 15:32, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Depending on the speed of the truck and the steepness of the ramp - you'd end up either rolling forwards - or backwards. Almost certainly, forwards. In that case, in a car, it's easy - you roll down the ramp with the gearbox in neutral - when you're off the ramp and rolling forwards at some speed - you drop the car into gear and the engine will start...it'll be bumpy - but it'll work. That, after all, is how you 'bump start' a car with a broken starter motor. Alternatively, you could be rolling along in neutral, start the car with the starter and rev the engine so that the speed matches the revs you need at a particular gear - then drop into that gear...done correctly, the result would be very smooth.

If the truck was moving VERY slowly - then you might roll down the ramp and find yourself rolling backwards. That's much harder. Either you have to start the engine and drop into reverse - or you are in severe risk of trashing your clutch and/or gearbox. It's certainly much tougher. So ironically, this stunt is easier when the truck is moving fast than when it's going slower.

If the engine is already started and you back down the ramp under power - it would be VITALLY important to have the car be in neutral when the drive wheels hit the road. That done, it's just a matter of getting the engine revs right and dropping into an appropriate gear for the speed you're driving at.

Incidentally - I should mention the bit in The Italian Job (not the recent remake - the original) where a Mini drives onto a ramp attached to the rear of a fast-moving modified bus at about 50mph. This is the opposite of the stunt our OP is talking about...but in a sense, it's more impressive. The Mini is a front-wheel-drive car - so when the front wheels hit the ramp, they are rotating at 50mph - and have to come to an almost complete stop as the car is propelled up the ramp and has to stop before hitting the front end of the bus! This stunt was repeated three times in the movie - and I have seen it done "for real" by stunt drivers several times since then. It was also featured (much more slowly - and in rearwheel-drive cars) by "The Mythbusters". SteveBaker (talk) 15:51, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

If I were to do the stunt the OP describes, I would leave my good tyres at home and fit bald ones, maybe even put grease on them. The stress on the transmission that the OP is concerned about cannot exceed the force that makes the tyres skid. Slow cranking the camera and sound effects can dramatize the stunt. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 18:57, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

So long as the vehicle is in neutral (or has the clutch depressed) at the point where its drive-wheels go from ramp to road - there won't be any stress. Once you're rolling along in neutral, you can adjust the engine revs and then select a gear appropriate to the speed you're now travelling at...easy! The only stress I could imagine would be in a four-wheel drive vehicle where the center differential would be under a considerable stress. SteveBaker (talk) 20:27, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

September 27th Day of the Avril

It's her birthday today! I was wondering if there's been any news on her fourth studio album, since she broke up with Whibley recently and he had a hand in producing it. Has the release date been set back? Will songs he helped produce be dropped from the album?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.101 (talk • contribs) 14:24, 27 September 2009

There's no mention of a change of date on her site. She does describe the situation with Whibley as positive. Other than that, we can't predict the future here at the Ref desk. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 15:40, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

This is a subject for the Entertainment Ref. Desk. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 18:44, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

That's debatable...203.214.104.166 (talk) 09:13, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

What is this problem !!!!

I generally put myself to thinking when i see others suffering or if there ar any deaths in someone else's family my mind relates to my own and i get depressed about terribly and which also makes me extremely emotional.why does my mind relate to my own and compels me to sometime offer alms more than i can afford and try to help any soul i come accross who is needy , well, i am not unhappy about giving at all but the mind trying to relate. is there anythin i can do to help myself from thinking negative and lead a happy life with fellow beings and family.does psychatry help in such instances or am i insane??please help Seekhle (talk) 16:54, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

That's called empathy, and it would a be a problem if you didn't have it. Adam Bishop (talk) 18:23, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

You are not insane. What you express is Compassion. The article may interest you, particularly about how highly all the different religious traditions regard what you are feeling. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 18:27, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

You're not mad, nor are you alone. There are many of us out there, it's just that it's not fashionable to empathise with people at the moment. Remember that you need to look after yourself too. It's ok to give, but in order to give you need to receive too. Us givers are usually quite bad at receiving. --TammyMoet (talk) 20:12, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Managing empathy is not easy for some people and can become debilitating in ways similar to clinical depression. The world—and even one's own society—is arguably less cruel and violent than in the past, but electronic mass communications can make it seem overwhelming. Speaking from personal experience (caveat! anecdotal Ref Desk response rather than authoritative answer) this can take the form of becoming overwrought by reading the newspaper; intense impulses to come to the aid of strangers enduring grief, deprivation, or other suffering; having distressing nightmares, emotional outbursts, etc. and more. Web sites such as Gratefulness.org that offer a non-denominational, inspirational "thought of the day" can be reassuring in guiding your empathetic surges, but the most effective and certainly individually-focused help may come from consulting a psychologist or psychiatrist; the latter may prescribe medication. This is a valid option to help you help yourself. Don't let cost deter you till you've investigated what publicly funded resources are available, and don't deny yourself out of guilty feelings that "so many people are worse off than I" and "I should be able to handle this on my own." The aim is to help you find ways to live with your intense feelings and direct them into practical ways to channel your empathy into action or contemplation as best suits you and your situation. (and consider this for logical motivation: helping yourself is a meaningful step toward helping others!) -- Deborahjay (talk) 05:19, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Hand signals in WWII battles

In some WWII films, you see soldiers in battle signalling to each other using an elaborate system of hand signals. Obviously these signals are designed to warn their colleagues of danger and to tell them where to go. Were such systems really used, and if so is there a list of them somewhere? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 18:11, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Infantry soldiers also need means of recognizing friend or foe. A WWII film, The Longest Day, shows Allied soldiers being issued with hand clickers for signalling. Unfortunately the bolt on German rifles makes a similar sound. Anyone who remembers the film concerned is invited to edit this post! Cuddlyable3 (talk) 18:34, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Edited - you were right. :-) 94.168.184.16 (talk) 18:47, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Standardised Hand Signals for Close Range Engagement Operations. Includes a video. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 18:40, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

I'm skeptical about how "uniform" or "standardized" such hand signals are. Even if they are taught in basic training, I expect that there's a lot of room for interpretation about these sort of things. The best example is the counting. I have seen at least a dozen variations on ways to count from one to ten, and higher, with a single hand. Nimur (talk) 18:48, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Although the OPs question is answered with an affirmative, it does make it painfully clear that Wikipedia needs a Military hand signals article. There are so many questions in this topic that I would like to see answered, something which a good article could take care of. Did the Germans use hand signals during WWII? Which country was the first to use hand signals? And when? And does the signals vary from country to country? --Saddhiyama (talk) 09:09, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

It was American paratroopers who were issued with the clickers. Very much doubt the scene with the rifle bolt - but it was fun, wasn't it!Froggie34 (talk) 09:11, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Facebook "view as" mode

I feel the Facebook "view as" mode is a very useful idea, but the implementation is almost useless. The reason is, that once you click on a link leading to someone else's profile, Facebook exits "view as" mode and resumes normal behaviour. Now my idea of privacy concerns encompasses not only what my Facebook friends see of me, but also what they see of each other. Is there a way I could request Facebook to implement such a change to the "view as" mode? JIP | Talk 21:06, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

To be perfectly frank, how they see each other is no business of yours and would violate their privacy. --Nricardo (talk) 23:33, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

The whole point of "view as" is so you can see if you have your privacy settings correct for other people—so you set up your mother's account to not view anything except for some very sanitized links you post, and then, just to double-check, you "view as" her to make sure it looks right.

If you could view any other profile as anyone else, it would mean completely skipping out on all privacy settings. -If I put you in a special "don't see my naughty pictures" category, but if you "view as" someone else and can see the naughty pictures, what's the point in having the category at all?

So, no. It's a horrible idea, and I think you have missed the point of the "view as" feature altogether. --Mr.98 (talk) 02:41, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

OK, now I understand. I was all the time thinking when viewing one of my friend's profile as another friend, I could only see less of their profile, which would be all OK, but I never thought I could actually see more, which would indeed be a privacy violation. Stupid mistake in thinking. JIP | Talk 05:55, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

DVD players' tolerance for imperfect media

My sister gave me Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica for Christmas, and I've been working my way through it. One annoyance is that my DVD player frequently freezes on almost perfect, new disks, with only the slightest motes of dust or something on them. I have to pull the disk out, wipe it, put it back in, and wait through the bloody FBI warning etc.

I'd like to get a better player, but I'd like to know if there's any rating system for them on this particular point — how well the player can deal with slightly imperfect media. Does anyone know? I didn't see that particular thing on Amazon. --Trovatore (talk) 21:39, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Unfortunately all DVD players do this. I have a brand new top of the range one that hangs up with a DVD I've just rented. I suggest you run a lens cleaner through it occasionally.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:44, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

I have trouble believing they're all the same on this point. This is a software issue, after all. Better software (actually, firmware, I suppose) should be able to do better recovery from error conditions. Also, a rented DVD could be almost arbitrarily bad -- I'm talking about DVDs that are new out of the box. --Trovatore (talk) 08:00, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

September 28

Three

In the movie Inglorious Basterds a British SOE operative was caught out by signifying the symbol for three in a non German manner. I studied German for over 7 years, and I did hear that German ladies wear wedding rings on their right hands, but is this other thing true ?— Preceding unsigned comment added by Christopherlilly (talk • contribs)

I have seen three different methods of using the fingers to signify the number "3" in fairly widespread use. In the U.S., the most common method is to use the index, middle, and ring fingers, with the thumb holding down the pinky. But I have also seen it done with the middle, ring, and pinky, with the thumb holding down the index finger, AND with the thumb, index, and middle finger, with the ring and pinky resting against the palm. I have no idea which of these is more "German", but there are likely cultural connections, so it is not outside of the realm of possibility that someone could spot where you were from, or not, by how you made the hand sign for three. --Jayron32 04:48, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

here is the first one I describe. here is the second. here is the third. --Jayron32 04:50, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

can you help me?

Hi I'm Sally and I'm new here. My boyfriend told me the other night he was reading something about a primordial soup, and he was really interested in it. I would like to make it for him, but I don't have the recipe. Could you help? Sallysays (talk) 06:39, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

I hope that's a joke, but in case it's not: see Abiogenesis. The "primordial soup" theory is that life originated about by a reactions of various molecules in a liquid environment. - Jmabel | Talk 07:17, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

For one recipe (not really authentic, but a reasonable imitation), see Miller–Urey experiment. --Trovatore (talk) 07:35, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

See Stone soup on ideas for making it more delicious :) Dmcq (talk) 08:01, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Be warned that it tastes horrible and he could die from drinking it.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:06, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, Nanny Ogg's Cookbook has a recipe for "primordial soup", a sort of gumbo with green food colouring. Its only connection to primordial soup theory is a jokey name, though. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 08:33, 28 September 2009 (UTC)