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January 15

plasma cutters.

I'm interested in modifying a typical hand-held plasma cutter (Something like THIS ONE, for example) so it can be computer controlled to turn it into a CNC plasma cutter. I know how to make the X/Y motion and all of the other bits and pieces - but I'm not very familiar with the actual plasma cutting part - so I have some basic questions:

What kinds of voltage/current does the trigger switch carry?
Does the trigger also switch the air supply on and off?
Is there any significant delay between pulling the trigger and the plasma being able to start cutting metal?
Is there any delay between releasing the trigger and it shutting off?
How wide is the 'kerf' (the slot that it cuts)?
How fast are the consumable tips used up?
In order to do this, I think I need a "no-touch" system. Are there any disadvantages of these over the other kinds?

Anything else you can think of that might matter here would be worth knowing!

SteveBaker (talk) 16:09, 15 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

5. A reviewer of that product here [1] says that the kerf is 1/8 inch. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:54, 15 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Here's [2] the official product manual/spec pamphlet from Lotos, hosted by Amazon. It gives a range of 3-12 mm kerf, depending on material composition and thickness. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:02, 15 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Be careful when working with extremely hot gasses. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 13:18, 16 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

No kidding! We're pretty experienced with CNC machines - we have a couple of laser cutters and a CNC milling machine. So we have plenty of respect for the potential dangers. Hence the research. SteveBaker (talk) 18:32, 16 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

January 16

History Channel-American Restoration Program

I watch the History Channel mostly. My favorites are Pawn Stars, Cajun Pawn Stars, Counting Cars, American Pickers and American Restoration. Since this last one (American Restoration) has changed to showcasing a variety of "restorers", my interest in this show has fallen off. I really miss Rick Dale and his crew. Is there ANY possibility his group will come back as a permanent one again? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:204:C001:96F0:C4BB:4DDD:904C:407A (talk) 17:54, 16 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

We're not allowed to speculate here - so unless there is some kind of public announcement about this, we can't help. We have articles about all of those shows and many of their cast-members - and they will almost certainly be updated as information becomes available. SteveBaker (talk) 18:29, 16 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried contacting the History Channel? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:56, 16 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Does the History Channel show any actual history these days? 62.172.108.24 (talk) 16:12, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

January 17

10 Thesis/Articles about Challenges and Opportunities toward Islamic Banking in Afghanistan (or another country)

Dears, Am working on my thesis but got stuck on literature reviews section, would stand verymuch thankful to provide me info on challenges and opportunities toward islamic banking in Afghanistan (or anyother country), at least 10 research or reviews,

I would again request to provide the info at the earliest before 20th, Jan-2016

Best Regards, Hanif Monib — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hanif Monib (talk • contribs) 09:00, 17 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Please sign your contributions on discussion pages with four tildes. If you are writing an academic thesis, you need to learn the tools of the trade. In this case, Google Scholar is a valuable tool: [3] [4]. There may be more specialised data bases for your topic area - ask your advisor. Good luck with your thesis. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 09:34, 17 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Those ideas are more relevant than mine, but just in case, here they are. You could also ask a librarian or someone else in your field about where to look. I've seen a lot of experts of various types commenting on Quora (http://www.quora.com) and Stack Exchange (http://stackexchange.com), but you have to sign up first and find the right area of the site to post your question. When asking for help, you could also write up what you've tried already, so people can give you better answers. Whatever you do, of course, estimate how long it will take so you can be careful to make the best use of the time you have left. I wish you the best towards getting unstuck and finishing your thesis! --Geekdiva (talk) 04:04, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

writing

With the internet and sites like reddit and wikipedia, plus all the forums and blogs, is humanity generating more written text per day than ever before? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.37.237.16 (talk) 18:01, 17 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Probably more publicly accessible writings, yes. Before the internet, people wrote in diaries and journals and letters to each other, but most of that never became public. StuRat (talk) 18:26, 17 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Well, THIS GRAPH suggests that the number of books published is sky-rocketing (incidentally - the average number of copies of each book sold is around 250!). In the era before the Internet, people also wrote personal letters - so we'd need to estimate the number of letters written versus the number of texts, tweets, emails, facebook posts, Wikipedia edits and so forth. Several people described as 'well connected' and 'the most prodigious' letter writers are Bertrand Russell (30,000 letters over his 100 year life) and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (10,000 letters over a 70 year life). That sounds like a lot - but less than one letter per day over their adult lives...and those were the people who were notoriously prodigious.

The average person back then probably wrote a whole lot less than those two guys. I'd bet that the average person today writes more than Bertrand Russell. I guess you'd describe me as a prodigious writer - my Wikipedia edit count alone has Russell and Leibniz left in the dust (30,000 edits in 10 years, 8 months), and around 20 emails per day...so probably another 70,000 in the last 10 years) - I'm not big on tweets or texts however - but I've written three times more "things" in 10 years than those other guys managed in a lifetime.

Multiply that observation by the vastly larger population size over the past hundred or so years - factor in improved literacy rates. Add the observation that most people 'back in the day' were born, lived and died in one small town - and probably could reach everyone they cared about by just going over and talking to them. With our 'global society' and a vastly more mobile population - and despite having phones and skype and such like, I suspect we do a lot more written communication than we ever did before.

Interestingly, the number of letters delivered by the USPS peaked in 1999...and has now dipped to about 60% of that peak. But it's hard to tell how many of those were "written" by "humans" rather than auto-generated form letters and postal spam. I'm guessing the drop is more to do with Internet payment systems than anything else.

On the basis of those kinds of back-of-envelope numbers and observations, I'd bet good money that we're easily writing more than ever before in history.

SteveBaker (talk) 21:04, 19 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Monarch names on ID cards and passports

On ID cards or passports, do the last name of monarchs usually coincide with the name of their royal house? Is, for example, Harald V of Norway referred to as Harald Glücksburg on his ID card or passport?--93.174.25.12 (talk) 18:54, 17 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

http://royal.gov.uk says "As a British passport is issued in the name of Her Majesty, it is unnecessary for The Queen to possess one. All other members of the Royal Family, including The Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince of Wales, have passports." - so I guess there's your answer for the British monarch. SteveBaker (talk) 18:59, 17 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I'd love to see her trying that excuse at Immigration at Newark Airport! —Nelson Ricardo (talk) 05:41, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The queen (and everyone else, for that matter) would be well advised to stay away from Newark. SteveBaker's point reminds me of something Joan Rivers once said. She was wondering what the queen carries in that little handbag she's often seen with. It's hard to believe the queen would need to carry cash. Probably what she has is a card that says, "I am the queen!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:59, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

She does carry £5, apparently. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 13:25, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This has some prince and princess passport photos [5], admittedly old. One shows: "His Royal Highness, Charles Philip Arthur George, The Prince of Wales". Dragons flight (talk) 11:47, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

When necessary, the last name of their highest title (or that of their father if they are not titled) is usually used. For example, both Prince William and Prince Harry formerly used Wales as a last name on Military documentation and on their military ID tags on uniforms. You can see "Harry Wales" clearly visible here (though his official name is Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales). Likewise, you can see W. Wales on Prince William's uniform here, I believe that picture is taken before he was granted a title in his own right; I don't know that he's served in any active duty role since his marriage. If he were to carry a last name now, I suspect it would be Cambridge. --Jayron 32 03:37, 19 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Although not legally their surname, many royals apparently use "Mountbatten-Windsor" as a surname: see Mountbatten-Windsor#Users of the surname. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 11:04, 19 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

January 18

song name (WARNING:NSFW)

first song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SgATNwxrOo — Preceding unsigned comment added by Money is tight (talk • contribs) 12:44, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

_{:I've added a warning to this. You're welcome. --TammyMoet (talk) 13:13, 18 January 2016 (UTC)}[reply]

To clarify, the video is a benign clip of someone playing Diablo II. There were no spoken words in the first minute. The title of the clip contains the F-word. Which does come up on these pages now and then. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:57, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

FWIW, Soundhound doesn't know. It could well have been thrown together by the video creators. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:57, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

January 19

Bipolarity and Schizophrenia

I am not sure where to ask this, so I am putting it on this desk. Is there a link between bipolarity and schizophrenia? I have read the articles on bipolar and cyclothymia (with which I was recently diagnosed). I did a Google Search on it just now, and found a book claiming there was a link, but unfortunately it was under a paywall. Does anybody have any references I could look into? KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 02:12, 19 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

From paragraph 2 of Schizophrenia#Genetic: There appears to be overlap in the genetics of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.[44] Citation 44 links to a fully accessible article on this. Loraof (talk) 14:58, 19 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Is there another name for "spit bag".

If not, is there a good reference to a page where "spit bag" is used? I'd rather not use cagepotato.com as a reference... As I understand, a spit bag is a bag pulled over someone's (intern) head to prevent them from spitting at someone else (guard). --Bensin (talk) 20:43, 19 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

(I think you mean internee, not intern). A muzzle (device) serves that purpose and also prevents biting (our article seems to be only about animal muzzles). StuRat (talk) 00:00, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@StuRat: You obviously haven't met the interns where I work. Just kidding. You are of course right. :-) Thanks! --Bensin (talk) 21:08, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This article from the Daily Telegraph uses the terms "spit hood" and "anti-spitting hood", and this FOI request from Leicestershire Police uses the terms "spit masks" and "spit bags". There's a link from the latter page to a Daily Mail article which uses "spit hood". Tevildo (talk) 09:30, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@Tevildo: Thank you! --Bensin (talk) 21:08, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

January 20

Have you started the service on whatsapp as wiki service ?

Hi Team,

Just to bring it to your notice that form this morning I could see a mobile number added to our whatsapp friend group called WIKI SERVICE. If we ask anything using key word for example "WIKI IBM" and click on send, after few seconds we are getting some basic information from these numbers which are real information though. Morning it was +91 7401017248 and now they says "Wiki service has moved to.Please add +91 9043536417 to this group to get wiki service"

Kindly check and advise.

Regards,

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.102.255.50 (talk) 08:30, 20 January 2016‎ (UTC)[reply]

I am pretty certain this is not any official Wikipedia or Wikimedia service. It is worth noting that there are many, many wikis besides Wikipedia. "Wiki" does not imply any connection to Wikipedia or Wikimedia. With that said, it sounds like they're grabbing information from Wikipedia, which is perfectly fine. (They should be attributing it to the editors who wrote it, but with short-form things like text messages there's probably a de minimis argument to be made and blah blah no one is going to sue them over it.) The only other issue would be if they were implying an official connection to Wikipedia or Wikimedia without permission, such as by using trademarks like the Wikipedia logo. But as I said, "wiki" is not a trademark belonging to Wikimedia, so I doubt there's any issue here. If you think otherwise you can report this to the Wikimedia Foundation. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 14:57, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

problem with headphones

I have a pair of headphones/earbuds/whatever that's basically a cheapie-cheap version of those earbuds that have a little built-in controller for volume/track-skipping- it only has one button that I think is only supposed to pause-unpause when it's pressed. However I'm running into a weird problem when I use this on my iPod; if I touch the jack head in any way when it's plugged in (usually the rubber casing that houses the 1/8-inch jack, but for all I know it could be happening when the wire gets disturbed elsewhere as well), it'll either pause/unpause the song, skip the track, or start fastforwarding it! It's super annoying, sure, and I figure it's probably just something wrong with it (they've been sitting in a tangled mess at the bottom of a Tupperware tub full of electronics for 1-2 years now before I dug them out, so I'm not particularly surprised), but I am curious as to why this could be happening and if it has something to do with the way the built-in track control works-- it seems really weird that the jack head of all things would be sensitive to input.

As for technical specs... not sure about the headphones, I got them 2-3 years ago, I think they're JVC but I'd have to give them a proper look, were about 5-15$ CDN, no idea what model. The iPod I got new in 2012-13, so it's probably a 5th gen. Not sure if this is Computing desk stuff but it had nothing to do with programming, so here this goes. 74.205.176.200 (talk) 13:49, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It is not to be called Weird. No need to worship the jack head of all things ( Or indeed ? ) It may also be called: the Digital Age. Almost all about it in Jays_AB_headset_for_Windows, see also our Phone connector article (#PDAs & Mobile phones). --Askedonty (talk) 16:31, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Reference Desk Volunteer

How do I volunteer to answer Reference Desk questions? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.184.212.167 (talk) 14:33, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Click "edit", and type in your answer. You should look at the Reference Desk guidelines if you haven't. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 15:00, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Penalties for a cover up or harboring a fugitive

Can you answer a question for me? If Hillery Clinton is indited and the President or the Attorney General grants a pardon or fails to follow through with FBI terms, can they themselves be prosecuted for aiding and betting a fugitive? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.127.40.149 (talk) 14:41, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The decision not to prosecute is within the legal discretion of the prosecution authorities, so unless they've come to that decision by doing something illegal in itself (e.g. taking bribes), what they have done is not criminal. If you are trying to challenge a decision not to proceed with a prosecution, you are basically saying that decision was wrong, in some way. You are probably looking for ~~a writ of certiorari~~an action for judicial review. For background, I suggest reading United States administrative law. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 15:01, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Your question is a little muddled, but there are some interesting issues here. First, I'll point out that an indictment is not a conviction; it's an accusation. With that said, an interesting thing is that the President can grant a pardon even when someone has not been convicted of a crime. This was the case when Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon after Nixon left office. But also, in the U.S., the courts have held that accepting a pardon implies an admission of guilt. I'm not sure what you mean by "fails to follow through with FBI terms". But in general, the President, and Cabinet members, are not immune from prosecution or judicial process. For precedent, we can again look to Nixon, as well as Bill Clinton's legal troubles (Paula Jones#Jones v. Clinton, Lewinsky scandal). They could be charged with crimes, if prosecutors felt they had committed any. (Also, I think you meant "abetting".) --71.119.131.184 (talk) 15:29, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Relevant to Presidential immunity, is this article about the 1982 Supreme Court ruling which established that the President is only immune from civil litigation related to his/her official duties, and is NOT immune from prosecutions related to criminal offenses, nor for civil prosecutions for actions unrelated to their official duties. Thus, you can't sue the President because he issued an executive order that you felt caused you damages in some way, but you CAN sue the President if he runs over your cat with his car. --Jayron 32 16:33, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Has any recent (post Kennedy?) US President actually driven a car while in office? Given the sheer size and complexity of the security "circus" that accompanies a President's every move, it seems to me rather unlikely. There's probably a Secret Service regulation that effectively prevents the President from driving anything bigger than a bicycle or golf cart. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 20:27, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

As I recall, Reagan used to drive a jeep around his ranch. Dubya may have done likewise. Recently, Obama was driving while Jerry Seinfeld was riding along. All of these examples, though, are in well-defined and confined areas, i.e. not on public streets. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:33, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The OP's questions sounds like trolling, but I have to ask: Since when is Hillary Clinton a "fugitive"? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:55, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I'd point out that the president can fire a prosecutor for not prosecuting a case, and that the congress can impeach either. Ford's so-called "pardon" of Nixon for crimes of which he had not been convicted was never challenged in the courts, has no precedent, and is now quite moot. Had Carter or another later president chosen to try Nixon, it's unlikely the Supreme Court would have dismissed the case on double jeopardy grounds, since there had never been an acquittal or even an indictment in the first place. On WP:BLP grounds we shouldn't be speculating about living people and what officials might do to them. μηδείς (talk) 21:58, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

How can a person travel from the Jerusalem to India or from China to India in antiquity?

I have heard and read and watched stories about Saint Thomas the apostle who traveled from somewhere in the Near East to India and founded the Saint Thomas Christians. Also, there is a classic Chinese novel about a real historical figure that traveled from China to India to get Buddhist scriptures. Either way, what pathway would make such a trip feasible? Would they have traveled by foot, by camel, by horse, or by sea? 140.254.77.208 (talk) 19:38, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

See Xuanzang and Faxian for the Chinese monks who travelled from China to India - both by land via a northern route, though Faxian returned by sea via Ceylon. See Silk Road for a discussion of both the land-based and sea-based routes between China and the West. Less relevant, as he did not go to India, but see Gan Ying for an even earlier emissary who got close to (though never reached) his intended destination, Rome. --165.225.80.101 (talk) 20:14, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Probably best to go by sea. It was quicker by sea than by land in the days before motorised transport. The Roman road network only existed within the Roman empire, so would be no use travelling outside the empire. Travelling by land east from Judaea would take you through desert, and you'd cross lots of borders and tribal boundaries, with potential for meeting hostile people who could impede your progress. So if you want to go from Jerusalem to India, you'll probably want to travel across the Jordan to join the King's Highway, and from there south to Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba - You'll probably want to go as part of a trading convoy for safety in mumbers - then find a ship going east on the Incense Route. You may have to make a few stops and change ships on the way. --Nicknack009 (talk) 20:18, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

See Periplus of the Erythraean Sea for an ancient description of going from the Mediterranean world to India. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 20:19, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

This may be untrue, and isn't in his article, but I remember reading somewhere about Roman soldiers led by Marcus Licinius Crassus who were defeated and captured at the Battle of Carrhae, and the survivors sold as slaves. Some of them apparently ended up as mercenaries in China. I don't have a reference though; apologies if this is incorrect. 94.12.81.251 (talk) 22:44, 20 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@@ Line 170: / Line 170: @@
 ::Probably best to go by sea. It was quicker by sea than by land in the days before motorised transport. The Roman road network only existed within the Roman empire, so would be no use travelling outside the empire. Travelling by land east from Judaea would take you through desert, and you'd cross lots of borders and tribal boundaries, with potential for meeting hostile people who could impede your progress. So if you want to go from Jerusalem to India, you'll probably want to travel across the Jordan to join the [[King's Highway (ancient)|King's Highway]], and from there south to [[Eilat]] on the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] - You'll probably want to go as part of a trading convoy for safety in mumbers - then find a ship going east on the [[Incense Route]]. You may have to make a few stops and change ships on the way. --[[User:Nicknack009|Nicknack009]] ([[User talk:Nicknack009|talk]]) 20:18, 20 January 2016 (UTC)
 :::See [[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]] for an ancient description of going from the Mediterranean world to India. --[[User:Stephan Schulz|Stephan Schulz]] ([[User talk:Stephan Schulz|talk]]) 20:19, 20 January 2016 (UTC)
+::::This may be untrue, and isn't in his article, but I remember reading somewhere about Roman soldiers led by [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]] who were defeated and captured at the [[Battle of Carrhae]], and the survivors sold as slaves. Some of them apparently ended up as mercenaries in China. I don't have a reference though; apologies if this is incorrect. [[Special:Contributions/94.12.81.251|94.12.81.251]] ([[User talk:94.12.81.251|talk]]) 22:44, 20 January 2016 (UTC)