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June 21

New type of high-heel shoes?

I've been having a chuckle over some awkward family photos and came across this entry. It appears as though there's some sort of toe coming off the back of the shoe that is taking the place of a standard high-heel. Is this actually how the shoe is built? Maybe some sort of specialty shoe to accentuate the look of her leg while not having a stiletto heel? Or is this a sandal with some piece of material on the floor? Dismas|^(talk) 05:25, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

They appear to be a sort of 'Cantilever heel'. I searched on google for that and found (http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/30655) but can't find anything that says they're specifically called that (I also found a number of images on google-image with a search 'inverted heel' and found a blog mentioning them in 2007 (http://shoesmitten.com/blog/?tag=inverted-heel). ny156uk (talk) 08:33, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Interesting design. It seems like they'd be even more uncomfortable than regular high heels though. Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 09:43, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Posh Spice once wore heel-less boots like that without even the cantilever. I suppose she had to lean forward all the time. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1063083/Beckham-mania-Poshs-heel-thigh-high-PVC-boots-stop-traffic-New-York.html 92.24.176.41 (talk) 10:28, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I spotted this style with the same type of heel in a shoe shop just a couple of weeks ago, and was also intrigued. An assistant told me they were 'surprisingly comfortable' to wear, but comfort is relative where women's shoes are concerned, in my experience. Karenjc 15:45, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I somehow doubt that woman is all that concerned about the comfort of her shoes, there. however, I can see the advantages of a shoe like that; it would take away the heel pressure of a normal step in high-heeled shoes (where the first impact of the foot goes straight to the heel) and distribute it more naturally into the arch of the foot. I think we need to find a physicist with a foot fetish to study this in detail. --Ludwigs2 18:01, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

But in my experience, it isn't the heel that gets most tired and sore wearing heels: it's the ball of the foot. And the available gelpads for party shoes in Boots seem to confirm this. I would expect this design to make that worse, as well as being quite clumpy and inflexible when walking. 86.164.66.4 (talk) 17:16, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

New York Times Obituaries

Hi there, I am interested in reading a New York Times obituary in the 1970s. A simple google search doesn't bring up anything. What would be the easiest way to read it? I would prefer it to be free.

Thanks in advance, 110.174.151.109 (talk) 06:33, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Try putting in a request here, a very useful page where Wikipedia editors with access to paid-for resources will try and help. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 08:12, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

There's also Google News Archive Search, which includes New York Times articles over the whole history of the paper. However, they are not free. And if by "obituary" you actually mean a paid death notice, I don't know if those are included. --Anonymous, 06:04 UTC, June, 22, 2010.

No, an obituary is a short biography of a prominent, recently died person printed in a newspaper. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 07:34, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

"You" meant the original poster. Not everyone makes that distinction. --Anon, 21:24 UTC, June 22, 2010.

(ahem) Then you really ought to have indented your post at the same level as Viennese Waltz's and no further. Further indenting as you did means you were actually replying to Viennese Waltz, not to the OP, hence "you" could not refer to the OP. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 20:28, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

True, but "also" was in reply to Waltz. No win. --Anon, 06:15 UTC, June 24, 2010.

Well, the person in question would have been quite prominent- maybe even a front page(?) obituary or at least quite big. 110.174.151.109 (talk) 09:45, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Why not just give us the name here? It would simplify things. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 14:48, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

The New York Times' archive is here. As noted above, it may cost you a few bucks to actually read the article. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 22:25, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Birds and Fish Bones

While watching this video with the penguin swallowing that large fish whole I began to wonder - what do penguins and birds in general do with the bones? How is their digestive system adapted to digest bones? Won't the bones puncture things on the way? --antilived^{T | C | G} 09:06, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Many people, myself included, feed their dogs a raw diet of chicken. This includes chicken bones. The dogs are able to digest what they can and what comes out does not resemble bone fragments at all. While not the same since dogs chew their food more than birds do, it demonstrates that bone is digestible. If you're wondering, we get a 50 lb box of chicken backs (all the breasts, legs, etc. for human consumption have been trimmed off and what's left is the back and rib cage) and bag them up for daily meals. Dismas|^(talk) 09:27, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Owls regularly regurgitate a pellet of undigestable leftovers[1]. Not sure about penguins though. Alansplodge (talk) 12:15, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

This page describes penguin digestion. The esophagus and proventriculus (something like the stomach) of the penguin have tough muscular walls that can deal with the rough edges of a whole fish. The proventriculus secretes acids that break down and soften the hard parts of the fish. The partly broken-down and softened fish then enters the gizzard, where stones and the abrasive walls of the gizzard itself break the fish even further apart into safely digestible bits. By this time, the bones are ground down and softened so that they can be at least partly digested in the intestine. Of course, what can't be digested is eliminated. Marco polo (talk) 13:52, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I used to have a Florida king snake -- but this will apply to all snakes -- I fed it live mice and what came out certainly didn't look like bone. But when one does histologic slides of hard tissue (bone, tooth), it must be decalicified. It can certainly be accommodated (if necessary) for the hard tissue to remain in the acidic portion of the digestive tract long enough to decalcify them. Whether or not that happens, I don't know, but it's not like it's some wild concept from an alien movie. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 02:17, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Tangle toy snake-y thing

Hi! Does anyone know of high-street British shops (as in, actual, physical shops) which sell this sort of stress-relieve-y-tangle-y-toy-thing? Thanks! ╟─TreasuryTag►Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster─╢ 14:32, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, there's the company's retailer list here [2] , but I couldn't tell you if any particular branch of a shop would stock them. I see you live in Greater London - you would be almost certain to get them at Harrods (as that is listed as a retailer and only has one store) or Hamleys' London store (since the store is massive and I would expect it to stock all of their lines). Equisetum (talk | email | contributions) 15:09, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

You could try www.hawkin.co.uk, because they have high street shops called "Hawkin's Bazaar", and your local branch could try and get it. --TammyMoet (talk) 15:32, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I agree with TammyMoet. I have seen products like that a few times before, and I think it's most likely to be sold by Hawkin's Bazaar. Chevymontecarlo 18:31, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

And if you're really cheap, order a free Quit Kit from the NHS which includes one. Nanonic (talk) 20:05, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I saw something that looked like a cross between that item and a Rubic's cube, in Poundland a few days ago. When I was a post-graduate student sitting at a desk writing for twelve hours a day, I bought similar toys myself. Or learn juggling perhaps. 92.15.27.255 (talk) 20:08, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Maybe the thing you saw was Rubik's Snake? --Viennese Waltz ^talk 07:39, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, probably. 92.15.17.9 (talk) 12:14, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Clothes made from Cryogenic Gloves

Would I be very warm under extreme temperatures (-50 C) if I was to fashion a winter coat made from the same material used in cryogenic gloves designed to handle Liquid nitrogen? [[3]] Acceptable (talk) 21:27, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Toasty warm. The gloves protect from -160 C. So, then, would the coat. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:41, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Blue hands and fingers all over you. Sounds kinky ;-) Dmcq (talk) 23:29, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

How much would that material cost though? Surely if it were cheap and easy, someone would have already done it? Or have you just discovered something great that noone has noticed before. In which case, get started on making them quickly before anyone else decides to try. 80.47.24.27 (talk) 16:12, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs

Who's the leader of the Pokémon Pinchers? Bulbapedia said that it is the Tea Party, but that was probably just some childish vandalism that didn't get removed before Bulbapedia was locked from editing. --75.25.103.109 (talk) 22:12, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Some old versions of the page says someone called "Red Eye" (example). Don't know if that means anything to you. Vimescarrot (talk) 10:53, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Look here: [4]--151.51.25.173 (talk) 18:08, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Tv / digi-box that will increase the 'size' of subtitles

My partner's grandma used to have a non-digital tv that had Teletext which she used for subtitles. On teletext you get the option to increase the font-size (it looks like it works as a basic zoom of the text rather than an increased font per-se). Anyhoo her new digital tv has subtitles, but we cannot find anyway to make them bigger. Is there any way to increase the size of subtitles on digital tvs/or any tvs that you're aware of that have this functionality? ny156uk (talk) 23:05, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

If the TV can't do it (I'm trusting you've already read the manual) you would need to find an external digital TV tuner with that option. There were millions of them sold - see if anyone you know has one and see if you can change the teletext size with it.--mboverload@ 09:34, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

There is a huge difference between the new digital teletext technology and the old analogue version, and I think it unlikely that larger subtitles will be available in the near future. On the plus side, you should find that the subtitle text is now much clearer than before, and the clarity of the text does vary from one set to another, so it would be worth shopping around and looking at new tv sets bearing that in mind.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 13:47, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

June 22

Copyright on MIDI music.

Suppose there is a piece of music that's LONG out of copyright - something composed in 1800 let's say. If someone published a music score on paper then the score itself could still be copyrighted - and also a MIDI file that someone put together would also be copyrighted. But if someone wanted to perform the piece from the sheet music - their performance wouldn't be covered by the copyright on the score they happen to use...right? So what about a performance from the MIDI-file? Is a sound file made by a computer processing the MIDI file covered by copyright that the author of the MIDI file has or not?

If the answer is "yes" - the copyright on the MIDI data applies to the performance of it - then what if I use a score-editing program to turn a paper score into a MIDI-file?

SteveBaker (talk) 00:54, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

With the obvious caveat that I am not a lawyer, law student, or anything of the like, I'd expect that Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service would provide a useful example of a similar case. If you're taking the sheet music and transposing it exactly into a MIDI format, then you probably don't meet any standard of originality and thus the MIDI file wouldn't be subject to copyright. However, a live performance all but certainly would be sufficiently original, as a human performer isn't going to be playing the music with machinelike precision. Similarly, subtle alterations in the MIDI file (altering tempo, redefining one of the instruments, what have you) could probably constitute originality. This leaves aside any issues of the copyright on the sheet music itself, and under what conditions that sheet music has been licensed -- that's well beyond anything I know about. — Lomn 01:31, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Searching for info on this turns up mostly the issue of using someone else's MIDI file. This book, for example, say that according to the U.S. Copyright Office, a standard MIDI file is a work of authorship copyrightable as a sound recording. Whether one can use of the MIDI file to print out sheet music is another issue. This book suggests the question has not been resolved, but that some licenses specifically deny persmission to print the MIDI data as sheet music. From what I can tell in my quick search, the question of whether a performance of a copyrighted MIDI file is covered by the copyright is something unresolved in U.S. law (but don't take my word for it--I only did a quick search). Your question, "what if I use a score-editing program to turn a paper score into a MIDI-file?" is a different issue. I couldn't find a source with this info, but I'm skeptical there would be a problem. Music notation does not indicate exactly how the music is to be performed--especially older long out of copyright music. Sheet music terms like espressivo, ritardando, etc, as well as dynamic markings like pp, p, mf, f, ff, etc, are vague and relative. Much is left to performance interpretation with common notation symbols like slurs, grace notes, accents, etc. So creating a MIDI file from sheet music necessarily involves interpreation and some degree of creativity--even if rendered as mechanically as possible, that it still an interpretation and likely not at all what the composer intended! Further, if the music itself is long out of copyright it should usually be possible to find out of copyright sheet music as well. And in any case, how would anyone know you made the MIDI file using sheet music instead of, say, working it out by ear? Sorry I have no definitive answer--just very skeptical on that one. Pfly (talk) 09:21, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Now here is an interesting question and a somewhat counterintuitive possibility: If I have a copy of an 1815 score of the Eroica, then both the music and the score are out of copyright. If I do a completely automatic translation into MIDI, the MIDI score should be without copyright as well - or is it? The program I use to interpret musical choices certainly has tunable parameters (how loud is fortissimo, how fast is allegro). Is their choice a creative act? What if I later use the same settings for the Nutcracker suite? On the other hand, if I listen to a performance and work the MIDI out from their, I'm probably infringing on the performers copyright. But am I again adding creativity, i.e. do I also have a copyright interest in the MIDI? What if I use a program that samples the recording and creates a MIDI file from that? Creative commons sure looks attractive ;-) --Stephan Schulz (talk) 10:01, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

So you're all essentially saying that creativity is the issue here?

Whether the MIDI file (or the paper score) is copyrightable depends on creativity put into it? So if I merely photocopy an original hand-written score by Mozart, then I don't have copyright on the photocopy - but if I beautify the score, lay it out more neatly, remove the crossings-out, etc - then I have copyright on my copy of the score - even though the actual notes on the stave and the annotations around it are identical to Mozart's. The same must be true for MIDI. The question is about the nature of the performance from those (potentially copyrighted) scores/MIDI. I don't think a pianist who plays music from a paper score and sells recordings of that music has to pay licensing fees to the person who printed the score since none of the creative cleanup of Mozart's original work ended up in his recording...right? The musician owns copyright on the recording because he used considerable creativity in playing it.

But when my computer automatically replays the MIDI file does the resulting audio stream have:

• Copyright owned by the creator of the MIDI file - because in transcribing the Mozart score into MIDI, some measure of creativity is implied...just as it was with the paper score transcription.
• Copyright ownership by the person who caused the MIDI file to be played on the computer.
• No copyright at all since zero creativity was added to what Mozart originally wrote - and that's out of copyright now.

How the heck are people supposed to avoid legal issues when the law is such a fuzzy mess?!?

SteveBaker (talk) 11:08, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, to some extent they're not. The technology enabling novel manipulations in this and many other fields advances much more quickly than the pace at which legislators can be expected to envisage and legislate for all possible resultant scenarios; the latter are more the province of science fiction authors. Instead, novel legal precedents are often created by legal cases over specific issues - see Case law. Sometimes a glaring lack of law appropriate to an area of newly developed possibilities will prompt a special effort to analyse and recommend on it - the Warnock Report (1984) (shockingly, no article) springs to mind - otherwise, the uncertainties that understandably annoy many of us (some more than others depending on personality and philosophy) is the price we pay for a dynamic society and the rich variety of human possibilities. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 15:07, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

But if you create the midi file then you can release all your rights (if any). Graeme Bartlett (talk) 11:26, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

The solution of course is to ask the legal department at the publisher, but I can save you some time: They will say, "There's no case law — there are risks — find another way." Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:26, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

A score published and copyrighted cannot be republished as a score; anything else you do with it is fine, so long as the music itself (as opposed to the score) isn't copyrighted. An arrangement is different; a MIDI file or anything else that duplicated a copyrighted arrangement would be in violation of copyright, if without permission. The MIDI file created from a score would be copyrightable, in and of itself, if it were performed and recorded, meaning republication of the recorded performance would be a violation; all "cover versions," that is, are copyrightable, whether as a MIDI file or a tape-cassette sitting next to the bar at an open mike night. As to who owns the copyright on the MIDI performance (the programmer or the "peformer") ... see you in court, partner. But I'd put my money on the programmer; when Henry James dictated his last novel, the typist didn't have a copyright claim ... and I'd bet the same principle applies here, unless in some way the "performing" of the program involved a creative contribution above rote machine-manipulation.63.17.50.124 (talk) 09:04, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

I think you are completely wrong here. A score published and copyrighted can cover "performance" rights. You cannot perform someone else's sheet music in public, for example, if it is copyrighted—the resulting performance, even though it contains much of the performer's creativity, is still a derivative work and a copyright violation if not within fair use constraints. See Copyright Basics. And your reasoning on as to whether creators or transcribers own the copyright is probably not correct either. Slavish copying of creative work does not generate copyright, as discussed earlier in this thread (see Feist v. Rural). Recording someone performing (however recorded) does not give a copyright to the recorder, but to the performer (if I record a song someone sings, whether by cassette tape or stenographer, it is still a derivative work). --Mr.98 (talk) 01:06, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Hang on. 63.17 was talking about a score published and copyrighted, of music that itself is not copyrighted. Say for example, the sheet music I bought a while ago of J.S. Bach's Art of Fugue. The score is copyrighted--and rightly so: it usefully provides all four fugue voices on their own staves with Bach's original weird clefs, which lays the fugue logic out precisely, as well as a two staff "reduction" that is easier to read and play. So when you say, "You cannot perform someone else's sheet music in public, for example, if it is copyrighted", do you really mean to suggest that I could not publically perform Bach's Art of Fugue freely, with this sheet music on the piano? That my performance would be a "derivative work"? Seems to me it would simply be Bach's Art of Fugue, played live. I find it hard to believe it matters what sheet music is being used. I read the link you gave, and it didn't seem to say that doing so would be a copyright violation. Pfly (talk) 09:14, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

In the case of something which is a derivative work of a copyrighted work, it could get quite tricky. It's a question of how much new creativity is added by the modern transcriber. Not unlike if someone wrote a new translation of a Greek text—it's obviously derivative of the original, now public domain text, but there is additional creativity involved, and so it creates a new copyright claim. Exactly how much of a claim—how much new material—is the sort of not-straightforward thing that a judge would rule on.

As for playing such a thing, I don't know. If the score itself is original enough to warrant a defendable copyright claim (which it may or may not be, depending on the context—just because it is labeled as "copyright 1996" or whatever does not mean that such a claim would hold up in court), then performances of that score would be, as I read the copyright pamphlet, a derivative work as well. I suspect in such a case that there would be a very strong fair use claim because the 1. added creativity to the original is going to be probably be just a small percentage of the overall artistic content of the work, 2. the purpose of much of the "additions" is to be able to faithfully render the tonal quality to be indistinguishable from the original (which gets into Bridgeman v. Corel territory—creative work that seeks only to remove any evidence of its own creativity does not seem strongly protected), and 3. the performance itself is bound to be transformative and traditionally in fair use cases that counts for a lot.

But all of this is legal hair-splitting and would require not only someone much, much more formally versed in copyright law than I am (or anyone on here, who all seem at best to have about the same exposure to the same basic concepts and maybe a Lawrence Lessig book or two), but probably would not be determined decisively outside of the context of a court room. In some ways this reminds me of the kinds of questions (from what I have seen) that law students are required to write three-hour exams on. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:25, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Yeah - I'm pretty sure you're right about that. What would be the point of buying sheet music if you had to pay the publisher a dollar every time you played the music printed on it?! It would be different if the musical composition (or some special arrangement of it) were in copyright - but we're talking strictly old out-of-copyright music here - and no fancy 'arrangement' - just what the notes that the original composer wrote down. The only thing the publisher of the sheet music adds in terms of creativity is the physical layout and representation of the notes on the page - and when you perform the piece using the score, that information is not present in your performance - hence you owe them nothing. The final performance would sound no different whether you'd used this publisher's score or anyone else's - or merely memorized how to play the music from a CD.

But right now, I'm only interested in the MIDI-file case. This is a bit trickier because the actual audio (an MP3 or an OGG file or something) is generated entirely automatically from the MIDI-file "score" - which is known to be copyrightable because the law treats it exactly like a paper score. So the question is: Why would the totally automatic conversion from MIDI-file 'score' to audio be any different from a perfect human piano player mindlessly playing a piece from a printed score? SteveBaker (talk) 14:35, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

"What would be the point of buying sheet music if you had to pay the publisher a dollar every time you played the music printed on it?!" It is really important to emphasize here that this logic does not hold true in general regarding sheet music. As ASCAP is quick to point out: "Copyright owners enjoy a number of different rights including performance rights, print rights and recording rights. Rental or purchase of sheet music or the purchase of a record does not authorize its public performance." Now whether performance rights of out-of-copyright music can hold for copyrighted sheet music, I don't know. But this seems to me to be well out of the ability of us on the Ref Desk to common-sensibly reason through—this is a pretty complicated copyright law question, and the common-sensical approach is probably wrong.

As for your last question, again, very complicated—depends on the resolution of a number of very thorny IP legal questions. Does a human performance automatically endow it with creativity, even if the final product is indistinguishable from a machine performance? Do we really concede that machine performance is devoid of legal creativity? Does the translation between formats constitute "transformation" in the legal sense? If you think any of these are straightforward, I caution you against the notion. Note that "machine reading of human sentences" is currently a major, on-going copyright dispute relating to e-books. If there is existing case law on this, or a straightforward answer, I haven't seen it—but again, we are really getting far beyond the "five dorks on a message board who have a reasonable understanding of copyright basics, as they primarily apply to Wikipedia licensing issues" capacity, which is all I see evident here (and I include myself in that category). --Mr.98 (talk) 18:28, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Court etiquette

I've never actually been to court (other than speeding violation court) but from the general access provided by films over the years, it seems as though the courtroom etiquette in Philadelphia (film) is very different than anything else I've ever seen (in particular: how Denzel Washington is asked to step away from the defendant, how there's a blockade of some sort between the judge and the defense/prosecution, how the bailiff wears a suit, etc.). Is this just how they do it in Philadelphia (the city) or is the film not supposed to be set in 1993? DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 21:19, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

How can this question be up for so long and still not receive any comments? DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 17:43, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

It's been less than 24 hours. That isn't that long, especially for a very specialist question (there probably aren't many ref deskers that know about Philadelphia courts). The instructions at the top of the page say you may have to wait up to 4 days to get a full response. Please be patient. --Tango (talk) 17:53, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm thankful that Refdesk editors who are ignorant of the answer aren't posting. This is an improvement from a month ago when you would have received at least two unreferenced and unhelpful opinions from editors who didn't know what they were talking about. Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:13, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Go to court and find out for yourself. It's free. Zoonoses (talk) 23:17, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

I've served on a few juries in Massachusetts, and I don't recall the courtroom scenes in Philadelphia seeming unusual. Here is a photograph of a Philadelphia courtroom. It looks much like courtrooms in which I've sat in Massachusetts. What about it seems unusual to you? Either Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have an unusual type of courtroom in common with each other but not with other states, or your perception may be inaccurate. Marco polo (talk) 00:43, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

The OP asks about "how Denzel Washington is asked to step away from the defendant, how there's a blockade of some sort between the judge and the defense/prosecution, how the bailiff wears a suit." The judge in a trial court has overwhelming discretion to tell people what to do while they're in the courtroom. I haven't seen the movie, but the above three examples are things a judge could do. If the judge overstepped, the offended party could request sanctions or a State/Federal Bar ethics charge. If the judge's behavior arguably affected any rulings or the case's outcome, an appeal could be filed. 63.17.50.124 (talk) 09:21, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

When I have served on juries in Massachusetts, I have seen the judge correct attorneys or ask them to do things differently. Asking the lawyer to step away from the defendant seems entirely within the normal role of a judge. In Massachusetts courtrooms, the judge sits in his (or her) own booth, separated from both attorneys and from other persons in the court. As I recall, bailiffs in Massachusetts wear a dress shirt and a tie, but not a jacket, but it would not be surprising to see one in a suit. Nothing that the questioner described seemed at odds with my experience of courtrooms in Massachusetts. Marco polo (talk) 13:08, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Movies tend to have the lawyers up close to the witness for dramatic effect. The actual result of doing things that way would be that no one else in the courtroom could hear their exchange. In my state of North Carolina, attorneys must stay at their desks while questioning witnesses. Perhaps Philadelphia is the same. --Sean 18:06, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Ecoterrorism

Who was the person who first coined the term ecoterrorism? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.176.14.2 (talk) 04:44, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the term "eco-terrorism" was as a headline in the Globe and Mail on 23 August 1980, so probably a sub-editor there. Warofdreams talk 09:50, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

The OED says no such thing. That's the earliest use they quote, but they make no claim to document earliest known uses of words. Algebraist 11:58, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, they do, as their information for A level students states: "the OED quotes from the earliest material that can be found featuring the word". Warofdreams talk 14:47, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

It's the earliest use known to the OED, and the OED are pretty good at that kind of research so it is probably the earliest verifiable use known to anyone (other than the people that actually used it themselves, I suppose). --Tango (talk) 18:13, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm sure they have a policy like OED:RS.Cuddlyable3 (talk) 18:28, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, more like OED:V. They don't care if the usage of the word was correct, just that the word was used. --Tango (talk) 19:05, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

And, as you imply, used some place they could verify, which normally means a printed source although for sufficiently recent words it could be an Internet source. In any case, it would only be the earliest verifiable use known to them at the time the entry was drafted. Unless the earliest use of a word describes how the speaker invented it, it's always possible someone else used it earlier. Actually, even if it does do that, it's still possible, since someone else could invent the same word independently. --Anonymous, 21:32 UTC, June 22, 2010.

Some reasonably modern words have audio recordings as their first known usage. The phrase "something for the weekend" is a good example of that. --Tango (talk) 21:42, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

This article[5] credits Ron Arnold as "Father of the Wise Use Movement and Creator of the Term “Ecoterrorism”", apparently based on [6]. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:40, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

That says 1983 though so later than the OED quote. Dmcq (talk) 09:55, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

June 23

Postal Jeep Wrangler?

So, I live in western North Carolina, and I have a severe hearing impairment and I'm totally deaf in my right ear. This being said, I can't hear a thing when I'm driving. I'm looking to buy a Jeep wrangler, and got the idea a Postal vehicle would be perfect for me. Would this be legal? And where would I look for these? And would I be able to find them in manual? 97.82.209.100 (talk) 02:34, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

You can buy a new one from the dealer with right hand drive. The older ones that most people associate with the post office were called DJs. (Jeeps have a two letter designation of sorts. The current models are JKs, the last Wrangler model were TJs, etc) I don't know if it matters to you but the DJs were rear wheel drive and had no 4WD capability. I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't be legal since rural postal carriers still drive right hand drive vehicles. Though you may want to check with your local DMV to see if there is a particular certification you need on your driver's license. And yes, the DJs came in manual and automatic. If you're looking for a used Jeep, there are sites like this one that specialize in right hand drive Jeeps. Dismas|^(talk) 03:13, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

If he's in North Carolina, a left-hand drive model would be more appropriate. DuncanHill (talk) 08:54, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Postal Jeeps are right hand drive. But you're right, if he can't hear out of his right ear, I don't know why you'd want that closer to traffic by being in the right hand seat. Dismas|^(talk) 08:57, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

I was thinking it might be nice for him to be able to see oncoming traffic, assuming he will drive on the right like so many Americans do. DuncanHill (talk) 09:05, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Being in a r-h-d vehicle in a drive-on-the-right regime means he'll be able to get in and out on the sidewalk side of the car: for someone with a hearing impediment who can't, when stationary, easily detect traffic approaching from around a bend, for example, that might be safer. Also, it'll put him further from the traffic (I think Dismas has it wrong) but his better-functioning ear closer.

Driving in a "wrong-driving-side" car is marginally more difficult but by no means dangerously so for someone used to it. British military personnel frequently (for tax reasons) purchase new r-h-d cars when posted to d-o-t-r Germany (typically for 3 years) and experience no particular difficulties, as I know from family experience and discussion. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 15:35, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

DuncanHill, that's the whole point of his question. He wants a postal van because they're the only vehicle he thinks he might be able to get his hands on that is righthand-drive. That way his good ear would be away from the open window and he could hold conversations with passengers (Where would they sit?). APL (talk) 22:50, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Wouldnt it be safer to buy a normal car where it was convenient to slide over to the other seat for entry or exit? 92.15.3.0 (talk) 20:03, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

This isn't about me sliding out for entry and exit, or for hearing oncoming traffic. It is basically impossible for me to hear anything going on -inside- the car while its moving, and with music or a window down, completely impossible without craning my neck and therefore not looking at the road. A RHD vehicle would solve this, as my good ear would be facing the interior of the car, rather than the door. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.181.202.2 (talk) 12:36, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

RHD cars are certainly legal throughout the USA. I often drive my (British) 1963 Mini - which is RHD. However, you should be warned that driving an RHD car in the US (or an LHD car in the UK for that matter) is a serious pain...and probably dangerous too. The trouble is that you can't pull out around parked cars or overtake on a 2-lane or even 3-lane highway safely. In a normal car, you can edge out a little bit - see the oncoming traffic and then make your decision to overtake. But in an RHD car, you have to pull all the way out into the next lane (with potentially oncoming traffic) before you can see whether or not it is safe to do what you just did! Hence, I only drive my Mini to car shows and club meetings - and I tow it to car shows that are out of town so I don't have to drive it on the freeway. Otherwise, I tend to stick to roads where I don't have to overtake or pass parked cars.

Another problem you almost certainly won't have thought of is that drive-thru's at banks and fast-food places are unusable in an RHD car! (Actually, I have on more than one occasion reversed through a fast-food drive-thru...you get a lot of amusing comments and strange looks when you do that!!) I've also found that some traffic lights are set up so they aren't visible to people in the adjacent lane to the one they are controlling - sometimes those are impossible to see from the other seat of the car.

So I have to advise against doing this for a daily driver - I'm pretty sure you'll find that the inconvenience FAR outweighs the benefits. That said, if you REALLY want an RHD car, you can import them from counties that drive on the other side of the road fairly cheaply and get almost any kind of car you fancy in RHD. (I paid $600 to ship my Mini from the UK) Also, you can sometimes special-order a RHD car directly through a car dealership providing the manufacturer sells that model in RHD countries. But if you do that with a new car, it would be hard to sell it again in the future. As an alternative (and I'm also fairly deaf in my right ear) - I bought one of those really cheesy "Miracle Ear" gizmos that they advertise on TV for $19.99 (they are much cheaper than that in my local drug store) - and I stick the earbud into my good left ear and put the microphone part down on the center-console of the car and then I can hear conversation in the car just fine...but that's going to depend on how good your left-ear hearing is...it's probably not a good idea to block off whatever hearing you have left in your good ear with an ear-bud and thereby perhaps make it harder to hear horns, sirens and other audible alerts...but for about $15 you can find out - and it's a LOT cheaper/better than driving an RHD car!

SteveBaker (talk) 15:27, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't really think that the passing a parked car issue will be an issue, as in my area at least I have ample room to see on either side before I would pass a car. And as for banks and drive-thrus, I make it a point to do any business inside as a rule. And, as you said, reversing would only add to the humor of a drive-thru. As for the traffic light, as far as I can tell I have never encountered a light anywhere in my travels that was not just as clearly visible in the passenger seat of a LHD vehicle (therefore the drivers seat on a RHD vehicle), and I feel as if one or two inconveniences would be easily overcome as long as they weren't a regular occurrence. I appreciate the thoughts though, I actually hadn't thought of the drive-thru situation yet, but seeing as I try to take my business inside where ever possible, it doesn't inconvenience me. And as for the miracle ear, I doubt that would work very well for me as I have a hearing aide for my left ear, and when I do wear it, it would stop any other items from being used. Also, I'm a 19 year old college student, so I seriously doubt something sitting on the console would be safe from much, especially when considering my exceptionally rowdy passengers. And I get in and out of my car a -lot-, picking up people, dropping things off, and driving around campus, so I feel like having to put something in every time I would like to easily hear people would be a hassle.

That being said, I checked the link posted for RHD Jeeps, but they all seem to be fairly new cars. Are there not any models in the 90s that are RHD?

24.181.202.2 (talk) 13:14, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Storing Pans in the Oven

I found out my mom stores her pans in the oven. Is this "normal" (as in common to some extent)? How do most Americans store pans? ~EdGl! 04:14, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Is this in a drawer at the bottom of the oven or in the oven proper? I don't know how "normal" this is but we (my wife and I) keep our cookie sheets in the oven. Dismas|^(talk) 04:28, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

I know folks who do that. Cookie sheets are especially good to stash there, as it's hard to find a more conventional place for them. Just don't turn on the oven while that stuff is in there, as it could get too hot to handle and/or it could damage the handles. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:10, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

We do that sometimes...but I always turn the oven on while they are still in there. They usually go in the drawer below the oven though. Adam Bishop (talk) 13:53, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

A lot of American kitchens (such as mine) don't have enough storage space, so bulky items like pots and pans go into the oven, which is unused 95 percent of the time. During the time it's actually heating something, the empty pots and pans are left on the countertop. Hemoroid Agastordoff (talk) 16:28, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't because of several incidents where I turned on the oven to preheat it without first looking inside to check whether there were pans in there. I opened the oven and then had the nuisance of an unwantedly-400-degree pan to deal with. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:20, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

?unwantedly, does that mean unwanted? 86.4.183.90 (talk) 18:16, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

When I typed it, I thought "unwantedly" was not really not a word in English; I was trying to be clever; but I see here that it's actually a word! If I had said "an unwanted 400-degree pan", it would have indicated that I did not want the pan; by saying "unwantedly 400 degree pan", I was trying to indicate that I just didn't want it to be at 400 degrees. Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:24, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

 Done Thank you for your answers! (and yes Dismas, I meant oven proper). ~EdGl! 02:30, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Rice cookers

Are rice cookers equally effective for cooking wholegrain brown rice, rather than just the white stuff? Wholegrain rice takes about twice as long to cook as white rice. Thanks 92.15.17.9 (talk) 12:21, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, though you will need to add rather more water than for white rice, and as you say you will need to set the timer for longer. The instruction manual should have details, otherwise (unless someone else appears here with sound advice) you will just have to experiment. Or Google the problem.....--Shantavira|^{feed me} 14:09, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

I use both white and brown rice. I put in the same amount of rice and water and cook for the same amount of time and I've never found the rice to be undercooked. Exploding Boy (talk) 15:47, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

I generally use the standard rice cooker for white rice, and a pressure cooker for brown rice. Hemoroid Agastordoff (talk) 16:23, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Timer? You use a rice cooker with a timer? Anyway as with Exploding Boy, I have no problem with using a normal rice cooker (i.e. one without a timer) although I admit I rarely cook brown rice on its own as I greatly prefer a mixture (about 2 brown to 1 white). Depending on your preference you may want to adjust the amount of water however that will obviously vary a lot from person to person and also from the type of rice you're used to cooking (personally I've never understood the idea some people have that rice shouldn't stick together so if you are one of those I probably can't provide helpful advice). Soaking the rice first may also help. Of course I come from Malaysia so as I think with much of SEA and East Asia I use what I think is called the absorption method, if you use some other method, things may be different.

There's a Japanese study I'm lazy to dig up which found brown rice soaked for a very long time like 24 hours or more so it germinates slightly (presuming your rice hasn't been processed in such a way this can't occur I guess) has some interesting properties/advantageous, IIRC some of compounds which may be beneficial are released and it also has a lower GI. I've tried it a few times but as I tend to be lazy to remember to do so and want to cook rice when I need it and actually have been having very little rice recently I kind of stopped. I think this also lowers the amount of water needed and reduces the cooking time, and it changes the taste slightly.

Nil Einne (talk) 17:07, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Pressure cookers are usually used for making congee, so it depends on how much water you add to the rice. ~AH1^(TCU) 17:16, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Interior heat pumps as A/C

There are some A/Cs which are not connected to the exterior of the building to release hot air. What do they do with the heat? Do they release it at night or do they store it into some water reservoir which has to be emptied?--Quest09 (talk) 16:58, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Such devices are connected to the outside, but by means of a water pipe which conducts the heat away. This water pipe can be much narrower than the equivalent air duct, and so you might have mistaken it for a pipe wire conduit. See chiller#use in air conditioning. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 17:16, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

This diagram explains it better. The chiller is on the roof, and a skinny water pipe descends from it. At various points it runs through heat exchanger boxes, which use electric fans to draw warm internal air over a matrix of pipes carrying the chilled water, this cooling that air. The water, now warmed, runs back up to the chiller. This picture shows a temporary chiller, showing the large black water pipes running into a manifold and out to smaller yellow pipes, then back through other small pipes into an intake manifold and back to the chiller unit. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 17:29, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

... unless you are referring to the portable air cooler units that just use water evaporation to cool the air that is blown out. Their effectiveness is limited by the fact that they increase the humidity of the air because the heat goes into latent heat of evaporation. With ventilation to get rid of the water vapour that they produce, these can have some cooling effect, but they are not really "air conditioning". I think the so-called air conditioning in my car uses a similar method, but I must investigate it further. Dbfirs 17:43, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Which is called an evaporative cooler, although often called (by dint of their characteristic stale jockstrap smell) a swamp cooler. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 17:47, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the link. Are vehicle manufacturers being honest when they describe these systems as "air conditioning"? Dbfirs 06:58, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I have never heard of a modern car with an evaporative cooler; every automotive AC I've seen has been a proper air conditioner with a compressor. A real AC is necessary because people use the AC to dehumidify the air inside the cabin, for the purposes of clearing the interior of the windscreen of misting, particularly on a rainy day - an evaporative cooler wouldn't do that. Swamp cooler were fitted to some old cars - see car cooler, however. Real ACs can occasionally still smell bad, but that's usually because a drainage channel is blocked. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 13:54, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't know where I got the idea that they use evaporative cooling. Probably from the smell, as you suggest. Dbfirs 22:09, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

In the UK the cooling effect of AC is only necessary for a couple of months (sometimes weeks!) a year. I found that when using the A/C for the first time each year it would smell stale. After my A/C lost pressure through "degraded seals" I was told that you should run the A/C for ten minutes or so a week whatever the weather. In doing this I discovered the wonderful demisting effect of A/C and heating working together that Finlay mentioned. -- Q Chris (talk) 10:32, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

This is a water-source heat pump, which employs a loop of water piping around the building that can receive heat pumped into it from a unit in cooling mode, or can have heat taken out of it by a unit in heating mode. Since there can be situations where units in a building core want cooling when the perimeter wants heat, it provides an efficient way to move heat around a building without having to make it in a boiler. The systems deal with an excess of loop cooling/heat extraction by running a boiler to heat the loop, or by rejecting excess heat to a chiller or cooling tower. If the system uses the earth as a heat sink/storage element, it's a geothermal water loop heat pump system. Unfortunately, the Wikipedia article on Water-source heat pumps redirects to Geothermal heat pump, which is only a subset of water-source/loop systems. Conventional systems (i.e., non-geothermal systems) can have surprisingly small boilers and cooling towers for the size of the building, since they have the means to efficiently redistribute heating and cooling loads around the building. Acroterion _(talk) 00:43, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

June 24

Petraeus Still Commander of CENTCOM?

Will General David Petraeus still remain as the commander of CENTCOM if he is confirmed at Gen. Stanely McChrystal's replacement? If so, will he be working two jobs at once? Acceptable (talk) 00:11, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

This source indicates that he will be replaced as commander of CENTCOM if he is confirmed as commanding officer in Afghanistan. Marco polo (talk) 14:48, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Then wouldn't this mean that Petraeus is being demoted? Acceptable (talk) 20:20, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Not strictly; his rank shouldn't change (so technically, no demotion). However, it might be perceived as a less-prestigious posting (an unofficial demotion). I suspect that "less prestigious" is offset considerably by "personally requested by the President" and "being a favorite of the President, likely to get another top billing in the future". — Lomn 21:57, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I understand what you mean, but per Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chairman is considered the high-ranking military officer in the US military, while the Vice-Chairman is considered the second-highest ranking officer. If the Chairman was to be "demoted" to Vice-Chairman, then his rank does change per the article even though his rank in terms of like General, Colonel, Captain, etc... does not change. Applying that to this situation, wouldn't this mean that Patraeus is also being reduced to a lower "rank"? Acceptable (talk) 23:43, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

What's happening to McChrystal, BTW? Will they give him another post, or is he now required to retire, or even just flat separated from the military? If he's retiring, does he get to do so as a four-star? --Trovatore (talk) 23:46, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I've heard no mention of a court-martial, so I guess he can retire in the usual fashion. --Tango (talk) 05:22, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

4-star Generals require a specific post to retain their job, AFAIK. There are no "4 star generals at large". So its likely he's out of a job, as far as the Army is concerned. Also, according to General (United States), even if he stays in the Army, he loses a star, "Four-star grades go hand-in-hand with the positions of office they are linked to, so these ranks are temporary. Officers may only achieve four-star grade if they are appointed to positions of office that require the officer to hold such a rank.[9] Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, which is usually set by statute.[9]" He's not going to be destitute, however, there are lots of job prospects for a former 4-star general, even one who was "defrocked" in the manner that McChrystal was. There are private military schools that need comandants, think tanks that need consultants, that sort of thing. --Jayron32 05:42, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

He will also get a very good pension, I imagine. --Tango (talk) 05:47, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Might Gen. McChrystal be placed in charge of Camp Swampy until he decides to actually retire from active military service? Edison (talk) 05:52, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Streaming world cup NZ vs Paraguay

Hi all,

The (stupid stupid stupid!) country I'm living in isn't showing this match on TV (I think). Does anyone know where and how I can watch it for free? Thanks heaps!

Adam —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aaadddaaammm (talk • contribs) 07:35, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

FYI the country is Germany. Aaadddaaammm (talk) 07:52, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

You could try this site, not sure what restrictions it has though. Let me know if it works for you, I'd be interested. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 07:53, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Nope, Germany's not on their list: "2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ video content on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) streaming video portal may only be viewed in certain EBU territories as noted below:

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Kazakstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.

As we cannot confirm that you are accessing this service from within these territories we regret that you will be unable to view the content." Aaadddaaammm (talk) 09:47, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

If your in Germany it's either on ZDF or ZDF infokanal, a live stream should be on the ZDF Mediathek 194.39.218.10 (talk) 09:06, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Sweet! Thanks 194.39.218.10! Aaadddaaammm (talk) 09:47, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

You can also try CBC's live streams. I'm not sure if they are blocked outside of Canada, but I know their radio content isn't. Cbc.ca -> Sports -> Fifa World Cup. Vranak (talk) 17:53, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Car badging – Mazda, Kia, Ford

Could anyone familiar with the subject look at the talk page Talk:Badge engineering#Ford Fiesta? and clarify the car models correlation? --CiaPan (talk) 09:39, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Please explain a little more. I don't understand. Do you want someone to identify the cars? I'm not sure. Chevymontecarlo 16:14, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

FIFA jackets

Why non-playing players, who sit on the bench, wear jackets with FIFA caption during the current WC? Can't they wear for example their national team colors? 83.31.91.87 (talk) 16:04, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm sure they're wearing their kit under the FIFA tops. As to why, see brand and marketing. Zunaid 18:55, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Does FIFA need to advert itself? 83.31.99.51 (talk) 19:46, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I believe it's to help the officials make sure there is only the correct number of players on the pitch. I seem to remember that during a recent cricket international match, one side played with 12 on the pitch for part of an over. --TammyMoet (talk) 19:49, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

It's more likely to be to indicate who is a legal substitute and entitled to enter the game. If the eligible players have been pre-screened and identified beforehand, there is no need to do another check before they enter the game. Too many men on the pitch is an extremely rare occurrence in football, but accidentally letting an ineligible player on the pitch has happened a number of times. Measures that make it less likely are understandable, particularly in a tournament as important as the World Cup. --Xuxl (talk) 20:26, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I agree with TammyMoet - as an amateur footballer of many-years it is extremely irritating when subs hang around in their kits without a jacket over their top. It is very difficult to tell whether or not they are 'on' or not when they're stood by the sidelines and you're playing a ball from one side of the pitch to the other. It will certainly help make it clearer who is currently 'playing' and who isn't. I suppose it'd help in terms of legal subs but doubt that having a jacket is necessarily any type of worthwhile security (if you can fool the officials into switching a registered sub to another non-registered sub I doubt you'll struggle to get hold of the necessary jacket). ny156uk (talk) 14:43, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Sheikh Khalifa bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Under the picture of Sheikh Khalifa bin Sultan Al Nahyan it says "Liverpool Football Club Owner". Is this true? No press reports link them to a takeover. And nothing has been mentioned by the club as well. Is this information accurate? Has the takeover been done? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.246.189.43 (talk) 16:18, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I have removed mention from the article (which you seem to be one of the ones adding). Until a reliable source is reporting it, it should not be in the article. In future, discuss it in the article talk page or use WP:BLP/N and if no source is provide and you have doubts about the information in a BLP feel free to remove it on sight Nil Einne (talk) 17:15, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Criminal Record and a Job

Talking to a friend of mine who was applying for a job in an airport, customer service, when she was filling out the online application she was faced with a couple of routine questions such as are you over 18? Do you speak English? Are you available for a face to face interview? Then the big one do you have a criminal record? She answered yes to all and on the the next page of the online application she was told that she wasn't eleigible for the job. I can only assume it was because of her conviction. So how can it be fair that her application for this job can not be processed for a motoring conviction she got 22 years ago. At no time was she able to explain her conviction is this standard practice for people with convicions? Thanks Mo ainm~Talk 16:21, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

A lot will depend on what country your friend is in. In the UK there are provisions for some convictions to become "spent" (Rehabilitation of Offenders Act), but there are exceptions to this. Also, in the UK a traffic offence may not count as a criminal conviction. Your friend should consult her trade union, a Citizens' Advice Bureau or similar, or an employment rights service. DuncanHill (talk) 16:28, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

It was in Ireland, what I find strange is that just by answering yes she couldn't even proceed with the application, I told her she should have lied I would have for a very minor offence 20 odd years ago. Mo ainm~Talk 16:32, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

You haven't told us what the "motoring conviction" was, exactly — was she cited for speeding 10 kph over the limit, or did she run down 20 pedestrians at a zebra crossing whilst drunk? — but if it was indeed minor then she needs to determine whether the offence counts as a "crime", and whether the police would indeed answer "yes" if asked whether she has a "criminal record". Can she call the local police and ask to see her own criminal record? Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:46, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

It was driving without a licence or insurance in her brothers car. Mo ainm~Talk 16:52, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

As a motoring offence, that's one of the more serious, and would likely not be an "exempted" crime. (The harsh side of me says, "If you don't want the time, don't do the crime!") ╟─TreasuryTag►UK EYES ONLY─╢ 17:06, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

The principle behind having convictions become spent after a certain amount of time is that people who have already done the time shouldn't have the crime held against them indefinitely. --Tango (talk) 17:15, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I did know that, actually... ╟─TreasuryTag►secretariat─╢ 17:29, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

That probably does qualify as a criminal offence. Did she have to go to court? What was the sentence? I've been looking for an Irish equivalent to the British Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and can't find out - there is a proposed bill for one in 2007, which suggests there isn't one currently (the bill doesn't seem to have passed). In the UK, the question will always say "Do you have any criminal convictions that have not been spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974?" - does the question on this website say anything similar? --Tango (talk) 17:14, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

It is odd that they would reject someone just because they have a criminal record. Usually they would want to know what the offence was and when it happened. The security requirements to work in an airport are very high, for obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean the mere existence of a criminal record should disqualify you. It is possible she was ineligible for some other reason - lacking the necessary qualifications or something. I would suggest she ask the employer for clarification. --Tango (talk) 17:05, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

It was certainly the conviction here is a link to the questions she was asked click next and you will see them, she replied yes to them all, I just did it myself and answered no to the conviction and I was allowed to procede to the next step where if I answer yes it won't allow me. It then states that "Yours answers to the questions listed suggest that you don’t currently meet the current requirements necessary for consideration." "These criteria are in accordance with the National Civil Aviation Programme 2004 and are required of all staff working in Terminal Buildings." Mo ainm~Talk 17:22, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

You are right, they are automatically rejecting anyone with any criminal convictions. That's odd... Once again, I suggest contacting the employer. --Tango (talk) 18:10, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Even more oddly, Google can't find anything called "National Civil Aviation Programme 2004". [7] (the results shown there are without the quotes, since it couldn't find any results with the quotes). --Tango (talk) 18:15, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

It is NOT possible that they checked her criminal record while applying online. 83.31.91.87 (talk) 18:38, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Of course not. You don't even have to give your name by this point in the application process. --Tango (talk) 18:44, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Most motoring offenses in the USA (at least) are not "Criminal" offenses - they are civil. That being the case, one should not mention them when asked about strictly criminal stuff. Stealing a car is criminal - driving one at 80mph in a 70 limit isn't. SteveBaker (talk) 23:19, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

In the UK, people occasionally come up with the phrase "civil offence", which is pseudo-legal nonsense. Do you have a reference for its being meaningful in the US? --ColinFine (talk) 23:23, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Here is Michigan's Traffic and Nontraffic Civil Infraction Matters Another site with further explanation (in the What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony? section: [8] 75.41.110.200 (talk) 03:18, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

The OP says this was driving without a license or insurance, which I think probably is a criminal offence in most countries. --Tango (talk) 23:55, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

I understand this might seem harsh, but my understanding is that places like airports and maybe embassies have a zero tolerance policy regarding that sort of thing because of their special jurisdiction. it's not like just going for a job on the high street. This is a requirement regardless whether you're in customer service or customs security, or a toilet cleaner, you're employed by the airport so you have to pass the checks, it's like a "security clearance".. I don't have a reference for that, that's just my understanding. Vespine (talk) 04:49, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, that's true, but it the mere existence of a criminal record doesn't usually preclude you getting security clearance. Here is the FAQ on MI5's careers website saying you can get a job with MI5 even with criminal convictions: [9]. --Tango (talk) 05:24, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

cooking chicken

If you want chicken breast cubes, is it better to cube the chicken before cooking, or to cook the chicken and then cube it? Googlemeister (talk) 20:47, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

It will be faster if you cube then cook, as cooking generally goes faster with a higher surface area to mass ratio. Whether that's "better" is more subjective, though for my money, it's absolutely better. Cubed first means more tasty brown bits on the surface of the meat. — Lomn 21:52, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

The only advantage of cubing afterwards I can imagine is that the chicken might be easier to cut. Handling uncooked chicken isn't pleasant to some, so there'd be less of that. Vimescarrot (talk) 22:54, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Good point. I usually put the chicken in the freezer for a bit before I cube it to aid the process. — Lomn 23:39, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

It depends on what you want. Cooking cubes of raw chicken will result in pieces of cooked meat that only very vaguely resemble cubes; the corners will all be rounded but not necessarily in a uniform way, and the whole piece will have shrunk, but again, not necessarily in a uniform way. This may not bother you if all you want is something roughly cubical. Cutting cubes from a larger piece of cooked chicken will give you nice uniform cubes of cooked chicken, but they may not be as caramelised and tasty as smaller pieces cooked separately. -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 02:47, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Cooking a chicken whole will give juicier and more tasty meat, as the skin and fat will saturate the meat with flavour. Chicken cubes would mainly consist of the meat alone, which can have a tendency to go dry and with little taste. --Saddhiyama (talk) 06:29, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Well I decided to conduct an experiment with a blind study (I knew which were which so it wasn't double blind). I asked my 2 house guests which they preferred and they both liked the pre-cooked cutting better then the post cooked. It also cooked like 3x faster. Good enough for me. Googlemeister (talk) 13:31, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

How many mountain bikes could I fit in a Citroen Berlingo van?

Just seen one of these vans in the newspaper at a good price, but not sure if it is long or high enough inside. I need to carry two fully assembled adult mountain bikes, ready to ride. Help please? :-) 86.143.231.213 (talk) 23:00, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

This brochure gives the internal dimensions of various Berlingo models. Bikes can also be carried on an external frame. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:24, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks :) I found another site] with a review that gives the dimensions, and I should be okay. Still, if anyone reading this owns a Berlingo then please comment! 86.143.231.213 (talk) 01:44, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

If you take them apart then you will be able to fit many more in. --Ouro (blah blah) 06:41, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

You could also put the bikes on the roof. There you would be able to get at least 2 on the roof I should think. Thule is a company that produces racks for vehicle roofs. Chevymontecarlo - alt 12:14, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Is it roofs or rooves? :D Chevymontecarlo 16:13, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Either, apparently, though I've never heard anyone say, or seen anyone write, "rooves" - as noted, it's uncommon and usually considered incorrect. Vimescarrot (talk) 16:28, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

I was taught (in northern UK many years ago) that the plural was rooves ( - the older British plural), but this is one of the few bits of my education that I rejected almost immediately in favour of the more modern roofs. Is it true that rooves is still the standard plural in New Zealand? Dbfirs 16:54, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

No idea, but you might want to ask at WP:RD/L. Chevymontecarlo 14:39, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Loaf - loaves. Calf - calves. Elf - elves. Perhaps Vimescarrot would like to declare all these English plurals that follow the pattern of -f changing to -ves as "considered incorrect" while at this noble crusade to demolish the consensus of English dictionaries and centuries of English speakers. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:57, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

"consensus of English dictionaries" - maybe British English ones. American Heritage, Merriam-Webster and Random House all say roofs, with no mention of rooves at all. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 19:12, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

The questioner Chevymontecarlo is from Loughborough, in the UK. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 21:53, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

The difference between loaf, roof and elf is that I've never seen roof pluralised as rooves, and indeed was taught that was wrong (by the sound of it, I'm not the only person in the UK to have been taught that either). Besides, I was only quoting the Wiktionary article. Vimescarrot (talk) 18:14, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

FWIW, I'm from the North of England, and I say both 'roof' and 'rooves', though, admittedly, a distinction is upheld depending on when I am saying it and to whom. Vimescarrot's original answer of 'either [is correct]' still stands in my opinion. The questioner's whereabouts are irrelevant, as (s)he did not ask which was appropriate in his/her particular town, nor did he/she specify any place, in fact. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 18:25, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Hoofs and hooves... Bus stop (talk) 18:57, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Spoofs and spooves? --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 19:27, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Beef and beeves? Reef and reeves? Fief and fieves? Fife and fives? Going off in various huvves? Tough and tuvves? Rough and ruvves? Enuvves! -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 19:42, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

I was also taught to use "rooves" and winced when I saw that some proles had named their house "The Roofs". 92.28.242.168 (talk) 21:42, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Volume

Cuddlyable found a good link giving dimensions for varieties of the Berlingo. I noticed, however, that a lot of car websites and magazines give the loading space dimensions in form of volume (cubic meters). Why? It is less information than giving height, width, and depth. To me it's a useless number, as I'd be more interested in being able to load bulky objects than as many egg cartons as possible. Anyone know why this number (volume) is considered useful? ---

Have fitted 3 mountain bikes into a Berlingo Multispace. The new Berlingo seems to be a bit bigger. Itsmejudith (talk) 22:48, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

June 25

Ordering portraits of Thai kings

Can you please help? I am interested in purchasing pictures of all the 9 kings of Thailand, are you able to provide me with a quote? Kings 1 through to king 9 (I need all of them) approx size around 900mm x 900

1. Your quote can be for images so long as the images can be made very big (good Pixels for hanging on wall)

2. or paintings approx size around 900mm x 900

3. or prints

4. or posters

Please get back to me ASAP

Kind Regards

Anthony Cox (email address removed) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.241.142.45 (talk) 00:49, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Hi Anthony, you could enquire here http://www.oilpaintings2order.com/. This is a Thai business where you can commission any oil painting you like. Or just google something like thai+king+portrait for other sites. 86.143.231.213 (talk) 02:03, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Additionally, we're an encyclopedia, not an art dealer. Dismas|^(talk) 02:14, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

I removed your email address to eliminate the possibility of spam to you. Feel free to check back here periodically to view updated answers to your question.24.150.18.30 (talk) 02:25, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

You're probably better off asking elsewhere. Wikipedia isn't the best place for this, but you may find some good links. Chevymontecarlo - alt 12:12, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

There are some pictures in the article List of Thai Monarchs. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 20:53, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Health Fructose

Hi I suffer from Fructose Malabsorbtion (Basically this means that I cannot eat anything where the fructose level is higher than the glucose level) eg most fruits, onions, wheat, honey etc. I just need to know whether the fructose level is higher than the glucose level in Turmeric. Are you able to help?

Thanks Ian

I'm sorry we can't give medical advice.--178.167.218.35 (talk) 14:16, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

We can't answer medical questions but I think you may be misunderstanding your dietary needs...and that means that you REALLY need to talk to a qualified medical professional about your diet.

Surely it is not the case that glucose has to be higher than fructose in every individual ingredient of the food you eat? That makes zero sense - most foods contain a mixture of all sorts of ingredients - some of which are high in fructose and others which are high in glucose - your body isn't going to attempt to digest each ingredient individually! It can only be that averaged over a particular meal the glucose level must exceed the fructose. Otherwise there would be almost no foods that you could tolerate. You certainly shouldn't take dietary advice from me, or anyone else here - but if you think about this logically, if the only requirement were that glucose must exceed fructose then eating a couple of spoonfuls of glucose with a piece of fruit would covers that dietary balance requirement and they wouldn't be telling you to avoid fruit - but instead to take a couple of these handy glucose pills with each meal! Since (I presume) they aren't telling you that - you must therefore have misunderstood the advice you've been given. That's a potentially serious matter - and you really, really need to go back to your doctor and get this clarified.

As to your particular question here, it's probably impossible to know the relative amounts of fructose and glucose in turmeric (I very much doubt anyone has analysed it that carefully) - but since it's a spice and probably constitute way less than 1% of the meal that contains it, unless you're planning on eating a delicious bowl of pure Tumeric for lunch (please don't!), it's unlikely that the answer matters to you. What matters is the average balance in the total meal - of which normal amounts of tumeric is an utterly negligable contributor.

Since you do seem to have a deep misunderstanding of how you need to eat to remain healthy - I strongly recommend you talk to your doctor about this - and possibly to a medically qualified dietician who can prepare diet plans for you and explain to you how 'trace ingredients' like Tumeric will affect you. Above all, don't take health advice from random people on the Internet (like me, for example!).

SteveBaker (talk) 14:15, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Good advice. Fructose malabsorption is worth a look. Turmeric (or its primary ingredient, curcumin) does seem to have a relationship to fructose issues (for example, it slows down the conversion of sorbitol to fructose in the body.) But, yeah, talk to your doctor -- it sounds like you've gotten some misinformation or at least are confused baout the information you've gotten. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 17:45, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

What exactly is a Gendarmerie?

Ok I've been reading hte wikipedia article but it's not very good and I still don't understand what a Gendarmerie is. Basically, how do they differ in equipment nad role from a normal police force? Thanks!--178.167.218.35 (talk) 13:12, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Per the definition in the lede, gendarmerie are a military body charged with police duties, as contrasted with standard civilian police forces. The definition does not concern itself with a distinction in equipment or role from standard police (as noted in the definition, the role is the same). That said, individual countries may draw a distinction, but conceptually none exists. Note that in the US the Posse Comitatus Act effectively prohibits a gendarmerie except for the U.S. Coast Guard. — Lomn 14:03, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes I read that but what is the difference between military and civilian? What's the difference then in role and equipment between the French Gendarmerie an d French national police?--178.167.218.35 (talk) 14:13, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

The difference between military and civilian control of the police is where the authority rests. The US has decided that civilian authority over the military means that the military shouldn't be enforcing civilian law. There was a recent case, for example, where an Army officer in Alabama was disciplined for providing police services at the request of local law enforcement after a mass shooting left civilian personnel undermanned.[10] It was absolutely a humanitarian gesture, but in the US, The Military Does Not Act As Police (the above linked Posse Comitatus Act explains why). Many other democracies have decided that a balance can be struck, and thus you get (among others) the French Gendarmerie Nationale. In some places, it's a convenient fiction to suggest the rule of law, much as how you see "democratic republic" occasionally affixed to some unlikely countries. As for specifics of how France divides up their policing responsibilities, see National Gendarmerie and National Police (France). — Lomn 14:48, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

That National Police article was useful, thanks, it had a link to [11] which pretty much explained what I was looking for.--178.167.215.72 (talk) 15:05, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

The national police force of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in French is la Gendarmerie Royale du Canada. As the gendarmerie article notes, they are not considered "military." --- OtherDave (talk) 18:05, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

The Republican Guard, which is the part of the Gendarmerie responsible for Paris, provides ceremonial guards, military bands and drill displays in a similar way to the Brigade of Guards in London. They have in the past been sent abroad for combat duty, most recently in the First Indochina War. The Gendarmerie Mobile provide specialised riot squads, although the Police Nationale have a branch with a similar role called the CRS. Alansplodge (talk) 23:27, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

In Italy, you have the civilian polizia and the military carabinieri (I think the word means soldiers armed with carbines). They do, as far as I can tell, exactly the same thing. Sometimes wind up stepping on each other's toes; I remember one story of a dispute between two parties, where one called the polizia and the other called the carabinieri.

Now, I'm not necessarily saying this is a bad thing. I'm all for competition, and not so keen on unified state authority. Maybe this would be a good discordian model to copy. But I doubt that was the original idea. --Trovatore (talk) 19:57, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Kissing

Why do people kiss? What is the evolutionary/reproductive advantage in kissing? What is its origin. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.229.149.7 (talk) 17:09, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

I assume that you've already read Kiss#Nature and history of the kiss and Kiss#Biology and evolution? ╟─TreasuryTag►ballotbox─╢ 17:12, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

It certainly helps develop and sustain close personal relationships, which may prove profitable. Dogs like to hunt in packs, and humans may often do better in collaboration with one another. Kissing is certainly a token of goodwill and fellowship. It helps build trust, caring, and so on. Vranak (talk) 17:51, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Should I make a layover in Atlanta or Paris?

I'm flying from Salt Lake City to Dusseldorf and I have the choice of making a connecting flight in Atlanta or Paris. I'm somewhat familiar with how Hartsfield Airport works but I've never been to Charles de Gaulle, so I'm wondering if any of these two airports has an advantage over the other (especially since I'll be dealing with customs in either Paris or Dusseldorf, depending on where I make my connection). Thanks. 71.213.57.196 (talk) 19:26, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Would you potentially have to do customs in both Charles de Gaulle and Dusseldorf? If so, Atlanta would be the logical option for me, as the trip from Salt Lake City would not require customs in Atlanta. All else being equal, I'd go for France, just because I'm a curious person and have never been to France. Falconus^{p t c} 22:44, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Flying via Paris would involve a shorter flying time, because a routing from SLC to Germany would be much longer (in miles or km) via ATL. If you fly through Paris, you will pass through immigration in Paris, and you and your carry-on bag will pass through customs, but unless you have something to declare, you will probably not actually be stopped for a check. (The "nothing to declare" walkway operates on an honor system, with occasional spot checks if you look suspicious.) You will not have to go through immigration again in Düsseldorf, but your checked bag will need to pass through customs there. Unlike the United States, the Schengen area countries do not require you to collect your checked bags at point of entry to go through customs before checking them again. So your bag will be checked straight through to Düsseldorf. (Again if you have nothing to declare, you will probably just sail through without a stop.) In my experience, immigration in Paris are no big deal. They may just glance at your passport, hand it back to you, and wave you through. They are much less picky (at least with US passport holders who are white and look more or less professional) than US Immigration and Customs. That said, in my experience, ATL is a more efficient airport than CDG. Even though there is more volume at ATL, it moves more smoothly, and it is easier to move around the airport from one gate to another. My last flight from CDG involved checking in at the main terminal, then a longish walk to a bus station, then a wait for a bus, then a bus ride to another terminal, a wait there, then a second bus from the second terminal to the actual plane, which was parked out on the asphalt with a mobile stairway leading to the cabin. If you are transfering at CDG, you might want to make sure that both flights will be in the same terminal or be sure to have a couple of hours between flights. Marco polo (talk) 00:48, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

I've never been to Atlanta but have travelled many times in/out of Charles De Gaulle. If your flight from Salt Lake City arrives at CDG Terminal 2 but your flight to Dusseldorf leaves from CDG Terminal 1, the two terminals are about a mile apart. However, the terminals are connected by a shuttle train, the CDGVAL, which takes 8 minutes and is a big improvement on the old shuttle bus. The Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport article lists which airline uses which terminal. The airport's official site should be able to help your further. Astronaut (talk) 01:16, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Atlanta is somewhat simpler to find your way around, but CDG is a much more impressive architecture. It's a wash. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 01:33, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Wonderful! This is exactly the type of information I was seeking. Kudos to you guys! And yes, I do agree U.S. customs are very thorough (LAX was a nightmare). Looks like I'll be choosing Atlanta just because this is my first time venturing outside the country on my own and I want to make things a little easier. As an added benefit, I have an hour more to make my connection in Atlanta than I would in Paris. Again, many thanks! 71.213.57.196 (talk) 02:59, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

One other consideration: French Air Traffic Controllers, Airport Staff, etc, etc, not infrequently go on strike, resulting in the cancellation of flights passing through France, and indeed Heikki Kovalainen had this very week to drive 900 miles overnight to get to the European Grand Prix in Valencia in time for Friday morning practice because of such a strike. You would be wise to monitor the news for possible impending events of this nature, and might consider the Atlanta option in the light of this. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 10:41, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Dog breed identification

I saw someone with a dog on a leash here in Vienna, and it kinda looked like a big bad wolf. It was a large dog, with a long coat and a color like this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MountainCur.jpg. Its paws where white and really large, and he had light-colored eyes and a mean look on its face. Now that I'm reading what I wrote it kinda sounds like trolling, but it really isn't, I was just trying to be funny. Thanks in advance! Rimush (talk) 19:53, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

How big? How long? How much like that one? I think that coat color is called brindle, but it's less distinct on long-haired dogs (the article has an example). I suggest it might have been a lurcher, see the third image on that page (the dog called "Bubbles"). Or (perhaps too obvious) a husky? The first image in Alaskan Husky seems like the dog you describe, unless the parameters (size, paw size, coat length) are not extreme enough. 213.122.5.82 (talk) 20:20, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Or perhaps a malamute; they can get pretty big and both look and sound pretty wolf-ish. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 20:31, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

The lurcher and the Alaskan Husky look skinny, this dog was rather heavy-set. And I don't think it was a malamute or a Siberian Husky, I know what those look like. It had a bigger head, and it was also taller and longer than a Siberian Husky - it also had a longer coat, but not too long. It didn't look like a wolf in the husky sense, it looked like a wolf in that it looked like a wild animal, not like a normal dog. Rimush (talk) 21:16, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

To rule out the obvious enormous dog, Irish Wolfhound? 213.122.5.82 (talk) 21:56, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Too skinny, and "my" dog might not be that tall, but close. It was a really unusual dog, I haven't seen one like it before. Rimush (talk) 22:04, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

What was the snout like - long, short, droopy? A huge stocky dog is the english mastiff, which can be long-haired and scary-looking. 213.122.5.82 (talk) 22:09, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

This picture - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mastif_angielski_pregowany_768.jpg - comes close, but I think it was some sort of cross between a mastiff and something else, because it didn't have the typical snout/face. Rimush (talk) 22:15, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Checking out other kinds of mastiff, I found Anatolian Shepherd Dog, which has a more wolfish snout. The one in the second picture has an ominous glint in its eye, and "might not yet be full size". Getting towards skinnier dogs again, though. I think I'll stop guessing now in case a dog expert comes along and tells you exactly what it was... 213.122.5.82 (talk) 22:22, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, I looked at that one too, also looks similar (except the color is off). Anyway, thanks for your efforts :D Rimush (talk) 22:28, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Although only you know exactly what the animal you saw looked like, have you considered the possibility that it was actually a wolf? Although in most (all?) jurisdictions it is illegal to own and keep pure-bred wolves as if they were pet dogs (which are, of course, domesticated wolves), in some it is legal to keep wolf-dog crosses if one has the necessary paperwork declaring the animal's (mixed) descent, and these papers are sometimes, shall we say, mis-issued.

An acquaintance who runs a zoo in the UK and is a carnivore expert has related how he met a visitor from Canada in, I think, Plymouth (Devon, UK) walking on a lead what he immediately recognised as a wolf. In conversation, the owner admitted to him that the animal was indeed a pure wolf for which he had obtained "wolf dog" papers in some way. Although an individual wolf can be tamed (my acquaintance said), it will be comfortable only with its owner (who must function as its pack leader), uncomfortable though controllable (by its owner) amongst other people, and will ignore "other" dogs.

NB: our article on Domestication is, in my opinion, misleading in suggesting that the words 'domesticating' and 'taming' are synonyms: I would contend that the former implies physical and mental modification of a population through captive breeding and artificial selection, and the latter only the training of an individual, normally wild, animal to associate with humans. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 23:17, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

I did consider that it might be a wolf, although it looked a bit stocky for a wolf (maybe they overfed it), even if only because it looked like a wild animal that just now came out of the woods. Rimush (talk) 10:11, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Dutch Shepherd Dog? See the image here too. Oda Mari (talk) 15:33, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

I think it was indeed a Dutch Shepherd, and a big fat one at that :P Rimush (talk) 19:24, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

You could refer your question to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Dogs.—Wavelength (talk) 16:01, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

June 26

Genealogy

Hi, I've searched for months and I'm stick. Is there a way to connect a person to another person??????? Example - I've traced my tree back Isaac Robinson (1768-1833). I AM VERY SURE that there is a connection with the following:- Christopher Robinson/Priest/died for Treason in 1598, Henry Robinson/Bishop/(1553-1616), John Robinson/Mayflower organizer/(1575-1625). I can't understand where they came from OR went to. Thanks for any advice you can give me. Once again, Thank You, Cathy Robinson Fitzpatrick.Limeycat (talk) 14:11, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

There are websites that will help you do this. Search "genealogy" on Google. Ancestry.com is one that's widely advertised, but I don't know what it's like. Exploding Boy (talk) 14:25, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Some websites like that are free, but many make you pay a subscription. With these paid sites you can access certain records available online. Ancestry.com is a paid site, I think. There's usually a monthly subscription to use sites like that, although as I've said already there are free ones out there. I have no idea what any of them are like, as I've never used them. Chevymontecarlo 14:36, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm puzzled how you can be VERY SURE that there is a connection to two people who died well over a century before the earliest ancestor you've traced, unless you've got some documents that establish the relationship. --ColinFine (talk) 22:58, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

I have to agree. It might be just a coincidence. Chevymontecarlo - alt 09:08, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

I agree, the OP is doing it backwards. You find evidence, then you work out what you can be sure of. You don't start from a position of being sure of something and try to justify it. Robinson is a very common name, so you need far more than just the name to even suspect a close relationship. --Tango (talk) 13:44, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

no moon ?? new moon?

Why do we call a night without moon a new moon day? Shouldn't it be called no moon day? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Myownid420 (talk • contribs) 17:16, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Have you read our new moon article? It discusses the origin of the phrase. However, "new moon day" is a phrase that I don't think has much common use. — Lomn 17:32, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

It should be noted, however, that during a new moon, the moon itself is in the sky almost entirely during the "daytime". A new moon should rise at about 6:00 AM and set at about 6:00 PM (with variances due to local time zones). This is because of the geometry involved in the phases of the moon. I agree, however, that the phrase itself is not in common use. --Jayron32 17:38, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

My grandmother used to turn round three times when she saw a new moon. Kittybrewster ☎ 19:26, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Have they unscrewed her yet?--SigmundColin (talk) 22:00, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

The ref desk has just sunk to a new low. Talk about unscrewing one's grandmother. I blush at the very idea! -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 22:57, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

What else would you expect from Elsie? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:01, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Schema for doing as much quality work as possible

I have a lot of deskwork and paperwork that will take weeks or months to do. I'd like to get through it as soon as possible. It is not routine, so I've got to stay alert and motivated as well. I am not an employee so can work how and when I like.

What would be the best scheme for doing the greatest amount of quality work? Working non-stop would rapidly lead to tireness and loss of motivation, so clearly work needs to be alternated with breaks. What routine should there be for breaks, and what should I do within those breaks? Would taking one or more days off each week pay back in greater efficiency on the other days? Thanks 92.15.5.103 (talk) 20:12, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Everything depends on your lifestyle, actually. Do you prefer working earlier in the day or later? Are you an early bird? Do you have a family? Will there be factors which will hinder you periodically?

For me, I'm an early riser, and even though I work from home and can do it when I please, I endeavour to get up early (of my own accord - even before 7 am) because I prefer to start early than to work late into the night. When I have to deal with large amounts of work to a deadline that's fairly loose but still impending, I try to divide the stuff into fairly equal larger chunks, and afterwards break these up to get the idea of the daily workload I need to complete. Then, in the beginning, I usually try to do the daily workload +10/20% extra if possible, to have an edge for the upcoming parts of the work in case I stumble upon unforeseen difficulties. I try to plan in a small break every hour (like five minutes to brew fresh tea, a sandwich) and larger breaks every three hours (a walk, a larger meal). You have to work out practically what's best for you. Just here to help. --Ouro (blah blah) 07:23, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

I like to get up early as well, and for breaks I take about 15 minutes every hour. I go cycling, read the paper or catch up on podcast episodes. I think that taking maybe half a day off a week as well as the weekend would be a good plan, but it's up to you. Chevymontecarlo - alt 09:07, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

A trick they seem to teach in every school/college/&c is to take a short break about once an hour whilst working for a long time, apparently it helps to maintain concentration. As well, Bucky had some interesting ideas about sleeping for a few minutes whenever he felt tired, or once every six hours, apparently managing to get by on two hours a day, leaving twentytwo for his work. 80.47.203.9 (talk) 17:15, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Children's book

Looking for a childrens book I had as a child in the 1960s. Was about a boy with hair made up of/or colours of the rainbow. I think it had some pop ups. Poss titles I have tried are boy with the rainbow hair/rainbow boy - no luck. Writing from UK81.157.87.26 (talk) 20:44, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Struwwelpeter. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 21:19, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Bicycling up a hill

So, I'd love to commute to work on a bicycle. After all, I only live three miles from work, which would be a pretty simple ride. Problem is, I live on top of a hill. My question is threefold:

• Where can I look to find the specific grades of streets in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA? I tried some googling, but my google-fu proved inadequate to the purpose
• At what grade would we consider a street to be (a)a brisk bit of exercise (b) pretty darn tough (c) stupid to try to bicycle
• How much difference would it make if I bought an electric bicycle? -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 23:12, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Easy answer: Just try it once! How hard it is depends very much on how fast you go and how good your bicycle is. For me, 15% is about where it stops being fun. I'm fbf, and have two rather decent bikes. A good indicator for me is hearth rate...up to 150 bpm im ok, 160 is uncomfortable, and at 165 I drop off the bike. Any good E-Bike will make the hill essentially irrelevant, but it will also reduce the training effect. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 23:25, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

• • (ec) Don't know offhand.
  • For me, it starts to get noticeably difficult at maybe 7% or so, but I can do that for miles if I want to, which I often do. I can pull off 20% for very short distances, maybe in the hundreds of yards at most.
  • Don't get an electric bike. That's just cheating; might as well drive. Well, not quite; I suppose it's gentler on the planet than a car. But it doesn't do you any more good. --Trovatore (talk) 23:28, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

If you feel that you're beginning to slow down whilst climbing the hill, even when you're in the lowest gear and pedalling hard, then the hill's too steep! I think an electric bike is good in a city environment, for example after a green light to give you a burst of speed to get you started. Using the electric motor all the time is pointless though. Chevymontecarlo - alt 09:04, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

If you feel that you're slowing down, it's too steep? What kind of lazy advice is that? If it doesn't slow you down, it's not a hill. If you can climb it faster than about 5 mph (on a sustained basis), go look for a steeper hill.

Climbing is the soul of cycling, and it's supposed to be hard. --Trovatore (talk) 09:18, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Re electric bikes: I was thinking about a Pedelec which augments pedalling - the engine does not take over. Modern ones in Europe are barely recognisable as such - they are useful bicycles to begin with. If that makes you cycle, it's better than commuting by car. Wether augmented or not, exercise in fresh air is so much better than sitting in a tin can ;-). But yes, nearly every 3 mile distance is also reasonable to commute with a plain bicycle. As for "the soul of bicycling" - if you cycle to get somewhere, as opposed to cycling for the fun of it, issues like breath and sweat do play a certain role... --Stephan Schulz (talk) 09:48, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

I used to work at a startup about eight miles from my home (but not much elevation change), and I would bike in trying to maintain a moving average of 16 mph (stretch goal; managed it sometimes — this was on a mountain bike as I hadn't bought my cyclo-cross at that time). I took a change of clothes in my backpack. It did take about half an hour to cool down enough to really focus on my work. --Trovatore (talk) 09:53, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Oh, besides which: The original poster says he lives on a hill. So the climbing part would be going home; presumably he can be as sweaty as he likes when he gets there. --Trovatore (talk) 10:01, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

June 27

Gundam video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFh4ZeTThtM

Gundam 00 opening 4: Anyone would want to tell me why this video was flipped and is there a way to flip the video back to normal after I download it? I haven't done the latter yet but the video quality is really nice. 64.75.158.194 (talk) 00:22, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Presumably you noticed that one of the comments of the video claimed they have to flip the video or it gets removed. No idea if that's true, or why that would make the video less likely to be removed, but that's the claim. Comet Tuttle (talk) 03:39, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Copyright laws are very iffy things. I assume that flipping the video upside down lends some "creativity" to the video that lends it some legal property or another, though I am not sure what. You could turn your monitor upside down when you watch it. ^Avicenna_sis @ 07:49, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

The video is flipped left/right not up/down. Watch it in a mirror. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:03, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

While this is not legal advice and I'm not a lawyer, the chance simply flipping the video would do anything about the copyright status is close to none barring additional claims (for example if you are claiming the flipped version is better or proves that the creators are working with the devil or whatever and use a short portion to demonstrate this then you could potentially make a fair use claim). The reason why it may benefit here is I'm guessing Youtube or others have automatic copyvio detecting tools which aren't yet designed to detect such videos. As an example a few days ago I did a search for the controversial US non goal (can't remember why since I have a recording), most of the ones seemed deleted but I hit upon one which had been recorded off a TV or monitor with a camera. The quality was shit but at a random guess this probably was one of the reasons I could see it, it couldn't be automatically detected. Nil Einne (talk) 10:55, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Article/Short Composition Wanted By Today

27 June 2010 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.198.3.7 (talk) 07:39, 27 June 2010 (UTC) I want a short article on the topic- "Importance Of Adult Education" by today in 150 words, as i have to submit it tomorrow. It should be of school standard. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.198.3.7 (talk) 07:38, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Welcome to the Wikipedia Reference Desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misinterpretation, but it is our policy here not to do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn. Please attempt to solve the problem or answer the question yourself first. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, feel free to tell us where you are stuck and ask for help. If you need help grasping the concept of a problem, by all means let us know. ^Avicenna_sis @ 07:46, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Search Wikipedia. There are many articles on here, and there's probably articles about Adult education. Chevymontecarlo - alt 09:09, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Adult education. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:17, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

I'll start for you.

There are plenty of people who don't study when they are young and instead transparently try and get others to do their home work for them at the last minute without even offering any payment and even though the header clearly warns them they can expect no such help. While far from a perfect solution, adult education can help teach such people to function independently and help them better their lives when they begin to realise the mistakes of their youth as they encounter their many limitations in adulthood. Clearly the benefits aren't just to the individual as the people who use adult education may becomes productive members of society instead of relying on welfare or crime to support them.

Nil Einne (talk) 10:50, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Please help me find

It was an animated show about a boy and his St. Bernard dog, the dog was abused and pulled a cart, it was a dutch show, the boy at obe stage lost his ability to speak, this was due to trauma he had experiences. The boy was an orphan. This show was aired in south africa in the early 90's. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.89.16.154 (talk) 11:12, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

You might want to ask at WP:RD/E. Chevymontecarlo 16:46, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Cheren

http://pokebeach.com/news/0610/black-white-character-cheren.jpg

Where does the name Cheren come from? The only things I could find were a village in Eritrea (which is now named Keren, anyway) and Cherenkov radiation, neither of which seems to fit.

Also, is Cheren male or female? Pokébeach outright says that Cheren is female, but when I looked at their forums, it seems that people can't decide. --75.25.103.109 (talk) 11:18, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Subsidies and discrimination

In some countries, many actually, there are laws against discrimination based on age. However, in the same countries, you also get subsidies or tax breaks, for hiring young people. Crazy, isn't it?--Quest09 (talk) 12:50, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't understand what question you are asking. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 13:17, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, it is crazy. As crazy as many other regulations. Mr.K. (talk) 13:27, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Dragoon Mountains of Arizona

Where did the Dragoon Mountains get their name? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zilchll (talk • contribs) 14:01, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

The Wikipedia article on the Dragoon Mountains does not say, but there is likely some connection to the Dragoons, a type of early-modern military unit that was a hybrid of an infantry and a cavalry unit. --Jayron32 14:06, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Any tree?

I'm asking this question to the natives of New York: Can you see a tree there? --Extra 999 (Contact ^me + _contribs) 15:37, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

You don't need to be in New York (I assume you mean New York City) to see the trees there. Go to Google Maps and use the Satellite view. You can see many trees. Also, see Central Park. --- Medical geneticist (talk) 15:45, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Just look at the article on New York City. There are trees in the very first picture on the page. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:14, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Ginko biloba

I've emailed the NYC Parks Dept with no response -- I've noticed that many institutions of higher learning in NYC possess Ginko biloba trees on the street by the main entrance (Pace University, Columbia University (Morningside), Fashion Institute of Technology, Yeshiva University. Could anyone comment on this finding? I've seen Ginkos around Manhattan as well (3rd Ave) but I wonder if they were planted in clusters for some education-related significance. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 17:05, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

pie-baking

When I was a youth in the 40's, my mother used to bake pies called "TOO-chays" (don't know how it was spelled), a custard-like pie (no upper crust), usually with red or black rasberries or cherries, depending on season. She had a recipe, but of course it's lost. Would anyone recognize that pie-type, and even better, would anyone have a recipe? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rjofrochester (talk • contribs) 20:07, 27 June 2010 (UTC)