::In a world where anything can be changed by anyone and nothing is permanent, it is completely up to the absolute ratio of vandals to good contributors. Each side may employ bots for temporary advantage, but as long as there is a higher percentage of good contributors to vandals then it should work. Compare this with RL where one terrorist can inflict massive damage that cannot be fixed. Here we can turn back time very easily and anyone can do it. I guess this is a bit like a democracy, if 60% of a country's population wants to vote for [[Bugs Bunny]] for president just to screw up the government I guess they could, but in reality people do like to be constructive members of society most of the time. [[User:Nowimnthing|Nowimnthing]] 20:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
::In a world where anything can be changed by anyone and nothing is permanent, it is completely up to the absolute ratio of vandals to good contributors. Each side may employ bots for temporary advantage, but as long as there is a higher percentage of good contributors to vandals then it should work. Compare this with RL where one terrorist can inflict massive damage that cannot be fixed. Here we can turn back time very easily and anyone can do it. I guess this is a bit like a democracy, if 60% of a country's population wants to vote for [[Bugs Bunny]] for president just to screw up the government I guess they could, but in reality people do like to be constructive members of society most of the time. [[User:Nowimnthing|Nowimnthing]] 20:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
:but how would the bots know what is vandalism?[[User:Wiki Mirabeau|Wiki Mirabeau]] 23:31, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
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August 26
Copyright status of completing another person's work
I'm hoping some copyright experts could help me with the copyright section of unfinished work. What is the copyright status of work that was started by one person and then completed by another? Who holds the copyright, especially if the first piece of work no longer has copyright status? For example, if a novel is mostly completed but then the author dies and the book is finished by another person is it a joint copyright situation?
Lets call the original work A and the completed work A++. The author of A (or his estate) owns the copyright of A outright, and can do what it wills with it. The copyright of A++ is jointly owned by both authors (or their estates etc.). That means neither can distribute A++ without the permission of the other. If the copyright on A has lapsed, the author of A++ owns the copyright of A++ free and clear - but he doesn't own the copyright on the unmodified A. So I could write an "Illiad special edition (achillies vs the wookies)" and I'd own the copyright, but I'd have no case to stop anyone else printing copies of Homer's work. Now, if you're asking about cases where someone takes an existing PD work (like the Mona Lisa) and does stuff to it - do they then own the copyright over the product? The answer depends on whether that change has sufficient creative content to constitute a copyrightable work - merely importing it into photoshop and tweaking the colours probably doesn't, but artfully painting on a different person's face (in Da Vinci's style) probably does. Things get sticky when you get to Andy Warhol-style manipulations, where the threshhold of copyrightability largely depends on what the judge had for lunch. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk11:46, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You've confirmed some of my thoughts about it, and given me some great details there. You wouldn't happen to have any relevant links that I could further research this do you? violet/riga(t)11:54, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well in the middle of the night (at 3 AM) i got an amazing phone call (which didn't wake me up.) I found it very unique because my caller ID managed to pick up the phone number but it was even stranger to me (i've never seen this before). The # was 15 digits long and before the number was a '+' sign. Anyone mind helping me discover the strangeness of this? I'm interested in knowing who tried to call me too. (I tried googling this stuff but didn't get any answers). Thanks in advance!
Edit: I'm in the process of reading this article too Telephone numbering plan and if it helps i live in the U.S. (if it matters. --Agester14:01, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The + sign usually denotes an international call. For example, +44 is the UK (I believe). Usually most caller ID systems can't understand international numbers and thus don't normally display the number. violet/riga(t)14:07, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
i believe the first two numbers were 86. Any clue where that is from? (They called my cellphone which was able to record the number) --Agester14:11, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And at a wild guess it was someone in China trying to reach a mobile (cell) phone with a Chinese number. According to this Chinese mobile numbers start with 13x (within China, +8613x overseas), where x is 0, 1, 3, 5, 6. 7. 8 or 9, and according to the reference violet/riga gives the domestic dialling prefix in China is '0'. Assuming someone meant to dial 013095551234 but dialled 0013095551234 instead, the 00 on the front would mean "international access", and they'd get through to a North American number, 1-309-555-1234. Tonywalton | Talk13:33, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, a + at the beginning of a phone number means "the international direct dialing code for the country I'm in" e.g. 011 in North America, 00 in most of Europe. Most mobile phones know what the IDD code for the country you're currently in is, so you can store numbers in the memory in international format i.e. + followed by the country code, followed by the phone number but omitting the national direct dialling code (the leading zero in Europe or the leading 1 in North America). This means that if your phone is registered to roam internationally, you can hit the same number in memory regardless of where you are in the world. Nearly all the numbers in my phone's memory begin with either +44 or +353, so I can always get through regardless of if I'm in the UK or Ireland... -- Arwel (talk) 00:27, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Coin ???
I have a coin, i think. It is marked on the back " MAGYAR USZO SZOVETSEC " *1907-1932*. On the frount are 3 men. Above them are 4 buzards. also the words GREFF LAJOS in very small print. Thanks for your time, Wayne 65.145.194.915:11, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And for those who aren't aware of Hungarian name order, his surname is Greff and his given name is Lajos (kind of equivalent to Louis or Ludwig). JackofOz05:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Usually. Most brands are made without milk solids, and there are also some vegan lines of non-bitter chocolate, like Sweet Williams and certain decks of Lindt. Taiq16:44, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Have you looked at Ford GT and Ford GT40. The MkII did an average speed of 125.39 mph at Le Mans with the MkIV 10 mph faster. The top speed for the new GT is claimed at "...overr 200 mph ...". One of the external links on the GT40 may provide the top speed. CambridgeBayWeather(Talk)01:44, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wikiquiz possibilities?
I'm not sure where to post this,so I'll start here.If it's in the wrong bit,point me in the right direction and push!
I had an idea for a 'general knowledge quiz' on perhaps a weekly or fortnightly basis with maybe 50 or 100 questions.
As these would be taken from a wide range of topics within Wikipedia(maybe including a special section with questions based on that week's featured articles/pictures),it should encourage Wikipedians to go exploring through a wide variety of articles to find the answers.
Perhaps there can be some sort of reward for the winner-maybe a small box with This Week's Winner displayed and some sort of small prize.
I would be more than happy to organize questions,receive and mark answers etc.
So-is this feasible?Is it a good idea?Any suggestions as to how to improve this?
Sounds quite similar to the "Did you know" section on the Main Page, only put in the form of a question. Perhaps you could work with whoever does that segment. StuRat21:33, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds like fun! A word of warning though, your "correct" answer will never satisfy everyone as the truth. Not that it can't work, it's just something to consider. --bmk
You should be OK with strictly factual questions where there is no controversy. For example, asking JFK's age when he became President would work, but not who assassinated him and why. StuRat08:05, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Doesn't the Wikipedia:Department of Fun sound freakishly like something out of 1984?! I do lots of pub quizzes and things like that,so I'm used to coming up with questions that can't start a mass brawl but are peculiarly interesting-when you hear the answer it's obvious! Lemon martini10:45, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That sounds like a lot of fun and something we could get started. I am ready to help you, or be the first player! — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)
Super-do we know we does the 'Did you know' section?Or is there any other way of getting some sort of honorable mention on the main page to let as many Wikipedians know about it as possible? Would it be feasible to create a 'Wikiquiz' section/article somewhere? Lemon martini15:11, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You remember that a jogging style that was popular in the 1970's was the "long, slow, distance," where one runs at a slow, constant pace? It was thought to improve the aerobic benefits of the exercize while being easy on the body.
Well, I run quite a bit, and before I set out today for a 6.5 mile run, I took several puffs from a marijuana joint. Within minutes that calming, slow feeling came over me and I found myself not running at my usual vigorous pace, but jogging in the "long, slow distance" pace popularized in the 1970s.
My question is that do you think the popularity of the "Long Slow Distance" type of running during the 1970s is in direct correlation with the greater amounts of marijuana consumed in that great decade?Courtney Akins22:01, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(Response to Courtney) No, probably not and you shouldn't be taking hits of Marijuana anytime. Don't want to loose those ever important brain cells. :) Seriously though, I think you should overcome that, but hey, it's your life.. — The Future04:19, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are really worse things people can do to their brain and their body legally than taking a few puffs of marijuana periodically. Cigarettes and alcohol are much worse for you on the whole (and a lot worse for society as a whole as well). --Fastfission15:10, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Were you standing on your head while doing that smiley? Tried the combination perchance?
When the effects of pot on driving skills was going to be tested in the Netherlands (on a cleared highway), The Dutch comedian Kees van Kooten let his hippy character do that test too. He found that while he was doing only 50 it felt like 100, so that supports your theory. Although the announcement of the test got some media attention, the results didn't, so I suppose they weren't exceptional enough. DirkvdM06:59, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Where to find specific tags
Where can I find tags that relate to American Authors and Non-fiction books? -MF14
Does anyone have a handle on what approximate year and what philosophies came to the fore that allowed, once again, (the last time being the 1970s), that it became acceptable for women to wear high heels and short shorts at the same time? Courtney Akins23:30, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A theory is that the better the economy the more prevocatively women dress. When the economy is not doing as well women tend to dress more conservatively. It's just a theory.74.12.154.12200:01, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I totally disagree with the economic theory espoused above. During the 1970s the economy was doing horribly. And its not doing so well right now, and I think there was a minor recession in 2001-02. Yet women dress more provocatively now than perhaps ever, in contrast to the 1980s, when the economy was in fever-pitch, yet what passed for "provocative" dress then (e.g. Madonna's outfits/videos) seem quaintly restrained now.
Furthermore, it is a fact that women dressed very provocatively in 1790's France (plunging necklines, and dresses fitted to a woman's body, in repudiation of the traditional hoop-skirt form) and not only was the economy doing badly -- performing much below the levels of the ancien-regime -- but the entire nation was in turmoil and upheaval. It was not until halfway through the Napoleonic Empire that the economy of France recovered to pre-revolution capacity.
Therefore, it might be true that women dress more provocatively during times of economic distress and national turmoil! (as in this decade, the 1970's, and Revloution/Directorate France. Any thoughts?Courtney Akins01:43, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually that bit about women's hemlines and the stock market isn't an economic theory. It's a frequently cited example of why correlation is not causation. To add to the bit about 1970s pop culture, let's remember dear ol' Daisy Duke. So far as I know, the late seventies were the only time when short shorts with high heels was considered acceptable (although far more common on television than in real life, as I recall, because few women have perfect legs). A related late seventies-early eighties fashion that more women observed was to wear high heels with designer jeans. Durova06:46, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Nothing politically correct about it. It is still based on christianity. The name is just changed. But even if you'd use the alleged birthyear of Jesus as a reference, it would make more scientific sense to make that the year zero (which is now odddly lacking) and referring to other years as, say, -42 and +42 (the latter could also be simply '42'). To make clear you're talking about years, you could make that y-42 and y42 (as in y2k for the year 2000). So this year would then be y2006. The unit time is a real mess - for more examples see the 'time' section on my talk page. DirkvdM09:12, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Our article states that one of the arguments for using the BCE/CE system cited by its supporters is that the calendar "should be religiously and culturally neutral out of consideration for those cultures compelled to use it out of necessity", which sounds like political correctness to me. --Richardrj09:50, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Dirk's point is that changing the name makes no difference if the point of reference is still Christ's birthday. And that's basically my beef with the CE/BCE reference. - Mgm|(talk)13:16, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Except that the connection to Christ's birthday has been lost. The Christian Era was set up based on the supposed year of his birth. They got it wrong, but that doesn't matter anymore. It's now called the Common Era because it's the era that has de facto come to be accepted and it's the system widely used throughout the world, regardless of religious belief. Whatever its historical origin may have been, and whether it was correct or not in pinpointing JC's birth year, are now irrelevant. Hence the name change from Christian Era to Common Era. JackofOz01:48, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
But the abbreviation is still 'CE'. Is that a coincidence? And why use two different abbreviatons? Why not CE or whatever for the years after and before the year zero? Anyway, if this is about worldwide adoption, then which abbreviation is used in English is fairly irrelevant. Not even the Dutch will be likely to adopt that. Something more international has to be chosen. Maybe 'A' for annum (Latin)? So something like A-42. (Of course one shouldn't confuse the year four with a paper size, but that is not likely to happen). DirkvdM07:11, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think you're confusing world-wide adoption of a system (which is a fait accompli) with the names for that system in various languages. Eg. the International Date Line is recognised throughout the world, but its name varies depending on which language you happen to be speaking. JackofOz04:42, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The same goes for the word 'table'. But not for units (at least not SI units). It's a simple abbreviation and while it is not strictly necessary to use the same one wordlwide, it would be something to strive for. DirkvdM05:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are there Classics in nonwestern universities? If so, would, say, Chinese universities study Confuncious's writings & his students, like for example, Mencius, instead? An answer on my talk page would nice, thanks!10011010003:23, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Iam told that there are several websites which offer you money if you do their jobs. I have very basic skills in computers though I would be able to handle research related work. Can anyone tell me whether thare are any Indian web sites which offer such work and pay reasonably for the work done?
sumal05:46, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Minimal age to start a business in Australia
Could anyone tell me what is the minimal age to start a business in Australia. I'm 15 and wish to start a computer fixing business. I don't wona do anything against the law so will someone please help me!
Thanks for any help given. jeremy
I once saw a series about millionaires on the BBC. One kid of also around 15 did all his business through the phone and his parents kept his money in safekeeping for him, saying he hadn't a clue how rich he was. So he did do business. I just don't know the legal construct. Now this was about the UK, but I can imagine that in most places there will be laws about the age of employees. But if you work for yourself there will probably be no problem. I suppose the best place to ask would be the chamber of commerce. DirkvdM09:51, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Jeremy, congrats on your plan. I'm from Canada and we may do some things differently than in Australia, but I'll tell you what you'd need if you were here in Canada, and it'll give you a start anyways.
First, know this; if your business is small you might be able to do without any documentation, kind of like babysitting or mowing people's lawns. Just declare the income under 'other income' at tax time.
A lot of independent business operators need business licenses. There is probably an age restriction on that, but I don't know if you'd need one for your type of business. In Canada, you apply to your municipality (city hall) for business licenses.
In Canada, if you are providing a particular service in excess of $20,000 a year, you need to register with the Goods and Services Tax department, and get a tax number. I don't know if Australia has something similar? It's like the European VAT. I don't think there's a minimum age, but you'd need a Social Insurance Number in order to register.
If you are selling computer parts, in Canada you'd need to apply for a Provincial Sales Tax number, which covers manufactured goods. I don't know if there's an age limit for that, but I doubt it. In Canada, we have two separate sales taxes, don't know if it's the same in Australia.
Larger businesses need to register as companies. There are different ways of doing it depending on the size of the business. Sole proprietorship is for small, home-based businesses like computer servicing, accounting services, etc. It's for self-employed people. Limited partnerships and incorporation are for larger enterprises, I wouldn't worry about those yet. For a sole proprietorship, there might not be a minimum age, but if there is it's probably 16.
If people are coming to your home to drop off or pick up computers, you will need to check with your parents with regards to their house insurance, because they may need extra coverage.
You may want to start by placing an advert on [[2]], offering to fix PCs for a price. People will generally bring their PCs to you, and you can see if you're genuinely interested in starting. Pesapluvo
I'm sure some did and most didn't. Shaving is a cultural thing, so the answer varies from culture to culture and time period to time period. I think the modern Western trend to remove all armpit and leg hair peaked in the 1950's but is still very common, and in maybe the last ten years there seems to be a substantial proportion of Western (especially US) women who remove most or all of their pubic hair. I think this would have been very unusual in earlier generations.-gadfium22:23, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Don't joke - I did a night class in prehistory, and when we discussed microliths I asked if you could shave with one, and the teacher confirmed you could. Flint apparently can take a sharper blade than steel - steel's big advantage is its lightness and shapeability. --Nicknack00922:30, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
YTV Airing Pokemon this fall 2006?
Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help me. I've been trying to find this out for the past month, and so far, i've found nothing. Can anyone tell me if YTV will be airing the new Season 9 of Pokemon "Pokemon Battle Frontier"? Please I would be very grateful for this to be answer! Thank you
Sense
I noticed the Sense article only has 9 senses on it that humans have. Stephen Fry in an episode of QI said that it was more in the region of 33 after the guests had all answered in the common mistruth that there are five, some of the ones he noted that arent on the list are a sense of hunger, and a sense of tiredness. Does anyone know where there is a complete list. PhilcTECI21:31, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The article points out that: "There is no firm agreement among neurologists as to exactly how many senses there are, because of differing definitions of a sense." And: "depending on the chosen method of classification, somewhere between 9 and 21 human senses have been identified. In addition, there are some other candidate physiological experiences which may or may not fall within the above classification (for example the sensory awareness of hunger and thirst)." (my emphasis) So the question is: In what sense would such a list be complete? Many of the senses mentioned in the article can be differentiated, split into further refinements. Under "Sight" the article mentions that neuroanatomists generally regard it as two senses. The article gives several further examples. An example not given: the sensation of being touched is difference from itching. Does that mean "Itching" should be listed as a sense? If you stretch the definition enough, you can probably come up with even more than 33 "senses", but what is the point? --LambiamTalk21:58, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, I was not meaning to dig at the article like that, but do you (or does anyone) know where there is a list covering all of the sense including things like hunger etc. but without splitting them and becoming pinickity (so it covers all sense but not necesarily individually). Cheers. PhilcTECI22:53, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Song in Kill Bill
What is the name of that last song played in the movie Kill Bill Volume 1, when The Bride was riding on the airplane, drawing up the list of people she will kill? Thanks Jamesino22:41, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
l like this Asian girl, but don't know how to tell her. What should l do?
"You're an interesting person and I enjoy talking with you. Any chance you'd be interested in joining me for a drink/meal/concert/etc sometime?" Pesapluvo01:13, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You could do something notable. That'd get her attention. 192.168.1.1 01:25, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Further to some of the suggestions, maybe it would be a good idea to figure out some potential appropriate locations for a first date, just in case the conversation does result in that possibility coming up. Planning is everything ;) --Robert Merkel02:04, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Because if the OP were Asian (from Asia), he wouldn't refer to her as an Asian girl - he would specify the country (in the same way that relatively few Europeans call themselves European, and relatively few North Americans call themselves North American. People from the United States call themselves American, but that's because they call their country America.) ColourBurst22:52, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I dont normally do anything like this but you are extrodenary and I would like to get to know you better. ( if the mother superior says its ok) Hobgoblin
If she is Asian, then you should probably not use e-mail. Or if she is not Asian, you still shouldn't use e-mail. A poem, a rose, a box of chocolates, an affectionate slap on the butt... They all work. VivaLaVieBoheme!
Telling a guy I like him
(Like the above question! ^_^) I like this guy, but I don't know if he is gay or not, but he might be. How do I ask a guy out without alienating the friendship if he isn't gay? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.153.40.162 (talk • contribs)
And if the kid has misjudged badly enough he gets the answer "No, you filthy fag" and a broken nose for his troubles. Show a little common sense, please. --Robert Merkel01:55, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sinse the questioner pointed out that they were friends, I assumed that his friend would react calmly with a "yes" or a "no" and perhaps some humor to make sure there was no tension between them. True friends would not care as to what their friend's sexual orientation is. --ClockFace02:21, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Um, that's laudable, but naive. This person could be in an educational and family situation where homosexuality is accepted. Or he could be at high school in (insert stereotype of rural backwardness here) and about to ask the rampantly homophobic football team captain out on a date. --Robert Merkel04:20, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Both your comments, Robert, made me laugh, but I absolutely don't want to get punched in the face. And no, I'm not about to ask some clearly anti-gay guy on a date. My problem is that the guy has never really showed signs of heterosexuality, like hitting on chicks or whatever. At school (where I met him of course) social groups are tight and I'd hate to ask him, be rejected, have my orientation come out, then spend the next few years as "<my name>, the lonely fag". Aren't suicide rates high among gay teens? It's no mystery why. (not that I'm going to kill myself) 70.144.51.17504:35, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
From the context of the question, I gather you're a young gay man. While I can't precisely empathise with your situation, it's a difficult situation whether you're gay or straight if you're a teenager trying to guess whether somebody would appreciate you asking them out. In some parts of the world, there are support groups for gay teenagers which might be able to give you advice on the best way to deal with this situation - maybe a web search for "gay teenager support group" and your location might turn up some people who can help (but use your common sense to check out the bona fides of any such group). --Robert Merkel01:55, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you aren't willing or able to let him know your orientation, you're in a difficult position, IMO. Because you don't want hitting on your friend to be the way he finds out you're gay. He probably wouldn't appreciate it even if he is also gay. I think that if you don't trust him with the truth about your orientation, you probably don't know him well enough to date him anyway. I'm not saying that's how it is, but your previous post suggests it to me.
If it were me, I'd just take him aside, and in a gentle, neutral, light way, tell him you're gay. Don't say you're attracted to him, don't make it a heavy conversation, just say this is something you want him to know about you, you're not weird about it, you hope he isn't, and you hope the honesty will make you better friends. If his response is negative, or if he makes no indication that he shares either your sexual orientation or a mutual attraction, leave it at that. If he indicates that he shares your orientation, or an interest in the lifestyle, suggest an outing (not a date) where the two of you can have some alone time and maybe explore gay culture (depending on your location, maybe it doesn't exist). Or, just go behind the 7-11, smoke a doobie, and make out. :-)
Not a criticism, but it's been my experience and observation that sometimes guys jump the gun, opting for action rather than talk. A couple of male friends found out their best friends were gay when they were asked on dates by said friends; neither appreciated it. I've found out guys liked me a couple of times when they kissed me out of the blue, that wasn't appreciated either. I know talk isn't as active as... action..., but it's usually the way to go. Test the waters before you jump in. And if you're too nervous to test the waters, it's probably best to leave it. If you don't feel you can trust him enough to be honest, you definitely can't trust him with what might be a big bombshell. Anchoress07:47, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Have you considered telling him outright? Perhaps you might want to start by telling him 'It's so bona to vada yer dolly old eek'? Check the article on Polari for a translation - or perhaps not --russ22:13, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just because he's not aggressively heterosexual doesn't mean he's gay. I grew up in a suburbia-type environment and violent anti-gayness was the norm, so I may possibly be biased, especially since I still feel that way, !!but!! consider that chances are stacked dozens to one against you that he's gay and even that he's not revulsed by the idea --Froth03:33, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
drilling
I need help in finding this answer:
explain the differences in the equipment required (power tool and drill bit type) to drill holes in timber v's those needed to drill holes in concrete.
aid of diagram would be greatly appreciated.
thank you.
202.172.110.20201:54, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For wood you can use various types of drill bits: Auger drill bits, spade bits, and multi-purpose bits. It depends a bit on the purpose (woodwork? carpentry? pre-boring a hole for a screw?), the depth and width of the desired hole, and type of wood, which type is best. For concrete you'd want a drill bit that is advertised as usable for the purpose (masonry drill bit, concrete drill bit), but apart from extra strength this would not be essentially different from a multi-purpose drill bit. As to the power tool, for getting through concrete you need a hammer drill. Most hammer drills for do-it-yourself use will be combination drills: you can turn off the hammering action. If you want to see what the various drill bit types look like, go to Google images and search for any of the above types. --LambiamTalk02:28, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Using metal/masonry drill bits in wood can ruin them due to heating and de-tempering (lot of friction between wood and bit, and can't use cooling fluid in wood). Therefore cheap soft bits tend to be used for wood.
Masonry bits (concrete) are normally made of a small chevron shaped piece of tungsten carbide set in a helical shaft. See Drill bit. Rentwa14:24, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
To drill a hole in cured concrete you will need to purchase a Hammer Drill. These drills work by vibrating a masonry bit against the concrete and breaking off tiny bits. You can purchase a drill powerful enough for most home projects for around $65. You can also rent a professional grade one for around $25 a day. These will cut through concrete quickly, a 3/16"x2" hole can be cut in around 20 sec. (a traditional drill will take around 5 min and melt the bit to slag in around a half hour). You will need to use "carbide concrete/masonry hammer drill bits". Buy 2 or 3 per every 100 holes. If the timber is larger than 3/4" you will need to switch to a wood bit to drill through it. Just a traditional wood drill bit will suffice. If the timber is less than 3/4" you can use the hammer drill on direct drive mode with the same bit. Hope this helps. --DarkfredTalk to me20:35, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
diamond dave rides again
I want to learn how to buy loose diamonds at a local (Dallas+Ft.Worth) jewlery store. This is investments only not to wear. How can I get info so I dont get bad stuff? Thanks02:25, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Diamonds seem to be a rather poor investment for several reasons:
1) There are many factors which affect the value of each; such as size, color, clarity, inclusions, cut, etc. Unless you are a gem expert, you are likely to be "taken".
2) They aren't all that rare, so the price should be much lower than it is. Only by restricting the supply has DeBeers been able to keep the price artificially high. I would be worried that this situation may not last and there could be a price collapse soon.
3) Artificial diamonds (real diamonds made in a lab) are increasing in quality and decreasing in price steadily. Soon they will offer serious competition for natural diamonds. StuRat03:32, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In addition to the reasons given above, diamonds are a poor investment because they lose value incredibly fast. Because the supply is a monopoly, margins are very high, and a used market is discouraged by add campaigns. A typical diamond will lose 80% of its value immediately upon purchase. Unless you are a jeweler (in which case you are already getting diamonds at a steep discount) buying diamonds is an incredibly foolish investment. Even if you intend to set them later and sell them as new, the jeweler will charge more for the setting to recover the loss of profit from the diamond margin. --DarkfredTalk to me20:27, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
phone number look-up
I need to look up a phone number that's not in the white pages reverse look-up (I assume it's a cell). How can I look it up? Thanks. -Wjlkgnsfb02:50, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My question is sparked from the saying "if joe jumped of a cliff would you jump aswell?" so how high does the cliff have to be to be classed as a cliff?
it's just a term...language alone isn't very precise on this matter. I doubt that even geologists and topographers assign a heigh requirement for usage of the word "cliff". Jasbutal04:35, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I thought that a cliff just meant a sheer, almost vertical drop. I suppose under this definition, the walls of a creek or other such artifical ditch could be considered a cliff as well. Hyenaste(tell)04:38, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it is the angle rather than the height that allows it to be classified as a cliff. When studying topography, you realize that something may be defined as, say, a crest on a small scale (of <100m) but in the broader picture is classified as part of a "gentle slope". So topographical features can change classification depending on the scale over which it is being considered. I doubt any topographer would be interested in classifying something that was a few centimetres tall as a cliff. I think a person would just use their common sense to determine whether something was notable in the landscape, depending on what the information they were gathering was for. BenC709:14, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For shorelines, we get this (which sounds reasonable): "High angle solid substrate shoreline; includes low cliffs (height < 2 m), medium cliffs (height 2 - 10 m) and high cliffs (height > 10 m)." --Zeizmic12:38, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Smallest thing rock climbers would call a 'route' (route up a cliff) would be about 20ft - i.e. worth putting on a harness and roping up. Anything smaller would probably be called a 'problem' (tricky sequence of moves) and climbed without rope (soloed).
Most cliffs are 'dynamic' - i.e. they are in a constant state of evolution - material is eroded from the bottom leaving stuff above unsupported which then falls - for this reason many 'cliffs' are not vertical but have jumble of debris at bottom. Especially true of smaller cliffs and ends of escarpments. You could still get a nasty bruise if you fell off though.
Has anyone any idea what this symbol means? I've seen it here in the UK on labels and printed directly onto bottles of alcoholic drink, including imported beer (Corona), Scotch whisky and wine. It's always accompanied by a very long number in the format 999/99999999/99 (or similar; I forget the exact format). I've searched symbols.com and asked around and no-one seems to know what it's about. It doesn't mean "contents under pressure", it may mean "recycle this bottle" though I've also seen it in combination with the usual "recycle" symbols. Presumably it means something to somebody, since manufacturers are taking the trouble to print it! Any ideas? Tonywalton | Talk12:45, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In my misspent youth I was a bartender in the great state of Texas. We where told to smash empty glass bottles so ner-do-wells could not use the emptys for bootleging and thus not pay taxes. There were and are federal (ATF) and many state regs about this. I got into big time trouble with a not so nice man with a badge because I did not grasp that the tax labels on the bottles had to be distroyed too. I feel your symbol is suggested break points indicators for brave brit barmen to use as a guide on such jobs as this. Not that it works, its just boilerplate to keep nanny government off their backsides when national health refuses to patch up a cut barkeep because of inadiquite labeling on the bottle. Stranger things have happened. That is my logical guess and legal view of the matter free of charge and totally worthless. Hobgoblin
Hmm, very odd. I checked on all of my wine bottles and didn't see it (I'm in the US). I would have imagined it was "contents under pressure" or something like that (it looks like a gas exerting pressure on an enclosed space) but if you're sure it's not that, then I don't have a clue. --Fastfission15:44, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I googlimaged for gas, pressure, bottle, can and regulation logo - scanned 880 pics for the last one. We still need a "something like" visual engine search. Any ideas ? -- DLL .. T18:52, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
http://symbols.com is quite good for that - it has a search facility where you tell it "is it an open or closed symbol", "is it symmeterical" and so on, and it comes up with best guesses. Unfortunately it doesn't know about this one. Tonywalton | Talk07:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I looked all over, as well. I'm sure it has something to do with pressure, but I've never heard of anybody killed by a beer bottle... maybe from mad Texan bartenders throwing them, but that would be a different symbol. :) --Zeizmic20:45, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Something to do with the fact that it is exempt from ecotax in Belgium probably because it is recyclable glass. Here is a Dutch page explaining it somewhat but it seems far too dull to investigate further. MeltBanana21:17, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The reason I reckon it's not "contents under pressure" is that as I mentioned I've seen it on both whisky and wine, neither of which are pressurised (and Corona beer hardly is). Thanks for the dull page in Dutch, MeltBanana, and the translation, DirkVD; looks like it's some weird EU tax thing which nobody outside Brussels understands or cares about, then. Thanks, all, for your responses! 86.129.77.199 06:43, 29 August 2006 (UTC)Tonywalton | Talk06:46, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
andy of mayberry
could someone please tell me the name of the diner on any of mayberry? Thank-you.
What are the flight regulations concerning carrying knives in your luggage, can you bring knives from one country to another?
Checked baggage only, of course. It depends on the regulations of both countries, and of the airline. Check all three. For example, discovered knives carried without "good reason" are generally confiscated on entry to the UK. Notinasnaid13:02, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Interstingly, this doesn't answer your question, but your question made me wonder how many miles or units of measurements a common computer mouse has traveled in it's lifetime. It would be intersting to find out. --Proficient05:07, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You're begging the question; they don't. They may appear to on occasion, for a couple of reasons. Certainly many Japanese people travel with tour groups, but not all of them. When visiting a country where you don't speak the language and don't have experience with the local customs, it can be helpful to be accompanied by a guide who can translate and advise. A planned tour also reduces the guesswork and planning burden for a traveller—transportation, meal planning, hotel bookings, and so forth can all be taken care of. (Some people enjoy the convenience, others will chafe from the lack of freedom. The latter won't do packaged tours.) I will note that it is easier for an English-speaking tourist to find someone who speaks at least some broken English than it is for a Japanese-speaking tourist to find someone who speaks Japanese.
You see a lot of Japanese tourists, period, because it is a fairly wealthy country whose people can afford to travel. You are more likely to notice Japanese tourists – particularly when they are in groups – because their appearance and language are different (I'm guessing that you're asking the question from somewhere in the West.) Caucasians sometimes also travel in herds, but you're less likely to notice because they blend in (to an extent) with the locals and with other, individual tourists. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:11, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, memories of being in a warm port when the cruise ship pulled in. Suddenly, you are surrounded by a herd of Oklahoma ladies with blue hair, and all the prices go up by a factor of 10... --Zeizmic20:47, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Another factor is that Japanese people tend to take very short holidays (even worse than Americans in this respect). Therefore, they try and pack as much as possible into that time, and having a tour guide take you to what you want to see saves time and hassle. --Robert Merkel04:13, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have done a lot of budget solo travelling and the places I stayed at usually attract other solo travellers. They were mostly Germans, USians, English, Dutch, Canadians, Aussies and Kiwis (roughly in that order). There are many other travelling nationalities, but they seem to spend more money in less time. That almost automatically means taking tours, as Robert pointed out.
Speaking of Japanese herding, I noticed that at a specific tourist restaurant in Amsterdam, that Japanese package touirists frequent, that they don't seem to take much note of other pedestrians, getting in their way. So I once decided to just walk on and bump into one. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed there was no reaction. I suppose that in a crowded country it is more normal to get into each other's way and bump into each other. No offence was meant nor taken on either part. DirkvdM06:14, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Because you think they're different, so you notice them in herds more. There's a lot of American tour groups in China, but should I then think of them as travelling in herds as well? ColourBurst13:40, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Proving it's happening now
{{spoiler}}
In Miami Vice, the bad guys kidnap Trudy and then telephone her boyfriend. Before they let Trudy speak, first they play the current TV weather forecast "to prove it's happening now". Upon hearing this, the cops immediately conclude it's really happening now. Why? What's to stop them from first playing a live TV broadcast and then a recording of Trudy's voice? AFAIK they would have to have Trudy recite something said in the weather forecast to really prove it's happening now. JIP | Talk15:06, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I see what you mean, but I don't like "suspension of disbelief" being used as a blanket justification for every plot hole I see. If "suspension of disbelief" is by definition explanation enough, then how come, in the film, the cops didn't magically read Trudy's and the bad guys' minds, teleport to their hideout, and knock them out with their superhuman strength? JIP | Talk16:16, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Likewise, when Castro died and they showed him holding up the daily paper to "prove" he was still alive, how did anyone fall for that? Have they not heard of photoshop? Fidel Castro Photoshop contest... --Mary
If you don't like 'suspension of disbelief' being used as an excuse to cover every lame plot hole, I strongly suggest you stop going to see Hollywood movies. Especially action movies. DJ Clayworth19:43, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer a "partial suspension of disbelief". That is, if a movie features something like a time machine, I don't question that. However, when somebody shoots at a car and what appears to be a low yield thermonuclear explosion results, it's time to change the channel. StuRat04:51, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I sympathize. I've had a lot of trouble deciding how I want to handle truly ridiculous plot holes - Complain? Watch something else, even though that would seriously limit my options? Just pretend I don't notice? I especially hate it when people accuse me of "overthinking" things that were quite clearly not even "thought" about in the first place. Like that. Or like in Saw, when the guy cuts off his foot to reach a phone they'd gotten to without difficulty just moments before, with the exact same materials. The best thing I can come up with is to quietly hate the people who were too lazy or stupid to do it properly, and resolve to slap/punch/shiv/pistolwhip them if I ever pass them on the street. Black Carrot05:07, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Haha, yes to StuRat. The Simpsons has parodied this at least twice (stroller hit by car catches on fire; garbage can rolls into tree, explodes), so you know it's true. --zenohockey21:22, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Macroeconomics
I need a definition of supply and demand, plus an article containing supply and demand. Thanks—
Yeah. I keep wondering why the desks are so slow. Wikipedia gets a lot of traffic to articles but not really to the desk. Perhaps the desk is too hidden? --Proficient05:08, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It wasn't a slow day, someone just messed up the date headers, the day marked as "August 25" was really the first 5 hours of August 26th, and August 25 was in an unmarked section containing everything from August 21 to August 26. This has been corrected--VectorPotential71.247.243.17316:04, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Macroeconomics
help
Please state your full name and location, and what has happened. Is anyone in immediate need of medical assistance? JIP | Talk17:57, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Of course, assuming that no-one is injured, that there isn't a lawyer involved and no kangaroos are trying to tell you that Timmy has fallen down a well, it's just possible - and I'm going to stick my neck out here - that the article Macroeconomics might be able to help. DJ Clayworth19:41, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think it was an accidental use of the title of the question above, and he/she doesn't actually want help with macroeconomics. --Froth21:31, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, I'm going through a tutorial on neural networks, and in one section we need to have a function that is differentiable, and we need to have its partial derivative. The text has an example, but what I'm confused about is whether the partial derivative shown is only for the specific function given, or if it is a general case.
The text says (where 't' is a little triangle symbol):
The function we will use is the sigmoid function:
1
t ----------
g(x) = 1 + e^(-x)
This function can be differentiated. Its partial derivative with respect to x, dg/dx, also written g', is
g'(x) = g(x) * (1 - g(x))
So is the second formula the case for any differentiable function, or just the sigmoid function?
By going to the Wikipedia Mathematics Reference Desk. I don't get it. You see a "Mathematics" and a "Miscellaneous" tab... and you got Miscellaneous??Evilbu19:20, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, but I got used to url short-cuts, and accidentally presumed that WP:RD/M was for math, extrapolating from WP:RD/S for science. I greatly appologize for this mistake, and hope that you weren't irreparably damaged or traumatized by the use of math formulas on this page. For everyone else, thank you very much for your help. --Mary
I'm a mathie so I can handle it. To finish this problem, deriving the tanh function, well it depends on your definition of the goniometric functions. But are you familiar with the formula for taking the derivative of the inverse of a function?
omg EVILBU ur so mean!! om g I dunno what a goniometriciacaly function is please tell us evilbu and please derivise it for us so we can stand in awe of your euro-intellect . Jasbutal19:37, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Can someone tell me why I am mean?? I told the user that questions like these are supposed to be asked in the mathematics reference desk. Then I said that it depends on the given definitions (some authors define goniometric functions by starting with the arctangens, which is simply defined as the integral of its derivative). Calling me mean because I said something unclear or incomplete is one thing, but I find that "euro-intellect" comment far from friendly (Did you go to my userpage, and decided to do something "creative" with my "nationality"?)Evilbu23:28, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
brake pads
how much will it cost me to get a mechanic to replace two sets of brake pads on a 90's ford? looking for a ballpark figure.Jasbutal19:18, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What kind of Ford? In what country? In what town? Seriously a five minute phone call would be a simpler way to find out this information. DJ Clayworth19:39, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The problem is, they almost never will replace just the pads..."Well, the rotors are warped, and need to be resurfaced, but that would mill them below specs, so they will need to be replaced, and you need new calipers, too. So, tell you what, just sign the title over to me and we'll call it even, OK ?". :-) StuRat04:40, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If I'm understanding you correctly, you want to use a colon (:) in front of the word "image" when you link it. For example [[:image:padlock.svg]] renders as image:padlock.svg instead of as an actual image. Hyenaste(tell)21:27, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How many bells does the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris have, and were they operating at Christmas 1870 during the siege of Paris/Franco-Prussian war?
Many thanks,
Maja
Our article on the Notre Dame de Paris only mentions 1 bell. Have you tried the external links at the bottom of that article. One of the links will probably tell you more about the bell(s) or the period you're asking about. If all else fails, try to ask through the official site for the place. - Mgm|(talk)21:48, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The movie would've been too short(!) Perhaps he hasn't get enough explosives to get a hole in the plane, but enough to blow up a box? - Mgm|(talk)21:43, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
So he has access to enough venomous snakes to kill an entire flight of people but his gangster connections can't net him even the tiny volume of explosives required to cripple an airplane? --Froth21:50, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The attitude "don't question movies" annoys me greatly. It's poor writing, plot holes.
True. I'm not familiar with the plot of the film yet, but generally speaking the people with access to venomous snakes are different than those with access to explosives. - Mgm|(talk)08:24, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not sure why, but your comment has made me laugh more than any other tonight. Maybe it's because you were talking about "plot" and Snakes in a Plane at the same time. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 16:58, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Also to answer your question, he's some kind of mob boss or something, so I'd think he'd be able to get his hands on some explosives. In fact, he did, and he used them to blow up the snake cages to let them out --Froth14:38, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hi I was wondering if you could possibly help me Would anyone know the answer to this question? A sudden gold rush created a town faster than the law could order. Well over a hundred years later, legends born here have begun to appear in their prime, nationwide. Does anyone know the name of this town? Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you (email address removed)
I'm still trying to figure out what legends born here have begun to appear in their prime, nationwide means. But there were gold rushes in Australia, too. User:Zoe|(talk)15:31, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Realistically, how should the barrel of a rifle (M4) move during sustained automatic gunfire? In video games, such as Halo 2, automatic gunfire causes the gun to rise upwards. Why is that? Jamesino21:57, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The rifleing on the inside of the barrel causes the bullet to spin. This in turn causes the barrel to spin in the opposite direction. So it sort of twists in your hand. It also kicks backwards. The combination of the two makes the gun rise up as if trying to jump out of your hand. For guns without rifleing the gun kicks straight back with considerably more recoil. The video games have it basically correct. Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn23:01, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Something inaccurate about many first-person shooters is that when you reload and still have some rounds inside your clip, only the amount of ammo inside the old clip is subtracted from your total ammo. For example, say you have the assault rifle in Halo: Combat Evolved, which has a 60-round clip. Pretend (this is theoretical) that you waste 30 bullets to kill an Elite, so you have 30 rounds left. If you are carrying 240 rounds total, you should notice that when you reload with these 30 bullets, you end up with 210 rounds left, instead 180 rounds left. I probably didn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's just an interesting tangent. bibliomaniac1523:14, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'd be surprised if the spin imparted to the bullet caused any significant reaction in the gun - after all, the energy of spinning is very small compared to the forward energy of the bullet.
Also, the movement of the gun is more complicated than 'bullet goes forward, gun goes back'. The British LMG (Bren) for instance, pulls forward when fired. It depends, I think, on the mechanism of each particular gun, but an engineer could probably describe it best. Rentwa23:30, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Looking at this [[3]] it might appear that it just walks forward, depending on the gas ejection and the general spring constant. --Zeizmic23:51, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know, but it certainly does. I don't understand the science - I'm not an engineer, but I think the gun's behaviour is determined by its mechanism - or maybe significant masses of gas are moving around? Although I haven't used it, I'm told the Uzi Desert Eagle has almost no recoil - another mystery! Rentwa00:00, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unless the shooter is pushing the gun forward, the gun will naturally move backwards. It has to! But see this.
Hey kiddies!- Thers no recoil when you fire a blank round,,,wait for it,,,so If you are in a fireing squad and your riflE kicks when fired, you just killed the guest of honour! BWA-HA-HA-ha hOBGOBLIN
The thing that bothers me is: on rifles with an anti recoil spring or mechanism, where does that momentum go? I guess the impulse is just smoothed out; all the momentum is finally transffered to the shooter, and if he doesnt move wrt earth, then the earth absorbs it. --Light current14:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh dear!
Veet Voojagig, was a quiet young student at the University of Maximeglon, who pursued a brilliant academic career studying ancient philology, transformational ethics and the wave harmonic theory of historical perception, and then, after a night of drinking Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters with Zaphod Beeblebrox, became increasingly obsessed with the problem of what had happened to all the biros he'd bought over the past few years.
There's some information at Recoil operation. Which I think has it correct with "When a projectile is accelerated down the barrel of a firearm, all or a portion of the firearm will begin to move in the opposite direction, as required for conservation of momentum,..." I don't think the spin of the bullet matters as you get a recoil with a shotgun as well. You can see recoil charts at Rifle Recoil Table and Shotgun Recoil Table plus pictures of recoil here. CambridgeBayWeather(Talk)18:45, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Many firearms "kick" by rotating upwards. Consider the reaction of the bullet departing as a vector relative to the center of mass of the weapon. The barrel is at the very top of most weapons so the shooter's eye can align the sights with the target (the rear sight being higher to allow for the fall of the bullet). Since the vector is above the center of mass, the gun "kicks" by the barrel rising after each shot. For some shoulder-fired automatic weapons like a Thompson submachinegun, the barrel would rise in each burst of fire. Some had a blast diverter to send some of the gases upward and counteract this tendency, IIRC. Edison04:08, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Not really. "There's nothing like a new car for enchantment" Oldsmobile ad in 1960. Olds 1958 industrial musical "Gotta get a car", etc. Rmhermen23:37, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For some reason, a lot of British people seem to think that Americans don't (or didn't) use the word "car." We actually say "car" far more than we say "automobile." The latter word is used in more-formal contexts, probably like the word "motorcar" in British English. -- Mwalcoff00:04, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
because it is the more formal (as in found in writing). In US yellow pages, car always redirects to automobile. There might also be the distinction between car, suv, station wagon and truck whereas automobile covers all. Nowimnthing13:41, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Merriam-Webster says "automobile" and "car" are synonyms. Americans also use "motor vehicle" in formal contexts to refer to the class of vehicle that includes cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc. -- Mwalcoff22:25, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Merriam Webster is right and wrong. To specify ALL vehicle possibilities the word Vehicle would be used. However automobile can be used for a car, van, suv or light truck. Don't get me started on Truck (lorry) vs Truck (minivan with short bed attached). --DarkfredTalk to me23:40, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
'Automobile' literally means 'moves by itself'. Both that and 'motor vehicle' could refer to a motorised ship. 'Car' refers to something on (four) wheels. But then that could also refer to a horse-drawn cart. Or not? Anyway, If there is no logical solution I'd say go for the most used term, which is 'car'. Right? DirkvdM06:18, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Repeat after me: "Etymology is not meaning". As far as I know, 'automobile' has never, anywhere, been used for a ship - or, for that matter, for a train. What's logic got to do with vocabulary? ColinFine23:22, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
loch sheldrake, sullivan county, new york how deep?
i am a scuba diver used to live in sullivan county, ny.......i have never dived in loch sheldrake, ny and im curious how deep is this mysterious lake? thank you..signed r van loan
I propose deleting the above 7 questions apparaently serving no purpose other than implied criticism of some user names. Objections?--Light current00:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My ex-girlfriends who worked as strippers used to get their clothes from the local mall most of the time. They were normally bikinis or short dresses. Though it depends on the stripper. If they were more into leather and such, that might be harder to find. Dismas|(talk)06:16, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When I went to Google Earth, I notice that on Portugal, there are highways on the map saying "A8", "A15" and "N45". Are these the names of the highway in Europe?
It depends on the country of course. Our article on Portugal has nothing, while Transport in Portugal only gives the total length of all Portugal's main roads.
In many countries, N signifies a national road, A and B indicate main roads and secondary roads respectively, while some other letter ("M" in the UK and "A" in France indicates highways. Some countries (eg Ireland) use N for highways. --Howard Train03:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The "A" designations mean auto-estrada (expressway or motorway). Many of these are also part of an IP (itinerário principal/main route) or IC (itinerário complementar/complementary route). Some of these roads may also have "E" designations, which are European routes. By the way, I created stubs for A8 and A15 not too long ago. http://www.aeatlantico.pt/index.asp has info. on Portuguese about these two highways. --Nelson Ricardo02:25, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Is there a website I can look on that will give me the history of my house? It's a fairly old house and I was just wondering if it has some history to it. It located in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. thanks for the help
I agree with Light Current, but you could try Googling the first line or two of your address just in case. You might also bear in mind that most older houses in England started out with names rather than numbers. Also check out http://www.old-maps.co.uk --Shantavira08:38, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Don't forget the Web has only been around for 15 years or so; it's unlikely that the history of your house is on a website unless you put it there. Try this BBC site for a guide to researching the history via old records. Best of luck! Tonywalton | Talk08:50, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My suggestion would be to ask your solicitor to obtain a copy of your title deeds from the Land Registry. You should already have seen these when the conveyancing was being done on your behalf by him/her at the time you purchased or mortgaged the property, but it may be that in the latter case, s/he has simply bypassed you and lodged the documents back with them once the deeds were modified and completed. I think you will be amazed with the information contained therein. My pal in Scotland makes an extremely good living researching old title deeds on behalf of solicitors acting for buying/selling clients, and as he has a good command of Latin and also Old Scots, his services are very much in demand. Good Luck.
I was searching for the word "cabron" a american spanish swear word to find out exactly what it means. Instead I was routed to the "Carbon" page, which has nothing to do with it.
I apologize but I'm not quite as familiar with the innards of Wikipedia to fix this, although I am a user for some time now.
Yes I removed the redirect, (as it happens leaving a blank page). I thought this page might hsave been populated by Mr Hartov. Anyway It should go in Wiktionary.
--Light current01:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not so sure it was a bad redirect: Are most people who type "cabron" into English Wikipedia looking for "carbon" or a Spanish swear word ? StuRat04:12, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If the word has a meaning in another language which is well-known, it shouldn't be a redirect. Usually we don't do redirects for typos (common mispellings, sometimes, but not typos). --Fastfission15:13, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We're an English encyclopedia. It makes far more sense to redirect to something that could easily be misspelled than to redirect to something else. Besides, I don't recommend linking to other projects as it hinders the page being used for something else. If you want a dictionary definition, go to Wiktionary. Even better, if we keep it empty, the automated box that appears will suggest searching in multiple other projects. - Mgm|(talk)08:20, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"cabron" means "goat" (technically male goat; a female is "cabra"). Colloquially it can be used affectionately ("how you doing, you old goat") or as an insult ("get out of my lane you stupid goat"). The difference is all in the delivery, so don't use it with a stranger who might misinterpret what you mean. Worse, I think in some latin american countries it mean cuckold. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk14:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
os crucis
I have a book which mentions the "os crucis" as being the same as "kreuzbein", which is apparently also "os sacrum"??
Assuming you mean the bone in the pelvis, apparently it is the kreuzbein or os sacrum. "Os crucis" is a literal translation of "kreuzbein", while "os sacrum" is not, so I guess that is why they call it that. Adam Bishop06:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
ordering checks online
is it safe to order checks online from a third party that is not my bank? (i.e. is it safe to reveal all my personal info. and my routing/bank # to these check printing companies) Jasbutal05:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why on earth would you order checks (or cheques) from anyone other than your bank? I would only do this if your bank had specifically told you that it was OK to order checks from this company. Otherwise don't touch it with a bargepole. Your pretty checks will be useless if your account has been emptied. DJ Clayworth16:00, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(At least in the US) the bank is perpetrating a fiction if it pretends its cheques are magically more "authorised" or "secure" than are those printed by others (a fiction from which it profits, as bank cheques are generally more expensive than those printed by a cheque printing company). In reality a cheque is just a piece of paper with your name written on it and some banking numbers (generally printed with MICR, but at least in theory handwritten would do, if you could presuade someone to actually take the cheque). All that you (or anyone) needs to have to make more cheques is an existing cheque (the cheque printing companies generally want payment by cheque, and they use the payment cheque to obtain the details and as basic verification that the account exists). There's no additional danger from Jasbutal ordering his cheques this way; anyone who has received a cheque from him could use the same information to manufacture a new cheque. As long as the sequence numbers don't take a huge jump (or repeat) the bank will honour the cheque just as it would one they've printed themselves. Now you'll be wondering "so what's all that security printing on the cheque for then?", and honestly I recon it's for decoration. With the passage of Check 21 Act every major corporation digitises your cheque and shreds it; having had to trace a cheque problem (caused by the bank's incompitence) the quality of these digital captures is pretty poor (you certainly can't see the security printing at all; I could barely read my own writing). Personal experience shows that banks will happily pay cheques into the wrong account (despite the payee account being written on the back), deposit unsigned cheques, cheques with amounts that differ in the numbers field and the written part, or will just deposit a different amount than the payer wrote. These are all elementary mistakes made by innocent cheque writers, and should all have been caught by even the most elementary checking procedure - if they don't catch these they're not going to catch even basic forgeries and reworked cheques, never mind Frank Abignale. I have a nice Sesame Street chequebook (I pay taxes using the Oscar the Grouch cheques) and the only ones who ever rob me are the bank. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk16:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Nothing I said above was in any way related to the security of the cheques themselves, it was to do with the unbelievable high risk involved in giving your bank account details to anyone you are not completely sure about. DJ Clayworth17:28, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You don't give them any more bank details than you give anyone to whom you send a cheque. Indeed, many of the online printers will happily not put your address on it, an idiotic practice still common to many US banks' own cheques. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk18:52, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When I opened an account in the US, I found very strange the idea that I had to order checks from a third party. In the UK, AFAIK all banks supply their customers with cheques as required. ColinFine20:44, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It sounds like the publisher messed up. They changed their publication schedule for that book but forgot to alter the date inside. Theoretically, someone could now reprint their material, give it a 2006 date, and claim prior copyright. But otherwise the date is irrelevant: stuff is automatically copyrighted as soon as it first appears.--Shantavira07:44, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is very rare, and is indeed probably a mistake. The opposite used to happen sometimes with pornography. By putting a publication date many years in the past, the publisher hoped to convince anyone planning to prosecute them that it all happened so long ago you'd never find the relevant people. Notinasnaid08:37, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Crediting a fictional printer in Amsterdam or Paris was also common, though not so much for porn as for political/religious texts. Shimgray | talk | 14:40, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I asked a friend, and he claimed a lot of things (cars were an example) are dated a year off, for no other reason than that that's the way it's done. Any thoughts? Black Carrot03:56, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I need help answering the following question,
Which approache is more relevant to the development process of developing countries
-the IMF or World Bank approaches to the strutural Adjustment Programme.
I have a 58cm LG pure-flat CRT. I'm looking at upgrading to an 80cm Magnavox curved CRT for $500. Wise or foolish? What are the disadvantages of Magnavox, and of a curved screen? Will this TV be better or worse than my LG one?
Are you sure you want a CRT at all ? Plasma and LCD screens are rapidly coming down to a competitive price with CRTs, and are much better in many respects. StuRat13:08, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
yeah, for the $500 price range you could get a 20"-30" widescreen HDTV like this one [4]. The benefit of curved screen used to be that you could see the screen from a wider angle than flat screens, but that has changed with technology and there should be little difference now. Now the advantage is with flat as they offer a more film-like experience. Nowimnthing13:25, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Don't you have that the wrong way around? When viewed from an angle, a curved screen distorts the 'other end' more. DirkvdM06:40, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Note: this is $500 AUD, which is around $300 USD. I'm looking more into large screens than HD ones, 480p/576p is enough for me; and 4:3 is actually preferable as I watch older TV shows and video games. It's just in my bedroom, so I'll be close to directly in line with it at all times. What do you mean by "a more film-like" experience, though?
DirkvdM, I suppose it would be better top say that curved screens distort less at an angle than older LCDs as they tended to get darker as you increase the angle until they are completely black.
$300 US will still get you a small LCD, though if you are looking for size, I would go with a flat CRT like this or one of the Sony Wegas. 6:9 or 4:3 is up to you. If you think about a movie theater, the screen is flat and the films are widescreen, so any tv that tries to more closely replicate that is going to be more film-like. Since you are looking at something just for a bedroom, I'm assuming occasional viewing and game playing, you may look at super-large used rear projection tvs. Their quality isn't great but having video game characters almost a foot (30 cm) tall is a unique experience. Nowimnthing17:53, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Can anyone identify the artist of this song?
The song name, both in its filename and the track name that shows up in Winamp, is 'Neapolitan'. It has no attached artist or album name, and a Google search for 'neapolitan' was totally useless because of the number of other neapolitan things out there. Wikipedia appears to have no article about the song, so it's either non-notable or was mislabelled.
I'm not very good at describing music, but most of the lyrics are sung clearly and the singer is clearly male. There's not a lot of accompanying music, but it picks up in the chorus.
A portion of the lyrics are as follows:
When the waitress walked by
She must have caught his eye
And at that moment, he was mine
A little sleight of hand, and I had poisoned his bowl of Neapolitan
What else can I say man [chuckle]
Enjoy your ice cream
Murder is such an ugly word [But/I'll] use another if you so prefer
Me, I like to call it art
Art is its own reward
Just ask buttwad
Years of livin' in the shadow of the bat
But we'll come back to that
Right now let's roll this little [memo/pebble] out to the big boss
Next time you think I'm goin' soft
Send some punk to knock me off
Here's a reminder, you fuckin' hind-grinder
With a cherry on top
Is this enough? I'd rather not transcribe everything now (particularly the apparently-nonsensical chorus), but I will if I need to.
Furk1113:42, 29 August 2006 (UTC)What does the Hyundai service manual say on how to lubricate a 2004 XG350L Hyundai?eg.Where are the grease fittings located?what else should be checked routinely?etc.Furk11[reply]
I ve been suffering from what I think is trapped wind (abdominal) on my recent wikiholiday, where I ve been doing a bit of walking. I only seem to get this quite inconvenent condition when I do walk. I can only walk a bit then I have to find a public convenience again (or sit down to let the pressure subside). I did mention this to the doc once when I was on some medication that didnt agree. Any ideas as to what it could be, how to prevent it. Please do not suggest flying a kite! 8-)
--Light current16:39, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds as though you picked up a local bug, and these are sometimes difficult to avoid. Even a simple change of diet can have this effect. Try drinking bottled water rather than from the tap, make sure all you food is cooked thoroughly, and avoid takeaways.--Shantavira17:49, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you're female, this might be an ovarian cyst (which can resemble gastric pain). I suggest you see a doctor (I'm no doctor). Durova19:15, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Does this only happen when you go walking (and so might be associated with other things you do then, like drinking), or when you walk any distance generally? Because you mention drink, and that can do weird things to some people's insides. Gas or constipation etc. Skittle20:26, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. When on holiday I usually drink large quantities in the evening. I also eat more than at home. I then go walking a few miles and this gas thing (its not diarrhoea) almost cripples me until I get rid of it. But half an hour after getting rid (so to speak) its the same thing again!--Light current20:30, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Mythbusters TV show investigated various supposed causes of flatulence. Swallowing air for whatever reason or consuming carbonated beverages can produce gas, as can consumption of cruciform vegetables or beans. If y
I'm an American looking to get a Ph.D. in engineering in europe. what standardized tests (if any) do they require on applications (norway specifically). Jasbutal16:43, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Serious question - do mainly Muslim countries manufacture their own toilet paper, or do they import it? If the latter, where from predominantly? Thanks.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.93.21.101 (talk • contribs)
Indonesia is the biggest predominantly Muslim country and they've got toilet paper. Also, they have plenty trees (not for long if they keep it up, though), so the means to manufacture it, plus the size for a sufficiently large market. So I'd be surprised if they didn't manufacture most. Many other predominantly Muslim countries are located in deserts and may not have enough trees (or am I exaggerating now?). That said, water isn't abundant in deserts either, so I'm a bit puzzled. I thought they traditionally used sand (ouch!), which the toilet paper article also mentions, but not specifically for Muslims/desert people. DirkvdM06:59, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"Why is there a watering can in the bathroom?" "Well Muslims don't use toilet paper..." I didn't question any further, but I had a "he doesn't know how to use the three seashells!" moment. Adam Bishop15:08, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Apparently the ancient Roman soldiers used a sponge on a short stick (or is it s**t stick- not sure). THe sponge was then rinsed in running water. Actually I thing this is a good idea-- saves paper!--Light current16:30, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Need website that is possibly infringing on someone's copyrights.
As part of my assignment, I need a website that is possibly infringing on someone's copyright. Provide the URL of the site. I have to state why I believe the website might be in violation of copyright law. Thanks!
Search flickr for the name of a famous person (an actress or model) and you'll find lots of copyright problems. Similarly search youtube for the names of a famous TV show (e.g "Desperate housewives") and you'll find plenty of unauthorised clips. Or (for extra credit) discuss the many copyright problems at WP:COPY. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk18:14, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, I have downloaded and installed the Adobe Photoshop CS2 30 free trial from www.adobe.com and the 30 days has been used up. Is there someway that I can uninstall photoshop and re-download and install it to use it again for 30 days? I have tried this, but photoshop must have installed some files in my computer that tells it that I have used the 30 days trial already. What do I have to delete in order to re-use the trial? Thanks Jamesino17:46, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And GIMP also runs on both msWindows and Linux, which Photoshop doesn't. However, it seems to lack the many keyboard shortcuts that I love so much about Photoshop. DirkvdM07:08, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Back in 1999, Nokia offered a 30-day free trial version of their WAP gateway. I found the trial period could be extended indefinitely by simply turning back the system clock. JIP | Talk19:13, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A lot of people just "acquire" it illegally. --01:49, 31 August 2006 (UTC)
That's the easiest way. If you can find the PARADOX keygen (as part of a torrent or http cs2 download) you can activate your copy and not have to reinstall. Also many programs use HKLM\SOFTWARE\Licenses in the windows registry to store that kind of info, and many "quick n dirty" fixes for expired evaluations have at least something to do with that area of the registry, but for that you'll probably have to reinstall. Anyway, adobe probably has its own system. --Froth04:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm going to take a stab at this - from the context I've seen it used, (as in: "firm has an annual fee turnover of 30 million pounds"), I'm going to guess it's similar to profit, or possibly revenue more likely, but I can't be entirely certain. That term appears to change regularly depending on what you look at. Tony Fox(arf!)21:03, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The way you phrased that question leads me to believe that this is a homework question or similar. Most emphatically, do your own homework!!! With love, Hyenaste(tell)18:18, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Looks more like a pub quiz question to me. Homework is not normally a puzzle like this. Don't know, though. --Tagishsimon(talk)
What makes you think that? (Sorry, misread what you'd written). Most mediaeval architects drew detailed plans, although these have rarely survived. Warofdreamstalk00:38, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
'Design' and 'without any plans' seem to contradict each other. In shipbuilding no plans were used for a long time because simply stating the type of ship and its size were enough for the shipbuilders to go by. I can imagine (don't know) that for the details the same was true in building churches, but the overall plan had to be more specific because it was less of a routine job and churches differed more. Although some Scottish (I believe) church was taken as the basic plan for many churches. Or was that monasteries? Sorry, vague memories. DirkvdM07:23, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Shouting & damaged hearing
Why do so many people (esp young ones) shout at high volumes when conversing when they are only a few feet apart. Have they all got damaged hearing or are my ears now super sensitive? --Light current20:12, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Increasingly many young people suffer from noise-induced hearing loss, not only from rock-music concerts and discothèques, but also from iPods. See Hearing impairment. The proclivity to using a loud conversational tone is culture-dependent, but particularly prominent in the United States. While auditory sensitivity in the sense of acuity of hearing declines with age, there is a little-understood tendency for the psychological sensitivity to increase: older people complain more about noise, possibly because it actually bothers them more. While several people have raised this as a hypothesis, as far as I'm aware the cause of the diminished tolerance has never been investigated. --LambiamTalk21:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Strangely enough, I agree with all of the above replies (esp #1). I actually find loud conversation etc painful altho' i play in a band and listen to other band (admittedly somtimes with earplugs)--Light current02:15, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Lambiam is right about there being a cultural factor about conversational volume. Western culture - (I use the term deliberately, as I doubt that the problem is particular to the USA; it is certainly the case in Australia and, from Light current's question, in the UK as well) - seems to be changing from one where conversations were kept private between the people involved in the conversation, to one where they are nowadays generally regarded as public. Well, that's how they're perceived by the hapless bystanders, office co-workers, or the captive audience on public transport, who have no choice but hear whatever the talkers are talking about. Once, you would only have heard what other people were talking about if they particularly wanted you to hear them, or if they didn't know you were eavesdropping; now, people generally seem to neither know nor care who overhears them - and the more the better, apparently. In an office, people applied the Golden Rule by keeping their conversations to a minimum volume, out of respect for their co-workers who were trying to concentrate on something else. The same rules applied in public transport or in restaurants. Despite endlessly chanting the "what goes around comes around" mantra, which is the same concept packaged slightly differently, people seem to have little or no regard for the Golden Rule any more. But apart from that, I don't understand what has happened to the "embarrassment factor" (for want of a better term) that should apply when you're talking about private and personal matters. One factor leading to overly loud speaking is the design of mobile (cell) phones - the mouthpiece is not as close to the mouth as it was on the traditional handset, so even though people know that the technology can pick up their voice regardless of the distance, they are at a psychological disadvantage so they feel the need to shout rather than just speak at a normal volume. The people who are bothered most by these phenomena are those who cannot switch off one sound in amongst various sounds. In fact, most people cannot do this very well, if at all. Those who, like myself, grapple with "recruitment" (we don't have an article on this, strangely), have to allow for this and keep their criticisms of conversational loudness in perspective. But even allowing for recruitment, tinnitus, and a significant high frequency hearing loss, I can still sometimes quite clearly hear people conversing 200 yards away from me. That cannot be put down to anything other than shouting. So, back to square one and Light current's question. Why do they shout? Clearly, their level of self-awareness is extremely low. While the world has become a lot more aware of itself, individuals have become so enmeshed in world-awareness that they have ceased to be aware of how unaware they are that they are unaware. JackofOz03:22, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't remember having noticed this elsewhere, so maybe it's a Dutch thing, but right wing ('neoconservative') people here have a tendency to speak in very loud voices. One of my sisters has moved to such circles through her husband and picked that up, so now when I talk to her on the telephone I keep it some distance away from my ear to avoid hearing damage (well, pain, actually). DirkvdM07:31, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
A similar recent trend is to play music using a mobile phone on public transport without any headphones! So the recent of the travellers are subjected to tinny rubbish at high volume!
I really do think tho that todays young people have actually got significant hearing loss due to loud discos rock concerts and esp walkmans or iPods
Also most older people have hearing loss thro a life time of exposure to loud (>80dB) noises. Its time some laws were brought in otherwise well all be deaf.--Light current16:35, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Never mind rock concerts, unless we're talking about people who visit them very regularly (few times per week) and stand right in front of the speakers. And rocj concerts aren't quite a recent phenomenon. And why rock concerts? Musicians in sympnony orchestras are known to often loose hearing. For other people, headphones are indeed a major cause for deafness because it is too tempting to set them too loud (why is that, by the way?). They've been around for quite some time too, but wearing them almost all the time is a more recent phenomenon, I believe. DirkvdM07:30, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Wikicharts?
I came across a YTMND that had a "Wikichart" on it. This was the list of the top searches on Wikipedia.
I haven't seen any changes in prices of cotton products or other agricultural products. Was there even a drought?? what gives. hey bush, I need some cash too, I was hit hard financially when my parents kicked my lazy ass otu the back door .
do you honestly expect a straight answer for this question? This is worse than light current's question what people call cars in the US. Jasbutal01:33, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
To provide a sensible answer to this, I would say that someone got a piece of string and fixed it at one point, then stretched it taut. That woud be straight. No kidding!--Light current02:09, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The oldest surviving man-made straight lines are probably irrigation ditches extending to the nearest river. While filled in with sediment long ago, the trenches can still be found, with a bit of excavation. StuRat03:33, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Light travels in a straight line, so it is quite handy to use for this purpose. I mean you can see when something is straight and when it's not. I think to get a better answer you need to ask a clearer question. For example, do you mean how did the Romans build straight roads?--Shantavira07:15, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Do you mean "who drew the first straight line and what tool did they use for it"? Drawing probably predates rock paintings by a fair bit (in sand or such) and drawing a straight line without a ruler isn't that difficult. What do you mean by a straight line? No line is ever perfectly straight (except for light maybe unless you look at it at a quantum scale). But this reminds me of questions I used to ask myself like "how do you make a straight ruler if you don't yet have anything that is straight?". I suppose that's a matter of getting ever closer to perfection.
As to how to make a straight ditch - put two people at the two ends, let someone with poles move from one to the other, getting directions from the others how to keep in line with them. Or just use a long rope between the two points, pull it taut and go 'dzingggg', leaving a mark on the ground. DirkvdM07:43, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They do say that the first straight line, the first wheel, the first shoe, the first board game, and the first alloy, were all invented by a guy called Ug. We really should have an article about him.--Shantavira08:51, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's not indicated in that recipe, but I find that a lot of the sweeter/not-so-spicy curry here (including school lunches and most omuretto rice stores) includes crushed pineapple. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 16:24, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Most curries include ingredients which are relatively difficult to use. Professionals usually blend the spice mix by taste, as age and water content differences cause batches to come out wildy dissimmilar when mixed by volume. Find a roux mix you like and order it online. Or you can purchase a concentrated indian curry paste and adapt it to japanese style by using pineapple juice, honey, starch and a little soy sauce. --DarkfredTalk to me16:43, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Publish Poor Customer Service
Under the Wikipedia Customer Service article there's a website here which seems to be the only one I can find where I ( as a consumer of all my daily worldly goods and services ) can rate / complain / publish poor customer service perceptions and evidence that I come across. I am irritated with Toshiba for what I perceive at their poor after sales customer service for the laptop PC that I bought, but after looking in Wikipedia and a lot of Googleing (is that the word?) I cannot find what I hoped should already be out there.
The rate-them.org site seems to be only for local services (restaurants, dry-cleaners, etc...) in the USA. I am looking for a global site that references global brand names. Companies such as Toshiba, and for that matter, Ford, HSBC, Carrefour, Dell etc.., these guys sell themselves all over the world on their global brand image for their products. There's nothing localised about it, so I hoped that there should be a website where I can post what I want to post so as to get the anger out of me. Of course, I could complain directly to the big company Toshiba, but such a website as I am looking for would make more of a change in the right direction than me receiving a stock letter reply from some overworked and underpaid Toshiba customer services employee.
Where are these websites that I seek, and how to find them ?
I understand that, if there are none of these out there, the reason may be cited of "legal reasons" (i.e. fears of litigation by the big companies against "trouble makers letterbox" websites). But blogs don't seem to suffer from such litigation problems (at least not as yet). And bittorrent websites, which are of dubious legality in many jurisdictions, seem to exist without to much fear of such litigation - be they hosted in western-world-litigation-non-friendly countries such as Romania or Russia. Such websites could also be structured in their data entry forms to force evidence as to the alleged complaints, so as to prevent spam and frivilous postings.
The point being is that there are no death-knell reasons that I can see why such websites as I seek do not exist ?
Any help out there please ? Someone savvy take on this project if there isn't anything in existance, and I will gladly donate a bit of cash to help get the ball rolling.
Thanks to all who ponder this posting. I feel better already..... Anon.
Hmm, I wonder if a Wiki project could be used, say "WikiConsumer" ? Logging individual complaints would be easy, but gathering statistics (like average customer rating) in a reliable way (so it can't be falsified by the company) would be trickier. Perhaps a format more like RateMyTeachers.com would be in order. StuRat10:39, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What I've done is find a blog dedicated to the product that scores high with Google, and then I've put in an anonymous comment. For example, iRobot Scooba only comes with a very stinky cleaning solution. I found a very good substitute. --Zeizmic15:36, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Which countries accepting asylum, if we apply from another country? I mean, without entering that territory can i file an asylum in any country?
You'll need to contact an embassy or consulate of the country to which you wish to apply for asylum. They should have procedures in place for such a request. --Canley07:13, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Mr.Canley... Are you sure that they will take me as refugee if i go an Australian Embassy in my country?
No, Canley can't be sure because he doesn't know which country you are from and on the basis of what reason you're trying to get asylum. - Mgm|(talk)07:36, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Mr.MacGyverMagic.. I born in India and I live here..But Nowadays here its a bad situation for me to live here. thats why i want to go any country that i can live safely..and i have only 24 year old.
You will need to convince the Australian government that you are persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in your country. Is your case documented? Australia may not be as bad as Japan, but it is not known for receiving refugees with open arms. Also, if you are presently not in the country where you are persecuted, most countries that honour the right of asylum require that you first apply in other countries that you have visited since leaving your own country. In any case, the consulate or embassy should be able to tell you what the rules are. I'd try the consulate first.--LambiamTalk07:48, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This sounds like a very serious inquiry. I suggest consulting an attorney if you can: if not, then contact the consulate for Australia or whatever other country you seek: embassies deal with government relations, consulates handle individual matters. If you're free to post the details on Wikipedia you might get more specific advice, but that might not be safe (depending on your situation) and it looks like you need expert advice. Durova16:26, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Kappa Alpha Psi, was originally founded as Kappa Alpha Nu, and changed by resoultion at the 4th Grand Chapter meeting do to a Racial Slur. there nare many interpretations to what it REALLY means -eternal scroller St. John's University 1983
Am Trying To Find Out About A Particular Organization. I Am Trying To Find Out About An Organization Named Phi Nu Pi. I Also Would Like To Know Its Relationship To Another Organization Named Kappa Alpha Psi And Whether Or Not Phi Nu Pi Still Exist To This Day. If You Could Help Me Or Tell Me Where I Can Find More Information About This Organization Please Let Me Know. Thank You!
I founD severaL referenceS linkingG kappA alphA psI tO phI nU pI, buT nonE particularlY cleaR. onE pagE listS thE founderS oF kappA alphA psI undeR thE headinG: "thE founderS oF phI nU pI": [7]. --LambiamTalk08:24, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe he/she is German and worked on the mistaken assumption that every word in the question was a noun. (Well, it's possible, what with modern-day teaching standards ...) JackofOz07:42, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Phi Nu Pi - that's what Kappa Alpha Psi founders were called until somewhere down in the kappas changed their name
Photos of Norwegian rural furniture
Maybe the Nordenfjelske Museum in Bergen would be the place ?Bold text
If I were a bank, and I operated one of those voice-mail-hell, get your account balance thingies, I would never, ever, allow Voip connections. --Zeizmic15:33, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
River Willow
I have been told by a Native American that river willow can be used to make peace pipe stems. I cannot seem to find a picture of river willow or a location. Can you tell me where it can be found growing in New York State, or even a place where it can be purchased? Thank you.
24.39.110.2712:31, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If someone copies articles or parts of articles from a source like Time or The Boston Globe and then posts that material on a personal website without express permission of the source, can a link to that personal website page count as a reference source for a Wikipedia article? Are there copyright issues involved? Flinders14:27, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
no, because there is no way to know that the site is reprenting the newspaper accuratly. However the newspaper can be cited even if the article is not posted online. Jon51314:32, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You have two questions there—one is about Wikipedia's citation policy, another is about copyrights. On the copyright issue—no, there is no copyright issue for you to link to someone else's page, even if the page may be a copyright violation (it is their copyright violation, not yours). (There are some circumstances in which linking to someone else's copyright violation could implicate you—i.e. the Grokster scenario—but in the cases of articles, probably not.) On the citation issue—it depends. If the site looks reliable and there is no reason to doubt it, it could serve as a proxy for the source itself, though ideally one would want to check it against the original. How much one would want to trust another site depends on the issue at hand, of course — for anything really controversial I'd want to be very careful, but in many cases that level of suspicion is unnecessary. --Fastfission14:52, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I usually like to use university and gov't sources. Newspaper articles tend to disappear. However, if somebody has made a big effort, such as archiving articles about Katrina, or Boston's Big Dig, then that web site could be cited in the External Links section. --Zeizmic15:01, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
WP:C says at Linking to copyrighted works: "Linking to copyrighted works is usually not a problem, as long as you have made a reasonable effort to determine that the page in question is not violating someone else's copyright. If it is, please do not link to the page. Knowingly and intentionally directing others to a site that violates copyright has been considered a form of contributory infringement in the United States". ColinFine23:36, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just a reminder that a reference for Wikipedia does not have to be linkable. It's fine to use a print resource—but please do verify that the reference is accurate. –RHolton≡– 12:19, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How do I find material from specifications mentioned on drawings?
THE DRAWINGS ARE OF AUTOMOBILE - FASTENERS, SINTERED PARTS ETC
I have recently come accross drawings, presumably in German. The material specifications are as - 1.0718K; 1.0401 etc. How can I find equivalent material available in India. You can contact me on (email address redacted)
The weirdest numbers I've come across in drawings is for the type of steel, and the type of cross-section for steel beams. Every country has their own standards for these things, and these tend to come in big thick books that you can't get on the Internet. Have fun. --Zeizmic16:28, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Name of that Song
There's this song sang a few years ago by an african american singer, it's a Pop song and is frequently featured on the Family Channel. The lyrics goes something like this:
A little bit of Mickey's all I need,
A little bit of monica's all i need,
A little bit of (name) is all I need,
etc...
That's roughly how the lyrics goes. I tried searching for it on lyrics engines, but I am unable to find the name of this song. It's an upbeat and lively song. Does anyone know the name of this song? Jamesino15:40, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
For the sake of a discussion elsewhere, If you're not from the US, without looking it up, do you know what 'area51' is? (And if you do, don't tell - yet). DirkvdM17:11, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I do. Please don't kill me. I'm just an inoffensive (usually) Canadian. Now here's a question for you: Have you heard of 'Area 51-A'? Anchoress01:43, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just a guess, but I bet the number of people who said Yes would go down significantly if you referred to it as Groom Lake rather than Area 51. Dismas|(talk)05:03, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm an Australian and I know of Groom Lake, though only by references in The X-Files.
I know about both Groom Lake and Area 51 and have seen satelite pictures of the area. Evern so Im not much into the *censored*, just a part of general education. Oh, and a teacher at my highschool liked those stuff, he used to spend entire class talking that or some other stuff ^-^ -Shinhan05:56, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hmmm, am I the only one who never heard of it? But let's wait until this has been around the clock (and around the world). DirkvdM07:38, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I heard of it and I'm from the Netherlands (just like you if I remember correctly). It depends on the kind of stuff you are interested in and if you're not interested in you-know-what (I'm not telling since Dirk asked) you're not going to know about it. - 131.211.210.1107:40, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, a day has passed and I seem to be the odd one out (unless those who didn't know didn't answer, as Bromskloss suggested). It's a military test area where 'ufo's are reported. I heard of the phenomenon, but 'area 51' didn't ring a bell. It was about a featured picture candidate on Wikimedia Commons - a map that is suppsed to be special becuase it show that area. So I now have one less argument. DirkvdM06:53, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Jonas Roberts, "Eames-era" 1950s stoneware designer
I am looking for any information on Jonas Roberts. Here is a response from an online seller who had some of his pieces: "I believe Jonas Roberts was one of those 'Eames era' designers back in the 1950s whose work was done by a company akin to Mikasa of Japan. The stoneware line the company produced was called "cerastone" -- stoneware with a finished ceramic-like glaze." I'm not looking for Jonas Roberts items to buy--a quick search usually turns up plenty on ebay and other places--but any other information (biographical, critical, etc.) would be very welcome. Thank you for your efforts!
Jonas Roberts was born in Lvov and emmigrated to New York City. He was trained as a lawyer and graduated from St Johns University. He came from a very artistic family and was self trained. After World War II he supported his family in giftware sales eventually opening a store in New Jersey. He did indeed have a connection with the Mikasa "clan" they were personal friends and business associates. He operated his business out of the Bush Terminal in Brooklyn New York. He specialized in gift sets his signature item was a "snack" or TV set, that was a cup for soup or coffee place off center on a plate for a sandwich or cake. He was also known for his mugs. He did not maintain an official showrrom rather he sold from major trades shows such as those in Atlantic City and Chicago. His wares were carried in the giftware departments of most major department stores. His most famous and successful pattern was DOMINO which he made in snack sets as well as other novelty pieces. I am intersted in acquiring his pieces, I already have a number of them (I am his nephew).
He was truly a rennaisance man, he called himself a citizen of the world. Many people knew him better for his ice dancing, at one time he owned and operated a private rink in Manhattan. He skated well into his eighties at the Rockefeller Rink in Manhattan during the winter months and in Sun Valley Idaho during the summer months. Leo Roberts died in January 2000.
≈≈≈≈≈≈
I'm interested in finding more information about Jonas Roberts, but he's a hard man to find out about online. Any suggestions for other references would be greatly appreciated! The information above is great, but it only provides a few clues about him and I would like to know a lot more. And who is Leo Roberts? Did he use that name? Please add suggestions here, if you can (11 March 2022)
No country uses it as "their culture", but the article you referenced includes many mentions of countries where it is prominent. --Kiltman6704:03, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
panandata vs. pananandata
The title for the subject "pananandata" is misspelled "panandata", how can it be corrected?
We have been asked by a client to create an ahombria arch. 1st I'm not sure if that is the correct spelling, and 2nd we'd like to get a history preferably with picture or resource.
Thank you, Denise
Perhaps they mean the Alhambra? There are several images in the article. Some are typical Roman arches, others are somewhat more distinctive. . Durova20:48, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In my family there is a card game which we all love to play, but unfortunately none of us can remember its proper name or proper rules. I have tried looking it up on Google, but the closest I can find is "Spades", but that's not too related. I was hoping that if I explained the rules of the game someone would perhaps recognise it and link to the official rules. Anyway, here goes...
The game can be played with anywhere from two to five players, if you want to play it to its fullest extent, and is played with a standard pack of 52 playing cards, minus the jokers. There are nine rounds, and in the first each player is dealt ten cards (and thus five players being the maximum amount if all rounds are to be played), in the second, nine, in the third, eight, and so on. The remaining cards are not used, but top card is turned over to find out which suit is trumps. Starting from the dealer's left, each player takes it in turn to bid how many tricks he or she will win or take. However, the total amount of tricks proposed to be taken by all the players cannot equal the amount of cards dealt to each player. So, for example, if four people are playing, eight cards are dealt, and the bidding has gone 1, 3, 3, the fourth player cannot bid one. Each player receives a point for each trick he or she makes, and if they make as many tricks as they bid, they receive an added bonus of ten points. In each round, players are to follow the suit lead if possible, and the highest card played wins the trick. If a trump is played the highest trump wins.
... so those are the basic rules of the game, aside from basic card-game rules like what trumps are etc. I hope this is enough information to work with. Thanks in advance, --Zooba22:14, 30 August 2006 (UTC).[reply]
THis is not meant to be offensive to any one. But is it possible for people to become admins and then do nothing. If so, do they then get desysopped?--Light current22:24, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Assistant is frowned upon as a euphemism for secretary. Some people assume that a female who has that term anywhere in her job title performs secretarial work, no matter what her actual job is. Durova14:59, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
...And do too little physical activity. However, be aware that "overweight" is a subjective term and "most" are not obese:
From 1980 to 2002 in the USA, obesity prevalence has doubled in adults and overweight prevalence has has tripled in children and adolescents. From 2003-2004, "children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years, 17.1% were overweight...and 32.2% of adults aged 20 years or older were obese."
Here's my little theory again. Because the beauty ideal in the US is too thin, normal people think they're fat and then give in to that and think "well, if I'm fat I might as well be FAT". And consequently become it. This is an example of a more general theory, that one extreme evokes the other (action - reaction). Like England is known for its high society and its hooligans (same for The Hague). If one (extreme) group gains some dominance then many people will think "I'm not part of that group, so I must be part of the opposite group" and hey pronto, the other extreme emerges. DirkvdM07:47, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
OK, but why did they wait till they got fat and only then decided to get thin again? Why not just not get fat in the first place? JackofOz07:52, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I suspect the reason is that food prices, as a percentage of income, are lower in the US than anywhere else. For example, someone making minimum wage probably still earns enough to buy 20 pounds of bananas for every hour worked. StuRat10:41, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes you really should eat more by all accounts. Or perhaps youre growing very fast. You dont say your age and Im not sure if this BMI thin applies to people under 18. If you turn sideways in front of the mirror and you disappear, then you know youre not eating enough!--Light current15:56, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I certainly hope I'm not growing any more, I'm almost 30. I like to eat, of course, but I don't have the skill or patience to cook at home. JIP | Talk18:50, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No one's mentioned yet that many Americans hardly ever walk anywhere. This is not necessarily due to personal choice but because a lot of places in America are so spread out that walking is impractical. -- Mwalcoff23:50, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I notced that in Phoenix, where I decided to buy a car because it was too far to walk back. And I'm a walker! The very fact that I decided to buy a car also had to do with that. I learned that lesson in Australia - if you don't have a car you don't get anywhere. That has to do with the lack of public transport, but that in turn has to do with everything being so spread out. DirkvdM07:01, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
warez have been around for a long time -and are exploding in popularity, much to the behest of private warez groups- but it's hardly TOO old for wp --Froth03:38, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
By "too old" I was merely implying that had the warez seen been as big as it was 5 or 10 years ago, the article count for "warez" related stuff would be much larger than it is. In a sense, "warez" are bigger now than they ever were before, but software piracy is no longer really called that (hence the guy didn't know what it meant) probably due to the fact that it's so much easier nowadays to pirate software. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 14:03, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
More accessable perhaps, but hardly easier. Back in the day, it was easy as melting a snowball in a furnace to copy a game, but it was a titanic challenge to distribute software .. the public internet was so slow that it was actually faster (and cheaper) to mail physical media than it was to download. A lot of the p2p and dcc and that kind of stuff was originally developed to facilitate reasonable transfer time. Nowadays services like rapidshare make it possible to download files at 4000kbps on a standard cable modem setup (at least mine anyway, and mine is capped) and the real challenge is breaking the software copy protection included in the games. Granted, some games like Oblivion are rediculously easy to crack, requiring at most a few dozen byte CD key and an easily-available "no-cd" executable, but others that include for example the infamous Starforce copy protection (which goes to indesputably absurd lengths to secure its software against pirates) are almost impossible to crack and require weeks or months of concentrated effort by an entire team of skilled pirates. Other games like MMOs or Counter-Strike Source (on non cracked servers) are impossible to crack, or in the case of Counter-Strike, don't stay cracked for long. --Froth23:00, 5 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Welcome to the Wikipedia Reference Desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misinterpretation, but it is our aim here not to do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn nearly as much as doing it yourself. Please attempt to solve the problem or answer the question yourself first. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, feel free to tell us where you are stuck and ask for help. If you need help grasping the concept of a problem, by all means let us know.--Light current04:15, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
where would i look i've been working on this for days
Wow, the Bundesliga and FA cup alone are almost as 'big' as American Football as a whole. Considering the population of the USA is 5 resp 4 times as big as those of Germany and the UK, that's quite impressive. I wonder if the list is complete enough to add up the figures to give an impression of worldwide attendances per sport. So you could do that and then add a table (while you're at it). But first ask at the talk page. DirkvdM08:07, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What is the talk page? I looked at the discussion page and didn't know if that was it. Somewhere in advertising they know this but where? Thank you!
Ah yes, that is a bit confusing. Talk page indeed means discussion page. I don't know what you mean by the advertising thing. DirkvdM07:05, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Welcome to the Wikipedia Reference Desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misinterpretation, but it is our aim here not to do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn nearly as much as doing it yourself. Please attempt to solve the problem or answer the question yourself first. If you need help with a specific part of your homework, feel free to tell us where you are stuck and ask for help. If you need help grasping the concept of a problem, by all means let us know.--Light current04:16, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Pokey (game)
There is a game I have played that was locally called "Pokey". I couldn't find an article on Wikipedia about it, so I thought maybe I had the wrong name. The game involves two people holding hands like an arm wrestle, but with the index finger extended, and standing instead of sitting. To win, you must poke the other person, but you are not allowed to touch them except with your one hand. Can anybody tell me the game's name if it is not pokey, and show me a wikipedia article if there is one? Thank you.
--216.164.200.12004:16, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I used to play a game called "pokey" with a woman friend of mine, but it was played entirely differently, as I recall. StuRat10:34, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Who is the man who fathered the most children and how many children did they father? I searched on google but I found nothing. I would be very grateful if you could help.
--216.164.200.12004:38, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Genghis Khan is probably well up in the ranks. See Descent from Genghis Khan. I don't know if anyone has an estimated number of children he sired, and it's just as possible that it was one or more of his sons, anyway.
Nothing stated about the number of children, but according to the KJV (1 Kings 11:3)
, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Most of those were probably political marriages, but if he fathered only one child by each... we're talking a lot of children. SWAdair07:18, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In 2000, I toured northern Romania and was introduced to a card popular with the locals. It seemed similar to Euchre, but with several modifications. It was played using only 10-J-Q-K-A cards, and the locals called it "Cross". Is anybody familiar with this game? Could you point me toward an english resource that summarizes the rules of play? Thank you! 68.183.218.23204:43, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Divorce put on "Reserve"
What exactly does it mean when your divorce decree is put "on reserve"?
Hiya, recently in the news they were saying that some scientists have been able to observe a sun die 40 000 light years away, for the first time, and it was watched over 4 days, can any one tell me where i can see a video of this.
At that distance I suspect all you would see is a bright dot that slowly fades over 4 days. Not exactly my idea of a fun video to watch. Does anyone have a video of paint drying ? StuRat10:30, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That one is 440 million light years away, and at that distance, all you see is a slightly brighter (and bluer) dot, as shown in the pics. The artist illustrations may be cool, but they didn't need any actual event to draw that, now did they ? The reason the Crab Nebula looks interesting is that it's much closer (6,300 light years) and much older (as viewed from Earth). Thus, it's had almost 1000 years to form the current nebula. If we wait 1000 years and then move to within 6,300 light years of this new supernova, then it will look interesting, too. Until then, it's just a boring dot. StuRat13:24, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's a difference between an actual supernova and the remains of an old one. The old one looks interresting but can only be seen from relatively nearby. The actual supernova is just a distant explosion. If it were as nearby as the interresting looking old ones we might be in a spot of trouble. This, however, rarely happens. Supernovas are rather rare occurrances. But over the last 15 or so billion years some have occurred relatively near to us, so we still get to see some remainders. Come to think of it, it must have taken a bit of a leap of the mind to see the connection between the two. DirkvdM07:13, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I saw the letters M.I.S.P.A.H. on a tombstone and believe they stand for something (maybe a quotation) but have had no success when I put the letters into the search bit of Wikipedia.
Try Mizpah, particularly the section entitled "Emotion": Mizpah is an emotional bond between people who are separated (either physically or by death). Mizpah jewellery is worn to signify this bond and the word "mizpah" can often be found on headstones in cemeteries and on other memorials.Tonywalton | Talk11:05, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Fat people
As they use more oxygen, produce more CO2, burden the health service, and make life difficult for others, should they pay more taxes?--Light current11:52, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I've never heard of taxes on health and my life is not made more difficult in the slightest by overweight or obese people. (Let's keep it neutral, okay?) There's also a difference by people who choose to live unhealthily and those who have a genetic disposition to be heavy. Making the first pay more taxes is unfair because it gives the government something they don't deserve and making the other pay more taxes is simply discrimination. - Mgm|(talk)12:04, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are many forms of taxation like taxes on cigarretes, alcohol, petrol, all designed to minimise consumption and maximise revenue. Are these taxes discriminating to smokers, drinkers and drivers? Higher taxes on fatteneing (and/or unhealthy) foods have been considered here. --Light current12:44, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Isn't it enough that they pay more for food, and may have difficulty sitting comfortably in airplane seats? Then there's the fact that obesity links to numerous life-threatening health problems and they may be paying for it with their life at 37. I think they're paying enough already. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 13:04, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Airplanes are an interesting case. It costs a certain amount in fuel for every pound they deliver to the destination, so it would be logical to charge, at least in part, by the weight of the passengers. So far, the only cases where this has actually been done is when someone is so obese that they clearly require two seats (with the armrest removed). StuRat13:13, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As far as i see it it'd be a much better approach to promote healthy living instead of taxing those who are already in the situation. For example, why not have governments introduce highly subsidised gym memberships or equipment for everyone to use, make healthy foods cheaper, or reward those who are a healthy weight? I'd sure go for some "I'm a healthy weight so give me some free money" benefits. Benbread13:49, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Light current - I am curious - how do you justify penalising people on the basis of their weight when a proposal to penalise people for other inherited characteristics such as intelligence, height, skin colour or sexuality would be (quite rightly) considered grossly insulting ? Gandalf6115:25, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
THier weight is (generally) something they can do something about and therfore can be commented upon. Not so with height, color, sexuality, race. Not sure about intelligence-- I think that can be improved. People are penalised for smoking, drinking, driving via taxation. Im asking if the same idea should be applied to obese people to improve everyones lives.--Light current15:31, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Clearly you know little or nothing about the subject. Yet you still feel the urge to comment on it at length and in the most crass and insensitive way. I can only conclude that you are just trolling. Gandalf6116:12, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
THat is a very bad word to use here. You know that. And you conclude wrongly. I am asking for peoples opinions on this subject in which I have had an increasing interest with the growing amount of obesity in the western world. Anyway mostly other people are doing the commenting- Im just asking questions 8-)--Light current16:16, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The operative word is "generally". While healthy living can affect your weight positively, it's proven weight has genetic factors. For example, how your body processes food depends on your metabolism. I'm pretty sure our articles on obesity and other related subjects reflect this. - Mgm|(talk)16:15, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
THank you all for your replies. THe answer seems to be that it would be an unpopular idea to preferentially tax the fat people. If more discussion is needed I suggest continuing on talk:obesity--Light current16:35, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The argument that some people are fat because of some genetic malfunction has been used a lot here. But how many of those people are there? By far most fat people have no such problem, so we could just make an exception for those who do. Simple. And about other genetic stuff like intelligence, there is most definitely discrimination there. People with a higher education get higher pay. Here, we're talking about really big differences (up to a factor 1000 or thereabouts), not just one more tax (a few percent at most). And to which extent we let the free market do its thing is a political choice. For example, the US is at one extreme here, and Cuba at another. There, street cleaners get a better pay than doctors because they do a dirty job. (Not surprisingly, streets in Cuba are very clean, but that's a differrnt issue :) ). DirkvdM07:39, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Many people may think that Bill Gates is rich because he's smart, but a lot of the time it seems that ruthfullness is a much more useful trait. Many people considered to be the "smartest in the world" are scientests that work for research grants. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 14:10, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I wasn't talking about extremes but about everyday life. On average, more intelligent people will have a higher income. And I only mentioned intelligence as an example of discrimination based on genetic differnces. From the [[iq] article: "In a sample of U.S. siblings, Rowe et al. (1997) report that the inequality in education and income was predominantly due to genes, with shared environmental factors playing a subordinate role." And about halfway down that article there is a table that shows that the vast majority of those who live in poverty have an iq below average. So if we discriminate so heavily against that enormous group of people who aren't particularly bright, then why bother about a bit of a setback for those few who have a digestive problem? Or so the reasoning goes. Of course, I'd rather turn that around. DirkvdM18:14, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Don't get me wrong, I was the one asking a while ago why we let stupid people vote. I don't think I'm talking about extremes though, unless you consider the word "rich" to be extreme. Anyway, the reasoning there is obviously that discrimination against stupid people is an unintentional social side-effect (though even I don't like the sound of that), though applying tax to fat people would be direct and intentional. Probably. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 09:17, 2 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Richess is extreme when we are talking about Bill Gates. From a liberal point of view you're right that richess is a mere side effect of doing nothing, but one could also arue that it's the government's tas to decide to do nothing and it could also set society up in such a way that richess depends more on effort than intelligence. DirkvdM03:57, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I remember a question asking if it was legal to have an "ugliness" tax, and somone brought up obesity. It was mentioned that in nations like the UK, where are healthcare is paid for by the government, obese people should pay extra since they might be delving into taxpayer money a bit more heavily. VivaLaVieBoheme!
I'm not worried, just curious. I just opened up a package of Roquefort, BBD November, 2006. It looks and smells fine (as fine as bleu cheese ever does), but it has a couple of small brown streaks, similar to the 'veins' of bacteria. Being adventurous, I tasted one and it was very sweet. I went ahead and used the cheese (homemade roquefort dressing) and it made the dressing so sweet I had to use a lot of extra vinegar to counter it. I'm eating it and I'm really not worried that it's going to make me sick (will update everyone if it does), but I wondered about the sweetness. Could it be from the base that the bacillus lived in? Maybe a couple of the veins of bacteria died, never eating the sugar (malt, probably). Anyone experinece this? Have any ideas? Anchoress12:35, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, I detect a little bit of the Quebecois here! Did you know that there are 26 types of cheese in the category 'blue cheeses'? --Zeizmic13:06, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The television ad for HeadOn seems to be an example of an ad that "works" by being annoying. (If you have not had the pleasure of experiencing the HeadOn commercial, count your blessings. If you want to punish yourself, YouTube has it.) The commercial does seem to have worked, in that the product has received a great deal of attention, especially for a spot that is so short and lacking in production cost. Is there a term for this sort of ad? Also, I'm certain that there are other examples, but I can't think of any at the moment—which perhaps is an indication of the lack of endurance of these sorts of ad campaigns. Any thoughts on that? –RHolton≡– 13:11, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Irritating commercials used to be far more common in the United States around 30 years ago, when the main method of testing whether an advertisement had worked was to perform telephone surveys to see whether people remembered a TV spot. These surveys made no distinction among the reasons people remembered the commercial: any reaction from This looks great and I want it to This insults my intelligence and I pledge never to buy it was considered equally desirable over Huh? This style of advertising faded after some independent polls around 1980 rated Americans' most hated commercials (tops was a deodorant called Tickle, whose spot was mostly women laughing and was widely despised as idiotic). The Tickle campaign was dropped immediately and shortly afterward American ad agencies copied a European trend of making the commercials themselves more entertaining. None of this quite answers your question: Wikipedia has no article on Tickle deodorant and the advertising article doesn't cover the topic, but I hope this answer points in the right direction. Back issues of Ad Age probably address it. Durova14:53, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The HeadOn commercial is the most irritating one presently on TV for me. A recording of a female is played repeatedly: "HeadOn! apply directly to the forehead! HeadOn! apply directly to the forehead! HeadOn! apply directly to the forehead!" In a Pavlovian response my finger hits the off button or mute button. Thus the TV station should charge extra, since they lose viewership. They sell another remedy for hemorrhoids called FreedHem. I have thought about calling them up and suggesting the commercial for that should say "FreedHem! Stick it up you a$$!FreedHem! Stick it up you a$$!FreedHem! Stick it up you a$$!" but now I won't have to. Edison18:21, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I completely agree that TV advertisers should charge based on the annoyance factor of ads. Highly entertaining ads, on the other hand, might get a discount, be shown for free, or, in extreme cases, the TV stations could even pay the advertiser for ads which actually draw viewers. Such a practice would benefit both the TV stations and the general public. StuRat02:14, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There sure are a lot of overweight/obesity questions around lately, so here's another. Lets assume that this "crisis" escalates and suddenly the majority of people are over BMI 30, would this result in a very strange new average weight that would result in the once obese people becoming "normal" weight and the once normal weight people becoming labled as "underweight"? I can see this happening, and it sounds to me that it'd turn into people saying "Well, i used to be obese but now i'm perfectly average! Time to eat more snacks." Benbread13:56, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
However, average in such a case is not healthy! Compare the situation of manfs resizing clothes so that people dont feel fat by having to ask for size 66--Light current13:59, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No. If that was to happen, they would simply call the majority of people overweight instead of adjusting the definition of overweight. - Mgm|(talk)16:17, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"Overweight" in this context doesn't mean "heavier than average", it means something along the lines of "heavy enough to cause signficant long term health problems". Someone 5 feet 6 (1.67m) tall weighing 23 stone (332lb/146kg) is heavy enough to probably have signficant long term health problems, hence overweight, whether or not they're somewhere where that's the average weight. Tonywalton | Talk13:26, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
When I am running or doing some exercise with much strenght (like running as fast as I can) for 1 minute or more, I get the feeling im going to Puke and I need to rest a while and If after running I immidialy stop and lay down to rest it gets much more intense... I mean I didnt have the problem some years ago ! I have it past 2 Years... A friend said that it may be from my Heart cause it doent recieve
enought Oxygen (Im 15 Years old) cause my heart is only still growing... But is there any way I can lesser the Symptoms? Cause it is more irritating then the other pain in the lower body from running cause then u can just say to ureself "keep running" but because of this I really cant run anymore even if my life would depend cause then I think (atleast i have the feeling) I would vommit...
We have a standard reply that you should see your doctor on things like this. Like one girl (same age) that we know, you could have a tiny touch of Aortic insufficiency, which is hereditary. She is still very athletic, but gets these types of spells when low on hydrating salts, etc. --Zeizmic15:35, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is one of those stupid questions which sometimes just bug you, but you still wouldn't dare ask until you've had a number of martinis in you. Here goes: can you be sarcastic when speaking in sign language? I mean, is there like a special sign for it? Like a :), but in sign language? Or do you like, sign "bigger", or differently in any way? Oskar15:29, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Or maybe, like most of the sarcasm I encounter, people don't flag it up; only common sense and knowing the person tells you they are being sarcastic. Or when they start laughing. Skittle19:46, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You might sign it while rolling your eyes or grinning, or perhaps signing "bigger" like you said. Even if you don't sign, you could imagine what it would be like. If you're angry you would sign "harder" than if you were not. Hyenaste(tell)23:19, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
From my experience studying sign language, it's all in the face. It can sometimes look goofy to people that don't understand sign language, but most manual communicators rely much more on exaggerated facial expression than in other languages. Things like pulling the head back while rolling eyes, slanty eye, smirking, and of course, the "angry face" are really common, even with rather formal interpretations like the news. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 14:21, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
First, there are no stupid questions.
Yes, you can be sarcastic when signing, and yes, it is in your face.
Almost all of the emotion and tone in sign language is conveyed by facial expression. -asianpear
Supermarket coupons
I wonder why some manufacturer coupons include instructions to supermarkets not to double the discount. In some cases I suppose the manufacturer wants consumers to get accustomed to paying something close to full retail value, but a different motivation has to operate in this particular insstance: the product (a brand of smoked sausages) runs frequent newspaper coupons for larger discounts and allows doubling for those other coupons. So why would the manufacturer want to prevent a grocery store from footing the cost of a smaller discount? (International Wikipedians, this issue may be rather U.S.-centric). Durova15:47, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I see. Is it possible some manufacturers have agreements with certain retailers saying the manufacturer will pay double (or triple) the face value, unless explicit prohibited on the coupon ? StuRat01:44, 2 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
WW 1
I do not wish to sound stupid but i have read a book on the causes of WW1 and still dont get it. The assasination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the cause if WW1, but why, maybe that is not phrased to well, umm, why did the death of one man cause the whole world to be plunged into war? Why was he put in power in the first place if no one liked him, was he elected? or was there no other royalty? and if he was Austrian why did this effect Germany and england? ect ect ect. Could some one please explain this to me as if i were a 5 year old. Thank you very much.
Franz Ferdinand was basically an excuse for everyone to act on their various treaties and so on, by coming to the "defense" of their allies, people were able to get what they wanted.. Germany wanted land back from France, France wanted land back from Germany, Russia wanted ports, Italy wanted land,the UK wanted, something.. and so really, just an excuse to escalate the conflict--VectorPotential71.247.243.17315:54, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you, but could some one ellaborate on this? If a county wants to go to war, they go to war, this was before the UN so...Napolian wanted war, he went and found it.
This was way post-Napoleon, so there were some international bodies in place to stop this sort of thing, most of them broke down. Beisdes, they didn't want to just go to war, they wanted to make sure they, whoever the "they" is, had at least half of Eurasia on their side, to make sure they didn't lose anything else. This was after a century of bitter warfare, and territorial disputes, and don't even get me started on over seas colonies--VectorPotential71.247.243.17316:07, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Basically what had happened was that the major countries of Europe had entered alliance treaties with each other so that if any one power went to war, several others would get dragged along and expand the conflict. At the risk of oversimplification, the ultimate cause might be traced to German military expansion and clumsy foreign policy. Durova16:53, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Good point Durova. I'd say it was German insecurity - surrounded by potential enemies, Germany had little choice for survival. It's worth considering that she was only fully unified in 1871 or thereabouts, and a young nation while all the causes of war were being laid down. The armistice in 1918 did nothing to solve this, leaving Germany once again vulnerable, humiliated, surrounded by powerful rivals and with an urgent need to secure her defence. Three of those apply to Israel today, which is why the Middle East is in such trouble to this day. --Howard Train18:23, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
To call Germany fully unified in 1871 is an application of hindsight. German speakers in Austria-Hungary did not necessarily conceive of themselves as having a separate national identity from German speakers elsewhere in the way they do today. Throughout most of the century, starting with Napoleon's abolition of the Holy Roman Empire, there had been a trend toward consolidating German-speaking territories under a single government. It would have taken a crystal ball in 1880 or 1912 to suppose that this trend (in any lasting sense) had ended. I doubt that Germany's national survival was threatened: the country had never been stronger. What it lacked was any talented successor to Otto von Bismarck. Durova19:13, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Since the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had been the world's leading superpower and the leading power of Europe. Germany had grown strong economically and was looking for a chance to challenge Britain for the role of top dog. Austria-Hungary's power, on the other hand, was increasingly in question as its various nationalities pushed for more independence. Serbian nationalism (which led to the assassination) was an example of the nationalism that posed a danger to the very existence of Austria-Hungary. So Austria-Hungary felt it had to act forcefully against Serbia that would serve as an example to Slavic nationalists within its borders. Germany saw an opportunity not only to come to the aid of its alliance partner and fellow German speakers in Austria-Hungary but also to make some territorial gains at the expense of Russia, which would enhance its power within Europe. However, France and Britain both had an interest in stopping Germany expansion. The French, in particular, were angry and resentful at having lost Alsace and Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War and wanted to win those provinces back from Germany. Britain wanted to remain top dog in Europe.
As you probably know, the details are these: France had formed an alliance with Russia and Britain to try to encircle its enemy, Germany. So when Russia moved to try to protect its informal ally, Serbia, from Austrian attack, Germany, in support of Austria, declared war on France. To avoid France's border defenses, Germany attacked neutral Belgium with the aim of attacking France from the north. Because Britain had an agreement to defend Belgium from attack and an alliance with France and Russia, this brought Britain into the war as well. Thus, all the major European powers were drawn into the conflict, mainly to try to stop German aggression. Marco polo17:50, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
After edit conflicts
The superb article on Causes_of_World_War_I covers all this in great depth. After Franz Ferdinand was killed in Sarajevo, the Austro-Hungarian government delivered the July Ultimatum to the government of Serbia. One of their demands was that Serbia allow Austria-Hungary to take proceedings against conspirators on Serbian soil, in effect giving up part of their sovereignty. Serbia refused and Austria-Hungary declared war.
This is where the matrix of alliances, treaties and ententes come into play. The only reason Serbia felt able to refuse the demands was because they could count on Russian support in the event of war. With Russia mobilising its forces to attack Austria-Hungary, Germany felt threatened and did the same.
Russia and France having pledged to support each other if either one was attacked, Germany thus risked being surrounded. So they activated the Schlieffen Plan, which called for a pre-emptive invasion of France through Belgium and Luxembourg (going the long way round because they needed the space in order the encircle the French army - the objective was not to conquer France, rather to neuter her armed forces and allow more troops to be committed fighting Russia). Britain declared war on Germany in order to protect Belgium. All the alliances that were supposed to prevent war in fact dragged every major power (except Italy, which refused to honour the treaty on the grounds that Austria-Hungary was an aggressor) into the twentieth century in the most horrible way imaginable.
Turned out that Blackadder was right about the plan to avoid war by being part of an invincible superbloc: "It was bollocks." None of the Great Powers was prepared to let another win more territory in Europe for fear of upsetting the balance of power. They pledged to defend smaller nations in return for influence in their regions, and never realised how ineffective the deterrent was. Deterrence would have to wait for nuclear weapons that can destroy a country in minutes to become a viable strategy.
Note that it was called a world war, but that's rather Eurocentric. It's not like "the whole world was plunged into war", as you put it. The map in the article shows that most of the world was involved, but that was largely just in name because the European colonies were still intact. In most parts of the world there was no fighting at all.
The most important thing about history is that one can learn from it. Like Howard said, superblocs are a bad thing. We were lucky to survive the cold war. If the USSR hadn't been willing to accept humiliation in the Cuban missile crisis, all hell might have broken loose. I wonder if the EU might constitute a new threat in this sense. Then again, one can not generalise too much. It's not that alliances are necessarily bad. But predicting what they will lead to is almost impossible. The only way out that I see is a worldwide alliance (the UN). Countries should only form a block when they thus form a majority and are therefore sure to win (one of the teachings of Confucius, I believe). For that you need a general consensus and that is as close as we can get to objective justice, which is a nice bonus. The downside is that in most cases no action will be taken because there is no consensus. Or is that a downside? DirkvdM08:27, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
sci-fi movies
why some sci-fi movies have a nude scene though sci-fi books doesn't contain them? Can you give list of movies that have nude scene? (P.S.: try your best to find many as you can. Thanks)—Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.12.149.71 (talk • contribs)
Becuase they want people to see the movie, but they don't want to actually take the effort to adapt the book, thus, nudity. Also, most novels don't have pictures, so a "nude scene" wouldn't be very gratifying(edit conflict)--VectorPotential71.247.243.17315:57, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Starship Troopers (movie) threw in a gratuitous shower scene, as I recall. And while "nude" may be a bit of a stretch for many examples, the more generic "titillating" is not. How does the monster in Star Wars 2 rip the bulk of Natalie Portman's shirt off without (1) killing her or (2) exposing her breasts? (yeah, yeah, not a book adaptation -- but it's the same thing) — Lomn | Talk21:57, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think sci-fi movies generally aim at a wider (average teen-20s male) audience than most sci-fi novels do (teen-old, slightly geekier), thus the content of the production will be different. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 14:24, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
My guess is that MOST Hollywood films tend to target as many young males as possible. Action flicks are one way of getting them. Sex is another. Even if there is no actual sex, a scantily clad woman is usually considered incentive enough. This is not just Sci-Fi, either. I have never been more disappointed with a film adaptation than when I saw Phantom of the Opera in it's latest adaptation. The lead female role spent half of the time in lace hosery and silk robes. Even in the snow. POTO would other wise hold little appeal to the average teen or early-20s male, though, so they threw that in. -Russia Moore02:07, 7 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Virus
When some idiot puts a virus onto the internet, does his computer not get affected too? or where do these things come from? and why how would man A benefit from man B's computer no longer working?
Sometimes, I imagine it's an act of sheer boredom, and they probably also use a junk computer, that they can afford to reformat. Of course man A might benefit when man B, C, D, E.... X, Y, and Z's computers all start sending financial information to man A. But that's more of a spyware thing(Edit conflict, again, Miscellaneous seems to cause those a lot)--VectorPotential71.247.243.17316:04, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It is really a fun thing to do for the hacker. I'm sure we all know the feeling of doing something mischievous and getting away with it. I like to learn how to do a lot of things, but of course never do them. Just knowing I can do it is good enough for me. It's just mean if you actually do it. Kind of like nuclear weapons. :P Maybe it has something to do with power? "I have nukes and you don't!" You don't have to use them to prove it to yourself that you have the upperhand. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)
Most virusses only get activated when you click an email attachment or take some other specified action. Since the creator knows what activates the virus, he simply doesn't do it. Also, a lot of viruses are made to clog up email servers which doesn't neccesarily affect the virus creator. And finally, if someone can create a virus, they are probably able to write a fix code for themselves too. =-Mgm|(talk)16:30, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Unless you're a script kiddie, like most "virus writers." Then you're screwed.
I'm not aware of any app that generates viruses.. if one existed, its output would surely be blocked by antivirii .. and be useless --Froth03:27, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
There are virus-builder toolkits out there. You specify the pieces you want (email propagation, IRC command channel, remote shell, etc), and it'll produce a made-to-order virus, ready to be distributed. --Serie20:26, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ready to be blocked you mean. I would imagine that such "toolkits" would be easy targets for virus labs; they could just match to every element available in the toolkit and it would be useless --Froth23:01, 5 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Fear
Which governments have ruled through fear, the Nazi's did, i suppose, but any other. or to put it another way which governments/forms of governments have in the past ruled thier people with an iron fist and cruelty and been despised by thier people? Not as in Zimbabwe were they dont like him but he does not go out of his way to kill his own people in evil y'know'whatimean?
Well, that antichrist that is the ruler of Zimbabwe doesn't do anything at all to help the country as far as I know. The country is a hellhole. Mongol empire. Then there's god. He rules with an iron fist. I don't think we are have a revolution anytimes soon. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)
I would suggest that throwing farmers off their land (resulting in a huge cut in food production) and then refusing outside food aid is going out of your way to kill your own people. DJ Clayworth17:54, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The examples given so far are explicit, however, fear can been much more subtle. (weasel word) Some (/weasel word) say the current US administration rules through fear. It doesn't take an expert political analyst to realise that ratcheting up the "terrorists are out to get us" rhetoric during an election campaign tends to overshadow domestic issues like the economy, health and education. Its psychologically challenging for an electorate to vote out a leader when, as they are told, "we are at war" Rockpocket05:13, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
logging out
what percentage of people log out of websites, for instance when i leave work, i will not log out oof wiki, ill just close Internet Explorer, switch off and go
As a college student who uses public computers a lot, I can tell you people almost never bother to log out of facebook, or yahoo for that matter. It always boggles my mind why you'd leave that kind of information sitting around--VectorPotential71.247.243.17316:16, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know why either. If I'm on a public computer I run through proxies and store no cookies or history while I'm there and log out before I leave. Actually I met User:Ccool2ax after I told him on his talk page that he didn't sign off. In an hour he came back, sitting behind me, and logged into wikipedia. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)
Not logging out of Wikipeida is no big deal. Anyone can access it (that's the point), so the only problem is that other people could start doing stuff in your name. What is the chance of that happening (especially on a home computer) and how bad would it be? Not logging out of webmail i an internet shop is something completely different. People can do really stupid things. Recently, I sat oposite a social security guy who, when he logged into his account, turned the screen away from me so I couldn't see his password. I, however, made the mistake of not focusing on his keyboard. I wonder what I could have done with that password ... :) DirkvdM08:45, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Modern Slavery
In the article on slavery, there is mention of slaves that can be purchased in this era, but it doesn't provide where they can be purchased. What countries allow slavery, and what countries don't allow it but have covert slavery anyway?
--216.164.200.22416:47, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I read that part of the article, and now I see that it says no country legalizes slavery, but the only countries it says slavery exists in covertly are Sudan, Mali, and Thailand. That doesn't seem like a complete list to me.
--216.164.200.22417:02, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It probably isn't a complete list. To some extent slavery exists probably everywhere. There have certainly been people in the US held prisoner against their will and forced to work (usually in the sex trade). DJ Clayworth17:56, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Haven't you seen that episode of walker texas ranger when the mexican town pays all their money to send their young people to america, only to have them forced to work on a farm? Or was that macgyver.. anyone else remember? --Froth03:40, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What about reality? In Africa (and probably elsewhere) kids are sent to the big city to make money for the family, ofen under deplorable circumstances. This is a form of economic slavery. In name they have a choice, but in reality they don't. For the village to survive they have to send out money makers, so there's a lot of social pressure on those who could do that. DirkvdM08:51, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You said it. Give me enough time and I'll make a commie out of you yet. :) DirkvdM18:21, 1 September 2006 (UTC) (btw, you don't need to tell me that's not how you meant it)[reply]
In light of your revelation that you haven't worked for 15 years and quit the job the government found for you, your attitude that "all work is slavery" makes a lot more sense. :-) StuRat05:22, 7 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Then don't forget to make every letter of you name a different color, and include an icon, or several, so as to make the signature take up an entire page whenever some hapless victim tries to edit that section. :-) StuRat23:37, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You'll get wrong if you include an icon. This says Images of any kind should not be used in signatures. (And gives the real guidelines, though I do prefer yours). Tonywalton | Talk09:31, 2 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Faulty political beliefs common in the U.S.
Why do people favor libertarianism over statism? Libertarianism ultimately leads to downfall of a society due either to the incapacity of the society to handle environmental problems, to being conquered by another society which uses statism, or other such causes. Also, why do people still support the concept of human rights, even though it doesn't make much sense for the society as a whole? Thanks --Life17:22, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, that page declares that "Wikipedia articles" may not have bias. This question has bias, but it is not an article. So, as my question is reasonable, I would like an answer. --Life17:41, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Any answer that involves "preference" as in "why do people prefer X over Y" is also going to have bias in it, which will come from the person answering it. So are you looking for a defense of certain preferences? I think that's what Notinasnaid is getting at, that's not our function here. For me to answer the question would require that I refute your faulty premises and so forth to demonstrate that the beliefs are in fact not faulty, and WP is not a place for political advocacy. Hope that helps. ++Lar: t/c17:46, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You should read Plato's Republic - I think you'd really enjoy it. Towards the end Socrates describes the different types of government (Monarchy, Oligarchy etc), how each type metamorphoses into the other, and the predominant mindset of the citizens of each type. A brilliantly perceptive book even 2500 years after it was written.
You'd also probably enjoy The Prince by Machiavelli, which describes how different states with different leadership philosophies can overthrow each other. Although they may make you as cynical and cranky as me. :) Rentwa00:14, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Libertarianism is based on the concept that individual rights come first, and the group rights are based on individual rights. That people should have Liberty as an ideal. One should be able to do what one wishes, as long as it does not harm anyone else. That government should interefere with individual liberty as little as is possible or necessary.
The other end of the spectrum would be like communism in China, where what is best for society, and for everyone as a whole is more important than individual rights. The good of the many superceeds the good of the one. Government should be strong, in order to continually monitor and decide what is in the best interests of the whole, and minimize the interference of the by-nature selfish needs and desires of the individuals. If an individual must suffer, or sacrifice, that's unfortunate, but for the better life for everyone.
Personally, I think neither is correct. But, I would lean more toward individual liberty rather than group think. But, that's just my view. Strangely, in the U.S., republicans have been fighting for generations against the "evil of communism". And once communism was "deafeated" with the downfall of the U.S.S.R. Now we see a strong move to the right, and the kind of fascist government developing (erosion of individual liberties, rationalization of human rights violations, for the betterment and safety of us all) that they have been fighting against for so long. Atom17:01, 4 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
ive used this reference desk a few times for those little questions that nowhere else seems to have the answer to, and it seems to work GREAT! My question is though, is there a place in wikipedia where i can create polls or ask for advice or assistance? I am just starting out this little web community project and i would like to find a way to get advice and opinions for free, or be able to contact people willing to be part of either the community itself or the development of it. (actual coding for the site etc) I dont have a ton of money, but i think my idea is good to be honest. If there isnt already an area like this in wiki, there should be in my opinion. :) Anyway, if anyone has any valuable places for me to go, please comment. Thanks.
~P.S. If anyone out there would actually like to help, my website is here: ChillSpot2003"DOT"brinkster"DOT"net
Also i state more about my idea here: chillspot2003"DOT"brinkster"DOT"net/about"DOT"htm
How can I tell which girl is a teenybopper or not?
Have you read the article? If so, then it would be someone who you feel conforms to that description. It's subjective. It's not like they're marked with the number of the beast or anything. Again, it's your call. Dismas|(talk)21:29, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I just got off watching another documentary, where innocent people had their faces blurred, and names were beeped. Obviously there has to be an original tape, perhaps BBC or other companies are told to keep them so the police may use them for their work. Anyway, without knowing much about the archive system for TV channels, would anyone else know if such sensitive tapes are stored in special places? Hehehehe, I should sooo expect someone to wonder why I am asking this. Thanks!
If the Rocko's Modern Life episode Wacky Delly (Wikipedia has everything!) can be taken as fact, the reels are stored in a dark, probably humidity and temperature controlled, likely fireproof room. It would appear by MeltBanana's link that such storage rooms are kept near shooting, and don't have locks, or have very easily passed ones. Hyenaste(tell)23:07, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I work at a local television news station in the USA. If you are referring to tapes with sensitive content, the originals are usually kept in a locked cabinet in the possession of a high management person (the news director or the station manager, usually). Sometimes if there are pending legal issues, a corporate attorney will take custody of them. (By the way, it is our station's policy that no one outside the station gets access to any of our tapes without a court order.) If you are referring to how tapes are kept for physical preservation, they are typically kept in a locked, air-conditioned storage room. We don't have a vault or anything like that. (I imagine some large network facilities might have some very valuable footage that they keep in more secure facilities, but the usual news operation doesn't do that.) We are in the process of converting all of our videotape over to XD-Picture Card discs. — Michael J23:30, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Then theres the people who sit in front of a computer all day leaving comments on wikipedia...i dont know whats more sad, watching documentaries to broaden your mind or mocking people on wikipedia 24/7. :D Im in ur house01:40, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Then there are those who not only don't get such well-natured humour, but self-righteously mislabel it as something negative. Just in case you missed it, re-read the first 7 words of the question. Go in peace, I forgive you. :--) JackofOz03:04, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The people who sit here 'all day leaving comments' as you put it are actually WP editors who have volunteered to man these reference desks to try to answer peoples questions. Once in a while we cant resist a little joke,-- to keep ourselves from becoming too sad, but we hope it's not held against us. 8-)--Light current03:34, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Police work, you say. I'm not sure it hold in all countries but I in Sweden, I'm not sure the police are allowed to ask journalists for sources. Oh well, doesn't answer your question. —Bromskloss08:48, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I consult on technology and workflow for the media and entertainment industry, primarily in the USA. Quite a bit of my work involves call-letter television stations. Firstly, I should note that most call-letter television stations do not produce documentaries - most produce 7-15 hours of content a week - usually in the form of the local news. Do you know for sure that the show you saw was produced by your local TV station? If so, I'm sorry to report that there is no standard for how stations handle their video assets. Some larger stations digitize them and store them in a digital asset library. (something akin to a ADIC Scalar or Sony Petasite, freqently managed by archive asset managers like Front Porch, Blue Order or Avalon). Other stations may maintain a library of physical tapes, cataloged and managed by an archivist or librarian. And unfortunately, many stations do not do a good job of managing their video assets: tapes may be left in the desk of the show's producer, or on a bookshelf in an edit bay. If your local TV station is making documentaries, it's likely that they are large enough to have one of the more formal archive solutions. dpotter15:06, 3 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
September 1
Can anyone help me name this song?
I only know the melody of this song. It is a rap/pop collaboration by at least 2 singers, both males i think. It is a few years old circa 2000-2004. The chorus is a "whiny" sounding voice, while the verses are sung by a soft rapper with voice resembling to Mario Winan and Diddy's. There might be the word "heart" in the lyrics. A melody of the song can be found at: http://media.putfile.com/Can-you-name-this-song Thanks a lot. Jamesino00:17, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, i was thinking along the lines of something like that, sounds like a "love" song with lots of expression in the chorus. Jamesino17:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
robert vaughn
How tall was Robert Vaughn when he made the Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV series?
That wiki is totally unrelated to Wikipedia. It looks like their hosting service took them down for some reason. If I had to guess, I'd guess copyright concerns, but I can't be sure. I never visited the site. - Mgm|(talk)07:53, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"You like masculine/feminine faces" survey.
I recall an online survey a couple of years ago that showed a number of faces, and the person taking it was to select which they found most attractive. At the end, it would tell you how many of the faces were masculine and how many were feminine, and tell you which type you selected most often. Does anyone know where this survey is currently located?
Learning to program necessitates learning a new language (the programming lanaguage). Mixing that with another language (like English) isn't going to affect the learning curve too badly. Programmers acquire unfamiliar symbols into their programming vocabulary all the time, it's part of the trade. - Rainwarrior04:53, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, Wikipedia. This is a dumb question, but bear with me. How do I make a tuna sandwich? Do I just empty a can onto a slice of bread, or what? Partisan 503:48, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No. First you open the can and tip the contents onto a plate. Then you dig out all the nasty bits of skin etc and proceed to chop the flesh into small pieces with a knife. At this point you may add some mayo (salad cream) or olive oil or something (not too much). Mix up well with a fork. Now get 2 slices of bread and spread them one one side with butter or margrine. Then, spread the tuna mayo mix onto one of the slices (on the butter side).Place the other slice butter side down on top and press down firmly with your palm. THen get the knife and cut the sandwich into 4 pieces. Put on plate. Sandwich is now ready to eat!--Light current04:06, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
o_O I don't see any nasty bits of skin. And the tuna is already in small pieces. And I feel like an idiot asking wikipedia Referance dest for a sandwich recape. Partisan 504:11, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You will need to drain the tuna before mixing with mayo, I press the lid down into the can and tilt to drain it. If you have a cat, they love the juice. If the tuna is packed in oil, they will spend the rest of the day trying to lick it off their whiskers, always fun to watch ! StuRat04:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The 10 years from 10-19, are called the teens, 20-29 the twenties, and so on, regardless of what century you are in. However, what are the first 10 years, from 0-9 called. The auts, the zeros, the new century??? Is there a specific term, like the teens, twenties, for these first 10 years?
I only call 13-19 "teens". When we start calling 10, 11, and 12 by the names "o-teen, one-teen, and two-teen", then I will include them as teens. StuRat12:09, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Leaping off the previous question, when did people start thinking of time as separated in decades? The phrase "1960s," for example, carries a lot of meaning behind it, not just in terms of years but in terms of society and culture. We can think of the 50s, the 30s, the Roaring Twenties - but how far back does this go? Since we don't have a universal name for this decade, I have to assume that either 1900-1909 didn't have a well-determined name, or that name has utterly fallen out of favor. Did people call the period from 1870 to 1879 the "70s"? What about 1810-1819, the 1810s? What about the 1670s? The 1230s? and so on... How far back does the concept of decades, of separating social and cultural periods into approximate 10-year stretches more or less aligned with numerical decades, exist? zafiroblue05 | Talk06:12, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting question. List of decades claims that the practice of referring to decades as historical entities became popular in the 20th Century and that it might not last far into the 21st Century. But a superficial search yielded no further references. (Luckily it was Ug and not Captain Caveman who first noticed the number of his fingers. Otherwise we'd be using octades.) ---Sluzzelin07:17, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See duodecimal for explanation. 12 can be divided by 1,2,3,4,6 and 12 without remainders, while 10 can only be divided by 1,2,5 and 10 - so explaining the twelve inches in a foot. Interestingly enough, English numbers go up to twelve before going into the -teens, instead of adding -teen (i.e. -ten) to all numbers between 10 and 20. (Dutch as well!) -- theGREATGavini14:13, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Zafiroblue's question would be an interesting dissertation topic (and may already have been one). My guess is that practice of naming and assigning characters to decades began in the 1920s and was applied retrospectively as far back as the 1890s (the "gay nineties"). Wikipedia actually has articles on decades. If you check out 1890s, you will find out that it was not called "the gay nineties" until the 1920s. The alternative name for the 1890s, "the mauve decade", was also coined in the 1920s, when Thomas Beer published a book by that title. The practice of characterizing decades suggests the existence of a "public" that would be interested in looking back on trends in fashion and popular culture. It seems to me that the only way for such a practice to gain acceptance would be through popular media such as magazines or broadcasting media. The first popular magazines appeared in the late 1800s, but they tended to focus more on literature and high culture than on popular culture per se. My hunch is that this interest in popular culture was a product of the jazz decade, or the roaring twenties. But this is just a hunch and would require more research.
Of course before the first decade of the 1900s (I think usually called "the aughts" at the time), people such as historians did refer to decades (the 1880s, for example, or the 1790s). I have not come across any evidence, though, that earlier decades were associated as much with styles of fashion or expression. Marco polo14:11, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
After reading Zafiroblue's question again, I realize that he is interested in the practice of referring to decades at all, even without popular culture associations. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word decade first entered English in the form decad around 1600, but its original meaning was just "a group of ten". This could be a group of ten of anything, not necessarily years. The first clear citation in the OED of the word decad used in its current sense dates to 1837. (By the current sense, I mean"a period of ten years beginning a multiple of ten years after the beginning of the century".) The spelling decade became normal later in the 1800s. Marco polo16:03, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I searched what is supposed to be an every word index of the New York Times. The first appearance of "gay nineties" in the New York Times was in reference to an amateur circus where people rode in conveyances of the past: "Southampton sees amateur circus," July 19, 1926, p.8. Other entries referred to "a forty-niner wagon," "an 1830 costume," "joy riders of 1840." Thus other period references were to a specific year, not a decade. There did not appear to be today's notion that the 1960's were the same from beginning to end: fashion, music, politics. The first appearance of the other form "Gay 90's" was in an ad Sept 5 1927, p 2, for the centennial of a clothing company, Arnold, Constable. Other eras in ads from the series were referred to by the specific year, i.e. 1827, 1837 rather than by named decades. The first appearance of "roaring twenties" in the NYT was May 14, 1935. p. 1 in an article on monetary policy. Secretary Morgenthau said "We felt rich on that paper during the roaring Twenties. Now we know better." Perhaps by 2015 we will learn what this decade was we are living in now. Edison18:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sites that recycle old RD pages
While googling I noticed that there are any number of web pages that just consist of old Wikipedia reference desk pages. This is just one of countless examples. Why do they do it? --Richardrjtalk email11:41, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Many advertising pages seem to just list lots of random words hoping some hapless victim will find their page with a search engine, and increase their page count. At least if they have old Ref Pages, it's possible that the person doing the search might actually find the answer to their question. So, it's a slight improvement over just randomly listing words. To put it another way, copying Wikipedia is a cheap way to get some actual content for their web site. StuRat12:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think anyone has gotten in trouble for doing it yet, though apparently the foundation is kind of pissed about it because they steal bandwidth everytime they update their mirrors. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 16:15, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yes they are allowed to do that, so long as they abide by the GFDL, a minimum inconvenience in this instance. --Tagishsimon(talk)
articles
Is it at all possible to have two articles by the same name? If it is, how does one go about starting the second one?
8 queens can be placed on a chess board such that the power of no queen falls under the power of other 7. If we number the column of the chess board from 1 to 8 and the row from a to h so that the bottom left most corner is numbered a1, can anybody help me in naming the squares where 8 queens can be placed as said above?
A queen in chess can move to any of the squares diagonal to it on the board. Thus a square diagonally upleft, downleft, upright, or downright of a queen piece could be considered to fall within or fall under the "power" of the queen. I'm not even sure if that's chess terminology or anything either. +
Queens can also move and capture horizontally or vertically, so the row and column containing a queen, as well as the diagonals from the queen, are all "under it's power". StuRat22:54, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think the original question asker wants to know how to figure out the possible locations that the queens can be set in so that none of them fall under another's power, but I choose to interpret the question as "What name should I call the position where all of the queens do not fall under each other's power?" I nominate the name octoqueen draw. freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ 16:14, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's the rows (ranks) that are numbered and the columns (files) that are letters, like Excel. Placing the queens as if they were knights will work. Anchoress16:28, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The 8 queens problem is a fairly well known comp sci problem that is often used to teach iterative refinement (assuming mastery of certain data structure concepts needed to model the board like arrays of arrays) or iterative searching. The basic algorithm involves solving by columns. Clearly all 8 queens have to be in different columns, so start by placing the first queen in A1, then try to place the next, iterating from B1 to B8. If you suceed, work on C, and so on, till you fail (by running off the top). At that point back up one column and bump that queen up a row (or to the next successful placement location). This search can produce all possible solutions in fairly quick time, far faster than brute force eval of random placement. The hard part (for a budding comp sci major) is actually programming it, this explanation is usually given in the problem setup. ++Lar: t/c16:29, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
'Name' the squares, you say? I name them 'Sarah', 'Melissa', 'Hariett', 'Lucy', 'Scott', 'Tom', 'Richard' and 'Harry'. As for where, they are, haven't a clue, sorry :). —Daniel(‽)17:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Appears to be a complex subject: New Scientist and Straightdope may be your friends. A study in the straightdope article quotes a premium of 12% for aircon in a golf GTI. --Tagishsimon(talk)
As a sidenote, the TV show Mythbusters tested whether turning on the A/C or just rolling down the window was better for fuel economy. If I remember correctly, it depends on the vehicle's speed. Clarityfiend17:29, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Did they aslo compare it with putting a wet towel in your neck, to name but something? I've never needed aircon in a car (for various reasons), but I keep on being surprised at how much cost and effort people are willing to go through to avoid having to think about simple solution. 12% of the car's fuel consumption is horrible, considering how much fuel cars guzzle. Is that normal for airconditioning or is it just that cars are difficult to cool down? What about leaving the window spray (or what is that called?) on? Of course, you'd need to refill it way too often and it wouldn't be the most efficient way to apply the principle, but if ac is that costly, an alternative that simply evaporates water might be something to think about. DirkvdM18:47, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Using evaporative cooling might be a good idea, but would leave water spots where the water had evaporated. Using wiper fluid would be horrid, it would cost more than A/C, pollute the air, and leave blue, crusty dye all over the car. Distilled water would reduce the water spots, but dust from the air would still be captured by the water spots. I suppose people could just learn to live with the water spots, ugly as they are. StuRat22:48, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Cars are these metal boxes with essentially no insulation, a large heat generator up front, and are generally painted in light-absorbing colors. They heat up faster than almost anything else out there, so it's not surprising that they take a lot of energy to cool. 12% seems a bit high, though: I don't think my car loses more than about 5% when driving at highway speeds - less than I'd lose by opening a window. --Serie20:44, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
High performance sports cars frequently either lack A/C altogether or disconnect the A/C under full acceleration, so apparently the drag on the engine is significant. StuRat22:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Commercial use?
Dera Sir/Maddam,
I run a part time buisiness producing DVDs for the Rail Enthusiast www.uktrainwatchers.com my publisher who are Pegasus Entertainment then produce glass master copies for commercial distribution to the general pulic.
My question is: can i use paragraphs in the selected Wikipedia pages verbaly to use in my production of DVDs which enhance the publics knowledge of the train watching experience.
Thank you
Mr Clive Turner
<email address removed>
Hello, Mr Turner. My understanding is that you may use reproduce the content verbally, but still follow the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also Reusers' rights and obligations. Simply, "Wikipedia content can be copied, modified, and redistributed so long as the new version grants the same freedoms to others and acknowledges the authors of the Wikipedia article used (a direct link back to the article satisfies our author credit requirement)." Whether your commercial publisher would accept these conditions is another matter, of course. Rockpocket17:33, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
INdeed. The section 7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS might give them some comfort. --Tagishsimon(talk)
recreational sex + christianity
why do monks take an oath of celibacy? Why are priests celibate? I thought Catholics and other Christians too believe sex with a spouse is an integral part of...something or other...what was it important for again!?? sex as a symbol of religion or somethign? Jasbutal18:25, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
An important reason for celibacy being imposed upon the early church is[citation needed] to stop church property being inherited by the children of clergymen and therefore the church loosing wealth. Also, if asked to write an essay on the causes of the reformation just write "The reformation happened so that horny priests (and a king) could get laid." you are bound to get an A. MeltBanana19:49, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
whoa whao! I forgot to add, preferably no comments from people who grew up in Christian households and had it shoved down their throats and tried to be rebellious about it in their teens ("dude, Jesus loves me? That's so gay") so they grew apart from the Church and are now biased and cynical about every aspect of it. THanks! Jasbutal20:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That is hardly fair, such people may offer all kinds of info to help answer your question. I admit to being biased and cynical but not about religion any more then any other subject, as neither religion nor irreligion has never been imposed on me. MeltBanana23:30, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Vandalism?
1. How great a percentage of users acting solely as vandals would overwhelm the reverters and render Wikipedia a churning hodgepodge of vandalism, false information, and pranks? Or in the alternate, what is the minimum number of vandals operating simultaneously, 24 hours a day, that would overrun wikipedia and overwhelm the "recent changes" patrollers? 5,000? 10,000? 50,000?
Does anyone have any ideas?
2. Furthermore, how does anyone know that the old adage "one troll drives away five good contributors" is actually true? Does anyone have any verfication of this statistic?
3. Also, if trolls have more lasting damage on wikipedia, how many "vandals" does one "troll" equal in their detrimental effects on Wikipedia?
4. Do Vandals and Trolls work in tandem? In groups? What if they were part of an organisation?
In a world where anything can be changed by anyone and nothing is permanent, it is completely up to the absolute ratio of vandals to good contributors. Each side may employ bots for temporary advantage, but as long as there is a higher percentage of good contributors to vandals then it should work. Compare this with RL where one terrorist can inflict massive damage that cannot be fixed. Here we can turn back time very easily and anyone can do it. I guess this is a bit like a democracy, if 60% of a country's population wants to vote for Bugs Bunny for president just to screw up the government I guess they could, but in reality people do like to be constructive members of society most of the time. Nowimnthing20:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
How do "fog" and "overcast and cloudy" conditions cancel a missile defense test? Are detection systems dependent on weather? Are missile launches dependent on weather? why? Jasbutal19:41, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Radar performance (at some wavelengths) may be degraded by bad weather; perhaps they don't want to test in bad weather (difficulty with radar, risk of lightning strikes on equipment, unpredictable winds, etc.) until they've validated the system in clear weather. The testers are probably keen to see the test themselves — video recordings can be used to check missile-based telemetry and ground-based tracking; video can aid in identifying problems and failure modes; and video is a handy marketing tool if the test actually works. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 20:38, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Plain old sandals
Can anyone give a website where I can buy plain and old sandals that are still worn today by women? Thanks.
Try Ebay.com Search for "Sandals" in the category "Women's shoes." 41,429 listings, believe it or not. Buut the only ones with "old" in the description were by "Old Navy." Perhaps you have a favorite brand to narrow things down. Edison21:07, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, they will be a mile away, and without shoes, which will make it much more difficult for them to beat the crap out of you." :-) StuRat22:34, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Too few??? Give me a number of how many actresses there are total and I will find a percentage for you. It won't be based on anything real, but then neither will your number. Nowimnthing20:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Is there anybody here who goes to Richwoods High School in Peoria, Illinois? If you do, I am trying to find people to collaborate with to make the article bigger, right now it only includes some E.C. activities. If you are willing to help, you don't have to leave your real names, just your usernames so I can talk to you about it. Please leave them on this page. I would really appreciate it. EAT EM UP, EAT EM UP! (excerpt from the Richwoods fight song)- Proud Knight
You might want to try Classmates.com, as you're more likely to find current and former students there. I'd be careful about giving them your credit card number, however, as they make it damn near impossible to drop your subscription, once they have it. StuRat22:28, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I wish to acquire bad-ass potentcy
I'm writing this in an overairconditioned office in Silicon Valley. The pay is great but this cushy internship isn't the vocation of idealized manhood--I worry about that a lot now. So I'd like to compensate for my insecurity by finding a job for next summer that is exotic, adventurous and manly. Wikipedians, what is the easiest way for a California boy to head on down under and become a jackaroo?
Please do your own homework.
