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July 14

Digital TV information

I use a set-top box to subscribe to Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom. Every so often the box decides it needs to update itself, and asks me to confirm. if I say yes it displays a screen showing the progress of the update. This screen shows a table with a number of columns, as follows:

• Prog
• Channel
• Service name
• Net ID
• TS ID
• Quality

Apart from "Service name" I've no idea as to what all these mean. For instance none of them seems to correspond to the channel number that I use to select a particular channel to view. Any suggestions as to what all of these mean? --rossb (talk) 10:43, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

A "channel" is a section of the electromagnetic spectrum. C21 to C60 are the space for TV. C21 is at 474 MHz, C22 is 482 MHz, an so on. Different transmitter towers transmit on different frequencies (so that people in between, who can see both, don't get interference). In the old days of analog TV, from tower A you might get BBC1 on C21, BBC2 on C26, ITV on C31, etc. So e.g. if you lived in Fife, the engineer setting up your TV would figure out the bearing to the Craigkelly transmitting station (using a map), would point your antenna at that, orient it to match the antennas on the tower (he had a technical bulletin that told him that) , and then (again from the bulletin) he'd look up the channel numbers (and thus the frequencies) to which he'd tune individual program buttons on your TV. Now that analog has been replaced with digital, the process is similar, except that a "channel" now carries a digital stream called a multiplex. Each multiplex contains a bunch of TV programs (program-streams) all sharing the space (like watching ten YouTube videos at once). What's on each multiplex is listed here. You'll notice that they're ordered for commercial reasons - the BBC ones are all together, and separate from the ITV ones. You can look up the transmission details for each tower - so again for Craigkelly, we can see on this page that it transmits the BBC-A multiplex on C27 (522.0MHz), the D3&4 multiplex (ITV, channel 4, etc.) on C24 (498.0MHz), and so on. Each program has a LCN (logical channel number), also called EPG number, which determines where on your electronic program guide the program appears. Note that this has no relation to the multiplex, and certainly not to the actual chunk of radio spectrum (the channel) on which you're getting it. NetID (sometimes Service-id) and transmitter-service-id just identify the originator of a given program stream and identify that stream's ID as it moves through the network (for example, I think BBC1 has the same NID everywhere, but BBC1 Cumbria and BBC1 Wales and BBC1 Cornwall get different TSIDs). Service name is just a text embedded in a program stream identifying it ("BBC One Wales" etc.). And quality is just the strength of the signal being received. You can use that site I linked before (http://www.ukfree.tv/) to figure out which transmitter you're getting signal from (you might have a choice of two, depending on your location) and then you can see on which UHF channels the different multiplexes are sent over. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 13:51, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

I doubt most TV aerial installers would use a "technical bulletin" to decide where to point your aerial. They would simply look to see in which general direction your neighbour's aerials were pointing. And, since the introduction of auto-tuning, I also doubt they would use the bulletin to get the channel numbers. Only in particularly difficult reception areas, or for a special request from a customer, would they refer to any technical documentation or use a signal strength meter. Astronaut (talk) 11:32, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Do I need to completely stop when changing from reverse to forward?

In a car with a traditional manual transmission, if I am backing my car in reverse and then want to suddenly drive forwards, do I need to completely stop my car before shifting into 1st gear and driving forwards? Or can I begin to slip the clutch and give it gas even as my car is rolling backwards?

I have a 01 Honda Civic with synchronized gears. My personal intuition tells me this should be ok, except that since I'll be slipping the clutch a bit longer (compared with if I had completely stopped the car), it will wear the clutch out just a bit more? Is that correct?

I don't think reverse gears are usually synchronized on production road cars right? Does this mean that we should avoid the opposite scenario: shifting into reverse and trying to drive backwards while the car is still rolling forwards?

Thanks Acceptable (talk) 16:06, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

My elderly mum drives like that and wears out clutches faster than most people can wear out a pair of shoes. This is purely original research though. Alansplodge (talk) 20:47, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

If you're doing about 1 mph it's unlikely to cause problems. Pulling away in first while the car is rolling backwards is similar to pulling away on a hill. But you have a brake pedal and you try using it. Itsmejudith (talk) 21:06, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

Why is it hard to shift the shifter into a low gear at high speeds?

I am driving a car with a traditional, synchronized manual transmission.

Suppose I am driving at, say, 40 MPH on 4th gear. Why is it hard to move the gear shifter into first gear, while still holding down the clutch pedal? I am well aware of that fact that on my car, 40 MPH is clearly out of the RPM range of first gear, so I should not try shift into and engage (by taking my foot off the clutch) first gear while travelling at 40 MPH. However, even when I keep the clutch dis-engaged (by keeping my foot firmly on the clutch and keeping it on the floor), I have to shove the shifter really hard for it to fall into first gear. Why is this?

Also another question. Sometimes when my car is at a standstill and on neutral, sometimes I just can't get it to shift into gear. I made sure my clutch is fully pressed against the floor, but the gear shifter just won't "click" into gear and when I try to give it gas, the engine just revs. I have to take my foot off the brakes and let the car slide just a bit before I can successfully shift the shifter into gear. Why does this happen? Is sometime misaligning? Acceptable (talk) 16:11, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

Not a direct answer to your questions, but have you read our article Manual transmission? Depending on your mechanical grasp, you may be able to find or deduce some of what you want to know in it.

As to your specific queries in this section: the first is not something I've noticed, but then I doubt I've ever needed or wanted to do it, and on the rare occasions I've done it accidentally I had other immediate concerns than remembering how much resistence there'd been!

The second is in my experience not uncommon, and I've always assumed that the gears involved happen on occasion to be sitting exactly "tooth-to-tooth" rather than offset enough to mesh smoothly – this one needs actual mechanical expertise rather than mere driver experience. A similar similar phenomenon used to happen when the starter motor was in "dead top" position and so couldn't start the engine, and the same tactic of rolling the car slightly was the cure: I haven't had this happen in a long time, and suspect modern starter motor design has elimitated the problem.

In general, experience tells me that as a car ages the "gate" of a manual gearbox seems gradually to wear and become sloppier, and individual gears may become more finicky to select, but again this has become less prevalent in recent years, again perhaps due to more advanced design.

There's an awful lot of personal presumptions in the above: hopefully a qualified mechanic will be along eventually to give informed and referenced answers.

Which reminds me, I must remember to book my car in for its annual service and MOT soon . . . . {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.213.246.168 (talk) 20:19, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

On the second question, you should give the engine a _little_ rev with the gears in neutral and the clutch engaged, then declutch and select first gear. This will ensure all the gearbox components are rotating so that the synchro dogs can engage. See Manual transmission#Synchronized transmission. Tevildo (talk) 23:16, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

I've had an older (1983 Toyota) manual transmission where it wouldn't go into gear (it didn't have a preference up-to-down or down-to-up, it would just sometimes do it), the shifter just would pretend that the gear I wanted to go into wasn't there. I would just release the clutch in neutral, reclutch, and then it would almost always shift fine. I always assumed it was because something that was supposed to line up wasn't lining up any more (at the time the car was about 15 years old). So I can confirm the above advice as having worked on my car at the time. --Jayron32 00:28, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Think I might know the answer to this. If you have convention H shift can you move it out of fourth and into the horizontal only to find you can’t move it forwards fully into first? I ask this because back in the 80's some of my friends and myself found – and over came this - when we showed off (not on the public highway I might add) and we found this very problem at first. Note: this was with contemporary front wheel drive cars without a long prop-shaft to the rear in which to store rotational energy. Eventually, with practice, we found we could spin a car through a 180 degrees and when the wheels were going in reverse, release the clutch in reverse at high revs. Then after driving in reverse for a bit, depress the clutch again, spin another 180 degrees and release the clutch in second gear. At no time did the car stop. The problem we found at first, was not being able to engage between reverse and second gear when we wanted to. However, when we leant to get the engine rev's to match the drive shaft speeds the gears engaged with ease. The guy in this video calls it block:[1] In other words, if there is too much speed miss-match, the synchro will not synchro and so the gear will not engage. The gear leaver therefore, can not fully move into it final position.--Aspro (talk) 01:18, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

To show you that it ain’t that difficult here is another guy doing it at 3 min and 21 sec into the video:[2] So, there you see it, the car doesn't stop and yet it goes from forward to reverse gear. --Aspro (talk) 01:52, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

My strawberry plants' leaves are turning red, can anyone help?

Several of my strawberry plants' leaves on our allotment have started to turn red, or have turned completely red. Can any gardening experts help me? Have they got a disease or is there something I'm doing wrong or is this just natural? I don't know what variety the strawberries are but they have just finished fruiting and are planted in the ground rather than in a pot. They get watered twice or three times a day (how much water they get depends on how hot it is, so today as it was 32 degrees they got a lot of water) and the strawberry patch is weeded pretty much every day or couple of days, it depends how much time I have. They spend most of the day in direct sunlight, getting the most out of all the plants on the allotment. They are, however, rather closely packed together but there is not much I can do about that. I'm really starting to get quite worried as this has been going on for a week and my gardening expert grandmother can't explain it. Please help!!! PS I live in south-east England. Ej02 (talk) 19:24, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

How are you watering them? The disease section at Strawberry#Diseases says to make sure you don't water the leaves, otherwise you can get fungus growth. If you take a couple of leaves to a local nursery, they can probably tell you what is wrong and how to remedy or prevent it. Our article on List_of_strawberry_diseases doesn't have many photos, so I'm not sure which leaf problem you have. RudolfRed (talk) 19:38, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

Natural for them to be red. Itsmejudith (talk) 21:03, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

Yes, I worked on a college farm and they turn a rich red after they fruit. Only worry is if they are black or wilted or spotting as from a fungus. This is to b expected. Kinda nice, actually. μηδείς (talk) 00:36, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Yep, depending on where in the world this is in South England (or any temperate climate), I'd expect strawberries to be senescing about this time (i.e. as pictured in Medeis' link above). Much like fall color on trees, the chlorophyll gets retranslocated (redlink, google /nitrogen retranslocation/) so that that nitrogen can be stored, and used to make next year's leaves. SemanticMantis (talk) 14:59, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Oh, and if they do look like the pic above (not diseased), leave all the leaves there, until they are totally brown and dead in the fall. Some people cut off old leaves to make a plant look better, but that can rob the plants of resources. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:04, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the help everyone, all much appreciated! They have just fruited so if that's natural then panic over. Phew.Ej02 (talk) 16:41, 20 July 2013 (UTC)

July 15

Diagram of muscles exercised by the power twister bar?

I'm talking about this generic piece of exercise equipment. I've been searching online for information regarding which muscles exactly this is supposed to target. All I've been able to find so far are some eHow-type online writer crapmills. I see lots of YouTube videos in the Google results but those are extremely difficult to access for me so I haven't watched any. Can someone please help me find a diagram of just what muscles this equipment exercises? Thank you. The Masked Booby (talk) 07:24, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

This 'Power Twister Bar' appears basically be a large spring with handles at each end. If so, the muscles that are 'targeted' depend on how it is used, and on how it is held while being used. When analysing an exercise, you need to look at the movement at each joint individually. If you know the joint and anatomical movement (such as flexion, extension, abduction, adduction etc.), then with a decent anatomy book you can determine what muscle/s is/are being used. There are of course specific exercise books that show what muscles are used for particular exercises. A google search for "muscle analysis chart system" may help. See particularly http://freepdfdb.org/pdf/muscle-analysis-chart. A specific book on the subject published in Australia is "Exercise Analysis Made Simple" by Paul Batman & Michelle Van Capelle. FIT4U Publications, 1992, ISBN 9780646082219. Not sure if this is still available, but if you can get a copy it should tell you all you want to know, though some knowledge of anatomy is probably required. 220 of ^Borg 13:59, 20 July 2013 (UTC)

Women/Old days/Breasts

So, we were watching a movie (I can’t remember the movies name) in English as part of our movie analysis topic. Anyway, the movie was modern, but set in the “olden days” I know how vague that is but I’m not sure what year it was set in. So a kid (rather immature, if I say so myself) asked, “Why do the women have larger breasts in those days.” The teacher said that was an inappropriate question and left it.
But I’m curious as to why this is? Has it got something to do with wearing corsets, certain diets, or what?
I wasn’t sure where this belonged so I put it in Misc.
Charlotte Tame (talk) 10:08, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

• Couldn't have just been a big-breasted actress (how modern is modern, anyways? Like, 2000s?) in a quasi-period outfit? I'm under the impression that Victorian-era women (corsettes?) were not keen on too large or busty a figure. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 10:26, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

The teacher simply did not know the answer. Ha! ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 10:29, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

The answer, I suspect, lies in the changing notion of what constitutes "beauty", which has changed even in my lifetime. For example, Marilyn Monroe was a size 16 (today's size 8), whereas modern models strive to be size 2, 4 or even 0. This article gives a good summary. This article gives a summary of how underwear fashions have changed. --TammyMoet (talk) 11:02, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that movies employ actresses to play the roles of historical characters - and to give the movie a little more attraction, they pick actresses with physical characteristics that suit the director's idea of what women looked like back then. I'd also be prepared to bet that the average breast size of movie actresses exceeds that of typical modern women. Since the director is unlikely to have the background in human biology or anthropology needed to make a determination about what was typical - you certainly can't assume that any movie is an accurate portrayal of changing body shape. SteveBaker (talk) 13:28, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Related to the ideal of "beauty" for any given place and time is the fashion aspect and clothing manufactured accordingly. The silhouette (size and shape) of the bust has been emphasized or de-emphasized in outerwear and underwear, along with the use of padding or compression to expand or contract dimensions, besides the woman's actual build and proportions. A stage or screen production interested in authenticity can certainly do research on historical fashion and costume. -- Deborahjay (talk) 17:00, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

I suspect it's the other way around - bigger busts today - because of better nutrition and an "obesity epidemic". The same linked article also cites a "link between increased oestrogen levels and bigger breasts". Clarityfiend (talk) 07:19, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

...and not only for women: see Gynecomastia#Epidemiology. I didn't (yet) find a reputable scientific source for the claim that eating the meat of chickens raised with hormonal additives is a cause of the above. -- Deborahjay (talk) 08:56, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Mujoy Hill Portland Maine

Your information on Munjoy Hill in Portland Maine is not correct. You list this section of the city as an Irish American site but it wasn't and isn't. I grew up there and Irish, Italian, and Jewish folks lived there happily together in the 50's and 60's. Please correct. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.55.205.170 (talk) 11:36, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

This sort of request should really be on the article talk page (Talk:Munjoy Hill). The "Irish-American" statement is sourced to Time magazine (the actual article is behind a paywall) - if you feel that it's incorrect, you'll need to provide a similar reliable source for your replacement, not just your personal opinion or experiences. Tevildo (talk) 18:27, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

The article calls it an historically Irish-American neighborhood, and the source is a 1951 edition, so I'm guessing it refers to a time long before the OP lived there. Ssscienccce (talk) 19:41, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Websites that give medical or legal advice

I'm aware that Wikipedia does not give medical or legal advice, and that questions that seek such advice are prohibited here. But are there any good websites that do specialize in giving such advice, and is it allowed to link to them here? Narutolovehinata5 ^tccsdnew 12:18, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Not really, no one wants to open themselves up to legal liability for malpractice or practicing without a license. It's often annoying and expensive, but you really need to contact a professional for those matters. NW (Talk) 12:46, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Also, websites that offer free medical advice are generally paid for by pharmaceutical sponsors which tend to create a bias. See Webmd#Criticism. We would not want to be seen "endorsing" a particular site by referring people there. Remember that Wikipedia is a reference desk i.e. we try find a reliable reference to your problem. So giving you advice directly or linking to a site basically amounts to the same thing.196.214.78.114 (talk) 13:34, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

<snip>

Reading the question again, I notice the OP doesn't ask for such sites but for the policy regarding links to them (on the RD or in WP articles?) The talk page or village pump would be better places for such questions.Ssscienccce (talk) 16:03, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Any site that gives medical advice in the sense of "if you have these symptoms, then this is what illness you have" has to be assumed to be unreliable. Wikipedia has lots of medical information. It's like the difference between, "What are some of the symptoms of a heart attack?" vs. "I have this pain in my chest. What's going on?" As regards legal, I see TV ads for something called legalzoom.com, but whether it or any site is reliable or not might depend on what you're trying to do. If the question is "I live in Idaho. What are the rules about makeing a will?" They might be able to help. If the question is, "This guy punched me out. Should I sue?" that's getting into slippery slope territory. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:41, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:List of online reference desks/Science#Medical sciences: medicine (610–619).

—Wavelength (talk) 16:48, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:List of online reference desks/Humanities#Law (340–349).

—Wavelength (talk) 16:51, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

You can rely on the UK National Health Service for mainstream medical advice. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pages/hub.aspx Itsmejudith (talk) 17:34, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

But probably only if you live in the UK - if you live in any other country, chances are the website would have at least the wrong emphasis on what you might get in your country. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 18:41, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

It's good general advice, the equivalent of what you would have got from a family health encyclopedia when many families had them. Have a look. I don't think you will find much that would surprise an American physician. Itsmejudith (talk) 19:03, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

I expect it depends significantly on what sort of advice is being looked at. Also bearing in mind the OP as far as I know if from the Philippines, the difference is likely to be acute. (To be clear, I'm not saying the site is useless to the OP, simply that they should consider the limitations.) Nil Einne (talk) 02:54, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

There are some excellent sites which have information about the causes and treatment of many medical conditions, despite the claims above that they are likely to be quacks selling worthless treatments or products. The Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned institution in Minnesota, offers free online medical info, though not via interaction with a doctor or nurse. See [Mayo Clinic. Edison (talk) 18:43, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

lifting weights and other exercise

recently getting back into stopping being lazy, I dug out my old set of weights, cleared a nice big space on the floor and worked out what I thought would be a decent and varied exercise regime. But now I have a couple of questions I want to check. firstly, last time I tried similar, a couple of years ago, I was taught that the most efficient weight was one I could manage perhaps 10-15 'reps' with between rests, and should keep adding to that every time it got too easy. More recently, though, I've been told I'd be better off with slightly lighter weights that I can comfortably spend more time with. any ideas which is right? secondly, after a few weeks of this, I've started to notice some slight difference in my reflection, but mostly around my shoulders and chest area, rather than anywhere else, I'm wondering, in the interest of keeping a properly balanced appearance what sort of exercises can I try that would only affect other parts of my body, particularly the rest of my arms, instead?

thank you,

213.104.128.16 (talk) 16:17, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

The "big five" of resistance exercises are generally held to be 1) deadlift 2) squat 3) benchpress 4) clean and jerk 5) pullup. The "bad five" that people actually seem to do is 1) benchpress 2) incline benchpress 3) decline benchpress 4) biceps curl 5) biceps curl. If your goal is to resemble some kind of unfortunate human carrot, do the latter lot. If you want to be healthy fit person go to gym and insist that the instructor show you how to do the former lot. They're all fairly technical, all have some degree of risk of injury if you do them wrongly, and they all require more mobility than you probably have right now (you're not alone - I'm told my dorsiflexion is "pathetic", and I didn't even know that mattered (it does)). The instructor can also advise you about the best programme of sets and reps to do; it varies a bit depending on whether you want strength or hypertrophy, and on your age and gender. Three or four sets of 10 or so, where the last movement is something of a struggle, is roughly where you'll be. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 00:11, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

For biceps development, biceps curls are the most useful, but they're hard to do properly without something to brace yourself against. For triceps development, lying triceps extensions are by far the best exercise. For your forearms, weight training exercises are not particularly useful, because gripping your hands is what works those muscles. Looie496 (talk) 22:26, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Pilates

This question has been removed. Per the reference desk guidelines, the reference desk is not an appropriate place to request medical, legal or other professional advice, including any kind of medical diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment recommendations. For such advice, please see a qualified professional. If you don't believe this is such a request, please explain what you meant to ask, either here or on the Reference Desk's talk page.

This question has been removed. Per the reference desk guidelines, the reference desk is not an appropriate place to request medical, legal or other professional advice, including any kind of medical diagnosis or prognosis, or treatment recommendations. For such advice, please see a qualified professional. If you don't believe this is such a request, please explain what you meant to ask, either here or on the Reference Desk's talk page. --~~~~

. Note, stating "this is not a request for medical advice" does not make direct requests to diagnose your problem OK. --Jayron32 16:47, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

In the past year, I've grown another foot. Is this normal? Note that I am not asking for medical advice. I just want to know who remembers that oldie. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:27, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

July 16

Wikipedia "Blacklist"

What is this thing? The reason I tripped it is because I wanted to cite a URL of "The Examiner." Just what is wrong with The Examiner? Also, what else is on the Blacklist? Why does it exist? Gameknot Chess (talk) 16:35, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Spam blacklist for the guideline, MediaWiki:Spam-blacklist for the list. Ssscienccce (talk) 16:57, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, but, meh... all that page said is what the Blacklist is. The page gave no information as to the "why" of the Blacklist, or the criteria to be placed on the Blacklist. Do you agree? Gameknot Chess (talk) 16:59, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Regarding examiner.com, see MediaWiki talk:Spam-whitelist/Common requests#Requests that are often denied. AndyTheGrump (talk) 17:05, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

The "why" is that some editor or admin has edited the blacklist, adding that website, and restoring it to that list if it was removed. I find the practice problematic--it amounts to an extra veto on top of edits that could be referenced from such sources. μηδείς (talk) 21:42, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Examiner.com#Criticism might help you understand the accuracy issues. A site like this that pays by the page view and has no editorial oversight is bound to attract crap "journalism". InedibleHulk (talk) 04:54, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

You might also find the discussions on the Reliable Sources noticeboard informative about why it isn't considered a reliable source. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 10:16, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Worth remembering the primary reason why many sites are blacklist is not because they are generally unreliable although they would usually need to be, but because they are frequently added or used inappropriate by a variety of editors (could be the same person with multiple IPs or multiple accounts) to a variety of pages (could be on different wikis), particularly when done by someone with a commercial or other interest besides improving wikimedia projects, and this person may not be the site owner (beside affliates and content providers, it's always possible a rival is spamming a website to give it a bad name). This is reflected by the name of the blacklist. Many of the common examples in the whitelist reflect this. E.g. Examiner and sites like it are particularly problematic because the random writers tend to get paid by how many people visit their article. URL shorteners are used to obscure the real address and to get around the blacklist. Petitions usually aren't added for commercial reasns, but people have their own personal reasons to push them that don't reate to improving wikipedia or whatever project it is. There are some examples which don't fall in to this pattern of course, like scribd (we take copyright seriously). If you want to find out why a specific site was added more than guessing, you'll need to check out the comments when it was added and I don't think there always are some. If you want to confirm what I'm saying generally, take a look at the ongoing or archived discussions on adding sites. Nil Einne (talk) 18:39, 20 July 2013 (UTC)

Mushroom-Unknown

I discovered a 3" cluster of Bright Yellow (Highlighter bright yellow)mushroom in my house plant. It was growing in my Ficus, at the root ball top. The plant looked like it was fingers, upward growing, with narrow condum type helmits. The caps were fitted close to the stem. Can you tell me what kind of mushroom this is. I have cats that like to eat my plants. One is a 19LB Siamese( she has left the plants alone, now) Our new little kitten is into everything and tastes or destroys the plants. I have them all up on shelves now, out of any reach. It still concerns me. Thank you for any help. Barb Lister — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.17.80.134 (talk) 20:24, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

It may be some species of or close to the Clavariaceae, which includes the fairy fingers. (I am not sure that they have caps, though.) I have seen highlighter-orange ones in swampy woods in New Jersey. μηδείς (talk) 21:38, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

A quick Google Image search for "yellow fungus fingers" turned-up (amongst the horribly infected fingernails), Yellow Coral Fungus (Clavaria amoena), which seems to fit both your description and Medeis's taxonomy. Alansplodge (talk) 20:12, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

However, that may (as the blogger points out) be an incorrect identification, since our article Clavaria amoena says that it "appears to be distributed in temperate areas of the southern hemisphere". I suppose that it depends where your pot plant came from. A similar fungus is Clavulinopsis fusiformis "Golden Spindles", which is found in "North America, where it is most commonly found in woodland habitats.". Alansplodge (talk) 20:29, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

I have posted a link to this query on the Wikipedia:WikiProject Fungi talk page, in the hope that somebody who knows more than I do may be able to help. Alansplodge (talk) 20:37, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Making an id with just an image is difficult enough ... with just a terse description it's bordering on futile. I can't imagine what a "narrow condum type helmit" looks like. Nevertheless, based on the color and the fact that it's growing in a potted plant, I'd guess Leucocoprinus birnbaumii. Sasata (talk) 20:48, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

July 17

Weather question

There is going to be an outdoor parade event in Tampere, Finland, in the afternoon of August 3, that I really need to see and photograph.

Everything else is sorted out, but I'm still worried about the weather. AccuWeather has had varying forecasts for the day in the last two weeks. Currently it is showing cloudy weather, with a bit of morning rain: [3].

However, I've also checked the weather forecast of MTV3 at [4] (it looks like this page uses JavaScript only for navigation, so I can't provide a direct link), which goes up to July 30 at the present, and the forecasts only agree up to July 25. After that, MTV3 generally forecasts sunnier weather than AccuWeather.

I have found some pages on the web claiming AccuWeather's long-range forecasts are inaccurate: [5], [6], [7]. Even Wikipedia's article on AccuWeather mentions inaccuracy in its criticism section.

How soon am I likely to get a reliable forecast for August 3 in Tampere, Finland? At the moment it looks like I'll have to wait until Sunday, and even then it's only going to be a first guess. JIP | Talk 04:31, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Here is the perfect answer for you. Takes lots of skill for 3 day forcast, with decreasing skill level out to 7. 7-14 days very little skill, and 14 days no skill. CTF83! 10:21, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

A guess is all you will get for a date two weeks away. Forecasts are usually fairly reliable no more than two days in advance in my part of the world (northeastern United States), and I doubt that Finland is very different. Three days in advance is still pretty reliable, though the forecast is more likely to be wrong than a forecast closer to the date. As Kristen's source indicates, forecasts 7 days in advance are better than a random guess, but only slightly so. If an event like this really interests you, you should just plan to attend. Two or three days before the event, you can decide whether to pack rain gear (or whether to skip the event if rain makes it impossible and there is a greater than 50% chance of rain). 159.182.1.4 (talk) 16:01, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Oh, I'm attending all right, no matter what. My tickets to Tampere and back are already paid for and non-refundable. The event itself is free of charge, and I get back home for the night. So there's really nothing I could gain by staying at home. My only problem is that if there is lots of rain, it could make photographing the event very difficult. This event has become so important to me that I fear that if I miss it, I'll lose sleep over it until next June. JIP | Talk 17:17, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Twitter mentions

How do I view everyone who mentions say, @BarrackObama in a tweet? I tried searching that on the page and it only shows what he tweeted and retweeted. Coworker said http://tweetdeck.com/ has a "mentions" tab, but I see nothing similar on Twitter.com and the Android mobile app. CTF83! 10:24, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Hootsuite allows you to search for a phrase or user and save that search as a stream. --TammyMoet (talk) 11:02, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Is it not possible to do on the website or android app? CTF83! 12:11, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

On twitter.com, if you type Barack Obama into the search space and click the icon, you will get results for this search: on mine, the top result is Obama's own Twitter account, and underneath is Tweets containing Barack Obama: both tweets addressing that account and tweets mentioning that name. If you click the icon that looks like a cog wheel, you get the option to save the search. --TammyMoet (talk) 14:45, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! Exactly what I wanted, with Obama it has constantly updated tweets about him. CTF83! 21:06, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Kiwi: Remixes for Propaganda

Is that an actual and official U2 album? I cannot find anything on it anywhere. Miss Bono ^[zootalk]☆ 14:39, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

According to Discogs, it wasn't an official release. --TammyMoet (talk) 14:41, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

What it was, then? Miss Bono ^[zootalk]☆ 14:43, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Have a look at our article Melon: Remixes for Propaganda. --TammyMoet (talk) 14:46, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Yeas, I have seen that article before, that's why I asked about Kiwi. But there doesn't says what kiwi is? Miss Bono ^[zootalk]☆ 14:52, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

The article says: "Melon spawned numerous bootleg imitations and was widely bootlegged itself. Various releases, known as "fruitlegs" or "fruitboots", have been released as compilations of official and unofficial remixes of various U2 songs.[4] Although they claim to be official with the "Remixed for Propaganda" subtitle and a fake copyright, only Melon was approved by the band and released through the fan club." As Kiwi is a fruit, I believe it is one of these unofficial releases. --TammyMoet (talk) 17:12, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Oh, thanks TammyMoet. Miss Bono ^[zootalk]☆ 12:40, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

How to launch a sequential manual gearbox without Launch Control

I asked this question a few years ago, but didn't receive a solid answer.

How does one launch (starting from a standstill as quickly as possible) a car equipped with a modern sequential manual gearbox (like BMW's SMG or the gearbox on all the new Ferraris) without using the Launch Control assistance found on models such as the Nissan GT-R? I seem to recall Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear making fun of people using Launch Control, but how else can you launch your car as quickly as possible without using Launch Control when you don't have a clutch pedal?

I believe Formula One cars (who also have sequential manual gearboxes) have a small, hand-operated clutch near the steering wheel to mediate this process. Do production cars with sequential manual gearboxes start moving the moment you take your foot off the brake pedal (like on an automatic)? Acceptable (talk) 21:39, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

How does the Tesla Model S get by with just one gear?

The Tesla Model S only has a single fixed gear. Is there something inherently different about cars with electric motors that allow them to function successfully with just a single gear? Acceptable (talk) 21:41, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Electric car#Transmission notes "because the torque of an electric motor is a function of current, not rotational speed, electric vehicles have a high torque over a larger range of speeds during acceleration" - that is they have very wide power bands. It's very common for electric locomotives to have only a fixed ratio gear set. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 22:06, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Tesla's own page, comparing the torque curves of their engine and IC engines, is here. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 22:17, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Does electronic traction control slow cars down?

On cars that allow you to switch into a special "race" mode such as Ferraris, often times the traction control system is switched off during these race modes. Why is that? Is it because traction control slows down the car in the hands of a competent driver? For a novice driver, is it better to keep the traction control on even if you are trying to got around a track as quickly as possible? Acceptable (talk) 22:21, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

It can slow the car down (as traction control system shows, all the ways it works will do that to some extent). I used to have an old Mazda with very conservative traction control, which seemed to kill all the acceleration dead if it detected the tiniest amount of wheelspin. The system available in a Ferrari is naturally much better than an ancient Mazda and can feather the power much more subtly, such that I'd be surprised if you felt it working in most practical circumstances. Some drivers may feel that they're better than the machine (or that they can handle a moderate loss of adhesion); F1 banned TC (again) in 2008, so clearly teams (with drivers of great skill and limitless ego) felt it useful. A car might allow TC to be disengaged a) for the "authentic" feel (if you've paid so much for a Ferrari, you might not want all the bells and whistles driving it for you); b) to comply with race meet regulations; c) to allow drifting, burnouts and the like (anyone who goes drifting in a Ferrari probably owns Pirelli stock). -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 22:41, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

A good traction control system can do better than an average driver - and a good driver can do better than an average traction control system. For a novice...you might get the car around the track faster with traction control turned on - but if you want to learn to be an experienced driver, I think you should turn it off. You have to learn to be "one with the car" - you need to understand the forces on those little patches of rubber on the ground. The traction control hides that from you - and that's a bad thing. Once you're no longer a novice, you can decide for yourself whether the traction control is good or bad for you - but you need to understand the car first. SteveBaker (talk) 02:15, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Motorcycle model

What motorcycle model is this one? http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MLh6BMFdaAo/UPTzuZMM4rI/AAAAAAAAAtA/_jWyUQ6qVxQ/s1600/akira-kaneda-bike+wallpaper+HD.jpg

It's not a "real" bike. It's from the cartoon/manga/movie Akira - several people have made replicas of it - some are functional. But I don't think it has a "model" name per-se. SteveBaker (talk) 23:04, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Yes, that's Kaneda's bike, see the cover art at Akira_(film). SemanticMantis (talk) 13:11, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Chinese water dragons and crickets

I have a Chinese water dragon and last night i caught the crickets eating the tail of him is that normal will it kill him. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.55.178.41 (talk) 22:53, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

According to our Chinese water dragon article, crickets are appropriate food for these lizards. It's surprising that he'd sit still and not attempt to eat the crickets. Perhaps you're feeding him too many live crickets at one time? Our article suggests that he'll only eat 3 to 5 of them per day. If he's not eating them and the crickets have no food of their own, then I could imagine this kind of weird behavior. SteveBaker (talk) 23:00, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

I've heard of this happening to snakes who don't immediately eat live mice in their enclosures. Dismas|^(talk) 02:25, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

July 18

MS&NF

WP:MEDICAL
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
I Would Like To Know if Ms&NF are related .I have both and loosing my eye sight , I live in the United States.West Warwick Rhode Island. I — Preceding unsigned comment added by EFH58 (talk • contribs) 17:58, 18 July 2013 (UTC) I'm sorry, we cannot answer questions seeking medical advice or diagnosis. You may wish to talk to a medical professional. uhhlive (talk) 20:10, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Hospital

What's the best and better known hospital in Dublin? Where rich people go. Miss Bono ^[zootalk]☆ 19:13, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Hey!! This is not asking for medical Advice... I am asking about a building. Miss Bono ^[zootalk]☆ 20:12, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, my bad, I messed up the template. I totally fixed it! uhhlive (talk) 20:16, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

No problem. I thought I was being banned again :P Miss Bono ^[zootalk]☆ 20:18, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

I understood they have excellent free medical care in Cuba? In any case, we can't give an opinion as to the best hospital in a specific area. μηδείς (talk) 20:41, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm not too sure how we can answer this. There is List of hospitals in Ireland, which includes a section on Dublin. Possibly the most 'well-known' hospital in Dublin is the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital ('the Mater'), but this is a public hospital (albeit with a private hospital on the same grounds). As to where rich people go for treatment, this will depend on what they are being treated for and where in Dublin they live. If you have a particular rich person in mind we might be able to find a news story about their hospitalisation, but otherwise I don't think we can generalise for all rich Dubliners. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 20:50, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Escape from Harleysville (LOL)

I live in Sacramento, California, and am trying desperately to move. One reason is because of the number of Harleys in the county; I am very sensitive to noise, easily depressed and have issues with anger management. Yet I have been unable to find any literature on what cities have the most and least of them. Is it possible to find out? Or can you answer directly? Theskinnytypist (talk) 22:04, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

You're going to have to be a lot more specific. There must be many tiny places with no motorbikes of any kind. How about the Pitcairn Islands for example. They have a handful of quad-bikes - but aside from that, no motor vehicles of any kind and only one road (which is 4 miles long and easily avoided!). For additional peace and quiet, there are no crying babies because only two of them have been born there in the last 30 years and the youngest is now a teenager.

If you google for "US city with most motorbikes", you'll find several discussion of the places to avoid. Here[8] for example is a list of the top 101 cities where people take a motorbike to get to work...that ought to correlate pretty well to the places with the most Harleys. One thing that's clear from that list is that you're going to need to be as far as possible from any military bases...they seem to be hot-beds of motorbike fanatics. But I couldn't find a direct reference for the place with the least motorbikes. While you might find that information out there somehow - I very much doubt that there are good public records to tell you the manufacturer of whatever bikes there are.

Realistically, if you're sensitive to noise, you should be looking for the city with the least noise pollution rather than focussing on just one specific source of noise. This page [9] says that Hartford CT, Cheyenn WY, Cincinnati OH, Modesta CA, Riverside CA, Yonkers NY, Anaheim CA, Lincoln NE DesMoines IA and Madison WI are the ten quietest cities in the USA. Since you are a Californian already - perhaps Modesta is the place for you? Avoid Oakland (Second loudest city in USA) and San Francisco (8th loudest) like the plague since they are both far noisier than Sacremento (32nd loudest).

SteveBaker (talk) 04:08, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

One thing to keep in mind is that motorbikes are largely seasonal in places that have an actual winter (unlike Sacramento). In large parts of Canada, they are in effect illegal to drive in winter months because proper snow tires do not exist for them. There is likely a similar situation in a good part of the northern U.S. --Xuxl (talk) 07:33, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Solo Martial Arts (Wing Chun and Krav Maga)

Hello there, I want to learn solo martial art. So far, after bit research, I have come up with this two effective and efficient martial arts - Wing Chun and Krav Maga. Both of them are not taught in our country. But I want to learn them anyway. It's my long term desire. I have found books on Wing Chun and Krav Maga in Amazon.com and Banres and Noble - Wing chun compendium vol. 1 and 2 and Krav Maga by Darren Levine. I want to know whether they are appropriate for solo training . Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thank you--180.234.37.224 (talk) 23:39, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Lack of side dishes in English cooking

Hi. I have been wondering about this for a while now. There seems to be a distinct lack of side orders in English cooking. Take for example simple things like pasta: almost every country has its regional variation of pasta, the Italians have loads, the Chinese have ramen, the Africans have couscous, the Germans have Spätzle etc etc. Then we have the potato: the French have french fries and duchesse potatoes and croquettes, the Germans have Bratkartoffeln etc etc. You get the picture. What I am asking is, are there any proper English side orders? So far I have found roast potatoes and yorkshire puddings, and that seems to be it. I'd be grateful for any help on the matter. --91.49.29.177 (talk) 23:55, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

The idea of having to order extra food served on a side plate is a bit odd and foreign to us Britons. Roast dinners are said to come with "all the trimmings" in one great edifice; that may include one or more varieties of stuffing (with poultry), Yorkshire puddings and several types of cooked vegetables (two or three of carrots, swede, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, peas, runner beans and so on). My Cornish grandmother used to serve roasted dumplings. However, the glory of British cooking is the pie, which Americans seem to have consigned to the desert trolley. We appear to have had chips here for about 150 years, and the notion that they originate from France (although maybe true) is likely to cause an argument, if not actual violence. Alansplodge (talk) 00:43, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Note that ramen isn't really Chinese and is incredibly new in any case. Chinese have a variety of noodle dishes with the concept itself long predating pasta, but often the noodles are an integral part of the dish and not a 'side' dish. In fact, looking at the other examples, I'm not even sure what you mean by side dish, as while these examples may sometimes be eaten as a side dish, they are often part and parcel of the dish. Nil Einne (talk) 03:29, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Yeah - I'm not sure that the concept of "side dishes" is a standard part of any cuisine. It's a modern trend to order additional food that's not a part of the basic dish - but that seems to cut across all nationalities. When you buy Fish and Chips (what could be more English?) it has always been the case that you could order a side of mushy peas or pickled onions or pickled eggs. That's been the case since the 1950's to my certain knowledge. I'm not sure that the premise of the question truly makes much sense. SteveBaker (talk) 03:43, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Everyone knows English cuisine is the world's worst. (Neat how I gave a link and snuck in a useless opinion?) μηδείς (talk) 03:29, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Hmmmm - I suspect you've never spent much time in Holland - if it were not for the excellent Chinese restaurants in Amsterdam and the high nutritional value of the trappist monk beer, I think I might have starved to deatn. SteveBaker (talk) 03:43, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

The relevant question then would be, do they have English-food restaurants in Holland? Frankly, there are plenty of places in the US called things like "the tavern" or "the pub" (my favorite place for birthday meals for four decades has been "The Pub") whose best meals are either beefsteak and baked potatoes or fish and chips with green beans or, if fancy, sparrow grass. There's a reason the English are called Beefeaters and that while the English call them frogs, the French respond with the "insult" bistec. μηδείς (talk) 04:30, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

There are plenty of places to buy fish and chips in Amsterdam.[10] I'm fairly certain that there are no Dutch restaurants in London. Alansplodge (talk) 07:22, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Or, indeed, rosbif. The Portuguese nickname for us really does translate as "steak", although I suspect (OR alert) it refers to the appearance of pale, pudgy English flesh after a couple of hours on a sunbed by the pool rather than our taste for slabs of dead cow, with or without a side order. - Karenjc 07:16, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

The menu of your "The Pub" doesn't bear much resemblance to British pub food. I wish I hadn't learnt that a salt beef sandwich can be served with fries. That's the kind of "side dish" we can do without. Itsmejudith (talk) 07:20, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

July 19

What paths are carneys in Britain?