Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous: Difference between revisions
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:We've previously covered this topic, here: [[Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Science/2009_September_21#Why_don.27t_I_sneeze_when_I.27m_asleep.3F]]. [[User:StuRat|StuRat]] ([[User talk:StuRat|talk]]) 08:28, 5 May 2010 (UTC) |
:We've previously covered this topic, here: [[Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Science/2009_September_21#Why_don.27t_I_sneeze_when_I.27m_asleep.3F]]. [[User:StuRat|StuRat]] ([[User talk:StuRat|talk]]) 08:28, 5 May 2010 (UTC) |
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== [[Humanist movement]] == |
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I was reading the article on [[Diane de Poitier]] yesterday where it stated that she was educated in the humanist movement, however when searching for our article on this movement later, i came across the page that I have linked to above. This is obviously not the correct article as the article mentioned as an educational model in the 15th centurey as it states it is a movement started in the 60's. I would be very curious to read the article on the medival education. Please can some one help me find the article and also fix the redirect or create a disambigous page for the two. Thank you |
Revision as of 09:54, 5 May 2010
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April 30
NCIC and US States
I would like to know what US states utilize the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) and those who do not. Phearson (talk) 01:28, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- According to this website (linked from the article), it would appear to be all states and territories:
"Data in NCIC files is exchanged with and for the official use of authorized officials of the Federal Government, the States, cities, penal and other institutions, and certain foreign governments. The data is exchanged through NCIC lines to Federal criminal justice agencies, criminal justice agencies in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Possessions and U.S. Territories. Additionally, data contained in the various 'want files,' i.e., the stolen vehicle file, stolen license plate file, stolen gun file, stolen article file, wanted person file, securities file, boat file, and missing person data may be accessed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "
- Nowhere in the article does it specifically mention states that do not use the database, nor does a Google search bring up any useful information. Xenon54 / talk / 01:41, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Do you have any reason to believe that there is at least one state that does not utilize the NCIC? I can't think of any reason why a state wouldn't want to. Dismas|(talk) 01:44, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
IV = intravenous
Would it be possible for a healthy, young adult to live most of their entire life getting their water source from an IV? Like by not drinking out of a cup at all. And when you do have an IV what would happen if you put cold water in it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hereforhomework2 (talk • contribs) 01:50, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- What, pray, is an IV? Individual vessel? Irrational vortex? Irreducible variable? -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 02:31, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- I assume from context that the OP means an intravenous drip. FiggyBee (talk) 02:44, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
Yeah. 02:58, 30 April 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hereforhomework2 (talk • contribs)
- The young adult would have to spend most of their time hooked up to the IV. There would be a risk of infection at the point where the IV was inserted into the person's skin, particularly if the person was allowed to be disconnected from the IV for other activities. Also, normal digestion requires a fair amount of water (or liquid containing water) to be ingested. Without the ability to drink water and other liquids, the person would probably need to live on a diet of soups and purees. The body is also not set up to absorb water near the skin, and I would think that the area around the IV insertion point would start to be stressed from the flow of water, and especially from cold water, which could cause damage to the cells around the absorption point. Finally, I would think that the rate of water flow would not be able to keep up with the body's needs during vigorous aerobic exercise, such that the person would probably be unable to get enough exercise to maintain health. In any case, such an arrangement would not allow a normal life. Marco polo (talk) 15:03, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Ok. Thanks. I was just wondering. Homework2 pass a notesign! 16:33, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
[I am revising the heading from "IV" to "IV = intravenous" to facilitate watchlist alerts and archive searches, and to apply search engine optimization. See WP:TPOC, "Section headings". -- Wavelength (talk) 16:38, 30 April 2010 (UTC)]
Snake/spider mix
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/CaffeinatedSpider.jpg/220px-CaffeinatedSpider.jpg)
what would happen if you crossed a snake with a spider? would you get an 8-legged snake? I think it could be possible and was thinking about trying it... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hereforhomework2 (talk • contribs) 01:54, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Unless you plan on using Photoshop, I suspect you will run into insurmountable trouble when you attempt to encourage one of each species to mate with the other. 218.25.32.210 (talk) 01:59, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- You'd get a politician. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:00, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- I plan on drugging them...Non poison of course. 02:07, 30 April 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hereforhomework2 (talk • contribs)
- You'd get a politician. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:00, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Strictly speaking, the genetics wouldn't match, so a conventional cross would fail. But if you could isolate the genes that trigger the formation of legs, you could splice that into a snake embryonic cell and see what happens. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:12, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- P.S. To be able to do that kind of work, you'll need to have many millions of dollars available, to pay for the equipment and such stuff as that. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:13, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Strictly speaking, the genetics wouldn't match, so a conventional cross would fail. But if you could isolate the genes that trigger the formation of legs, you could splice that into a snake embryonic cell and see what happens. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:12, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
I know. Just curious. But an 8-legged snake would be cool. 02:16, 30 April 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hereforhomework2 (talk • contribs)
- This is sounding like we are making a monkey with four asses. Its getting silly. No, you cannot cross a snake with a spider. First of all, you aren't comparing single species with each other, you are comparing huge taxa. You might as well ask what you would get by crossing a mammal with a tree. This is just silliness. --Jayron32 03:03, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Well, we already have a "trunk". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:15, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- You could end up with a bush that squirts milk. Now that would be useful. 90.195.179.138 (talk) 05:48, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Combining genes from totally different species is possible. A bacterial gene was woven into a corn embryo's chromosomes to make the corn produce its own pesticide toxin. It's possible. But it takes gazillions of dollars, and there has to be a stronger justification than "it would be cool". :) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:15, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- We can splice bits of DNA into cells. That isn't the same thing as a true genetic hybrid. A gene will make the same protein in any environment, so its entirely possible to do some of this stuff. But you're right, there's no impetus to make a snake with arthropod legs, which is why it isn't ever going to happen... --Jayron32 03:27, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Yes, it would take huge amounts of research to figure out the genetics that cause an arthropod's legs to sprout, and then to figure out if it's possible to imbed those genetics into a snake somehow. Someone would have to come with a theory on why such an effort would eventually be a cash cow. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:04, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- A somwhat more realistic (and still extremely expensive) possibility would be to find a legged reptile that's genetically similar to a snake, and see if they could be crossed or gene-spliced somehow. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:07, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Yes, it would take huge amounts of research to figure out the genetics that cause an arthropod's legs to sprout, and then to figure out if it's possible to imbed those genetics into a snake somehow. Someone would have to come with a theory on why such an effort would eventually be a cash cow. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:04, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- We can splice bits of DNA into cells. That isn't the same thing as a true genetic hybrid. A gene will make the same protein in any environment, so its entirely possible to do some of this stuff. But you're right, there's no impetus to make a snake with arthropod legs, which is why it isn't ever going to happen... --Jayron32 03:27, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- As silly as crossing a goat with a spider? Well, not quite, but still... Matt Deres (talk) 13:45, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Well, we already have a "trunk". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:15, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Snakes did (d)evolve from lizards: [1], so may well still have the genes for four legs, just deactivated. Therefore, it might be possible to get a snake with 4 legs, just by reactivating the genes. 8 legs would be more of a challenge, though, as they never had that. Would we count conjoined twin snakes with 4 legs each ? StuRat (talk) 16:22, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Maybe just focus on creating a lizard with 8 legs. Because if you can do that, arguably you've got the equivalent of a snake with 8 legs. Conjoined twin snakes (or lizards) might be the way to go. The real issue, though, is that vertabrates evolved with 4 legs, presumably because that's all they really need. You'd first have to figure out what an 8-legged lizard's skeletal structure should be, and then figure out how to get there. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:42, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Actually vertebrates evolved with no legs, but tetrapods acquired four. To the original poster: your question sort of assumes that the only characteristic a spider has is having eight legs. But a spider has many other characteristics (for example book lungs, spinnerets, an exoskeleton, and conversely no bones or nipples). You can't mate individuals from widely separated taxa, as other people have pointed out; but even if you imagine being able to create a genetic cross in some artificial way, there's no reason (unless you designed it that way) why the result should have any particular characteristic - such as number of legs - from a particular parent rather than any other characteristic. For information about how the number and sequence of appendages (such as limbs) is controlled, see evo devo. --ColinFine (talk) 20:40, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Shallow Depth of Field - optimum focal length
Hi,
I'm wondering if there is an optimum focal length for achieving the shallowest depth of field for any given object. So for example, say I want to photograph a person (height 1.8m) standing 10 metres in front of my background (say some shrubbery), at a given aperture (say f/4) what lens on a full frame DSLR would give me the greatest background separation/shallow depth of field
At an empirical level, I know that the level of background separation is proportional to the "amount of turning" you need to apply to the focus ring on the lens to change between the object and the background being in focus. So for example if I were to shoot the above scene with at 400mm lens I'd be guessing the focal distance of the person would be about 25m and the background would then be 35m. On the focus ring of the lens, there's not much between 25m and 35m (you don't have to turn it much to switch between focus). And the background separation is consequently not very great. If I were then to take the same scene with at 24mm lens (obviously with the same aperture), then the focal length of the person would be around 1.5 m and the background would be 11.5m. In this case you need to twist the ring quite a bit and there is significant background separation.
Is there an accurate way to calculate the best focal length (mm) in order to photograph a person with the shallowest depth of field? --58.175.32.19 (talk) 04:47, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Depth of field has all your answers, in short the longer your focal length, the shallower your DoF will be, there is no "optimum". DoF can be calculated from F stop, focal length and target distance. Decrease the f stop, decrease target distance and increase focal length will all give you shallower depth of field. So to get the shallowest depth of field, select your longest lens, drop the f stop as low as it will go and get as close as you can to your subject. That's assuming your longest lense doesn't have a horribly high minimum f-stop, which cheap lenses tend to have. Here's a calculator I found online which you can use to work it out. Vespine (talk) 05:14, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Hmm I don't think that's true - from practical experience I know that in the example I gave above of the 400mm and the 24mm, the 24mm would give a shallower depth of field (assuming aperture is constant) despite it being a shorter focal length. So the calculator is not really the whole story, because long focal lengths tend to "compress" distance and lead to poorer separation when the objects are relatively close together (near infinity focus) --58.175.32.19 (talk) 07:15, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Using an online DoF calculator (http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html) I put in 2 scenarios - 40 mm lens at 1 m and 400 mm lens at 10 m. In both cases it gave a DoF of 0.09m. So it might well be that using any lens and getting the same sized image of the subject will lead to the same DoF. I was surprised - I expected the long lens to give the shallower DoF. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:33, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- If something is outside the depth of field, you know it won't be "acceptably sharp"... but that's all you know. It doesn't tell you anything about the appearance of the out-of-focus region. Let's say you're photographing an object with lenses of two different focal lengths (a wide-angle lens and a long-focal-length telephoto lens). You adjust your position so that the object of interest is the same size in both shots, and you shoot at the same f-number. As Phil Holmes notes, and the calculator will confirm, the depth of field will be the same under these circumstances. But the wide-angle lens takes in a large area of the background, and the telephoto takes in a narrow area of the background. In the real world, this tends to mean that the wide-angle lens sees a "jumbled" background with all sorts of stuff in it, while the telephoto sees a more uniform, smooth background. The result is the the telephoto yields more apparent separation between the sharp subject and the background. Figure 3 of this article illustrates this difference. -- Coneslayer (talk) 16:49, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks for the linked article - very useful --58.175.32.19 (talk) 08:34, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- And don't forget bokeh. --Phil Holmes (talk) 20:31, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
I didn't read the rest of the responses, so I apologize is this has been said before. A longer focal length will result in a more shallow DOF. However, in order to keep the framing of your subject constant, you need to step back (therefore increase focal distance) from your subject when using a lens with a longer focal length. Since a greater focal distance correlates to a less shallow DOF, the two factors cancel each other out exactly.
Hence, this is why you will find many photography guides to say that the focal length has no impact on the DOF. In practical terms, using a lens with a longer focal length and stepping back from the subject will decrease the field of view of the background, while using a shorter lens and stepping closer to the subject will allow a greater angle of the background to be viewed. Acceptable (talk) 15:35, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
birth cetificate
I want to know about the Birth Certificate of Maribel L. Lina,for the changes of her middle name "TUCO" change as "LANSANG", shes borned from Sta. Margarita Hilongos Leyte. I want to know if it is already changed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.55.240.120 (talk) 07:55, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Sorry, Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia. It has nothing to do with registering births in any country and holds no official records of that kind. If you have applied to have changes made to an official record, you should contact the registrar's office or government department where the application was submitted. Karenjc 14:48, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Sorry Karenjc, this is the Reference Desk, where we try to provide references for people seeking things that they might not be able to find in our encyclopedia. Hilongos, Leyte is in the Phillipines. I don't know if birth certificates there are public records, and if so, how to obtain one. You could always try contacting the provensial government: here's Leyte Province's homepage. Buddy431 (talk) 04:26, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
European Cars and Characteristics / Stereotypes
Hi, can anyone explain the differences between Audi's, BMWs, and Porsches'? I was hoping for some insight into the the characteristics and stereotypes of the cars and their drivers. And any other (random!) information. Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bluehark (talk • contribs) 08:09, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
Audi and BMW are generally in direct competition in the 'executive' cars segment. They each sell what are generally considered to be (along with Mercedez) the top marque cars for business-users. They also increasingly sell smaller cars such as the 1-series and Audi A2 and A3. Porsche sell almost exclusively performance sports-cars. Their most famous being their Porsche 911. They are very different to BMW/Audi in that way, though both BMW/Audi do sell performance cars to (BMW M5, Audi R8 for example). The stereotypes are that a lot of the owners are 'posers'. All are German and if my memory is any good Audi and Porsche are part of the Volkswagen group(?). Audi has a rich history in Rally driving, Porsche in Le Mans. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 10:11, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Audi is part of the Volkswagen group, and very many Audi models share a technical platform with a corresponding VW (A3 with Golf/Rabbit, A2 with Polo), but are aimed more up-market, with more exclusive design and different finishing. Audi managed to enter the high-end market, but BMW is, at least in Europe, much more prestigious. Porsche and VW have a long common history (the VW Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche). They also have partially shared ownership, which culminated a year or two back, when (much smaller) Porsche tried a semi-hostile takeover of Volkswagen, failed, and miss-speculated so badly that they had to be taken over by VW in turn to avoid collapse. Porsche cars are, well, Porsche cars. They do not really compete with any other maker very much. Other cars are build for going somewhere, Porsches, while quite adept at that, are more of a macho fashion statement. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 12:04, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- If you want stereotypes, BMW drivers are regarded in the UK as having had at least part of their brains removed, usually that part which allows people to be considerate to other road drivers. (warning - not politically correct here) It has also been claimed that BMW stands for "black man's wheels"! (well you did ask)--TammyMoet (talk) 14:52, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- If you want stereotypes, Jeremy Clarkson said up until about 2007/2008 that all BMW drivers were cocks (his words, not mine). However, he later claimed that those same...individuals have moved on to driving Audis. Some BMW's were moved up the Cool Wall on Top Gear for this reason. Oh, and I've never heard the W stand for "wheels" before...90.195.179.138 (talk) 16:46, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Interesting that in the UK the BMW is considered to be a "black" car. In the US, the rich black man's car is more likely to be a Cadillac. BMW is a "Yuppie" car, or at least used to be. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:18, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- BMW and Porsche cars have rear-wheel drive, Audi have front-wheel drive ignoring their all wheel drive cars. BMW's and Audi's have their engine at the front and a Porsche has its engine in the back. In addition to making cars, BMW make motorcycles and bicycles, and has bought the former British-owned MINI and Rolls-Royce; Porsche make tractors, and Audi make nothing. BMW cars get called "Bimmers", Porsche gets pronounced both as a single or double syllable, and Audi can be said only one way. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:05, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- In the US, BMW's have been called "Beemers". Which reminds me of another one, "Jag-you-are" vs. "Jag-wahr". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:55, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- BB it's Bimmer not Beamer. Learn now and avoid embarrassing yourself in front of other car enthusiasts. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 16:03, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Where I come from, BMW cars are called "beemers" (or "beamers" if you like) to rhyme with "streamers". "Bimmer" would rhyme with "shimmer". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:37, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- ... and Audi can be said only one way - that's true of very few words, Cuddlyable. I've heard people referring to Audis as if they were talking about Audie Murphy. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 23:32, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- BMW and Porsche cars have rear-wheel drive, Audi have front-wheel drive ignoring their all wheel drive cars. BMW's and Audi's have their engine at the front and a Porsche has its engine in the back. In addition to making cars, BMW make motorcycles and bicycles, and has bought the former British-owned MINI and Rolls-Royce; Porsche make tractors, and Audi make nothing. BMW cars get called "Bimmers", Porsche gets pronounced both as a single or double syllable, and Audi can be said only one way. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:05, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Interesting that in the UK the BMW is considered to be a "black" car. In the US, the rich black man's car is more likely to be a Cadillac. BMW is a "Yuppie" car, or at least used to be. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:18, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- If you want stereotypes, Jeremy Clarkson said up until about 2007/2008 that all BMW drivers were cocks (his words, not mine). However, he later claimed that those same...individuals have moved on to driving Audis. Some BMW's were moved up the Cool Wall on Top Gear for this reason. Oh, and I've never heard the W stand for "wheels" before...90.195.179.138 (talk) 16:46, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- BMW do make 'down-market' cars - but to avoid diluting their 'high end' name-recognition, they create different brand names for them - hence my MINI Cooper is made by the "MINI Car Company" in the MINI factory in the UK - but that's a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW. You have to look very hard to find a BMW logo on any of the parts, symbols or paperwork that comes with the MINI - but the big give-away is that the VIN number starts with a 'W' - which is the country code for Germany. Audi is the opposite - they are 'really' VW - but to preserve Audi's name recognition, they don't talk much about their VW connection. It's all about image and brand-name shaping. SteveBaker (talk) 02:51, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
Liquorice allsorts
Can anyone tell me whether Bassett's liquorice allsorts are available in Australia? Note that they must be Bassett's brand; I know you can get other (inferior) brands. My mother makes me take some out to her cousin whenever I visit, because she says you can't get them there. I don't believe her (and it's a hassle taking any kind of food through customs, even packaged candy). Thanks.--Shantavira|feed me 09:04, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- I'm no candy expert but doing a quick AU search it looks like you can get them but you might have to go to a specialty lolly shop such as this or this, so unless you are near one of those it might be hard to get them. And no, you should not have any issues taking packaged sweets into Australia, not sure but you might have to declare it, but that's just a formality. Vespine (talk) 10:15, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- This is why Bassets are not sold down under. They were not such a recognised brand as Pascall.[2] 1971 Halls joins the Adams family and the launch of Cadbury Creme Egg as we know it today. Pascalls is bought by Cadbury, with Eclairs becoming the second largest brand in the company (at that time). 1989 Sugarfree Dentyne, the first sugarfree breath-freshing gum is launched - the first time a leading gum brand offers a choice between sugar and sugarfree. Cadbury Schweppes purchases both Trebor Group Ltd and Bassett Foods [3] You can always try contacting Cadbury's here in England and have a good moan at them. They might even write to your relative and say that they now use exactly the same recipes and processes today as was used at Bassets. [4] You might even suggest, that them sending her a free years supply would not go amiss either.--Aspro (talk) 10:53, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Quite certain that I have bought Bassetts Liqourice Allsorts here in Oz. But this was around/soon after Christmas when such yummies are likely to be brought in as special seasonal items. If you have any doubts I would bring some with you as they are unlikely to be cheaper here! Can't see any problems bringing them in, just declare anything edible! (Small possibility I am thinking of Beacon brand allsorts). Suggest you try Darrell Leas' version while you're here. --220.101.28.25 (talk) 12:57, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Bassett's are definitely available here, although they can be hard to find except around Christmas. FiggyBee (talk) 13:20, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
Typography question: what's an enclosed part of a character called?
I think I've come across a name for an enclosed part of a character (such as the inside of an "o" and the upper part of an "e"), but I can't recall what it is. Does anyone know what it's called? --98.114.146.35 (talk) 12:38, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Also "bowl", at least for some letters. --Anonymous, 17:27 UTC, April 30, 2010.
- Aperture (typography), is not included as an article page, but briefly mentioned in Counter (typography), in its name heading. MacOfJesus (talk) 19:57, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- On the Stencil for the character it is an island that must be connected to other parts of the stencil with bridges. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 21:25, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- I made a redirect from Aperture (typography) and added it into the Aperture (disambiguation) page. SteveBaker (talk) 02:44, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Mathematics author Martin Gardner once made a little joke that 8 is the holiest number, because it has 2 holes in it. 195.35.160.133 (talk) 11:18, 4 May 2010 (UTC) Martin (not Gardner).
Barrell
I have asked about a year ago, what quantity is express when one mentions barrells of oil. I was told that it depends on the size of your barrell. I dont need snide remarks. There is an oil spill of the coast of the USA, and the BBC states that it is leaking 5000 barrells per day. How much is a barrell? 5 litres? 10? 20? Thank you for your useful answers —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.59.90 (talk) 12:54, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- According to the article Barrel (volume) it varies, but the standard oil barrel seems to be 42 US gallons (34.9723 imp gal; 158.9873 L). This older discussion on oil barrels might also be interesting to you. .tkqj (talk) 13:05, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- No one mentioned the history of "the barrel". Barrel (volume) at the paragraph "oil barrel" a good history of its development and usage. It could be understood better if the history were explained. MacOfJesus (talk) 16:36, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
Money laundering
I am of the understanding that if one were to pay a very large sum of cash money into ones bank account, it may be flagged as money laundering. My question is this; unless it can be proved the money came from an illegal source, would the person paying the money into their bank account face any repercussions? Calarti laundurr (talk) 12:55, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Money laundering is all about turning 'dirty' money (that is that has a potentially traceable history to a crime/illegal activity) and making it appear 'clean' (by putting it through a legal transaction). The kind of hurdles you can expect to see for large investments of money are most likely to be proving who you are. The person paying the money in will face no 'reprecussions' of paying in (provably) legal money, though higher-sums will be potentially investigated to try minimize the 'cleaning' of money. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 13:05, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- You may be intersested in reading it from the horse's mouth (the IRS) [5]--Aspro (talk) 13:12, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Your question boils down to the burden of proof - you're asking whether the authorities have to prove the money is illegal or whether you have to prove that it isn't. We're used to the burden of proof favouring the accused (see Presumption of innocence). However, in some jurisdictions this has changed in respect of suspected money laundering, because of the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering and similar initiatives. Under some circumstances the accused may be required to prove the origin of funds to prevent confiscation - for example, where they have a relevant criminal record or what the authorities consider a "criminal lifestyle" and they cannnot account satisfactorily for the funds. If a person pays in a very large sum of cash to a bank account in most European countries, the USA and many others, bank staff will almost certainly ask the source and are obliged to file an official report (see suspicious activity report, for example) if the explanation is unsatisfactory. This will be filed without the customer's knowledge. It may trigger an investigation, and one cannot automatically assume that the burden of proof is on the investigators - it depends on the jurisdiction and the circumstances. If this is not a hypothetical question, you should take legal advice in your own jurisdiction. Karenjc 14:40, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- And of course it will be liable to income tax, even if its a win on the lotto but not if its Premium Bonds! (UK). MacOfJesus (talk) 16:24, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Err no, UK Lottery wins are not subject to tax. When I paid £85,000 into my bank account a few years ago I just said it was my share of the value of my mothers' house, and I was just asked if it was a solicitor's cheque, and that was all. Mind you, my brother and I had to jump through a few hoops to prove our identity before we were able to put her house on the market in the first place. -- Arwel Parry (talk) 16:38, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- The UK Lottery win itself is not subject to tax, as is the case with winnings from any other form of gambling. However, the income from investing the capital is taxable. [6] —Preceding unsigned comment added by TammyMoet (talk • contribs) 19:22, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- And of course it will be liable to income tax, even if its a win on the lotto but not if its Premium Bonds! (UK). MacOfJesus (talk) 16:24, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Just wanted to point the original poster to our money laundering article, since nobody else linked to it yet. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:29, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
Which sport is more physically demanding: Cricket or Baseball?
Which sport is more intense: Cricket or Baseball? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vikramkr (talk • contribs) 16:46, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- I'd go with cricket, simply because professional cricket games have the tendency to go on for days, and to my knowledge there are no formal substitute players as seen in baseball, where there are at least three pitcher rotations per game. There are a lot of other physical factors of the game that come into play that I'm sure some of our more well-versed cricket enthusiasts will be able to point out.--WaltCip (talk) 17:02, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Oh, and if you'd like to do some research on your own, check out comparison between cricket and baseball. The article is quite detailed.--WaltCip (talk) 17:04, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- For the substitution rules in cricket (typically only for injuries, and quite restrictive even then) see Substitute (cricket)). Due to these rules it is not unheard of for players to return to bat (or even bowl) in a match after sustaining quite serious injuries - e.g. a broken jaw, torn hamstring or even a broken wrist (the player with the broken wrist, Colin Cowdrey, never had to face a ball - but he did save the match as otherwise England would have been all out). See http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/1984319.stm if you are interested. 131.111.185.69 (talk) 22:43, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Considering how long the traditional match lasts, by the end of the contest his wrist had probably healed. d:) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:54, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
Downing Street: Moving house.
When Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his family leave 10 Downing Street, who will pay for the removals firm; himself or the taxpayer? 92.30.49.35 (talk) 18:37, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- I'd assume him.
He has to pay rent to live in Number 10He pays council tax on it, as his residence, so I guess he pays for the removal... ╟─TreasuryTag►duumvirate─╢ 18:39, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Ha ha hahahahahahahah! Funny one TT. What's to stop him putting in a claim for Parliamentary expenses ? --Aspro (talk) 19:41, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- ? He does pay council tax—Google it. ╟─TreasuryTag►without portfolio─╢ 21:17, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- He was talking to Jeremy Pakman a few minutes ago, (BBC1). Will he charge for time and expertise? MacOfJesus (talk) 20:07, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Ha ha hahahahahahahah! Funny one TT. What's to stop him putting in a claim for Parliamentary expenses ? --Aspro (talk) 19:41, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Can you tell British Wikipedians are politically cynical? Anyway, the house belongs to the office of the Prime Minister, not to any individual. Is this enough justification for house-based expenses to be claimed on expenses? I don't know, but it may be relevant. 90.195.179.138 (talk) 21:04, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Given the loss in public confidence over the expenses claims, and that he really does seem to have entered politics with good intentions, he is almost certainly being very careful about what he claims expenses for. 86.178.225.111 (talk) 21:55, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
We'll know soon enough, won't we? 129.174.184.114 (talk) 02:53, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
Money laundering vocabulary
I always understood the term "money laundering" to mean "converting dirty money into clean" by whatever means. The bad guy steals US$10,000, goes to the casino, gives them the money, gets a stack of black chips, gambles for just long enough to avoid suspicion, cashes out his black chips for about US$10,000, and walks out of the casino with clean money. However, I see by our article money laundering that, in the US and apparently in the UK, the term, as used in the law, is much broader, and refers to any attempt to conceal the source of illegally obtained money. My question is whether there is a specific term for spending "dirty" money in a way as to avoid detection, without any attempt to convert it to clean money: the bad guy steals US$10,000 and tries to avoid detection; not by converting it into clean money and spending that, but by, say, spending US$20 here and US$20 there until he has exhausted the dirty money. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:38, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- Yes - it's called FRAUD. A couple of years ago, my wife and I would regularly holiday on a small Mediterranean island adjacent to Spain, where the currency was the Peseta. But then the European Monetary Union proposed introducing the Euro, which meant that all illegally hoarded Francs, Deutchmarks, Pesetas, Lira, Punts, etc., etc., had somehow to be converted into Euros, before the cut-off date - without declaring their existence at the parent national banks. Enter the Italian Mafia and their contemporaries who had zillions of illegal Lira under their beds. They delivered satchels of paper currency to the island's hoteliers, restaurants, cycle-hire shops, grocery stores - you name it - and got the locals to "wash" this "tourist" currency through the Spanish banks, who were delighted to accept it. Then, after the changeover date, the Italians were delighted to accept an agreed, though lesser "payback rate" from their "client" business associates to re-imburse them for their "investments", at a rate that was highly rewarding to said "clients". Result? My wife and I now find that the island in question is virtually exclusive to Italian tourists who in turn, have become the sub-clients of the original Spanish clients of the investing Italian Mafia. Result? The original illegal hoards are now perceived as "Legal" and yes, taxable. And pity the poor Eurozone now. It's awash with fraud, corruption, tax-avoidance, sleaze, and IMF bale-outs. In short, I think the answer is FRAUD - funded by honest and hard-working tax-paying folk who don't understand currency speculation, whether "legal" or illegal. And pity the IMF who have to stand by and bale out these rogue nations at the expense of true democracy and the free-world. 92.30.49.35 (talk) 23:42, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
- I think the issue here is whether or not spending the dirty money constitutes a separate crime from the acquisition of said dirty money. If you steal $10,000 from the bank and then spend it, I think the crime is in the stealing, not the spending. A brief Googling of instances of "bank robbery charges filed" doesn't turn up anything to the contrary—it seems like people get charged with robbery, conspiracy to robbery, armed robbery, things like that. Not spending.
- "Converting dirty into clean" is less about the actual money itself (though that is the case sometimes) as it is about creating a paper trail. If you are mafia and you get $10,000 a month from selling drugs, you can't turn around and spend that on, say, legitimate property, because the IRS will get you on the fact that your income is not the same as your spending (if it seems petty, it's how most gangland prosecutions have gone down... it's hard to prove a mafia don personally committed any crimes—even "criminal conspiracy" is quite hard—but it is comparatively easy to show that they were spending a million dollars a year when they only claimed to earn a thousand, and thus must be misreporting their income). So you "clean" the money by laundering it through some kind of legitimate-appearing front—e.g., your taxi-cab company, which declares all of that $10,000 to be (untraceable) income from fares. Now according to the IRS you have legitimate income, even though in reality you got it from selling drugs. --Mr.98 (talk) 01:07, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
A specific term is "keeping a low profile". Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:50, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- What the original poster is talking about is a form of structuring. --Anonymous, 04:47 UTC, May 2, 2010.
- That's the vocabulary word I was looking for! Thank you, anonymous money laundering expert. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:20, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
May 1
Bad breath
I'm not trying to offend anyone with this question; apologies in advance if I do. I've noticed that a large percentage of African-Americans have bad breath. Why is this? 76.199.144.250 (talk) 00:22, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Wrong question. You have to ask why a large percentage of human beings have bad breath, rather than singling out any particular group of people. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 00:31, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Let me rephrase. I notice that a lot of African-Americans have breath that is similar in odor, which I find distasteful. Why is this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.199.144.250 (talk) 00:34, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Can you describe this putative odor? There are various flavors of bad breath: salami-ish, toilet-ish, cabbage-ish, etc. I've never noticed any correlation with race or ethnicity, however. 129.174.184.114 (talk) 02:45, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Different races can often smell differently, and I expect we smell funny to them also. If you have a black friend, ask him if your own breath smells bad. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:37, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- As James Bond tells Kissy Suzuki in You Only Live Twice, "Why do Chinese girls taste different from all other girls?"... --Jayron32 01:02, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- He actually doesn't tell Kissy Suzuki that; he tells the girl who helps him fake his death in the prologue of the movie.--WaltCip (talk) 00:11, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- You may simply be mistaken (see confirmation bias, for example). If you aren't, then I would guess that the most likely explanation is that it is a cultural thing, rather than anything biological, most likely diet (second most likely is dental hygiene). --Tango (talk) 01:25, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I have trouble with Bugs' assertion, too. Our Halitosis article discusses in in some detail, but traces it to diet and oral hygiene. Perhaps Chinese girls taste different because of all that garlic and ginger. PhGustaf (talk) 01:31, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yes, that would be it. You are what you eat. :) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:15, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- People can share their love of garlic at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. -- Wavelength (talk) 02:34, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I think it's pretty well established that people from oriental countries think westerners smell odd. (http://www.chinaherald.net/2008/06/do-dutch-smell-more-than-shanghainese.html - for example). So I suppose this is not impossible...but it is horribly politically incorrect and insensitive to express this kind of idea. There are times when curiosity is perhaps best left unsatisfied. SteveBaker (talk) 02:28, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Among African Americans (and black people generally), it's commonly said that white people smell like wet dogs. In Roots, an African states that white slavers smell like wet chickens. I'm not sure what causes this impression, but it is widespread enough to be the subject of jokes. 129.174.184.114 (talk) 02:40, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Again, it's probably got to do with diet and possibly with something race-connected. If orientals smell funny to us because they eat a lot of fish, just imagine how we who eat a lot of beef probably smell to them. Can't be helped. Except maybe by frequent showering. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:49, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- In the case of the "wet dog" thing, I always assumed it had something to do with hair texture. My intuition is that white-textured hair would tend to be less exposed to the air and therefore more likely to be damp and harbor bacteria. (Obviously, showering would disrupt that, but nineteenth-century slavers probably didn't shower regularly.) 129.174.184.114 (talk) 02:57, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I doubt anyone in the 19th century showered regularly, except (possibly) the idle rich. I could point out that I've often noticed bad breath on Asian colleagues, but I don't say anything, as they might come back with, "You too!" ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:00, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Must've been a real treat to smell people who maybe showered once a month in the climates of South Carolina or Georgia. Rimush (talk) 09:47, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- On the other hand, there's is a correlation between poverty and poor dental hygiene, and between being African American and poor dental hygiene [7]. Black people aren't innately prone to having bad breath, but social factors will mean that poor African Americans are more likely to have dental problems than the community average. FiggyBee (talk) 03:23, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Might some people report smells differently if they were blindfolded? See Illegal Odors | Psychology Today.
- -- Wavelength (talk) 03:55, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Wikipedia depends on Reliable Sources. Famed anthropologist L. Ron Hubbard wrote[8] of Chinese people "They smell of all the baths they didn't take." Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:42, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Note that anyone who smells similar to you will be less noticeable, as you've become accustomed to the scent. Thus, people of other cultures, who are likely to eat different foods, have different bathing habits, etc., will be likely to smell bad to you. StuRat (talk) 16:02, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I am reminded of a thread from the TV-movie Shackleton, which tells a true story of heroism in the Antarctic. Ernest Shackleton's expedition is stranded when their ship sinks, and the nearest place where another ship can be found is a whaling station 800 miles away. And they have no radio communication available. So Shackleton takes a few of the men in a rowboat and they row the whole 800 miles in the open sea, then march across an island to reach their destination. When they arrive and ask for help, Shackleton also apologizes: "I am afraid that we smell a little." And he gets the answer: "This is a whaling station. We all smell a little." --Anonymous, 04:57 UTC, May 2, 2010.
- Are all of the ones you've noticed with bad breath living very close to each other? In my local town there are two pakistani families living next to each other and all of them have bad breath, yet other pakistanis I know don't.--92.251.185.162 (talk) 23:41, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Sorry, but did you know that it is caused by bacteria? Hence, if you live in the same environment you will pick up the same bacteria. MacOfJesus (talk) 19:55, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- Also, look for an article page on skin types, you may find that different skin types attract different proportion of bacteria types. Also look for an article page on bacteria. MacOfJesus (talk) 13:26, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
- Also, there may be an article page on halitosis. MacOfJesus (talk) 13:29, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
I too have noticed this. I worked in Dental as an assistant for many years. Some races are more susceptible to certain health conditions than others. It's a well known medical fact.
Development methodologies
There are an enormous number of software development methodologies in software engineering. To the best of my knowledge, the same is not true of any other engineering discipline - engineers in other disciplines seem to just get on with the job in hand (they go through the same basic steps as any software development methodology, but without the need to come up with lots of different formalised systems). Am I right about this difference existing and, if so, why does it exist? (I'm asking this on the Misc desk, rather than Computing, since I am keen to get answers from people with experience of various engineering disciplines.) Thanks. --Tango (talk) 00:54, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I think part of the situation with software development is the luxury afforded by the fact that your end product lacks a physical nature; other than the labor to do the design and coding, and the server space to store and test it, a piece of software is essentially free. That means its a field that opens itself up to lots of experimentation in the methodology end. Consider the problem with other engineering fields... If you screw up a piece of software, its a small problem that can be corrected via proper debugging. If you screw up a bridge or a chemical plant or an airplane, well, you can't very well get 75% through it and decide "Maybe we should try something different". Given the nature of those fields, you're best to stick with the "tried and true methods" since the cost of experimenting, and flubbing it, is MUCH greater. --Jayron32 02:35, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I would add to Jayron32's interesting answer that, because of its nature, a piece of software designed to perform process X might be doable in 1MB of hand-optimized assembly code, or in 100MB of C# code with lots of bolted-on assemblies and libraries that are 99% un-called code; and the customer may not care at all; the latter may well be cheaper for the developer to create, debug, and maintain, whereas, in a field like civil engineering, you wouldn't think Hoover Dam could be practical if it were 100 times the current size. But I'm a software person, too, so this observation is obvious. Comet Tuttle (talk) 15:12, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Wouldn't that indicate that a formalized software development method isn't needed, since nobody cares if it's inefficient and any bugs can later be fixed ? My own experience with formal software project management is that it's less than useless, for example, making the developers fill out meaningless charts showing the percentage of each module that's completed. Since each number is a wild-assed guess, the results are useless. Then there's the attempt to analyze a developer's efficiency by "lines of code" they write per day. Gak ! I suspect that these formal requirements arose out of management panic at not being able to see the interim progress in some coding, unlike, say, construction of a bridge. This led them to put systems in place that give them the illusion of tracking progress. StuRat (talk) 15:47, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- My 2c: Software development methodologies is just a set of project management techniques specialized to software development. As such, use of such management approaches is standard operating procedure in all engineering projects, and depending upon the focus variously referred to as operations management, systems engineering, industrial engineering etc. I think the confusion arises by conflating the "technical" aspects of engineering (such as, designing a control system for a chemical plant, or designing an algorithm for efficiently searching through a database), and the "management" aspects which are concerned with planning a suitable workflow. Software engineering (despite its name) is mainly concerned with the latter, though I realize that the demarcation between what I am calling the technical and management aspects is not always clear-cut. Abecedare (talk) 04:00, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- The difficulty with verifying software is that of predicting all the responses that can arise when the software is exposed to real-world inputs rather than artificial test scenarios. I think there are comparable challenges in Pharmacology with the added complication that Destructive testing on the human subject is frowned on. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:08, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- In software, after the "artificial test scenarios" are performed by the developer, then they typically run through a user test and/or beta test for the "real world" testing. StuRat (talk) 15:55, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Software is typically a lot more complex than most other designed products, and all the difficulty is in getting the equivalent of a blueprint ready - "assembly" and "production" are trivial. Boeing says that a 747 has 6 million parts, "half of which are fasteners" [9]. Very many of these parts are identical and exchangeable - bolting in one row of seats is very much like bolting in any other. By comparison, the Linux Kernel currently has 12 million lines of code, and essentially every one of them is unique, at least in its context. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 18:06, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- The biggest problem with software development isn't the actual process of writing and debugging - it's the difficulty of accurately predicting the time it takes to get the work done. There are many reasons for this - one is that there is an incredible range of ability amongst programmers. It is literally the case that there can be a difference in productivity of about 50:1 between the best programmer and the worst. So you can't say "this is a three-man-year job". Also, there is considerable uncertainty in the time it can take to find and fix a bug - if your QA people turn up 30 bugs - you don't know whether you can fix them in 30 hours, 30 days or 30 weeks. These aren't problems for the actual programming team - but they cause total chaos for management who are trying to produce a particular product for a particular price and within a particular amount of time. About the only approach that works is to gather large-scale statistics - but that's only viable with vast pieces of work and vast programming teams. For a typical company with a dozen programmers working on a project, the variability between people and between 'hidden' task complexity makes any effort at a statistical approach pretty much worthless.
- Almost all of the bewildering array of methodologies that I've been subject to over the years have made almost zero difference to the way the programmers actually work from day to day. They were all efforts to get a more reliable estimate of time & cost - I can't recall any that were an effort to reduce time and cost.
- Other engineering disciplines have changed over the years - so many of them are using CAD systems of one kind or another that their processes are becoming more and more like software. You don't design a car, build the car and then test it anymore. You design the car and do preliminary testing in the computer - and only when you think you have the right thing do you go out and actually build one. Similarly with things like electronics. It can cost a million dollars to manufacture a small batch of prototype integrated circuits - so you can't possibly risk a design/build/test cycle - you have to design and simulate the device so that you have a near 100% certainty that the resulting chip will work first time.
- Sounds about right. What managers often don't seemt o be able to appreciate is that people need a bit of quiet and a nice environment to get a bit of work done. I count every interruption as needing a quarter of an hour to get back into things again. About the difference in productivity, one place I was I suggested giving projects a super green priority if they were doing well in that one did not remove resources from them but let them finish what they were doing and then move on as a team to a problem area. But no that's too radical, they remove people from good teams penalizing them and stick them with other people who are making a mess. Dmcq (talk) 21:17, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I believe that the quarter-hour loss for each interruption is a huge under-estimate! If I'm deep "in the groove", I've wiggled my way into the depths of the problem and I'm keeping a complex set of concepts in short-term memory. If you interrupt me, then short-term memory is erased and I have to start all over again. That can waste an enormous amount of time. I explain to interrupters that programming is like juggling chainsaws. If someone interrupts you...yeah...it's like that. We try to do business via email - you can read that on your own schedule so it's not a distraction. I very often use email to talk to the guy who shares the office with me because I don't want to distract him. SteveBaker (talk) 00:09, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- One way around that problem is to make it seem that you're behind schedule and then, miraculously, manage to finish on time, so they all think you must be miracle workers. That's a little method I like to call the Scotty solution: "Ach, ya dunna expeck me ta rrrrite code to say 'Hello worrrrld' in but a single, wee man yearrrr, do ya now ? That's agin all tha laws of physics, it tis." StuRat (talk) 22:03, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Kirk did eventually cotton on to the fact that Scotty was simply multiplying all his repair estimates by four. --Tango (talk) 22:09, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- SteveBaker is correct in saying being kept up to date and predictable is extremely important to a manager. Hiding things and adjusting dates is the way to really get everybody in a mess and annoyed. Dmcq (talk) 22:34, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yeah - I agree. Their jobs are tough enough as it is. Don't make it any worse. I try to treat managers as a resource who are there to do things for ME. It's not uncommon for me to be more senior than my manager (and I certainly earn more than he does!) - if you can strike the right relationship with them and get them on your side - you can make better progress by helping them than by fighting them. SteveBaker (talk) 00:09, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- How are you defining "senior" and "manager"? With the usual definitions, being more senior than your manager is a contradiction in terms... --Tango (talk) 00:38, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Not necessarily. Seniority is generally about either experience or pay grade. Management is about the process of organizing groups of people for the purpose of completing a task. There's nothing about being a manager, even a good one, that is predicated on being older, more experienced, or a higher pay grade than those you manage. In many settings, access to management positions is about term of service in a company; i.e. you just get promoted based on how long you've been around. This model is still in widespread use, but it has its limitations (see Peter Principle), and it isn't inconceivable to organize your company such that managment is a job given to people who have an aptitude for it, regardless of seniority, while prople who are good at their jobs are compensated for their skills and seniority, and still get to keep doing what they are good at, rather than getting made managers just for being old. --Jayron32 04:15, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Steve mentioned being paid more than his manager as a separate thing, so clearly isn't using pay grade to determine seniority. He could mean time-in-service, but that's usually only used to distinguish between people at the same level, isn't it? --Tango (talk) 15:32, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Not necessarily. Seniority is generally about either experience or pay grade. Management is about the process of organizing groups of people for the purpose of completing a task. There's nothing about being a manager, even a good one, that is predicated on being older, more experienced, or a higher pay grade than those you manage. In many settings, access to management positions is about term of service in a company; i.e. you just get promoted based on how long you've been around. This model is still in widespread use, but it has its limitations (see Peter Principle), and it isn't inconceivable to organize your company such that managment is a job given to people who have an aptitude for it, regardless of seniority, while prople who are good at their jobs are compensated for their skills and seniority, and still get to keep doing what they are good at, rather than getting made managers just for being old. --Jayron32 04:15, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- How are you defining "senior" and "manager"? With the usual definitions, being more senior than your manager is a contradiction in terms... --Tango (talk) 00:38, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yeah - I agree. Their jobs are tough enough as it is. Don't make it any worse. I try to treat managers as a resource who are there to do things for ME. It's not uncommon for me to be more senior than my manager (and I certainly earn more than he does!) - if you can strike the right relationship with them and get them on your side - you can make better progress by helping them than by fighting them. SteveBaker (talk) 00:09, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- SteveBaker is correct in saying being kept up to date and predictable is extremely important to a manager. Hiding things and adjusting dates is the way to really get everybody in a mess and annoyed. Dmcq (talk) 22:34, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Kirk did eventually cotton on to the fact that Scotty was simply multiplying all his repair estimates by four. --Tango (talk) 22:09, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- One way around that problem is to make it seem that you're behind schedule and then, miraculously, manage to finish on time, so they all think you must be miracle workers. That's a little method I like to call the Scotty solution: "Ach, ya dunna expeck me ta rrrrite code to say 'Hello worrrrld' in but a single, wee man yearrrr, do ya now ? That's agin all tha laws of physics, it tis." StuRat (talk) 22:03, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- @Tango: It's fairly simple - the computer games industry is a hard-nosed, intensely rational place. We realise that the skill-set you need to be a manager is diametrically opposed to those you need to be a game programmer (which is what I do) - engineers typically make terrible managers. So rather than promote engineers into management, we give them job titles like "lead engineer" or "technical lead" and we call our managers "directors" and "producers" (like in the movie business).
- Managers don't get to make calls on technical matters (that's a job for the lead engineer) but they do get to drive staffing, deadlines, business matters, hiring and firing, budgets, long term goals, etc. The amount people get paid is more a matter of supply and demand - so if we can recruit good directors and producers for less money than good engineers, we do. Between managers, engineers, designers, artists and quality assurance, we have five separate career tracks - each with their own career progression and seniority. It's possible to change tracks in mid-career - but fairly uncommon (well, people don't spend long in QA because the pay and prestige is terrible - so often QA people switch tracks - but that's about the only kind of change you see). Obviously there are true managers in the conventional sense, but they are higher up the chain - steering "big picture" stuff.
- The idea of "promoting" your best and most senior engineers into management is a completely irrational one - you lose your best engineers and gain your worst managers! Why the heck would you want to do that? If you need a manager, go and recruit one with lots of the right experience. Hence we end up with some really senior engineers - often with younger and less well paid producers and directors on their team. Our engineering career progression allows for the best engineers to earn a ton of money and to have a lot of technical responsibility - along with junior engineers to allow them to delegate work - but we don't stop them from doing hands-on engineering, they just do more of high level design and 'architecture' work and less of the detailed programming than the juniors.
- We don't encourage a "boss" and "workers" mentality. As an engineer, your producers and directors are resources to help you to find work to do, obtain the funding, staff and time. As an engineer, when your producer/director says "we have to stop working on X and do Y instead - for some business need or other" - you listen to them and do what they tell you because you recognise that even though they might be younger, less well paid and have less years in the business, they have the management skills that (as an engineer) you probably lack. Conversely, if the lead programmer on a team says: "in order to get this task done, we need to take this technical approach which we estimate will consume this much people/time/budget - and I could really use the help of Joe from team-Z who knows this stuff", then the producer or director has to do what he/she can to get the people/budget/time lined up to do it. It's a two-way street - a symmetrical relationship - not "bosses and workers". I regard my managers as resources to get work done that I can't do myself - no different than designers, artists, QA guys, etc.
- Time-in-service is not an explicit driver of anything. It tends to be that time-in-service relates to experience which equates to skill - which sets seniority. So older people tend to be at the higher pay grades - but we certainly have young people who rocket up in seniority just because they're good - and I suppose we have older people who never get bumped up...but those tend not to last long in the business. But we definitely don't have a system where "X years of experience means Y pay grade" - we have annual appraisals and people who are performing above their pay grade get promoted. People who are performing below their pay grade get an abrupt wake-up call - and if they don't do better soon, they get the boot.
- Just to highlight one company whose corporate structure doesn't use a heirarchical management model, see W. L. Gore and Associates. I have had several friends work for them at various times. They don't work on traditional models of management, something more akin to the type of organization SteveBaker notes above. --Jayron32 20:02, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I'd just like to note that I'm not sure the initial premise is correct. There are multiple engineering management methodologies. Some classics are Fordism and Taylorism. More modern ones include lean manufacturing. There are no doubt a lot—there are books written about this kind of thing. I think saying that "engineers in other disciplines seem to just get on with the job in hand" is probably incorrect. There are many ways in which engineering workflows are planned out and managed at a very high level. I am not an expert on this stuff but I get the impression that very few engineering operations are just a "get on with the job in hand" affair. (It might look like that to the lowest-level engineer, but that's no surprise.) There is a rich literature on studying engineering and management practices. --Mr.98 (talk) 21:09, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
Peace Corps Training their volunteers
I am writing a ten page paper on the United States Peace Corps training program. This is not an easy subject to find inside information on! I have two questions. One is who funds the Peace Corps (taxpayers?) and two is how are the service countries selected? Do these countries ask for our help? What is the process? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.199.91.254 (talk) 07:09, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Did you read the article Peace Corps? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:48, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
name of shooting device
i saw this
what is the name of the shooting device he is using? not the gun but the device that the gun is attached to that makes it have no recoil. its not called a bench rest because thats something else. i want to buy one and need to tell the gun store exactly what im talking about —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tom12350 (talk • contribs) 10:50, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I can see the gun recoil, it is on a sliding mount. You could print a still from the video and show it to the storekeeper. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:11, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Or just describe it. They are professionals who own their own store. They should be able to take your description and realize what you're talking about. Dismas|(talk) 19:41, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Our article on benchrest shooting notes that most such systems are custom-made. 131.111.248.99 (talk) 23:28, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Indeed - the comments added beneath that YouTube video say that the guy in the video made that bench rest himself. This may be one of those things that money can't buy! SteveBaker (talk) 23:45, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Our article on benchrest shooting notes that most such systems are custom-made. 131.111.248.99 (talk) 23:28, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Or just describe it. They are professionals who own their own store. They should be able to take your description and realize what you're talking about. Dismas|(talk) 19:41, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
No article on sleeping positions?
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This question inspired an article to be created or enhanced: |
I'm looking for an article with information benefits/warnings etc. for each sleeping position (front, back, side, etc.). Is there no article for this?? I seriously can't find it. 210.254.117.185 (talk) 11:25, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- If you Google "sleeping positions" you'll find plenty of (dubious) articles. I doubt it's a topic considered notable enough for a Wikipedia article. Most people unconsciously adjust their position while they sleep anyway. With the possible exception of very small babies, I doubt it matters what position you adopt for sleeping as long you are comfortable.--Shantavira|feed me 12:04, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I did google it, and it seems to be universal that sleeping on back/side is better than sleeping on your front. Obviously I don't want to trust random websites, which is why I turn to Wikipedia. Certainly there must be some scientific literature on this, no? Even if it just states that any benefits are inconclusive. 210.254.117.185 (talk) 12:10, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- A Wikipedia article notes that a Neutral spine position is ideally maintained during Sleep. That is presumably the aim of Mattress designers, notably of the Orthopedic mattress (stub article) and mattresses of Memory foam. Lying in the same position for a long time can lead to Bed sores at the points of pressure. The linked article notes treatments such as turning the patient at least every two hours and using antidecubus mattresses and cushions that contain air chambers that are alternately pumped.
- For infants, sleeping on the back has been recommended to reduce incidence of Sudden infant death syndrome based on theories that infants may, while face down, inhale their exhaled breath (high in carbon dioxide) or smother themselves on their bedding, or that babies sleep too soundly when placed on their stomachs to recover from breathing difficulties. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:41, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- The advice for babies changes with dizzying speed - during the first six months of my son's life when we were paying attention to this stuff, the advice changed twice - and a year later, it went back to the first advice we'd gotten! For healthy adults and 'normal' sleeping patterns - I don't think it matters, we naturally change position as necessary as we sleep. If a person has some kind of health issue, then the advice might be more specific to your condition - and might perhaps be critically important. Our stock advice under those circumstances is: "If in doubt - ask a doctor". SteveBaker (talk) 17:10, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I like the old-timey advice on babies: "wrap them in swaddling clothes and hang them from a hook". That's one way to keep the rugrats from under foot. :-) StuRat (talk) 17:25, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- See Orthopedic pillow#Orthopedic pillows and sleep positions. -- Wavelength (talk) 15:44, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- From a Wikipedia viewpoint, I'm surprised that we don't have an article on it since I would think that quite a bit of research had been done on it, whether it be babies or adults. Dismas|(talk) 19:38, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- You can rest easy now: Sleeping position. Clarityfiend (talk) 23:56, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- From a Wikipedia viewpoint, I'm surprised that we don't have an article on it since I would think that quite a bit of research had been done on it, whether it be babies or adults. Dismas|(talk) 19:38, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- The back-sleeping position is covered at supine position. ~AH1(TCU) 01:26, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks. The BBC personality thing seems a bit silly, but it's sourced so what can I say? I wonder if there are any sources that claim any benefits of choosing supine/prone sleeping positions are superficial. 210.254.117.185 (talk) 01:36, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- I once read an article in USA Today, I think, about what your sleeping position (prone, semi-fetal, etc.) tells you about your personality. It also gave advice as to the compatibility of people with certain sleeping positions. It might have been based on this scientific (?) article: [10] -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:38, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
Cheap fish products, less healthy than pricier?
Dear Wikipedians, I work as a fishmonger in Norway. Among our most popular products are fishcakes; meat from white fish held together by flour. The meat content is approximately 50-60% on our 'fine' cakes, and 75% on more roughly textured, higher quality fishcakes, typically haddock/cod/etc. Now, these first are perhaps 90 NOK/kg. However, the supermarkets can sell prefabricated products (mainly from argentina silus), and these can be around 25 NOK/kg. Their content is approx. 45% meat, and several additives to prolong duration, increase flavour, etc. I've been told that the meat used in these fishcakes come from the meat that is left on the Gr. Argentine's bones, after all meat has been cut away; they put them into big machines, hurl them around and collect the meat that comes off. Now, as unattractive as that sounds to any customer, is this meat less healthy? I am not about to be swayed in my opinion just by colourful talk, and would love it if someone knew if the meat is typically any less decent for human consumption. I would be very much obliged and thankful for any answers, in particular from those educated on the field in a more firsthand manner. Regards, 88.90.16.212 (talk) 13:15, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- I can't answer for fish, but for (mammal) meat, the articles mechanically separated meat and advanced meat recovery discuss similar processes. The issue, at least for the former, is the amount of non-muscle material that ended up in the food product, and specifically the enhanced the from BSE that this might bring. I'm not aware of any specific risk from eating piscine nervous or connective tissue. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 13:37, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- The issue (at least for large animals) is that the mechanical separation process can break the bones and result in things other than meat getting into the mix. The specific problem with BSE was that spinal cord material could get into the meat, and that is what contained the infectious agent ('prions') for mad cow disease - which can (in extremely rare cases) cause Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans. There was a lot of fuss over this - but only 166 people in the UK died from it, more people were struck by lightning over the same period.
- The situation is very different for fish. Firstly, the bones are much lighter and less likely to break during this process - secondly, diseases cross species relatively easily within more closely related species - but quite rarely between distant relations. Cows and humans are a lot more closely related than fish and humans - so there is really a vastly lower chance of a disease spreading this way. All in all, without some actual research, I think you're on shaky ground in making any kind of health claim here.
- If I'm being honest - I'd have to say that there is a good chance that the meat from argentina silus could actually be more healthy than your haddock/cod-based meat. Fish are known to accumulate toxins like mercury - and fish that are longer lived and higher in the food-chain are much more prone that than small fish from lower in the food chain. Of course, we'd have to wonder at the health risks from these 'additives' that the supermarket uses - and about how fresh they are compared to your version of the product.
- On balance, I'd prefer your fishcakes in a heartbeat - but making specific health claims without careful research is probably inappropriate.
- Whoa! Are you saying that more than 166 people died from lightning strikes in the UK during that period? Do you have a source?--Shantavira|feed me 15:53, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- There's a fair old number of sources on the web, saying how many people are struck by the UK annually. This one [11] says that around 5 people in the UK are killed annually by lightning, and that the chances of being struck (which is what Steve said, not killed) are one in three million (per annum). So about 20 people are struck by lightning in the UK every year. --Phil Holmes (talk) 16:10, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
Does a woman cry when they commit adultery with somebody for the first time?
I don't know if people would read sexist tones into this question. I have first hand knowledge of one who cried bitterly, desperately seeking consolation. I have heard many others narrating their experience. Almost every time there are tears at the first rendezvous. Why? Has anybody theorized on that? --117.204.85.60 (talk) 17:38, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Confirmation bias. I didn't. --TammyMoet (talk) 18:51, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Whether people cry or don't cry is always a matter of their emotional state (obviously). if anyone (man or woman) sleeps with someone and feels ashamed, bitter, sad, or etc. they may cry. if they feel good about it, they will have no inclination to cry whatsoever. I had an affair with a woman once that was one of the most joyous relationships either of us ever had (her marriage was on the rocks - no pleasure there at all). no one cried in that relationship until we broke up.
- My view: if a woman cries after sex, it's a pretty damned good sign that you've taken advantage of her (caught her in a vulnerable moment and got her to do something she really wasn't ready to do). If it happens once you made a mistake, but if it happens twice you're a jerk, and the more it happens, the bigger the jerk you are. don't be a jerk. --Ludwigs2 19:19, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Worth noting that we can sometimes cry as just a result of having had an orgasm. "The question of the function or origin of emotional tears remains open", as it says at crying, and people cry at weddings and in moments of victory, etc. 86.21.204.137 (talk) 19:47, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
As the OP let me clarify that I was not talking about post-coitum sadness. The stories I heard also mention pre-sex tears. In my case, she started crying at first and I had to exert a lot to console her. I hadn't sex with her either. There were a lot of kisses and she left with a smile. I later asked her why she cried and her reply was that she felt I was being kind rather than love her. --117.204.80.19 (talk) 20:13, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- We're a Reference Desk. We really can't diagnose your specific, personal relationship issues. If you're asking whether all women do this, the answer is, "obviously not." If you're asking why this particular woman did this, there's no way we can really know much at this kind of distance. It's fairly obvious that sex in general, much less in an affair, is an emotionally powerful event for a lot of people. I'm not sure we're going to be able to get any more specific than that on here. Again, this is a Reference Desk. You wouldn't expect your local librarian to have much to say on this, would you? --Mr.98 (talk) 02:50, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Human beings are complex machines. The tears and sex alluded to have too many variables associated with them to allow for definitive explanation. Bus stop (talk) 03:28, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Actually my original question didn't ask for opinion but wanted to know if this matter has been dealt with in writings. --117.204.93.205 (talk) 09:34, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Human beings are complex machines. The tears and sex alluded to have too many variables associated with them to allow for definitive explanation. Bus stop (talk) 03:28, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- The article Crying is what we have. Your friend's answer is what you have. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 17:54, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Hmm, crying is obviously a means of conveying your need for consolation. Maybe, a woman requires something else than a man requires from a relationship. Or, maybe the sense of guilt prompts her to legitimise an adultery by putting herself in a desperate position where she needs to be cared. I don't know. Thanks to everybody who replied. I don't think there isn't anything more to come. Please close this thread.--117.204.92.73 (talk) 08:10, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The article Crying is what we have. Your friend's answer is what you have. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 17:54, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
Things to do in Kraków
What is there to do in Kraków for about two days? I'll be arriving in the centre of Krákow in the middle of July, in early afternoon, and leaving from the centre two days after that, in late evening.
When I was in Prague last year, I had a very nice time. I saw the Prague Castle, the Prague television tower, the Palac Akropolis, the Czech National Museum, the Prague Police Museum, and some island on the Vltava river right in the centre of Prague. I enjoyed every one of these very much, with the possible exception of the Prague Castle, which I felt was interesting as a historical monument, but beyond the fact that it was a historical monument and the architecture, there was little that held my personal interest.
But when I had a look at the Krákow tourist guide I bought, it seems to recommend almost exclusively churches. I couldn't be less interested in churches. In Prague, I only ever went to one, and even that only because it was in the Prague Castle I was already visiting. Other than churches, the only places even remotely interesting in Krákow I have found in the tourist guide are the cloth market (Sukiennice or something - I can't spell Polish words) and the National Museum. Is that all?
I've also thought of visiting Auschwitz, as I'm interested in World War II history, but I fear that the trip there will take an entire day, as it's located in another town entirely. Is there some sort of on-line timetable available about the practical details on how, where, and when to get from the centre of Kraków to Auschwitz and back? JIP | Talk 19:15, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- Take a look at these rather detailed guides from WikiTravel on Krakow and Auschwitz. ~AH1(TCU) 01:21, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- You just asked this a couple of weeks ago... Adam Bishop (talk) 02:16, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Why not look on a site like Lonely Planet. There should be some recommendations on there, and content from the guidebooks and you can post on the forums too. It's a pretty good site. Chevymontecarlo. 09:51, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- I'm a native of Kraków, so I'd be glad to help, but perhaps you could first tell us what you are most interested in? If it's not churches and historical monuments, then what? Modern architecture? Art galleries? Technology museums? Local food and drinks? Music? Clubs and parties? Nature? Hiking, climbing, etc.?
- For WWII history, there's the Kraków Ghetto in Podgórze (not the same as Kazimierz on the opposite side of the Vistula) with Tadeusz Pankiewicz's pharmacy, Oskar Schindler's enamelware factory, and the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp. There's also a small Home Army Museum, but it's not the big hit that the Warsaw Uprising Museum is. The Polish Aviation Museum should be interesting for you though. And for the aftermath of WWII in Kraków, you may want to visit Nowa Huta.
- You can search for train and bus connections here and here. Just remember that Auschwitz is called Oświęcim in Polish. — Kpalion(talk) 12:59, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Things I would be interested in: Museums - national museums, and museums about exotic topics, like the Prague Police Museum. Art galleries. Buildings with interesting architecture (like the television tower and the Dancing House in Prague) - I guess this would mostly include modern architecture. Large outdoor parks (the Englischer Garten in Munich is one of my favourites). Restaurants serving local food. Pubs. I won't be staying long enough to have time to go to clubs or parties, and I'll probably be tired enough from the rail trips to be able to go on hiking or climbing trips. Does this help? JIP | Talk 15:47, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- To be honest, it's not easy to answer your question because churches and historical monuments are really Kraków's best. It's like recommending Yellowstone to someone who can't be bothered with all those geysers, grizzlies and petrified trees. While Kraków has a lot of beatiful medieval and renaissance architecture, it doesn't have much modern architecture – certainly nothing comparable to Prague's Dancing House or TV tower. That said, I hope you find something to your taste there.
- The most recommendable museum – the Czartoryski Museum – is unfortunately closed for renovation. But you might want to visit some of the art collections at the Wawel Castle – especially the State Rooms, the center of Poland's political power at the height of her might and glory. There's much contemporary art at the National Museum. For more exotic museums, you can try the Aviation Museum I already mentioned, Museum of Municipal Engineering (mostly old buses and trams), Insurance Museum, Stained Glass Museum, Ethnographic Museum, Pharmacy Museum, and Museum of the History of Photography. And then there's of course the Wieliczka Salt Mine, certainly woth visiting, but you'd need to travel a little outside Kraków. The Planty is a nice park that goes around the Old Town; in fact, it was created in place of old city walls and moats, and a small fragment of medieval fortifications that have been preserved – the Florian Gate and the Barbican – are a nice bonus. There's also the Błonia commons west of the National Museum – unique for being a huge stretch of meadow right in the city center.
- There's a wide range of places serving local food, from street stands selling obwarzanki (Old Town) and zapiekanki (Kazimierz) to "milk bars" (cheap "fast food" joints dating back to Communist times, but a great way to sample real hearty local food like that which people eat at home) to expensive elegant restaurants like Wierzynek, Hawełka and Pod Aniołami. More restuarants at Cracow Life. Events scheduled for mid-July in Kraków include a street theater festival (8-11 July), commemorations the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald (15 July), a gala of pyrotechnical art (17-18 July), and the Jazz Night (18/19 July). Any more questions, please let me know. — Kpalion(talk) 19:09, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks for your replies. Based on them, I have found some interesting places, mostly museums and World War II history sites, very near the centre of Kraków. I will have to mark them up on a map of Kraków so I can plan what I can go visit when. Most of them fit inside an area of about ten square kilometres, which is very well within the limits of where I can walk, so I will only have to make sure to have a good enough street map to prevent me from getting lost. I don't think I will be bothering to travel outside Kraków. I had a look at each three of the webpages of the "elegant restaurants" provided above. Their prices are certainly within my budget. The prices of the main courses are over twice what I'm prepared to pay for a normal working day lunch, but this is going to be a holiday, and good dining is part of it. It's expected it's going to cost more than a normal working day lunch. JIP | Talk 19:34, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- There is usually a choral/music festaval on about this time. The Cathedral in the centre of the square. If you are into religion, then the Convent of Mercy, where Saint Faustina was and the Divine Mercy.
- MacOfJesus (talk) 23:37, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- One correction: you're probably talking about Saint Mary's Basilica, which is not a cathedral. The only cathedral in Kraków is the Wawel Cathedral. — Kpalion(talk) 09:23, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- I was, pardon, My Polish is not great! MacOfJesus (talk) 19:45, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- I still stand by my recommendation of Wieliczka Salt Mine. You really are unlikely to see anything like it anywhere else in the world. Well, much less likely then war museums, architecture and medieval town squares. Vespine (talk) 06:19, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- A good resturant: "Pod ikime", that is how it is pronounced! Means: "Under the eye". Other good ones too, but expensive! MacOfJesus (talk) 22:25, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- By the way: there is excellent transport. Trams, buses, taxis, all reasonable. MacOfJesus (talk) 22:28, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
I just checked here; there's a bus line 304 which leaves every 15 minutes from the city center and takes half an hour to get to the salt mine. — Kpalion(talk) 12:53, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
What was his address and how do you write his name in kanji? --75.33.219.230 (talk) 19:35, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- His name was 谷本清 in Kanji. The Japanese Wikipedia article about him is here. You're asking for his address? All I can tell you is that he was born in Sakaide City in Kagawa Prefecture. The article says he was pastor of Nagarekawa Church in Naka Ward of Hiroshima City until 1982. The Japanese Wikipedia article on this church is here. Do you need the address of the church? This navi page says it's 広島県広島市 中区上幟町 8−33 --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 20:05, 1 May 2010 (UTC)
- What's the address in regular letters? --75.33.219.230 (talk) 18:13, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- 8-33 Kaminobori Cho, Naka Ku, Hiroshima Shi, Hiroshima Ken. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 23:50, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
May 2
Any idea what is on the bottom of this plaque Bill Clinton is holding?
I'm quite puzzled by what the bottom item on the plaque could possibly be? [12] 61.161.170.254 (talk) 00:53, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- It looks like the outline of a country or state (or some other geographic region). I don't recognise it, though. --Tango (talk) 01:01, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- It doesn't look like any of the US states. Nor does it seem to be Queens, New York where the US Open is held. Nor the Tennis Center where it is held. Dismas|(talk) 01:39, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- It could be a souvenir from the grounds. I can't think what, since the U.S. Open is played on hardcourt and not clay or grass, either of which would be easier to "take" as a souvenir. But that's my best WAG. --Jayron32 01:55, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Wouldn't matter. He still wouldn't have inhaled. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 23:58, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- It could be a souvenir from the grounds. I can't think what, since the U.S. Open is played on hardcourt and not clay or grass, either of which would be easier to "take" as a souvenir. But that's my best WAG. --Jayron32 01:55, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Does the text here tell anything that could help? --Магьосник (talk) 03:52, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Not really. The only text related to the image says basically "The president met with the U.S. Open winners. Serena Williams changed her hair for the event." Nothing about the plaque itself. --Jayron32 03:56, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- The court was green and [13] says: The singles finals were played on Arthur Ashe Stadium court. [Joe] Favorito said Agassi and Williams will present President Clinton with "a piece of the court," during an exchange of mementos in the Oval Office. I haven't found a source connecting this more directly to the image. PrimeHunter (talk) 04:01, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Clinton hid his disappointment well, after finding out what they meant when they said an "Open piece" was his for the taking in the Oval Office. :-) StuRat (talk) 04:53, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Clinton could cure cancer since he left office, those jokes will still not get old. Prokhorovka (talk) 18:40, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
Persians-Mughals
I am confused as to how, almost 2000 years later, the Mughals put a distinctively Persian cultural gloss on their nascent empire. How was this culture ,the Persian, maintained for so long without a base country to nurse it? Further, it is my view that there is absolutely no connection, except for the land, between ancient Persians and the vast majority of today’s Iranians.
Arthur Finn,<email removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.118.52.147 (talk) 02:25, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- That may be your view, but it is unsupported by any reliable historical study. --Jayron32 02:27, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- To your first question, "Persia" is a term used to describe Iran at pretty much any point in history, and the Mughals were getting a Persian influence from the Persia that existed at that time, not the Achaemenid Empire which is sometimes referred to as the "Persian Empire". The term "Persian" has indeed been applied to many different cultures living in what is now called Iran, but if you check out History of Iran you'll see that while the culture of Iran has undergone many changes, there are also aspects that have held over from previous periods. Buddy431 (talk) 04:30, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- And if you think the term "Persian" is imprecise, try nailing down what makes one a "Turk". Matt Deres (talk) 13:25, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- To your first question, "Persia" is a term used to describe Iran at pretty much any point in history, and the Mughals were getting a Persian influence from the Persia that existed at that time, not the Achaemenid Empire which is sometimes referred to as the "Persian Empire". The term "Persian" has indeed been applied to many different cultures living in what is now called Iran, but if you check out History of Iran you'll see that while the culture of Iran has undergone many changes, there are also aspects that have held over from previous periods. Buddy431 (talk) 04:30, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
downloading in google chrome
when u download in google chrome, there's this download page which keeps track of all the downloads you do. but, suppose, let's say, you are downloading something, and halfway through, there's a powercut. so your download gets cancelled and you have to start all over again. it happens with me very often. so, can anyone help me find some software which would resume the download when i restart my computer??
plz i seriously need help on this!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.197.236.47 (talk) 07:05, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- The Computing Reference Desk is here. Dismas|(talk) 07:12, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yes, please ask questions to do with computers and technology at the Computing Reference Desk. Chevymontecarlo. 09:48, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
Oven temperatures
What does an oven use to measure the temperature? If it uses a thermometer, is it a digital one and where would it be located? Is it actually inside the oven cooking area or recessed into the walls? Chevymontecarlo. 09:47, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- On my oven, there is a temperature probe that sticks into the oven from the back wall. It's in the upper left hand corner as you're looking in. I've replaced it before and it was a quick 15 minute job. Dismas|(talk) 09:51, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- On a fancy digital oven with temperature readout and such, it might be a digital thermometer - but in cheaper ovens with simple dial controls, it's just a thermostat. The design varies a lot from one oven to the next. If you need to find/replace one, I suggest doing a Google search for the make and model number of your oven and the words "oven thermostat" or "oven thermometer". You'll find half a dozen companies selling that part - and it's usually pretty obvious how to replace it if you look carefully inside the oven. SteveBaker (talk) 15:31, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Hang on, Steve, I don't see how that makes sense. An adjustable thermostat, as I understand it, consists of a bimetallic strip, an electrical switch, and a control affecting how the two are positioned in relation to each other (i.e. how far the strip has to bend in order to operate the switch). How's that possible when the control is distant from the oven? I mean, I'm sure there's a thermostat involved, but there can't be just a thermostat. --Anonymous, 20:37 UTC, May 2, 2010.
- Why not? Old dial ovens don't give a readout of the temperature, they just cycle on-and-off based on where you set the oven temperature dial. No need for an actual thermometer; a calibrated thermostat is all that is needed. --Jayron32 03:21, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Of course. But I don't see what the physical arrangement is, for it to be "just a thermostat". If the thermostat is inside the oven, how does the dial control affect the way the switch is positioned in relation to the bimetallic strip? And if it isn't inside the oven, how does it respond properly to the temperature inside? See what I mean now? --Anonymous, 05:20 UTC, May 3, 2010.
- I don't see why the thermostat (bimetallic strip) couldn't be connected to the dial by means of some sort of pushrod or cable. --Jayron32 05:58, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Hmm. I think it would be hard to make that reliable, but it is possible. I've just realized the other thing that's been tickling my brain about this, though. It's my impression that what's likely to be inside the oven is a thermocouple, generating a voltage that depends on the temperature; the ones I've seen look like the thermocouple I've seen in a furnace, anyway. The control knob would then be a simple rheostat, producing an output voltage that depends on the setting. The electronics to compare the two signals and turn the oven on or off would likewise be very simple. This seems a more likely construction to me, at least for an electric stove. But some actual references would be better... --Anonymous, 08:12 UTC, May 3, 2010.
- I don't see why the thermostat (bimetallic strip) couldn't be connected to the dial by means of some sort of pushrod or cable. --Jayron32 05:58, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Of course. But I don't see what the physical arrangement is, for it to be "just a thermostat". If the thermostat is inside the oven, how does the dial control affect the way the switch is positioned in relation to the bimetallic strip? And if it isn't inside the oven, how does it respond properly to the temperature inside? See what I mean now? --Anonymous, 05:20 UTC, May 3, 2010.
- Why not? Old dial ovens don't give a readout of the temperature, they just cycle on-and-off based on where you set the oven temperature dial. No need for an actual thermometer; a calibrated thermostat is all that is needed. --Jayron32 03:21, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Hang on, Steve, I don't see how that makes sense. An adjustable thermostat, as I understand it, consists of a bimetallic strip, an electrical switch, and a control affecting how the two are positioned in relation to each other (i.e. how far the strip has to bend in order to operate the switch). How's that possible when the control is distant from the oven? I mean, I'm sure there's a thermostat involved, but there can't be just a thermostat. --Anonymous, 20:37 UTC, May 2, 2010.
- On a fancy digital oven with temperature readout and such, it might be a digital thermometer - but in cheaper ovens with simple dial controls, it's just a thermostat. The design varies a lot from one oven to the next. If you need to find/replace one, I suggest doing a Google search for the make and model number of your oven and the words "oven thermostat" or "oven thermometer". You'll find half a dozen companies selling that part - and it's usually pretty obvious how to replace it if you look carefully inside the oven. SteveBaker (talk) 15:31, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
Anti-vandalism names
Where did the commonly used vandal-reverting tools Twinkle and Huggle get their names? And why are there several more that nobody seems to use? What are the differences? 2D Backfire Master pretzels rule 13:31, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- AzaToth developed Twinkle and Gurch developed Huggle, so you may wanna ask them. As for why people don't use other anti-vandalism tools as often, there's a myriad of reasons why. Some of them you have to be an admin or obtain a certain level of rights to use them, and some of them are either outdated or not as convenient to use. 24.189.90.68 (talk) 20:23, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- I was under the impression gurch named it huggle simply because he "huggles" everyone each time he enters an IRC chat room.--92.251.185.162 (talk) 23:33, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Google was not very helpful. One source suggested these were inside jokes about gays, but I suspect they were being facetious. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
UN veto records
Is there a searchable online record of vetoed Security Council motions? I want to know if there was a Soviet veto on a French motion to send a warship to Mahe, a French occupied territory in India, in 1954 --117.204.83.105 (talk) 15:37, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
This site (http://unbisnet.un.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=voting&menu=search&submenu=power#focus) seems to be the voting records archive you want. ny156uk (talk) 17:36, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- I find the search options on that site utterly useless. Instead I checked this article on Jstor but I don't find anything in it about a vetoed vote on French decision to send a warship to Mahe in 1954. Can anybody help verify if there was such a veto from Soviet Union's part?--117.204.83.13 (talk) 16:22, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Annex 3 of Document A/58/47 (it's a PDF, and the link is flaky) lists all vetoes at public sessions up to 2004. For 1954 it lists:
Date Draft Meeting No. Topic Vetoing member 20-Jun-1954 S/ 3236/Rev. 1 675 Cablegram dated 19 June 1954 from Guatemala to the President of the Security Council USSR 18-Jun-1954 S/ 3229 674 Letter dated 29 May 1954 from Thailand to the President of the Security Council USSR 29-Mar-1954 S/ 3188/Corr. 1 664 The Palestine question USSR 22-Jan-1954 S/ 3151/Rev. 2 656 The Palestine question USSR
- No reference to Mahé anywhere in the list. jnestorius(talk) 20:47, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
Submarine
Why does the crews of the submarine stand on the top of it when it comes into habor? --Tyw7 (☎ Contact me! • Contributions) Changing the world one edit at a time! 20:15, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- "Manning Ship - A ceremonial mark of salutation, originally as shewing your peaceful intentions, in that with all hands on deck you could have no guns manned. The present method of manning ship - along the sides of the upper deck - was introduced (to the Royal Navy) in 1873, replacing the manning of yards and rigging which by then had largely disappeared"[14]. Alansplodge (talk) 20:39, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Presumably at least one man stays below, to drive it? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:48, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- A number no doubt do stay below. The idea that it would in effect prove no malicious intent is outdated today, to be sure (especially since so much of this sort of thing is computerized). Even in the 19th century it was probably more a gesture of goodwill than a guarantee. --Mr.98 (talk) 21:01, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- It's pretty effective in the case of a submarine! At least you know it's not gonna submerge any time soon. SteveBaker (talk) 14:29, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- This salutation doesn't seem applicable for all military craft as these Russians appear to be getting blown off before they can form an orderly line – but full marks for even trying. [15] Aspro (talk) 09:46, 7 May 2010 (UTC)
Short list of the most important general skills
I'm looking for a short list (say top 10 or top 20) of the most important general skills a young person can learn. The skills should be learnable, be of great general applicability or practical importance, and whose mastery tends to make a significant difference in a person's life, regardless of the person's chosen field of pursuit. I understand that on a question like this, opinions differ, but I'm hoping that there is good agreement on at least the top few items. --98.114.146.58 (talk) 21:39, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- The three Rs Graeme Bartlett (talk) 22:07, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- This question appears to make certain assumptions about "where he is". Look at the hierarchy of needs and that will tell you what's important. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:16, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- In the last decade or so, British universitites emphasis so called "transferrable skills". Many are embedded into PDP (personal development portfolio). It is a complete waste of students and teachers time. The pipe dream of mastery on some general skills without or little core discipline knowledge. Get a part time would gain more life skills plus pocket money. --Chan Tai Man 22:17, 2 May 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chantaiman (talk • contribs)
- If you're a Sherpa, knowledge of survival in the mountains is probably way much more important than knowing how to read the collected works of Shake-speare. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:32, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- There are plenty of skills that are useful regardless of your chosen career, but they aren't usually as useful as the ones that are specific to your career (beyond the three R's, as Graeme mentions). --Tango (talk) 22:40, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- The three R's are not required for survival. Helpful, maybe, but not required. And they would be pretty much useless if you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a foreign land where no one speaks your language. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:45, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Who said anything about the basics for survival? Read the question, it is asking about general knowledge, not "I am living in a Cormac McCarthy novel" knowledge. And I disagree that knowing how to read and write in your language (especially English) is not useful when "in the middle of a foreign land". You might not have someone nearby who can read it, but if you can communicate with people at a distance (even through old-fashioned hand mail), you'll be at an advantage to an illiterate. --Mr.98 (talk) 23:45, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- The question is rather vague, so a wide range of answers is possible. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:02, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Since I'm the OP, I can provide some clarification. I think Mr.98 has the right idea about what the question is about. I have my own candidates for the list, but I'd like to hear other people's views. I was surprised that critical thinking skills didn't get mentioned more times—IMO it's one of the top generally applicable skills and is helpful whether you're a doctor, lawyer, politician, auto mechanic, or just trying to be a responsible citizen. Another skill that I consider important is the skill to learn things effectively and efficiently, on your own, making good use of all the resources available. College education cannot prepare a person to be an expert in every possible specialties within he/her field. A lot of in-depth expertise will need to be acquired on the job or as needs arise. These are the kind of general skills I had in mind when I asked the question. --98.114.146.58 (talk) 03:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Situational awareness. If you are oblivious to what is going on, none of the other skills can be used effectively. Googlemeister (talk) 19:36, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Since I'm the OP, I can provide some clarification. I think Mr.98 has the right idea about what the question is about. I have my own candidates for the list, but I'd like to hear other people's views. I was surprised that critical thinking skills didn't get mentioned more times—IMO it's one of the top generally applicable skills and is helpful whether you're a doctor, lawyer, politician, auto mechanic, or just trying to be a responsible citizen. Another skill that I consider important is the skill to learn things effectively and efficiently, on your own, making good use of all the resources available. College education cannot prepare a person to be an expert in every possible specialties within he/her field. A lot of in-depth expertise will need to be acquired on the job or as needs arise. These are the kind of general skills I had in mind when I asked the question. --98.114.146.58 (talk) 03:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The question is rather vague, so a wide range of answers is possible. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:02, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Who said anything about the basics for survival? Read the question, it is asking about general knowledge, not "I am living in a Cormac McCarthy novel" knowledge. And I disagree that knowing how to read and write in your language (especially English) is not useful when "in the middle of a foreign land". You might not have someone nearby who can read it, but if you can communicate with people at a distance (even through old-fashioned hand mail), you'll be at an advantage to an illiterate. --Mr.98 (talk) 23:45, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." - Lazarus Long -- Dismas|(talk) 23:21, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- If you quote Heinlein, quote it right. "Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not make messes in the house." (ibid.) --Stephan Schulz (talk) 11:48, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The three R's are not required for survival. Helpful, maybe, but not required. And they would be pretty much useless if you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a foreign land where no one speaks your language. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:45, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
Here's a few: how to cook, morse code, how to behave in a group, how to drive, how to defend yourself, how to make gunpowder (yes even today). Another would be how to live life without worrying about why you are here, how you got here, death, or the solar system dying in a few billion years time. Those thigns are depressing, and can't affect your life in any way, yet are there any of us who don't sometimes worry about crap like that for no reason?--92.251.185.162 (talk) 23:30, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Morse code? I've yet to find that ever useful in my life and I doubt I will. I'm not even sure exactly how relevant it is to emergency situations these days. And I would disagree that one's own mortality is worth ignoring—it can be a pretty useful tool by which to decide exactly what one really wants to do with one's life. I don't see making gunpowder as particularly useful (better to just save up bullets, in my opinion, if one is worried about surviving some kind of collapse of civilization). --Mr.98 (talk) 23:40, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- A very basic understanding of mathematics and statistics is quite useful for many different walks of life. Literacy is important in most countries in the world. Being able to articulate yourself clearly is useful in almost all occupations that I know of. Being able to manage one's own finances is an under-appreciated skill. Critical thinking skills are generally applicable and quite useful (though hard to define). Touch-typing is a pretty-valuable skill in most industrialized countries at the present time. --Mr.98 (talk) 23:48, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Also tae a look at soft skills. ~AH1(TCU) 23:56, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- I did a Google search for "Short list of the most important general skills" and the first result was the following.
- (public speaking, writing, self-management, networking, critical thinking, decision-making, math, research, relaxation, basic accounting)
- You can do the same search to find more results. -- Wavelength (talk) 04:13, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- "You invented the wheel today, Thag? Not bad. But check out these debits and credits!" ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:44, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- And swim. Kittybrewster ☎ 11:27, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I second swimming. It's one of those things that is second-nature if you know how to do it (you never have to review it, really), but if you don't know how to do it, aside from the very real possibility of drowning (even in areas without large natural bodies of water), it seems to be something that is much harder to pick up as an adult than as a kid. My friends who don't know how to swim are pretty hampered (and I was amazed they didn't know how) and are more fearful than they ought to be of boats, docks, etc. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:10, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- And swim. Kittybrewster ☎ 11:27, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- "You invented the wheel today, Thag? Not bad. But check out these debits and credits!" ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:44, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The skill I wish I had when I was a student and since was touch typing. It would have saved me hundreds of hours of time, and given a better product as I would have had more thinking time and less time spent doing one- or two-finger typing. More important than learning to drive. Other skills are how to file away stuff, and bookkeeping. Being experienced and relaxed about chatting up women would help for a man. If the person is going into business or self-employment then other business skills too. Learning how to cook and eat nutritiously may extend their lifetime considerably. Skills relating to exercise such as swimming, sailing, hiking, cycling, and group sports similarly. Do It Yourself and self-learning painting and decorating has saved me a lot of money. Knowing how to evaluate credit card and otrher loans are important too. People above have mentioned more abstract skills, but concrete practical skills are important too, even for intellectuals. Learning a foriegn language, as learning one makes learning others more easy, and opens up the world to you. 92.28.253.63 (talk) 11:39, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
The two sides of an emery board are very distinct from one another. What is the material used on each side? And, more importantly, for what specific purpose does a person use each side? The Wikipedia article on Emery board was not helpful for my question. I always assumed that one side was to file down the finger nail ... and that the other side was to buff it or to smooth it out, after the filing is complete. But this is only a guess. Any insights? Thanks. (64.252.65.146 (talk) 21:52, 2 May 2010 (UTC))
- I think that's exactly right. In the common one, the brown side has rougher grains, so it's for filing down quickly, while the beige side has finer grains, for buffing. As for the material, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that it's emery. :-) StuRat (talk) 22:06, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
- Oh ... in other words, both sides are actually made of emery? I assumed that one side was made of emery ... but I was unsure of the other ("different") side. Thanks. (64.252.65.146 (talk) 23:02, 2 May 2010 (UTC))
- I doubt it's actually emery, and I would think that the Wikipedia article is wrong when it says it's emery paper. Real emery paper is normally dark grey and is used for smoothing metal. Sandpaper or glass paper (coo - no link or redirect) is used for smoothing things like wood and feels much more like what you get on an emery board. It also looks clear, which ties in with the appearance of all the emery boards I've seen. --Phil Holmes (talk) 09:25, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Emery (mineral) says that, "However, demand for emery has decreased with the development of sintered carbide and oxide materials as abrasives." So maybe it is these replacement materials actually in use. Bus stop (talk) 11:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Great ... thanks for the responses! (64.252.65.146 (talk) 16:52, 9 May 2010 (UTC))
May 3
Mineshaft
Is/was there really an S&M gay club of that name? 24.189.90.68 (talk) 00:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- In what jurisdiction? The world is a big place. What part of the world supposedly had such a club? --Jayron32 00:51, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- NYC. At least that's what I heard. 24.189.90.68 (talk) 01:08, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Have you used Google? This is the first hit. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 01:28, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Right, I don't know why Google failed to enter my mind. It's just that someone in a video was wearing a shirt with the name and emblem on it, and someone commented about its ties to the club. So I got super-curious and came straight here. 24.189.90.68 (talk) 01:52, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Doing anything "straight" won't get you very far if you're interested in gay clubs. :) -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 02:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Hey now, I didn't mean I was curious in that sense. ;) 24.189.90.68 (talk) 03:11, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Apparently, the answer to the question is yes - [16] and [17] - "the area’s premier members-only club. Located on Washington St. at Little W. 12th St., it was open around the clock from Wednesday night through Monday morning, featuring a roof deck, clothes check, dungeons and other amenities. The S&M free-for-all opened in 1977 before the AIDS era, and was finally closed by the city’s Department of Health in 1985." Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:09, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Garfield Vault
When I try to read the Garfield comic strips at http://www.garfield.com/comics/vault.html, the screen where the strip is usually displayed is blank. What do I need to download that will allow me to view the comic strips?--ChromeWire (talk) 00:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- It's a problem with the website (on mine it says that this is the strip for "Undefined, NAN NAN", which is computer talk for "Something has gone horribly wrong"). So probably just wait until tomorrow and it'll probably be fixed. --Mr.98 (talk) 00:57, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yes - "NAN" stands for "Not A Number" - which is what the computer says if you try to do something like divide by zero or take the square root of a negative number. However, all we can tell from that is that they have a software bug of some kind. It's really impossible to deduce much from that - other than it's not your fault and that there is probably nothing you can do about it other than wait for them to fix it. SteveBaker (talk) 14:26, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Ok thanks. --ChromeWire (talk) 01:33, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- It still seems broken to me today. If you're jonesing for Garfield, you might try one of the other sites that comes up for a Google search of "Garfield comics". The Garfield.com site seems extraordinarily poorly programmed—a real disaster of web design. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:25, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- And if you can't see Garfield anyway, you might as well be reading Garfield Minus Garfield, which is actually much funnier. Matt Deres (talk) 13:35, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yeah - I'll second that - Garfield minus Garfield is much funnier. They just removed the Garfield character and all of his dialog from the strip - leaving the other characters talking to themselves more or less nonsensically. You wouldn't expect that to be good - but it's actually really hilarious! SteveBaker (talk) 14:26, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
TELKOM SA
I would like to know what different function codes there are for telkom telephone users. When you dial *31* before the actual contact number you automatically hide your caller I.D. I would like to know if there is any more functions you can use for private use? I cant find it on any site or on Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.195.192.70 (talk) 07:38, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The article you are looking for is vertical service code. Unsurprisingly, however, it deals only with US telephone codes. Doubtless there is a website somewhere that lists those for SA. Perhaps you could try putting that expression into your search engine.--Shantavira|feed me 08:29, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Ipod
My ipod, when put onto shuffle will play various songs for hours on end, howver, if it plays one slayer song it will thenshuffle between only slayer songs for the next few hours, why is this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 07:41, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- There are technologies that will remember which songs you skip and which you listen to and give you more of the music you listen to and gradually phase out songs that you skip. I don't know if you'd have to specifically tell it to do this; I've never owned an iPod. But that would be my first guess; are you skipping lots of the non-Slayer songs? Vimescarrot (talk) 08:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- You're over-thinking this, Vimescarrot. I do own an iPod and several other Apple products. When you simply hit "shuffle" or pick a song out of your "songs" list, then it shuffles between all songs on your iPod. But when you go to a specific artist, then you are basically working your way down a tree structure and the iPod doesn't go back up the tree to retrieve songs to work into the shuffle. It assumes that because you went to a specific artist's folder, that you only want to hear songs from that artist. Dismas|(talk) 09:31, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying the OP must have gone into the Slayer folder for it to only be playing Slayer songs? Vimescarrot (talk) 13:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I also have an iPod (never leave home without it). It doesn't sound like the OP is in his Slayer folder, because he seems to imply that he kind of "came upon" a Slayer song, and somehow the random player got stuck in a Slayer groove (but then again, he might be, and that would be an easy answer to the question). I don't know a whole lot about the algorithm(s) that Apple uses to jump to the next song, but I've wondered myself if they program a certain degree of non-randomness into it-- from time to time, I'll hear a cluster of songs from one group in a row. I googled "iPod" "shuffle" "random" and "algorithm" and came up with some interesting discussions. Kingsfold (talk) 14:06, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Relatedly, there's a setting in iTunes (haven't seen one on my Touch, but that's not to say it's not there) that dictates whether you're more or less likely than random to hear songs from the same artist in a short period after one has already played on shuffle. 131.111.248.99 (talk) 14:08, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- You're over-thinking this, Vimescarrot. I do own an iPod and several other Apple products. When you simply hit "shuffle" or pick a song out of your "songs" list, then it shuffles between all songs on your iPod. But when you go to a specific artist, then you are basically working your way down a tree structure and the iPod doesn't go back up the tree to retrieve songs to work into the shuffle. It assumes that because you went to a specific artist's folder, that you only want to hear songs from that artist. Dismas|(talk) 09:31, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Because even your iPod knows how awesome Slayer is! 8') 74.218.50.226 (talk) 14:16, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Slayer are awesome, but sometimes you are in the mood for something a bit more chilled and a slayer song comes onto shuffle, not a problem but when shuffle as been on for 2-3 hours and then all of a sudden all you hear is slayer after slayer it can be a bit annoying, I love slayer as much as the next guy but... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 15:09, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Looks like I'm the next guy, but I don't particularly like them. I agree with Vimes on this one, though. On Shuffle settings, iTunes tends to play the songs you listen to the most, which ends up being a vicious circle if you only listen to iTunes on Shuffle - the more you play the songs, the more you'll play the songs, basically. I suggest just switching it off altogether. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 19:23, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yep. This is why I usually partially manipulate my random playlists by programming them to not play songs that have been played in the last X days. Then, as soon as one is played, it drops out of the playlist for a while. Kingsfold (talk) 11:31, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
birds
what was the oldest living cockatiel on record? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.66.193.73 (talk) 08:47, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- This wikipedia item[18] says 36 years. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 08:58, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Do main parties ever lose their deposits at general elections?
The election is on Thursday, and I was thinking about the fact that UKIP lost over £200,000 last time on deposits. I know it on rare occasions happens at by-elections, but at main General Elections do the three main parties ever lose their deposits anywhere?
Thanks, Prokhorovka (talk) 09:12, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Rarely, but it does happen. In most constituencies, only two of the main three parties have any real chance of winning (outside of England, it can be even fewer due to national parties), so the other major party can end up with very few votes. The Tories were close to losing their deposits in some Scottish seats at the 2005 general election, but I can't find any examples where a major party actually did lose it. (There are plenty of examples from by-elections, as you say.) --Tango (talk) 15:07, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Contrast with the Monster Raving Loony Party, who have never fielded a candidate who retained their deposit, and have a deal with William Hill this election to give them a chance to win their deposits back [19]. 86.178.228.18 (talk) 20:47, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- [20] has a table showing how many deposits each party lost in the 2005 election, the Conservatives lost 5, the Lib Dems 1, and Labour 0. [21] has a list of some by-elections where Labour lost their deposit. Hut 8.5 08:56, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
That's perfect. Thank you. Prokhorovka (talk) 13:34, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Karma
there is a bird building a nest ontop of a gate that gets used regularly. The nest is a wast of time, if i shake the gate the nest will be ruined and the bird will realise that it is a waste of time. Is this good karma as i will save the bird time, or bad karma as i will be ruining its nest? should i go and shake the gate, or not? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 10:07, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I would shake the gate. The way I figure it, you're doing the bird a favor by pointing out (in terms that the bird can likely understand) that building a nest there is a foolish thing to do. Dismas|(talk) 10:56, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I agree. Kittybrewster ☎ 11:33, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I also agree. The bird will re-nest somewhere else—this is what birds do. The sooner they realize that their nesting site is inappropriate, the better. You definitely wouldn't want the nest to be disturbed when it already had eggs in it, would you? --Mr.98 (talk) 14:07, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Making money online with very little investment?
Is it possible for an individual to make modest amounts (say a few hundred to few thousand $ per month) online?. There are many snake oil salesmen who promise quick wealth in the internet, I don't believe them, neither am i interested in illegal businesses. If you could please give some websites of average joes who actually make a living online, that would be an inspiration for me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.244.144.251 (talk) 10:11, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- This question comes up quite frequently here - and sadly, we're never able to give a satisfactory answer. The problem is that we need to know what skills you have. Without that, there is little chance of making money legally. So - what are you good at? What would you be prepared to learn? SteveBaker (talk) 14:18, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
ok, let me state the strongest of my skill, which is artistic skill. More specifically, using an image editor to create static artwork. I also have some business skill, I have been sporadically buying and selling stuff for some profit. I have an uncanny ability to find deals ( so I think lol). Iam prepared to learn anything that would earn me success in this endevour - online business.
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.244.144.251 (talk) 15:17, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Depending on how much time you want to put into it, you could try Mechanical Turk. I did some turking for a while, and if you really dedicate yourself to it, I could see it bringing in a few hundred dollars a month. Its mostly low-skill, repetitive tasks (like data entry type stuff). I found that, in terms of money per hour, it wasn't worth my time, but depending on how fast you work and what your interests and skills are, you could make some small amount of coin turking. --Jayron32 15:24, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Presumably you mean Amazon Mechanical Turk, rather than sitting in a "machine" playing chess. --Tango (talk) 15:32, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- These links might be helpful: What Color is Your Parachute? (book) and JobHuntersBible.com:. -- Wavelength (talk) 17:02, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- If you can paint things that 3D artists would find useful as texture maps - you might maybe make some money by selling 2D images at places like http://www.TurboSquid.com - this isn't going to be about painting gorgeous pictures of things - we're talking stuff like repeating brick patterns, grass, dirt, rusty metal...that kind of thing.
- I wonder if there might also be a business in retouching photos for people - I don't know of a forum for selling that kind of service - but maybe if you had your own website and managed to somehow advertise it.
- SteveBaker (talk) 02:10, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- If you're a world-class poker player, you can do it with no investment. Clarityfiend (talk) 20:47, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- For a look at what others are doing to earn $5 here and there, check out http://www.fiverr.com. Warning, lots of crap on the main page, but if you go off into the side areas, there are more professional offerings. DaHorsesMouth (talk) 03:16, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
Sense of culture
1. Countries like Poland that were seperated and ruled by others for ages, also see Macedonia, how have they managed to retain their owns sense of culture without being absorbed into the ruling country?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 10:55, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Even though many maps show it as part of Russia, Poland specifically still had a seperate identity for much of the 19th century, see Congress Poland. It really only had no seperate existance for about 50 years, probably not long enough for full assimilation into Russian culture. Other people still retain distinct identities, sometimes because no country will "accept" them into their culture (see the Romani people). Other times, a people will retain its seperate identity despite hundreds of years with no country. Greek people, for example, lacked a state of their own from the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the late 15th century until the modern state was created in 1822. The Basque people haven't had a state of their own since the Kingdom of Navarre was partitioned by France and Spain in a series of events in the 16th century. Its a complex melange of situations, sometimes cultures are lost as they assimilate into the majority culture. I was somewhat disappointed myself in researching this answer, as the article Cultural assimilation deals mostly with immigration issues. --Jayron32 12:08, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I'd say it comes down to 4 main factors:
- 1) The degree to which the ruling nation is committed to forcing assimilation. If they destroy all churches, ban the language, and take the children from the parents to be re-educated, this will have a major effect.
- 2) The degree to which the subject nation is willing to resist assimilation. Are they willing to risk fines, jail, or death to continue practicing their religion in secret, speaking their language, etc. ? This may vary by the level of technology of the nations. A "backward" nation may assume that the institutions of a more developed nation are superior to their own, and thus may be more willing to accept them. For example, if the conquered nation had no written language, they may be more wiling to use the written language of the conquerors, than if they already had their own.
- 3) Relative numbers. Is the subject nation still 90% the original people, or is it 90% colonists ? The majority will tend to overwhelm the minority, over time.
- 4) The length of time of the colonial period. StuRat (talk) 14:16, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Another factor is the extent to which other nations try to help the conquered nation resist assimilation. In the case of Tibet, attempts by China to wipe out the native culture (specifically, their religion), may have been offset by India's willingness to allow Tibetans to live in exile there, and to maintain their culture. StuRat (talk) 14:30, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
2. Is it possible to buy pepperspray in the UK for personal protection of woman. if so where? if not is it because it is illegal, and if so why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 10:55, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- In the United Kingdom, "Any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing" is a Prohibited Weapon, under S.5 of The Firearms Act 1968. The same act covers other prohibited weapons such as automatic firearms and rocket launchers, all of which can only be possessed by permission of the Home Secretary. Although legal for police officers, recent debates have arisen whether such a weapon should be legal for civilians as means of defensive purposes only. Pepper_spray#In_Europe Kittybrewster ☎ 11:11, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I was advised some years ago to keep a cologne spray in my pocket for use in the same circumstances as pepper spray would be used. Being female it would be deemed to be an appropriate thing to have in my pocket, so no questions would be asked. --TammyMoet (talk) 12:45, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Alternatively, many places hand out attack alarms/rape alarms (the security guards didn't like us calling them "rape alarms") that, at their most useful, are minature air horns. Although not terribly useful for the supposed purpose of attracting help, these can be sounded close to the attacker's ears, being very loud and startling. Like pepperspray, this is supposed to give you an opportunity to run away. Having played with them, I'm pretty sure that anyone having one sounded in their ears is going to feel some pain and alarm. 86.178.228.18 (talk) 20:27, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- You can buy pepper spray as "Squirrel Stop" in litre containers in garden centres. It is not pressurized. You can then decant some into a cologne spray to carry in your pocket. (It would presumably then be illegal.) Alternatively I have heard of people keeping loose pepper or chilli powder in their pocket which they could throw at an assailant's face.--Shantavira|feed me 07:05, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Heh. I'm now imagining someone walking through a park late at night when an assailant leaps out. Person holds out a jalapeño, "Here, eat this!". FiggyBee (talk) 07:32, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- You can buy pepper spray as "Squirrel Stop" in litre containers in garden centres. It is not pressurized. You can then decant some into a cologne spray to carry in your pocket. (It would presumably then be illegal.) Alternatively I have heard of people keeping loose pepper or chilli powder in their pocket which they could throw at an assailant's face.--Shantavira|feed me 07:05, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Alternatively, many places hand out attack alarms/rape alarms (the security guards didn't like us calling them "rape alarms") that, at their most useful, are minature air horns. Although not terribly useful for the supposed purpose of attracting help, these can be sounded close to the attacker's ears, being very loud and startling. Like pepperspray, this is supposed to give you an opportunity to run away. Having played with them, I'm pretty sure that anyone having one sounded in their ears is going to feel some pain and alarm. 86.178.228.18 (talk) 20:27, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Bertrand Gachot was jailed for two months for using CS spray, so you would risk imprisonment for using as a weapon any of the sprays described here. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:54, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- This is exactly why I repeated the advice I'd been given by the head of security at my workplace, to carry a cologne spray: as I'm female, it would be deemed an appropriate article to be carried by a woman and so would not be classed as an offensive weapon. Clearer? --TammyMoet (talk) 11:34, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
3. How long can your average spider go without food? I know snakes can go months, but there is the same spider in my bathroom, and while always in the same place but never in the same position, so its alive, but there is never anything in the web, and i doubt its gets food often if ever. how long can it live, its been months now, I am almost tempted to give it something to eat. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 10:55, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- I don't know about spiders - but we too often judge food requirements by our own standards. We (being active, warm-blooded animals) need food almost constantly. Cockroaches can survive for three months without food and one month without water - I suspect your spider (which probably just sits dead still for days at a time) is at least as capable. Even quite large animals can go for a long time without eating. Crocodiles and some snakes can last for six to eight months without food, Emperor Penguins can go for over three months in arctic conditions without eating. If you don't have to generate body heat - and if you don't run around a lot - you can last a long time on very little indeed. So don't worry - your spider is probably doing just fine. SteveBaker (talk) 13:57, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The warm-blooded/cold-blooded dichotomy is deprecated since it is more complicated that that in reality but, in simple terms, aren't birds (including penguins) warm-blooded? --Tango (talk) 15:14, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yes, but I'm guessing that their adaptations to the extreme cold means they lose (and thus, need to produce) a lot less heat. The feathers and the group huddling, for example. They also look quite tubby for birds - more fat would mean more insulation - though that one's not in the article, so I'm not sure. Vimescarrot (talk) 18:23, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The current issue of the Cousteau Kids magazine discusses penguins. Unfortunately, it does not address the specific question of how they go without food for periods of time. But one thing it mentions is that they can stand stock still for days while sheltering/warming an egg. I imagine that tends to conserve energy. Penguins have such a thick coat of feathers, which in turn are coated with oil from preening, that they are practically impervious to the cold. So much so, that their "bare" feet are needed to dissipate extra body heat. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:18, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Those adaptations mean they don't lose more heat than birds in warmer climates, but do they mean they lose less? --Tango (talk) 22:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The Cousteau publication doesn't say anything about blubber, but it does say they have "heavier" (which I take to mean "denser") bones, which is part of why they can't fly. Maybe that's also connected with their ability to retain heat? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:36, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Yes, but I'm guessing that their adaptations to the extreme cold means they lose (and thus, need to produce) a lot less heat. The feathers and the group huddling, for example. They also look quite tubby for birds - more fat would mean more insulation - though that one's not in the article, so I'm not sure. Vimescarrot (talk) 18:23, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- The warm-blooded/cold-blooded dichotomy is deprecated since it is more complicated that that in reality but, in simple terms, aren't birds (including penguins) warm-blooded? --Tango (talk) 15:14, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Robinson Crusoe
In the original book, I seem to remember that he tried to cut down a tree, that took him ages, and later discovered that it was an...iron wood tree and so was very hard, he later chose not to use these trees, he later then found a use for these trees, what was the name of this type of tree, does it really exist, and do we have an article on it? I may have been metal wood tree, or iron wood tree. Also, I cannot find our article on Red Wood Tree please help thx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 11:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- We have an article Ironwood - which says that there are several dozen different kinds of tree that are commonly called "Ironwood" - so this is more of a generic term for any exceptionally hard wood. I can attest to the toughness of some of these species though. Here in Texas, the Bodark tree is amazingly hard. We had a gigantic one slap bang in the middle of where our house was to be built. Our builder blunted two brand new chainsaw blades and needed three gallons of gasoline to cut it down and remove the larger branches! You'd certainly be there a very long time with a hand-axe. The remaining stump had to be removed with dynamite! The resulting bright yellow wood is extremely heavy and doesn't seem to rot. On that basis, I wanted to make a bench for the back yard out of the main log - but after my efforts to cut it (first with a hand axe - then with my chainsaw) met with no more success than the builder had with his, I gave up, removed the bark - and we just sit on the log! SteveBaker (talk) 14:12, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Additional Ironwood question, what is the species in Hawaii called ironwood? Googlemeister (talk) 19:32, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- According to this[22] site it can be one of several Casuarina sp. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 21:26, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- For "Red Wood Tree", see Redwood. Alansplodge (talk) 11:42, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- According to this[22] site it can be one of several Casuarina sp. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 21:26, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- Additional Ironwood question, what is the species in Hawaii called ironwood? Googlemeister (talk) 19:32, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- We have an article Ironwood - which says that there are several dozen different kinds of tree that are commonly called "Ironwood" - so this is more of a generic term for any exceptionally hard wood. I can attest to the toughness of some of these species though. Here in Texas, the Bodark tree is amazingly hard. We had a gigantic one slap bang in the middle of where our house was to be built. Our builder blunted two brand new chainsaw blades and needed three gallons of gasoline to cut it down and remove the larger branches! You'd certainly be there a very long time with a hand-axe. The remaining stump had to be removed with dynamite! The resulting bright yellow wood is extremely heavy and doesn't seem to rot. On that basis, I wanted to make a bench for the back yard out of the main log - but after my efforts to cut it (first with a hand axe - then with my chainsaw) met with no more success than the builder had with his, I gave up, removed the bark - and we just sit on the log! SteveBaker (talk) 14:12, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
Arteries and Veins
What are the differences between arteries and veins? —Preceding unsigned comment added by ASSG (talk • contribs) 20:33, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- See artery and vein. Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:53, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
The main difference is that arteries carry blood away from the heart and veins carry blood towards the heart. 82.43.89.71 (talk) 21:28, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
- That would be a physiologic difference, but it wouldn't help you if the cross-section of the vessel in question in on a slide. Anatomically, arteries and veins differ in their muscle layers, with the former having muscle tissue contribute more to the thickness of the vessel wall. DRosenbach (Talk | Contribs) 16:51, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
May 4
poem possibly titled Sand
The Pennsylvania Railroad had a handbook which had a beautiful poem either in the front or badk. I read it in my fathers book. He died nin 1948. They read it at his funeral and I want it read at mine. I can not find the poem anywhere. It tells in verse, to always carry a load of sand for slipery times. Like they used when the train was climbing a steep grade. Then they threw sand on the tracks to give the wheels traction. I would love a copy. thanksBarbaraclaycomb (talk) 00:06, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- I suggest you make contact with the person running the Pennsylvania Railroad fansite, since he may recall the content of the many booklets he's scanned. --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:13, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- How about:
- The Locomotive (Author unknown)
- (in memory of Russell Land – his favourite poem)
- It appears the locomotive
- Cannot always get a grip
- On the slender iron pavement
- ‘Cause the wheels are apt to slip
- And when they reach a slippery spot
- The tactic they command
- To get a grip upon the rail
- Is to sprinkle it with sand
- That’s about the way with travel
- Along life’s slippery track
- If your load is rather heavy
- And you’re always slipping back
- So if a locomotive
- You completely understand
- You’ll provide yourself in starting with
- A good supply of sand!
- SteveBaker (talk) 01:31, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- And the nature of your google-fu on this occasion was? --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:40, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Luck! On about my fifth try, I typed "slippery sand railroad" in to Google and nailed it! (Um - I guess I'm supposed to make it look arcane and difficult - right?) - it was on the site of some old people's home - where I guess it had been read at someone's funeral. SteveBaker (talk) 01:43, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Hmmmm - now I have a decent chunk of the poem - I googled several entire lines of the poem - and found a bunch of sites that quote it. I found the poem at another place that says the title is "Sand" and adds a bunch of extra verses: Sadly, because it was a Google books search, I can't cut and paste it - so click: HERE to read it all. SteveBaker (talk) 01:40, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Or here if you;re a UKian frustrated by google's refusal to serve brits with the same content they serve to USians. Good find, Steve. --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:56, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- And at THIS LINK it attributes the poem to "Mrs Fred Peterson (St Petersberg)"..this one is different yet again!
- The problem here is not finding the poem - it's finding the true/original version of it! No two places I've found it at have had the exact same set of verses! SteveBaker (talk) 01:57, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Steve's cite was from 1900, with no author cited. The one which attributes it to "Mrs. Fred Peterson" is from a 1979 newspaper, and it is quite possible that she was just the contributor to the paper of an old anonymous poem, rather than the original pre-1900 author. This citation is from an 1899 book and attributes it to "E.P. Walling." Edison (talk) 15:12, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
stx38 John Deere
Where is the neutral starter switch located on a John Deere stx38 lawn tractorTommy261 (talk) 00:10, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- This forum post says it's under the floorboards by where the brake pedal goes through...which kinda makes sense. SteveBaker (talk) 01:06, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Poetry
I've amassed a rather large collection of poems over the years, some good, some bad -- I recall there being ways for people to publish their prose and possibly make a buck or two off of it (I write for the sake of writing, but I certainly wouldn't mind financial help), but I've never figured out how (short of actually publishing a full book, which I've not the time, resources, or talent to do)... So: does anyone know of any viable publications where one can send poems? Magazines, books, newspapers -- anything? I've asked the almighty Google before, but 99% of what I found was obvious scam artistry, and the other percentage was shady, at best. I hadn't even considered the possibility until an English teacher of mine talked a few years back about some poems he had published once. --72.175.191.53 (talk) 02:19, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Poetry (magazine) used to be a fairly small, niche, publication until they received a huge financial endowment in the will of a very wealthy widow. See also Category:Poetry literary magazines. --Jayron32 02:41, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Ah, thank you very much. I've submitted a few I believe to be worth reading, so we'll see how it goes. --72.175.191.53 (talk) 03:11, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
gas/oil mix ratio club car golf cart
Hello. I recently acquired a 1988 Club Car golf cart and would like to know the proper gas to oil ratio for it. The former owner didn't even know. I know it has a Kawasaki 9 horsepower 2-cycle engine. I imagine it to be somewhere between 24:1 to 50:1. Thanks in advance--Mark12.179.40.184 (talk) 03:11, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
can you live off bonds?
I had a talk with an officemate regarding financial security at a late age. She said that bonds would be my best bet and/or stocks. The question is, can you live off bonds? I mean can you collect monthly interest off it, re-invest the capital in bonds, and live a modest life? If so, what kind of bonds would be the best to invest on? I won't ask how much you need to do a sustained bond earning since I don't know if the variables in the Philippine economy is that stable.---121.54.2.188 (talk) 05:05, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- It is pretty easy to do the math. US Treasury 10 year bonds have recently yielded around 3.7%. If you invest US$1 million in such bonds, you'll get paid US$37,000 per year by the US Treasury, and then you get the US$1 million back at the end of the 10 years. I don't know anything at all about bonds in the Philippines, so you'll have to consult a local expert; but if you can look up the interest rates of the safest available bonds, then you can do the math yourself, similarly. Comet Tuttle (talk) 05:40, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Bonds wise yes you can theoretically take an income. You can use things such as 'automatic partial withdrawls' to regularly pull money from the bond, but a key thing is understanding how much you'd need 'in' the bond (or how rapidly it would need to be growing) for you to be able to live off of it. In terms of which is a 'bet' then you need to seek financial advice. You will often be told to invest in more volatile investments when you are a long way from retirement (as time should smooth the peaks/troughs and result in good growth) but then to move to less volatile areas when you near retirement (as you should've built up a pot and then want to protect it more, rather than risk it). Individual cirumcstances affect this enormously so take it with a pinch of salt and see a financial adviser. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 08:14, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Not over the long term because bonds don't protect you against inflation. That's the main reason for including some stocks in your portfolio. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 12:54, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- This sort of comment is one reason why it's a good idea to talk to a qualified, compentent, experienced financial advisor instead of the blokes from work — or random people on the internet. Have a quick look at Bond (finance) to get some idea of the breadth of the topic, and remember that 'bonds' include government issues (your mational government as well as – in many cases – regional and local levels) and corporate bonds. Interest can be paid in many different ways on many different timelines; rates can be fixed or floating; bonds can be purchased at issue and held until maturity, but they can also be traded in an assortment of ways. (To respond to Zain's comment above, a number of governments issue inflation linked bonds.)
- Planning for one's retirement is a task that does require a certain amount of time, attention, and skill. You're unlikely to find useful information in a general forum such as this one, particularly if you're looking for Philippines-specific advice. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 13:22, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- To add to the complexity of this, financial advisors tend to offer advice based on how assets have performed in the past. Sometimes, they pay attention only to the recent past, such as the past 10 or 20 years. At best, they might look at performance over the past 50-80 years. Hardly any mainstream financial advisors consider the possibility that the future may not look like the past and that investments that have been secure in the past may not be secure in the future. With government bonds, there is a risk of sovereign bond default. A number of observers have identified the possibility of a sovereign debt crisis leading to defaults across the developed world. The recent situation in Greece, where default has been put off if not prevented, may be a harbinger of similar crises in other countries, including even possibly the United States. See, for example, this report. If such defaults do occur, then bonds would not be a safe retirement investment. But then, nothing is certain, and it may not be possible to identify a "safe" investment in today's world. Marco polo (talk) 15:51, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Hello, what is a "snake fence" ? and "run" ?
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Union_breastworks_Culp%27s_Hill_Gettysburg.jpg/220px-Union_breastworks_Culp%27s_Hill_Gettysburg.jpg)
I'm reading now Arthur Fremantle 's "Diary" to sum it up in the french article I'm now completing, and 2 words are puzzling me. They are on " july 3rd, 1863" page, after the Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg.
Could you explain me :
- what is a "snake-fence" . Fremantle writes : " Longstreet was seated at the top of a snake fence at the edge of the wood, and looking perfectly calm and imperturbed". Is it a snake-proof fence ? If so, are snakes so obnoxious in Gettysburg that they must be kept away by fences? Or is "snake" ment for evil people (like in "copperheads") who must be kept out , or is it a barricade built up by soldiers against ennemy's charges ? Or is it a fence winding away like a snake ? .
- what is the "run" spirit Fremantle offered to Longstreet in his silver flask : "He (Longstreet) asked for something to drink: I gave him some run out of my silver flask, which I begged he would keep in remembrance of the occasion; he smiled, and, to my great satisfaction, accepted the memorial.". Is it "rum"? .
Thanks a lot beforehand I just hope I'll be able to find my way back to that rubrique.... T.y. Arapaima (talk) 07:44, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- According to the OED a snake fence is "a fence made of roughly split rails or poles laid in a zigzag fashion."--Shantavira|feed me 11:49, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Something like an abatis? By the way, Abatis is so scanty of information mentioning nothing about the Russian abatis fortification against Tartars. 117.204.83.25 (talk) 12:42, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- A quick google for "my silver flask, which I begged" shows in a couple of google book sources that it is rum. meltBanana 13:00, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Here's a snake fence. Buddy431 (talk) 13:24, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Just to be clear, a snake fence isn't any sort of fortification. It's just a type of boundary or enclosure fence that can be constructed from rails without nails or other sorts of fasteners. The zigzag pattern keeps it from falling over. The one on which Longstreet sat was almot certainly a preexisting feature of the Gettysburg landscape. Deor (talk) 17:15, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- It is also called a "rail fence", and gave its name to the Rail Fence Cipher. --Anonymous, 05:33 UTC, May 5, 2010.
- Split-rail fence? Although the fence in the photo doesn't look quite like a split-rail fence to me. Pfly (talk) 08:36, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- It is also called a "rail fence", and gave its name to the Rail Fence Cipher. --Anonymous, 05:33 UTC, May 5, 2010.
- Just to be clear, a snake fence isn't any sort of fortification. It's just a type of boundary or enclosure fence that can be constructed from rails without nails or other sorts of fasteners. The zigzag pattern keeps it from falling over. The one on which Longstreet sat was almot certainly a preexisting feature of the Gettysburg landscape. Deor (talk) 17:15, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Here's a snake fence. Buddy431 (talk) 13:24, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
GCSE exams in England this winter
Anyone know which GCSE subjects I could do as a private candidate in November 2010, and if it's more difficult to arrange than in the summer? Looks like I'm too late for the summer exam sittings. I have found the private candidate pages on the exam board websites, but I'm a bit confused by the jargon and different types of exam. How many exam papers are there, for example, if I don't do coursework? I'm English myself but went to school abroad and never took GCSEs. Didn't think I needed them, until last week a Manpower consultant told me many employers automatically throw away job applications from people without 5 GCSE passes, regardless of their other qualifications! So I'd like to do at least English, Maths and some kind of Science (there are various science options which I didn't figure out yet) as soon as... thanks! 81.153.237.194 (talk) 12:44, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- If you're in the UK (and it sounds like you are) I'd say don't take this "consultant"'s word for it. If you're under 19, find your local Connexions service. There's this website [23] which should cater for adults, and they have a contact us facility so I suggest you use this to confirm (or otherwise) the advice you've been given. --TammyMoet (talk) 14:22, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks Tammy, I will definitely check out your site. I'm still interested in doing the exams though, unless they are really expensive or hard to arrange. Do you know how many exam papers there are in a normal GCSE? Seems to be too simple a question for the exam boards' sites to answer... 8-) 81.155.57.153 (talk) 16:18, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Now that depends on the subject. I don't think there are any that only have one paper: most of them I think have two: and others will have theory and practical papers. Over the past few years, there has been a move towards assessed coursework as part of the final assessment. If this is the case, you basically wouldn't be able to pass a GCSE on exams alone. However, there are many colleges who do GCSEs by open or distance learning over a year. You may even be able to find summer schools offering tuition this summer. (Please note I'm not a teacher at the moment so my info may be a few years out of date.) As to when the November dates are, this site should be able to help you. [24] --TammyMoet (talk) 17:16, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks Tammy, I will definitely check out your site. I'm still interested in doing the exams though, unless they are really expensive or hard to arrange. Do you know how many exam papers there are in a normal GCSE? Seems to be too simple a question for the exam boards' sites to answer... 8-) 81.155.57.153 (talk) 16:18, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Dormitory accommodation
What's the protocol when sharing dormitory-type accommodation. Is it acceptable to undress entirely when going to bed? I'm assuming dormitory accommodation (eg hostels) is normally single-sex only, but are there mixed examples? --rossb (talk) 12:49, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- (This answer is from my experience in US female dormitories; other countries may be different). If you're talking about undressing to put on pajamas, it's acceptable to undress to your underpants, though it's good manners to turn away from other inhabitants. Underpants are generally changed when dressing after a shower, where there is more privacy. If you're talking about sleeping naked... this would be very problematic in any college dorm or hostel I've ever stayed in. While you're sleeping, you should be wearing at minimum (for women) a shirt and shorts or pajama pants, and (for men) shorts or pajama pants. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 13:39, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- My experience with dormitory-type accommodation (specifically youth hostels in Europe) is now about 25 years old, but at that time, I never experienced a mixed-sex dormitory, only male dormitories. In male dormitories, some people were more modest than others, but it was acceptable to be completely naked both to change and to sleep (inside the sleep sack). If you slept naked, though, you'd dress as soon as you woke up. People certainly did not parade around naked. Even when walking between the bedroom and the shower, a person would cover up at least with a towel. I'd say that most men did not sleep naked, but probably most were briefly naked while changing, facing away from the rest of the room. In general, most males would try to show modesty, but not to the point of avoiding nakedness when it would be cumbersome to do so. If I were planning a trip now, more than 20 years later, I'd plan to pack a pair of shorts to wear in bed and/or to and from the shower just in case modesty is more extreme now than it was then. If it turns out you don't need them for that purpose, you can always use them for swimming or something. Marco polo (talk) 15:38, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- I've stayed at quite a few hostels in Europe, and only some of the official IYHF places had same-sex dorms. All the private city centre hostels were mixed. Anyway, I haven't noticed anyone sleeping nude. People changed in the shower room and slept in at least a tshirt and underpants. 81.155.57.153 (talk) 16:25, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- My experience with dormitory-type accommodation (specifically youth hostels in Europe) is now about 25 years old, but at that time, I never experienced a mixed-sex dormitory, only male dormitories. In male dormitories, some people were more modest than others, but it was acceptable to be completely naked both to change and to sleep (inside the sleep sack). If you slept naked, though, you'd dress as soon as you woke up. People certainly did not parade around naked. Even when walking between the bedroom and the shower, a person would cover up at least with a towel. I'd say that most men did not sleep naked, but probably most were briefly naked while changing, facing away from the rest of the room. In general, most males would try to show modesty, but not to the point of avoiding nakedness when it would be cumbersome to do so. If I were planning a trip now, more than 20 years later, I'd plan to pack a pair of shorts to wear in bed and/or to and from the shower just in case modesty is more extreme now than it was then. If it turns out you don't need them for that purpose, you can always use them for swimming or something. Marco polo (talk) 15:38, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- That rather depends on the type of hostel and the country it's in. In my (extensive) experience, Youth Hostels are stricter in their rules, especially in the US. I don't know if they have any rules about this, but the sort of people who attend them might be more likely to mind nudity (again, especially in the US). Then again, they're often single-sex, so that should solve that. Not sure though, since I spent as few nights in them as possible. Except for the ones in rural areas, which are often in beautiful locations and vary hugely in style, depending on the manager. I prefer to sleep in so-called Backpackers' Hostels (which are really just hostels, but the name is meant to more clearly distinguish them from Youth Hostels). There, mixed-sex dorms are quite common, and of course that limits the acceptability of nudity much more. In single-sex Backpackers' dorms I think few people would mind nudity just to change your clothes, although prancing around might raise some eyebrows. However, I've never seen that happen and any nudity is normally brief and not an issue. I can't remember ever seeing anyone sleep in the nude, but then again since I wouldn't mind, I wouldn't take note, so I may have just forgotten. I don't think anyone would mind.
- Btw, there's a third kind of dorm, which I like to frequent (especially in New Zealand): back-country hiking huts. There, nudity is much less of a problem (despite being mixed-sex) because the situation is more 'primitive' (closer to nature anyway :) ). But since they're often cold, it is also not likely to last very long. :) DirkvdM (talk) 18:54, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- All very interesting. Back in my day, there were few hostels other than the IYHF hostels. I remember a handful in Athens and Amsterdam. Even those did not have mixed-sex dorms back then. I don't think women would have felt comfortable with them. It makes sense that people would cover up more in a mixed-sex dorm. Marco polo (talk) 20:00, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
laptop
hi....... I have a retail shop,I want to bye a laptop for maintaining stock in my show room and billing in my shop. any laptop can perform 12 hours in a day .please suggest me can I used laptop for such a long hours or I used pc.Supriyochowdhury (talk) 12:54, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Unless your retail shop doesn't have mains power, both a laptop and a pc can be plugged into the mains electricity and run pretty much forever (not including power-cuts.) If you are in an area where there isn't mains power, or there are likely to be lots of power-cuts, a laptop will continue running for maybe 6 or so hours on it's battery, whereas a pc will be unusable during the power outage. 82.43.89.71 (talk) 14:30, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Regular contributor 82.43.89.71 did you mean to type "on its battery" ? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 21:52, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- If you expect to be without mains power for extended periods of time, you can also purchase more than one battery for your laptop. (Though for most machines you will need to be able to plug the laptop into mains power – or shut it down briefly – whenever you switch batteries.) Battery life varies from laptop to laptop. Generally larger displays with brighter backlights will shorten battery life. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:44, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- An uninterruptible power supply is also an option, if you are concerned about intermittent power. -- 174.21.225.115 (talk) 15:34, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
'Popsicle'
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fb/Yes_check.svg/20px-Yes_check.svg.png)
Hi. I'm looking for the name of the wooden popsicle-like thing doctors use to push down the bottom of the mouth when they are examining it. Cuban Cigar (talk) 12:59, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- ...or as some comedian called it "an ahh stick".--Artjo (talk) 22:10, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
That's exactly what it is. Thanks =)114.77.47.75 (talk) 01:37, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
Soccer Record
Hi... Just curious and can't find any meaningful answer on google... My football team (called it soccer in the title for any US editors reading this) Swansea City FC have just finished the 46 game season having scored just 40 goals... It's this season's lowest scoring team, but I was just wondering what the record is for lowest scoring team... I know there are many leagues, so I'm talking just the main English Leagues (Premiership, Championship, Leagues 1 & 2)... Just wondering if there are any other teams over a 46 (roughly) game season that have scored less goals? Just to try and ease the annoyance...
Thanks! Gazhiley (talk) 13:59, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- The article Football records in England provides the answer: 18 by Loughborough in the Second Division, 1899–1900, in a season of 34 games is the fewest goals ever scored in an English League season. No doubt there are more scores in between 18 and 40 over the intervening century! FiggyBee (talk) 14:14, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Sweet... That over a 46 game season works out as just over 25 goals, so I feel a bit better now... Thanks! Gazhiley (talk) 14:47, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Swansea's achievement this season is actually rather impressive, I think - when you consider that the 18-goal Loughborough that was mentioned there lost the league in extreme style, winning only one game and conceding 100 goals. Swansea, on the other hand, came 7th and very nearly made the playoffs thanks to conceding very few goals too. If the Championship was ranked on goals scored, they'd have been 24th, but if it was on goals conceded, they'd be 2nd. ~ mazca talk 15:52, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- True, and I am proud of that... But the reason we were 7th not 6th is the inability to put the inflated pig's bladder into the over-sized onion bag on a few more occasions... Gazhiley (talk) 21:38, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Swansea's achievement this season is actually rather impressive, I think - when you consider that the 18-goal Loughborough that was mentioned there lost the league in extreme style, winning only one game and conceding 100 goals. Swansea, on the other hand, came 7th and very nearly made the playoffs thanks to conceding very few goals too. If the Championship was ranked on goals scored, they'd have been 24th, but if it was on goals conceded, they'd be 2nd. ~ mazca talk 15:52, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- If awarded losses count too, you may want to see the current Turkish championship season. --Магьосник (talk) 16:53, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Sweet... That over a 46 game season works out as just over 25 goals, so I feel a bit better now... Thanks! Gazhiley (talk) 14:47, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Derby County managed a mere 20 goals from 38 games in the 2007-2008 Premier League.--Frumpo (talk) 17:53, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- I know the question is specifically about English football, but Tasmania Berlin famously ended the 1965/66 Bundesliga season with a mere 15 goals from 34 matches. Tasmania only played at the top level because someone thought for political reasons Berlin must be represented and Hertha Berlin had just been relegated. That's what you get when politics interferes with football.213.160.108.26 (talk) 23:52, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- We have an article on Tasmania 1900 Berlin. Why a German football club would want to name itself after part of Australia is beyond me... FiggyBee (talk) 00:03, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- It's explained on the talk page. They even had a Tasmanian devil, of all things, as their early logo. (Mind you, Tasmania wasn't a part of Australia as such in 1900, except in a geographic sense; that occurred at federation in 1901. In 1900, it was still a British colony.) -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 01:00, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- We have an article on Tasmania 1900 Berlin. Why a German football club would want to name itself after part of Australia is beyond me... FiggyBee (talk) 00:03, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
size of foals
What is the average size of a Quarter Horse colt and Shetland pony filly at birth? It's for a school project and I cannot find the info anywhere online or in my books! Thanks! PrincessofLlyr royal court 15:28, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- This site (http://www.shetlandponies4sale.com/id31.html) says that they range in size from 12" to 20" at birth. No idea if that's average or based on any facts but it's a start. (I got to this by searching for shetland pony foal. ny156uk (talk) 12:13 pm, Today (UTC−5)
- Thanks so much! That helped. PrincessofLlyr royal court 17:22, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Gloria Allred
I'm confused. Isn't what Allred did to tiger and David Boreanaz called EXTORTION? How is it that she gets these sleazy clients and then demands money or the dirt gets publicized and doesn't get prosecuted? Is the D.A. her best buddy, or what? the guy who did it to david letterman went to jail. a example of what im talking about is here
http://www.tmz.com/2010/05/04/gloria-allred-attack-david-boreanaz-extortion/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tom12350 (talk • contribs) 15:10, 4 May 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sf5xeplus (talk • contribs)
- Is your question why Allred has not been prosecuted? If this became public knowledge yesterday, it may simply be too soon- if she broke the law, she may be prosecuted once the lawyers involved have a little more time to look at the evidence and decide the best course of action. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 15:56, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
she did the same with tiger woods and his girls. it was common knowledge and the law never cared. example
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20001577-504083.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tom12350 (talk • contribs) 17:29, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- It is an interesting question. Demanding cash for silence is blackmail, but in a case where the victim and the blackmailer both got what they want, neither is going to talk to the police and present evidence of the blackmail. Without anyone to press charges, the prosecutor probably lacks evidence to charge the blackmailer with a crime. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:45, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
yes but why would a lawyer agree to help blackmail if they know its illegal. why would they risk it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tom12350 (talk • contribs) 18:45, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- $$$ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Googlemeister (talk • contribs) 19:23, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Often — not necessarily in these cases, but often — it's because the lawyer is comfortable in a particular gray area of the law. Most tort lawsuits end in a settlement where one person ("A") pays another ("B") in order to stop a lawsuit. In cases where A did something harmful to B, and the allegation itself would damage A's credibility publicly, A really, really wants to settle the case before the allegations are made public. This is a gray area and it sounds a lot like blackmail, and it could be in some places, depending on the exact definition of blackmail. In general, if B says to A, "Pay me $5 million or I will tell everyone what you did to me," that's different than B saying to A, "I am going to sue you for $5 million for the harm you did to me" and then negotiating a settlement with a confidentiality agreement attached. That said, I don't know anything about the specific two cases you linked to, and don't know what harm might have befallen each "B" in those cases. Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:37, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
how is that different from the guy who did it to david letterman and went to jail. example
http://www.tmz.com/2010/05/04/david-letterman-extortionist-robert-halderman-sentenced-jail/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tom12350 (talk • contribs) 20:51, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- According to our Joe Halderman article, Halderman told Letterman that he would expose Letterman's affair if Letterman didn't pay Halderman $2 million. This is simple blackmail, which is different from Halderman telling Letterman that Letterman had caused damage to Halderman in some way, and that Halderman was intending to sue Letterman for damages, and that he (Halderman) wanted $2 million to settle the lawsuit. It's pretty close, isn't it. Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:50, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
IP Blocks
I enjoy trivia about anti-vandalism, so what's the longest time that an IP has ever been blocked from Wikipedia? 2D Backfire Master pretzels rule 20:51, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Don't open proxies get banned forever? I've just noticed a vandal has been on my house connection today... living in hope that one incident is not enough for a ban :-o 81.155.57.153 (talk) 21:10, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- To 81.155: See WP:WHY. You can stop such problems forever. Your call. To 2D Backfire Master, see Category:Indefinitely blocked IP addresses. --Jayron32 21:27, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
- Note that an indefinite ban is not a permanent ban or 'banned forever'. An open proxy for example would be blocked as long as it's an open proxy. But if the person in control of the IP removes the open proxy, the block would almost definitely be lifted if they make a request. If the problem is persistent vandalism, if the person says they will no longer vandalise or they're sure no one behind the IP will vandalise or whatever, the blocked is likely to be lifted albeit with a low tolerance for any futher misbehaviour. In terms of the longest time, I guess you'd have to find a way to find the oldest IP which remains blocked. However I don't know if it means much. As I've already mentioned, they could be unblocked at any time, it may just be no one asked. Further, I suspect several cases they shouldn't have been indefinitely blocked anyway, Wikipedia:Blocking IP addresses#Indefinite blocks strongly discourages it even for open proxies (see the section above the one I linked to as well). For example I just removed an indef block tag from a user page of a no longer blocked IP User:24.205.30.158, from what I can tell no one requested it be unblocked (it hasn't contributed since it was blocked), simply somene noticed it and decided it shouldn't have been indefinitely blocked. Or another example, User:78.129.201.189 blocked for one year then 5 years as a TOR exit node. Nil Einne (talk) 00:56, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
May 5
the 5 string fiddle
Who first invented it and where?99.20.93.204 (talk) 05:02, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- Does the vielle count? PhGustaf (talk) 05:06, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
Kilgore Trout
I was just reading about Kurt Vonnegut and his character Kilgore Trout. It says in the article that the name derives from Theodore Sturgeon and the name.... was a transparent reference to the older writer (substituting "Kilgore" for "Theodore" and "Trout" for "Sturgeon").... I understand the fish reference, but what's the Kilgore/Theodore link?91.111.86.2 (talk) 06:59, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- Probably just that they sound similar. Not too much rhymes with Theodore... "evermore" ... 218.25.32.210 (talk) 09:06, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
A Good Night's Sleep
I have been feeling miserable for the past few days, with a near constant cough and runny nose. However, I seem to be able to sleep soundly at night. I don't remember waking up to cough or blow my nose at all. Given the fact that I am just as sick at night as I am during the day, how is this possible? Hemoroid Agastordoff (talk) 08:02, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
- We've previously covered this topic, here: Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Science/2009_September_21#Why_don.27t_I_sneeze_when_I.27m_asleep.3F. StuRat (talk) 08:28, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
I was reading the article on Diane de Poitier yesterday where it stated that she was educated in the humanist movement, however when searching for our article on this movement later, i came across the page that I have linked to above. This is obviously not the correct article as the article mentioned as an educational model in the 15th centurey as it states it is a movement started in the 60's. I would be very curious to read the article on the medival education. Please can some one help me find the article and also fix the redirect or create a disambigous page for the two. Thank you