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December 26

this Christmas i want to help someone desperate for help...

i remember a few years ago i saw a website where people went when they were one bill away from utter ruin...like an electric bill, or getting their car inspected...listed on the site were all kinds of requests...and you could pay that person's electric bill that month...sometimes the difference can help prevent someone from spiraling into chaos and further poverty....anyway, i can't remember the name of the site...if anyone knows of this site i am referring to, or any other similar site, can you please post the link here? this christmas i want to help someone desperate for help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.101.75.128 (talk) 13:22, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Proximus sum egomet mihi. -- Publius Terentius Afer. Our charity begins at home, And mostly ends where it begins.-- Horace Smith. This may be the website that you seek. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 19:36, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

This is one that is similar to the one I was thinking of. http://www.modestneeds.org Does anyone know of any others? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.101.75.128 (talk) 05:24, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Tony Romo Hat/Cap

I'm really frustrated about this. I know there must be a name for this. Does any one know what you call that hat that Tony Romo wears during his post game interviews? The best I can describe it is that I believe it is British and the bill of the cap snaps to the top of the hat. If you Google Tony Romo Hat, you'll see what I'm talking about. Anybody know what it's called? Tex (talk) 20:07, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

This site calls it a "newsboy cap". Bielle (talk) 21:07, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

WP has a different design for a newsboy cap and calls it a variation of the flat cap, which does look like the Roma hat. The WP "newsboy cap" has a bigger brim than the one I see Tony Roma wearing. The off-site link to Hats Plus calls WP's "flat cap" a "newsboy cap". Your choice, absent any further sourced information. Bielle (talk) 21:15, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Looking at the pictures of Mr Romo that don't show him wearing a normal baseball cap, I would describe his hat as a golf cap. I note that's just a redirect to flat cap at the moment - however, the second picture on the flat cap page is (IMO) a golf cap rather than a true flat cap. Note (a) the definite peak at the front, and (b) the much wider and broader body, compared with the "true" flat cap in the top picture. The lack of panels and top button distinguish the golf cap from the true newsboy cap previously mentioned. Tevildo (talk) 04:52, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

A golf cap. Yours for only $30! Other on-line hat-shops are available. Tevildo (talk) 04:59, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

The picture on this site (scroll down about 6 pictures to the white-flat-cap photo) of Mr Romo wearing his hat calls it an Ivy cap. Bielle (talk) 07:39, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable - I note that the other golf caps in Atlas' range are called "Harvard", "Princeton", "Cambridge" and "Brooklyn". OK, the last two aren't Ivy League, but I think that might be the derivation of the name. Incidentally - "Colossal toolbag Tony Romo"? Is that as serious an insult as it would be over here? :) Tevildo (talk) 12:54, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Yes, and he is frequently called similar things! Adam Bishop (talk) 03:22, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

olmpic ring

Was there a ring (jewelry) that was given to participates in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City?76.113.103.104 (talk) 23:11, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

In addition to medals they did receive rings. Here is one reference to those rings. I hope this helps. JW..[ T..C ] 00:17, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

December 27

"Load" of laundry as a unit

How large is a "load" of laundry?

For those of you who say that this is not a unit of measure, I see it used on product packaging as a unit of measure. If a bottle of detergent contains enough for eleventeen "loads" of laundry, that is eleventeen times what quantity? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.44.221.221 (talk) 01:36, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

The amount of clothing held in an evenly-packed washing machine is considered "one load." It will vary by size of machine, so you've got do a little guessing, but standard is usually around 8 pounds. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 02:13, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

(ec) 8 pounds is quite a small capacity - are you sure Amory? I doubt there is a precise definition. Most domestic washing machines have a maximum capacity of around 8 kg (dry weight) of washing and your bottle of detergent will have enough to run the washing machine "eleventeen" times. If you wash a lot less per run of the machine, you might be able to reduce the amount of detergent (and water if you use a "reduced load" feature) and therefore get more than eleventeen washes per bottle. On the other hand, if you own a large capacity machine (my sister's machine can take 11 kg) or use a laundrette you may have to use more detergent per wash. Astronaut (talk) 02:31, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

I wonder if this should be included on the list of unusual units of measurement. — Michael J 02:33, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Washing machine gives some (not many) numbers. One gives a value of 6kg and another suggestion under 5kg for efficient, one person usage. I was assuming a standard being for one person, and in my experience those have been 8-10 pounds, although I usually cram more in. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 03:22, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Also worth noting, detergent manufacturers like to sell their product, therefore are likely to overstate the required amount of detergent per load. Also worth considering is how dirty your clothes are. I've noticed that for my clothes, sometimes nothing more than a rinse is required.Aaronite (talk) 17:45, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Bottled detergent is usually for washing dishes and washing powder is usual for laundry. Either is sometimes sold with a measuring aid, such as the bottle cap, which may define what the manufacturer considers the dose for one "load". Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:33, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Which country are you basing that on? In the UK, detergent for laundry comes in both bottled liquid and boxes of powder. There's a whole marketing thing whereby people are usually either liquid or powder washers, hence why we don't just have washing tablets (for the powder washers) but also liquitabs (for the liquid washers), and then the gel-based wash-stuff to add extra excitement. Is it the case in your country that people only ever use powder? 86.176.48.114 (talk) 00:36, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

See the article Laundry detergent. Where both powder and liquid forms are marketed either may be preferred. Powder laundry detergent is usually the cheapest when bought in the largest available size of cardboard box. Liquid laundry detergent is sometimes used but has disadvantages of the weight of a large bottle and the creation of plastic bottle waste. AFAIK originally only powder was marketed on TV in the UK under brand names such as Omo, Daz, Persil, Surf, Tide and Ariel (the first with enzymes). Cuddlyable3 (talk) 00:25, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Despite the relatively recent popularity of front-loaders, the vast majority of home washing machines in the US are top-loaders. I'd imagine that a "load" is the typical load of an average-size top-loader designed for home use. Do a search on top-loading washing machines and see what their rated capacities are. A "load" should be close to the (statistical) mode of the capacity numbers. --71.185.178.230 (talk) 15:41, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Stomach punch

Why is it hurt when you are punched in your stomach? 72.130.134.122 (talk) 05:53, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

I know this isn't a really useful answer, but here it is anyway. Why does it hurt, no matter where you are punched? Blunt force at a high speed causes pain. Nerves react to trauma, and the pain is there to alert you to the potential for damage.Aaronite (talk) 06:01, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Probably something to do with Celiac plexus. Bus stop (talk) 06:11, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

It caused the death of Harry Houdini. Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:59, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Pain is one of your body's ways of saying this is a bad idea, please stop using me as a punchbag. Dmcq (talk) 13:24, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Being full of important organs and unprotected by bones (like the chest is), it's a very vulnerable point, as well as being highly deformable. This makes it important to tell you when it's been hurt, so you can protect it. If you reduce the deformity by tensing the muscles of your abdomen, it hurts a lot less - also the reason Harry Houdini died, since he was caught off-guard and didn't have chance to do exactly this. Vimescarrot (talk) 13:30, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Our article mentions the doubts to this story in a pretty offhand way, but Snopes calls it simply false. "Most modern medical experts assert that appendicitis caused by blunt trauma is impossible and/or unknown in medical history..." Matt Deres (talk) 19:25, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Good grief. QI leads me wrong again! Vimescarrot (talk) 22:13, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

If the diaphragm is affected by a punch, it is very hard to breathe for a time. "Oof, ya got me in the breadbasket!" Edison (talk) 02:55, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Digital camera

Is it physically possible to get a robust, small digital camera with low shutter lag and high optical zoom? Aaadddaaammm (talk) 08:53, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

It would depend on your definition of robust, small, low shutter lag and high optical zoom. --Phil Holmes (talk) 12:24, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Small and high optical zoom don't go together ell because of interference effects no matter how accurately the lens is ground. Small, high optical zoom and high speed don't go well with the requirement to capture enough photons to form a decent picture except in bright daylight. Robust and small aren't too hard to get together, in fact making things small can make them more robust, for example a watch tends to be more robust than a grandfather clock when knocked onto the ground. Dmcq (talk) 13:31, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Robustness sometimes refers to waterproofing or shockproofing (safe falling a certain distance). These both require additional size for padding and protective covering. Perhaps if the questioner indicated what he/she meant. Certainly a camera like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 (8x zoom) or the larger ZS1 (12x), or the Canon PowerShot SX200 (12x zoom) offer considerable power in a compact camera form factor with reasonable speed of operation (they don't focus instantly, but once focussed will respond quickly). You could check the details via Google or on dpreview.com --82.41.11.134 (talk) 23:09, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Washing clothes when on holiday

I recently took an extensive road-trip round Europe and because I simply do not have enough clothes (or bags to pack them in) to let me travel for more than a couple of weeks, I had to find a way to wash my clothes. Here in the UK, laundrettes are quite common with most small towns having at least one; and when I have travelled in the USA, I find most small towns will have a laundromat. However, in my experience they are a very rare thing in continental Europe: In Italy the nearest appeared to be in a town over 100 km away (only to find I had gone to the home of the owner of a laundrette); in Budapest my hotel receptionist kept directing me to dry-cleaning places; in Krakow my hotel receptionist had never heard of such a thing; and in Germany I was able to find one in a town some 50 km away. Without resorting to paying a hotel 4 EUR to wash each pair of socks and 8 EUR to wash each shirt, how do people get their clothes washed when on a road-trip in Europe? Astronaut (talk) 10:49, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

You have to hand wash them and find some way of drying them (or, more likely, leaving them to dry). --Richardrj ^{talk email} 11:07, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Take along your own washing line and get practice in looking for things at different sides of your shower room to tie it to. (This by the way is one reason to splurge on rooms that come with their own showers.) And clothes pegs and the works. The people who clean hotel rooms while their occupants are away during the day are used to seeing this; just don't let wet clothes drip onto any carpet. I can't count the number of European nations whose hotels have hosted my washing lines. -- Hoary (talk) 16:03, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

This page has some tips [1] and you can get special travel wash gel[2] to save carrying a big box of powder around. Alansplodge (talk) 17:41, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

A quick google for "Amsterdam Laundry" finds a number of self-service "Wasserettes", and similar for Berlin finds a number of "Waschsalon", a few of which combine that with being a cafe. I'd imagine that most places on the main backpacker itinerary will have these, squirrelled away. Many of the larger backpacker hostels will have laundry facilities (which I'd be astonished if they wouldn't let a non-resident use), and surely all will know where to go. I'm not surprised fancy hotel people don't (or claim not) to know where such things are. For Krakow there's Pepe and Frania, both of the cafe-laundry type. I don't have one to hand, but I'm pretty sure this is covered in the rough-guide type travel books (those that cater for dirty-ish hippies, rather than the higher end of the market). 217.43.149.157 (talk) 19:34, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

There were a couple in Prague a few years back that largely served foreign residents and travelers. Every Czech apartment seems to come with a washing machine, although it's sometimes a 30-year-old model serving as one of Communism's lasting legacies. And no one there seems to have ever heard of a tumble dryer. So there's little reason for locals to ever use a coin laundry. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 22:30, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

I've had no trouble finding a laundromat, or whatever you like to call it, when traveling in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and Denmark; but in all cases I was looking for them in major cities like Brussels and Copenhagen. The other solution besides washing in the hotel sink and hanging things up to dry may be to use the hotel's cleaning service, if they have one, but this can be very expensive. --Anonymous, 00:20 UTC, December 28, 2009.

In Spain and in Guatemala, I've just asked around for someone local who does laundry. It is nearly always the mother, sister, aunt, or cousin of the person (waiter, bellman, shop owner, taxi driver) I ask who will, as a favour, do a wash for me. The price is always quite reasonable and, as long as the risk of handing over your clothes and never seeing them again is not too much uncertainty for you, it seems to work. It takes 24 hours or so, longer if it is raining heavily. They often come back mended and with buttons replaced. YMMV Bielle (talk) 00:52, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Skeptics on Valentich Disappearance

Is there some good references by skeptics about Valentich Disappearance? --Qoklp (talk) 15:43, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

You may count me among those you identify as skeptics but who merely need convincing that an unlikely event occurred in the way one unavailable person may have said it did over a radio link. Such claims as 'The fact that they have found no trace of him really verifies the fact that UFOs could have been there' (sourced at Valentich Disappearance) are laughable. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:24, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Device to locate a parked car

Name a device that one can use to locate one's parked car. Saying "just remember it" or "write it down" will not do. Neither will anything which begins "every time you park your car, remember to...". If no such device exists, say so.

I have had it with losing track of where I parked. My calendar watch tells me what day it is without me having to update it manually every day; I want something similar for where I parked a car. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.44.221.221 (talk) 18:53, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

This link will probably help you find what you are looking for. I hope this helps. JW..[ T..C ] 19:21, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

These devices are very useful within wireless range, but if you have walked some distance from your car, you might prefer to carry a GPS receiver (which you must remember to set by pressing the "mark position" button as you leave the car). Most such hand-held devices have an arrow to point to your car, but will not tell you what level for multi-storey parking, in fact they will usually not work well in an area with tall buildings and narrow streets. Perhaps someone should market a self-setting unit that combines the two technologies? Dbfirs 19:38, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

There are a number of 'apps' for the iPhone which do this, and tell you what level you are on!--85.210.188.64 (talk) 20:09, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

There are several handy ideas at the Google Answers link provided by JW above. The first idea of remotely hooting the car horn is however antisocial and even illegal in some areas, such as near hospitals. To the OP, your wording is in the form of demands; please note that we are volunteers who are happy to deal with civil questions. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:06, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

One lo-tech solution, assuming you know approximately where you've parked your car, is to attach something distinctive to the aerial (antenna), which you can see from a reasonable distance. As long as it's attached securely and is reasonably weatherproof, you don't need to worry about "activating" it when you leave the car. Tevildo (talk) 22:53, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

I know a number of folks who do that, me included. There is also the "panic" button that exists on many electronic keys. You only need to hear it once or twice to figure out about where your car is, and hopefully no one will get all that upset about it. A lot of cars honk once anyway, when the doors are locked externally/remotely. These ideas assume that you're within theoretical sight of the car. If you're several blocks away, the GPS might work. But how would lugging a GPS around be any more convenient than simply writing it down on a slip of paper? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:21, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

(to BB)You are less likely to lose a GPSr than a piece of paper! ( ... and many people "lug" mobile phones around with them.)
My patent will be for a combined electronic key with inbuilt remote light flashing (and horn-sounding for emergencies) and GPS (with a small screen to show distance and direction, but optional audio output for the short-sighted) that self-sets when removed from the car. Any offers to design & market this? It's all possible, it just needs funding! How much would a customer be willing to pay for such a device? (as much as they paid for the car?) Dbfirs 23:58, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Then they could enter it in their PDA. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:14, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

All TomTom satnav's do this automatically, when you remove the device from it's cradle or windscreen dock it marks the location. Then you can either select the 'last docked' menu item or, in some models, it will show the straight-line route back to your car automatically. Plus it's a handy feature that makes sure stupid people don't leave the device stuck to their window waving a big STEAL ME flag above it's head when they wander off shopping. Nanonic (talk) 00:05, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I'll have to buy a new TomTom (mine is old and doesn't have a docking station). My suggestion for integrating the technology into a key fob was for those (like me) who are gradually losing their memory and wouldn't remember to write down the location or enter it into a PDA. I have used a walking-type GPS receiver in the past to mark the position of my car when left in obscure back streets. The combination of this with a street map and shortest walking route would be a useful addition. Has it already been included in the latest TomToms? Dbfirs 07:36, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

It's been a feature of them since at least December 2006 (when I bought my TomTom Go 710) and according to the instruction manuals available on the TomTom website - it's been a feature on most models since. Nanonic (talk) 18:15, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

My TomTom maps don't show real walking routes, so I really must buy an up-to-date model. Have they really included non-road routes? This provides a good answer to the OP's question. Do the GPS receivers (+ applications & maps) incorporated into mobile phones have the same feature? Dbfirs 23:52, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Manhattan gas stations

Hello. I had the briefest thought just now: Where do cabs and cars in New York City drive to replenish their fuel? Given that normal gas stations have very little in terms of height (normally a single-floor building that takes up a lot of area), I'd assume rent prices for these lots to be too pricy to accommodate for fuel stores. Not to mention the storage tanks of the fuel would likely be some sort of hazard, or at least difficult to plan for and replenish. Do gas stations dot downtown Manhattan like in other places? Maybe in the periphery, near the docks? Thanks in advance for your help! 77.18.9.130 (talk) 19:30, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Based on a little googling, the price of gas in NYC seems to be about 10 cents a gallon more expensive than the national average (that's about 4% higher), so that might cover some of the high rents. It's not enough to completely explain it, though - I'm sure the rent per square foot in NYC is more than 4% higher than the national average. --Tango (talk) 20:26, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Google Maps shows at least 10 of them in Manhattan (although if you keep zooming in there seems to be hundreds). In Toronto (which is of course just like New York, without all the stuff), there are a few gas stations downtown, but not in the few blocks that are really downtown (the financial/entertainment areas). The ones that do exist downtown are always full of taxis. Adam Bishop (talk) 21:44, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Hmm, on further inspection a lot of those are just corporate offices. But there are some; there's a Gulf station at FDR Drive and East 23rd Street, if that counts as downtown. And 11th Avenue and West 51st Street, that seems pretty downtown to me. Adam Bishop (talk) 22:00, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

You've also got to imagine the volume is a lot higher for stations in a downtown area, considering the amount of traffic in the vicinity and the comparative lack of competition. And much of the profit at gas stations comes from retail-store sales anyway, and operating a 24-hour convenience store in the heart of Manhattan must have its advantages. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 22:24, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

There are a handful of gas stations in Manhattan, but none in the high-rent business districts of Midtown or Downtown Manhattan. If you search "gas stations" in "New York, NY" in Google Maps, the vast majority of listings are not gas stations. They seem mostly to be either 1) convenience stores (which tend to entail gas stations elsewhere, but not in Manhattan) and 2) offices of petrochemical corporations or businesses serving petrochemical corporations. Gas stations in Manhattan are scattered in low-rent former (or current) industrial districts some distance from the central business districts, in the Lower East Side, the Far West Side of Midtown, and scattered locations in Upper Manhattan. Manhattan gas prices tend to be higher than prices in other New York City boroughs (e.g. Queens, the Bronx), so people tend to fill up when they are off the island. (And most vehicles traveling in Manhattan start and/or end their day's journey off the island.) The few gas stations in Manhattan still get a high volume of business from taxicabs, who can't afford to leave Manhattan just to fill up, and from the rich and people on corporate expense accounts, for whom convenience will always trump price. Marco polo (talk) 03:16, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

It should also be noted that Manhattan has one of the lowest rates of vehicle ownership in the United States, likely in the entire western world, given the uniquely dense population of Manhattan and the equally excellent public transportation system. Gas stations in Manhattan are few because cars are few; nearly all of the cars you see are from outside of the city, from places like the Outer Boroughs or New Jersey or somewhere like that; and in those areas there are many more gas stations. I seem to remember a gas station on West Side Highway the last time I was there, but there are not many gas stations at all. Most people likely fill up elsewhere since just about everyone in Manhattan uses some form of public transportation (Subway, Bus, Taxi, or Tramway). --Jayron32 20:28, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

OP here. Thank you, Marco Polo and the rest, for excellent answers. These go a long way in answering my question, and I am thoroughly thankful! 77.18.0.143 (talk) 13:32, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Setting up a conference call

We need to set up a lengthy one-time conference call (~1 hour) between half a dozen people all on landlines or mobiles in the continental US. Skype can do this (by calling the landlines from a computer whose sound is muted), but the quality is unacceptably poor (frequent dropouts). An operator-assisted conference call would presumably work but it seems to be ludicrously expensive (hundreds of dollars per hour). The call is supposed to happen today (Sunday) in a few hours, so anything that would require a business day to set up is out of the question. There are a bunch of web sites claiming to offer this service but we don't know which to trust. Any suggestions from someone who's been through this before? -- BenRG (talk) 22:17, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

I've used one of those services. They are pretty much interchangeable, AFAIK. You sign up with your credit card and they give you a local number and an 800 number that the callers can call, and they give you 1 or 2 "participant code"s that the callers enter in order to join the same conference (and ensure you get billed). It doesn't take a day to set up, if memory serves. Comet Tuttle (talk) 01:12, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Wheelchairs

why are people in wheelchairs considered a fire hazard? Are they more combustible than walking people? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.75.24.71 (talk) 22:37, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

To answer this question seriously, it's (theoretically) because a wheelchair user will find it more difficult to evacuate the building in the event of fire, and are at risk of being burnt if a fire breaks out. (Assuming the staff of the premises can't assist them). However, such an argument would be unlikely to work against a claim of discrimination, where anti-discrimination legislation exists. Tevildo (talk) 22:56, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

As well as the hazard to themselves, they take up more floor area than other people and may have to move more slowly, so they might get in the way of those who otherwise could evacuate faster. --Anonymous, 00:24 UTC, December 28, 2009.

Many of them move much faster, especially on a down slope. The answer to the OP's question is "They aren't considered to be a fire hazard." Wheelchair seating in Ontario, Canada, is required by fire code to be next to an exit. Staff is supposed to be assigned and trained in the event of a fire to get the wheelchairs out first and away from the building. One of the reasons is mentioned above; the chairs themselves, if left in place, can create a barrier and if stuck anywhere on the exit route (which is why staff is trained to move them out) create a dangerous bottleneck. The other reason is the same one used for clearing "women and children" first in a lifeboat. They are considered to be less capable of taking care of themselves as the situation deteriorates and thus are attended to first. (I didn't write the rules; I am just reporting on them.) One fallen person in front of a wheelchair is a barrier the wheelchair cannot pass, even though "walkies" could just step over the obstacle. Bielle (talk) 00:44, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

And of course with all the lifts in a building automatically moving to the ground floor as soon as the fire alarms are activated, aiding wheelchair users can slow up the evacuation of others. This is why many countries have made it law for buildings of multiple floors to include 'Wheelchair refuges', 'safe' areas for those in wheelchairs or otherwise disabled to await rescue by the Fire dept. Nanonic (talk) 01:24, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

December 28

Wi Fi hot spots in Sin City

I am going to Las Vegas soon, and bringing my laptop for the first time. Rather than pay my hotel for using the internet in my room, I would like to take my laptop around town and plug in where I can access it for free. Where can I do this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Agastordoff (talk • contribs) 01:24, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Googling 'WiFi free vegas' gives hundreds and hundreds of sites listing free hotspots in hotels, restaurants, casinos, coffee shops, airport terminals and libraries in Las Vegas. Give it a go.. Nanonic (talk) 01:43, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Choose your hotel carefully and you might get free wireless anyway. Astronaut (talk) 11:53, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

TANSTAAFL - if "free" it'll just have been rolled into the overall cost of the room. 218.25.32.210 (talk) 01:20, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

True, but on the other hand the true cost of wifi is often far less than the surcharge that may be asked for it when billed separately. Also, since it is a shared resource, the true cost would generally be cheaper if all guests are paying for it than if only self-selected individuals pay for it. Dragons flight (talk) 07:53, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Portrayals of Italian versus Russian mobsters

Ok, just so you know my background, I grew up in the United States. In American movies and television often the Italian (or Italian-american) mafia is portrayed in a romantic light. Often Italian mobsters are depicted as harmless, almost comic buffoons, all in a good-natured way, in countless movies. On the other hand, Russian gangsters are almost uniformly portrayed as threatening, violent, really "bad dudes." My questions are 1) does anyone agree with these generalizations, and 2) if this is the case, how would you explain why? Torkmann (talk) 02:37, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

There are a lot of Italian immigrants in America, and the movies are often made by Italian writers, directors, and actors. There are fewer Russian Americans, and Russia is a traditional enemy, sort of "over there" where things are always worse. Adam Bishop (talk) 02:50, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

On The Sopranos, in season 3 there was a "Russian mafia" guy "Valery" who had been in the Interior Ministry or Spetsnaz. One of the U.S. Italian-descent gangsters misheard that he was an interior decorator. The guy was practically indestructible, and to me was portrayed in a favorable light, overall. They simply could not kill him, as he was Rasputinesque. The Italian-American gangsters, by contrast, looked like "babes in the woods." Edison (talk) 02:51, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

The Italian mafia are lately depicted as the "mafia we know"—the mafia of the 1930s, Al Capone, etc., real "American" mafias. (Hence, The Godfather is about the Americanization of the Italian mafia, in a way.) The Russian mafia is generally depicted as a post-Soviet phenomena—the result of the end of the Cold War, with a lot of hardened bad dudes coming over from other shores, not Americans at all. They represent something different.

As for reality—I doubt it is true at all. There are no cuddly gangsters, whatever their nationality or ethnicity. One should not confuse such tropes with anything resembling reality. --Mr.98 (talk) 03:22, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I don't think it's just the Russians anyway. The Albanian mafia, Chinese triad, Yakuza etc are usually potrayed similar to the Russians. While I agree with the premise there are no cuddly gangsters and a lot of TV overly romaniticised and ignores the brutality and ruthlessness of organised crime, some of the American Mafia had some sort of code of conduct/honour. These codes didn't mean they weren't violent but may have sometimes meant they avoided things like killing police officers. While such codes exists for many criminal organisations I think many (including the American Mafia) have started to move away from such things and so it's not something that associated with the more 'recent' organisations in the US. Nil Einne (talk) 11:40, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I doubt it is "honor" that ever kept mafia members from killing police and civilians—I more suspect that it is an attempt to keep a low profile and to avoid retribution. No business organization (illegal or not) can afford "honor" if it doesn't work with the business model! --Mr.98 (talk) 17:02, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I think the Italian mob had a slightly different public face due to their involvement in providing alcohol during Prohibition in the US. You can get people to go along with you if you either scare them or are buddies with them. Providing the general public with liquor gave them a big step in the second direction. Matt Deres (talk) 21:13, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

1) I tend to agree with the OP's generalizations. 2) As well as mobsters Italy has long been the source of opera, fashionable styles, high cuisine and such high-profile entertainers as Ol' Blue Eyes (1) and (2). How is a poor Russian mobster to compete with all of that? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 19:36, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Disco remixes of classical music.

Apart from the famous "A fifth of Beethoven," which was on the Saturday night fever soundtrack (and used in the film), and the not-so-famous "Night on Disco Mountain," also on the same soundtrack and also by Walter Murphy, does anyone know of any other 1970's-era disco remixes of classical music? I once heard a disco-inspired version of the overture to Orphee aux Enfers by Offenbach ONCE but never got any information on it. Any help would be appreciated. Torkmann (talk) 02:43, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

The Hooked on Classics series of classical medleys typically used a sort-of disco beat as a connecting thread. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:13, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Are you looking for something like this? I hope this helps. JW..[ T..C ] 04:17, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Technoclassix is a compilation; more early techno than disco. Adagio for Strings version somewhere also. Polypipe Wrangler (talk) 10:56, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

A Moral dillemma

I have a situation where I have a friend who is planning to quit his present job( a Govt job) ,to join the corporate world. I find my friend quite inefficient in the way he deals with work and this is a opinion which has been endorsed by all his colleagues. I feel that he may be a failure in his new job too. Should I advice him not to leave the job or should I remain silent?. My friend is quite obstinate and has a exaggerated view of his own abilities!I am ceratin that he will not listen to me! What should I do? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.241.94 (talk) 04:03, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

That's a matter of opinion, not fact, and the ref desk is not intended to be a discussion board. Here's a couple of questions back, which you might consider: If he fails in the corporate world, will he be able to get his government job back? Also, something to keep in mind: Your tax dollars are contributing to his government salary. Do you want you tax dollars going to someone who's ineffecient? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:11, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

What has it got to do with you, directly? OK you are concerned for him, but he must make his own decisions. Try to advise and likely lose out... advise NO. He is a success. You are scorned. Advise YES. He is a failure. You are blamed. Advise caution and deep thought, no more. Believe me I know, from hard experience.Froggie34 (talk) 09:30, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

If you are genuinely certain that he won't listen to you, what is the point of saying anything? --Tango (talk) 14:48, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

An inflated view of one's own competence is the normal human state of being. See, for example, Kruger and Dunning's paper "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments". While they found that individuals in the lowest quartile of performance on a task tended to massively overestimate their own ability, no group was immune to a tendency to overrate their competence. In addition to the work Kruger and Dunning conducted, thir paper also provide valuable references to the corpus of psychological study demonstrating our own inflated views of ourselves. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:56, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

My understanding from what I've read before, supported by Dunning–Kruger effect is that competent people actually have the tendency to underestimate their ability Nil Einne (talk) 16:05, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Barack Obama got all the way to the White House by, among other things, reminding his nation of this ("Yes, we can"). -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 18:47, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

My understanding (I haven't re-read our articles on the subject) is that competent people accurately assess their own abilities but believe other people's overestimates of their own abilities so underestimate their relative abilities. (Did that make any sense?) --Tango (talk) 19:16, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Ethically speaking, you really have no reason to discourage your friend, because you are not hiring him. Let the employer decide if he has the abilities they want. Let your friend take the risks he wants to take. It is not a moral dilemma at all. --Mr.98 (talk) 16:52, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

The OP may not be obligated to discourage his/her friend, but I wouldn't say he/she has no reason to. To me, being a good friend is enough reason to offer a word of advice when you think your friend is likely making a bad decision. --71.185.178.230 (talk) 17:59, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, maybe. But people have to make their own decisions and find their own limits. When it comes to employment (and love), I think a good friend lets you figure that out on your own. When it comes to investment, well, maybe then you've got to pipe up every one in awhile. ;-) --Mr.98 (talk) 20:23, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Incidentally, not everyone in the corporate world works efficiently, and some inefficient people do quite well in the corporate world, based on my observation during years of work for a corporation. Marco polo (talk) 02:29, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

In looking back at this, I'm inclined to agree with Mr.98. Let the guy do what he wants, even if it might be wrong - because it might be right. Maybe he's inefficient because he doesn't like his government job! He might thrive in another job. Don't presuppose what someone else can or can't do. That's bordering on "nannyism". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:33, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Caution your friend. Note very carefully your own limitation in being able to assess the situation thoroughly, whether you think you are limited in this way or not. Ultimately it is your friend's decision. But you want him to weigh it carefully, so you want to implant the thought, subtly, in his mind that it might not be the right decision. But in fact it might be the right decision. Your concern for your friend means you want him to weigh any potential changes carefully. Bus stop (talk) 03:01, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

"Baron Longueville"

The entry under Richard Longfield states as follows: On 1 October 1795, Richard Longfield was created Baron Longueville, and on 29 December 1800, he was created Viscount Longueville. Both titles became extinct on his death in 1811.

I have seen elsewhere that he was created Baron Longueville in 1795 - how do you know that this was on 1 October 1795 - and who bestowed the title? The Revd. Thomas Brooke Clarke (1757?-1833) named his son Longueville Loftus Tottenham Clarke (1795-1863) born in May 1795 ... and the 'Loftus' and 'Tottenham' carry associations with the Marquess of Ely who was Clarke's patron at that date. The Longfield-Longueville connection was as meaningful so I have to suggest that knowledge of the 'Longueville' title must have come through rather earlier in the year than October I should appreciate a contact with the source of your article With thanks S.W. Massil (London) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.71.38.200 (talk) 09:54, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I know nothing whatever of this particular case, but I do know that baronies are sometimes/usually announced before they are formally created by letters patent. A case in point was John Forrest, whose barony was announced in February 1918 but had still not been formally created by the time of his death in September 1918, so he died Mr Forrest, not Lord Forrest; despite the fact that he had been signing his name "Forrest" since February on the assumption that he was now (as good as) a lord. So, by analogy, if Longfield became Baron Longueville on 1 October 1795, it's likely he would have known of the honour some considerable time before this. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 18:44, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

The closest thing I can find is from the London Gazette [3] and the date of record is Oct. 5th: "His Majefty's Royal Letters Patent being received, granting the following dignities, Letters Patent are preparing to be paffed...To the Right Honorable Richard Longfield, and the Heirs Male of his Body lawfully begotten, the Dignity of Baron Longueville...". I can't reconcile that with Oct. 1, the Gazette is/was the official paper of record, so I would be inclined to use Oct. 5th. The Royal Letter would of course have been issued earlier, but I don't see it getting to Dublin Castle in just 4 days. Also, I'm not clear on why the title would be extinguished on his death, presumably he fell short with his lawful begetting of heirs male? Curious that... Franamax (talk) 20:59, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

The Complete Peerage, vol VIII page 129, gives the 1 October 1795 and 29 December 1800 for the creations of the Barony and Viscountcy of Longueville. At the time of the creation of the Barony, Longfield had spent 34 years in the Irish Parliament. Longfield was very wealthy and the proprietor of boroughs which returned eight members to the Irish Parliament, and the CP notes a description of him in 1799 (which was written by a political opponent) as saying that when he spoke in Parliament "perhaps no member of the House .. commands more attention". He was a supporter of the Act of Union and his Viscountcy was one of 46 Irish peerages created a matter of days before Union took place - and that the Viscount subsequently became a Representative Peer. There is also a report that Longfield wrote a letter to Lord Chichester in 1803 demanding further reward for his services to the Government (BM Add MS 33111 fo 170). He died s.p. in other words without any children, despite a 53 year long marriage. Sam Blacketer (talk) 14:19, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Pen guns

Am trying to find out what these are, and there seems to be a confusion between:

• an improvised firearm made from pen parts, vs.
• a small gun of standard manufacture made to look like a pen.

To wit: under the subheading cryptic firearms, the page on Improvised firearms describes guns made to look like innocuous objects such as a "flashlight, pen, ." In seeking information on the pen gun I've seen references to model names and numbers which seem to be products of standard manufacture, some of which appear (as red links, unfortunately) on the List of firearms page. I don't even know on which Talk page to ask this, but it seems like both articles have only partial information. Is it possible that both types (that I tried to describe above) share the name "pen gun"? How to sort this out? -- Deborahjay (talk) 12:18, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I assume that you know that the reference was to a firearm, not just to a "Light pen" or Light gun. Dbfirs 14:28, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, here's one on the web, besides the several mentioned as red links on the List of firearms. I would think that an improvised "pen gun" would be made of part(s) of a pen, as a zip gun is constructed of a length of broken-off antenna), not improvised (of what?) to look like a pen. -- Deborahjay (talk) 16:52, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, yes, of course, if I had known the period you were studying, I wouldn't have suggested a 1970s invention (light pen). Dbfirs 22:51, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

This video shows a pen gun at 7:17. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 03:11, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Reducing picture size in e-mail?

I apologise for having already asked this on the Computing Desk but without any response. Maybe better luck here.Please could someone help me? I recently accepted an offer from AOL to have my AOL Broadband service upgraded to include my telephone service at a single all-inclusive monthly charge and so far, I am very happy with both aspects. But the AOL service (called Platinum 2) changed the way my screen works and I have lost a lot of the options I used to have with AOL when sending e-mail. I find that I cannot make any pictures I attach to my e-mails "Fit to Window" as previously. And I cannot reduce any that I receive so that I can see the whole picture on screen. I also used to be able to "frame" each picture and add sub-text to them but no longer. AOL have been unable to help and so I am hoping someone here will be able to help. Thanks in anticipation. 92.30.103.0 (talk) 12:56, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I think there are two things working against you. First, nobody who doesn't use AOL is going to have the faintest idea of how this proprietary setup works or is supposed to work. Second, at this time of year, many people have decided to spend time with their real-world friends and family, reducing the pool of potential answerers. AOL, on the other hand, should know what you're talking about and they also have an obligation to help you to some degree, even during the holidays. Your best bet is to contact them. If that truly doesn't work out, then give the thread in the Computing desk a couple more days and repost your question there with details regarding 1)how you used to do what you want, 2)what you've tried to do now to accomplish the same thing, and 3)what AOL told you to do and what happened when you tried to do it. If AOL isn't doing what it's supposed to even while you follow step-by-step instructions from their help desk, then it could be that the problem is due to your operating system, so provide that info as well. If any other programs aren't doing what they should, that should also be mentioned. I'm not really a tech guy, but those of the kinds of information people post when they're trying to get a problem diagnosed. Good luck. Matt Deres (talk) 15:13, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for that Matt. I'll take your advice and wait for 2010. Though to be fair, the AOL Helpdesk is in India where I wouldn't have imagined there was much by way of Christmas disruption. 92.30.103.0 (talk) 15:18, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

The point about holidays was only in reference to the lack of help here; we're volunteers and come or go at whim - you can and should be able to call AOL at any time for technical support. If they can't or won't give you the service you're paying for, I'm sure there are no shortage of internet service providers in the UK (assuming I've geo-located you correctly). Matt Deres (talk) 19:39, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Thanks again Matt - problem solved. I did contact AOL (in India) again and this time was told that in buying their Phone and Broadband package they had moved me to a different version of their website that incurred the loss of some features. So, as advised I uninstalled their new version (AOL Desktop) and re-installed my old version (AOL9 VR), and have regained all the features that were missing. And I confirmed with the Accounts Department (in India) that there would be no penalties to my new combined package subscription. So I trust someone else here may benefit from my experience. But thank you for your interest - I am genuinely grateful to you. Have a wonderful New Year in 2010. 92.30.103.0 (talk) 19:47, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

You should mention that at the Computing desk, so that others can learn from it there. Thanks, 99.241.68.194 (talk) 21:31, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Title font on Computer Magazine

What font is used for the word "Computer" on the cover of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_%28magazine%29 ? 20.137.18.50 (talk) 17:50, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

It's similar (but not identical) to Twentieth Century. Perhaps someone with inside knowledge could comment. Tevildo (talk) 18:24, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Looks like a pretty dead ringer for Futura Bold to me. The C is dead-on, as is the funny U. Some of the weights are a little different than this one (thicker around the joints of the P for example), but I would just chalk that up to variations in the specific typeface used (different typefaces often have slightly different implementations depending on the foundry that made them). Definitely Futura Bold. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:14, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

It's definately a sans-serif font, and there are many of those. List_of_typefaces#Sans_serif and Samples of sans serif typefaces some good places to start. The unusual way the C ends with vertical lines rather than horizontal leads me towards Bell Centennial as a likely option, though Futura as noted above is another one. --Jayron32 20:19, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

To me it looks like Futura Bold as well. It isn't Bell Centennial, because there is no tail on the lower-case u. — Michael J 00:06, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

why does hair darken with age?

Why does that happen? When I was a child I was blond but now my hair is dark brown. So, why is that? --Belchman (talk) 21:01, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

It's a good question. The article Human hair color notes the phenomenon, but does not explain it, nor does it contain any references that do. The same thing happens in my family. Both me, my brother, and my father's hair darkened with age. Hair color is caused by melanin, and there are several different types of melanin that go into making hair color. Brown Eumelanin imparts a brown or yellow color, black Eumelanin imparts a black color, and Pheomelanin imparts a red color. Your hair color derives from your particular mix of these three pigments. Thus, blonds have brown eumelanin, with out the other two, while brunettes have some of all three, redheads have mostly pheomelanin, etc. etc. So, the likely cause is that melanogenesis gets turned on for these pigments at different ages; so that in the young lesser amounts of the darker melanins are produced, and as one ages, the darker melanins get "turned on". This must be a genetic thing, and not universal, since there are plenty of examples of people who have the same color hair their whole lives, while others (like you and I and likely my children) experience a wide variation in hair color throughout their lives. It would be interesting to get a better biochemical or physiological explanation, since this is what I was able to piece together myself reading the above articles. --Jayron32 21:20, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I can't answer the question, but will note that a similar situation can occur with the texture of the hair, changing it from straight to curly or vice versa, leading to old wives tales about how something or other caused it to happen. My hair changed around grade three or four (i.e. not tied to puberty as might be expected) and my parents blamed a barber who'd given me a haircut shortly before. My maternal grandfather's hair changed (also at an early age) and since he'd recently been to the seaside for the first time, the "salt sea air" was blamed for the change. Matt Deres (talk) 01:47, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

I suspect that blonde-haired children are more cute than other children and that this is a natural mechanism making them more likely to be protected and saved in the event of disaster. Kittybrewster ☎ 18:35, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

On the same note, someone once told me they thought it was because, evolutionarily, young children are more likely to need to hide from predators and so need better camouflage. That seemed interesting and vaguely reasonable at the time, although I guess it assumes an environment with blond looking plants, like grass or wheat or something. Part of me thinks a more likely reason is that it became a sort of evolutionary indicator for youth, particularly when looking for a mate. Many males seem to prefer females with light hair, perhaps because it indicates they are younger and more fertile, or at least it did before L'Oreal et al. Having such an indicator of age (fertility) would seem an evolutionary advantage for a group. Of course that doesn't explain why young boys have light hair as well. TastyCakes (talk) 19:02, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

It also does not explain why some people do not experience a darkening of their hair, nor does it explain why not everyone is born blond. The OPs question doesn't really ask about evolutionary purpose (which is always a dubious undertaking anyways, since evolution doesn't have any intelligence), but rather on the biochemical and physiological causes of the event. That is, not why hair colors evolved in the first place (which seems to be where you are going) but rather the specific mechanism in the body that causes some people to experience darkening hair color throughout their lives. --Jayron32 20:51, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Well I'm not sure exactly what he meant by his question (perhaps he could enlighten us), but it seems to me that by looking for a strictly physiological explanation, you are answering the "how" but not the "why". If someone were to ask "why are polar bears white" you could give a pretty good argument that it's so you can't see them in the snow. I think that's a better answer than "they have a specific type of melanin", but it of course doesn't explain why some bears are brown or black. Also, I didn't say that evolution had any intelligence, I said that having a way to judge people's ages more accurately could be evolutionarily advantageous. TastyCakes (talk) 22:06, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

I've heard it said that one possible evolutionary reason why so many gentlemen "prefer blonds" is because blond hair makes it easier to tell whether a potential mate is healthy or not (Why? I have no idea!). That being the case, perhaps children have lighter color hair in order that their parents can better tell if they are healthy. Once the child is old enough to handle that stuff themselves, there is less need. Unfortunately, that's speculation piled upon speculation - so I could easily be quite wrong on this one. SteveBaker (talk) 21:42, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Specifically addressing TastyCakes' quandry about boys also having blond hair (mine too was much lighter when I was one, and not just because of Hong Kong sunlight) -- remember that the very large majority of genes are equally inheritable by both sexes: the Y chromosome that (usually) determines malehood is only one out of 46 and is markedly smaller than the rest, hence carrying a smaller than average gene complement (which does not, so far as we know, include any influencing hair colour). The two human sexes are basically the same model with only minor tweaks (which non-genetic factors can sometimes over-rule), so nearly all features are common to both, and most of the rest are modifications of the same feature in one or the other direction. The upshot of this is that if a feature-producing gene or gene combination is advantageous to one sex and not disadvantageous to the other, it will usually persist and be present in both. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 01:03, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Alexi Laiho

Has Alexi Laiho from Finnish Metal band 'Children of Bodom' got any children?86.149.0.243 (talk) 21:14, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

This biography suggests that he was married. This interview seems to confirm that, as well as suggesting that he may have one child. I hope this helps. JW..[ T..C ] 04:35, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

A particular handshake.

I have witnessed both Kenyan, Nigerian and Asiatic acquaintances shaking hands conventionally with the right hand but at the same time touching their right elbow or fore-arm with their left hand. It is not a coincidence and it appears to be some form of respect action. These occasions have usually been formal situations between people who did not previously know each other. I have tried searching with Google and the Wikipedia article on handshake is sadly lacking in this style. Can anyone tell me what this style of handshake is called. Richard Avery (talk) 23:09, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

I doubt there is a specific name for this but the difference in handshakes usually denote different levels of intimacy, friendliness or respect. This is nicely depicted in the movie Primary Colors but I cannot find a clip of it, here is an extract from the book describing it. meltBanana 13:00, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

December 29

Candlewicks

Do the wicks of candles contain any poisonous substances, especially ones from say China and Asia, as their rules and regs. aren't as tight as ours?

Thank you.

J. Bridge......... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jackie Bridge (talk • contribs) 11:48, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

According to our candle wick article: "candle wicks ... may contain a stiff core ... traditionally made of lead, however lead wick cores have been banned in the U.S. ... due to concerns about lead poisoning". Mitch Ames (talk) 12:58, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

This [4] is relevant. Bear in mind that, regardless of how rigorous safety regulations may be in any country of origin (including Western ones), unscrupulous manufacturers may still flout them. Recall the recent problems with melamine in pet foods exported from China to the USA and other countries, and with diluted or adulterated baby milk formula made and distributed within China that resulted in multiple baby mortality, and subsequently the execution of some company executives responsible. Both of these examples flouted the laws/regulations of the manufacturers' country. (Not pointing the finger at China in particular, just examples that stuck in my doubtlessly prejudiced degenerate Western mind). 87.81.230.195 (talk) 23:50, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

There have been horror stories of people who've inadvertently burned lead-impregnated wick candles in their homes. (It seems that the lead makes the candle burn more evenly without sputtering, etc.) The resulting lead poisoning is not a nice thing - especially for children - and in the case that was on the news a few months ago, some people's house had to be demolished because the lead had gotten into every crevice and hollow. Their home-owner's insurance didn't cover them and the evidence of whom they'd bought the candles from had literally gone up in smoke. Not only did they lose their home - but they also had to pay the EPA to cleanup the hazardous waste site they created in the process. This is a sufficiently scary thing that it should make everyone want to check VERY carefully where their candles came from. We know that goods imported from countries with less-than-stringent product safety codes frequently get into the US and European markets without adequate inspections...nobody is out there checking every batch of candles shipped to see what the lead levels are...all it takes is for some manufacturer to switch where they get their wicks from. So you are very much on your own in this regard. SteveBaker (talk) 21:34, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

It would take a hell of a lot of candles to contaminate a house to the point of being unsafe -- burning the occasional lead-wick candle isn't a problem. I suspect either somebody over-reacted, or the homeowners made extensive use of candles for lighting. --Carnildo (talk) 23:33, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Having to demolishing a home because of lead contamination from a candlewick sounds pretty unlikely. Is there a reference to substantiate the statement? Should we demolish every home where someone soldered a Heathkit radio? I would hate to tell you how many candles with lead in the wick I have made and burned. There are references at Google News Archive that say the US government banned lead candlewicks in the early years of this millennium, and that the fumes from such candles burning would be bad for the health of children or those with lead contamination from other sources. Edison (talk) 02:58, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Far be it from the government to overreact to anything. Presumably the lead threads were to keep the wick relatively stiff. So if it's banned now, what are they using instead? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:23, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Crossword help please

Clue: Two part Latin species name (9). Have letters: B - N - D - N - L.Froggie34 (talk) 13:18, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

"Two part" + "Latin" makes me think it begins "Bi...", but that could be a red herring. --Dweller (talk) 13:23, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Looks to me as if you got the 'D' wrong and the word is "binominal". A red herring would be something like "clupea scarlatus". PhGustaf (talk) 13:35, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Santa seems to be rather late this year! --Dweller (talk) 13:37, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Huh. I thought "binominal" was an error for binomial nomenclature, but hey, look at the article. It's binominal, binomial, or binary, depending on who's talking about it! --Anonymous, 20:20 UTC, December 30, 2009.

Many thanks. looks like Dairy Maid ought to be Dairy FarmFroggie34 (talk) 14:37, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Blue Rose

I have been challenged by my girlfriend to give her a single blue rose that is still alive. I can't dye it and still have it be alive, nor can a rose bush have a single rose. Blue roses symbolize unattainable love, but I know there has to be a way to do this. Any suggestions, however obscure are helpful. Lolita chan (talk) 18:54, 29 December 2009 (UTC)Lolita_chan

Blue Rose gives two possible methods. You can dye a living white rose by injecting blue dye into it, or you can buy 'bluish' natural roses like Blue Moon. Alternatively, have you considered spray paint? DJ Clayworth (talk) 19:02, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Blue roses symbolize unattainable love - therefore, this challenge might be your girlfriend's subtle way of telling you she's dumping you. I hope not, for your sake. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 19:40, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

According to the article, and as I suspected, genetic modification is yielding something close to a "true" blue rose. Note that to produce this rose requires significant hands-on workmanship. Maybe that's the subtle hint the guy's girl is trying to give him? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:08, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

I've never tried it with a rose, but food colouring in the water can change the colour of other white flowers. --Tango (talk) 20:18, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

This might come down to determining exactly when a cut flower dies (or maybe it's dead the moment it's cut from its parent). We can't use brain death to address this thorny issue. If using blue dye doesn't kill it outright - and the fact that it's able to "drink" the blue means something's still going on - then maybe dye is the way to go, as long as you give it to her fairly quickly, before rigor mortis sets in. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 20:41, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Why would the OP want to give their girlfriend a dye that causes rigor mortis? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:40, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

That was a light-hearted allusion to what happens to animate beings after death. Of course, flowers are not animate and do not have brains, but they're definitely alive ... when they're alive, that is - hence my musing about the determination of the exact moment when death occurs to a flower. Is there a scientific way of telling whether a given cut flower is alive or dead? -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 06:24, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

"... nor can a rose bush have a single rose." Yes it can - just cut off all the roses from the bush except one. Mitch Ames (talk) 00:47, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Find a rose of any colour, wait for it to bloom, after it does (but while it is still alive) present her with a "blew rose". Mitch Ames (talk) 01:14, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

more purple than blue and not allowed out of the lab, but read www.csiro.au/files/files/p29z.pdf Polypipe Wrangler (talk) 12:45, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

You could try giving her Pleurosis Hemoroid Agastordoff (talk) 16:43, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

GPS-enabled rescue in absence of cell signal?

Greetings, great and noble people of the Reference Desk! This article describes a couple who found themselves stuck in the snow for three days in a remote area of Nevada, and unable to call for help because there was no cellular service. Then, according to the article, "one of their cell phones sprang to life and GPSed their co-ordinates to 911". It looks like some kind of technology was used that connected to their phones, even without a typical cell signal, and instructed their phones to forward GPS locations? Is the article accurate, and does anybody know any more details of how this works? – ClockworkSoul 21:25, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

Various articles are in disagreement, but this one is more likely to have it right, I think: "[T]hey were unable to get a signal on either of their GPS-enabled cell phones for more than two days. Weather changes seem to have eventually allowed a weak signal to 911, where a sheriff's dispatcher was able to pinpoint their location". That makes sense, I think... – ClockworkSoul 21:32, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

That certainly seems a likely explanation. However, it's worth noting that cellphones use different amounts of power for different kinds of signal - when you are talking, it requires that a large amount of energy be transmitted - and a clear, long-duration signal path must exist. But when the cellphone is merely turned on, it sends a low power "I am here" signal out to alert the nearby cell towers that this phone is nearby. (That's how incoming calls "know" to call up the cell tower nearest to your phone). Since that signal would be re-trying every minute or two - it's possible that it managed to catch a brief break in the weather and when full-blown phone calls would be impossible - or perhaps long after the people were asleep or had given up trying to make calls. This doesn't even require that the phone is "GPS-enabled" because emergency services can pinpoint the location of the phone from triangulating the signal strength from several nearby towers. So long as your phone is turned on - and people are actively searching for you - you can usually be found. SteveBaker (talk) 21:14, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

December 30

Childish oblivion?

I read an interesting article on Encyclopedia Dramatica that claims the name of certain things on wikipedia have been given to mock editors' supposed submission as slaves, drawing on their childish oblivion. Ex: Twinkle, Huggle, Sandbox. Why exactly are these childish terms used to describe these things on wikipedia? --William S. Saturn (talk) 00:10, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, sandbox can mean, among other things, a place drafts can be made in wet sand and easily erased,, so it seems appropriate enough. Twinkle was developed and (I presume) christened by AzaToth, and Huggle by Gurch; both are still active editors so you could always ask them where they got the names from. I'd do it myself but I'm manacled to this oar. Karenjc 00:54, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

The term 'Sandbox' has long been used in computer systems to denote a parallel but non-operational duplication of some or all functions and data, to be used for practising, that will not affect the main system. One example is found within the proprietory commercial database system Maximo. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 14:50, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Encyclopedia Dramatica is not a source of real information—it is intentionally false in order to be funny. (Sometimes it manages to actually be funny. Often it does not. Such is life.) Don't believe anything you read on it, as a rule. Anyway, "sandbox" was a pretty standard term long before Wikipedia for untested things (see Sandbox (software development)). --Mr.98 (talk) 01:12, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, Encyclopedia Dramatica is like The Onion except not as funny, and a less reliable source for factual information. --Jayron32 01:14, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Yes. Sandbox is so established as a term in computing that, given the local word for the child's toy is different here, it took me many years to realise that it was referencing that. Although the link to the kind you write on seems stronger. Doesn't seem like any infantalisation to me. 86.176.48.114 (talk) 19:41, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Plumbing

Why does my kitchen sink, upon being backed up, sometimes cough stuff up into my bathtub (located in the bathroom, of course), but my toilet never does that? I mean, certainly, toilet refuse ending up in my bathtub would be much less desirable, but why doesn't the plumbing allow for whatever impermissibility of transfer that exists between my toilet and tub similarly exist between my kitchen sink and my tub? DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 05:43, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

You might learn something by examining your plumbing. My guess is that your toilet has a closer connection to the sewer than your bathtub. I agree that if discarded foodstuffs barf up into your bathtub it's better if they haven't been digested already. PhGustaf (talk) 05:50, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

See this diagram and the tables on that page. Note that in the example figure, the toilet (W.C.) has a separate, large-diameter (three-inch) pipe connecting it to the waste 'stack' (major vertical drainage pipe, three- or four-inch diameter). In comparison, one can get away with narrower pipe (two- or even one-and-a-half-inch) for sinks and tubs, and these other fixtures can often share pipe connections to the stack. If the sink drain is higher in elevation than the tub drain, and if a blockage occurs in one of these shared drain pipes, then wastewater can flow down the sink drain and come back up in your tub. The narrower pipe also makes such blockages more likely.

The exact configuration of your plumbing will of course vary depending on local rules, date of construction, and contractor compliance with building codes, but that gives a rough idea of the principles at work. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:33, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Similar to the diagram above, but the sink and tub drains are possibly a joint drain that is higher in elevation than the toilet drain (in the major drainage). I guess you have possibly a drain clog above the toilet drain.Nevill Fernando (talk) 18:51, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Thanks! DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 05:50, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

I have a Melvin Vaniman panaromic photo

I have a Melvin Vaniman panaromic photo of somewhere in San Francisco, the scene is of a small town in a hot springs area, I think the date on the photo is 1902 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.186.116.157 (talk) 07:32, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

And what might your question be? If you want us to identify the town, you're going to have to give us more information, or provide a link to the photo. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 07:45, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

There are no hot springs in San Francisco itself. The best-known and probably the oldest hot-springs resort nearby is Calistoga, California. Marco polo (talk) 14:28, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Maybe the OP could add it to Wikimedia Commons. Sounds like an interesting photo. Some panoramic photos were taken by special wide format view cameras. Later ones had a rotating camera, so it was possible for a speedy individual to appear at both ends of a line of people. Edison (talk) 02:53, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

basketball and height

i've noticed that most basketball players are tall, way tall..... so, i just wondered if by jumping i can increase my height. can i?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.50.133.198 (talk) 13:58, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, no. Our article on human height#Determinants of growth and height discusses the factors which will govern your height. Height can also be increased (in many cases) through growth hormone treatment or (more drastically) limb-lengthening surgery. There's a saying among basketball recruiters: "You can't teach tall." TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:13, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

(Edit Conflict) You seem to be making the common mistake of confusing Cause and Effect (about which see our article Causality). Basketball players do not become markedly taller because they jump a lot, they become basketball players mostly because they are already tall (compared to their age cohort) and can jump well. The same selection effect occurs in some other sports, some of which are mentioned in the next link.

That said, a combination of exercise, good diet and good healthcare does positively influence height, as mentioned in our article Human height (see Section 2 - Determinants of growth and height). Since basketball players are athletes who by definition exercise and almost certainly have a healthy diet and (if professional) good healthcare, they must benefit from these factors, but no more than any other non-jumping athletes, or non-athletes who follow a similar Lifestyle.

In summary, jumping may well form part of a more general Physical exercise regime, which if followed and supported with a good diet (and adequate healthcare) may well help someone who is still growing (i.e. a child or adolescent) to grow somewhat taller (maybe by a couple of inches or so?) than they would otherwise have done so, and may add a much smaller amount to an already fully grown person, but solely jumping, on its own, would not have much effect. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 14:42, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

The trouble is, to put it in layman's language, that your height increases when you jump. But decreases when you land. Tough!90.4.116.70 (talk) 16:04, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

As commented to an earlier question, a way to be taller is always try to be seen emerging from low doorways. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 19:10, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

It's worth noting that while you're right that most basketball players are tall, not all of them are. Skill is an important factor. If you're of average, or just above average, height and are very skillful, you'll still be an asset to a team. Grutness...wha? 23:29, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Muggsy Bogues. --Trovatore (talk) 03:23, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Parkers TV series on video to buy

I have been searching to buy all the series of the parkers starring -Monique. Can you help me to find out how I can. My email is <redacted> Thank You —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.251.23.11 (talk) 16:54, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Please do not include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you want them to be permanently removed from the page history, please email oversight-llists.wikimedia.org. --ColinFine (talk) 18:58, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Baseball pitches

What is the highest number of pitches thrown in one single at bat to one player? Googlemeister (talk) 17:06, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Baseball historian Bill James wrote about an outfielder named Roy Thomas who supposedly got a full count then proceeded to foul off 22 pitches while playing for the Phillies back in the 1900s. Pitch-by-pitch recordkeeping only began in the 1980s, so Thomas' record is considered to be unofficial. More recently, Alex Cora fouled off 14 pitches before homering. Wikipedia's article claims this is the third-longest at-bat since the recordkeeping started, but the source that is provided does not mention this fact at all. Xenon54 / talk / 17:39, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, a Google search yields many results like: [5], [6], [7], and [8]. All of which seem to be just about as reliable as the next. Dismas|^(talk) 17:51, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

As far as I know, this phenomenon has never been kept as an "official" record, and prior to keeping track of individual pitches, any supposed records would necessarily be anecdotal. Luke Appling was famous for fouling off pitches until he got one he liked. In Strikeout#History it mentions that a foul bunt on the third strike was not considered to be a strike until 1894. Without checking to be sure, I would speculate that was a result of the old Baltimore Orioles exploiting loopholes in the rules in order to gain an advantage. They were the kings of the "inside game", what we now call "small ball". Also, the pitching distance had been moved back 5 feet in 1893, which probably gave batters more time to control a bunt attempt, and potentially they could hit foul bunts all afternoon. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:14, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Current President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

i have a question, what did that child say to President Obama? --Jaoa9103 (talk) 17:08, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

You are going to have to supply more information on what child you are talking about for us to give you a reasonable answer. Googlemeister (talk) 17:35, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

That boy while Obama was getting off stage the boy "said Why do people hate u mr president!@? Its on news articles... --Jaoa9103 (talk) 17:42, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Could you point us to at least one of those articles? I've tried various combinations of "Obama boy stage" and various other words but don't see anything about any boy talking to Obama. Was this at some event which would help with the search? Dismas|^(talk) 17:56, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

That could have been said about any President, including Washington. Obama's answer, whatever it was, would be more interesting than the question. It likely would have been along the lines of, "Son, it comes with the territory." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:16, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

This is the boy's question and Obama's answer. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 19:06, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

He gave the kid plenty to think about. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:54, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Reluctant though I am to cite Vanity Fair, the President said "That’s what I'm talking about. Terrence, I appreciate that." [9]. Tevildo (talk) 19:07, 30 December 2009 (UTC) . . . . and a whole lot more!! Richard Avery (talk) 22:52, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

The OP asked what the boy said, not what Obama replied. The sound is weak but I think I hear "Why do people hate you (when) they're supposed to love you?". Cuddlyable3 (talk) 01:16, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

True - I would transcribe it as "I have to say - why do people hate you, and why - do you think they're supposed to love you - and - God is love - and..." Tevildo (talk) 02:20, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Why does this kid think we need to love our nation's leaders? I bet most politicians would settle for 50% +1 of the people tolerating them. Googlemeister (talk) 14:31, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

That's part of the point Obama was making to the kid. One way to look at it, though, is that we should love our leaders, but it should be "tough love". A couple of comments from Harry Truman come to mind. One is the well-known, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Obama made it clear to the kid that he can stand the heat - and told the kid he thought he could stand the heat too. The other thing Truman said was, "With criticism comes progress." That one can be harder to swallow. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:42, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Wii Backups

I have Sony DVD+R's am I able to use them for PLAYABLE Wii Backups or do I have to uses DVD-R's? --Melab±1 ☎ 19:18, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Neither. Wii software is copy protected. Comet Tuttle (talk) 19:56, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Wii games aren't stored on regular DVDs anyway. See Nintendo_optical_disc. J.delanoy^gabs_adds 22:16, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Called as a witness

This may tread too close to "legal advice", so I won't cry in my soup if it gets removed. I've been subpoena'd as a witness in an insurance case. Arson of an empty dwelling, step out of the house at 4AM to see a 40-foot wall of flames right across the road, attended the scene, checked it out the next day, just normal suburban stuff. :) The case is about whether the dwelling was occupied and my testimony will be "no indication at all that it was". My problem is that saying this will take a day out of my life and I get the princely sum of $20 for taking a day off work. The insurance investigator mentioned in passing during our initial interview "oh, you can get a lot more than that if you do it right".

I'm not really looking for opinions, I'm just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience (and has email enabled) or if anyone can point to decent web resources that discuss possible strategies to get more than the bare minimum compensation for losing a day's work. I'm aware that different jurisdictions may have different ways, Canada is best, or any common-law country too. Thanks! Franamax (talk) 21:52, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Can you not ask him? Kittybrewster ☎ 22:04, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Be glad you're getting $20. I was recently a witness in a wrongful dismissal case (Ontario, Canada) and got some measly sum which was meant to cover transport to the courthouse. I believe the cheque was for less than $2 (yeah, two dollars), essentially enough to cover bus fare in the city. More helpfully, I'd follow Kittybrewster's suggestion. Matt Deres (talk) 22:53, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

At the organisation I used to work for in the UK, I had to account for my time on a billing system. As well as all the normal project-related numbers, there were special numbers to be used for things like vacation time, sickness and jury service. When I took a couple of days off as a witness in a court case, I recorded that time as "Jury service" and got a full day's pay from my employer. I was also able to claim expenses from the Crown Prosecution Service (though they were not happy that I chose to drive the 250 km to the court and back, rather than take the very inconvenient public transport). As it happens, my testimony was not required after all - the accused eventually changed his plea to guilty, and us witnesses spent two days hanging around the court drinking coffee. So, maybe my employer was generous, but it is probably worth asking your employers' admin/HR people what provision they make for jury service and whether your court appearence can be counted as that. Astronaut (talk) 00:16, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Do your duty, and be glad you live somewhere with a decent court system. Some day you might need someone to turn up and give evidence for you. DuncanHill (talk) 00:12, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Dude, he's not trying to get out of doing his duty, he's just trying not to get completely shafted for a day's wages (or vacation). The bailiffs, clerks, lawyers, and judge all get paid to be there, why force him to take a loss for something he didn't do? Franamax, a thought occurs to me that if your testimony is really that straightforward, perhaps the court would allow you just to file an affidavit? No harm in asking, anyway. Matt Deres (talk) 00:44, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

(ec) Only you (the OP) can know whether this is just a case of wishing for more money or if the "day out of your life" will cause you material loss that is significantly more than $20. If you have a convincing argument for the latter, propose to the insurance company that instead of attending court you wish to provide a signed affadavit. Whether that will be acceptable will depend on factors that we cannot know, such as whether it is important to the case (whose?) that you be available in court for cross examination, or whether the insurance company see a benefit in knowing in advance exactly what your statement will be. However I advise not negotiating a higher fee with the investigator because in a contested case doubt will be cast on the probity of a witness who seems to be attending for personal gain. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 01:07, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

At least some Australian courts will re-imburse lost income. Here's the claim form for the Magistrates' Court of Tasmania, and here's the relevent page from the Federal Court of Australia's web site. Mitch Ames (talk) 02:41, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure where else to go...

I've tried all the search engines that I know. I'm looking for a place where I can fully read all of this doujinshi, but I can only find like five pages of it total. Here's the link to the title and author of the thing, but this is all I got. I actually have no idea whether or not Wikipedia is a good place to ask this, or if this is even in the appropriate section, but I've hit a dead end. Can anyone help? <(^_^)> Pokegeek42 (talk) 23:03, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

The link you gave just goes to a main page, not a specific page on anything. I'm an "assume good faith" kind of guy, but I have to wonder why you wanted us to go to the site rather than just giving us the author and title you were looking for up front. In any case, unless the piece has been released to the public domain, we're not going to be able to help you. Have you tried Amazon or other online bookseller? Matt Deres (talk) 23:21, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

In fairness to the OP, he did supply the URL for the title page of the publication he's talking about. The website redirects to a licence agreement interstitial webpage before taking you to the address he provided. --Tagishsimon (talk) 00:55, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Okay. Thank you, then. <(^_^)>Pokegeek42 (talk) 23:58, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Just to clarify, the title is "Cherry", the author is Kobayashi Yugo, and the publication date is 2008-08-15. I'm afraid I don't know how one would go about purchasing a copy, though. Tevildo (talk) 00:50, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

You may find help at www.manganews.net that has a forum and a search engine (supposed to cover 49 publishers). Cuddlyable3 (talk) 01:27, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Looking at the very page you linked, Pokegeek, it has no publisher and is found in no collections. It looks like maybe it's a fanwork distributed at a convention. As such, your options are:

1) Find it for sale somewhere like ebay, assuming one of the few people who has a copy wants to sell it and chooses to do so somewhere you can see and afford it.

2) Find it uploaded somewhere: more likely to be available to torrent than hosted somewhere. This would most likely be illegal, and you would have to take all the usual risks you take with torrenting (potential viruses, malware, etc).

3) Join an online community which is likely to have people who own a copy. (Is there a community associated with the site where you read 5 pages?) Ask around to find someone who does, then see if they will lend or sell you theirs. You can probably increase your chances if you also own something they would want to borrow or buy, but in any case this is probably your best bet.

You'll probably want to find an online community to discuss this stuff with anyway. I'm sure you don't need to be told about web safety, but I'd be remiss not to give the compulsory recap: don't give out your real name, address, phone number, city, school, etc. Don't upload or link to photos of yourself or your friends. Don't meet up with people you've 'met' online until you're a bit older, and even then meet up in a crowded place with lots of witnesses.

Probably best not to tell people how old you are either, although they'll be able to approximate it if they're paying attention. Depending on the fandom, you might even want to keep your gender under wraps until you've snooped around the community a little. Have fun! The internet is one of the best things to happen to fandom. 86.176.48.114 (talk) 01:28, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

I'm guessing that you can get a copy on this site for 600 yen, but you'd need to know some Japanese to navigate the site. Marco polo (talk) 01:49, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Maybe you could go to sites like onemanga or manganovel. They have a big collection of stuff there... 117.194.225.138 (talk) 06:35, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Wow. That helps a lot. Thanks, guys. <(^_^)>Pokegeek42 (talk) 15:29, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

December 31

Time at the Supermarket?

Are there any studies out there that show how much time the average person spends each week at the supermarket? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.134.236.111 (talk) 01:22, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

It would certainly be skewed by all the people who do not visit the supermarket -- perhaps averaging the time supermarket-goers spend there would be more useful. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 05:41, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

New Year colours

What are some colours commonly associated with New Year's day? Intelligentsium 02:22, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

New years, in my culture at least, doesn't have any colour associated with it. It's often celebrated with fireworks and spectacular displays, so if you're trying to think of a colour scheme, sparkles, multi-colours or shiny things might be a theme you could work off. In terms of other cultures, for Chinese New Year, red is a common colour because of its association with good fortune. Steewi (talk) 03:34, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Many Christian churches have Liturgical colours; in many western-rite churches (Including Roman Catholic and many Protestant churches), January 1st falls during Christmastide (the time period between Christmas Day and the Epiphany, aka the 12 days of Christmas. The traditional liturgical color for this time period is White. --Jayron32 04:31, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

I would say silver is common among New Years decorations at the party store but I don't know of any deep association of colors like for Christmas and Easter. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 16:48, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Clock with second hand

It seems that, in the popular conception, the exact position of the minute hand on an analog clock with a second hand is independent of the number of seconds past the last full minute. This despite that actual analog clocks (rather than animated images of such clocks) typically do not behave in such a fashion.

See here: [[10]]

Also, in the movie "Law Abiding Citizen", when a "real" clock was counting the seconds to 6:00, the minute and second hands behaved in precisely this manner.

Why is this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.37.236.124 (talk) 04:34, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

It depends entirely on the construction of the clock. Some clocks "click over" a full minute only after the second hand passes the twelve, and some move the minute hand gradually in 1 second intervals between each minute, much like the relationship between the minute and the hour hand. It really just depends on which kind of clock you have. --Jayron32 04:38, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Really? And what kind of clocks would those be? I have Asperger's syndrome; I pay attention to these things, and I'd think I would have noticed by now. Your run of the mill cheapo wall clock or alarm clock certainly would not do something so fancy as making the hands behave differently for one specific second out of the minute. I have owned a number of watches with hour, minute, and second hands, and none of them seemed to treat the last second of the minute as "special" in this manner, either. (I am ignoring the "extra" dials on a watch with more than basic timekeeping functions.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.37.236.124 (talk) 04:52, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

You'll often see it in public clocks (at railway stations etc) where all three hands are controlled by a central source. Tevildo (talk) 04:58, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

• In certain countries, that is. The railway stations where I remember encountering this type of clock are in Switzerland and at least one of Germany and/or Austria. Specifically, the second hand sweeps the complete circle in 58 seconds, not 60; then it stops for 2 seconds and in the middle of those 2 seconds the minute hand jumps forward. Being used to the type of clock where the minute hand advances continuously, or to digital clocks, I always find it a bit misleading.
• I will also note that in many clocks that have a second hand and a continuously advancing minute hand, the two hands are not really coupled. It's entirely possible for the minute have to be 1/3 of the way, or other random amount, from 20 to 21 past the hour while the second hand is pointing straight up. In other words, the second hand is provided only in case you want to time something in seconds, and not for showing the complete time accurate to the second. My impression is that this is more common than clocks where the hands actually are coupled. --Anonymous, 06:28:10 UTC, December 31, 2009.

I tried to find a real one on youtube but was unsuccessful. I know I've seen it before, for sure in Back to the Future, but that might have been contrived. (You can see it at about the 15 second mark of this trailer:[11]) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:18, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Yes, there are clocks whose minute hands jump once a minute. But unless they have second hands as well, they are irrelevant to the point I am trying to make. BTW, I went to one school which had a master clock system, with no second hands on the slave clocks, in which the slave hands would jump once a minute (when the system was working); and another school which also had a master clock system, but with second hands on the slave clocks, and in which the slave hands (all three of them) would move continuously except from time to time during a synching operation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.37.236.124 (talk) 05:29, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Doing some quick research, I found that the Omega X-33 watch apparently has a second hand that "ticks" every second and a minute hand that "ticks" every 30 seconds. Not exactly what you are looking for, but it isn't a "continuous motion" minute hand. You're looking for a similar set up, but where the minute hand "ticks" every 60 seconds. If you can make a watch do it twice a minute, I suppose you could make it work once a minute. --Jayron32 05:42, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

I don't think it's a matter of purpose as much as it's a matter of function. In order to get the hour hand from number 3 to number 4, for instance, the small hand could either make a jump at once or move gradually over the course of an hour -- the latter scheme is probably easier to work into the gears, seeing how jumping an entire number at once would require a sweep of 30º of the face at one time. To make a minute hand jump 6º is much more easily worked into the gears. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 05:48, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

My kitchen clock cost me, I think, $7.95 at Fry's a couple years ago. It syncs itself to WWVB every day or two, so it's within an RCH of the correct time always. The minute hand jerks every fifteen seconds. If I weren't retired, I'd actually care about time intervals shorter than a morning. PhGustaf (talk) 05:57, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Tommy Chong, from an old Cheech and Chong bit: "I'm not into time, Man." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:44, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

FWIW, the minute hand on my Casio watch moves forward every 20 seconds, so it does vary considerably from one manufacturer to another.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:50, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

There is actually a specific term for the differences in how the hands tick off time, whether it is done continuously or in discrete units. We even have some kind of mention of it in an article, I recall. But I can't remember the term itself! Someone at a good watch store would probably know. It was invented in the 19th century. It is not as easy as continuous movement but was considered more fashionable. I was once asked to look it up, and I did, but that was probably a year ago. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:42, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

I would think there is. My first stop was at the clock article, but it didn't seem to lead to an answer. I went looking for Big Ben and other clocks in google, but it seemed like all the clips started just as the clock was starting to chime noon or whatever, so it wasn't possible to tell. However, maybe someone here who lives in London could say with some certainty whether the minute hand "sweeps" or "jumps". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:47, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

In answer to the original question, I agree that there are two factors in the faulty perception of real analogue clocks. The first is simply a lack of observation by those at the opposite end of the Asperger's spectrum. The second is the influence of digital-drive clocks over the last forty years (including the master-clock system which was the earliest digital drive with analogue-type display). Strictly-speaking, I suppose that all clocks have a digital drive, though those sychronised to 50 or 60 Hz appear to have smooth movement. I remember watching (more than 50 years ago) the movement of the minute-hand of a grandfather clock where the tiny jumps each second were visible. The Big Ben clock is driven by a pendulum and escapement, so the tiny jumps every 2 seconds will be visible at close quarters, but from a distance it appears smooth. Perhaps film clocks deviate from reality just for dramatic effect. Dbfirs 14:12, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

My first watch, a cheap timex with the red and blue semi-circles and 5-minute markings, had a second hand and a minute hand that moved on once a minute. I know because I used to watch it really closely, so I could tell people the exact time. I used to wait until it had just ticked over, and the second hand was at the top, then match it to Big Ben at the beginning of the news. So, watches certainly exist that behave this way. It is true that most clocks I've watched do not. 86.176.48.114 (talk) 15:16, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

A lot of the clocks I've noticed (here in Australia), the second hand moves 1/60th of the distance between each 'minute mark' every second... interesting stuff. — Deon^talk 15:41, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Most everything that happens in Australia happens wrong. It's about Coriolis force working backward. PhGustaf (talk) 15:49, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Michael Jackson

I am a big fan of michael jackson since childhood, was discussing with my friends about all the allgations that were charged on him regarding child abuse, just wanted know to that did he ever admit that charge if yes, then in which interview or where would i find that if its written somewhere. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 145.228.59.66 (talk) 09:55, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

He never admitted to child molestation, and I have gotten to be of the opinion that those charges were false - cooked up by parents who wanted to make money off Michael (some of whom did), who was certainly an eccentric character but that's not unusual among artists. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:04, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

So right....... i was giving the same opinion to my frens, i believe the same thing.. thank u so much... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 145.228.59.66 (talk) 10:21, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

I should point out that he did admit to sleeping with kids. But not to touching them inappropriately. I think there was an interview he did with a British TV guy in which he talked about that. That interview was attempted to be used as evidence when he was brought to trial. But it didn't fly. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→

10:26, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

If u can give any idea which year that interview was done with him, that would be helpful

The journalist was Martin Bashir, and the interviews took place in 2002-03. See Living with Michael Jackson. Tevildo (talk) 10:44, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Ya beat me to it. It's mentioned in the Bashir article and also in the Jackson article, in connection with the most recent trial. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:47, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps this goes without saying, but since Baseball Bugs gave the only answer, I'll point out to the OP that very few people actually know what happened between Jackson and those kids. BB's "answer" is pure speculation, and shouldn't be taken seriously. The Wikipedia reference desk is not the place for people's personal opinions. Staecker (talk) 14:48, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Let's put it another way: There is NO EVIDENCE that Michael Jackson ever molested anyone. Supposition that he did is equally speculative - and the famous trial resulted in a "not guilty". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:53, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Yes. There's evidence that he acted in a way that most people consider creepy and inappropriate with other people's children, without apparently realising how this behaviour was viewed. We have no evidence either way as to whether he molested anyone. On the one hand, he did pay parents off who took him to trial, but that could as easily be because of the damage to his image. On the other hand, we all saw how sure people were that he was lying about the skin disease, whereas the coroner tells us that it was all true. The court of public opinion is cruel and often inaccurate. The overall picture from things like the Bashir interview is of a man I wouldn't trust alone with children, but not because I think he'd molest them or do anything on purpose. 86.176.48.114 (talk) 15:04, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Castle Identification

I have seen a picture of a big castle on the coast or an island that I can't find anymore. I think the island is really rocky and there are huge boulders in the ocean with waves crashing around and a huge castle on top of the cliff/island. I thought this was a pretty famous place, but I can't seem to find it in my searches now. It's not Mont Saint-Michel, though it looks kind of like that place. Any ideas? Tex (talk) 16:20, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

If you had a photo or perhaps painting, that might aid us in determining the specific castle. I have found a few that might meet your criteria, but two of the possibilities I found are currently in ruins. Googlemeister (talk) 16:29, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

(ec) There's St Michael's Mount and Lindisfarne Castle for starters, although neither castle is huge. Mikenorton (talk) 16:34, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

(to GM) Yeah, unfortunately I don't have any idea how to find the picture again without knowing the name of the castle so I can't show it to you! (to Mike) I don't think either of those two are what I'm looking for. It might be Mont Saint-Michel, but my memory has waves crashing around it and this looks like very shallow water with no waves. I think the island and rocks were blackish if that helps anyone. Thanks again. Tex (talk) 16:38, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Was it a photo then? And did the castle seem in good condition? Googlemeister (talk) 16:42, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Almourol Castle perhaps? Googlemeister (talk) 16:46, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I saw a photo of this place and it appeared to be in very good condition. At least it wasn't in ruins or anything. The Almourol Castle isn't it, either. I did a google image search and did not see what I'm looking for after looking through hundreds of castles, so I may have just imagined it. Thanks for trying. Tex (talk) 16:49, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

how much?

How much did Nolan Ryan pay for the Round Rock Express in 2003? Googlemeister (talk) 16:31, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

wiki database

I am planning to start a site related to cooking tip and recipes.I would like to know from where i can download the latest dump of Wikipedia .The link that is already available from your site is confusing for me .I am in need of sql dumps on cooking alone if possible else on the whole with other subject(articles).can you please give me a url that will help me download the database directly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.164.200.80 (talk) 16:44, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

http://download.wikimedia.org