Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Welcome to the miscellaneous section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

skip to bottom

Select a section:

• Computing
• Entertainment
• Humanities
• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Miscellaneous
• Archives

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

• Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
• Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
• Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
• Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
• Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
• Note:
  • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
  • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
  • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
  • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

• The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

See also:

• Teahouse
• Help desk
• Village pump
• Help manual

November 16

Nicaraguan power lines

A few years ago I touched a power line in a rural area of Nicaragua (well, not that rural I guess, right off the highway) and received a large shock. This was at a residence. How dangerous was this / what voltage was likely on the power line? 149.169.106.74 (talk) 01:02, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

For starters, see Mains electricity by country for the official voltage - 120 V. Someone else should answer about the danger level. 184.147.123.169 (talk) 02:00, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

If your hands had been damp and your other hand earthed, then the current could easily have killed you at 120v. Often, dry conditions mean that skin resistance is high, limiting the current to just an unpleasant shock, but the danger of death can never be completely eliminated. Power lines in most countries are well out of reach. Dbfirs 08:22, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

What kind of Solo did Dangerous Dan McGrew play?

Back o' the bar, in a Solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew

And watching his luck was his light o' love, the lady that's known as Lou

I had the notion, based on some geographical clues vaguely remembered from The Penguin Book of Card Games, that the Solo in question was a three-player skat-like game in which Jacks are always trump (if there is a trump), and rank JC JS JH JD, followed in the trump suit by ATKQ987, and all other suits rank ATKQ987. A bit of Googling suggests that this may be Six-bid Solo (on which WDNHAAOE).

But our solo whist article claims Dan for itself. Solo whist seems to have some similarities with Six-bid Solo in the names and approximate meanings of some of the bids, but success is determined purely by number of tricks rather than by card values, and the Tens are apparently not promoted, and it's a four-player game.

Can anyone settle the question? And, shouldn't we have an article on Six-bid Solo? I'm not quite sure that's right either — this link does not mention Jacks being trump or Tens being promoted above the King. --Trovatore (talk) 02:26, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Grand Canyon Trail (east of Roosevelt Point)

For the life of me, I can't figure out what trail this is (or if it's a trail at all). It's EAST of Roosevelt Point (on the Walhalla Plateau, North Rim).

http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?params=36_13_28_N_111_55_35_W

What trail is this? Tonto? Nankoweap? An unnamed primitive trail? Or is it just a stream bed or something? It's clearly visible from Roosevelt Point, though. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Doctorcherokee (talk • contribs) 03:14, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Looks like a dry stream bed to me. Rmhermen (talk) 03:44, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Yeah, it's just a canyon bottom -- probably very difficult to get to. Looie496 (talk) 04:47, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Actually that's called Kwagunt canyon, and apparently it's possible to hike up it from the river, although challenging. Looie496 (talk) 05:03, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Be very careful about hiking off of established trails in the Grand Canyon. Certainly you should not do so alone or if you are not an experienced desert and off-trail mountain hiker, and you must be sure to bring enough water to meet your needs until you reach a sure source of drinkable water. That can mean a very heavy load of water if you start from the bottom of the canyon and are considering hiking off trail to the rim. You would need at least two days for such a hike, depending on the distance and the difficulty of the route. And you would need to carry enough water for the entire hike, which would limit the amount of food and gear that you could carry. The biggest danger, of course, is that you could be injured or dehydrated in a remote area and could be dead by the time a search party finds you. A lesser danger is that you are alive when a search party finds you and then have to pay the bill for their efforts. Marco polo (talk) 16:26, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Name of CEO

What is the name of CEO of Swiss Timing LTD?59.180.145.25 (talk) 09:04, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't know, but I have added a title to stop this being part of the question above... gazhiley 10:51, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

On December 16, 2011, it was Eckhard Frank.[1] Clarityfiend (talk) 11:17, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

There is no British company registered with that name - what area are you enquiring about? Gurumaister (talk) 16:48, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Parts of a table knife

Does anyone know the name of the metal collar/band of metal on an old fashioned table/eating knife that is found between the blade and handle, presumably covering up where the tang enters the handle. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.192.180.220 (talk) 17:36, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

The bit between the sharpened edged and the handle is traditional called a guard. I don't know if this is the answer to your question though. Can you link to a image.Aspro (talk) 18:18, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

This page has some very detailed knife parts diagrams which confirm it's a guard. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 18:21, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Here is a link to an ebay page with the kind of knives I mean, it is the name of the metal "collar" between blade and handle I'm after. javascript:;http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-QUALITY-VINTAGE-TROVATO-L-HARRISON-FAUX-BONE-STAINLESS-TABLE-DESSERT-KNIVES-/370689387428?pt=UK_Collectables_Kitchenalia_RL&hash=item564ecf2ba4 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.192.180.220 (talk) 14:56, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, we do have an article on everything you know: Parts of a Knife which says it's a ricasso, or it could be a choil. This page calls it a bolster though. --TammyMoet (talk) 10:30, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

How do you keep people who aren't supposed to call you from calling you?

I'm in the US and I'm listed on the national do-not-call list. I keep getting calls from a lower credit card rate thing. It used to say "consider this your last call. Press 3 to be removed from the list". I did press 3 on many calls, but I kept getting them. Now they don't say that, but the calls keep coming. If I get on the line, as soon as I say "do not call list" they abruptly hang up. Their phone number is 258-000-xxxx, which is probably bogus - the 000 exchange and there doesn't seem to be a 258 area code. Is there a way to stop these calls? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 20:02, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Get a new phone number. --Jayron32 20:15, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Cold calling idiots are refining their approaches and training in order to be less bothered by people who wish to give their staff lectures about why they shouldn't be calling. Just as Bubba73 says, these staff are now trained to hang up without comment as soon as they detect any sign of reluctance on the part of the person being called. This is even more incredibly rude than cold calling in the first place, but it does have the positive effect that the staff (once trained to do it consistently) no longer have any feelings of guilt about dismissing the very legitimate complaints of the person being called.

I've experimented with different ways of dealing with this.

1. Directing an immediate string of foul-mouthed abuse at the caller is relatively ineffective (since they are trained to expect it and to just hang up immediately). I also worry that, since these calls are often recorded, some companies may even try to take action against you for it.
2. Saying "oh, that's my dad, wait a moment and I'll get him" is vaguely amusing for the first couple of times, but (unlike cold callers a few years ago) if you keep them waiting more than five seconds they'll just hang up as per usual, so not really effective.
3. Saying "oh, that's my dad, I'm sorry, he died in 1908 / yesterday / earlier this afternoon" may provide slightly more amusement but I haven't tried it yet. If you do the 1908 variant really well, with just the right tone of surprise in your voice that they should want him, they should end the call politely rather than just hanging up on you (you win extra points for this as you can then either end the call politely yourself, or not.)
4. "Oh, that's my son, he's only four!"
5. Variations on the above... it's your son and he died last winter and he died of ... all sorts of implausible things. And so on. I once convinced an "injury claims" service to begin opening a claim on my behalf about an injury I sustained from an elephant.
6. Hanging up without comment (you really have to train yourself to be able to do this without even pausing or saying goodbye) is a fair and just way to react to their approach, and the unexpected suddenness of it is satisfying, although of course it only holds them up a few seconds and won't shock them much.
7. If they don't give their name, ask for their name; when they give you their name, say, "Oh, hello name" either as pleasantly as possible or with as much contempt as you can possibly manage, then immediately hang up without further comment. Worth experimenting to get exactly the tone you like. (The third option for tone here is nonchalant - get this exactly right and they may well be convinced you hung up by accident.)
8. Get their name and then say, "Well, name, I hope you're able to find a proper job soon", as politely as possible, then hang up. It's vital to make sure you hang up before they do (you may need to practice talking faster just to manage this).

Hope this helps you to deal with these calls, even though it won't help you to make them stop calling. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 21:03, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Much less satisfying would be to get a phone that allows you to bar certain area codes from calling you. I'm sure they exist. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 21:12, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

I want to stop the calls, not have fun with them. A few years ago I asked the phone company about their "call block" service, and they said that I could no block them, if it is a long-distance call. And if I get a new phone number, what is to stop them from calling it? What if it is unlisted? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 21:56, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

It usually takes the 30 days allowed by law for then to stop calling. A friend who was getting similar calls about lowering his utility rates had the same issue, it finally stopped 30 days after he spoke to a live rep. How long ago did you first press 3? μηδείς (talk) 22:49, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

I've been on the national do-not-call list for years and I started pressing 3 to tell them to take me off the list several months ago. I've tried speaking to a live person twice (including today) and they immediately hang up once I ask them not to call. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:50, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Understood. But if everyone relieved their own stress level slightly by "having fun" with these jokers, then these jokes would learn not to waste their time by bothering us like this. Just my approach. And yes, most of the unsolicited calls I get are unlisted - that's why I hit back. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 01:22, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Many of these characters don't care about the do-not-call list. You could get a system with capability of blocking phone numbers. Some VOIP systems have that. If that's too much trouble, just check the caller ID, and if you don't recognize it, don't answer it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:14, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

I do have caller ID and check it, but I still have to get up to check it (depending on where I am). Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:50, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

An option would be to get a phone where you do not have to get up to check the caller ID. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 01:20, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

We have five phones throughout the house. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 01:51, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Unfortunately, Bugs is correct, a lot of these callers simply don't care. You cannot sue them yourself. The best that can happen is if there are enough complaints they'll get fined by their state attorney general or regulatory agency. And they will simply route calls from out of state or out of the country to avoid this. There's usually no way you can prove that you have requested to be on their do not call list. My strategy has always been to set the ans machine to 5 rings (most telemarketers will hang up at 4 rings) and to tell people to leave a message and if I am there I 9 and haven't seen their CID) I will pick up. I turn the ringer off at 9pm and back on when I get home. There are various white list/black list devices that will block unknown or let through only authorized calls, for example. Given it's a one-time expense I'd suggest you consider something similar. μηδείς (talk) 01:41, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, that may be worth it! It is nice that you just have to have it on one line and it handles all extensions. I do have the answering machine set to five rings, but I still get messages and most calls I want to answer when they come in. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 01:56, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

I saw a TV feature recently about what to do with spam calls. They said actually the worst thing you can do is engage them in conversation, because then they know they have a live body and may pass your phone number along to other telemarketers. The best thing to do, short of call blocking is to not answer. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:15, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

My dad answers them as if they called a 900 number he's pretending to work at, as best as he can without getting rung up on obscenity charges. They don't call as often anymore for some reason. If my cousin, my former minister, or I get the chance and aren't doing anything, we like to just waste their time, get them through all of their spiel until they have no additional material to spout off, and then go "No... I don't think so. Please don't call again." Both of these things apparently can and do build a reputation there. Ian.thomson (talk) 02:05, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Or you could do like that one radio personality did, and pretend to be a policeman investigating a homocide scene, and ask the guy what his connection is to the deceased. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:13, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Obviously his gay lover. :) -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 20:47, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Bingo. If you haven't heard it, it's on youtube, probably several places. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:29, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Okay, I had a hard enough time figuring out what Jack meant. please either explain, or provide a link, Bugs. 04:05, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

[2] Trio The Punch (talk) 20:10, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Brilliant! I'm gonna try that tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day ..... -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 20:33, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

In the UK, apart from the Telephone Preference Service for landline numbers, there is an app for your mobile phone called Mr. Number, and this app blocks numbers for you. You have to tell it which numbers to block, but once you have had one spam call you then tell it to block that number as spam. It will work with spam texts too. And it's free. And it's also in the US. Honestly, if my landline wasn't connected to my broadband service I'd ditch the landline because of the number of spam calls. --TammyMoet (talk) 09:14, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this news article yet. I don't know if the legal position would be quite as clear-cut in the USA, unfortunately. Tevildo (talk) 21:17, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

One issue would be the recording of the calls, which can be illegal according to various state laws if both parties do not agree to it ahead of time. For out of state calls, the regulations are effing ridiculous. According to the FCC:

The FCC protects the privacy of telephone conversations by requiring notification before a recording device is used to record interstate (between different states) or international wireline calls. Interstate or international wireline conversations may not be recorded unless the use of the recording device is:
preceded by verbal or written consent of all parties to the telephone conversation; or
preceded by verbal notification that is recorded at the beginning, and as part of the call, by the recording party; or
accompanied by an automatic tone warning device, sometimes called a “beep tone,” that automatically produces a distinct signal that is repeated at regular intervals during the course of the telephone conversation when the recording device is in use.
Also, a recording device can only be used if it can be physically connected to and disconnected from the telephone line or if it can be switched on and off.

And remember, this applies even if they have called you unsolicited. μηδείς (talk) 23:05, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

All the better. As soon as they hear that beep, they'll know they're being recorded, and they'll drop you like a hot potato. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:52, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

You'd already have had to tell them they were being recorded--and it would mess up Tevildo's suggestion, which was the reason for my post. μηδείς (talk) 00:21, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Resolved

Resolved - I hope. Thanks, I followed Medeis' suggestion and ordered one of those devices. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 01:29, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Do make sure you report back. Might get one for my parents for Christmas. μηδείς (talk) 04:24, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

You read my mind! I almost ordered two of them, but it didn't seem to save on shipping. My mother has bad knees, and she really complains about these calls. They get them too, even though I put them on the national do-not-call list. So I decided to try one myself before getting one for them. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:40, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

BTW, there is a very short and very incomplete article on these things: List of devices to screen telephone calls. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:50, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, I got the device today. So far it hasn't had to block any calls. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 21:05, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Are you doing the white list or the black list? And does it allow people with a pin number to get through? μηδείς (talk) 16:44, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Right now a blacklist, but this one is very flexible (which is why I selected it), having both methods. Right now it blocks all invalid numbers, "anon", "out of area", "private", and "unknown". I get a lot of those. You can also block area codes and exchanges. I would block all 800 numbers, but we get announcements from our child's school from an 800 number. When I find out that number, I can block all 800 numbers but then but that one on the whitelist. There is no PIN, but there are two types of whitelist: invited callers and VIP callers. Invited callers get through only at time range you specify whereas VIP callers get through all of the time. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 07:15, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

You can also block individual numbers (in addition to area codes, etc). You can enter known numbers into the block list; or if one gets through, hit the "block" button twice and it adds them to the block list. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 07:20, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Restaurants in Norman, Oklahoma

What are some good restaurants in the Norman, Oklahoma vicinity (Cleveland County, Oklahoma or McClain County, Oklahoma) that would be suitable for a date, with good food yet not too formal or expensive? I've already considered and rejected Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel, and Outback Steakhouse for this particular instance, although that's not to say similar restaurants wouldn't be acceptable. Thanks in advance, Ks0stm ^{(T•C•G•E)} 20:52, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

This isn't really a good place to get restaurant recommendations. I recommend either TripAdvisor or Yelp, both of which rank restaurants according to users' ratings, indicate the price range of each, and also list user reviews. Marco polo (talk) 21:17, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

rapture

"in 1704, Sir Isaac Newton proposed that, based upon his calculations using figures from the Book of Daniel, the Apocalypse could happen no earlier than 2060." This a quote from rapture. how did isaac newton come up with 2060?203.112.82.129 (talk) 21:13, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Does that quote have a source? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:18, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

The source for the quote is here. It refers to a letter he wrote in 1704 and says: "Newton based this figure on religion rather than reasoning." There's another article about it here. Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:22, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

'Religion rather than reasoning' sounds rather needlessly binary. Presumably Newton arrived at the figure by reasoning about religion, and (like the OP), I would be interested to know his basis. AlexTiefling (talk) 22:14, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

The link to the Israeli exhibition that showed his papers is here. Ghmyrtle (talk) 23:13, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

I'm puzzled as to why that entry is under Rapture at all, unless we can demonstrate that Newton believed in the rapture. And that seems anachronistic, since as the article points out, the modern Protestant conception of the rapture was developed in the 1830s. Marnanel (talk) 23:27, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Shortly before Newton's time, there was a rise in Millennialism, with people making various predictions on the end of days because they were tired of the Bad Shit™ and wanted Nice Things™. The exact schedule of said glorious Nigh Ends™ varied between the 1650s to the early 1700s, though no one cared to actually set an exact date as there's no point when it's ending anyway. The favorite, scariest, number being obviously 1666 AD with its surfeit of beasty marks. And it seemed likely too, with black death and wars and all that happening during that time. It panicked a few folks, including Newton himself. In his old age, ashamed at getting askeered of an apocalypse that didn't arrive, he decided to determine the date himself with SCIENCE!™ So he pored and calculated over the Bible. There are various vague predictions in it of course, which each spawned various WE ALL DIE!™ dates, but he specifically picked out a particular passage: Daniel 12, specifically 12:11 which says:

And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Daniel 12:11

Taken literally, the prophecy says that a last empire will be established, and then 1260 days later, the temple of Jerusalem is desecrated and the world goes boom. The problem is defining which the last empire would be, as well as the correlation of the 1260 days with other numbers mentioned with it and in other books in the Revelation. This resulted in various aborted end of days predictions through the years.

Ghmyrtle's links above has a page that discusses how Newton came upon this and did marvelous SCIENCE!™ Here. Newton assumed, like many in his time assumed, that the last empire being talked about would be the Holy Roman Empire. It started around 800 AD with Charlemagne's coronation by Pope Leo III, and since the world didn't end 1260 days after and nor did it end in 1260 AD, Newton decided that the 1260 "days" actually means 1260 years; thus 800 AD + 1260 "days" (=years) = 2060 AD, or at least a little bit later, but certainly not within his lifetime. Whew. SCIENCE!™ ftw! -- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 00:33, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

"And thet, my liege, is how we kneuw the Earth to be banahna-shaped. --Trovatore (talk) 00:36, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

If I had to guess (based on other millenarian prophecies), he was probably thinking "well, God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th, so God'll let the world exist 6000 years ('a day is as a thousand years to God, and a thousand years is as a day'), and establish the 1000 year kingdom after that." From there, it was a matter of deciding when year 0 of creation was. Since he wrote revisionist history to fit whatever schemes he wanted to believe, he probably arrived at 3940 BC as year 0 from the classic "add up all the ages in the genealogies in the Bible and subtract them from whenever Jesus was born, modified by "well, the Pharoahs had to live at this time based on absolutely nothing." Ian.thomson (talk) 04:47, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Though, reading Obsidian Soul's post in more detail, would be just as likely to have been where Newton went, except that Obsidian Soul has a source while I am merely going on personal knowledge of other's eschatological paranoia. Ian.thomson (talk)

I think Obsidian Soul has it. That certainly explains the exactness of the date, and the reason why it's a minimum. AlexTiefling (talk) 10:15, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Not sure I get why it's a minimum. If God can squeeze an eternity into the flap of a gnat's wing and vice versa, then it seems to me it could go either way. (Reminds me of a Galactic Standard Week turning out to be one hour.) --Trovatore (talk) 02:09, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Wait, I was partly wrong. The source of the 1260 is not Daniel 12:11, which actually says 1,290 days. The 1260, comes from an earlier figure in Daniel 12:7 apparently:

And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished Daniel 12:7

The phrase "a time, times, and half a time" is taken to mean 3.5 days. Given day=year, as usual, that would be 3.5 years, a biblical year is 360 days divided into 30 months. 3.5 x 360 = 1260 years. The phrase (a time, times, and half a time) is also in Rev 12:14; 42 months (which is 42 * 30 days = 1260) is in Rev 11:2; and the actual number 1260 is in Rev. 11:3. Given all these, the end times would begin in 1260, then the desecration happens in 1290, and finally the end of everything in 1335.

This is what Newton said exactly:

So then the time times and half a time are 42 months or 1260 days or three years and an half, reckoning twelve months to a year and 30 days to a month as was done in the Calendar of the primitive year. And the days of short lived Beasts being put for the years of lived [sic] kingdoms, the period of 1260 days, if dated from the complete conquest of the three kings A.C. 800, will end A.C. 2060. It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner. This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail. Christ comes as a thief in the night, and it is not for us to know the times and seasons which God hath put into his own breast.

My mind hurts.-- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 11:27, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

You're not the only one to be confused - Daniel himself responded to the vision, "And I heard, but I did not understand" (Daniel 12:8). The vision's reply is instructive: he tells Daniel not to worry about it because it's a closed book until the end of time, but (significantly) "They will be clarified and whitened, and many will be purified, and the wicked will pervert [them], and all the wicked will not understand, but the wise will understand." (Dan 12:10). Rashi's commentary explains as follows:

"They will be clarified and whitened: [i. e.,] these calculations.

and… will be purified: [i.e.,] many [will be purified] by them to understand them.

and the wicked will pervert: the calculations by computing them incorrectly, and when they terminate, they will say that there is no more redemption.

will not understand: All the wicked [will not understand] them.

but the wise will understand: them when the time of the end arrives."

In other words, only the wise will ever understand this prophecy and they'll only understand it just before the world ends! --Dweller (talk) 12:36, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Not exactly relevant, but one of the aforementioned millennialist groups during Newton's time were the Fifth Monarchists, if you would like to read about what those kinds of groups tended to believe. Adam Bishop (talk) 03:29, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Does it make sense for a young woman to anti-romantic and still find guys attractive?

Does it make sense for a young woman to have no interest in dating or have relationships with guys but find some guys attractive? Is that called anti-romantic? Neptunekh94 (talk) 23:44, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

She could be opposed to traditional notions of romance out of feminist or conservative values, but still be heterosexual. (Too many) guys are not into romance but are certainly attracted to women, why wouldn't there be women like that? Ian.thomson (talk) 23:51, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

It makes perfect sense. It's the default guy behavior. Or at least we pretend it is.-- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 00:51, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

I have known many women who certainly found men (or women) attractive but refused to date because they felt they weren't ready for a relationship, either due to a recent breakup or being too busy with work/school. It never struck me as weird at all. According to romantic comedies, that describes at least half of the women on the planet. Someguy1221 (talk) 01:46, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes. She can still be sexually attracted to guys and mastrubate to their pics without expressing any romantic interests in them, such as dating, et cetera. Futurist110 (talk) 08:25, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Or she can appreciate male beauty in the same way I appreciate the beauty of trees, say. —Tamfang (talk) 09:26, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Unless you're sexually turned on by trees, it would be a bad analogy. Futurist110 (talk) 22:04, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

The relevant word in the question is attractive. That's not exclusively sexual on my planet. —Tamfang (talk) 09:45, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

It is exclusively sexual on my planet. Futurist110 (talk) 21:03, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Then you live on a different planet than most people. It's not often used by men in relation to other people, but women often use it of other women, and only a small percentage of users of the word are lesbians. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 22:28, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

I've never heard a girl call another girl attractive. Pretty, Yes. Attractive, No. How about we ask Neptunekh94 what he means by the term "attractive"? Futurist110 (talk) 00:39, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

In my circle of (largely) female friends, I can confirm that words "attractive" "pretty" "stunning" "sexy" "phwoar" etc etc are regularly used by them, to describe men and women alike... And only one or two of my friends are Bi... And most of the woman are either engaged or married, or in long term manogamous relationships... As my brother-in-law once told me "Just cause you own a portrait, doesn't mean you can't visit the gallery"... So therefore it is perfectly reasonable for men and women to find someone attractive without wanting a relationship... gazhiley 09:42, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

I think of it as the female equivalent to something W.C. Fields once said: "To me, women are like elephants - I like to look at 'em; but I wouldn't want to own one." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:57, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

That is one of many different patterns recognised in the asexual community. Some refer to it as grey-A. --ColinFine (talk) 17:45, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

November 18

Pizza dreams

I know of at least three different people, none of whom know each other, who happen to have strange dreams after eating pizza. I've also heard of this happening with people who eat pasta with tomato sauce, so I'm thinking that the culprit is a type of herb found in tomato sauce. Has anyone been able to figure out which ingredient is responsible for enhancing the dream state? Viriditas (talk) 12:36, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

I have heard this nugget repeatedly throughout my life, I have always assumed that it is an old wives' tale enhanced by confirmation bias. Two very powerful herbs indeed. --Jayron32 12:44, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

It's neither an old wives tale nor confirmation bias. None of the people involved mentioned tomato sauce or pizza to me. As it turns out, tomato sauce was the common food item ingested by all three before they went to bed. I suspect that these people have some kind of sensitivity to the herbs in the sauce, as I have never had strange dreams after eating tomato sauce. Viriditas (talk) 12:52, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Or the cheese, perhaps. 88.104.4.123 (talk) 13:41, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Totally anecdotal, but when I eat foods that might cause indigestion or any sensation as they pass, such as pickles, hot mustard, pepperoni, wasabi, hot chili, Chinese, Thai or Indian food, jalapenos, etc., I tend to have more vivid or disturbing dreams. My guess is that one, this has to due with the 'gut brain', and two, the tendency of the brain to incorporate ssomatic stimuli during sleep into a dream. For example, if I sleep in a cold room I will dream I am outside in bad weather. If I sleep on my arm so that it is numb I will dream I have wounded it. If I sleep with my mouth open and it is dried out I will dream my mouth is full of ash or my teeth are falling out. See Dream#Incorporation_of_reality. μηδείς (talk) 17:54, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Do you think that Chinese, Thai and Indian people routinely have disturbing dreams? HiLo48 (talk) 19:44, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes, if they eat something like a lot of cheese or milk causing gas that they are not used to. Or was your question whether I am a racist? μηδείς (talk) 20:00, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

No, wasn't thinking racist at all. It was the matter of perspective, and maybe cultural differences. It was at least partly a serious question. Your response addresses it well. HiLo48 (talk) 21:19, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

I should have added spicy since fried rice never gives me nightmares, but assumed it was obvious in the context--God, I am hungry now. μηδείς (talk) 22:56, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

I think we have dreams all the time, but forget most of them by the time we awake. However, any food which causes you to wake up while in the dream stage results in you recalling them. So, unusual or hard to digest foods, or those consumed in large quantities, might do it. StuRat (talk) 22:24, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

There is also the dreams of the rarebit fiend. :-P --85.55.204.69 (talk) 23:26, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

And we're coming up to that part of year where Scrooge quotes apply: "You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!" ". StuRat (talk) 23:34, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Do you mean scare quotes? Those look like regular quotes to me. Are scrooge quotes decrepit and less generous, kind of ≈like this≈? μηδείς (talk) 20:31, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

[In response to Jayron's now deleted comment: "Sigh...", I said]: First, please keep your bodily functions to yourself, Jayron, I don't report my quee... farts to readers. Second, I know who Scrooge is, what Westerner doesn't? But I still don't know what ≈Scrooge quotes≈ are. My Mom does have the Dickens' Village Scrooge House, though. It's going for twice used what she paid for it on Amazon. μηδείς (talk) 04:11, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

I take it you are joking, but Jayron didn't get it. I can barely tell, myself. I suggest you use small text, a smiley after, a LOL, or another method to make such dry humor more obvious. StuRat (talk) 04:49, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Actually, I was flummoxed for more than a day by your comment, and only just figured it out right before Jayron recanted. It sounds so natural: "Scrooge Quotes". (And I do think it horribly rude to sigh in one's writing, not just to the person you're sighing at, but everyone.) I think there is a book about phrases and words that should have meanings because they sound so good, and "scrooge quotes" definitely belongs there. μηδείς (talk) 05:03, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Wow, I thought everyone would immediately get that it's a reference to Ebenezer Scrooge, especially when I included a direct quotation from that character. StuRat (talk) 07:18, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

I thought you made up the statement, since I don't associate food talk except of turkey with the story, and were referring to it as a scrooge quote for being mean spirited or something, kind of the way one speaks of a spoonerism without attributing it to Spooner. Does the quote come from the book? I have only ever seen the cartoon. μηδείς (talk) 17:18, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

I haven't read the book, but I assume it's in there, since it's in every stage and screen version I've seen. I assume the problem with the cartoon version is that it's too short, so leaves out all the great lines like this. One of the best versions was an old black-and-white film, since it's the only one which explained how Scrooge and Marley got rich (accountants of that era rarely did). As I recall, they were called in to do an audit of a company with "certain financial irregularities". It turned out that the company treasurer was embezzling money. The great part was how completely unrepentant he was. He knew that they wouldn't call the police, as this would panic the investors. So, he was allowed to retire "for health reasons", having already spent all the money. Scrooge and Marley then said they have a fiduciary responsibility to fully disclose the results of the audit to the stockholders ... unless, of course, they were to be made shareholders themselves. And thus they got 51% of the company as "hush money", and soon used that controlling interest to enrich themselves. StuRat (talk) 04:26, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

• Sleep Tight, the 1992 San Francisco stage show by Bliss Kolb and Bob Venezia, used the premise that, after eating a late-night pizza, a man has a series of strange dreams. Before the show started, a video ran showing a mouth eating one slice of pizza after another. Buffalo News July 2, 1995 "Pizza Dreams" notes "eating pizza causes me to have weird dreams." There's a pizza dreams app (to find pizza).-- Uzma Gamal (talk) 12:40, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

When do royalties start after advance?

Our article Advance against royalties says

For example, a book's author may sell a license to a publisher in return for 5% royalties on sales of the book and a $5,000 advance against those royalties. In this case, the author would immediately receive the $5,000, and royalty payments would be withheld until the publisher's takings from selling copies of the book reached $5,000, after which point the 5% royalty would be paid on any additional sales.

It previously said

...withheld until the publisher's takings from selling copies of the book reached $100,000...

but an IP with no other edits before or since changed it on 14 July 2011 to $5,000 with the edit summary

Changed the amount the publisher would receive before paying royalties. They would have to cover the advance of $5k before paying out the 5%. Previously the text claimed $100,000. Not sure how this arbitrary sum was arrived at, but this was wrong.

Which is right? I would think it would be $100,000 since at that point at 5% royalties the withheld royalties have offset the advance. References, please. Duoduoduo (talk) 15:17, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Reading this, which is the website of a literary agent, royalties being payed after $100,000 in publisher's takings would be correct if the royalties are payed net (i.e. calculated as a percentage of publishers takings). If the royalties are payed on retail price that would be $100,000 worth of books at reatil price, rather than publisher's takings. In any case the $5,000 figure is wrong as it currently stands. Equisetum (talk | contributions) 15:45, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, Equisetum. I've corrected the article. Duoduoduo (talk) 15:59, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Surely this is something that can vary depending on where one is in the world, which nobody has mentioned. HiLo48 (talk) 19:42, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Only in the sense that minor contractual details could vary. As a general case (do royalties following an $x advance start after $x sales or after $x royalties would have been paid on $y sales?), only one answer exists worldwide. — Lomn 22:41, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Name of Game?

There was a game I remember from middle school where one player selected a four digit number and the other player guessed a number and was told how many digits were in the correct place and how many were the right digit but in the wrong place. We called it bullseye because the right number ion the right place was called a bullseye (and in the wrong place was called a hit.) Does anyone know what this game is called? (I want to see if I can find a discuss of strategies online.) Thanks. RJFJR (talk) 16:05, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Bulls and cows. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 16:15, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Never knew that. I knew it as Mastermind. Mingmingla (talk) 18:16, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Invicta Plastics (on whom we don't have an article!) always used to get very annoyed if any publication missed out the space ("Mastermind" rather than "Master Mind"). Cf "Biro". Tevildo (talk) 19:03, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

I would guess that "Mastermind", without the space, can't be copyrighted trademarked, being a single English word. StuRat (talk) 23:36, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

I would guess that copyright is completely irrelevant; this would be a trademark issue, and quite certainly single English words can be trademarked. Your confusion may be that descriptive English words cannot be trademarked (at least under US law.) So, I couldn't trademark "MILK" for the brand name of my bovine product. However, I could very well trademark "MILK" for my line of footwear. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 02:15, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

I had thought you were describing Mastermind. Loved that game. μηδείς (talk) 22:53, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Very similar to what I remember as "bagels". WP has bagel (game), which redirects to a page that describes it. --Trovatore (talk) 02:19, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

False flag campaign ads ?

In the US, since superPACs are now allowed to buy ads without revealing their donors, can they put out an ad supposedly for a candidate, which is really against them ? At the end, when they say something silly like "Paid for by Americans for truth, justice, and the American Way", that certainly won't give us any clue who really paid for it, after all. StuRat (talk) 23:44, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

((( What is a PAC? What is a superPAC? -- SGBailey (talk) 11:25, 20 November 2012 (UTC) )))

A PAC is a Political Action Committee. They can campaign for specific candidates, but also have to report their donors. A superPAC, on the other hand, doesn't have to report it's donors. They are supposed to just campaign on issues, and aren't supposed to support or oppose a specific candidate, but they get around that easily by avoiding a few key words in their ads. Thus we get ads that say "tell candidate X how you feel" rather than "vote candidate X out of office". StuRat (talk) 17:20, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

I am not sure what you mean by no clue who paid for it. But why shouldn't they be able to say whatever they want? I'd think a sarcastic 'pro-' ad could work brilliantly. μηδείς (talk) 04:22, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

In the last election, we got a taped message phone call which purported to be from the Tea Party urging us to vote for the Republican candidate for the state legislature, telling us about his conservative beliefs, but if you sat through the whole message, at the end, it indicated that it was paid for by the Democratic candidate. Apparently it was an attempt at associating the Republican with the Tea Party. 216.93.234.239 (talk) 04:27, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

That would be like trying to associate Poland with Warsaw. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:27, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

I've just noticed a series of fumbled attempts to hat this comment, so I hope this shows up: Bugs is correct to imply that the Tea Party is pretty much a proper subset of the Republican Party. Whether that would be accurate, or complimentary, as an association to draw about a specific candidate, depends on the candidate, and could be highly debateable. But if it's true that a Democratic campaign paid for a message like the one described, that would definitely seem to be a false flag operation. AlexTiefling (talk) 16:30, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

And I've just unhatted that, because censoring the context for my reply is unhelpful, and what Bugs says is hardly earth-shatteringly controversial. AlexTiefling (talk) 17:04, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

And I've just re-hatted. Bugs is notorious for using the ref desks as a platform for mocking Republicans. This isn't the place for that. Please don't do that again. Joefromrandb (talk) 17:10, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

I've just unhatted it. If you will hat Bugs' comment, then you will also need to hat the last comment in the post to which Bugs replied, as that contains the inherent presumption that the Tea Party is not associated with the Republican, which to many people would be illogical - which was Bugs' point. A simple logical statement, not soapboxing, unless you are reading "the Tea Party" with prejudice-tinted spectacles, which is hardly appropriate here. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 18:10, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

You could have left it as I had it. The editor made a "baiting" comment with an inherent false assumption, as you indicate. Most if not all the teabaggers have run in the Republican primaries to try to replace moderate or reasonable Republicans with radical right-wingers. The voting public has begun to figure them out, and are working on weeding them out. But they are typically under the Republican aegis, for better or worse. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:37, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Things like that can be effective if they are untraceable, but they backfire if they are done in the light of day. Looie496 (talk) 04:37, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Am I missing something? I thought PACs were required to list their donors. μηδείς (talk) 05:35, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

They are. But donations to super PACs can be made through anonymous corporations, making the donations essentially untraceable. A8875 (talk) 06:15, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

That's hardly true. Corporations have to be registered, they're not some sort of magical entity. It just means there's more work to be done. The implicit message here is that stupid uninformed voters shouldn't actually have to figure out what's going on for themselves, someone else should do that for them. μηδείς (talk) 17:02, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Registration doesn't equal disclosing the shareholders list. There are plenty of jurisdictions out there offering the option of anonymous bearer share corporations; Seychelles, Belize, and Panama to name a few.A8875 (talk) 18:45, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

A super PAC here being a PAC that has no direct affiliation with any political party or candidate, and is just a corporate citizen speaking its mind. Even when PACs have revealed their donor lists, those lists have often turned out to consist of even more obscure PACs rather than actual names. Someguy1221 (talk) 06:53, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

But those obscure PACs are legally required to disclose donor lists, no matter how obscure they are. It's basically a form of obfuscation through paper trails. However, by the end of the day, all those donor lists are freely accessible online[3], so it only takes a bit of programming skills to sort through the money trail. This is not the case with super PACs, where donors can set up an off-shore anonymous corporation, make a donation, and dissolve that corporation, leaving no paper trails behind. A8875 (talk) 07:18, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

StuRat, is there an actual request for references here? If not I think it's time someone marked this incitement to debate as resolved. μηδείς (talk) 17:02, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes, what, if anything, would prevent a super PAC from putting out an ad which appears to support one candidate, but really undermines them. I'm not talking about a satirical ad, where you can tell, by the end, that it's making fun of the candidate it seems to support, but something more subtle, perhaps misrepresenting that candidate's positions. StuRat (talk) 02:44, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Who are you going to put in charge of stopping such misrepresentation, the Democrats, the Republicans, or both? Remember that the bipartisan election committee decided in 1992 that any candidate polling above 5% would be included in all future presidential debates, and then Perot, who was polling around 10% in 1996, was excluded arbitrarily (i.e, at the behest of both Clinton and Dole) because he was "not a serious candidate"; the rules be fucked. I am all in favor of stronger enforcement of the defamation laws, but every recent case about election ads that has been fought as defamation or fraud has been decided on the principle that one can say just about everything in politics. The issue certainly can't be about who is paying for the message, since anyone can pay for anything. The issue has to be truth. But so long as what would normally be defamation under common law is fair play, I don't see any legal remedy. μηδείς (talk) 04:03, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Knowing who is paying for an ad is critical to evaluating if it's true or not. In the present climate, if Candidate A funds an ad about Candidate B's positions, we can pretty much assume it to be all lies, while if they are talking about their own positions, there's still some possibility they are telling the truth. This saves a lot of time, but depends on us knowing who really funded the ad. StuRat (talk) 04:55, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Really? In my experience it's usually the other way round! --TammyMoet (talk) 20:31, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

This might be a good time to quote Vilhjalmur Stefansson: "What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public" (Discovery, 1964). -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 02:00, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

The recent US campaigns had more bad lies than a public golf course on senior citizens day. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:32, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Q: "How do you know if a politician is lying?" A: "Their lips are moving." --Jayron32 04:03, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

November 19

Earning free ects credit at an online university

Hi there. I am currently doing a psychology degree at the Open University. UK Bachelor's take three year and consist of 180 credits. Afterwards I will be taking a year off to gain some practical experience and will then proceed to do a master's degree in the UK which consists of 90 credits. Now my problem is that if I want to work in Germany, where I currently live I am expected to have a Bachelor and Master consisting of at least 300 credits. So obviously I have 30 credits missing. The OU offers stand alone courses that I could complete additionally, however since the Bachelor alone costs over 13 thousand euros I was wondering if there are any European online institutions or universities that offer real credit for free, to make up for these missing credits without forking out even more money. Which also brings me to my second question, see below.

A Guide to Tuition-Free Universities for International Students may help? 184.147.123.169 (talk) 19:43, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Work experience converted to ects

Is it possible to somehow have work experience converted to European credits? My friend is studying psychology at a German university and I noticed that they have trimester of practical work experience, where they have no lectures at all but are still awarded the full credit for this time period. My studies do not schedule a practical experience trimester, but I was wondering, since I am planning on getting some work experience in anyway, whether I might not be able to have some credit awarded for doing so? Has anyone done anything similar or know how to go about doing so? I asked at my uni and they seemed quite confused but seemed to be of the opinion that it was not possible. Thank you very much for any help or advice on the matter. :)

ECTS Users Guide is a big document but you might have to read it all. I notice a reference to compulsory work experience on page 16. Page 23 refers to credits for "informal learning". As far as I can tell, it seems to be the university that decides how many credits you get for what - so they should be able to tell you before you sign up for a course. NB, the document I linked also has a phone number at the top that you can call for help. (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) offers translations in case you'd rather read the German version.) 184.147.123.169 (talk) 19:28, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Go back to your uni and say that you would like them to help you find work experience that gets you ECTS credits. They will need to ensure the quality of the placement, but many unis do exactly that. Itsmejudith (talk) 11:50, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

64 hwy

I am trying to find out what year 64 hwy came thur arkansas? thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rogersbabe (talk • contribs) 16:42, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

According to this, U.S. 64 reached east to Memphis in 1930, and was established in 1926, so the answer would be sometime between 1926 and 1930. This page indicates that it has always existed in Arkansas. It ended at Conway, Arkansas in 1926, when it was first designated and it was extended to Marion, Arkansas in 1930 and further to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1933. Wikipedia also has an article titled U.S. Route 64 in Arkansas. --Jayron32 17:54, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Gaza's relation to the upcoming Iran war

The reference desk does not answer requests for opinions or predictions about future events. Do not start a debate; please seek an internet forum instead.
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
Can the ongoing situation in Gaza be viewed as a practice run? --83.84.137.22 (talk) There appears to be little to no credible evidence of such. The situation, militarily and politically, that Israel faces with respect to Palestine is quite unlike what it could face with respect to Iran. — Lomn 19:15, 19 November 2012 (UTC) The Wikipedia reference desk is for factual questions. If and when you want a political argument, please find an appropriate forum for it. This is not it. 88.112.41.6 (talk) 19:19, 19 November 2012 (UTC) There's been an 'upcoming Iran war' for as long as I can remember. Save your hot air. AlexTiefling (talk) 20:21, 19 November 2012 (UTC) Hatting as asking for opinion and prediction in agreement with AT.μηδείς (talk) 20:26, 19 November 2012 (UTC) Perhaps it's the reverse: An attempt, by Iran, to bog down Israel in Gaza by using Hamas, to prevent Israel from attacking it. StuRat (talk) 02:47, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

November 20

creating personal business cards using the Amex Black Card Template?

Does anyone know a site that I can create customized personal business cards (not fraudulent credit cards, just regular business cards id like to hand out to my client like every professional does) using the American express Black Card template? or i'd even consider something similar but want it to be as close as possible. I thought it would be a unique business card rather than the boring cards i get 10 times a day from people. I want my business card to stand out, can anyone help me with this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.14.168.233 (talk) 13:07, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

I am not a lawyer, and we do not give legal advice here, but have you considered the copyright issues involved in doing this? You'd need to seek advice elsewhere regarding the possible consequences of any near duplication... AndyTheGrump (talk) 13:30, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

There are websites that provide free business card templates with a good variety of colors, themes, symbols, fonts, etc. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:23, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

(follow up on Andy's post) Also trade mark, passing off and/or unfair competition issues, depending on what jurisdiction you are in. If it is a professional business card, especially if you are in business yourself, then you really do need to consult a lawyer if you don't want to be sued by Amex --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 10:12, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Definitely, using someone else's logo, for any kind of identification purpose, runs a major risk of legal trouble. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:42, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Why not just go to local stationary supply stores in your area and start inquiring about business cards. They may have some different designs for people like you who want to buck the current trend of boring white business cards. Or you could get a graphic designer to design your own. Dismas|^(talk) 12:49, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

That's discrimination against moving supply stores. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 20:00, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Director of Education of Berkshire

In the 1950s, the Director of Education of Berkshire, was a Mr. Whitfield. Can a user please let me know what Mr. Whitfield's first name was and where he lived? Thank you Simonschaim (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 16:02, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

I put a little time into searching for this person. Probably because he was apparently not very notable and because his position predated the internet by so many decades, I didn't turn anything up. You might get a better result if you inquire at the Berkshire Record Office. Alternatively, if you are in Berkshire, your local public library might have a directory from that time that would list him. Marco polo (talk) 17:27, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

After giving Google a damned good thrashing, I got a search result that said "He asked Mr. T. W. D.. Whitfield, director of education for Berkshire, if...".[4] I can't see the pdf file it refers to. A guess as to what the initial "T" stands for:- I found this list of 1890 babies' names for 1890 (our man would probably be in his 50s or 60s, so not far off), and Thomas is ranked number 4, with Tom at no 36, Timothy at no 136 and Trevor at 184. There are no other "T"s in the list, although Terence and Tobias are remote possibilities. Alansplodge (talk) 18:45, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

November 21

Boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho

This person is not dead. As of 10:43 pm on November 20th, 2012, he is listed as being in critical condition after being shot.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/8658399/hector-macho-camacho-shot-listed-grave-condition — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.234.83.33 (talk) 03:45, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

I'm sure we all wish Mr. Camacho the best, but this page is not a place to make announcements; it's a place to ask questions that can be answered with references. If you're concerned about an edit at the Hector Camacho article, the place to raise that concern would be talk:Héctor Camacho. --Trovatore (talk) 03:56, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Wow, used to ride the train with him all the time. μηδείς (talk) 04:18, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Hiccups

Why does gulping down water make it easier for hiccups to go away? 117.227.38.78 (talk) 05:05, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

They are caused by a feedback loop, so pretty much anything which interrupts the loop has a chance at stopping them. In this respect, it's like using a defibrillator to stop the fibrillation cycle in the heart. And please don't use a defibrillator to cure your hiccups. :-) StuRat (talk) 07:10, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, the dead don't usually hiccup. Kind of a drastic cure, though. An easier way to stop hiccups is to lie down on your back and kind of stretch out. They go away virtually immediately. Works for me, anyway. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:39, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

You should have let Charles Osborne (hiccups) know ;-) Alansplodge (talk) 13:16, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Wow. In his case, it might not have worked. I've not had a hog fall on me. So far. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:26, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Best. Disambiguator. Ever. --Jayron32 17:38, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Disambiguation (disambiguation). Runs. A. Close. Second. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 19:58, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Many people find a method for getting rid of hiccups that works infallibly for them - mine is to take a deep breath and run up and down the stairs until I can't hold my breath any longer. But one person's method won't necessarily work for anyone else, and certainly not for the unfortunate Mr Osborne. --OpenToppedBus - Talk to the driver 16:33, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

My favorite frat-hazing method of curing the hiccups is to mix one cup mayonnaise and one cup coffee grounds (not decaffeinated), until the grounds are well coated and then eat the mixture as quickly as possible. After the violent vomitting ceases, the hiccups will usually also have ceased. This does not constitute medical advice. μηδείς (talk) 17:10, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Here's a list of stupid ways to fix them that probably won't work!

• Jump up and down while shouting "Apple"

• Drink water from the opposite side of a water glass

• Get scared

• Do nothing

• Yawn

• Edit Wikipedia for long periods of time with a break every 15 hours

• Watch TV

• Forget you have them

• Skydive?

• Drink three entire liters of Sprite/Coca-Cola/Whatever soft drink you like.\

Tah-Dah... §h₳un 9∞76 18:04, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

November 22

hunting

I am looking for statistics on animals and things big game hunters shoot by mistake — Preceding unsigned comment added by Duane cowboy (talk • contribs) 01:07, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Moving to college, filling out paperwork

If I move cross country to study, what legal filings would I have to make? Am I legally changing residence? Who do I have to inform of my moving? Thanks for the help.--Colonel House (talk) 01:10, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

What country? --Jayron32 01:12, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

I would move across the United States; the college I am planning to attend is in CT. --Colonel House (talk) 01:14, 22 November 2012 (UTC)