Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Reference Desk

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September 5

ECP/Condoms

So Emergency Contraception is effective if you take it up to five days after you have unprotected sex; if you take it, and then four days later you fuck up again, is it still good, or do you need to take it again?

Also, can a guy not being circumcised have an effect on the likelihood of a condom to tear? It seems like this happens to us a disproportionate number of times, and we've checked and double checked that we're doing everything right.

Dear anonymous, see Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer. Basically, the advice you will get here is worth precisely what you paid for it. On a matter of this consequence, I'd speak to a professional.

That said, you can read the Plan B website. Note the following from the FAQ:

You should not have unprotected sex after taking Plan B®, because Plan B® will not protect you from getting pregnant.

Also, if you read the material on that website, the elimination half-life, you'll find that the drug would be mostly excreted out of the woman's system after 4 days.

So, a woman would almost certainly not be protected four days after taking Plan B.

As to your other problem, I do suppose you're using a water-based lubricant? If you're using something else, that may be causing the condom to break. Beyond that, consult your doctor; if you're continually having problems with condom breakage maybe it's time to consider some other method of contraception. --Robert Merkel 01:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It's always a good idea to use a condom in conjunction with some other method of birth control. Really this is too important an issue to discuss with anyone other than a medical doctor. Durova 07:50, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

stealing references

I'm doing a ton of research, writing one of those papers where each sentence has a unique footnote-reference. So, naturally, I'm reading other papers and books where each sentence has a footnote.

Is it standard procedure to just steal their references and use them as my own, even if I haven't actually looked them up ? Jasbutal 01:30, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

You could probably just refer to that one book. Russian F 01:34, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Generally, it's not good practice to cite sources you haven't read. Cite the book you have read. If there's some quotation in the book you've read, from a source you haven't, and you absolutely cannot get your hands on that original source, there are recommended ways to cite such things: see your style guide for recommendations. --Robert Merkel 01:40, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It's not good practise, but if they use a direct quote and you're confident they didn't get it wrong, bearing in mind that it is out of context, there's nothing to stop you using it. It would, however, be much better to read the original, or at least cite 'Source x, quoted in y' --Mnemeson 02:08, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Please at least look up the work in an index and read the abstract. You can avoid a substantial amount of embarrassment with even that minimum of effort. :D There's work out there that indicates that many scientists don't read all their references. This New Scientist article discusses a somewhat controversial study out of UCLA that suggest scientists don't read 75% of the papers that they cite. (Note that they use the accuracy of citation information as a proxy for paper reading; in many cases the scientists may have read the paper but copied the citation info incorrectly.) Strictly speaking, though, it's quite unethical to include a citation that you haven't looked at. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:17, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

great, well I'm an engineering student, so I'll just do as my professional researching professors do. (btw I didn't read that link, I just assumed you got it right). Thanks for the comments all. Jasbutal 03:32, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If i cite a reference that i have not read extensively, i always make sure i read the abstract at least and, whenever possible, skim read the results and conclusions. You'd be surprised at how often you will be asked to expand on the one source you didn't read. However, should you not wish to, or be able to, you could always use the old "Smith et al, and references therein" line. Works a treat and covers your ass. Rockpocket 06:28, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Sometimes the purpose of a reference is mainly to give credit to whoever first had some idea, or to refer to related work, rather than to lend support to some statement you're making. Then it is more acceptable (to me) not to actually have read the source. If the implied aim is to increase the credibility of a claim, then there is an element of intellectual dishonesty if you haven't read the paper and accept the evidence and reasoning presented as supporting the claim (assuming the authors were honest). My experience in tracing references is that a good deal, at the end of the chain, do not actually support what they are supposed to. --Lambiam^Talk 09:13, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

maths thicko needs help!!

Can anyone please tell me how to work out the number of combinations a set of figures have? For example, How many three letter combinations there are in the English Alphabet, or How many different 6 number lines there are for 49 lottery balls? Also, could I please be really cheeky and ask for the answer to be given in a simple to read way, I have real problems with 'jargonese@' !! Thank you so much for your time. Natalie

We wont give you the answer, but we may tell you how to do it!--Light current 02:11, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

You're looking for information about some of the simpler problems in combinatorics. That article gets pretty hardcore pretty quickly, so you might want to look at permutations and combinations, and the article on permutations (see Counting permutations in the latter article). TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:22, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks so much, I'll go and have a look. I have already looked at the first article and got hopelessly lost about four words in!! I'll check out the other ones. Thanks again.

For the number (and a list) of all three-letter combinations, see Three-letter acronym (26 x 26 x 26). That one is easy, the second question is more difficult because once a ball is drawn it cannot appear in the sequence again, so the drawn ball is removed from the possibilities: 49 x 48 x 47 x ... x 2 x 1. --Canley 04:40, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I stand corrected. We have given you the answer!--Light current 04:57, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

here at the misc desk, we have bags of enthusiasm, a wide variety of specialist knowledge and suitle emphaziation to boot, and we try to answer any question we can. The folks at the maths desk are probably better placed to help you than we are though. Howard Train 05:09, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I think us enthusiasts have handled it quite well. Mind you-- a lot of us are actually the same people! 8-)--Light current 05:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

We always do, Light Current. Always. Howard Train 05:17, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

In the reference desk, you're not supposed to ask about homework, yet often providing a few answers can spur the thought of the inquirer's learning of a new concept. --Proficient 06:00, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I hate homework questions as much as anyone here, but she did ask very politely, didn't just copy the question from the homework, and wanted to know how to solve the problem, not just an answer. Those pointers to articles are, um, a bit complicated! Anyway, my response to the second one was wrong! There are six lottery balls drawn so it doesn't go down to 1, it's 49 x 48 x 46 x 45 x 44 x 43. --Canley 13:25, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

... or maybe 49 x 48 x 47 x 46 x 45 x 44. But the order of the six numbers in each entry isn't important (1-2-3-4-5-6 is the same entry as 6-5-4-3-2-1) so this calculation counts each possible entry many different times - in fact, each entry is counted 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 times. So the number of different possible entries is (49 x 48 x 47 x 46 x 45 x 44) / (6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1), which can be written more concisely as 49!/(43! x 6!) or a tad under 14 million (see National Lottery). Gandalf61 16:04, 5 September 2006 (UTC) (moonlighting from the maths desk)

Yes, I give the answer wrong twice! Let this be a lesson to anyone asking homework questions! --Canley 14:17, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

golf prize money

what are the usual splits in percentages for golf prize money? the first place is usually 18%, but what happens from there on?

Good luck finding out. It seems barely any of the official tour sites even quote the total purse money, never mind the prize money for 2nd, 3rd, etc.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  15:55, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Looking for the title of a children's book

Hi! I read a children's book about ten years ago and would like to try and find it again. I thought it was called "The Royal Magician" but it seems as though I've remembered the title incorrectly. It has 6-8 short stories about a royal family and their magician. The first few stories concern the Princes and their future wives (one princess lives in the clouds so they build a ladder out of gold; one princess lives at the bottom of the ocean so the magician swaps the sky and the sea). In other stories, the magician turns the queen into a spider; the magician competes with another magician; the magician and a prince travel to the world of dreams. If anyone has the real title or an Amazon (etc.) link, I would really appreciate it. Many thanks!

Maybe you're thinking of Midnight Magic by Edward Irving Wortis aka Avi? WP has a bit of information on the book. The author's article links to Avi's website.---Sluzzelin 09:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Sadly that's not it, but thanks for your suggestion.

2 corinthians

what's all this in 2 corinthians 2:14-16 about aromas and stenchs and such? death -> death, life -> life, why no life -> death, and why no death -> life? Jasbutal 03:46, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Paraphrasing Paul: To them that will be saved, the word of Christ that we are spreading is like the savour of life. But to those that will perish [because they do not accept it], it is like the stench of death. --Lambiam^Talk 08:42, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It's saying that people who aren't open to the word of Christ (the holy spirit hasn't prepared their hearts to make them want God) will find the Word offensive and rediculous. But to christians it makes sense and is the lifeblood if you will of their lives --Froth 20:37, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Galatians 2:20?

several questions :

1. is this about Paul destryoing his ego and his personality and saying that he is nothing?

2. what's with Paul saying he was crucified too ?

3. Does this have something to do with taking the lord's supper?

Jasbutal 03:46, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

4. Does this have something to do with homework? We don't answer homework questions as a rule (because if we do, you don't learn anything) but we're happy to point you in the right sort of direction. Try Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Epistle to the Galatians for starters, and try back here or at the humanities desk for more help if you're still stuck. Howard Train 05:16, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I know your homework rule offtherails, or howard train. this ain't homework. Epistle to the Galatians has nothing on 2:20. Second Epistle to the Corinthians doesn't have anything either. 70.225.173.251 05:22, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

An attempt at paraphrasing this: Through our acceptance of the Christ, we became one with him, and as he was crucified, our previous persona died with him, and we were reborn through him. This has not specifically to do with taking the Lord's supper. It is the Paulinian doctrine that we cannot be saved through (keeping to) the (old) Law, but only through the grace of God, as made possible by the death of Christ. --Lambiam^Talk 08:53, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

A sort of pre-Lutheran sola gratia then? -- the GREAT Gavini 15:34, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Sounds to me like we have to cast off our old life and experience rebirth in Christ, through his sacrifice, living as he did in holiness --Froth 20:44, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

diamonds

how can you tell if a stone is a diamond in a ring yes they scratch glass but is ther another positive way to tell other than going to a jeweller

Even for jewellers it's sometimes difficult to tell for sure whether a stone is in fact a diamond. You have to train your eye with a lot of practice, so for starters you need access to a lot of diamonds and fake products. You also need some special equipment. See diamond simulant for further information.---Sluzzelin 10:08, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Easy, cover a sloped piece of something smooth, with vasaline, loads of vasaline, then useing water wash all your debri down the slope, a bit at a time, the small glass looking things that stick to the vasaline are diamonds, the gravel that does not (non of the gravel will stick if done properly) then just pick em off and have em cut. or at least thats how its done on subsistance mines in Africa. Benn there done it trust me.

Diamonds are also very good conductors of heat - if you put it in your mouth it should feel as cold as metal. Not practical if the stone's set in a ring of course. Or do that thing with vaseline - he seems to know what he's talking about. Rentwa 16:17, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If it will scratch a diamond, it's a diamond. --Serie 21:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

rules of Touch football

Hello, I would like to know about a specific rule in Touch, If a try is awarded by the field or main referee, everybody gets back on side, the line or touch judge says it was a forward pass, can the try be disawarded, and is there such a term in this sport? thanks for your time

I know virtually nothing about touch footy, but I like the word "disawarded". Thanks. JackofOz 12:24, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't know the specific rule in this case, but in most sports the referee is supposed to consult his/her "line judges" before awarding points. But if they don't do it, once the try has been awarded I'm pretty sure they can't take it back. I couldn't find anything specific in the International Touch rules except " Referees may consult with line judges and/or touchdown zone officials prior to making decisions." (right at the bottom). – AlbinoMonkey ^(Talk) 13:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Since there are no "tries" in American touch football, I am trying to imagine what touch soccer (association football) could be like (hmm. you can't touch the ball but you can grab the ball handler...) What version of football are we discussing here? Rmhermen 16:13, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Rugby Football I imagine, but a kiddy version (Touch Rugby) where you don't wrestle each other to the ground... Skittle 17:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Quick Question

I recently created an article about US indie band Like A Fox, but when I returned to it today, I found the entire thing had been deleted, and wasn't on my watchlist or contributions list. Can someone explain why this has happened?

--Pasadena 12:07, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

First, questions about Wikipedia should be asked at the Wikipedia:Help Desk rather than the reference desk.

I've checked the records and the reason why the article was deleted was that somebody thought it met one of the criteria for speedy deletion, as listed on WP:CSD. Specifically, they thought it met criteria 7 under "articles", which reads:

Unremarkable people or groups/vanity pages. An article about a real person, group of people, band, or club that does not assert the importance or significance of its subject. If the assertion is disputed or controversial, it should be taken to AfD instead.

The working definition of what a musician or group need to have achieved to be appropriate for a Wikipedia article is listed at WP:MUSIC; as the article stood, there's no evidence that they meet any of the criteria there for notability.

So, if you want to recreate the article, make sure that evidence of notability is included in the article (for instance, by linking to reviews from newspapers).

This is not a comment on the group's talents; I went to their website and downloaded a couple of tracks; they're not half-bad. --Robert Merkel 12:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Non-notable band pages are never speedied, they are always given a minimum chance to prove their value in a proper AfD. If it had been speedied, it should be undeleted and given a second chance at AfD. That being said, I just checked the logs, and it seems there has never been an article under the name "Like a Fox" nor "Like A Fox". Maybe you spelled the name wrong and you just can't find it now? Google doesn't turn up any Wikipedia results either.

I guess it's this: Like a fox. --Lambiam^Talk 17:09, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If it's spelled correctly than the only other thing I can assume is that an editor deemed the article to be of the blatant copywrite enfringement type, and promptly had the history deleted. I'm not sure if that appears in the logs or not.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  15:35, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, the A7 criteria for speedy deletion includes non-notable bands. Indeed, one of the template shortcuts that can be used is db-band. I've used that one many a time. Tony Fox (arf!) 16:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I understand that the criteria is there, but it is almost never used in that context, and shouldn't be used, except for the rare occurence where vandalism can be masked as a vanity page, e.g. "Content was (ILOVELU3Y is a wicked band from Timbuktu, bUY thier ticketz from me!)".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:56, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the help everyone, I'm fairly new to editing and creating, as you may have been able to tell! Thanks again. --Pasadena 19:52, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I have never understood the reason for deletion of non-notable articles. Even non-notable photos aren't deleted and tehy take up a whooooole lot more disk space. So if that isn't the problem then what's wrong with unnecesary articles (unless the info should go elsewhere, but that's not the issue here, is it?). DirkvdM 06:52, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Non-notable photos are supposed to be deleted, if they are orphaned, and if they aren't orphaned, then they are usually supposed to exist, aren't they? The reason there are a lot of orphaned photos that aren't deleted is that they're so much harder to come across by mistake, and not that many people patrol orphaned pictures. Stupid little articles with only one sentence are, by contrast, very easy to find. While we're on this point, though, it seems to be that disk space is the least of the foundation's worries.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  07:00, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

To DirkvdM, if non-notable articles were not deleted then we wouldn't be able to see the real articles for all the cruft. Do we really need articles on you or me. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 11:27, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, I've already got one on me. :) The only way I can see the cruft getting in the way (for users) is when one uses the all pages special page. This is, however, not a paper encyclopedia in which one looks thing up alphabetically. Maybe they get in the way for some administrative purposes (I can't think of any, though). In that case they may be tagged such that they can be excluded from such activities. Actually, tagging artcles for their encyclopedic status might make sense. Such as stubs, articles with shaky sources, biased articles. This could then be used to either ignore those or actually seek them out for certain purposes, the way you can exclude minor edits from your watchlist. DirkvdM 06:34, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Informally tagging has already been started for the WikiCD projects, but that's just a simple template. Honestly, there are so many reasons not to allow non-notable articles here. First of all, a tiny band starts out and creates their page (OK vanity blah blah, for now lets ignore that). There's a 90% chance that they will cease to exist in 2 weeks, and when that happens, the article becomes redundant and false. How can one keep track of all this? The band is so small that no editor (other than the creator) is even paying attention to the page. Then, there's the fact that non-notable artifacts would have to be substantiated with no evidence, thus breaking another Wiki-rule. Lastly, there's approximately 2756x more non-notable bands than really good bands, so with the volume of non-notable crap that would be flowing in, there would be no way to control and keep track of the validity of the articles. </mini-rant>  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Cambric

64.12.116.199 12:25, 5 September 2006 (UTC)I am retoring an old sailboat. The sails are missing. They were made from a fabric called Camric. Where can I find this material? Thank you. Pat Mahaney

Open a phone book and start calling around to boat shops. Chances are, they'll know of someone local to you that sells it. Dismas|^(talk) 12:29, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Specifically you wil want to look for sail lofts. Rmhermen 16:09, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Circumsized vs non--circumsized

Do girls prefer men with circumsized penises or non-circumsized penises? 64.230.87.170 12:31, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

The best answer would probably be "neither". When a penis is erect, there is no discernible difference between the two visually. Factors that may influence one versus the other for some people might be:

• Generally speaking, uncircumsized men may be more physically sensitive, and re-active.
• Generally speaking, circumsized men can be cleaner, and so oral sex can be more appealing. (See Smegma)
• Uncircumsized men are a greater risk of having HPV (which at any given time, about 75% of the population has naturally).

Please see the circumcision article.

An uncircumsized man who keeps himself clean, and focuses on the satisfaction of his partner will find nearly all women to not notice or care whether he is circumsized. She will be more focused on the multitude of other factors, such as his personality, intelligence and charm.

Atom 13:01, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I presume it would depend on the girl in question. --Mnemeson 12:53, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

What Mnemeson said. Marnanel 12:55, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

And the penis. Anchoress 12:57, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

What I never quite got (I went to look for it in the article) is why more than half of the men in the USA are circumsizes, even though USA is in general a Christan country. I don't know anyone here who has been circumsized. Western Europe isn't that religious (well, at least not my country) but it shouldn't even matter (the article claims that Christianity does not demand circumcision). So why?? (Is it true that by default male babies born in USA hospitals are immediately circumsized without anaesthetics, unless you really go to heroic lengths to prevent that? If so, if due to (rare) circumstances my baby were to be born there, I think I'll chain myself to him to watch over him every second..)Evilbu 13:45, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

This is a sensitive topic on wikipedia but I will assume you are not trolling. We have suffered numerous editors whose only goal was to turn every article even remotely mentioning babies or genitalia into a pro- or anticircumcision screed. I can assure you that no baby in US hospitals is circumcised unless the parents request it and sign the consent (I think this misconception likely originated as another example of misleading anti-circ propaganda). The procedure in hospital nurseries is often performed without anesthesia but takes less than a minute. At this point it is a custom continuing mainly because most adult men in this country are circumcised. I assume the origins of the spread of circumcision in the US in the mid-20th century are argued about in the circumcision article, but I have no intention of checking. alteripse 14:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I didn't know circumcision was so controversial here. Of course, I'm not a troll, take a look at my other posts around this reference desk if you like. Well I guess it's just a myth to scare people in Europe, that in the USA they swiftly and without permission circumsize babies. I won't deny that I don't feel much for being circumsized or seeing someone else being circumsized. (I don't quite get your explanation though about "no anaesthetics but it doesn't take long", lots of painful things like pulling out teeth by a dentist don't take long but without anaesthetics they will hurt for quite some time after that too..)Evilbu 14:03, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I think that U.S. doctors in the early 20th century believed that circumcision was healthy because it helped prevent infections. So circumcision became routine in hospital-delivered babies. As most babies were delivered in hospitals as the 20th century wore on, most American males were circumcised. Then, by the 1950s or 1960s, circumcisions were perpetuated by parents' belief that circumcision was normal and their desire that their child not be stigmatized or ridiculed when, say, showering in a public place. Since the 1960s, there has been a growing countermovement against circumcision in the United States, mainly among the well-educated, probably related to the movement toward more organic and natural living. Marco polo 14:34, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I largely agree with what Marco polo said. Certainly in the 50's and 60's almost all males were circumsized, as it was considered medically appropriate. In only a few cases has circumcision been for religious reasons, and I do not know of any christian religions where that is important.

I disagree with the latter part of the previous statement though. The anti-circumcision movement has been a fringe movement, with little influence over American society, and few people even registering it on their radar. Again, the primary reason that it has declined, to where something like 55% are circumsized now, is because of the perceptions by doctors that it may not be medically necessary. The other factor is that most parents lean heavily towards circumsizing if the father is circumsized, and not if the father is not. Primarily my view is that the level of education is not a factor either way in the decision. If so, it would be very slight, as perhaps better educated parents might rely on the doctors recommendation as only advisory, where less educated may rely on a doctors advise more heavily.

I participated/assisted when both of my boys were circumsized. I can assure you that in the U.S. NO child is circumsized without the consent (almost always signed) of the parents. The procedure was painless, and took less that 5 minutes, including the prep time and all. There was no pressure by staff to make a decision in either direction. This is only my experience though, and I wouldn't know about circumcision by non-medical personnel.

With the recent scientific study showing a causal link between genital HPV and Cervical Cancer in women, I anticipate a trend back towards recommendations for circumcision by Doctors. But that is just my guess, only time will tell.

Atom 15:13, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

With respect, how do you know the procedure was painless if it didn't happen to you? Did the circumcizees express that opinion? 71.136.77.241 05:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I doubt that HPV will have any effect as the link has been known for a while (apparently since the 1970s) and there are now two effective vaccines against it. Rmhermen 16:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Atom that the anti-circumcision political movement is small in scale and not wide-based. When I wrote "countermovement against circumcision", I was not referring to the "anti-circumcision movement", which I agree could be characterized as "fringe" (though I don't like the word because it is dismissive). What I really meant was a change in sentiment away from favoring circumcision. It is a little speculative, but I do think that there is a connection to education, in that well-educated people are more likely to be aware that circumcision is no longer strongly recommended for medical reasons, and because I think that people who are interested in more natural living tend to be college-educated children of the 60s and more recent decades. I think that these people would tend to be biased against circumcising their children, even when the father is circumcised. On the other hand, less educated immigrants would probably also tend to be biased against circumcision in cases where it is not common in their cultures of origin. Marco polo 18:43, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I think we're going a bit off-topic. Jamesino 21:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Non-circumsized penises are generally considered more beautiful, since no porn actor is circumsized.

That is just not true. JackofOz 23:16, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It depends on the girl. --Proficient 03:32, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The first part does depend on the other party (who would not necessarily be a girl); but I've seen plenty of circumcised guys in porn. JackofOz 01:44, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Marlboro Man

My name is Cynthia Bromund and I was doing some research on my Uncle Doanld Bromund who I was told was one of the original Marlboro men. I couldn't find any information on him at all and your site does not even mention him. I never knew him and he is deceased. I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. Thanks, Cynthia Bromund (email deleted to prevent spam)

Cynthia, as you say, our article on the Marlboro Man doesn't mention any Bromund (I presume his name was Donald?). Have you tried contacting Altria (who owns the Marlboro brand) to see whether they have a company historian? --Robert Merkel 14:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

That sounded kind of accusing and hostile. ._. Try creating the article. --Proficient 03:32, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

MAD magazine

why is MAD magazine No 202 february with special The Mad "Star Wars" musical feature not listed anywhere. I did'ent print it. g7

The parody you're probably thinking of is "The Force and I" and appeared in Mad #203 (not #202). Eventually someone will add it to WP's List of Mad Magazine Issues. In fact, using this reference, you could add it right now :).---Sluzzelin 14:33, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Wind speed

Where can I find information pertaining to the frequency of wind speeds that are equal to, or exceed 30 miles per hour in my area (zip code 23140)?

Ron

The NCDC would have it on CD-Rom or in bound copies, but I can't seem to find it online anywhere. Nowimnthing 19:52, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

probably not much.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/ilands/fig13.html Jasbutal 23:18, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Stating your zip code without stating your country is a bit sillly, isn't it? DirkvdM 06:56, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

You mean, there's more to the civilized world than Americaville?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:26, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

America invented the internets therefore we become the default country in dicussion on an international (not to mention english) website. Then again, freshgavin has a point, we tend to be ignorant of life outside the bubble -- if you see someone not specify like that, chances are it's america. As long as there's only one default, there's no conflict. --froth

Zip codes

How many countries have Zip codes apart from USA? Could you pluck a couple out for me? 8-)--Light current 22:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

See Postal code. 惑乱 分からん 22:56, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

A Nightmare on Elm Street

I have heard from various people that A Nightmare on Elm Street was actually written in Sumner Washington on Ellm street in a old house. Is this true? Was there another movie or book that is written there? 71.231.48.33 15:58, 5 September 2006 (UTC) Dustin H.

I found no reference confirming this. "Elm Street" might have been picked because it is a very common and easily identifiable street name; there are over 5000 Elm Streets across the United States. Wes Craven was probably living near Hollywood at the time he wrote A Nightmare on Elm Street. The house seen in the film is located in Hollywood, California. ---Sluzzelin 16:58, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

THE RETURN OF POLIO

WITHIN THE LAST WEEK, I SAW A ARTICLE FROM LUBBOCK, IN THE ABILENE REPORTER NEWS AND IT WAS AN ARTICLE ABOUT POLIO BEING SEEN TO RETURN IN THE ELDERLY, THE REASON I AM SO INTERESTED IS THAT AN ELDERLY GIRLFRIEND OF MINE NOTED HERS HAS RETURNED AND DID SO SEVERAL YEARS BACK, SHE HAD IT WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG AND SHE FEELS IT HAS RETURNED. CAN YOU PLEASE FIND THE ARTICLE AND E-MAIL IT TO ME, THANK YOU.

email removed for your protection from the forces of evil

While I could find no such article on the newspapers website, you appear to be talking about Post-polio syndrome, not new polio infections which are no longer seen in the U.S. Follow the links for more details. Rmhermen 19:26, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia has an article on post-polio syndrome. As always, it should not be construed as medical advice, and if medical advice has been added (out of policy) by some editor, you should keep in mind that there are no expert qualifications required to edit Wikipedia. --Trovatore 19:28, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I ignore people who shout, so I haven't read your question. DirkvdM 06:57, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

What Dirk is trying to say is to please avoid using all-capitals when writing, it's the internet equivalent of shouting (which I'm sure is not what you intended). — QuantumEleven 09:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Korean Historical Drama or Film and crazy cooking show

I was watching the asian channel in the la area the other night and found a really good historical film or drama from korea. I am trying to find the name. All I know is that it was set post ww2, and before the korean war. One family ran a restaurant and the mother-propieter's son-in-law was a proffessor somehow involved with politics.

There's a fast paced korean show that also comes on late wed nights, I think called 'Delicious TV' any info on this show?

Thanks in advance.

If anyone knows any other korean films, dramas historical in nature or cooking shows could you post them for me?

Arbcom

Can a Mediator from the Mediation Cabal bring their case to the Arbitration committee? WikieZach| talk 20:05, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

This goes to the help desk.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:51, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Inappropriate Content

One of your featured articles about Andre Agassi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Agassi) contains a phrase in the main text that is questionable:

"he banged his wife and came on her face"

Because this is a wiki, I attempted to edit this inappropriate text, but could not find the phrase in the editing window. How does one proceed from here?

It may have been removed already; vandalism usually is. Anchoress 20:43, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Yep, it was removed almost immediately. Howard Train 21:02, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

You probably downloaded the page during the brief interval after the vandal struck and before a regular editor fixed the damage. The "history" file shows a log of changes - you could check that if something similar happens in the future. Durova 21:01, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. It gets fixed quickly. --Proficient 03:34, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

To the original poster: If you see vandalism like that, the easiest way to go about removing it is by reverting the edit. This is usually done by looking at the history, and loading up the edit just before the vandals edit. Edit and save that page, and the newer edit (i.e. the vandal's edit) will be removed cleanly. Andre's page was a very visible page at that time, though, so you have to be careful that someone hasn't reverted it already, so if you're not sure, it might be easier just to leave a note on the talk page for someone else to clean it up.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

_Oral_chatrooms

Are there any chatrooms over there I can use to chat with other people via voice so I can practice my English? Thanks in advance.

When using flight simulation games, people are sometimes talking to each other (primarily for coordinating aircraft movements, especially around airports, just like in real life). You can learn alot about air traffic control at the same time! :-) Also for other types of games, voice chat is used. Sometimes, the voice chatting functions are a part of the game, sometimes you have to use a separate program. —Bromskloss 21:20, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, buddy. Any flight simulator recommended? Any other ideas? :P

Not really, I don't know what people use these days. But I sure would like to play with these (Scandinavian Airlines System Flight Academy), and I bet you would too! Please let me know if you get there so I can come over, will you? ;-) —Bromskloss 10:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• You could also simply try to find someone who speaks English and has a relatively recent version of MSN Messenger or Skype (those have voice chats) and agree to speak at a certain time. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:30, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Yahoo messenger has voice chat rooms. Philc _T^E_C^I 16:11, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

If you speak even a little English and have some computer skills, you might be able to get a job as a technical support person for any American computer or software company, and talk to people in the US all day long while getting paid for it. Edison 23:43, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Keep in mind that you have to be in India and completely incomprehensible to work for dell tech support so you may be overqualified. Aspire to work for IBM tech support, they're pretty good --froth

If you use skype, you can search the directory for users; in the search options, there's a checkbox called "skype me"; if you check this, and click search (while setting language to english and leaving all other fields blank). This returns a list of english speaking users in "skype me" mode, a mode skype includes for users who spacificly want to receive calls from strangers for purposes of chat. I can generally be found in skype me mode, and I always answer (my skype is set to auto-answer calls). Another option is chat programs like Ventrilo, Teamtalk, Team speak, etc. These are basicly like irc software for voice; however you need to find a good server and channel for these to be useful. Fastfinge

hispanic population

I'm trying to get a somewhat accurate number for the area i live in and any other information that is available

Okay, it would help to know the name of the area in which you live... --Tagishsimon (talk)

See if this helps, U.S. Census office Atom 22:18, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

That would only help if they were from the US. Why not list similar pages for every country on Earth? Ah, yes, of course: census. Not quite every country, but 29 of them isn't bad. This includes Spain, and if you want info on hispanics - they're the originals. Whose panic, by the way? :) DirkvdM 07:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

katie couric

why is there so much buzz about her? Jasbutal 23:19, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

1. In a job changed less frequently then the president's
2. Talks to more Americans then the president
3. Has nicer legs then the lot of them (apart from Lincoln)
4. Is a woman
5. Simultaneously makes news more accessible/stupid supposedly
6. Causes edit conflicts

MeltBanana 00:13, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Her selection as anchor gives the impression that future news will be even more fluff than it is now, reporting on celebrity gossip and puppies down wells, while completely neglecting international affairs. If so, the level of ignorance this will generate in the next generation may have profound negative implications for the future of the US, and the world. StuRat 03:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

It's weird. --Proficient 03:35, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

i hate her

She has a sweet smile and far nicer hair than her predecessors since 1948, Bob Schieffer, Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite, or Douglas Edwards. Unlike her 4 predecessors, the network used computer graphics to make Katie look thinner in publicity photos. Edison 05:15, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Her legs! You forgot to mention her legs! --Richardrj ^{talk email} 07:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Umm, does she have a different number of legs than the rest of us?-gadfium 08:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

No, but the consensus seems to be that they are nicer to look at than those of many other ladies. And, more to the point, they are quite easily visible on TV. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:29, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, now we had the first episode, and the hard hitting news story was...a pic of the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes baby, Suri. Then, instead of having an interview with someone intelligent, they had an interview with Bush. StuRat 05:14, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Speaking of Tom, is his baby gonna be Jesus or something? What do the scientologiests have to say about it?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:21, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

September 6

Rafael and Fernando

Does anyone have any information about these names? Like famous people by these names, the meaning of these names, ect. They're Spanish names. Russian F 02:17, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

PS. I need the answers fast. Russian F 02:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Raphael is a famous renaissance painter, and, perhaps even more significantly, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. :-) StuRat 03:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

You can find information by looking at articles on those names. --Kiltman67 03:09, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Also, while googling for your answers, I ran across this web site you might find useful. SWAdair 03:11, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Assassins

Are there any known currently working notable assassins? I'm thinking along the lines of Carlos the Jackal and not mafia men or terrorists such as someone who worked specifically for a terrorist organization. You know, just your hired gun sort. Just curious, I'm not looking to knock over a gov't. Dismas|^(talk) 02:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I never would have guessed that we have an article List of contract killers. Wikipedia has everything. SWAdair 03:15, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

why are they all men? Jasbutal 03:50, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for that but of those, most were in the mafia and all are either dead or in prison. Dismas|^(talk) 04:11, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Well if they weren't and they were on that list they'd soon be anyway. DirkvdM 07:16, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Go into your local 'bad part of town'. Find someone who looks quite mean/tough and also looks like they're in need of a chemical pick-me-up. Offer them an 'incentive' to solve your current 'problem' (payable upon completion). Unless your target is anyone that matters, it shouldn't be too hard for your man to get up close and personal with blade/claw hammer/crowbar/etc.. The bonus here is that you get to watch (you'll need to tag along with him as he'll probably insist on immediate payment - if you offer him half upfront, there's a chance he'll just piss off somewhere to shoot up and take you for a mug). --Kurt Shaped Box 10:01, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm not actually looking for anyone... I just wondered if there are any notable ones around. I've always been interested in spy movies and various other undercover operative type movies so I thought I'd ask, that's all. Dismas|^(talk) 12:27, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Sorry mate - I don't move in those sorts of circles. :) If there are any real 'notable' ones around (i.e. guys capable of taking out someone that *does* matter) and they're any good at their profession, no-one will know who they are until they mess a job up. I'd imagine that *good* hitmen (i.e. ones that will do the job properly and remain silent if caught) are very hard to find - and expensive. --Kurt Shaped Box 18:09, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't move in those circles either, but I once attended a police training course in Puerto Rico (although I have never been a cop). One of the exercises was to prove the guilt of a guy who'd hired a hitman. We had access to his bank account records, but I completely missed the payment, because I couldn't believe you could hire a killer for such a small amount of money. It was considerably less than a thousand dollars.-gadfium 01:34, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm afraid you've fallen for the Hollywood portrayal of hit men as glamorous, international businessmen who are incredibly good at what they do and therefore, get paid millions. The reality is that the average hit man is probably semi-retarded and their "brilliant plot" is to knock on the door then beat the guy who answers it to death with a baseball bat, for just enough money to get their next drug fix. StuRat 01:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I imagine that most professinal killing these days are done by professional teams connected with a goverment *put on tin foil hat now*. Jon513 18:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

drugs + jobs

I'm applying for a fed job. What risks are there for me if they find I used illegal drugs? Jasbutal 04:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe you should reconsider applying if you do indeed use illegal drugs. It will look bad and the chances are very good they will find out, as they will probably require a urine sample before allowing you to take up the job. --Proficient 05:34, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

i smoked pot 2 months ago, it's not like I'm going to fail a urine test...but good point in that if I ever try to apply again they might have a file on me. But fuck that, all the ex-prez's smoked . Jasbutal 05:38, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Rather depends on the country. There won't be many (civilised ones) where such tests are done. Drug test#Detection periods says cannabis can be found in your hair up to 90 days after last use. DirkvdM 07:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

You'll get fired? --Kurt Shaped Box 09:52, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Avoid eating any baked goods with poppy seeds on them, since this supposedly can create a false positive on drug tests. Also breathing marijuana fumes second hand can supposedly create a false positive. If you get caught and later become a politician, radio commentator, or supreme court nominee you can say it was a "youthful indescretion" regardless of how old you were at the time.Edison 15:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Say you sucked but did not inhale... or whatever bullshit the dude came up with. Philc _T^E_C^I 16:09, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

"Tried it once, didn't like it, did nothing for me." might work too. --Kurt Shaped Box 18:10, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Of course if the tests are unreliable then not the people but the tests should be regarded with suspicion. And, like I said, any country that allows such tests for job applicants should also be regarded with suspicion. DirkvdM 06:49, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I ain't regarding their money with suspicion! Jasbutal 07:43, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

baseball

Number of pitchers who have hit a home run in their own no-hitter--66.217.130.164 04:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I would be surprised if the total was a non-zero number. You would basically have to:

• Take all the games played
• Divide that roughly in half since pitchers in half the league don't even bat
• Take out all the games with a hit by both teams
• Then take out all the games where there weren't any home runs scored (just normal runs)

Dismas|^(talk) 05:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

According to No-hitter:

Two pitchers have homered while pitching no-hitters. Earl Wilson of the Boston Red Sox hit a home run during his June 26, 1962 no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels. Rick Wise went one better: in his June 23, 1971 no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies pitcher hit two home runs.

Note that this refers to Major League Baseball only. Remember that the designated hitter rule only went into effect in 1973. –RHolton≡– 13:23, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

<3 the beat

Why are some people attracted to incredibly repetitive beat intensive music that often lacks any of the melody/structure so common in most other types of music?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:44, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Beats me. (Seriously). JackofOz 07:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Boom tsh! tsh..tsh..tsh..tsh. etc.

Its probably because it just, like, yknow, sounds great, yaknowwhatimean? By the way, i love you, dude. Seriously, i expect there may be some atavistic connection to the tribal drumming of our forefathers. Rockpocket 07:13, 6 September 2006 (UTC)\

And also because it can be fun to dance to. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 07:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I recently heard that there is a connection between musical beat and heartbeat. So the beat will affect your mood. A slow beat will calm you down and a fast beat will give you a rush, like you're doing something exciting. A normal heart rate is aroun 70 bpm for men and 75 for women. Note that for adolescents it's about 80-100 bpm. So what's normal for them sounds agitated to adults. If I interpreted the theory right, maybe this should be added to Beats per minute. DirkvdM 07:30, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thats very interesting, DirkvdM, and would fit in with the atavism theory. One might imagine tribal drumming to precede or follow hunts or rituals where a increased heartbeat would be expected. If you wanted to be Freudian about it one could even make an argument that there is a womb memory of your mother's heartbeat that is envoked by repetitive beats. Consider the old, "give a puppy a ticking clock" technique to comfort it. Rockpocket 07:52, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

But you get some very good music that is fast but you can also get some really shit music that is fast. Isnt the question more reffering to how some songs have crap repeatitive non changing non musical beats, that can be made by people completely barren of any talent, and other are exceptional music. Philc _T^E_C^I 16:03, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Many times this can be subjective. --Proficient 03:31, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

• I heard it was the drugs you took inclined you to that type of beat-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 21:47, 7 September 2006 (UTC))

I like Dirk's logic. I wonder if my friends that don't like fast music all have low heart rates...  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:13, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

success and happiness

what is success and how is it related to happiness?

Inversely, if you believe your average celebrity moan about how tough their life is now they are rich and famous. Then again, these guys claim a study that shows "chronically happy people are in general more successful in their personal and professional lives." However, they claim it is not always true that "success and accomplishments bring happiness". So there you have it. But, of course, what is really important is what you define as successful in your life. You could always read about success and happiness and decide for yourself. Rockpocket 07:25, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

If you're happy about your life, you're successful. If you're filthy rich and unhappy, you've failed. DirkvdM 07:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

If we try to correlate wealth with happiness, I suspect that somewhere between middle class and upper class would be optimal, with those living in poverty unhappy for obvious reasons, and those with extreme wealth unhappy due to the constant stalking of reporters, risk of kidnapping, and possible guilt over whatever they had to do to get all that money in the first place. StuRat 07:59, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Neither can be quantified, any one at the bottom of the "success structure" they are exposed too, will be completely ungrateful for the fact they are towards the top over all i.e. someone who lives in new york, but does a menial office job who gets paid a decent salary, but is constantly surrounded by people who get paid more and work less, will have little or no thanks for the fact that pretty much the entire population of africa and a lot of south america and asia would kill to live his life. Philc _T^E_C^I 16:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

True, you have to measure this in its context. I also largely agree with StuRat (oh shock), in that it's probably the middle class who are happiest. Alas many countries have a severe lack of middle class. Also, the middle class are the most productive part of an economy. But which echelon is the happiest? I suppose not the upper middle class, as StuRat suggests, but the middle middle class (?) because they are furthest from both the problems at the top and at the bottom.

A very satisfying thing is the knowledge that you've built what you have with your own hands. Having earned it (ie having earned the money to buy it) is a more modern economy version for which that principle also works. But I till think that having built something with your own hands is more satisfying. So the ideal would be something close to my grandfather and great grandfather (see Schunck), who, from scratch, built up a company that was the centrepiece of a town. My grandfather had a good start and ended up more at the top end. His father didn't have it easy when he was young, but his achievement was the greater for it. And therefore the satisfaction? I don't know.

Anyway, a problem is that that is not achievable for everyone (we can't all be exceptional) and happiness also depends on the happiness of your surroundings (so giving a little also helps). There is, however, yet another factor. People are different. Some people have a drive to build something big and are happiest when they get the chance (but particularly unhappy when they don't). Others are more laid back and happy with enough to get by. So there is no hard and fast rule as to which amount of what kind of success gives most happines.

Finally, let me point out that all this is about material success, but as I already pointed out above, whether you're happy, for whatever reason, is the best indication for success. So the two are very strongly related. A definitive answer at last. :) DirkvdM 07:24, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Only the richest people suffer from most of the problems of wealth, as it's impossible for them to keep their wealth hidden. Thus, a billionaire is likely to be hounded by the media, stalked by kidnappers, and have "friends" and relatives constantly begging for money. A mere millionaire, on the other hand, can keep their wealth hidden, live a comfortable but modest life, yet never have to worry about financial hardship. StuRat 08:04, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Flow (psychology) causes happiness, it may also result in success if you enjoy your business, as I do.

Sidenote: regarding millionaires - in the UK I do not think the equivalent of one million US dollars is enough for a comfortable life without working, since its onle equivalent to about £500000. A modest house in southern england would cost at least £250000. The £250000 left over would only give you £6250 per year income if invested in inflation-proof gilts at 2 1/2 %. £6250 is less than a quarter of the average income. So if you were a US$1M, you'd be poor! Ha ha. 81.104.12.44 11:14, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Geez, you've really got it bad there. A modest house in the US might cost about $100,000 (although much more in certain areas). StuRat 07:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Try living in southern California, mate [1]. True, in Minot, North Dakota, $130,300 would buy you a nice 2,200-square-foot house with 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms, a family room and two-car garage. But Where i live, the same house would cost $1,708,333 - over 13 times as much. 100K wouldn't even buy you a studio here. Living in the most expensive market in the US sucks.... Guess who rents? :( Rockpocket 08:26, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Why do you wear your smiley upside down? Renting spreads out the cost (a good idea if you have to live off interest) and keeps you mobile - you can leave whenever you like. DirkvdM 07:37, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Steve Irwin videoclip.

Not to sound morbid, but is it possible the footage of Steve Irwin's death will be leaked and appear on sites like Youtube and Ogrish?

I was waiting for someone to bring this up. I sincerely hope the film never gets seen. Some things should be left alone. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:34, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• • Hear, hear! Durova 13:09, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• Not unless one of his camera crew or the police investigating his death decide to leak. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:26, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• Investigating? Is every death "investigated" nowadays, no matter how obvious it was? —Bromskloss 09:43, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

It's certainly *possible* that the clip will be made public in the future. Probably via the usual journalist + police officer 'of negiotiable devotion to duty' route. --Kurt Shaped Box 09:51, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Some would say it's ghoulish or insensitive to want to see such a video, but I guarantee that if it became publicly available, there would be enormous interest in it from his admirers and others, which is hardly surprising. How often have we all seen the Zapruder film of JFK's head being shot away? It seems to be human nature to be attracted to horrific scenes, car smashes, shark attacks, death in any form etc. JackofOz 10:06, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Many people will watch it simply to see an arrogant fool die by the sword he lived by.

That seems a bit harsh, although I do agree that he was rather careless about safety. StuRat 10:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm inclined to agree with the anon. It was only a matter of time before his reckless behaviour towards wild animals for the sake of 'good TV' would lead to a sticky end and leave his children without a father. I know about all the conservation work he did but the guy always struck me as an overly-macho prat. --Kurt Shaped Box 10:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

An alternative point of view is that he was gradually being cajoled into undertaking more and more dangerous stunts by the TV companies, and being paid more and more money for taking risks that he might not otherwise have taken. If I were the TV producer who commissioned that stingray film, I'm not sure I would be able to sleep very soundly in my bed at the moment. Yes, I know he didn't *have* to do it, but sometimes it's difficult to refuse risky undertakings when a large cheque is being dangled in front of one's face. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:06, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The guy took the ratings and money from the "good TV" and turned it into funds to benefit animals, the environment, and conservationism. He wasn't "macho" in the traditional sense—it was never, ever, about his "conquest" of the animals, it was always about admiring how strong they were, how important they were. His behavior towards the animals was never "reckless", and part of his constant message was that nature was worth respecting. Remember that TV makes things up to look as risky as possible—when he did die, it was because of a totally fluke accident, a one-in-a-million shot from what is normally a non-fatal stinger. It's really too bad he died like this; he did a lot of good work in education and conservation, and his silliness made it all the more exciting for children. As for the video itself; people are often drawn to the macabre, so it is no suprise that people might be interested in it, though I hope it gets sealed away somewhere. --Fastfission 17:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Whenever I saw his show, it seemed that his entire 'angle' was to antagonize otherwise-peacefully-minding-their-own-business animals into attacking him and *just* get out of the way of their jaws in time whilst grinning like a fool for the cameras. Based on current reports, it seemed that he annoyed the stingray too. --Kurt Shaped Box 18:03, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

What's ironic (?) is that he was apparently not engaged in particularly risky behavior at the time. This wasn't a case of pushing the limits for good tv. –RHolton≡– 13:01, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, getting killed by a stingray is probably about as unlikely as getting killed by a dolphin. Sure it can happen, but no one worries about it. Sure he increased his chances of being killed by an animal just due to his line of work, but that could be said about anyone. A firefighter has a greater chance than most of being killed by a fire but that doesn't mean that they are foolhardy. Nowimnthing 14:38, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

If Steve Irwin had been a fireman, he'd be one who deliberately started fires in order to charge in, put them out and emerge as the hero. --Kurt Shaped Box 17:58, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

KurtSB, I don't know where you are or what reports you've seen, but every report I've seen here, including the police media conference, says that there was no evidence that there was any antagonism going on, rather, Irwin was simply passively observing it. Some individuals have speculated he must have antagonised it, but those who've seen the video deny any such activity. (and for the record, I was never a fan of Irwin). JackofOz 20:35, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

According to what I've heard, and unless the story has changed in the last six hours, the ray was being 'boxed in' by Irwin and his cameraman. It's like trapping a rat in a corner - it's not a good idea, no matter how peaceful the creature is suppose to be. --Kurt Shaped Box 20:43, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I would expect everyone involved to deny any responsibility or blame, to avoid being sued by the family. However, as stingrays aren't aggressive animals, you really need to be way too close to them and annoying for them to sting you through the heart. Had he been at a respectable distance, it wouldn't have been possible for them to sting him at all. StuRat 00:17, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Sorry to interrupt all the needless nastiness about the dead guy, but the answer to the question is no. Irwin's manager has said that the tape will never see the light of day. [2] TheMadBaron 20:04, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Unconfirmed reports that it was shown on Queensland TV the night of his death. If so, I would be suprised if it doesn't find its way to the net pretty soon...Downunda 22:18, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I very much doubt that. If that were true, the extraordinary level of coverage his death received would guarantee the video would have been shown ad nauseam by now. JackofOz 22:44, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

It would be no worse than the videos of police chasing cars ending in fatal crashes which are shown every day on TV, or the videos of car suicide bombings on the news. Edison 23:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

People always find a way of leaking things. I expect the videos to leak out eventually. --Proficient 03:35, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Whereas I expect the footage to be returned to its rightful owner, and promptly destroyed. People do not always find a way of leaking things. People have only ever found ways of leaking those things that we've seen / heard about. Can you find Princess Diana autopsy shots on the internet? Police photographs of Jim Morrison lying dead in the bath? Kurt Cobain sans head? No? That's because they're not there. And that's good. TheMadBaron 09:57, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't put it past them to release a 'Crocodile Hunter: The Death of a National Hero' DVD.

Bad standards

Hello. I don't know where this question belongs, so I chose miscellaneous. There are some standards that seem virtually unchangeable, inspite of their relative inadequacy and inspite of improved suggestions at our disposition. I'm thinking of the QWERTY layout on keyboards, the hour/minute/second system, angular measurement, the calendar system etc. My question: Is there a word for these seemingly inefficient yet persistent standards? Thank you. Pat83.77.215.216 09:38, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't know if there's a word for it, sorry, but I'm curious what you feel is so inefficient about hours/minutes/seconds and the calendar. As for the QWERTY layout, it's not that way all around the world. Though I know what you're getting at. At this point it would be harder to get everyone to switch over to a differently standardized keyboard layout than it's really worth. Dismas|^(talk) 09:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The anon is not the only one to feel the calendar/time measure is inefficient. See Calendar reform, Swatch Internet Time and Decimal time. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 10:26, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

And Dvorak Simplified Keyboard. --Lambiam^Talk 11:01, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

For many things it's absolutely critical that there be a standard, but what the standard is is totally unimportant. For example, alphabetical order. It would be just as useful if the alphabet was arranged in any other order, but changing from the current order to another order would be extremely painful. The layout of the keyboard is one of these things. It might be slightly better if the keyboard was in alphabetical order, but dealing with the changeover would create all types of problems (for example, touch typists would need to learn to type all over). The French actually tried to change to digital time and dates during the French Revolution, but similarly found that the changeover was prohibitive. StuRat 10:29, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Albatross? --Lambiam^Talk 11:04, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd agree with StuRat about the importance of standards, except I'd say a particular standard might be arbitrary, but not unimportant. The chosen standard is what makes the particular order important. Btw, the French did introduce the French Republican Calendar, but abandoned it after 12 years of use. JackofOz 11:40, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, all, for responding. Dismas asked about which inefficiencies in time measurement I was referring to. CambridgeBayWeather has basically answered this question. Simple operations, such as calculating my age expressed in days, take me forever. Figuring out which date and day of the week it will be 200 days from now makes my head hurt. I may be somewhat challenged, arithmetically, but I have no difficulty comparing or adding, subtracting, and multiplying prices in Euros or figures expressed in units of the metric system. These challenges in calculating time keep our synapses busy and may be desirable. I was mainly curious on whether there was a word for this kind of standard. Pat83.77.215.216 12:54, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I think some people call this the "QWERTY phenomenon". In case you were wondering, 200 days from today will be Sunday, March 25, 2007. – b_jonas 14:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Richard Feynman in his book Surely You’re Joking makes the point that sin and cos and tan are not the best way to present a function because it looks like s times i times n. he perfered using symbles simmalar to a square root sign, which make clear that it is a function acting on something. Jon513 17:36, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes. THe word is traditional (or conventional)--Light current 18:30, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, days are the length they are, and so are years, not much anyone can do about that. It's built into fundamental astronomical facts about the Earth's rotation and orbit. I suppose hypothetically you could opt for a 100-day year, or a 1000-day year, but then you'd completely break the correspondence between the time of year and the weather/length of day. --Trovatore 20:58, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, CambridgeBayWeather for pointing out those articles to me. Though, I still don't mind the current system as I so seldomly care, much less need to know, what day of the week it will be however far off in the future or past. But then I guess that just makes me self centered... I can live with that.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 21:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't see how you come to that self-flagellatory conclusion. Go easy on yourself, Dismas.  :--) JackofOz 22:41, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The transition from a current bad system to a better system is too much of a change to make it worthwhile in the short run. --Proficient 03:37, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Dismas, about the inadequacy of our timekeeping and other units and some possible solutions, see my user page. The keyboard layout could easily be personalised by mapping the keystrokes to characterfs differently. After all, some mapping has to be done, so why not give several options or even let people build their own preferences? A problem is that if you use a computer elsewhere you'd also have to be able to access that or you wouldn't be able to type anymore. But the mapping is done by the operating system, so if the major ones (Unix, Mac, msWindows) incorporate it (plus an option to download a personal layout) that solves that problem. It would be a minor adaption, I assume. The dvorak keyboard appears to be usable with the three big ones, so why not this? I use Ubuntu and it has an enormous amount of layouts, all organised by country (lots of redundancy, I suppose). Dvorak is under the US and UK versions. Not the best way to organise them. I suppose that's because it's a little known phenomenon. Do Mac and msWindows have this? DirkvdM 07:54, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

The Qwerty kyboard is an extremely intelligent design though, in that no commomly used letter pairs are next to each other in the keyboard, this minimises the risk of typos that pass spell check and editing. I cant see any more logical way to arrange it to be honest. 12 hour time periods, and hours devided into 12ths is also extremely intelligent, allowing for halfs thirds and quarters, a ten based system is actually relatively stupid, but prevailed because we have ten fingers. 60 seconds in a minute because again, it is a good length of time, it is easy to work with because it is about the shortest length of time the human mind can count in without being rushed, and also it fits in 12 groups of 5 into the clock face, back to the extremely sensibile 12ths again. To be honest, the problem is with our counting system having such a crap base, not our timekeeping system being odd. Philc _T^E_C^I 10:14, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

It makes too much sense to have your units based on your nubering system, so then we should either change our numbering system and all other units or only change our time-unit(s). The former would be such a big change it would have to represent a huge advantage. And I don't see 'divisible by 2 and 3' as a huge advantage. And tehn there's the convenience that 10³ is almost equal to 2¹⁰.

The qwerty keyboard is designed to prevent people from typing too fast by relying heavily on the 'smaller fingers' (pinky and such), so the machine doesnt' get stuck. But we don't use those machines anymore, so that doesn't make sense. Then again, I just noticed it does have the advantage that it is easier to type 'qwerty'. :) DirkvdM 06:15, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, 'easily divisible by 2 and 3' can't be considered a good argument in favor to change to Base 12. Base 10 is 'easily divisible by 5'. Base 10 might not have many inherent advantages, either, except that for most people, I'd say it's easier to think in Base 10. 惑乱 分からん 10:23, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Thats only because you are acustomed to it. Philc _T^E_C^I 17:37, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

If instead of 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, 60 seconds a minute, we went to 10 hours a day, 100 minutes an hour, 100 seconds a minute, it would be more efficient, and even a little more precise. Instead of 86,400 seconds a day, there would be 100,000 seconds a day — very nearly the same order of magnitude. — Michael J 17:37, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

It is the same order of magnitude.Its very nearly the same number as well 8-)--Light current 03:45, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

10 Hours a day is stupid though, because there are 4 significant points in a day, midday, midnight, when you get up and when you go to sleep. No one ever seems to pay attention to the fact that these times are perfect lengths, it is easy for a human to judge a second, a minute and an hour, because they are the right lengths for us to work with in our head, it is incredibly easy to count in seconds, because we are in tune with these measurements. 2.4 hours is a difficult time to judge in your head, so is 1.44 minutes, and so is 0.8 seconds. And yet these are the standardized lengths of time you intend to use. For example a train leaves the station every half hour, this is a good time, because there is never to longer time between trains leaving, without clogging up the system with too many tains on the same route, to maintain this level of service, they would have to leave every 0.2833333 or something hours, which is just annoyingly awkward. Philc _T^E_C^I 22:39, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Firsst world war

Hello,

I would like to ask the help of anyone in trying to trace my grandad's service in the war. His name is Septimus Craggs and he served the whole war in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you. --"""

I would start by trying the contact link at the bottom of the Royal Army Medical Corps site. They might be able to help with where to find the information or may even be able to provide it. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 11:30, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

A good place to look is the National Archives website. They have recently digitised the entire collection of WW1 medal records - my understanding is that pretty much everyone who served in that war received some kind of medal, so it's a very comprehensive database. I searched your granddad's name for you and came up with this. You have to pay a small fee and they will send you a scan of his original medal card. This will tell you about what medal(s) he was awarded and maybe some more details about where he served and so on. Hope this helps. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 11:36, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

MySpace information.

I'm doing a speech on MySpace for my class, and I'm having trouble finding the following facts;

-On average, how many hits a day does MySpace have?

-Where is it ranked among website in terms of popularity?

Thanks, Tyler

Try Alexa. Here is their MySpace report [3]. Hope this helps. Skittle 14:22, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

poetry

I'm currently working on a challenging crossword puzzle and I'm hoping for either an answer or directions towards finding the answer. My question is what would complete this clue: Before, to a poet. Three letter answer E E with the middle letter missing. Any idea?

Thanks 68.226.188.185 17:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)Ellen

Ere. --Rallette 17:41, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Able was I ere I saw Elba. (Napoleon?)--Light current 18:45, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Where did the term 'El Jefe' come from?

Any help?

It's spanish for 'The Boss.'--24.250.33.247 20:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

From Spanish approximation of French "chef" (chief), I guess, ultimately from French sound change evolution of Latin caput (head). (Btw, this is a typical "language" reference question.) 惑乱 分からん 22:37, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Unit Unvestment Trust Documents

There were documents on how to set up a unit investment trust on this site. Now i cannot find them. Please tell me where to go to locate that information.

Please reply to me at (email address redacted)

Thank you

Wikipedia's search engine isn't as sophisticated as google's. If you can't find the results you want using wikisearch, go to google and type 'wiki unit investment trust' which is quickest and should work. If that gives you too many answers try 'unit investment site:wikipedia.org' or some combination of these two. Rentwa 21:55, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

This query might help --Tagishsimon (talk)

What two colours make pink?

Serious question

Red and white? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 21:15, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Depends whether you are talking additve or subtractive color formation.(ie paint or filtered light)--Light current 21:58, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

In computer paint software; approximately Red 100%, Green 50%, Blue 50%, I'd guess. (In CMYK Magenta is basically Pink in itself.) 惑乱 分からん 22:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

In CMYK, about a 35% saturation of magenta plus a 15% saturation of yellow makes pink. Pantone "Sachet Pink" is M=50, Y=5 so there's quite a bit of gamut inside "pink". Sachet Pink in RGB is R=255, G=160, B=191. dpotter 02:18, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

What about the obvious link? Pink. That gives the RGB values 255, 192, 203. Another way of putting that is red plus white (experiment) plus a tiny bit of blue. DirkvdM 08:03, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Disney/Dimension Films

Since October 1, 2005 Harvey and Bob Weinstein left the Walt Disney Company to make their own independant company taking Dmension films with them. Disney still has rights to join in for sequels to Scary Movie, etc.. but does Disney still own the rights to the rest of Dimension Film's Movies (Sin City, Brothers Grimm...)?

This was asked before. Check through the archives. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 23:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

September 7

Can cereal be patented ?

I saw an ad for new Fruity Cheerios today, which looks to be a rip-off of Froot Loops. Can they be sued ? StuRat 00:22, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

In the case of serial infringements, I think they could be 8-)--Light current 00:26, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Cereal can only be patent the exact recipe that is used. If it was found that General Mills happened to steal Kellogg's recipe then they could be sued. However, if General Mills was able to just experiment around a little and make something similar, then they're home free. This is why knock-off brands (like Wal-Mart's Great Value series) are able to have their own versions of every popular food product out there. It's always why they never taste quite the same. Of course, I don't really know law, but that's how I guess it works.--SeizureDog 00:48, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

That's not totally true; patent claims can be of many different sizes and scopes (it is not limited to the "exact recipe"). The variations possible would depend on the exact patent claims that were upheld. --Fastfission 14:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

For those unfamiliar with Fruity Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios are quite distinct from Froot Loops. They are about half the size, do not have that sugary-coating, and are more fruity flavored than sugary sweet. While Froot Loops are puffed, Fruity Cheerios have a harder, more cheerio-like texture. So the recipe seems to be completely different rather than only slightly changed. Hyenaste ^(tell) 02:33, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

In the United States, patents used to last seventeen years from the date they were granted, but now they last twenty years from the application date. Of course, the recipes for cereal probably change from time to time, but if Fruit Loops were patented when they first came out (I'd guess that was forty years ago) anyone is free to make cerial according to the old recipe.

If a cereal company does not have a patent, anyone is free to experiment until they copy the taste and appearance. --Gerry Ashton 03:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

They could declare the recipe a trade secret. DMacks 04:40, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

But that doesn't prevent anyone else from reverse engineering the product. Rmhermen 14:16, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

You only want to use trade secrets with recipes that can't be easaily reverse engineered, i.e. soft drink formulas. --Fastfission 14:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Froot Loops were introduced in the 1960s; if there ever was a patent on them it has long expired. I don't know of any good reason that cereal wouldn't be patentable. The exact claims of the patent would determine what was infringement or not—if you patented a specific recipe, then a similar-but-different knockoff would be ok. If you patented, "cereal with freeze-dried marshmellows in it" then the patent would apply just to that characteristic (if it was granted) and the specifics of the recipe wouldn't matter. If you managed to slip a patent for "food to which milk would be added before eating" past the Patent Office (stranger things have happened) then you'd have the possibility of a monopoly on the whole industry. --Fastfission 14:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

If there were legal repercussions for making look-alike or "taste-alike" cereal, I believe the Malt-O-Meal company would have been in trouble long ago. --LarryMac 15:26, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Cure for acid burns on the tongue

Of course, it's really not as serious of a question as it can sound. What I'm referring to is when one eats too many sour foods (like Sour Skittles) and it burns your tastes buds to where it really hurts to eat anything. Does anyone know of any way to counter-act this?--SeizureDog 00:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Milk is good for this type of thing, since it contains both water and fat, so is able to dissolve both water-soluble and fat-soluble chemicals, and thus dilute them. Of course, if the damage to the tongue is already done, then you will just have to wait for the tongue to heal. StuRat 00:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Neutralize it with a base. --Proficient 03:40, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I hope you just intended this as a joke. – b_jonas 08:01, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Base (chemistry), not the drug-variant of freebase, if that's what you were thinking of. DirkvdM 08:07, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Yea, you could chew up a Tums, Rolaids or other antacid and roll it around on your tongue, that might work, too. StuRat 08:12, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I considered the whole base thing, but is there any food that is naturally a base? I don't really want to eat medicine. --SeizureDog 21:53, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I think chocolate is somewhat alkaline, as are dark green, leafy veggies, like spinach (that choice is a no-brainer, isn't it ?). The chocolate also contains fat to help dissolve fat-soluble molecules, and you could add some butter to your spinach for the same effect. However, antacids made with calcium carbonate are quite healthy, although they do, predictably, taste like chalk. StuRat 02:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

You mean like when you eat a whole box of lemon heads? Russian F 11:58, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

• I use the stuff for teething or mouth ulcers as I'm always doing that-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 21:53, 7 September 2006 (UTC))

I generally find that I can't do anything about the damage that's already been done, though of course you can stop it from getting any worse. If I could somehow eat a Tums while I'm sucking on a lemon (which I love doing) without ruining the taste, I probably would, but by the time your tongue actually starts to hurt, wouldn't most of the acid already have been cleaned from your mouth?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:15, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• Lemonheads don't have lemon juice. bibliomaniac15 04:23, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Number of College Student in the US?

Facebook is supposed to have 7.7 million members and be at 80% saturation of the college market. Is that correct? How many college students are in the US? How Many High School Students are in the US? 10 million college students seems low to me. STHayden ^{[ Talk ]} 02:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Looks like 14.5 million undergrads in 2003 [4]. Rmhermen 03:30, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Poet G Venora LaMarche

Please add this author to the list of Poets. G. Venora LaMarche has published two Poetry Chapbooks. The first titled "Crazee Lady, Too" and the second is "This Life: Orison of Life" both published by Publish America. The first was released in 2005 and "This Life" is released in July 2006. G. Venora was born 1941 and presently resides in Wichita Kansas.

Hello. Since this is a wiki, you could always create an article - G. Venora LaMarche - on the poet in question yourself. However, i'm not sure she or he meets the notability guidelines for inclusion in wikipedia. PublishAmerica is essentially an author mill and thus the poety may be considered a vanity publication. However, if you can justify his or her inclusion in policy, then please be bold. Rockpocket 07:01, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Song-bird

What is the name of the song-bird used as a symbol for the Kursk Region in Russia? thanks, KN

I don't know but I find this strange. So do we get to shar in the prize? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 12:15, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Well I wouldn't have said it was a songbird, but if you go to Kursk, click on the coat of arms, then click on the link, then translate the relevant section using Babelfish, you get ... partridge. --Shantavira 11:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

In the link above to the original question there is a wma file that you can download. From what I saw the answer is in there, you just need to listen to it. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:13, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Identification of a song...

This is a song that I heard on the radio, but unfortunately, muffled. It's a rather heavy song; I would say, it's rock, or even alternative. One lead male singer. These are the notes:

                ||          |           ||
vocals: * * a c ||. d e a c | d * a c  .||
bass:           ||. f------ | d------- .||
                ||          |           ||

The notes just increase from a to e, and then from the same a to d. This repeats a few times. I'm fairly certain the key is A minor. Slight possibility it is in D minor, but I did not hear any b-flats. I've identified the chors which I believe start right at the bar line. There is also some drums...Any ideas?? --HappyCamper 12:38, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Do you know any lines from the lyric? If so you could try searching for them on Google. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:49, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

No, I don't unfortunately. I think there is the word "my" or "me" somewhere, but that would not help. The song must be something fairly recent, written after 2000 at minimum if I had to bet. --HappyCamper 13:04, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

It would help if we knew the rythm and where the barlines are. (Can Wikipedia render musical notation by now?) Anyway, let me try guessing: It's my life —Bromskloss 13:24, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Okay, I added 4/4 bar lines - and also indicated where the two bars of music seem to repeat a few times. All of them are just quarter notes. The stars are what sounded like rests. It's not It's my life though. I have that song :-) --HappyCamper 16:31, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Keyboard, countour, sing, whistle, rhythm : try [Musipedia] searches. -- DLL ^{.. T} 20:17, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

law 502

Hi. am having trouble finding info on a 1960's-1970's law known among rock'en rollers and bikers. 502 is common number in rock-cafes/bars, and its supposed to mean something about a restricting law having to do with bikers n rock en roll. As my final option i chose to ask you about that 502 "symbol". thank you in advance for your efforts. 193.92.44.132 13:06, 7 September 2006 (UTC)Dimitris

"502" is (or was, supposedly, in some jurisdiction, at some time) police code for driving under the influence, as in "502 blues (drinkin' and drivin')" by Wayne Shorter. --Rallette 15:53, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Grizzly vs. croc

Which would win in a fight to the death between a grizzly bear versus a saltwater crocodile? Battle Ape 13:13, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I think the stingray would win. --Zeizmic 13:38, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Considering that grizzly bears and saltwater crocodiles occupy very different ecosystems, they would probably never meet. Durova 18:11, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Where's the fight? If it's in the water, I reckon that bear's pwned. TheMadBaron 21:00, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Okay, the arena will have a land area and a water area, but the fight starts on land. So the croc would have to drag the grizzly over there. Durova, I know it would never happen, it's just hypothetical. Battle Ape 01:39, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Because both of them would probably run away, I think you have to tweak the setting a little more. A small, closed (like a valley) area with scattered areas of dry land and murkey water, which is coincidentally home to both a nest of baby croc eggs (and their big assed-mother) and a snatch of bear cubs (and their angry frothy mother). Now, I think you've got a fight.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:08, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmmmm...I think the bear would win. First, because it starts out on land. Second, the croc would have trouble getting a good grip on the bear through all the fur. Finally, the croc's standard tactic is to drag its victim into the water and drown it. The beasties are about the same maximum weight, so that would be tough. 06:31, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

No.

It has to be a closed arena with no other food resources, or they're never going to fight.

The crocodile, generally very lethargic, and capable of surviving for months without food, takes one look at the bear and heads straight for the water. The bear stays close to her cubs. She avoids the water, perhaps for several days. One night, she heads quietly, cautiously, closer to the water in the hope of taking a fish. She stops. She waits. There is neither smell nor sound of the crocodile, so she approaches the waters edge. Splash - snap - drag - roll.... pwned. TheMadBaron 11:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Remember though that bears have a sense of smell ten times better than a dog's. A bear can smell a fish underwater a mile away. So the bear certainly knows that the only food around is that big strange thing at the bottom of the pond. The croc has relatively poor senses. So I'd say the bear gets the first swipe and lays the croc's innards open, then the fatally injured croc uses its tail to sweep the bear toward its jaws. The bear takes a nasty injury, but the croc doesn't have the strength to drag it underwater. Croc dies, bear eats dinner, then bear expires from an abscessed wound. Final score 0-0. Durova 13:54, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Now, remember that the bear is in a weakened state, not having eaten for a few days. And the crocodile's skin is made of the same stuff they make shoes out of. And if you want me to accept that a bear can smell a fish underwater from a mile away, I'm afraid you'll have to cite your sources.... besides, a crocodile is not a fish, it's an insect. No, I tell you, the crocodile has the elephant of surprise on her side, and that bear is crocodile poo. TheMadBaron 21:15, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I think the crocodile would win. --Proficient 03:41, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

UFO

What is the latest story for UFOs? Thanks196.200.100.232 13:48, 7 September 2006 (UTC)poppy

Do you mean the latest news story? Try list of major UFO sightings and the many and various links from there. Otherwise UFO will fill you in.--Shantavira 15:26, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Fifteen Aliens Arrested in Roswell, New Mexico --Shantavira 17:29, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

LOL. StuRat 17:34, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Funniest thing I've ever seen on Wikipedia. Jamesino 01:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

You not been here very long then?--Light current 01:58, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Incorrect Jamesino 00:38, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Did you not witness the tapeworm incident? THat was the funniest by far IMO--Light current 03:50, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

See that one here: [5]. StuRat 06:47, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Amaniyat

I was looking at Canadian soldiers kill Afghan police officer over on Wikinews, wanted to wikilink Amaniyat, and was surprised there was no article.

Google turns up a mention here, apparently this is the Afghan Secret Police, or National Directorate of Security (NDS). Only mention of the NDS I've found in Wikipedia is at Human rights in Afghanistan.

And to turn this into a question... Who would be a good person to ask about making a stub on this? I was looking for a "request an article" page and wouldn't mind if this was moved to one. --Brianmc 15:43, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Requested articles would be what you're looking for there. Tony Fox (arf!) 16:02, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! --Brianmc 16:04, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Desert

I am looking for a world map, but on it should be marked where the deserts in the world is. It is for a project for school. I can`t find it on Wikipedia. Can you please help? Do you know where I can find something like that on the internet?

Our desert article really should have a map showing the location of deserts around the world (but doesn't right now). --Tagishsimon (talk)

Hopefully this answer will be of more use to you.[6]--Light current 16:08, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

This query points towards some maps - the first link might indeed be all you need. IINAL, but there may be an educational fair use justification for appropriating images; and if not, well, in your place I'd borrow the map anyway. --Tagishsimon (talk)

This might also help: List of deserts. Durova 17:56, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

If it is for school, you could trace your own map, and mark significant deserts of the world. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

Don't forget the cold deserts, unless your project is specifically about hot deserts.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I can't help but think of ice cream vs hot apple pie. :--) JackofOz 23:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. Do you need both hot/cold deserts? --Proficient 03:42, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Musical form and harmony

THis in not homework! Im doing a study of the musical form of popular jazz songs (standards). I find that the harmony starts usually either with I maj, or IIm7 in most cases. So if the song is in Cmaj, the first chord tends to be Cmaj or Dm7.

What I want to know is: are there tunes which start on chords built on other steps of the scale, like Em, Fmaj etc (in the key of Cmaj agian). If so, what percentage (if any) of songs start on these other steps of the scale?--Light current 16:22, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

• Well, let's see. I'll omit the rarely sung verses for the purpose of this question, and transpose to C. "What Is This Thing Called Love" starts on Gm7b5. "Nice Work if You Can Get It" starts on E7#5. "Love for Sale", FMaj7. "I Thought About You", F#m7b5. That's all I could find skimming quickly through two fake books; so yes, they exist, and they are pretty rare. Cole Porter is a good place to look, since he quite often didn't stick to more common formats. Can't give a percentage, though I'd guess less than 5%. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 17:41, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

OK Well thats very useful. THanks JP. 8-)). As you may have guessed, Im trying to work out an easy way of remembering the harmonies of the common jazz standards. THe M8s are of course another task!

• "What Is This Thing Called Love" has a fairly inharmonious beginning- I suppose its the b5.
• "Nice Work if You Can Get It" yes I can hear it now!
• "I Thought About You" I m not familiar with this one.
• "Love for Sale" I should have guessed this one as Ive played it. Altho' couldnt that be a Dm7 insted of Fmaj7?

Any more additions will be most welcome. THese of course will be the exceptions to my new 'rule'--Light current 17:53, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

• Well, my fakebook has Love for sale in Bb, and it starts on EbMaj7. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 18:45, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I take your word for it: thers not much diff between Fmaj7 and Dm9 except the bass note really.--Light current 23:47, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Finding Ulf and Siw Rosen

I am trying to find a swedish couple Mr and Mrs Rosen, They use to live in: Monrov. 7b 75244 upsala Sweden.

They were my sponsors in education 26yrs ago in a village in the gambia. I want to thank them. My life is very successful because of them.

Regards

Do you speak Swedish? I wasn't able to find Monrov. at all, and casually matching Siw Rosen with Ulf Rosen didn't yield any results either. Sorry. Were they missionaries? —Bromskloss 21:09, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

It could have been a typo for "Morgonv(ägen)", an actual street name in Uppsala, (though it currently has another Postal code). 惑乱 分からん 22:00, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm, the postal code fits with "Marmorv(ägen)", though. Don't know how much that helps. 惑乱 分からん 22:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Changing the user profile name

How do I change the profile name to read David E. Mumford instead of David mumford? It's showing up now with a lower case m on mumford. Thanks.

Create a new user name, and copy the text over from the old user name. You will lose the history, but since you only have 3 edits, that's no big deal. StuRat 17:53, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

However, when so copying, please don't commit copyright infringement as with User:David mumford. Thanks! — Lomn | Talk 17:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Your user page was flagged as a copyright violation, since you copied your own biography directly from a web site. This is an interesting case, I wonder if there's any "fair use" argument saying you can copy your own biography from a web site without the express written permission of the site. StuRat 18:01, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I really can't see how there would be, since this sort of copyright is more concerned with the presentation of the facts therein rather than what the facts themselves are. Composing a quick autobiographical statement shouldn't be any real effort, though. — Lomn | Talk 18:32, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Wouldn't that be original research? :p --70.61.33.138 13:24, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

What happens if you create an account "David E. Mumford" and then move page "User:David Mumford" to "User:David E. Mumford"? In any case, this seems more a question for the Help desk than for the refefrence desks. --Lambiam^Talk 15:17, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

This is definitely and interesting situation. --Proficient 03:43, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Value of chemical elements

I noticed that the value of germanium in 1997 and 2000 was provided in that article. That sparked the question: what is the best source for determining the current value of such commodities? Is there a reliable web source for finding this information. I'd like to find a consistent source for updating this aspect of the chemical articles. Much thanks in advance. LeyteWolfer 17:58, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Wasn't this already asked and answered elsewhere ? StuRat 18:03, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Asked, yes; answered, no. Thought it wiser to try and reach potential financial people. LeyteWolfer 22:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Tried Johnson Matthey metals

chemical market reporter

Thanks, I'll give those a go. LeyteWolfer 22:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Yet another obscure song info request

I head this many years ago on the radio, but don't know the group. It goes something like this: A la puerta del sol, ay contigi del mar, wantavorta compensiero y fortadia siem momen (excuse the spelling). After a while, it switches to the English translation. Clarityfiend 20:34, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Try copy-pasting the lyrics into Google. It usually works when I need lyrics. Luigi30 (Taλk) 12:15, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

But after "A la puerta del sol", the Spanish gets messed up, so you better ask for a rewrite on the Language section, first. 惑乱 分からん 12:45, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Trying to find back a funny (chibi) image of the Vegeta character from Dragonball

File:WeirdVEGETA.JPG

Hello, as an avatar on my MSN I have a picture of Vegeta from Dragonball. I lost the original though. It is kind of chibi-style. It could be fanart but it is drawn quite well. His outfit is much like on planet Namek when he was fighting Freeza (he is wearing black with a white armor over it). He is walking to the left and clapping his hands in order to remove the dust and makes a funny face like : "Finally got that solved". I'll try to upload a low quality version of it.(EDIT:got one)

I am trying to find the original. Can anyone help? Thanks! (Please tell me if I violated a rule by uploading that screenshot) Evilbu 22:45, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

If you have the original file name, throwing that into Google might net you something. Other than that, you're probably out of luck. There is Google Images, but I imagine with a character like him you could be on there a long time searching for a particular image. Mitaphane _talk 00:01, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

It looks like fanart, as opposed to an official "chibi print".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:47, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I know about some technology that allows you to search for similar images according to appearance (color, shape, shades etc) but I don't know how and where to use it. 惑乱 分からん 12:47, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

"gay"

why is "gay" almost always in the top 10 "most searched" on nytimes.com?

Might it have something to do with this phenomenon?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Because being gay can be considered trendy. Look at Google's Zeitgeist sometime. Luigi30 (Taλk) 12:14, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Neither of those answers are very good. I don't think anyone has the slightest idea why "gay" is a top searched item on nytimes.com. I suppose the more natural assumption would be that people are interested in articles from the New York Times related to homosexuality, but who knows what motivates people. I tried searching for "gay" on it and didn't come up with anything obvious. It also might be something related to the fact that it is high on the rankings—people like you (and me) tried to search for it too, wondering why it is such a high search term. But I doubt that this sort of curiosity can keep a search term very high on its own, since relatively few people are likely to care what are high search terms at nytimes.com. --Fastfission 14:55, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I was attempting to answer the question. You could ask a similar question, "Why do people often add the word gay when they vandalize Wikipedia?" The answer is simply that "gay" is often used out of context, and wrongly, as some sort of explicit word, and many of the more immature internet users would probably think it just hilarious to have "gay" as one of the most searched words in a list, in the same way they'd probably like to have "penis" or "poopsex" in the list. What Marco Polo says below certainly also contributes to the effect.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  19:21, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Homosexuality is a phenomenon affecting close to 10% of the population directly (that is, at least this percentage has homosexual desires or feelings at some point) and indirectly affecting their parents and friends, a much larger number. Yet few educational systems offer people any information or guidance on this topic, which is taboo in many countries, at least as a topic for school instruction. So, when this topic confronts people (e.g. they notice feelings of attraction to others of the same sex, or they discover that their child, pupil, uncle, aunt, neighbor, or whoever, has such feelings), they rush to the internet for enlightenment. Marco polo 15:29, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. People want to find out more about it, use it to insult others, use it for acceptance, etc. It's like a crown phenomena. --Proficient 03:45, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Septmber is what designated what month?

I have a health homework that asks what is designated for the month of september. An example given to the class was that october is breast cancer awarness month. I would be thankful if you could help me out with this topic.

It seems a little silly to me to designate an entire month to a given the amount of diseases that exist out there. But anyway, BCAM seems to be given its designation by the president of the US. See List of observances in the United States by presidential proclamation for other months, weeks, days that have special designations. --Mitaphane _talk 23:57, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

i think its drug and alcohol awareness month Modesty84 03:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Let me guess. Is this a US thing? DirkvdM 06:23, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Could be a Netherlands thing, too, as in "be aware of the nearest locations to buy and consume exotic drugs and alcohol". :-) StuRat 06:49, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, I know that a) April is the cruellest month, and b) the American Library Associations 'read a banned book' week is always in September. Oh man, I've redeemed myself. You wanna know what September is? Check out THIS site. Pace yourself my friend. Anchoress 11:30, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

BTW I hope I don't have to tell you to independently confirm anything you use from that list. I checked the first one (ADHD month), one that would be useful to you, and it actually is. Anchoress 11:35, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

No, seriously, is this a US thing? I know of mother's day and all that, but I've only occasionally heard of months or years dedicated to one thing as a one-off occasion. I thought that was a UN thing, but I understand from this dicsussion that every month is dedicated to something in the US. DirkvdM 07:46, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Note that most of those silly things are never mentioned anywhere. I suppose if you are with the National Artichoke Board (if there is such a thing) you might put out an ad that says "try an artichoke during national artichoke week !". StuRat 06:35, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It might depend on where you live. --Proficient 03:46, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

CS vs CS2

What are the major pros and cons when comparing Adobe Photoshop versions CS and CS2? Overall, which of the two is better (speed, functionality, loading times, etc...)? Thanks Jamesino 23:30, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Check out Photoshop's release history. --Mitaphane _talk 00:08, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes but that only lists the new functions. Is there a site with opinions and a direct comparison? Jamesino 01:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

CS2 I believe since it's the latest. --Proficient 03:46, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

blushing

I have a problem. I blush at just about anything. I mean, if someone talks to me, no matter what kind of relatiosnship I have with them, I usually get embarassed somehow. Usually the only time it doesn;t happen is when I'm talking to family or guy friends that I'm close to. If I don't know them, it usually hapens. I have already had it happen with 3 girls in the first 2 weeks of school and it was not pretty. I mean, when one sat down next to me in class I did it. I don't try to blush, and it's like uncontrollable. Can somebody help me. What is going on? By the way, I am a freshman. In high school. Thanks.

Have you looked at our page on blushing? It tells you why, but may not tell you how to cure it.--Light current 23:40, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Hey, look at this LC- Idiopathic craniofacial erythema it looks kinda like it- Blusher

Yes. It does. Im glad you found that!--Light current 23:56, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Looks like I'm kinda outta luck treatmentwise- Blusher

Dont worry - youll grow out of it!--Light current 00:31, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Hope so, thanks for your help LC, its kinda nice on Wikipedia because I can be myself, and I've got a more specific question about this but i gotta go for now, so I'll be back later, and I think you'd be able to answer it. Thanks a bunch, man. :)

• "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." Mark Twain. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 00:50, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Man (or woman) is the only animal that has a bare face. Is that why?--Light current 02:03, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Arthropods? Good question though. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

I have two suggestions:

1) Makeup, specifically a base, would cover up the blush. However, I get the impression you're male, so this might seem "effeminate".

2) Aversion Desensitization therapy. After you talk to lots of strange girls about risque topics the blush reaction will lessen with time. You might just set a goal of talking with a certain number each day, not particularly worrying if you make a good impression. A night club might be a good place to practice. And, a bonus is that a dark room will hide the blush well.

Blushing makes you look shy and inexperienced. This may be a turn-off for some women, but may actually be a turn-on for a few.

StuRat 06:41, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure I'd go as far as sturat and tell you to talk dirty to the girls, but you should realize that it's really not that big of a deal, and that you'll probably grow out of it soon. And like he said, some girls might find it cute or something. If it's really bothering you, you might (not) want to consider Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. --Froth (public computer) 13:30, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• I think guys blushing is attractive myself-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 19:55, 8 September 2006 (UTC))

Seriously, it is?- Blusher

Note that I used the wrong term, it' actually called desensitization therapy, not aversion therapy, that's something else. StuRat 01:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

You're male, correct? --Proficient 03:47, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

September 8

SCRIPTS

Are there any good places or websites I can go to buy Hollywood scripts? They don't have to be original, but I want to become a collector. I already have 4 from eBay. And also, what was the most popular movie Eddie Murphy was in?

Thanks

Possibly Beverly Hills Cop? By what criteria are you judging popularity? He was also pretty popular as Donkey in Shrek.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Just basically the most seen movie Eddie Murphy has been in. BEverly Hills Cop is great! Also, does anyone know about the scripts?

Well I tried this and got some sites that look good. You could try variations on what I entered. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:05, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

The cheapest solution would be to copy the script yourself. Which should be a cinch if you're a big fan, with a photographic memory.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:18, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Need help in geography of Netherlands

I was given an address:

'S Gravenenhage,

2572 HX,

The Netherlands

I interpret that The Netherlands is the name of a country unknown to an ignorant person like me. Perhaps 2572 HX is their zip-code.

Question-1: What is 'S? Does it mean SOUTH?

Question-2: What is "Gravenenhage"? Is it the name of a state (or province) of Netherlands?

Question-3: What is the relationship between Gravenenhage and Den Haag? Is Gravenenhage a small part of Den Haag? Is Den Haag a small part of Gravenenhage? Are they two nearby cities?

Question-4: If Gravenenhage is a small part of Den Haag, then would it be better to write

'S Gravenenhage,

2572 HX, Den Haag,

The Netherlands

Thank you in advance for your help. I tried several chat rooms without getting anywhere. Twma 03:14, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Though I know nothing about the Netherlands, it seems you must have made a spelling mistake? 'S-Gravenhage is The Hague in English. The 'S appears to be the possessive particle, so it means the same as "de" in many romance languages, or "den" in Dutch, hence you get the common name "Den Haag" from "Den Gravenhage".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:26, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• The address is incomplete 's Gravenhage and Den Haag are the same, but the adres doesn't contain a street or house number. A real Dutch address should look something like this (wihtout my sig of course):

Kerkstraat 1,

2572 HX, Den Haag,

The Netherlands - Mgm|^(talk) 04:50, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe 2572 HX is a famous postal code... like 90210?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:54, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

So the correct address should be

street name, number

2572 HX, Den Haag

The Netherlands

Thank you very much for your help. Twma 05:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• This might help: [7]. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 05:30, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Your example certainly answers all my questions already. Thanks with appreciation. This site is better than many chat rooms in Europe. Twma 06:05, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Note that ZIP Code is a US term, the general term is postal code. StuRat 06:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

After edit conflict:

A zip postal code for a country? Funny, I heard someone suggest that in a US film the other day and wasn't sure if it was meant as a joke. And now you. Are you from the US too perchance?

Freshofftheufo, that full name would be 'des Graven Hage' (the earl's hedge - don't ask), not 'den Gravenhage'. Also, see Den Haag.

Jpgordon, that address you linked to has the countryname in German, so Twma, don't copy that bit. Oh, and note that you wrote 'S Gravenenhage. Make sure you take out the stammer. :) DirkvdM 06:40, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmm, I assumed that den had the same meaning as 'S, and I've no idea where des came from, but that's good because that means I wasn't lying when I said I knew nothing about Dutch! Maybe I'll tackle it as my 5th language. ...right after I figure out how to communicate with the trees!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  07:48, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Too late to do anything now. Final decision has been made under time pressure. Just wish me luck with your blessing. Thanks to all again. Bye. Twma 06:05, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

'Den' is an antiquated version of 'de' ('the'). 'Des' (or 'der') means 'of the'. As in 'the hedge of the earl'. It's also rather antiquated - not sure if it's still official Dutch, but it's still used in a lot of expressions. Or names, like mine - van der Made. DirkvdM 07:53, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

About Edit Wars

I have painstakingly written and re-written the section on the IAU definition of Planet in the article on Pluto many times. Each time, someone has reverted it. It seems that they have no feelings for anothers work, even fair compromises.... I was wondering if someone could talk sense into them? (They left their edit tags on the bottom of the talk page) Alphabetagamma 04:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

P.S.: It seems that I have won this edit war for now. Alphabetagamma 04:13, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• I think the following comment was the problem:

The above text was copied directly from the IAU website (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0602/index.html) at 3:50 8 September 2006 (UTC).

You're not supposed to copy text directly from websites, that is a copyright violation. Also, the section in question is supposed to be a summary of the main article about the decision, not a fully detailed one. - Mgm|^(talk) 04:44, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

And that last bit at least was pointed out to you at the talk page too. DirkvdM 06:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Edit wars are not for winning. You should not enter into one at all. If you find that your work is reverted, your first action should be to raise it on the talk page, and try to reach a consensus. Notinasnaid 09:02, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

featured article

there is a featured article on fyodorovskaya icon, i am pretty sure i have seen this picture in a church in poland just out side Katowitse. Wanted to drop a note on the talk page but the option was not there.

I am not sure what you are asking. If you wish to discuss the article, just go to Talk:Theotokos of St. Theodore, and click on "edit this page".--Shantavira 09:18, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

please suitly emphazi your question --frothInClassRightNowAndNotLoggedIn

emphaSi? Is that a briticism? 惑乱 分からん 18:08, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Whatever do you mean? :) --Froth 19:57, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I meant emphaZi had teh suitly misspell! 惑乱 分からん 12:39, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

This confusing joke has now been suitly nominated for emphazical deletion; see Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Suitly emphazi. Sandstein 21:19, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

MOH FRONTLINE

Hi I have just completed Medal of Honor Frontline on the ps2 and am wondering if there is any other way to unlock the cheats other than the passwords found in the magazines and on the net? I have already looked on Gamefaqs and other gaming sites but they only have the passwords. I am looking to see if they can be unlocked through the game like the first two MOHs, any help appreciated.

You could use a PS2 Action Replay to unlock things in games, or whatever the thing's called (I still call them all GameSharks) Luigi30 (Taλk) 12:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Any computer that you need external hardware to hack the memory is not worth supporting - anyway if you want cheats try PC games, they've traditionally had more diverse and powerful cheats than console games (excluding of course goldeneye!). Meanwhile I'll continue evangelizing PC gaming anytime the topic is even remotely related --Froth 20:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I play both, and there are certain genres I would never use a console for, and certain genres I would never use a PC for, and genres I use both for. (eg Rayman is the only good platformer on the PC (and non PC-exclusive), and it's tough playing FPSes on a console, with the exception of Goldeneye 007.) ColourBurst 00:58, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Size of pages

Is there any way to determine the current size of a page without waiting for the '32k warning' maessage in the edit window?--Light current 15:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Cut & paste the text from the edit window into something that'll do a character count; Word or a good text editor. Or into web-based counting tool such as Cut & Paste Character count --Tagishsimon (talk)

How about if you right click on the page then click "properties"? A blank Wikipedia page seems to be about 1kB so deduct that. Of course if there are pics on the page they will make a difference which you don't want to include. --Shantavira 17:35, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I dont get any size indication. Im using Cologne blue skin.--Light current 17:38, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it depends on your browser. That's standard in IE for all web pages as long as you click a blank area.--Shantavira 19:44, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

IE?! >:( shame on you .. in firefox, its in View Page Info in the page context menu (right click). Right below encoding and above referrer. RD/Misc is 114.83 KB (117,589 bytes) right now. --Froth 20:03, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• I must have altered my Firefox copy too much. Apparently I have no such context menu item. - Mgm|^(talk) 20:41, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Right click in any white space on the page, then select view page info. Just like IE except it has a different name (Properties in firefox views the properties of the element - image, button, or in this case the body of the document). It's not likely that you configured it out. Maybe you just misread what I said? It was a bit unclear --Froth 22:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

If you haven't configured it out, have you now figured it out? :) DirkvdM 08:04, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

eggs and soldiers

My 4 year old daughter would like to know where the term eggs and soldiers come from after having her eggs and soldiers for breakfast this morning. I have searched on the web to no conclusion-help,any ideas,many thanks,Denise

Yup, I got nowhere too, except a suggestion that it was because lines of cut toast looked like ranks of soldiers - "crispy strips of buttered toast were lined up like little soldiers"; and another that when dipped, the yolk formed a soldier-like helmet. There might, I suppose, be some connection with Humpty-Dumpty, who could not be put back together by all the kings's horses & men ... sadly just speculation, no well referenced information --Tagishsimon (talk)

I was completely unaware of this term until reading this question, and I feel I've been deprived lo these many years. We don't seem to have an article on Eggs and soldiers, so, the toast is cut into strips; how are the eggs prepared? --LarryMac 18:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Boiled eggs. And the bread isn't always (and shouldn't be, for me) toasted. violet/riga (t) 20:51, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I might be way off, but I came to think of French Toast, which is named akin to "poor knights" in several languages of Northern Europe (likely calqued); British English Poor Knights of Windsor, German Arme Ritter, Danish/Norwegian Arme riddere, Swedish Fattiga riddare, Finnish Köyhät ritarit. 惑乱 分からん 18:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Still not an answer to the original question, but in my fascination, I found this article which has a nice picture for ignorant Yanks such as myself. --LarryMac 18:16, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

The OED doesn't record this colloquial usage in print until 1966, but it must have been around for some time before then.--Shantavira 19:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Dipping white bread in eggs? Honestly it's revolting --Froth 20:05, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

There's a fan site but they use toast, bloody heathens. And just in case the soldier cutting machine in LarryMac's link was not enough there is always this. And the I've used the term since I was a kid which would put it before 1966. On the other hand there is this. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 23:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Surely toast has a practical advantage over untoasted bread in its rigidity. With fresh bread it would get pretty messy, one would think. Then again, war is messy, so maybe thats appropriate. Rockpocket 06:22, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

My mother used to make little deep fried bread triangles to go with pea soup. She called these 'soldaatjes' or 'little soldiers'. Too similar to be a coincidence, but Googling it doesn't give exactly this variety, although something similar also seems to go well with spinach. And I now remember a smaller variety is also served with gazpacho. That article says it's not necessarily made of tomatoes and that "bread is the ingredient that really identifies a gazpacho". So my mother unwittingly made gazpacho. DirkvdM 08:24, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I have never heard of such a thing, without looking it up. --Proficient 03:49, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

military salute

I think the military salute which is used by many soldiers of a different countries has its origin. I want to know the country of this origin & how it began.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

Salute may be of value to you. Dismas|^(talk) 20:07, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

See Emission theory (vision) and Salute#Military_Salutes -- The origin of this salute is unknown. One theory is that it came from Roman soldiers' shading their eyes from the intense light that was supposed to shine from the eyes of their superiors (see emission theory (vision)). Another theory is that it came from when men-at-arms wore armor--a friendly approach would include holding the reins of the horse with the left hand while raising the visor of the helmet with the right, so that one could be recognised. A third theory is that the salute, and the handshake, came from a way of showing that the right hand (the fighting hand) was not concealing a weapon. The most widely accepted theory is that it evolved from the practice of men raising their hats in the presence of officers. Tipping one's hat on meeting a social superior was the normal civilian sign of respect at the time [1]. Repeated hat-raising was impractical if heavy helmets were worn, so the gesture was stylised to a mere hand movement. --Froth 20:09, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

name of cities

I find that in your pages cities like Assab, Barentu and Ghindae are found in Eritrea. Is there any one who can tell me the meanings of these names and their origin?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

You might get a better answer at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language. User:Zoe|(talk) 23:27, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Animal/innovations

I heard that the innovation of Airplane is derived or based from the nature of birds. If that is true, are there any other innovations which are created on the basis of animals nature?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

Aeroplanes are not really based on birds - birds have wings which flap, and they have feathers. However to answer your question: yes, many inventors take inspiration from nature (can't think of any examples at the moment). —Daniel (‽) 19:49, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Here's one I know off the top of my head: the teardrop hull shape of modern submarines is directly copied from the body shape of large whales Raul654 18:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• radar and bats-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 20:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC))

What bats have is sonar. Sorry, more accurately, echolocation. Anchoress 23:28, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• yes but wasn't radar based on how bats echo-locate? hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 09:23, 9 September 2006 (UTC))

No, radar uses radio waves, sonar/echolocation uses sound waves. Anchoress 18:28, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Military camouflage, antibiotics, dams... Rockpocket 06:19, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

As Daniel said, the notion of flying got its inspiration from birds, but the actual implementation is very different, especially with a helicopter. Giders, however, function very similar to the way, say, vultures fly and the use of updrafts may also have been gleamed from birds. I wonder if man would ever have thought of the notion of flying if it hadn't been for birds (natura artis magistra).

I once saw diagrams of the way copulating dragonflies interlock and a coupling mechanism of spacecrafts, which were very similar. I don't know, though, if that was a pure coincidence (convergent evolution?). I think it was developed for a space station. DirkvdM 09:26, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Please give me any other more example of innovations which are based on the notion of animals.

XP

Is the abbreviation XP for "experience" in Windows XP based on the use of the same abbreviation in RPGs? NeonMerlin 18:51, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Sort of. XP in role-playing games is more usually eXperience points. However, I'm sure the guys at MS were influenced by the RPG use. — Lomn | Talk 19:32, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

My bet is that marketing people came up with it, and that RPGs play no role in those types of decisions. --Fastfission 19:38, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

It symbolizes the face you make when it fails on you :) --Froth 20:11, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Probably more like the face it makes when it fails on you. Vitriol 21:35, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I've always considered it funny that Microsoft chose a mocking smiley as part of their OS logo... XP 惑乱 分からん 12:17, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Probably not. --Proficient 03:50, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

tribes

which country from africa is a country with the highest number of tribes?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

I think that this question is impossible to answer, because there are many different ways to interpret the word tribe. Not only that, but there is no commonly accepted way to draw lines between related "tribes" or ethnic groups. To take an example from Europe, should all speakers of German be considered members of a single ethnic group, even though they may have different cultures and may not be able to understand each others' dialects? Do we consider the people of Liechtenstein a different ethnic group from the German speakers of Switzerland, even though they speak more or less the same dialect and have similar customs? Do we consider Germans in Germany to be a separate ethnic group from Austrians, even though the customs and dialect of Bavaria, Germany, are more similar to those of Austria than to the customs and dialects of northern Germany? What about the ancient "tribal" divisions of Germany, between the Swabians, Bavarians, Saxons, etc? Are these the most important distinctions? The same questions apply in any region of Africa, but with even more ambiguity. Marco polo 19:11, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

ethnic group (nationality)

which country from africa is the country with highest number of ethnic group (nationality)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

See my comments above on the lack of clear lines separating ethnic groups. That said, there is some correlation between language and ethnicity. People who belong to the same ethnic group generally speak the same language. (There are exceptions, such as people from a rural ethnic group who move to the city and raise children who belong to that ethnic group but speak only the language of the city where they were raised.) However, people from different ethnic groups may also speak the same language. (Think of the number of ethnic groups that include speakers of English.) Still, the number of languages can provide a rough measure of ethnic diversity. By that measure, according to Ethnologue, Nigeria is the country in Africa with the largest number of living languages: 510 in all. Marco polo 19:19, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

best computer

If price was absolutely no object, how would you build a gaming PC? Here are two "fences" I'm not sure which side would be better. BTW i don't actually intend to buy it I'm just curious :)

• 2x itanium montecito processors (dual core, 2 threads per core, 13mb cache per core) OR Some mainstream high-power single processor like AMD 64 FX (is that still in production? I don't buy amd) or Core 2 Duo
• NVIDIA's best SLI setup OR AMD's best crossfire setup

--Froth 23:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

yea right, there are no games that even exist to utilize even half of the power in that kind of system.

But theoretically for the kind of processing involved in games.. --Froth 23:50, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Try one of these machines. My guess is that there perfermance in a PC gaming role would be out of this world ;) TomStar81 (Talk) 07:37, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I would think that the decentralization of components and non-repetitiveness of the operations would make supercomputers less up to the task --Froth 17:07, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

If you're looking for one of the best systems an average person can buy and get performance from, perhaps something like this would be good:

CPU: X6800 Conroe, Mobo: P5W DH Deluxe, RAM: 4 GB G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500), GPU: Quad SLI 7950GX2 or Crossfire with x1900xtx, ... --Proficient 03:53, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

September 9

anothe man law

wtf does this mean: "if it's that time of the month for your girlfriend, you are allowed to take matters into your own hands". is this condoning cheating? explain?

btw, this is jasbutal

masturbation --Nelson Ricardo 00:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Note that there aren't any real "man laws," just common courtesy and "good man-manners." These two you are confused about are more supposed to be funny. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

well no shit mac_davis. No, i didn't realize that there wasn't a man-legislature enacting man-laws. I really thought that I was going to be arrested when I didn't jack off because my woman was bleeding.

I thought intercourse was still possible with a menstruating woman. Jamesino 16:55, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

It's absolutely possible, the question is if the two partners will still be willing. Masturbation, on the other hand, is generally possible just about anytime, although perhaps not always appropriate. 惑乱 分からん 17:50, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

While menstrating, the girlfriend's hormone levels will be at a low, so not only is intercourse not as desirable (unless you like it bloody), it may not be desired either. Oh, and Mr. Jasbutal: We all appreciate your lofty, casual speech here, but let's put on our friendly hats and answer questions like real, appreciative people! Also, girls don't tend to enjoy being called "my woman" by their man, though I'm sure you're well aware of that as well.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:56, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

"Taking matters into your own hands is an euphemism for masturbation. But, then most men masturbate even during other times of the month. Also, having sex while she is menstruating is pretty common too. Jut put a couple towels down. As for hormone levels, it can me mixed. Hormones are sometimes low, and sometimes they spike high too. Some women are less interested, and some more interested. Also, you are forgetting about oral sex, and anal sex. Besides that, you could probably just give her a nice massage, and still be intimate. Maybe masturbate for her entertainment afterward?

Another option is that you could go out with one of your other girlfriends, or partners. As for condoning cheating, as you suggest -- There is no way to condone being dishonest, or cheating on your partner. Atom 02:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Power Pigs

Anyone know what a "power pig" is? My french math teacher talks about it very often. Could it be a french joke? Jamesino 00:39, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, what immediately comes to mind for me is Power Pig, the alter ego of Orson the pig from U.S. Acres, a cartoon on Garfield & Friends. But boy would that be an esoteric reference to make. --Maxamegalon2000 02:14, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

In what context does she use the phrase? Just as a general insult, or what? --Aaron 02:21, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

"If you answer this question correctly, you get a Power Pig!" Jamesino 16:51, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps it's just a nice way of saying a reward, without refering to the cliched 'gold star' or 'brownie point'. —Daniel (‽) 17:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps he's actually saying "You get a power, pig!"  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:45, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm dying to know this myself now. Please ask your teacher and report back to us.--Shantavira 19:26, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Here's a powerful looking pig. Flying_pig--Light current 19:49, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Curious what 'French math' is... do the French do math differently? All the story problems involve baguettes, maybe? 192.168.1.1 20:17, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

By french math, I mean he teaches english math, but he is of french nationality. Jamesino 02:51, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Ah. The English do do math differently. That's why they do maths instead of math (and why "innings" is singular.) --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 05:36, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe they need a French math teacher to help them learn how to count in 20s.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

No-one should learn that. The French empire has already exported their despicable counting system to the Danes... Enough is enough, we have to draw a line somewhere!! @_@ 惑乱 分からん 23:40, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The poster was saying his or her math teacher was French because that may provide context so that one can better arrive at an answer, perhaps. --Proficient 03:55, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

The plurality of mathematics

Watch and learn: MATHEMATICS = MATHS 8-))--Light current 10:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

MATHEMATICS = MATH — Michael J 16:24, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I suppose you "revise your maths" at the end of the term while some of us "review our math." Edison 06:24, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

what's with the empiricism???

seriously, what's with people thinking that logical, positivistic rationalism with a healthy tincture of analysis is the solution to everything and the end-all-be-all???

Here are a couple examples that I've seen in the last few days.

Examples:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities#Philosophical_Argument:_God

"God is omnibenevolent. God is omnipotent. God is omnipresent. God is omniscient. Humans have free will."

"If God is omniscient, then he knows what we will do. If God knows what we will do, he knows our destiny. If God set our lives in motion, he is responsible for causing that destiny. If we do evil things, God is responsible for them since he had the foreknowledge of the events and still caused us."

Is this a joke? Without even looking at his contorted, convoluted arguments, it's pretty obvious that proving the existence of "God" is impossible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science#backlog.3F

"What are the scientific chances that 2 unrelated words would sound so similar"

Where do these people get the notion that science and math can solve and prove everything? Jasbutal 07:52, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Scientists have discovered it is all in the genes. --Lambiam^Talk 08:49, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

What makes you think that's what they think? Solve everything is not quite the same as the best we can do. Can you think of a better way to explain things than with scientific methods (such as logic)? And why did you put empiricism in the title? That's just one aspect (or method) of science. DirkvdM 09:34, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

all I'm saying is that to avoid all this, the following statement should be drilled into every students head just before the profs/teachers delve into the modern wonders science has created: "There are no absolute scientific truths. There are no absolute scientific laws. In science, there is no truth or fact, just very likely theories that are themselves still approximations." Jasbutal 19:22, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I understand your feeling, Jasbutal, and would answer both the questions you quoted with "we don't know", or "there is no definite logical right answer" - as I would yours. But to be comfortable with don't-know takes a while, and many never feel that way, or simply give up asking. So maybe one should just accept the way thing are, where no harm is done (according to how your philosophy defines harm :)). --Seejyb 13:13, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I guess my questions some time turn into rants... Jasbutal 19:22, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Why specifically tell students that there are no absolute truths in science? Why not just tell them there are no absolute truths? DirkvdM 06:24, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

cause that's not true dirk ;) Jasbutal 17:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Absolutely not... ;P 惑乱 分からん 23:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Michelle Pfeiffer

I thought michelle pfeiffer was a large, belligerent black man who was friends with eminem!??!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000201/

You're thinking of Mekhi Phifer.

Michelle Pfeiffer + Mia Farrow

ok, does Michelle Pfeiffer in "Dangerous Minds" (when Michelle was ~37) look like Mia Farrow in "Purple Rose of Cairo" (when Mia was ~40) ??

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_03_img1276.jpg

http://aili.blogzine.jp/cinema/images/mia-thumb.bmp

incidentally, don't they both kind of look like Catherine Hicks in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (when Catherine was ~35) ??

http://www.movieactors.com/freezeframes5/startrekIV26.jpeg

they're all so cute... Jasbutal 08:06, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

International standard of blanditude so no-one gets offended I guess.-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 09:27, 9 September 2006 (UTC))

Cute isn't the word I'd use. They all look like my mom (at 35).  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

You heard about MILFs, right? (Although that generally refers to others' moms...) 惑乱 分からん 18:59, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

implicit and explicit subsidies - definition

202.164.132.61 11:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)6456457

An explicit subsidy is directly giving a business money to do something, while an implicit subsidy is giving them some other benefit which is equivalent to giving them money. For example, railroads received land for every mile of track laid, and they could then sell some of that land. StuRat 11:46, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Stuck at level in Hopmon game

File:Hopmon.png

I bought a copy of this game on CD. It it unconnected with the Hopmon character. A screenshot of the game can be seen at http://www.gamealbum.com/Games/Arcade/HOPMON_223_Review.html

I like the game because of the graphics, but I have become stuck at a level thats only three or four levels into the game. I have to collect a jewel in an area thats patrolled by one or two killer robots, but however hard I try it is impossible for me to move out of the way quick enough to avoid being killed.

I have tried searching on google to find a solution, with no luck.

Has anyone played the game, or is perhaps more ingenious with internet searching than me, and can tell me how to get through this deadly situation please?

I just downloaded the free demo and played the game (for the sake of research only, of course) and I played through the first 6 levels without any problems. I'll assume you were having trouble on the 5th level, though the strategy is basically the same throughout the game (game theory anyone?):

• You slow down a little more for each jewel you pick up, so unless you're deliberately trying to make it harder on yourself, collect one jewel at a time. There are a few places with timed traps (e.g. those fireball things) that are deliberately designed to force you to run fast (thus carry little).
• Do not destroy any more gates than you need to, unless not destroying one will make it more difficult for you to escape or will lead the enemies more directly to you. This will stop enemies from coming up behind you. Doors should only be destroyed when the enemies are furthest away, or else you'll be in trouble waiting for your gun to recharge.
• Go through the level slowly, doing one thing at a time. If there's going to be a lot of bad guys in the next area, stay back in the previous room and pick them off one by one and then hide (a common "strategy" called hit and run). This is really the only strategy you have when you have to wait such a long time for the gun to recharge.

Hope this helps!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:20, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Diamond Rio

It seems that Diamond Rio has written a new Song and only played it a few times and because of it's "Political Incorrectness" it has been ostrisized and the media will not play it . What is it's Name and where can it be obtained? leetoots

It's called "In God We Still Trust", and that nebulous unified entity called "the media" won't play it because it pushes an inappropriate level of political-religious unification which isn't appropriate in a secular country like the United States and has nothing to do with entertainment and all to do with making a political statement. You can find the lyrics at any number of websites which have no problems with violating copyright. User:Zoe|(talk) 17:50, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Although the media don't play it, it could still probably be bought on CD, or if you'd like, obtained in various ways through other channels than the legal ones. No links here, though... 惑乱 分からん 19:01, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Blogs

Does anybody know where I could go to find a specific person on a blog? This is assuming that I know they have one but I don't know where. Thanks.

• You could stick their name (or pen name) and the blog subject in Google together with the word blog or simply ask their URL. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:44, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Sound

Why won't any sound come out of my speakers?? When using Media player the music is playing according to that but no sounds comes out, and it's not my speakers either because I've tried three different sets now. Basically I think that I've put something on mute somewhere and it's effected my whole computer. Could you please tell me as many different places this can be done on my computer so I hopefully can solve the problem. Many thanks

You can sign your post by typing four tildes. That would give Jozzismint and the current date. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:47, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks alot but that wasn't really my question.

Some Keyboards have a mute button on them, make sure that is not on. I'm assuming that you have a Windows PC, in control panels, there is a sound manager, check its settings. Make sure the connection from your computer to your speakers is tight proper. In windows media player, make sure the mute is not on. Jamesino 16:58, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Well I think this would probablt be a computer/IT question in the first place, but, oh well. First (if using Windows), I would suggest to right click on the little speaker icon in the lower right hand corner of the screen (if it isn't there click the arrow and it should show) and select Open Volume Control. There is a box in that window in the lower left hand corner that says Mute All. If it is checked, uncheck it and the problem should be fixed. If that doesn't work, in that same window there is a help tab at the top. Click it and choose help topics. This might help you solve the problem. If your volume is still not working, click Start and choose Help and Support (this will be right there in the right column of the staret menu if you are using Windows XP Start Menu and not the "classic" start menu. There is a list of topics that you can choose from. If you don't think any of them cover your problems, click the search box at the top left corner and type in your problem. If you are STILL having problems, I suggest calling technical support or calling someone to come over and help you. schyler 17:07, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

In WMP, there is also a little speaker icon which also represents sound level. In the beta at least, it is at the bottom of the window and slightly to the center-right. But there is a level meter, and the further right you go the louder it is, so make sure it is not clicked (mute) or it is not at the very bottom. Iolakana•T 19:20, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

You probably already know this, but it's always worth looking at the obvious. There should be a tiny light on one of your speakers. (At least, I assume this is standard.) If it is not lit, then it's a power supply problem.--Shantavira 19:31, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Also, if the little speaker icon is not in the taskbar, go START>Settings>Control Panel>"Sound and Audio Devices" something like that anyway, I'm going by memory. A window will come up and uncheck any "mutes" that are there. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

Baseball's Hall of Fame card collection

To the Pro who knows :-)

I have an original, and complete box of BB mini cards. The box reads:

"WHO'S WHO IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES BASEBALL..." presents... Pictures & Records of the Immortals (in the) BBHoF"

They appear to be printed by B.E. Callahan, 328 Jefferson St. Chicago, IL.

The box measures: .75"T x 1.75"W x 2.5"L and contains 52 black and white cards with renderings and bios of Hall of Famers dating back to the 1870s and inducted into the HH in 1945.

It appears as if it might have been sold, at the BBHF as a souvenier in the '50s???

I have shown it to a number of sport card collectors, none of whom have any idea of its origin or value. Having never seen such cards before???

Any information concerning these cards, especially their value, and where they might find a "buyer" will be greatly appreciated.

Know you have my "Sincere THANKS!" for Your efforts!

Roger Morrison, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada

Disclaimer: I'm not a Pro, nor do I know. Nevertheless I'm posting what I consider might be helpful: Here's a google search with several leads. Here's tomfolio's site selling a product that sounds similar to the one you described. ---Sluzzelin 17:42, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Related ebay auctions]. None of those seem to be cards though, and unfortunately none of them seem to be going for much cash.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:30, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I guess that explains why it's called "WWITMLB... presents... Anyways, some of those books are going for much more ($500+) at this site, so you might be able to get something for those cards, if they're in decent condition.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:36, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

reproducable goods

What's the name for goods (like music or software) that it costs the author nothing if you steal it? "digital" fits but I'm sure there's a more specific term --Froth 17:19, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Freeware? Free software? BTW, "stealing" implies a criminal act. 惑乱 分からん 17:21, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that's what i mean. In relation to piracy - as in not free sofware. Free speech as opposed to free beer. I'm struggling for an appropriate word to describe the argument for illegal file sharing that it doesn't hurt anyone because copying of digital media doesn't deprive the author of anything like stealing a car would deprive someone of a car. --Froth 17:33, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

What you're depriving the author of is royalty payments. There really isn't any difference between this and, say, copying a book (with paper and ink that you provide). In this case you're not taking something physical from the author (or anyone else), but the value of the book is not the value of the paper, etc. The general term for the thing of value that's being taken in this case is intellectual property, and I think the argument that it's OK to do this has to be based on an assumption that intellectual property has no value. -- Rick Block (talk) 17:43, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Anyway, you could check out Pirate Party, a Swedish registered political party that mainly strives to reform/remove laws regarding copuyright, patent etc. 惑乱 分からん 17:48, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

• Which would mean authors, photographers and musicians get nothing past the initial payment from whoever buys their work. After that, with no copyright law in place, anyone would simply copy stuff. If that party ever gets their way arty people will suffer financially. As a pro-copyright person myself, I sincerely hope they will never get their way. It may be a pain in the behind, but it protects the creators in the long run. - Mgm|^(talk) 17:54, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

yeah but for 75 years after the author's death; able to be renewed by massive corporations with no hand in its creation??? Let's get some reasonable copyrights for intellectual property. I think that is more what the pirate party is aiming at. Nowimnthing 19:34, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Looking at Swedish Wikipedia, it appears that they will limit the copyright period to five years after the creator's death and, even more notable, legalizing all fire-sharing without commercial intent. 惑乱 分からん 19:57, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

'Intellectual property' is about the legal side of it. The most general term is 'information'. Then again, money is also information ... DirkvdM 06:28, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

In that case, I must be misinformed... =S 惑乱 分からん 11:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Dirk, when you say "money is information", are you referring to notes, coins and other representations of money? I think so, because money itself is not those things. Money is an energy. How can energy be "information"? JackofOz 20:54, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Energy? Do you mean in the sense that it's a driving force for the economy? Money is essentially information, though. When goods are produced, money is distributed to indicate who gets to get how much of those goods. And that is information. Someone makes an effort (eg produces a good) and gets money to prove that he has done that and thus has a right to get someone else's effort. (Badly put, but you get the point.) DirkvdM 06:34, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

And if you could add up all those bits of money, and all the balances in all the bank accounts in the world, and all the spare cash people have lying around, you'd eventually come up with a total amount of "money" in the world. Which suggests there is a finite amount of money, and humans created it. And that, IMO, would be exactly the wrong conclusion to come to. Just imagine if all that "money" was somehow dematerialised in a split second. What would happen? People would start to barter for mutual interest, and life would go on. Soon, it would become convenient to establish a common medium with which many commodities could be valued, and that would be the new "money". But the new money and the old money were never the essence of the vital force at work, they were just our clumsy way of making an energetic - if you like, spiritual - force appear solid and tangible. That force is not some vague, metaphysical abstract thing. It may not be tangible, but it is very real. There is an unlimited supply of this. As much of it as you can possibly imagine can be converted into tangible abundance in the form of goods and services for all humankind. And when you've done that, multiply it by a thousand. Then, you haven't even scratched the surface of what's available. It will never run out. The corollary of this is that there's an unlimited amount of money, far more than every human on planet Earth could possibly ever use. Yet the paradox is that the way to access the abundance is to move the focus away from accumulating money and onto the energy itself. This is like standing in a river and trying to hold on to particular handfuls of water, thinking that they are the valuable ones, while an almost uncountable number of other handfuls just go speeding by. The river is the thing, not the handfuls of water. JackofOz 12:19, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

The economics term for what you are describing is club good. - SimonP 00:39, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

American equivalent of Shakespeare

Was/Is there a famous playwright who/is was just as famous as Skakespeare, but was/is American?

sure, Arthur Miller. Death of a Salesman was the USA's answer to Shakespeare's sappy plays about aristocrats and their hubris. Jasbutal 19:27, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

It's impossible to say. Shakespeare lived 450 years ago, there aren't any US writers who have been around that long. We'll know in 400 years or so whether or not Miller is as famous as WS. Anchoress 19:34, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm inclined to mention Steven Spielberg, although he works in a more modern medium. 惑乱 分からん 19:46, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I suspect Miller and Williams will still be well-known in 450 years. {note to Wikipedians working on the 100,000,000,000,000 article Wikipedia in AD 2456: edit/correct this statement as appropiate} -- the GREAT Gavini 20:19, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I think they'll probably be as well known as, say, Ben Jonson or Thomas Kyd, at most. Steven Spielberg is the only person who compares to Shakespeare in terms of both popularity, variety, and (if it's a word) prolificacy, but his relentless sappiness, often flat characterization, dependence on special effects (which will be dated in a few decades), and relentless attempts to go bigger and bigger, to top himself (who watches The Guns of Navarone nowadays?) mean that most of his movies will probably not last a fraction of the time of Shakespeare's plays. The short answer to the original question is, of course, that there is no American equivalent to Shakespeare. zafiroblue05 | Talk 21:40, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

(who watches The Guns of Navarone nowadays?) - oh ha ha zafirolbleu .Jasbutal 21:56, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I think if we're going to include storytellers who work in the medium of film, Alfred Hitchcock is a better choice than Spielberg. For one thing, he wrote more of his movies than Spielberg, and IMO he did a better job of straddling the same fence WS did, between popularity and art. In particular, I think Hitchcock's character development was great, particularly for the era. And while he was born in the UK, he was a naturalised US citizen. So I don't know if he counts. And BTW I know there are other prolific directors who are also writers, Billy Wilder being an example, but IMO Hitchcock is the most iconic. Anchoress 22:04, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Hitchcock films will almost certainly last longer than (most) Spielberg films, but I don't think he's much like Shakespeare - he worked almost exclusively in one genre. Spielberg, for all his faults, is much more diverse, in terms of going from the lighthearted (from Indiana Jones to Catch Me If You Can) to the dark (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List), from epic blockbuster (Jaws, Jurassic Park) to (rather) small thriller (Duel, Munich), from historical drama (Empire of the Sun, Amistad) to science fiction (E.T., Close Encounters, War of the Worlds), and so on. Hitchcock is comparatively limited. Shakespeare, by comparison, wrote masterpieces in all of the available, totally unrelated, genres (tragedy, comedy, and history). zafiroblue05 | Talk 23:06, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Well if we're emphasising range, Billy Wilder's got as much range as Spielberg, and with way more writing credits and a heap of Oscars, he could bitchslap Spielberg any day. Anchoress 01:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd pay to see that. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 05:35, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Some of Joss Whedon's scripts, in the first few seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, were up the the Shakespeare standard. Edison 00:33, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

lol, good one edison.

Arguments of quality aside, Whedon is merely a cult favorite only today. It's hard to believe his name will survive for 500 years, if that's what's asked. 惑乱 分からん 10:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Tony Kushner is also up there. "G. David Shine in Hell" had me in stitches. Raul654 03:37, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Stephen King? 1001001 04:50, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Could you consider that a playwright? Unlike people working for film and TV, King generally doesn't write for actors. =S 惑乱 分からん 10:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

There isn't one. Shakespeare is the most famous dramatist in the English language - in fact, in all languages. I could toss around names such as Eugene O'Neill, but they wouldn't really come close. Of course, there really isn't any other British writer who comes close. When was the last time you saw a play by Kit Marlowe? B00P 08:59, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

looking for a movie to watch

Looking to rent a movie like Maltese Falcon with a private investigator who wears a trenchcoat and some femme, and mystery and all. any ideas? Did they break the mold with Maltese Falcon ?Jasbutal 19:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Have you tried Humphrey Bogart's other movies? Also look at the fim credit list in the Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid article (which is a brilliant film in itself).--Shantavira 19:37, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Apparently there is even a film called Trenchcoat, but I've never seen it. Anyone know if it's any good?--Shantavira 19:42, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

If you just like the style, check out the article about Film noir, including a list of 35 of the most classic movies from the Noir era. 惑乱 分からん 19:44, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

thankx. 70.225.165.130 20:05, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Try a movie called The Black Bird. It stars George Segal as Sam Spade, Jr., who has inherited his father's San Francisco detective agency. It's now in a bad part of town, and still employs Effie Perrine (Lee Patrick, reprising her role), Sam Sr's secretary. It was her last film. It also has Elisha Cook Jr. in it. User:Zoe|(talk) 01:29, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

May not be exactly what you first expect, but try The Long Goodbye if you want to see an interesting '70s take on the genre by one of the most notable directors. After that, you might like Trouble in Mind, an '80s take on the Noir genre. 192.168.1.1 07:15 10 Dismember 2006 (UTC)

The Black Dahlia (film) has just been released - it sounds like what you're looking for. Natgoo 09:13, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Chinatown is one of my most favourite movies. The protagonist is a private eye, and I think he wears a trenchcoat at least some of the time.

The writer who wrote the book that the film The Maltese Falcon was based on was Dashiell Hammett and his books are still in print today. If you havnt read any Raymond Chandler yet then you are in for a treat. They are more readable than Hamnett. Both Chandler and Hammett had their novels turned into both b&w and more recent colour films (b&w films are on average better in my opinion). You could look up the articles for Chandler and Hammett and see what films were based on their novels. 81.104.12.24 15:33, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

looking for antoher movie ...

i wanna see gregory peck beat the shit outta someone. recommendatison? (already seen guns of navarone) 70.225.165.130 20:02, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Looking through the article, I find the old Cape Fear movie the most interesting. 惑乱 分からん 20:07, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

oooh! 70.225.165.130 20:10, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I haven't seen it, myself, yet, but it's high on my list of movies I want to see sometime. 惑乱 分からん 20:13, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

The one where he beat the **** of his Oscar contenders, while being a peace-and-justice-lover in the movie itself, was To Kill a Mockingbird (film). JackofOz 00:58, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

seen it. it was so boring I turned into a an african-american septuagenarian while i was watching it. Jasbutal 05:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

How about The Bravados? User:Zoe|(talk) 01:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The Boys from Brazil has one of the most violent scenes I've seen Peck in. - SimonP 00:35, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

tapiers

My father is 72 and in palliative care with cancer. He cant go out and time is against us. My dad is mad about tapiers and I'm desperately searching for a dvd but have had no luck. I've searched W H Smith, HMV, amazon and even London Zoo's website all to no avail. Can somebody please help me? Kind Regards Clair

dunno if you can find a dvd solely about tapirs, but this has a section on tapirs: 70.225.165.130 20:12, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008OM6C?v=glance

I remember that David Attenborough's programs were great, when I saw them. Which disc contains the tapir sequence? 惑乱 分からん 20:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

dunno, I assume the first? Do a control-f "tapir", some guy talks about it.

See tapirs for our article, you might want to print that out for him, and follow the links at the bottom for more articles and pics. StuRat 01:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

http://www.junglewalk.com/shop/Tapir-gifts.htm has all sorts of tapir gifts-posters,mousemats,etc. I can't see any DVDs,but there are video clips online that he might like. Lemon martini 09:25, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

professional tennis requirements for women and men

I am looking for some explanation as to why men and women play unequal number of sets in professional tennis. Thanks - Franco

I'll tell you, but only if you can get me a pardon after the feminazis arrest me. Jasbutal 20:35, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I've been wondering why men's and women's doubles matches are only best-of-3-sets and not best-of-5, like men's singles matches. Doubles tennis requires a lot less running, so their matches could be considerably longer. One possible answer is that singles is generally more fun to watch (longer rallies), but in my opinion that's a weak answer. Does anyone have a better response? (Hope you don't mind me asking another question, Franco.)

Anyway, the reason why they men and women play an unequal number of sets is probably the same reason why men and women don't compete against each other in professional sports (although there may be exceptions that I am unaware of). Oh, and if you didn't pick it up in the last paragraph, men's doubles and women's doubles are both best-of-3-sets, so that's equal. It's just singles that it's different (But why? I don't know. Anyone?). —EdGl 21:45, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

it's because they're weaker than men. it's not easy to stand out in the heat for that long .Jasbutal 22:01, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Must be something to do with unequal stamina--Light current 22:04, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

On the other hand, women should have higher pain tolerance. 惑乱 分からん 23:00, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

False. women have a higher capacity for love, but a lower pain tolerance...that's the sole reason why men can't give birth. Jasbutal 23:08, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Really? Anyway, it cannot be the sole reason, surely there are some biological reasons in the male anatomy, as well... ;) 惑乱 分からん 23:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

wait, I mistyped. you're right it's not the reason, that fact that women give birth is evidence of the reason that they have a higher love capacity nad a lower pain tolerance...if that makes any sense at all......Jasbutal 23:28, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't want to offend you, but not really... What's the idea? Women grow more attached because they carry the kid inside them for nine months? That makes sort of sense, but that their pain tolerance is lower, because they must go through the painful ordeal of childbirth doesn't make sense at all... 惑乱 分からん 01:30, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

nixce logical analysis, i'm defeated Jasbutal 04:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Anyways! Women don't run 3/5 ths of a marathon or work 24 hours per week. So the 3 sets for women and 5 sets for men is sexist. But where are these "feminazis" complaining of this inequality? Thanks - Franco

I don't know much about tennis, but perhaps because men are generally stronger than women, they play more? --Proficient 03:58, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Langauge help

moved to Language desk--Light current 09:11, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

battlefront 2 copy protection

Someone in my dormitory unit owns battlefront 2 and on the dvd case it says something along the lines of "this contains software to counter piracy" .. is this some specialty DRM like starforce? --Froth 22:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

BF2 has Safedisc/SecuROM protection (not sure which, but it's a modern revision) - thankfully these protections are free of side-effects once you close down or remove the game.

Mints

Why do cold beverages seem colder after eating a mint?--67.172.248.207 22:57, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Evaporating menthol in the peppermint oil creates a sensation of coolness (because the evaporation takes thermal energy from your mouth) --Froth 00:23, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

There was a different explanation recently on the Ref Desk that it only makes it "feel" cooler, as opposed to actually lowering the temp, due to an effect on the "ion channels" of the temperature sensing nerves. StuRat 01:01, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Smoking a cigarette after eating a mint gives a funny sensation - hot and cool at the same time. Like pancakes and ice. :) I suppose menthol cigarettes are inspired by this, but they don't do the trick (actually, I think they're quite disgusting). DirkvdM 06:33, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Have you heard the thing where people say that chewing mints and smoking greatly increases your chance of getting lung cancer? Something to do with the increased saliva build up. I never miss the chance to tell my friends how stupid they are when they do it, but I'm not in any way directing my previous statement at anyone on RD!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Of course, I knew it. Mention smoking and someone has to point out it's bad for you. There simply are too many people who have this uncontrollable urge to do this. It's an addiction, I suppose. What if the same was done for cars, would that maybe help? Half a million people die each year of cars. A much bigger problem. So everytime one uses the word 'car', someone has to point out that cars are lethal and tell some story about some research someone did somewhere. Or better still, that "people say that ...". I'm not going to do this on my own, though. Or coud I automate it maybe? DirkvdM 06:44, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Number of Active users

Special:Statistics says 2,192,501 users, but how many are active? By that I mean, say, at least 20 non-vandalism, non-user-page edits. An estimate would be fine. Thanks! Reywas92 23:33, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Do you also want to include "made an edit in the past month or two" in your criteria (i.e., do you mean currently active?).—EdGl 00:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Sure! Reywas92 01:49, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

(I merely wanted a clarification of your question; I can't answer it for you, sorry! hehe) —EdGl 02:26, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

About 38000 in June. I think this table may give you more answers. [8]--Light current 03:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Hey, we're on the second most edited 'article' here. DirkvdM 06:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

How can you get that info from the stats page? ok found it!--Light current 07:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It's partly because WP:RD/Misc held the entire RD before it was split up into pieces.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:29, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

There was a miscellaneous ref desk before there were any others? That sounds unlikely. DirkvdM 06:50, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Ref Desk: Misc --- the most popular page on WP?

No need to count 'sandbox' so its official: THis is the most popular page on WP?--Light current 07:18, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The main language selection page then ? [9] Or do you mean the most popular article ? StuRat 07:28, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Never seen that one before! No, most pop 'article' (in terms of edits) according to the stats.--Light current 09:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

There is a (rather new) list that shows the most popular articles by hits, though I'd rather not link it because I believe keeping track of such things is harmful to Wikipedia.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:23, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Please list it. How would that be harmful ? StuRat 10:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

here. It tends to change by what happens to be popular that month. so Steve Irwin and Stingray is at the top for september. in august Irukandji jellyfish was number 11 probally because of a Discovery Channel show on them. Sex is always popular. Still, none of the page besides the main page (always on top) has more than 1% of total views, so it seems that most people look at unpopular pages in their respective areas of interest. Jon513 11:58, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm not really sure exactly why I feel they're harmful. I think the fact that we haven't had them for the past few years is one of the reasons Wikipedia has evolved in the way it has, and I believe the whole concept of hit counting (which can be interpreted as "article popularity") is contrary to the principles of Wikipedia. One part of me hopes that these numbers don't make contributors start thinking that Wikipedia is a popularity contest, and the other part of me hopes that these figures will suddenly stop working because of server load, and are forgotten in the ripples of internet time.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  14:24, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Though at the same time, I do believe that such figures are valuable and quite interesting for studying Wikiology. I'm a little conflicted about it all.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  14:27, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Interesting. Seems even Wikipedia can't escape the reason God created the internet. However, what i would like to know is, why the dickens is the Buggery Act 1533 ranked so high. Has it been in the news this month? Rockpocket 02:29, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

September 10

The James Bond series

After Bond 22, will there be any more James Bond movies? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.18.90.7 (talk • contribs)

I would expect that any series around as long as this one, and as successful, would continue forever, or at least until a series of miserable failures. I would think it would take a world government to eliminate the need for state espionage, and even then there would still be a need to infiltrate criminal organizations (like the Mafia). Also, even if the need for espionage was completely eliminated, people may still retain a historical interest in it afterwards. StuRat 00:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Now if you're asking if they currently have another movie planned, that I don't know. StuRat 00:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

BBC reported that Daniel Craig is signed up for at least one more movie. 1001001 04:34, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Something that often kills a (tv) series is when one of the main actors quits (or dies or whatever). James Bond is, however, regularly someone else. People have grown to accept that, so that's one major obstruction out of the way. Dr Who is unique in that it is a tv series that has the same advantage. It actually even has a 'decent' explanation for the phenomenon. Something that could kill the Bond movies would be if someone decided to make a bunch of crap Bond ripoffs in such a way that people can no longer distinguish betweeen those and the 'real thing'. Or does someone have the rights to Bond movies? Sounds unlikely.

Actually, I think EON Productions own the legal rights to be the sole producer of James Bond movies. 惑乱 分からん 11:39, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Funny, btw, the actress playing Moneypenny and others also changed without an explanation, but not so for Q. He was the only constant factor in the series, so when John Cleese started playing him, he was presented as a replacement. Luckily, his name was obviously a pseudonym, so that could be kept the same. DirkvdM 07:00, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I believe that Q was actually based on a real British inventor who designed all sorts of neat tools for spies in the World War 2 era (I don't know his name). One device I found particularly amusing was a rectally-inserted, single-shot zip gun..."now how do I get the guard to stare at my anus while I fire it ?" :-) StuRat 10:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I wonder why Ian Fleming never chose to copy that... ;) 惑乱 分からん 11:39, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• The producers have been the same for all films. I'm pretty sure they bought the rights from Ian Fleming's heirs. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Boston Red Sox

i have a baseball with 28 signatures.some of the autographs include...Pete Rose,Johnny Bench,Ken Griffey,Ray Knight,Dave Tomlin,Fred Norman.can anyone tell me what year these players played together and where i could get an estimate on what if anything this ball is worth?216.234.126.184 02:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, Rose never played for the Red Sox, so I don't know why you would think it's from the Sox. Rose, Bench, and Griffey played together with the Cincinnati Reds from '73 to '78, and Tomlin was with them in '73 and '78, so that narrows it down to those two years. All the others played with the Reds for both of those years, so by process of elimination, it had to be either '73 or '78 but without more names, we can't narrow it down anymore. Dismas|^(talk) 04:40, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm... ask an appraiser perhaps. --Proficient 09:31, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The original poster gave me a few more names on my talk page. So I don't have to repeat myself, and in case anyone is wondering but too lazy to go looking on talk pages :-) Here's the text of my reply:

All I did was go to the articles for each of the players that you mentioned starting with Pete Rose since I knew he only played for a small number of teams. Then I just saw that each of the other players were also on the Reds during a similar time period. Just process of elimination. And now that you gave me another list, I went to the first name on that list, Doug Bair. His article says that he was on the Reds in '78 and he made his major league debut in '76. Therefore, the ball could not be from '73. It must be from '78. You could double check with the rest of the names on your list to see if they were all on the Reds during '78 but I'm fairly certain I've narrowed it down correctly. As for the worth of the ball... I'd start going to baseball card shops in your area and asking how much they'd give for it as well as how much they think it's worth. Without having seen it, I can't say whether they would give you much for it. It may just be a printed ball that the players never actually saw. Some company may have printed up thousands of them and handed them out to the first 100, 500, 1000 spectators at some game. Or someone may have worked really hard to get all the players to sign it. Either way, best wishes

After having posted that, I thought of something else. If the signatures are fairly clear, your chances of having the actual signatures on that ball, I would think, would go down. See if you follow my reasoning... If a company is going to print up a bunch of balls then they probably sit the entire team down and have them sign a blank sheet of paper. Take that paper, photograph the signature, send the photos to their printers, then print up the balls. If someone went to the Reds' stadium before one or more of the games to try and get all the signatures on that one ball then they were probably in a crowd with several other fans trying to get the players to sign things (baseball cards, balls, hats, shirts, etc.). The players would probably just scribble their names on the items since they had so many fans waiting and only a limited amount of time before the game to sign stuff. Therefore, the signatures would be more illegible. Just a thought, but either way I'd still get it looked at by a collector. Dismas|^(talk) 09:47, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Obscure sport needed to be identified

One man stands with what looks like an enormous long golf club. The handle of the club is in his hand (obviously) whilst the head of the club rests on some sort of track. On the track, directly in front of the hitter is the ball - In an equivalent position to where a golf ball would be when taking a swing.

The hitter swings the club along the track and whacks the ball as hard as he can, and it flies for miles. I'm also FAIRLY sure there's a man out miles away trying to catch the ball.

[10] - Artist's Impression, if you can call it that

I'm pretty sure the game is Scandinavian in origin, or possibly Dutch. Or somewhere like that. --218.186.9.1 04:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

THat artist impression is classic! Is the game called Suicide golf by any chance? 8-)--Light current 04:37, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

wtf!? This is the most obscure thing I've ever heard of. Jasbutal 05:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I've seen it but don't know the name... Sorry. I do like the illustration though. Gets the point across which a lot of art these days doesn't do.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 05:08, 10 September 2006 UTC

I think I've seen this sport in a traveling quiz show on Swedish television: (På spåret), if I recall correctly, the sport was played in some Central European country, like Switzerland or perhaps Belgium. 惑乱 分からん 11:30, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I found it! It's a Swiss indigenous sport. Check out Hornussen! ;) 惑乱 分からん 11:31, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Good article, but it could use some sort of diagram showing how it's played. Now, where have I seen one of those...–RHolton≡– 20:45, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Looks like an Alphorn - but thats a horn. Ricola... --JimWae 06:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the great answering, chaps, kudos! --218.186.9.1 13:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

If they hit it that far, it could be astronaut Alan Shepard playing golf on the moon. He said his shot went "miles and miles." — Michael J 16:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Flag of the EU vs. Flag of Indiana

• 
  Flag of the European Union
• 
  Flag of Indiana

I recently noticed that the flag of the European Union is very similar to the flag of the U.S. state of Indiana. Is the design of the former based (at least partially) on the latter? Thanks in advance.

European flag doesnt seem to indicate a connection. Does look a bit similar though.1001001 04:45, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

European union flag simply has 12 stars. Whats with the stars on the other one?--Light current 04:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

13 stars in the outer loop for the original 13 colonies, 5 inside them for the next five states, and one large star above the torch for Indiana. 1001001 04:57, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

um....they represent the drivers in the NASCAR hall of fame. Jasbutal 04:58, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

They missed one. 1001001 05:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

In that case I dont think theres any more than a coincidental connection between the 2 flag designs.--Light current 05:00, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd agree with that. With so many flags in the world, there are bound to be coincidences sometimes. The arrangement of stars in a circle on a blue background certainly isn't unique to either the EU or Indiana — the Cook Islands have a notable example of a similar design, although with white stars instead of gold. The flags of Myanmar, Cape Verde, and the US state of Georgia also contain similar patterns, as did the early Betsy Ross flag of the United States. The Caquetá Department in Colombia and Rhode Island in the US both use a circle-of-gold-stars pattern without the blue background. The EU and Indiana flags certainly have similarities, but not more than can be explained by simple coincidence, I think. -- Vardion 06:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

certainly, the Libyan flag looks like my backyard Jasbutal 06:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It's amazing how much your backyard resembles my billiard table! --Lambiam^Talk 10:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think either is based on each other, irregardless to whichever came first. :P --Proficient 09:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The flag of Indiana was adopted in 1917. I don't think there is any doubt which came first. Rmhermen 19:59, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Forced upholding of the law

Are citizens required to uphold the law (ie report crimes, attempt to prevent crimes, etc?) in the UK?

As long as preventing said crime doesn't put their life in danger, I think they are. But they might not be required to if the criminal involved is a loved one. I'm not sure. = Mgm|^(talk) 08:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

No, they're permitted to uphold the law, to a very basic degree, using rights that derive largely from common law. The only circumstance under which they're obligated is (as far as I'm aware) Section 19 of the Terrorism Act 2000 which makes it an offense to know that another person is planning a terrorist act and fail to tell the police. The relatives of the two British men who went to Israel to be suicide bombers where charged under this this section [11], but I think all were acquitted (it's very difficult to prove what someone knew). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 11:57, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Not really - here is an interesting paper looking at how the duty to report changed after the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and comparing the situation in the UK with that of France. It is really only professionals becoming aware of crime through their work who have an obligation to report, unless the crime is treason, terrorism, or a road or traffic offence. According to this paper, only social workers have a legal obligation to report suspected child abuse, but most people working with children or vulnerable adults (such as people with disabilities and mental health issues) will be required to report suspected abuse through their code of conduct. It seems as though UK law relies on a moral obligation to report rather than a necessarily legal obligation. Natgoo 08:58, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

What the anon is describing are called Good Samaritan laws. Unfortunately, the name can refer to two totally different kids of laws. The good kind of good samirtan law says that any person attempting to render assistance to someone in distress is not legally liable -- e.g, you cannot sue someone trying to rescue you, even if they harm you. The second (bad) kind of good samaritan law says that you are guilty of a criminal act if you fail to render aid. This is the kind of law that was made famous on Seinfeld's last episode. Raul654 01:37, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

2 questions

Hi, Wikipedia. I have 2 questions:

1) Where, online, can I find an English-German dictionary? (With pronunciations and all that)

2) Where, online, can I find a scale for a tenor trombone? (With note names, postition names, ect.)

Thanks. Partisan 5 16:27, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I use http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/ for the dictionary Benbread 17:01, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I use http://www.dict.cc . It even has a voice pronouncing the word. Reywas92 17:33, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I use http://dict.leo.org. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 18:18, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you muchly. Anyone have an answer for question 2? Partisan 5 22:39, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

What kind of scale? Chromatic? At trombone there is a picture of slide posistions and the notes played in its partial. this link, which is from my old band, takes you to where you can download a pdf file of the major scales and the chromatic scale for trombone and euphonium. Happy playing! schyler 23:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I just entered 'trombone positions' into Google and the first hit was http://www.yeodoug.com/resources/faq/faq_text/slidechart.html. Google is your friend. ColinFine 23:37, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

History of the manicure

I am looking for any information on where manicures started, how they got started. What kind of products were used when performing a manicure. Tools that were used. What was used when polishing a color on their fingers. I would appreciate any help you can lend me. Thank you Penny--64.50.228.36 17:00, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Manicure by a remote possibility might have what you're looking for. schyler 23:36, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for the help, but I have already been out to this area. It gives you one sentence of history - which does not help me for a 10 page thesis. I am looking for help to find books that might have more history to them.

What can I do tonight?

Nothing on TV. My meat-based friends are all out of town. My cyber-friends never seem to be online on Sunday evenings. My dad doesn't want to go for a curry with me. No money. I don't drink. I don't smoke any more. I don't take drugs. I look at my music and DVD collection and I can't think of anything I want to watch/listen to. Just a boring Sunday night for me. Any suggestions for stuff that I can do? --Kurt Shaped Box 17:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

How about existing or breathing? I love doing that. -- TheGreatLlama ^{(speak to the Llama!)} 17:13, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

See acedia and get off your butt. Write an article, read a book and learn something, ask your dad what he would like to do with you, or go interact with someone or some gull you dont know well. You have something that most of the world envies: youth, health, safety, food and shelter. Calculate how many breaths you have left. This is meant in a friendly way. Young people should never, ever complain of boredom. alteripse 17:16, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Fair point. I suppose I could find some free porn to look at too... --Kurt Shaped Box 17:20, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

How 'bout you create an article for the Requested Articles page? Anchoress 17:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Click on "random page". There's loads of weird stuff out there that needs a good cleanup. Especially all those commmercial links. Or if you're not going to church with Jasbutal you could always try meditation. --Shantavira 18:40, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

yea, come on kurt, let's go to churhc. Jasbutal 19:02, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

A propos "go to church", check out Big Boi's Speakerboxx album. Nice party hiphop, if you like the band's style. 惑乱 分からん 19:31, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

sorry Wak, I need the real thing. Jasbutal 19:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It's a shame to dismiss him just because of that... Perhaps you could give the album a chance on common weekdays... ;) 惑乱 分からん 19:50, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• If you have time left, you can always contribute to Wikipedia. Otherwise, expand your horizons. Reading a book is a good idea. Just take something from the shelf and see how far you get. I wonder what your father wants to do, perhaps you can do the same. - Mgm|^(talk) 19:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
• You could take up drinking. Or, click on the Random article link over on the left side of the page. Repeat as necessary. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 21:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• Turn your TV to the FOX channel. Real funny shows on Sunday night. Russian F 22:30, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• Or watch FOX News, equally funny and scary, but could hopefully activate you... 惑乱 分からん 22:49, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Free porn? That will only eat up 10 minutes in the entire evening! schyler 23:23, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

He never mentioned anything about obtaining "free porn" legally... How much time you're willing to spend on it is another question, though... =S 惑乱 分からん 23:27, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Never mind what I said about FOX. Usually, the sunday night lineup is pretty good, but I forgot that it's football season. Stupid football. Russian F 23:48, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Why not download some game demos and give them a go? That should keep you entertained until the shops open. Then, if you've fallen in love with any of the games, buy 'em. Howard Train 23:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

When I'm bored and TV isn't an option I find the best thing is a walk or a bike ride. There's a big park downtown about 30 minutes away by train from here, and if I have a free Sunday I often like to just head out there in the afternoon, spend about an hour walking around staring at all the loonies practicing their comedy skits and didgeridoos, and then make my way into the city and walk around some of the busy shopping streets there pretending to have some kind of purpose. I'm the kind of guy that can walk or ride a bike for 12 hours straight without complaining though, so I guess something like that's not for everyone. Another thing I like to do is just head down to the library and save money on air conditioning by using theirs while put my nose in a book for a couple of hours. If there was a University library nearby that I could go to I'd rather hang out there, but as long as I have a little stack of unread English books I can get comfortable.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:16, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

what's happened after the first Lord's Supper?

I'm going to a late night Catholic mass today and I'm gonna take communion. Are there accounts of people experiencing the holy ghost, or God in general terms, with their communion (especially their first one)? Jasbutal 18:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

If you are not going with intent to offend, talk to the priest about your intention before the service. The Roman church is quite explicit in most places about the purpose of the eucharist and who is eligible to partake. Most Christian denominations have an explicit theology around the eucharist and the degree to which other Christians are welcome varies by denomination. You will be quite welcome at the service and if God's grace is extended to you, you will be moved to seek catechism from the priest. Anything else is simply mocking someone else's religion and will strike most people as a betrayal of the hospitality with which you were invited. alteripse 20:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

ok fine. so do you think people will be offended if I go alone, keep quiet, and sit in the back? Jasbutal 20:16, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think so, but I'm agnostic/culturally protestant, myself. 惑乱 分からん 21:27, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Unless you are Catholic (or belong to one of the very few "approved" denominations), you are not allowed to take communion in a Catholic church. You will not experience anything besides odd bread. --Nelson Ricardo 22:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Most congregations would be flattered and welcoming if you sat quietly in the back. You may find the customs confusing: the congregation probably kneels at certain points in the service. If you're interested in learning about Catholicism you might ask about less formal youth group meetings. Durova 00:01, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

To answer your question - no, not really. God isn't primarily concerned about getting people to "feel" him. God is interested in people having faith; responding to him and obeying him whether they "feel" his presence or not. Relying on "experiences" makes for an unsustainable, fanatical Christianity. BenC7 02:36, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

then from whence does this faith come from, Ben? I assume you're not one to denigrate Christianity by trying to "prove" that Christ existed and did this 'n that? Jasbutal 04:09, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

In Eucharist you will see that some Christian denominations (Roman Catholics for instance) believe that the bread and wine actually become Christ's flesh and blood through transubstantiation when the priest says the words of institution. It still appears to be bread and wine, but these are the accident while the substance has changed. Lutherans believe the body and blood are in and with the bread and wine, a very slight difference but no less miraculous. The worshippers may indeed feel that they are blessed and strengthned by the Eucharist. Other denominations see it as merely a symbolic remembrance of the Last Supper, like a historic reenactment. Some Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Missouri Synod Lutheran for instance) have closed communion, and one must have special approval to get communion. Some others have open communion, perhaps open to all who share their belief that the body and blood of Jesus are present in the Eucharist or to all who receive communion in their home church. First Communion in Roman Catholic churches follows a period of instruction and preparation. The requirements vary greatly in different denominations. It is best to speak to the minister or Priest if you are in doubt about receiving Eucharist. I have never heard of any minister who was not delighted by the opportunity to talk to you about possibly joining them in worship. Most churches would be happy to provide a member who can sit by you and assist you in following the service. Edison 05:28, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

what to wear to a catholic churhc

I've heard of Sunday best, but does it apply to a college catholic church? Jasbutal 18:21, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Not necessarily. College students have a habit of not following customs. Rmhermen 19:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

However, if you are not familiar with the congregation or the priest himself, i would recommend dressing relatively soberly. Wearing a 'let the fucking begin' t-shirt could offend. Rockpocket 20:34, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

turns out you can wear whatever the fuck you want. jeans, shorts, t-shirt, whatever . Jasbutal 04:36, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

200 lbs woman

How does a 200 lbs woman look like without her clothes on, especially bikini?

You might google BBW, and see what comes up... 惑乱 分からん 19:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It depends on 1) how tall she is, 2) what kind of muscle tone she has, and 3) her body type. If she's 6-foot-2 and muscular, she might look average, if larger in all dimensions. If she's 5-feet with no muscle tone, she'll probably have fat on her hips, abdomen, thighs, legs, and arms. I have a very good female friend who's a little over 200 pounds, but she's tall, athletic, has a large frame, and a large bustline. She looks like a very curvy woman with good muscle tone, and she has almost no cellulite. 65.96.181.140 21:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Try looking up the WNBA player profiles and the biographies of professional beach volleyball players. They tend to be tall, sometimes 200 pounds or near that. Also Google "large sized models" - these are beautiful women who earn their living posing for fashion catalogs for larger sized clothes. Durova 23:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I was raised thinking metric, still finding imperial confusing. Anyway my sister is about 186 cm/80 kg (About 6'1"/175 lbs I guess), she doesn't look fat, so I guess it's not too strange if tall and muscular women could reach that weight without particularly much body fat. 惑乱 分からん 01:23, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

OMNI Television 2006 World Cup Matches

On OMNI. 2, most of the matches were commented in Chinese. Why couldn't comment games that deal with Iran in Farsi, Japan's in Japanese, South Korea in Korean, and Tunisia and Saudi Arabia in Arabic?

Which World Cup are you talking about? Soccer? Anyway, to try to anser the question, I'd guess the Chinese is a larger market group. The answer is probably money. 惑乱 分からん 19:45, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Miles per gallon

What automobile, available in the USA, will go farthest on one gallon of gasoline?

The US Energy Department says the Honda Insight with manual transmission, which gets 60MPG in the city and 66 on the highway. The worst are the Bugatti Veyron (8/15 MPG) and the Bentley Arnage (10/14 MPG). -- Mwalcoff 22:57, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

That must just be cars, because there are trucks far worse than that. StuRat 01:33, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

For consumer pickup trucks, there doesn't seem to be any worse than that. The Dodge 1500 SLT got 11 mpg overall (called the worst) from Consumer Reports in Jan 2006 but officially it gets 14 city/19 highway. Rmhermen 02:15, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

A sherman tank gets 1/2 mile per gallon ;) Raul654 01:34, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, but try fitting in a parking space without having to file insurance claims with the people on either side.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 01:43, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Make sure they are sitting in the car at the time. Problem solved. Raul654 02:14, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

I believe Smarts are designed to be fuel-efficient. A modified version is available in the US. You'll be driving cheaply and can still say yo drive a Mercedes. (Well, a car by the sister company.) DirkvdM 07:05, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Oh, and the car I was really thinking of is the 'smile', a car designed by Greenpeace to demonstrate how fuel efficient cars could be if car manufacturers wanted them to. See http://archive.greenpeace.org/climate/industry/reports/smile.html. It has a fuel consumption of 29 km/l or 78 m/g. One drawback. It is not for sale. :) However, if this is the best Greenpeace can do, then the Honda Insight is pretty impressive. DirkvdM 11:31, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Editing confusion

I edited the List of Stoner Rock Bands by adding Dave Matthews. Afterwards I realized that there was a note on the page saying address the talk page if changing this list because this is only a list of artists with wikipedia's pages but DMB does have there own page. Im confused.

What? Anyway, if you added Dave Matthews band, and they have their own Wikipedia article, I fail to see that you have done anything wrong, on the contrary, you have added an entry to the list. 惑乱 分からん 21:24, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

list of websites

looking for a list of websites like this one http://www.stewielive.com/ where you type in a command to "control" someone. There's also the burger king chicken one but I forgot the site. I enjoy messing around onthese, is there a list of them? Jasbutal 21:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

You might like www.killfrog.com. It's a lot of fun.

The Burger King one? Try The Subservient Chicken. Crazy Fox (T|C|E) 02:08, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

difference between research and theory

what is the difference between research and theory?

We won't answer your homework questions for you but we can point you in the direction of answers about research and theory. Dismas|^(talk) 21:59, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

radio station

What are the guidelines for starting an article on a radio station? I mean, like, can I just start it or do I have to get it approved?

Look at an article on another radio station. Base your article on that. If you are a user on Wikipedia, you can just start any old article. You just have to make sure there isn't already an article on the subject. And that it's appropriate. Russian F 22:34, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

If it's an old article you can't start it anymore. :) DirkvdM 07:09, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Even better, look at several, and see how they are structured and what they cover. If you are lucky, they will all have the same, helpful, structure, which you can adopt. If you are unlucky they will all be arranged differently (or have no structure at all), and you will need to devise your own structure. Then you could go back and edit the other ones to match your excellent arrangement. ColinFine 23:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Specific Retro Show

I think it was called "Pappy's Paint". Some old guy went around his puppet forest and taught kids how to draw and paint. Could anyone try to help me find some sources? -MF14

Man, I loved that show so much... Russian F 23:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

castling on opposite sides in chess

I've noticed in chess, when players castle on opposite sides, there is some kind of a paradox about the impact of defensive pieces in front of the king. Most writers (eg. Keres and Kotov in The Art of the Middle Game), say that these pieces present targets for the enemy pawn storm. But I have seen many games, especially Sicilians where white castles long, in which one player (usu. white in the Sicilian) uses the defensive pieces and a pawn thrust to actually blockade the pawn storm. Are these blockading possibilities merely special exceptions, or is there a good general rule behind them? The Mad Echidna 23:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean castling queenside instead of castling kingside? Castling queenside is somewhat less common, partly because more pieces need to be developed before the move can take place. In casual games it may be less frequent because, as with the en passant rule, some players are not aware that this move is legal. I believe there are more opening lines that castle kingside. From my own playing level (very good casual player, get creamed in rated tournaments) I tend to castle on whatever side of the board offers better defensive possibilities: if my kingside pawns are already in play then I tend to castle queenside. I'll also castle queenside if it offers the potential to place the queenside rook in control of an important file. In terms of chess theory this may hinge on the wisdom of developing the queen early in the game: that's a very aggressive (and often reckless) style of play that happens less often at higher levels than among novices. Durova 23:35, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It's good to study a few very uncommon games for when you get to play against a better player. If they haven't studied it, you still stand a chance. I once reached fourth place in a tournament with some good players (and I even beat the ultimate winner in one of the first games). A queenside castle could be the basis for that, but playing on the defensive is generally not a good idea in such a situation, unless it's a 5 or 10 min game and/or you're going for a draw. DirkvdM 07:18, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Detailed information on horse guardian road fatality by truck nassau ny 1970's

I am doing research on deaths of roadway guards for horse trailers by trucks and cars . I am interested in the details (legal, medical and otherwise) and outcomes for the queens/nassau, new york area in the early 1970's. Where would i go to get this information and not just general statistics?

I don't understand the question, what are "roadway guards for horse trailers" ? StuRat 01:30, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Have you gotten in touch with the mounted division of the NYPD? Or the Belmont racetrack? Or horse farms/riding schools in Nassau County? Durova 01:59, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

September 11

Steve Irwin

I was reading the article on Steve Irwin. I was wondering what religion he was, if he did believe anything. I know that it was his own personal business and probably no one will really know other than his own family. Thanks for any information. Van00:23, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

There has been no mention of Irwin's religious beliefs in any of the voluminous coverage of his death here in Australia. If he was a member of any organised religion, he and his family have kept very quiet about it. --Robert Merkel 02:53, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

baseball field question

This is just a question that was brought up to me and now im trying to get an answer for it, Should the fences on any baseball diamond in the nation or world whether its major league or even just t-ball be tight to the ground on the bottom so nobody can get a foot caught under the bottom pipe support and the ground and get a broken ankle or foot. What is the correct answer or specifications or rules to this question?

I doubt there are any rules for "every" field especially considering as there is not even a rule on how far the fences are. Rmhermen 02:05, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

This seems to me to be nothing to do with baseball, but rather to do with the local regulations on safety and excessive precautionary measures. ColinFine 12:55, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Why do all my cactuses die?

All of my potted houseplant cactuses die the same way: they get soft and dark green and they fall over and go flat. Their base sort of dies first. Why do they die? I don't water them much, only like once a month (and only like 2tbsp). These particular cactuses died after they were repotted: File:Thedeadcactusses.JPG The one in the bottom right has died, the one in the bottom left has started dying in it's base.(I realize that it's supposed to be 'cacti', but I prefer 'cactuses')

Could be a number of things. Temperature? Sunlight? Repotting procedure? You could try leaving them in the thing you get them in from the nursery and see if they still die. You could also try leaving them outside to see if that makes any difference. BenC7 02:40, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

I've heard they do best in very sandy soil; from the picture your soil looks kind of loamy. Don't know if that's important enough to mean the difference between life and death, though. --Allen 04:59, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

catholics

if you don't know already, I went to a Catholic mass to see what it was like, to try and learn some things about Christianity, and to meet the cute ,clean, Catholic girls (is it so wron g to only want to date prima materia ???)

oh ,I forgot to add, this isn't homework. Jasbutal 05:03, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Questions:

1. what's with the cross on the staff that they kept moving around the Church, in and out, aisle to aisle? I'm familiar with the cross, but why were they walking around with it at what seemed randome times?

2. what's the point of singing stuff?

3. greater than 75% of the mass was singing ! wtf, the priest only talked for like 5 min on the Bible. why so much singing !?

4. one of the reasons I came was to take the eucharist, because that's the whole point of why Christianity is a living religion, because the sacrifice of Jesus actually happens every day and every week. It's not just confined to 2000 years ago .

can i just go protestant and take it there!? They'll give the supper to anyoone.

5. I f catholics barely even talk about or read the Bible in Chruch how do they learn about ti? just reading it on their own? Do they have bible studies like the protestants?

6. if I go to an orthodox church, will all the shit be in Greek? fuck that.

7. What's with the red light on the staff they carried around with the cross sometimes?

8. do any churches do Gregorian chant? That' sthe only signing I want to do, forget these egocentric hymns and egocentric songs like "AMazing Grace"

9. The priest talked about the "Culture of Death" (something the pope talked about on youth day or somethign) is this a common Catholic perception of the current American/Western culture?

10. he said that a personal intimacy with the God and Jesus was possible. I thought catholics were famous for saying that the only way the comman man can communicate or "get to" God/jesus was by proxy through the Priest!? ??

I'm pretty sure Orthodox churches hold services in whatever language is most convenient for the parishoners. Catholics definitely have Bible study just like Protestants. Not all Protestant churches have the Eucharist, and of those that do, they have different requirements for who can receive it. At some, anyone can receive it; in the Episcopal Church, you have to be baptised in the name of the Trinity but you don't have to be Episcopal. (Like the Catholics, of course, they don't actually check.) I don't know the answers to a lot of your questions. I'm curious to know about that red light on the staff; I went to a Catholic church as a kid and I don't remember that. Maybe it was a safer alternative to carrying a burning candle on a staff? You might be interested in reading Mass (Catholic Church). --Allen 04:57, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

1. and 8. The cross is just a symbol. The movements were probably not random. (I can only remember it moving when the priest comes in or leaves?) 2. Singing is a large part of how the church members participate in the mass. Gregorian chant is used (see that article which describes chants like the Alleluia, Agnus Dei and Kyrie) perhaps you didn't recognize it or perhaps as a college service, a very modern liturgy was used? In some churches, the priest, cantor and choir seems to do almost all the actual singing (although the parishioners are encouraged to sing as well.) 3. Catholics are known for short sermons although there has been increased focus since Vatican II. Protestant sermons are generally much longer. (In Catholicsm the central point of the Mass is the Eucharist, with the singing secondary and the sermon least important. In Protestant church, generally the sermon is most important - although in some, and more recently, it is the singing that is most important in the average service. The Lord's Supper is not part of every service but is central when it is.) 4. Protestants would emphatically disagree with this statement and even the Catholics interpretation is more subtle (Eucharist (Catholic Church)#Transubstantiation) 5. Catholics are perceived to study the Bible less than Protestants but home Bible reading, Bible studies and church classes outside of Mass do occur. 7. Another symbol (Jesus as the light to the world.) 10. Catholics believe in a personal relationship with God (such as prayer). The priest has certain roles to fulfill (such as absolution and consecration of the Eucharist) So perhaps communicate - no; get to God, yes. Rmhermen 05:45, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

appreciate the response, Rmhermen. The wiki article tells us a lot about transubstantiation but not why it's done. In regards to that, I was doing some googling just after I asked this, and check this out: "In the Eucharist, we don't merely "remember" the death and resurrection of Christ, like we remember some historic event. Rather, the Eucharist is a living memorial that makes Christ's sacrifice present anew in every parish community which offers it at the hands of a bishop or priest."

from http://www.kofc.org/publications/columbia/detail.cfm?id=2273 Jasbutal 05:57, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

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September 4

I Need Help Classifying My Political Views

I can't figure out what word (libertarian, right-wing, etc.) decribes my political views. Could you help me please? Also I don't know what political party (U.S.) I would most agree with. Here are some of my views:

   -I believe in government-controlled industries and a government-controlled economy.
   -I strongly oppose the hippie movement(except I agree with environmentalism)
   -I am against freedom of religion
   -I am generally in favor of freedom of speech, but compared to most americans I am "against" it
   -I believe human rights in general should be "suggestions"
   -I am against democracy, though I am not in favor of dictatorships nor totalitarian regimes
   -I am against equality

I realize that the things I have listed may seem "harsh," but that is because I can't really think of many examples, so I thought of the ones I've argued recently(which are bound to be "harsher" than most). I think of my beliefs as what provides maximum benefit to the state, and I think of most Americans' beliefs as what provides maximum freedom for the individual. What word describes me, and what party is similar? Thank you! --Life 02:42, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Communist. Try Communist Party USA. You might have issues with the equality thing, but in all Communist states thus far, some people are more equal than others. --Mnemeson 02:50, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't see any significant differences from Nazism, though I don't know the Nazi position on the environment. --Maxamegalon2000 03:01, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Sounds a bit Nazi, but then again a bit socialist. So Communist with Nazi over/undertones?--Light current 03:18, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Reminds me a bit of what Margaret Thatcher said about society, only in reverse: "There is no such thing as society. There are individuals, and there are families, that is all". (or something like that). JackofOz 03:33, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Umm, Light Current, Nazi is short for National Socialists, so I wouldnt be surprised if they were a bit socialist. Philc _T^E_C^I 20:53, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

If you say National socialism, it sound more friendly. But doesn't give Fascism a better fit? --Lambiam^Talk 03:36, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I thought this might happen (suggestions of Nazism). Forget the list of stuff, those are just fun things to argue. My core belief is to provide the maximum benefit to the state as opposed to the maximum freedom for the individual. All of my political beliefs are derived from this. What would you suggest I am? --Life 03:29, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Socialist or communist--Light current 03:32, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

If your core belief is the state over the individual, then you're a hard core Socialist. The core distinction between Socialism and Communism is the state - I have a friend who fled the USSR who informs me that the reason it was the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) was that 'they were living in Socialism as they built Communism, at which point the state would wither and die'. Try Socialist Party USA, but I think they might be too liberal for you. --Mnemeson 03:34, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm quite sure the SPUSA is not waiting for members who are against democracy and equality. --Lambiam^Talk 03:44, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I wonder how User:Life defines "benefit to the state". In states that do not have a democratic political system, it tends to get redefined as "benefit to the ruling class". --Lambiam^Talk 03:44, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you very much Mnemeson, you have helped me a great deal. I do think Socialist Party USA is too liberal(in the U.S. sense) for me, but I guess I am a socialist. Hurrah! --Life 03:43, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

In response to Lambiam's comment, I don't mean just the ruling class, I mean basically all citizens. However, the redefinition is something I have not considered. (And by the way, I am in favor of something similar to democracy, just not outright democracy(For example, I like the idea of a consensus; however I realize that it is not feasible. I think that "majority rules", however, is bad. Once, when looking through Wikipedia about forms of government, I became attracted to Technocracy (bureaucratic), and I think that's the best thing I've found. Sort of oligarchy, but sort of democracy.)). --Life 03:52, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Can you elaborate on these two points?

   -I am against democracy, though I am not in favor of dictatorships nor totalitarian regimes
      Who is entitled to citizenship?
   -I am against equality
      What divides?

lots of issues | leave me a message 04:08, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I think User:Life is a bit confused ATM. Best not press him! 8-)--Light current 04:16, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

What hippies? Aren't they extinct, or at least on the endangered species list? Clarityfiend 05:27, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

May I suggest www.politicalcompass.org, which, through policy related questions, will plot your position on the 'political compass.' Autopilots 05:43, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

CHECK YOUR USERPAGE

In response to clarityfiend, forget the list. Those were just things that I find fun to argue because of their shock value, or things I've argued recently. Many of them people are viewing as incredibly exaggerated from what I intended. Ok, I'll elaborate those two points(many of you seem to make bad assumptions about them anyway). First, equality. I am against dividing based on race(that's just a bad idea). However, I am against complete gender-equality(meaning that I acknowledge that women and men are in fact different). I am also against the notion that "all men are created equal", when, obviously, some people are born with defects. For example, I feel that mental retards should not receive education, and should instead do manual labor. I also feel that if someone is born completely incapable of work that they should not be a citizen. I feel that those people with ability should be valued more highly in the society than those without. As to democracy, this was only there to say that I am against "western democracies" where people spend lots of money running propaganda through the populace and whoever spends the most wins. And, specifically in the U.S., that two parties with almost exactly the same ideals are the only parties with power. I made a comment above saying I liked the idea of Technocracy (bureaucratic).

By the way, whoever said check your userpage is insane. I said I am against dictatorship and totalitarian gov't, yet they accuse me of favoring that.

Actually forget everything I said, because now I am starting to view myself badly, because I went "on tilt". My belief is that the maximum benefit to the state should be the goal of everything. That is my core belief, from which all others are derived. I believe that the majority of you believe in the libertarian ideology, which I am against. There. --Life 16:38, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Why don't you try reading either of the books I suggested in answer to another question? They would help give some structure to your ideas which seem to be all over the place at the moment. What you're describing is most similar to Communism, classical Marxist-leninist views (I mean of course what the states actually strive for, rather than the things they say they want).

The main problem for you or anyone else trying to classify your views is that you say here that your fundamental ideal is the good of the state, but you don't seem to be clear what you mean by the state. If, as you seem to suggest, the state is identical to the people, then you're a Utilitarian (or maybe a Eudaemonist?), although that philosophy led to some rather odd policies and is too woolly to have much concrete meaning - it can be used a basis for diametrically opposite ideologies quite easily.

Btw, I'm opposed to democracy and in favour of some kind of elitist state (maybe morlocks and eloi? :) ), so please don't include me in your little tantrum! :) Rentwa 19:17, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I used to teach 'mental retards' btw. More worthwhile than 'normal' people I think. It's normal people who should be put to work. Exceptional people should be educated (they benefit most) and 'retards' as you call them deserve the best we can give them as their lives are hard enough to start with. I take back what I said about reading. You need to do a bit of feeling. Why don't you see if you can get a job working with 'retards'? After you get over your initial shock at they way they may look or act you might find it interesting to be with people who aren't clever enough to have suspicious, scheming, greedy, arrogant thoughts in their heads, people who just want to be your friend and tell you about stuff and ask you about stuff. It might even help you with your current difficulties :) . Rentwa 20:42, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

To be perfectly honest, you just sound like an ordinary Republican, with a slight personality disorder. Either that, or you're a test to see how partisan individuals respond to a person spouting nazi-like rhetoric. In which case it worked perfectly, with Republicans calling you a Communist, Democrats calling you a Nazi, and the British, comparing you to Margaret Thatcher. Always happy to play guinea pig for some random person on the internet--VectorPotential^{71.247.243.173} 20:51, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like Kid Hitler to me. Philc _T^E_C^I 20:56, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

• It's simple, you're a Borg.
• B00P 03:46, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

• No ofense, but you got some problems. RENTASTRAWBERRY ^{FOR LET?} röck 02:23, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

orthobionic body person

Please, do you now what is He didn't pass his exams and will have to TA again.

And... whj is orthobionic body person?

You mean the Six Million Dollar Man?--Light current 04:02, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

"He" is apparently a student at a college or university. "He did not pass his exams" means: he failed for his tests. "To TA" means: to be a teaching assistant. The noun "TA" is used as a verb here.

Without context I can only guess at the meaning of "orthobionic body". It might refer to the presence of prosthetics. There is a German prosthetics company Otto Bock that has copyrighted the word "Orthobionic". --Lambiam^Talk 04:14, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Copyright is usually only given on creative works, and I can't see much creativity in a word. Are you sure it's not trademarked? = Mgm|^(talk) 04:53, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure a lot of creative work went into coming up with that word :) . On the page I gave a link to, they have "Orthobionic®", presenting it as a registered trademark. But on this European page they have "Orthobionic ©". Maybe a difference between U.S. and European copyright laws and jurisprudence? --Lambiam^Talk 05:13, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

THats good code breaking Lambiam! So what does this character want to know FGS?--Light current 04:18, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

My code-breaking engine returned this:

Please, can you tell me, what is the meaning of:

"He didn't pass his exams and will have to TA again."?

And also, "orthobionic body" means which person?

--Lambiam^Talk 05:05, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I agree with going the extra mile in deciphering the indecipherable, but this one has gone beyond the limit. IMO, such "questions" should just be deleted outright. If they can't come to the party just one little bit, they have no right to expect any response at all. I appreciate this person has a limited command of English, but I would expect a better worded question from a visitor from outer space. JackofOz 05:20, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

This hapless user entered the questions three times. Perhaps this was the best they could do. --Lambiam^Talk 07:13, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Well its not as if were over busy right now!. In busier times, I would agree with Jack--Light current 20:54, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Budderghur

In the South Mahratta Campaign of 1844-45 a officer by the name of Percy Scudmore Cunningham was present at the taking of the heights in front of & occupation of Budderghur - I would like to know where Budderghur was and what it's new name is.

Judjing by the red links, so would we! Tried Googling?--Light current 03:25, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I got one Google hit for one "Percy Scudamore Cunningham" being listed in the East-India Register, May 1850, as an officer of the Palamcottah Light Infantry, commissioned to the rank of lieutenant on 3 June 1845. Palamcottah (Palayamkottai) is in Tamil Nadu. We have an article on the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-1818), which is said to be "a final and decisive conflict between the United Kingdom and the Maratha empire in India" – which leaves me guessing what the South Mahratta Campaign of 1844–1845 was about. Based on maps (India1760 1905.jpg, India map en.svg), there appears to be no overlap between Tamil Nadu and Mahratta. One would guess that Budderghur was in the south of Mahratta, which however had a very large extent, covering more than half of present India. --Lambiam^Talk 04:50, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Is this Bodhgaya perhaps?--Shantavira 07:26, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

That seems a bit too far up north for a Southern Mahratta campaign. --Lambiam^Talk 09:30, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Aerial combat

What would be the likely result of a C-130 Hercules being attacked by an F/A-18 Hornet? It's for a story I'm writing. The Hercules has a valuable cargo, so the Hornet only wants to force it down to the ground, not completely destroy it. Battle Ape 05:17, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Not a military expert by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems to me the only way would be to v-e-r-y carefully disable a couple of the engines with the gatling gun. I haven't a clue as to how destructive a gatling is, but I'm guessing air-to-air missiles would probably cause too much damage. Either that or open the canopy, stick a revolving red light on the front and pull it over for speeding. Clarityfiend 05:37, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

"Aw, hell, there's a traffic cop behind us." "At 30,000 feet?!" "Must have a hell of a ticket quota." Tony Fox (arf!) 06:07, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

A missle will certainly destroy the Hercules; the 20mm gatling could be used to take out the engines, but it could just as well ignite a fuel line and blow up the aircraft, or it could hit the pilot. The safest way to force it to the ground would be to fly up from behind and ram the wing. Raul654 05:42, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

This is the "safest" way??? Could a Hornet fly slow enough to station itself just ahead of and above the Hercules, then gradually lose altitude? Clarityfiend 05:52, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Mabye they could just talk to them, and if they won't comply, start placing bullet where (I assume) they won't do much harm (such as wingtips and stabilizers) to prove you're serious. If the Hercules is armed, there might be more difficulties. I wouldn't recommend ramming or any other body contact. In my imagination, chances are that the Hercules might perform an unexpected manouver and actually crash the Hornet! —85.225.228.114 07:18, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, the Hornet could slow to the same speed as the Herc. As far as ramming it... The Hornet pilot would have to be insane, IMO. Hercs probably have thicker skin than Hornets since the Hercules has a greater probability of flying lower to the ground in hostile territory. Therefore it has to be able to withstand small arms fire as well as that from high powered rifles without breaking up from just a few rounds. For a Hornet to be safer from other gattling gun fire, it would have to be up-armored so much that it would start affecting its flight capabilities. So, in conclusion, my vote is for gattling fire to the engines. There's a chance of more destruction to the Herc than is desired but it seems the best way with the limits of the original question. Dismas|^(talk) 07:44, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Cheers. Battle Ape 12:10, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I think you are looking at it the wrong way. The C130 has a stall speed at like 100 knots, depending on the weight of the valuable cargo you talked about, maybe 120 knots. Its top speed is around 300 knots, and since it is a prop plane, any maneuvering to go from onew to the other is going to take time. The hornet is a fighter that could fly circles around the C130, and out maneuver it any way. But it couldn't fly slow (under 150 knots) to pace the C130 flying slowly.

I think any attempt to stop the C130 risks destroying it. So, the main battle is internal, between the people involved, and not between the two aircraft. The only hope the C130 would have is if it used side mounted guns, such as a 40mm, or 105mm howitzer. Which could theorectically blow away a hornet. But, the limited field of the side mounted guns (30 degrees or so, below and to one side would make it hard to catach a hornet, and the hornet pilot would surely see and know about side mounted guns. Another option that might surprise a hornet pilot flying above and slightly behind might be if the c130 opened the loading dock door and used a shoulder mounted RPG or something like that. Or maybe some attempt at a roll to one side to put the guns in range, certainly avoidable by the hornet pilot.

Otherwise, the motivation of the Hornet would be to get the C130 to land without destroying the cargo, and so if the cargo were really that valuable, it could not afford anything other than warning fire without risking the cargo. Any attempt at minor damage would jeopardize their mission. The C130 crew would have to value their lives more than the cargo before they would comply and land it rather than risk being shot down.

I think there are enough interesting variables there to make for a variety of plot lines, depending on who you want to win. Atom 15:36, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

There used to be an RPG that simulated air combat. Rentwa 18:55, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to assume you mean a Role Playing Game and not a Rocket Propelled Grenade in this case. Dismas|^(talk) 19:44, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, although there's probably and RPG that simulates RPGs. Rentwa 21:06, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, what I want is for the narrator (who is onboard the Hercules) to be forced to parachute out - whether from the cargo bay door being opened, or a hole being blown in the side of the plane, it doesn't matter. It would be preferable for the Hercules to somehow land and save the cargo, as well. Battle Ape 17:12, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Do not ram a C-130. SWAdair 04:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Of course not. I'm still making payments on my Hornet (those babies aren't cheap, you know). And whatever would I tell my insurance company? Clarityfiend 17:07, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If the pilot is new enough to the plane he could try evasive manuvers in an effort to keep from being intercepted by the F/A hornet. This could, in theory, force the plane to spend so much fuel that the pilot will have no choice but to abondon the plane, unless he wishes to attempt a "controlled" crash landing. Just a thought. TomStar81 (Talk) 07:23, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

House names in the USA

I do several online gift exchanges where I'm the only Brit amongst lots of Americans. Every time I get lots of emails telling me I haven't put my house number in-and I notice every American address I receive has one. My house doesn't have a number,just a name-this always seems to come as rather a surprise to the Americans.So is it just a British thing or do you Yanks have house names too? Lemon martini 08:50, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

No, except maybe some rich people's homes, like Monticello. An apartment complex or subdivision has a name, but that's for the entire complex, not an individual unit. So, what's your house's name, anyway ? StuRat 09:17, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Not all British houses have names. In the U.S., "The White House" is a house name. It nevertheless has a house number: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Likewise, Monticello is 931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. So yes, they have some names, but still numbers as well. --Lambiam^Talk 09:25, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Houses have numbers for a couple reasons, A) so that we can find the house on a map and B) so that when you call the police/fire/ambulance/pizza place/etc. they can easily find your house. They simply go to the road that you live on then go to that number. Also, because of 9-1-1, the houses are supposed to be numbered according to where they are on the road. For instance, 1900 Green Mountain Rd. would be 1.9 miles from the "start" of that particular road, 1800 would be 1.8 miles and so on. So if the pizza guy knows you live at 1900, they can go to the beginning of the road and then look at their odometer to measure off 1.9 miles and even if your house doesn't have the number on it or your mailbox is unmarked as well, they still know where the hungry people are. Dismas|^(talk) 09:52, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

What Dismas says probably applies to most of the United States, but it does not apply to New England, or to most of New York and New Jersey. In the northeastern corner of the United States, there are no comprehensive urban grids and very few grids of any kind. Houses are numbered sequentially along each street, but the house number does indicate anything about the number of blocks or the distance from the beginning of the street. Partial exceptions are the numbered streets and avenues of Queens and Manhattan, New York, but in Manhattan, there is no direct correlation between street number and cross street. Marco polo 14:16, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

• The previous post is quite wrong. In Manhattan addresses are numbered based on how far they are from 5th Avenue. Each block between avenues accounts for one hundred numbers. Thus one block west of 5th Ave (at 6th Ave) the address is 100 West X Street (X being whatever street you're on). 200 West X St would be found exactly one block west of that at 7th Ave. Conversely, walking east from 5th Ave, you'd find 100 East X Street at Park (=4th) Ave, and 200 East at 3rd Ave. B00P 03:42, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

In the UK the postcode alone will find your house to within several metres, the address is relatively redundant completely due to this, but makes it easier for the postman. Philc _T^E_C^I 21:18, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

In the US, the 9-digit Zip code serves the same purpose, although we tend to use only the 5-digit Zip code which corresponds to a particular post office. User:Zoe|(talk) 22:55, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

That 1900 Green Mountain Rd. is 1.9 miles from the start of the road is only a very rough estimate. For example, in my locale (Minneapolis, MN) blocks are longer in the north-south direction than they are in the east-west direction. The north-south direction works out to be approximately 10 blocks/mile, but the east-west direction is considerably less. The numbers do always increase in the same direction though and even numbers are on one side of the street while odd numbers are on the other. The numbers are also spaced (for example, 3905 to 3909 with no 3907), which I assume is to allow further growth without having to renumber houses or have numbers fall out of order. In new developments, they may try to follow a more precise numbering scheme based distance from a known point, but it certainly is not standard across the country. —Bradley 14:50, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

My house is Holly Cottage.The next one down is Woodlands,then it's Spindles and Monte Rosa.None of the houses anywhere on our road has numbers and that's not unusual,particularly in villages and rural areas.Often you have to drive along looking for the name.It can get very confusing-we have near us a Holly House and Holly Lodge too... Lemon martini 10:51, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I have found out that houses do indeed have names, not numbers, in the UK. But I've not heard of such a thing anywhere else. Maybe it really is just a British thing. JIP | Talk 11:20, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

By the way, who comes up with these names for the houses? The owners? If it's the owners, does the name change when new owners move in? Or are they like boats and it's considered unlucky to change the names? Dismas|^(talk) 12:23, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Owners make up names, and can choose to change them. But if the house ever had a number, then the number never goes away; often it will have a name too. But my house has no number, and there is no mechanism by which we could get one. Indeed, the road it is on has no name either. (This is not a large community). In the UK, a post code identifies, on average, 14 properties so it isn't as big a deal for the postman as you might think. Notinasnaid

Trivia: Many houses in the north of Scotland have neither a name nor a number; letters are addressed simply to a named person in that locality. House numbers in the UK do occasionally change, for example if there is infill or if a street is extended at the lower end, although I know of one case in which a new house at the lower end was numbered zero.--Shantavira 14:59, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah I think that's cool. A lot of my relatives in Scotland live in places like that. I want to be known simply as "Gavin of Scots Peak" or something like that. In Tokyo, small residential streets aren't named and the houses aren't numbered. Most addresses consist of a three number sector code (kind of like the ones in Star Trek and a house name, but since it's often difficult even with that, maps are used a lot.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  15:14, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

In some places in America, you can address letters simply to "Joe Schmo, Rural Route 2" and then the city and ZIP code. With the introduction of 911 emergency service, a lot of houses that didn't have official numbers now do, although the actual numbering system differs among communities (see house numbering). Some office buildings and institutions, like Rockefeller Center and the Pentagon, are addresses in themselves (although the Pentagon, according to our article, apparently does have a street number.) I have seen some wealthy people put "names" of their houses on their mailboxes, but to use it in one's address would seem quite pretentious. -- Mwalcoff 15:57, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Its worth remembering that many rural British houses will have existed long before the global postal service as we know it was functioning. Thus numbering would be somewhat redundant when you could just send your letter to John Smith at Hill House, Cobb-on-the-Wheyy and the the local postie would know exactly who it was for. Numbers are only essential when the population density of a deliversy area surpasses a certain level. Since the US is a much younger country, its not surprising they took advantage of a universal numbering system for houses. They also used a grid system when building their urban areas, often incorporating numbers and letters in a logical manner. Thus its often possible to pinpoint the geographic location of a house simply from an address. Try that in the UK!

The more recent tradition of naming newer houses is a somewhat middle class tradition in the UK. Consider the reputedly common name that many Scots give their retirement property: "Dun roamin". Hilarious. Rockpocket 18:09, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

The use of house numbers has not always been universal in the U.S. In some areas, it was only introduced recently, after the introduction of 911 service. There's an old story: A post office got a letter addressed as follows:

Wood

John

Massachusetts

The letter was delivered. Extra-credit points for whoever can tell me where the letter was delivered to. -- Mwalcoff 22:35, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

John Underwood, Andover Massachusetts. But I cheated, I've seen it before.  :) User:Zoe|(talk) 22:58, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

But you do need to distinguish the case where people name a house which has a number - and will not usually use it in the address - from the case where the house has no number and its name is the only way of designating it. ColinFine 21:15, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

There are also some houses which have numbers, but have also had names since they were built and are known to the post office by their names. This can happen to an extent that the name will get a letter to the door, but the number won't. It's all very confusing. Skittle 21:18, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Forgive me if I've mentioned this before. This discussion reminds me of when the composer Giuseppe Verdi was asked his address, and he replied "I should think Italy would be sufficient". JackofOz 06:08, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

What is an "online gift exchange". Do you just swap unwanted birthday and chistmas presents, or is it something different?

Request for radio transscript

I enjoy Longwave 252 every Sunday from Ireland 9am to 10am can I have a transscript of the articles and music from Sunday 3 September 2006

Angus McAulay

(ssh... do you want to get spammed?)

Maybe Rte Radio 1's website can help you out here. (Apparently that's what you're listening to when tuning into 252 Longwave). ---Sluzzelin 12:07, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Who knows how to work a Canon XL2?

I have borrowed an XL2, but I have no idea how to use it.

I'm looking to get the Depth of Field effect...where a certain object is in focus, and everything inside or outside of that distance creeps towards a blur. How do I achieve this? Eg. I have a subject...say...10 metres in front of the camera....how do I get it so that the subject 10 metres away is in focus, but everything else is not?

gelo 14:03, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

The things that you have control over are: How fast the film is, how well lit the subject it, how close you are to the subject, what things are in the frame of the picture (the subject, and other things), what aperature you use, what the shutter speed is, the focus you give to the picture (what things are within focus, versus out of focus), and the focal length of the lens you are using.

Depth of field is created primarily by your choice of aperature, the length of the lens, and how far you are from the subject. Large lens openings (f/2) are more sensitive to the depth of field (narrower band), and smaller aperature (f/22) will give a long/broad/wide depth of field zone. The lens you use will limit which aperature options you have. Obviously if you use a small aperature, you have to make sure that your lighting and film will work with that. Aldo the farther away from the camera, the more depth of field you can get. If you want your subject up close and things in the distance blurred, then get up close to it, and use a larger aperature.

It's been a long time since I used an analog camera, so I hope this helps, and I haven't made it more confusing. I learned from experimenting. Atom 14:28, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

A small Depth of Field means that the effect you want to achieve is strong. So this means: the larger the aperture, the stronger the effect. Use a large aperture, but with a correspondingly fast shutter speed or not-so-sensitive film so that you don't get overexposure. See also Depth of field#Aperture effects. --Lambiam^Talk 15:57, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Downloading videos - is there a trick to do it on this site?

The Junior Eurovision Songcontest is starting again and the Belgians have a massive site this year with a lot of videos. I tried recording today's pre-selection episode, but thanks to the US Open it didn't start on time and my recorder didn't record the right bit. Now, I did see videos for those shows are up on the site and I want to download them for save keeping until I'm sure they bring them out on DVD or something, but Internet Explorer isn't cooperating and Firefox doesn't recognize the plugin (and all my downloader tools don't recognize it either). Is there a way to download these? It would save me a lot of homicidal feelings toward whoever finds it neccesary to not follow the tv schedule. Any help is appreciated. (I use a Windows 98 system, please only suggestions that work for that) - Mgm|^(talk) 17:23, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

What's the link to their website? Bearing in mind that there's a good chance the videos are only meant to be streamed, and not downloaded. --Mnemeson 19:10, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

• I can't believe I forgot that. Will drop in that link when I get home to the favorites folder I stored the site under. - 131.211.210.10 07:26, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Cartoon Geezer? (Looney Tunes?)

I could swear I remember there being a skinny, stooped, toothless old man (with a beard, maybe?) in some of the Looney Tunes cartoons, but after combing Wikipedia and performing a half-dozen Google searches, I can't seem to find a trace of him online. Am I hallucinating? Is he from some other cartoon world? -- Avocado 17:38, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

All I could think of was the 2000 Year Old Man TV cartoon series. (Check this picture for memory comparison). Unless you're thinking of clean-shaven Mr. Magoo... ---Sluzzelin 19:22, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Nope, not Mr. Magoo. And definitely not the 2000 year old man (gee, I'd forgotten about him!) --Avocado 23:57, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

No but I think Ive seen him in Mr Magoo. Did he have a walking stick and white beard?--Light current 20:56, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

um.... I don't remember. He might have. But if he had a beard, it was short. -- Avocado 23:58, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

There should be a page on old bearded cartoon geezers and Jasper Beardley should be on it too. ---84.75.129.157 21:43, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Could he have been Scottish? I have some vague recollection of an old grumpy Scottish-dressed male cartoon character. --21:50, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Possibly... that sounds vaguely familiar, but I'm not certain.... -- Avocado 23:57, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

You're not thinking of Groundskeeper Willie, perhaps?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  16:17, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I know exactly the character you're talking about, but I cannot remember any of the cartoons he was in. User:Zoe|(talk) 22:59, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I remember an old guy leaning on a cane. His dentures ended up in his equally decrepit dog's mouth, I think. Clarityfiend 17:12, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Could it be Poopdeck Pappy from the Popeye cartoons: [12] ? Or maybe Mr. Natural ? StuRat 06:05, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

From the picture, I think we can safetly assume that Mr. Natural had a nice full set of (natural) choppers.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  16:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

YES!!! That's it. A Google image search confirms... Poopdeck Pappy s the guy I'm thinking of. Thanks, StuRat! -- Avocado 23:50, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

You're quite welcome ! StuRat 03:35, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

What is the name of this file cabinet part/accessory?

In many file cabinets each drawer has a repositionable steel wire piece for keeping the files in the drawer together and upright (when the drawer is not full). It is shaped like this

          __
         /  \
 .------/    \------.
|                    |

Is there a name for this part? If so, what's it called?

I think it might be called file divider or more specifically wire file divider. ---Sluzzelin 18:43, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

The pointy out part is called a tab, and I would presume the entire sheet would be called something like a "tab divider" or "tab separator" if there was an official name for it. See file_folder for no useful information.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  16:08, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Clever way of drawing it. Alphabetagamma 04:25, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

New Slogan

Instead Of Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. How bout Wikipedia ending Ignorance as we know it?
Email me at (email addr removed) if you like it.

If we knew it, we wouldnt be ignorant, would we?--Light current 00:42, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Ignorance is bliss. Russian F 01:25, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

There are a lot of very, very happy people out there. George Bush must be positively ecstatic. Clarityfiend 16:58, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't end ignorance. People have to do that for themselves. ColourBurst 13:49, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

"Enduring ignorance as we know it" might be better.  sʟυмɢυм • т • c  13:53, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

How about Wikipedia: Suitly emphaziing Mr. Gulbenkian's homework since 2006? Luigi30 (Taλk) 14:35, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

September 5

ECP/Condoms

So Emergency Contraception is effective if you take it up to five days after you have unprotected sex; if you take it, and then four days later you fuck up again, is it still good, or do you need to take it again?

Also, can a guy not being circumcised have an effect on the likelihood of a condom to tear? It seems like this happens to us a disproportionate number of times, and we've checked and double checked that we're doing everything right.

Dear anonymous, see Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer. Basically, the advice you will get here is worth precisely what you paid for it. On a matter of this consequence, I'd speak to a professional.

That said, you can read the Plan B website. Note the following from the FAQ:

You should not have unprotected sex after taking Plan B®, because Plan B® will not protect you from getting pregnant.

Also, if you read the material on that website, the elimination half-life, you'll find that the drug would be mostly excreted out of the woman's system after 4 days.

So, a woman would almost certainly not be protected four days after taking Plan B.

As to your other problem, I do suppose you're using a water-based lubricant? If you're using something else, that may be causing the condom to break. Beyond that, consult your doctor; if you're continually having problems with condom breakage maybe it's time to consider some other method of contraception. --Robert Merkel 01:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It's always a good idea to use a condom in conjunction with some other method of birth control. Really this is too important an issue to discuss with anyone other than a medical doctor. Durova 07:50, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

stealing references

I'm doing a ton of research, writing one of those papers where each sentence has a unique footnote-reference. So, naturally, I'm reading other papers and books where each sentence has a footnote.

Is it standard procedure to just steal their references and use them as my own, even if I haven't actually looked them up ? Jasbutal 01:30, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

You could probably just refer to that one book. Russian F 01:34, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Generally, it's not good practice to cite sources you haven't read. Cite the book you have read. If there's some quotation in the book you've read, from a source you haven't, and you absolutely cannot get your hands on that original source, there are recommended ways to cite such things: see your style guide for recommendations. --Robert Merkel 01:40, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It's not good practise, but if they use a direct quote and you're confident they didn't get it wrong, bearing in mind that it is out of context, there's nothing to stop you using it. It would, however, be much better to read the original, or at least cite 'Source x, quoted in y' --Mnemeson 02:08, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Please at least look up the work in an index and read the abstract. You can avoid a substantial amount of embarrassment with even that minimum of effort. :D There's work out there that indicates that many scientists don't read all their references. This New Scientist article discusses a somewhat controversial study out of UCLA that suggest scientists don't read 75% of the papers that they cite. (Note that they use the accuracy of citation information as a proxy for paper reading; in many cases the scientists may have read the paper but copied the citation info incorrectly.) Strictly speaking, though, it's quite unethical to include a citation that you haven't looked at. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:17, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

great, well I'm an engineering student, so I'll just do as my professional researching professors do. (btw I didn't read that link, I just assumed you got it right). Thanks for the comments all. Jasbutal 03:32, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If i cite a reference that i have not read extensively, i always make sure i read the abstract at least and, whenever possible, skim read the results and conclusions. You'd be surprised at how often you will be asked to expand on the one source you didn't read. However, should you not wish to, or be able to, you could always use the old "Smith et al, and references therein" line. Works a treat and covers your ass. Rockpocket 06:28, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Sometimes the purpose of a reference is mainly to give credit to whoever first had some idea, or to refer to related work, rather than to lend support to some statement you're making. Then it is more acceptable (to me) not to actually have read the source. If the implied aim is to increase the credibility of a claim, then there is an element of intellectual dishonesty if you haven't read the paper and accept the evidence and reasoning presented as supporting the claim (assuming the authors were honest). My experience in tracing references is that a good deal, at the end of the chain, do not actually support what they are supposed to. --Lambiam^Talk 09:13, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

maths thicko needs help!!

Can anyone please tell me how to work out the number of combinations a set of figures have? For example, How many three letter combinations there are in the English Alphabet, or How many different 6 number lines there are for 49 lottery balls? Also, could I please be really cheeky and ask for the answer to be given in a simple to read way, I have real problems with 'jargonese@' !! Thank you so much for your time. Natalie

We wont give you the answer, but we may tell you how to do it!--Light current 02:11, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

You're looking for information about some of the simpler problems in combinatorics. That article gets pretty hardcore pretty quickly, so you might want to look at permutations and combinations, and the article on permutations (see Counting permutations in the latter article). TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:22, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks so much, I'll go and have a look. I have already looked at the first article and got hopelessly lost about four words in!! I'll check out the other ones. Thanks again.

For the number (and a list) of all three-letter combinations, see Three-letter acronym (26 x 26 x 26). That one is easy, the second question is more difficult because once a ball is drawn it cannot appear in the sequence again, so the drawn ball is removed from the possibilities: 49 x 48 x 47 x ... x 2 x 1. --Canley 04:40, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I stand corrected. We have given you the answer!--Light current 04:57, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

here at the misc desk, we have bags of enthusiasm, a wide variety of specialist knowledge and suitle emphaziation to boot, and we try to answer any question we can. The folks at the maths desk are probably better placed to help you than we are though. Howard Train 05:09, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I think us enthusiasts have handled it quite well. Mind you-- a lot of us are actually the same people! 8-)--Light current 05:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

We always do, Light Current. Always. Howard Train 05:17, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

In the reference desk, you're not supposed to ask about homework, yet often providing a few answers can spur the thought of the inquirer's learning of a new concept. --Proficient 06:00, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I hate homework questions as much as anyone here, but she did ask very politely, didn't just copy the question from the homework, and wanted to know how to solve the problem, not just an answer. Those pointers to articles are, um, a bit complicated! Anyway, my response to the second one was wrong! There are six lottery balls drawn so it doesn't go down to 1, it's 49 x 48 x 46 x 45 x 44 x 43. --Canley 13:25, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

... or maybe 49 x 48 x 47 x 46 x 45 x 44. But the order of the six numbers in each entry isn't important (1-2-3-4-5-6 is the same entry as 6-5-4-3-2-1) so this calculation counts each possible entry many different times - in fact, each entry is counted 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 times. So the number of different possible entries is (49 x 48 x 47 x 46 x 45 x 44) / (6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1), which can be written more concisely as 49!/(43! x 6!) or a tad under 14 million (see National Lottery). Gandalf61 16:04, 5 September 2006 (UTC) (moonlighting from the maths desk)

Yes, I give the answer wrong twice! Let this be a lesson to anyone asking homework questions! --Canley 14:17, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

golf prize money

what are the usual splits in percentages for golf prize money? the first place is usually 18%, but what happens from there on?

Good luck finding out. It seems barely any of the official tour sites even quote the total purse money, never mind the prize money for 2nd, 3rd, etc.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  15:55, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Looking for the title of a children's book

Hi! I read a children's book about ten years ago and would like to try and find it again. I thought it was called "The Royal Magician" but it seems as though I've remembered the title incorrectly. It has 6-8 short stories about a royal family and their magician. The first few stories concern the Princes and their future wives (one princess lives in the clouds so they build a ladder out of gold; one princess lives at the bottom of the ocean so the magician swaps the sky and the sea). In other stories, the magician turns the queen into a spider; the magician competes with another magician; the magician and a prince travel to the world of dreams. If anyone has the real title or an Amazon (etc.) link, I would really appreciate it. Many thanks!

Maybe you're thinking of Midnight Magic by Edward Irving Wortis aka Avi? WP has a bit of information on the book. The author's article links to Avi's website.---Sluzzelin 09:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Sadly that's not it, but thanks for your suggestion.

2 corinthians

what's all this in 2 corinthians 2:14-16 about aromas and stenchs and such? death -> death, life -> life, why no life -> death, and why no death -> life? Jasbutal 03:46, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Paraphrasing Paul: To them that will be saved, the word of Christ that we are spreading is like the savour of life. But to those that will perish [because they do not accept it], it is like the stench of death. --Lambiam^Talk 08:42, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It's saying that people who aren't open to the word of Christ (the holy spirit hasn't prepared their hearts to make them want God) will find the Word offensive and rediculous. But to christians it makes sense and is the lifeblood if you will of their lives --Froth 20:37, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Galatians 2:20?

several questions :

1. is this about Paul destryoing his ego and his personality and saying that he is nothing?

2. what's with Paul saying he was crucified too ?

3. Does this have something to do with taking the lord's supper?

Jasbutal 03:46, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

4. Does this have something to do with homework? We don't answer homework questions as a rule (because if we do, you don't learn anything) but we're happy to point you in the right sort of direction. Try Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Epistle to the Galatians for starters, and try back here or at the humanities desk for more help if you're still stuck. Howard Train 05:16, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I know your homework rule offtherails, or howard train. this ain't homework. Epistle to the Galatians has nothing on 2:20. Second Epistle to the Corinthians doesn't have anything either. 70.225.173.251 05:22, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

An attempt at paraphrasing this: Through our acceptance of the Christ, we became one with him, and as he was crucified, our previous persona died with him, and we were reborn through him. This has not specifically to do with taking the Lord's supper. It is the Paulinian doctrine that we cannot be saved through (keeping to) the (old) Law, but only through the grace of God, as made possible by the death of Christ. --Lambiam^Talk 08:53, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

A sort of pre-Lutheran sola gratia then? -- the GREAT Gavini 15:34, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Sounds to me like we have to cast off our old life and experience rebirth in Christ, through his sacrifice, living as he did in holiness --Froth 20:44, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

diamonds

how can you tell if a stone is a diamond in a ring yes they scratch glass but is ther another positive way to tell other than going to a jeweller

Even for jewellers it's sometimes difficult to tell for sure whether a stone is in fact a diamond. You have to train your eye with a lot of practice, so for starters you need access to a lot of diamonds and fake products. You also need some special equipment. See diamond simulant for further information.---Sluzzelin 10:08, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Easy, cover a sloped piece of something smooth, with vasaline, loads of vasaline, then useing water wash all your debri down the slope, a bit at a time, the small glass looking things that stick to the vasaline are diamonds, the gravel that does not (non of the gravel will stick if done properly) then just pick em off and have em cut. or at least thats how its done on subsistance mines in Africa. Benn there done it trust me.

Diamonds are also very good conductors of heat - if you put it in your mouth it should feel as cold as metal. Not practical if the stone's set in a ring of course. Or do that thing with vaseline - he seems to know what he's talking about. Rentwa 16:17, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If it will scratch a diamond, it's a diamond. --Serie 21:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

rules of Touch football

Hello, I would like to know about a specific rule in Touch, If a try is awarded by the field or main referee, everybody gets back on side, the line or touch judge says it was a forward pass, can the try be disawarded, and is there such a term in this sport? thanks for your time

I know virtually nothing about touch footy, but I like the word "disawarded". Thanks. JackofOz 12:24, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't know the specific rule in this case, but in most sports the referee is supposed to consult his/her "line judges" before awarding points. But if they don't do it, once the try has been awarded I'm pretty sure they can't take it back. I couldn't find anything specific in the International Touch rules except " Referees may consult with line judges and/or touchdown zone officials prior to making decisions." (right at the bottom). – AlbinoMonkey ^(Talk) 13:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Since there are no "tries" in American touch football, I am trying to imagine what touch soccer (association football) could be like (hmm. you can't touch the ball but you can grab the ball handler...) What version of football are we discussing here? Rmhermen 16:13, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Rugby Football I imagine, but a kiddy version (Touch Rugby) where you don't wrestle each other to the ground... Skittle 17:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Quick Question

I recently created an article about US indie band Like A Fox, but when I returned to it today, I found the entire thing had been deleted, and wasn't on my watchlist or contributions list. Can someone explain why this has happened?

--Pasadena 12:07, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

First, questions about Wikipedia should be asked at the Wikipedia:Help Desk rather than the reference desk.

I've checked the records and the reason why the article was deleted was that somebody thought it met one of the criteria for speedy deletion, as listed on WP:CSD. Specifically, they thought it met criteria 7 under "articles", which reads:

Unremarkable people or groups/vanity pages. An article about a real person, group of people, band, or club that does not assert the importance or significance of its subject. If the assertion is disputed or controversial, it should be taken to AfD instead.

The working definition of what a musician or group need to have achieved to be appropriate for a Wikipedia article is listed at WP:MUSIC; as the article stood, there's no evidence that they meet any of the criteria there for notability.

So, if you want to recreate the article, make sure that evidence of notability is included in the article (for instance, by linking to reviews from newspapers).

This is not a comment on the group's talents; I went to their website and downloaded a couple of tracks; they're not half-bad. --Robert Merkel 12:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Non-notable band pages are never speedied, they are always given a minimum chance to prove their value in a proper AfD. If it had been speedied, it should be undeleted and given a second chance at AfD. That being said, I just checked the logs, and it seems there has never been an article under the name "Like a Fox" nor "Like A Fox". Maybe you spelled the name wrong and you just can't find it now? Google doesn't turn up any Wikipedia results either.

I guess it's this: Like a fox. --Lambiam^Talk 17:09, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If it's spelled correctly than the only other thing I can assume is that an editor deemed the article to be of the blatant copywrite enfringement type, and promptly had the history deleted. I'm not sure if that appears in the logs or not.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  15:35, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, the A7 criteria for speedy deletion includes non-notable bands. Indeed, one of the template shortcuts that can be used is db-band. I've used that one many a time. Tony Fox (arf!) 16:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I understand that the criteria is there, but it is almost never used in that context, and shouldn't be used, except for the rare occurence where vandalism can be masked as a vanity page, e.g. "Content was (ILOVELU3Y is a wicked band from Timbuktu, bUY thier ticketz from me!)".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:56, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the help everyone, I'm fairly new to editing and creating, as you may have been able to tell! Thanks again. --Pasadena 19:52, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I have never understood the reason for deletion of non-notable articles. Even non-notable photos aren't deleted and tehy take up a whooooole lot more disk space. So if that isn't the problem then what's wrong with unnecesary articles (unless the info should go elsewhere, but that's not the issue here, is it?). DirkvdM 06:52, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Non-notable photos are supposed to be deleted, if they are orphaned, and if they aren't orphaned, then they are usually supposed to exist, aren't they? The reason there are a lot of orphaned photos that aren't deleted is that they're so much harder to come across by mistake, and not that many people patrol orphaned pictures. Stupid little articles with only one sentence are, by contrast, very easy to find. While we're on this point, though, it seems to be that disk space is the least of the foundation's worries.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  07:00, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

To DirkvdM, if non-notable articles were not deleted then we wouldn't be able to see the real articles for all the cruft. Do we really need articles on you or me. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 11:27, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, I've already got one on me. :) The only way I can see the cruft getting in the way (for users) is when one uses the all pages special page. This is, however, not a paper encyclopedia in which one looks thing up alphabetically. Maybe they get in the way for some administrative purposes (I can't think of any, though). In that case they may be tagged such that they can be excluded from such activities. Actually, tagging artcles for their encyclopedic status might make sense. Such as stubs, articles with shaky sources, biased articles. This could then be used to either ignore those or actually seek them out for certain purposes, the way you can exclude minor edits from your watchlist. DirkvdM 06:34, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Informally tagging has already been started for the WikiCD projects, but that's just a simple template. Honestly, there are so many reasons not to allow non-notable articles here. First of all, a tiny band starts out and creates their page (OK vanity blah blah, for now lets ignore that). There's a 90% chance that they will cease to exist in 2 weeks, and when that happens, the article becomes redundant and false. How can one keep track of all this? The band is so small that no editor (other than the creator) is even paying attention to the page. Then, there's the fact that non-notable artifacts would have to be substantiated with no evidence, thus breaking another Wiki-rule. Lastly, there's approximately 2756x more non-notable bands than really good bands, so with the volume of non-notable crap that would be flowing in, there would be no way to control and keep track of the validity of the articles. </mini-rant>  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Cambric

64.12.116.199 12:25, 5 September 2006 (UTC)I am retoring an old sailboat. The sails are missing. They were made from a fabric called Camric. Where can I find this material? Thank you. Pat Mahaney

Open a phone book and start calling around to boat shops. Chances are, they'll know of someone local to you that sells it. Dismas|^(talk) 12:29, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Specifically you wil want to look for sail lofts. Rmhermen 16:09, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Circumsized vs non--circumsized

Do girls prefer men with circumsized penises or non-circumsized penises? 64.230.87.170 12:31, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

The best answer would probably be "neither". When a penis is erect, there is no discernible difference between the two visually. Factors that may influence one versus the other for some people might be:

• Generally speaking, uncircumsized men may be more physically sensitive, and re-active.
• Generally speaking, circumsized men can be cleaner, and so oral sex can be more appealing. (See Smegma)
• Uncircumsized men are a greater risk of having HPV (which at any given time, about 75% of the population has naturally).

Please see the circumcision article.

An uncircumsized man who keeps himself clean, and focuses on the satisfaction of his partner will find nearly all women to not notice or care whether he is circumsized. She will be more focused on the multitude of other factors, such as his personality, intelligence and charm.

Atom 13:01, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I presume it would depend on the girl in question. --Mnemeson 12:53, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

What Mnemeson said. Marnanel 12:55, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

And the penis. Anchoress 12:57, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

What I never quite got (I went to look for it in the article) is why more than half of the men in the USA are circumsizes, even though USA is in general a Christan country. I don't know anyone here who has been circumsized. Western Europe isn't that religious (well, at least not my country) but it shouldn't even matter (the article claims that Christianity does not demand circumcision). So why?? (Is it true that by default male babies born in USA hospitals are immediately circumsized without anaesthetics, unless you really go to heroic lengths to prevent that? If so, if due to (rare) circumstances my baby were to be born there, I think I'll chain myself to him to watch over him every second..)Evilbu 13:45, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

This is a sensitive topic on wikipedia but I will assume you are not trolling. We have suffered numerous editors whose only goal was to turn every article even remotely mentioning babies or genitalia into a pro- or anticircumcision screed. I can assure you that no baby in US hospitals is circumcised unless the parents request it and sign the consent (I think this misconception likely originated as another example of misleading anti-circ propaganda). The procedure in hospital nurseries is often performed without anesthesia but takes less than a minute. At this point it is a custom continuing mainly because most adult men in this country are circumcised. I assume the origins of the spread of circumcision in the US in the mid-20th century are argued about in the circumcision article, but I have no intention of checking. alteripse 14:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I didn't know circumcision was so controversial here. Of course, I'm not a troll, take a look at my other posts around this reference desk if you like. Well I guess it's just a myth to scare people in Europe, that in the USA they swiftly and without permission circumsize babies. I won't deny that I don't feel much for being circumsized or seeing someone else being circumsized. (I don't quite get your explanation though about "no anaesthetics but it doesn't take long", lots of painful things like pulling out teeth by a dentist don't take long but without anaesthetics they will hurt for quite some time after that too..)Evilbu 14:03, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I think that U.S. doctors in the early 20th century believed that circumcision was healthy because it helped prevent infections. So circumcision became routine in hospital-delivered babies. As most babies were delivered in hospitals as the 20th century wore on, most American males were circumcised. Then, by the 1950s or 1960s, circumcisions were perpetuated by parents' belief that circumcision was normal and their desire that their child not be stigmatized or ridiculed when, say, showering in a public place. Since the 1960s, there has been a growing countermovement against circumcision in the United States, mainly among the well-educated, probably related to the movement toward more organic and natural living. Marco polo 14:34, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I largely agree with what Marco polo said. Certainly in the 50's and 60's almost all males were circumsized, as it was considered medically appropriate. In only a few cases has circumcision been for religious reasons, and I do not know of any christian religions where that is important.

I disagree with the latter part of the previous statement though. The anti-circumcision movement has been a fringe movement, with little influence over American society, and few people even registering it on their radar. Again, the primary reason that it has declined, to where something like 55% are circumsized now, is because of the perceptions by doctors that it may not be medically necessary. The other factor is that most parents lean heavily towards circumsizing if the father is circumsized, and not if the father is not. Primarily my view is that the level of education is not a factor either way in the decision. If so, it would be very slight, as perhaps better educated parents might rely on the doctors recommendation as only advisory, where less educated may rely on a doctors advise more heavily.

I participated/assisted when both of my boys were circumsized. I can assure you that in the U.S. NO child is circumsized without the consent (almost always signed) of the parents. The procedure was painless, and took less that 5 minutes, including the prep time and all. There was no pressure by staff to make a decision in either direction. This is only my experience though, and I wouldn't know about circumcision by non-medical personnel.

With the recent scientific study showing a causal link between genital HPV and Cervical Cancer in women, I anticipate a trend back towards recommendations for circumcision by Doctors. But that is just my guess, only time will tell.

Atom 15:13, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

With respect, how do you know the procedure was painless if it didn't happen to you? Did the circumcizees express that opinion? 71.136.77.241 05:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I doubt that HPV will have any effect as the link has been known for a while (apparently since the 1970s) and there are now two effective vaccines against it. Rmhermen 16:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Atom that the anti-circumcision political movement is small in scale and not wide-based. When I wrote "countermovement against circumcision", I was not referring to the "anti-circumcision movement", which I agree could be characterized as "fringe" (though I don't like the word because it is dismissive). What I really meant was a change in sentiment away from favoring circumcision. It is a little speculative, but I do think that there is a connection to education, in that well-educated people are more likely to be aware that circumcision is no longer strongly recommended for medical reasons, and because I think that people who are interested in more natural living tend to be college-educated children of the 60s and more recent decades. I think that these people would tend to be biased against circumcising their children, even when the father is circumcised. On the other hand, less educated immigrants would probably also tend to be biased against circumcision in cases where it is not common in their cultures of origin. Marco polo 18:43, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I think we're going a bit off-topic. Jamesino 21:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Non-circumsized penises are generally considered more beautiful, since no porn actor is circumsized.

That is just not true. JackofOz 23:16, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It depends on the girl. --Proficient 03:32, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The first part does depend on the other party (who would not necessarily be a girl); but I've seen plenty of circumcised guys in porn. JackofOz 01:44, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Marlboro Man

My name is Cynthia Bromund and I was doing some research on my Uncle Doanld Bromund who I was told was one of the original Marlboro men. I couldn't find any information on him at all and your site does not even mention him. I never knew him and he is deceased. I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. Thanks, Cynthia Bromund (email deleted to prevent spam)

Cynthia, as you say, our article on the Marlboro Man doesn't mention any Bromund (I presume his name was Donald?). Have you tried contacting Altria (who owns the Marlboro brand) to see whether they have a company historian? --Robert Merkel 14:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

That sounded kind of accusing and hostile. ._. Try creating the article. --Proficient 03:32, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

MAD magazine

why is MAD magazine No 202 february with special The Mad "Star Wars" musical feature not listed anywhere. I did'ent print it. g7

The parody you're probably thinking of is "The Force and I" and appeared in Mad #203 (not #202). Eventually someone will add it to WP's List of Mad Magazine Issues. In fact, using this reference, you could add it right now :).---Sluzzelin 14:33, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Wind speed

Where can I find information pertaining to the frequency of wind speeds that are equal to, or exceed 30 miles per hour in my area (zip code 23140)?

Ron

The NCDC would have it on CD-Rom or in bound copies, but I can't seem to find it online anywhere. Nowimnthing 19:52, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

probably not much.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/ilands/fig13.html Jasbutal 23:18, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Stating your zip code without stating your country is a bit sillly, isn't it? DirkvdM 06:56, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

You mean, there's more to the civilized world than Americaville?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:26, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

America invented the internets therefore we become the default country in dicussion on an international (not to mention english) website. Then again, freshgavin has a point, we tend to be ignorant of life outside the bubble -- if you see someone not specify like that, chances are it's america. As long as there's only one default, there's no conflict. --froth

Zip codes

How many countries have Zip codes apart from USA? Could you pluck a couple out for me? 8-)--Light current 22:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

See Postal code. 惑乱 分からん 22:56, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

A Nightmare on Elm Street

I have heard from various people that A Nightmare on Elm Street was actually written in Sumner Washington on Ellm street in a old house. Is this true? Was there another movie or book that is written there? 71.231.48.33 15:58, 5 September 2006 (UTC) Dustin H.

I found no reference confirming this. "Elm Street" might have been picked because it is a very common and easily identifiable street name; there are over 5000 Elm Streets across the United States. Wes Craven was probably living near Hollywood at the time he wrote A Nightmare on Elm Street. The house seen in the film is located in Hollywood, California. ---Sluzzelin 16:58, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

THE RETURN OF POLIO

WITHIN THE LAST WEEK, I SAW A ARTICLE FROM LUBBOCK, IN THE ABILENE REPORTER NEWS AND IT WAS AN ARTICLE ABOUT POLIO BEING SEEN TO RETURN IN THE ELDERLY, THE REASON I AM SO INTERESTED IS THAT AN ELDERLY GIRLFRIEND OF MINE NOTED HERS HAS RETURNED AND DID SO SEVERAL YEARS BACK, SHE HAD IT WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG AND SHE FEELS IT HAS RETURNED. CAN YOU PLEASE FIND THE ARTICLE AND E-MAIL IT TO ME, THANK YOU.

email removed for your protection from the forces of evil

While I could find no such article on the newspapers website, you appear to be talking about Post-polio syndrome, not new polio infections which are no longer seen in the U.S. Follow the links for more details. Rmhermen 19:26, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia has an article on post-polio syndrome. As always, it should not be construed as medical advice, and if medical advice has been added (out of policy) by some editor, you should keep in mind that there are no expert qualifications required to edit Wikipedia. --Trovatore 19:28, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I ignore people who shout, so I haven't read your question. DirkvdM 06:57, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

What Dirk is trying to say is to please avoid using all-capitals when writing, it's the internet equivalent of shouting (which I'm sure is not what you intended). — QuantumEleven 09:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Korean Historical Drama or Film and crazy cooking show

I was watching the asian channel in the la area the other night and found a really good historical film or drama from korea. I am trying to find the name. All I know is that it was set post ww2, and before the korean war. One family ran a restaurant and the mother-propieter's son-in-law was a proffessor somehow involved with politics.

There's a fast paced korean show that also comes on late wed nights, I think called 'Delicious TV' any info on this show?

Thanks in advance.

If anyone knows any other korean films, dramas historical in nature or cooking shows could you post them for me?

Arbcom

Can a Mediator from the Mediation Cabal bring their case to the Arbitration committee? WikieZach| talk 20:05, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

This goes to the help desk.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:51, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Inappropriate Content

One of your featured articles about Andre Agassi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Agassi) contains a phrase in the main text that is questionable:

"he banged his wife and came on her face"

Because this is a wiki, I attempted to edit this inappropriate text, but could not find the phrase in the editing window. How does one proceed from here?

It may have been removed already; vandalism usually is. Anchoress 20:43, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Yep, it was removed almost immediately. Howard Train 21:02, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

You probably downloaded the page during the brief interval after the vandal struck and before a regular editor fixed the damage. The "history" file shows a log of changes - you could check that if something similar happens in the future. Durova 21:01, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. It gets fixed quickly. --Proficient 03:34, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

To the original poster: If you see vandalism like that, the easiest way to go about removing it is by reverting the edit. This is usually done by looking at the history, and loading up the edit just before the vandals edit. Edit and save that page, and the newer edit (i.e. the vandal's edit) will be removed cleanly. Andre's page was a very visible page at that time, though, so you have to be careful that someone hasn't reverted it already, so if you're not sure, it might be easier just to leave a note on the talk page for someone else to clean it up.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

_Oral_chatrooms

Are there any chatrooms over there I can use to chat with other people via voice so I can practice my English? Thanks in advance.

When using flight simulation games, people are sometimes talking to each other (primarily for coordinating aircraft movements, especially around airports, just like in real life). You can learn alot about air traffic control at the same time! :-) Also for other types of games, voice chat is used. Sometimes, the voice chatting functions are a part of the game, sometimes you have to use a separate program. —Bromskloss 21:20, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, buddy. Any flight simulator recommended? Any other ideas? :P

Not really, I don't know what people use these days. But I sure would like to play with these (Scandinavian Airlines System Flight Academy), and I bet you would too! Please let me know if you get there so I can come over, will you? ;-) —Bromskloss 10:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• You could also simply try to find someone who speaks English and has a relatively recent version of MSN Messenger or Skype (those have voice chats) and agree to speak at a certain time. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:30, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Yahoo messenger has voice chat rooms. Philc _T^E_C^I 16:11, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

If you speak even a little English and have some computer skills, you might be able to get a job as a technical support person for any American computer or software company, and talk to people in the US all day long while getting paid for it. Edison 23:43, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Keep in mind that you have to be in India and completely incomprehensible to work for dell tech support so you may be overqualified. Aspire to work for IBM tech support, they're pretty good --froth

If you use skype, you can search the directory for users; in the search options, there's a checkbox called "skype me"; if you check this, and click search (while setting language to english and leaving all other fields blank). This returns a list of english speaking users in "skype me" mode, a mode skype includes for users who spacificly want to receive calls from strangers for purposes of chat. I can generally be found in skype me mode, and I always answer (my skype is set to auto-answer calls). Another option is chat programs like Ventrilo, Teamtalk, Team speak, etc. These are basicly like irc software for voice; however you need to find a good server and channel for these to be useful. Fastfinge

hispanic population

I'm trying to get a somewhat accurate number for the area i live in and any other information that is available

Okay, it would help to know the name of the area in which you live... --Tagishsimon (talk)

See if this helps, U.S. Census office Atom 22:18, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

That would only help if they were from the US. Why not list similar pages for every country on Earth? Ah, yes, of course: census. Not quite every country, but 29 of them isn't bad. This includes Spain, and if you want info on hispanics - they're the originals. Whose panic, by the way? :) DirkvdM 07:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

katie couric

why is there so much buzz about her? Jasbutal 23:19, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

1. In a job changed less frequently then the president's
2. Talks to more Americans then the president
3. Has nicer legs then the lot of them (apart from Lincoln)
4. Is a woman
5. Simultaneously makes news more accessible/stupid supposedly
6. Causes edit conflicts

MeltBanana 00:13, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Her selection as anchor gives the impression that future news will be even more fluff than it is now, reporting on celebrity gossip and puppies down wells, while completely neglecting international affairs. If so, the level of ignorance this will generate in the next generation may have profound negative implications for the future of the US, and the world. StuRat 03:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

It's weird. --Proficient 03:35, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

i hate her

She has a sweet smile and far nicer hair than her predecessors since 1948, Bob Schieffer, Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite, or Douglas Edwards. Unlike her 4 predecessors, the network used computer graphics to make Katie look thinner in publicity photos. Edison 05:15, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Her legs! You forgot to mention her legs! --Richardrj ^{talk email} 07:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Umm, does she have a different number of legs than the rest of us?-gadfium 08:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

No, but the consensus seems to be that they are nicer to look at than those of many other ladies. And, more to the point, they are quite easily visible on TV. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:29, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, now we had the first episode, and the hard hitting news story was...a pic of the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes baby, Suri. Then, instead of having an interview with someone intelligent, they had an interview with Bush. StuRat 05:14, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Speaking of Tom, is his baby gonna be Jesus or something? What do the scientologiests have to say about it?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:21, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

September 6

Rafael and Fernando

Does anyone have any information about these names? Like famous people by these names, the meaning of these names, ect. They're Spanish names. Russian F 02:17, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

PS. I need the answers fast. Russian F 02:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Raphael is a famous renaissance painter, and, perhaps even more significantly, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. :-) StuRat 03:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

You can find information by looking at articles on those names. --Kiltman67 03:09, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Also, while googling for your answers, I ran across this web site you might find useful. SWAdair 03:11, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Assassins

Are there any known currently working notable assassins? I'm thinking along the lines of Carlos the Jackal and not mafia men or terrorists such as someone who worked specifically for a terrorist organization. You know, just your hired gun sort. Just curious, I'm not looking to knock over a gov't. Dismas|^(talk) 02:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I never would have guessed that we have an article List of contract killers. Wikipedia has everything. SWAdair 03:15, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

why are they all men? Jasbutal 03:50, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for that but of those, most were in the mafia and all are either dead or in prison. Dismas|^(talk) 04:11, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Well if they weren't and they were on that list they'd soon be anyway. DirkvdM 07:16, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Go into your local 'bad part of town'. Find someone who looks quite mean/tough and also looks like they're in need of a chemical pick-me-up. Offer them an 'incentive' to solve your current 'problem' (payable upon completion). Unless your target is anyone that matters, it shouldn't be too hard for your man to get up close and personal with blade/claw hammer/crowbar/etc.. The bonus here is that you get to watch (you'll need to tag along with him as he'll probably insist on immediate payment - if you offer him half upfront, there's a chance he'll just piss off somewhere to shoot up and take you for a mug). --Kurt Shaped Box 10:01, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm not actually looking for anyone... I just wondered if there are any notable ones around. I've always been interested in spy movies and various other undercover operative type movies so I thought I'd ask, that's all. Dismas|^(talk) 12:27, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Sorry mate - I don't move in those sorts of circles. :) If there are any real 'notable' ones around (i.e. guys capable of taking out someone that *does* matter) and they're any good at their profession, no-one will know who they are until they mess a job up. I'd imagine that *good* hitmen (i.e. ones that will do the job properly and remain silent if caught) are very hard to find - and expensive. --Kurt Shaped Box 18:09, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't move in those circles either, but I once attended a police training course in Puerto Rico (although I have never been a cop). One of the exercises was to prove the guilt of a guy who'd hired a hitman. We had access to his bank account records, but I completely missed the payment, because I couldn't believe you could hire a killer for such a small amount of money. It was considerably less than a thousand dollars.-gadfium 01:34, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm afraid you've fallen for the Hollywood portrayal of hit men as glamorous, international businessmen who are incredibly good at what they do and therefore, get paid millions. The reality is that the average hit man is probably semi-retarded and their "brilliant plot" is to knock on the door then beat the guy who answers it to death with a baseball bat, for just enough money to get their next drug fix. StuRat 01:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I imagine that most professinal killing these days are done by professional teams connected with a goverment *put on tin foil hat now*. Jon513 18:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

drugs + jobs

I'm applying for a fed job. What risks are there for me if they find I used illegal drugs? Jasbutal 04:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe you should reconsider applying if you do indeed use illegal drugs. It will look bad and the chances are very good they will find out, as they will probably require a urine sample before allowing you to take up the job. --Proficient 05:34, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

i smoked pot 2 months ago, it's not like I'm going to fail a urine test...but good point in that if I ever try to apply again they might have a file on me. But fuck that, all the ex-prez's smoked . Jasbutal 05:38, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Rather depends on the country. There won't be many (civilised ones) where such tests are done. Drug test#Detection periods says cannabis can be found in your hair up to 90 days after last use. DirkvdM 07:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

You'll get fired? --Kurt Shaped Box 09:52, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Avoid eating any baked goods with poppy seeds on them, since this supposedly can create a false positive on drug tests. Also breathing marijuana fumes second hand can supposedly create a false positive. If you get caught and later become a politician, radio commentator, or supreme court nominee you can say it was a "youthful indescretion" regardless of how old you were at the time.Edison 15:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Say you sucked but did not inhale... or whatever bullshit the dude came up with. Philc _T^E_C^I 16:09, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

"Tried it once, didn't like it, did nothing for me." might work too. --Kurt Shaped Box 18:10, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Of course if the tests are unreliable then not the people but the tests should be regarded with suspicion. And, like I said, any country that allows such tests for job applicants should also be regarded with suspicion. DirkvdM 06:49, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I ain't regarding their money with suspicion! Jasbutal 07:43, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

baseball

Number of pitchers who have hit a home run in their own no-hitter--66.217.130.164 04:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I would be surprised if the total was a non-zero number. You would basically have to:

• Take all the games played
• Divide that roughly in half since pitchers in half the league don't even bat
• Take out all the games with a hit by both teams
• Then take out all the games where there weren't any home runs scored (just normal runs)

Dismas|^(talk) 05:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

According to No-hitter:

Two pitchers have homered while pitching no-hitters. Earl Wilson of the Boston Red Sox hit a home run during his June 26, 1962 no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels. Rick Wise went one better: in his June 23, 1971 no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies pitcher hit two home runs.

Note that this refers to Major League Baseball only. Remember that the designated hitter rule only went into effect in 1973. –RHolton≡– 13:23, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

<3 the beat

Why are some people attracted to incredibly repetitive beat intensive music that often lacks any of the melody/structure so common in most other types of music?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:44, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Beats me. (Seriously). JackofOz 07:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Boom tsh! tsh..tsh..tsh..tsh. etc.

Its probably because it just, like, yknow, sounds great, yaknowwhatimean? By the way, i love you, dude. Seriously, i expect there may be some atavistic connection to the tribal drumming of our forefathers. Rockpocket 07:13, 6 September 2006 (UTC)\

And also because it can be fun to dance to. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 07:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I recently heard that there is a connection between musical beat and heartbeat. So the beat will affect your mood. A slow beat will calm you down and a fast beat will give you a rush, like you're doing something exciting. A normal heart rate is aroun 70 bpm for men and 75 for women. Note that for adolescents it's about 80-100 bpm. So what's normal for them sounds agitated to adults. If I interpreted the theory right, maybe this should be added to Beats per minute. DirkvdM 07:30, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thats very interesting, DirkvdM, and would fit in with the atavism theory. One might imagine tribal drumming to precede or follow hunts or rituals where a increased heartbeat would be expected. If you wanted to be Freudian about it one could even make an argument that there is a womb memory of your mother's heartbeat that is envoked by repetitive beats. Consider the old, "give a puppy a ticking clock" technique to comfort it. Rockpocket 07:52, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

But you get some very good music that is fast but you can also get some really shit music that is fast. Isnt the question more reffering to how some songs have crap repeatitive non changing non musical beats, that can be made by people completely barren of any talent, and other are exceptional music. Philc _T^E_C^I 16:03, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Many times this can be subjective. --Proficient 03:31, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

• I heard it was the drugs you took inclined you to that type of beat-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 21:47, 7 September 2006 (UTC))

I like Dirk's logic. I wonder if my friends that don't like fast music all have low heart rates...  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:13, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

success and happiness

what is success and how is it related to happiness?

Inversely, if you believe your average celebrity moan about how tough their life is now they are rich and famous. Then again, these guys claim a study that shows "chronically happy people are in general more successful in their personal and professional lives." However, they claim it is not always true that "success and accomplishments bring happiness". So there you have it. But, of course, what is really important is what you define as successful in your life. You could always read about success and happiness and decide for yourself. Rockpocket 07:25, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

If you're happy about your life, you're successful. If you're filthy rich and unhappy, you've failed. DirkvdM 07:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

If we try to correlate wealth with happiness, I suspect that somewhere between middle class and upper class would be optimal, with those living in poverty unhappy for obvious reasons, and those with extreme wealth unhappy due to the constant stalking of reporters, risk of kidnapping, and possible guilt over whatever they had to do to get all that money in the first place. StuRat 07:59, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Neither can be quantified, any one at the bottom of the "success structure" they are exposed too, will be completely ungrateful for the fact they are towards the top over all i.e. someone who lives in new york, but does a menial office job who gets paid a decent salary, but is constantly surrounded by people who get paid more and work less, will have little or no thanks for the fact that pretty much the entire population of africa and a lot of south america and asia would kill to live his life. Philc _T^E_C^I 16:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

True, you have to measure this in its context. I also largely agree with StuRat (oh shock), in that it's probably the middle class who are happiest. Alas many countries have a severe lack of middle class. Also, the middle class are the most productive part of an economy. But which echelon is the happiest? I suppose not the upper middle class, as StuRat suggests, but the middle middle class (?) because they are furthest from both the problems at the top and at the bottom.

A very satisfying thing is the knowledge that you've built what you have with your own hands. Having earned it (ie having earned the money to buy it) is a more modern economy version for which that principle also works. But I till think that having built something with your own hands is more satisfying. So the ideal would be something close to my grandfather and great grandfather (see Schunck), who, from scratch, built up a company that was the centrepiece of a town. My grandfather had a good start and ended up more at the top end. His father didn't have it easy when he was young, but his achievement was the greater for it. And therefore the satisfaction? I don't know.

Anyway, a problem is that that is not achievable for everyone (we can't all be exceptional) and happiness also depends on the happiness of your surroundings (so giving a little also helps). There is, however, yet another factor. People are different. Some people have a drive to build something big and are happiest when they get the chance (but particularly unhappy when they don't). Others are more laid back and happy with enough to get by. So there is no hard and fast rule as to which amount of what kind of success gives most happines.

Finally, let me point out that all this is about material success, but as I already pointed out above, whether you're happy, for whatever reason, is the best indication for success. So the two are very strongly related. A definitive answer at last. :) DirkvdM 07:24, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Only the richest people suffer from most of the problems of wealth, as it's impossible for them to keep their wealth hidden. Thus, a billionaire is likely to be hounded by the media, stalked by kidnappers, and have "friends" and relatives constantly begging for money. A mere millionaire, on the other hand, can keep their wealth hidden, live a comfortable but modest life, yet never have to worry about financial hardship. StuRat 08:04, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Flow (psychology) causes happiness, it may also result in success if you enjoy your business, as I do.

Sidenote: regarding millionaires - in the UK I do not think the equivalent of one million US dollars is enough for a comfortable life without working, since its onle equivalent to about £500000. A modest house in southern england would cost at least £250000. The £250000 left over would only give you £6250 per year income if invested in inflation-proof gilts at 2 1/2 %. £6250 is less than a quarter of the average income. So if you were a US$1M, you'd be poor! Ha ha. 81.104.12.44 11:14, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Geez, you've really got it bad there. A modest house in the US might cost about $100,000 (although much more in certain areas). StuRat 07:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Try living in southern California, mate [13]. True, in Minot, North Dakota, $130,300 would buy you a nice 2,200-square-foot house with 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms, a family room and two-car garage. But Where i live, the same house would cost $1,708,333 - over 13 times as much. 100K wouldn't even buy you a studio here. Living in the most expensive market in the US sucks.... Guess who rents? :( Rockpocket 08:26, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Why do you wear your smiley upside down? Renting spreads out the cost (a good idea if you have to live off interest) and keeps you mobile - you can leave whenever you like. DirkvdM 07:37, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Steve Irwin videoclip.

Not to sound morbid, but is it possible the footage of Steve Irwin's death will be leaked and appear on sites like Youtube and Ogrish?

I was waiting for someone to bring this up. I sincerely hope the film never gets seen. Some things should be left alone. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:34, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• • Hear, hear! Durova 13:09, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• Not unless one of his camera crew or the police investigating his death decide to leak. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:26, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

• Investigating? Is every death "investigated" nowadays, no matter how obvious it was? —Bromskloss 09:43, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

It's certainly *possible* that the clip will be made public in the future. Probably via the usual journalist + police officer 'of negiotiable devotion to duty' route. --Kurt Shaped Box 09:51, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Some would say it's ghoulish or insensitive to want to see such a video, but I guarantee that if it became publicly available, there would be enormous interest in it from his admirers and others, which is hardly surprising. How often have we all seen the Zapruder film of JFK's head being shot away? It seems to be human nature to be attracted to horrific scenes, car smashes, shark attacks, death in any form etc. JackofOz 10:06, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Many people will watch it simply to see an arrogant fool die by the sword he lived by.

That seems a bit harsh, although I do agree that he was rather careless about safety. StuRat 10:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm inclined to agree with the anon. It was only a matter of time before his reckless behaviour towards wild animals for the sake of 'good TV' would lead to a sticky end and leave his children without a father. I know about all the conservation work he did but the guy always struck me as an overly-macho prat. --Kurt Shaped Box 10:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

An alternative point of view is that he was gradually being cajoled into undertaking more and more dangerous stunts by the TV companies, and being paid more and more money for taking risks that he might not otherwise have taken. If I were the TV producer who commissioned that stingray film, I'm not sure I would be able to sleep very soundly in my bed at the moment. Yes, I know he didn't *have* to do it, but sometimes it's difficult to refuse risky undertakings when a large cheque is being dangled in front of one's face. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:06, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The guy took the ratings and money from the "good TV" and turned it into funds to benefit animals, the environment, and conservationism. He wasn't "macho" in the traditional sense—it was never, ever, about his "conquest" of the animals, it was always about admiring how strong they were, how important they were. His behavior towards the animals was never "reckless", and part of his constant message was that nature was worth respecting. Remember that TV makes things up to look as risky as possible—when he did die, it was because of a totally fluke accident, a one-in-a-million shot from what is normally a non-fatal stinger. It's really too bad he died like this; he did a lot of good work in education and conservation, and his silliness made it all the more exciting for children. As for the video itself; people are often drawn to the macabre, so it is no suprise that people might be interested in it, though I hope it gets sealed away somewhere. --Fastfission 17:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Whenever I saw his show, it seemed that his entire 'angle' was to antagonize otherwise-peacefully-minding-their-own-business animals into attacking him and *just* get out of the way of their jaws in time whilst grinning like a fool for the cameras. Based on current reports, it seemed that he annoyed the stingray too. --Kurt Shaped Box 18:03, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

What's ironic (?) is that he was apparently not engaged in particularly risky behavior at the time. This wasn't a case of pushing the limits for good tv. –RHolton≡– 13:01, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, getting killed by a stingray is probably about as unlikely as getting killed by a dolphin. Sure it can happen, but no one worries about it. Sure he increased his chances of being killed by an animal just due to his line of work, but that could be said about anyone. A firefighter has a greater chance than most of being killed by a fire but that doesn't mean that they are foolhardy. Nowimnthing 14:38, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

If Steve Irwin had been a fireman, he'd be one who deliberately started fires in order to charge in, put them out and emerge as the hero. --Kurt Shaped Box 17:58, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

KurtSB, I don't know where you are or what reports you've seen, but every report I've seen here, including the police media conference, says that there was no evidence that there was any antagonism going on, rather, Irwin was simply passively observing it. Some individuals have speculated he must have antagonised it, but those who've seen the video deny any such activity. (and for the record, I was never a fan of Irwin). JackofOz 20:35, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

According to what I've heard, and unless the story has changed in the last six hours, the ray was being 'boxed in' by Irwin and his cameraman. It's like trapping a rat in a corner - it's not a good idea, no matter how peaceful the creature is suppose to be. --Kurt Shaped Box 20:43, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I would expect everyone involved to deny any responsibility or blame, to avoid being sued by the family. However, as stingrays aren't aggressive animals, you really need to be way too close to them and annoying for them to sting you through the heart. Had he been at a respectable distance, it wouldn't have been possible for them to sting him at all. StuRat 00:17, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Sorry to interrupt all the needless nastiness about the dead guy, but the answer to the question is no. Irwin's manager has said that the tape will never see the light of day. [14] TheMadBaron 20:04, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Unconfirmed reports that it was shown on Queensland TV the night of his death. If so, I would be suprised if it doesn't find its way to the net pretty soon...Downunda 22:18, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I very much doubt that. If that were true, the extraordinary level of coverage his death received would guarantee the video would have been shown ad nauseam by now. JackofOz 22:44, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

It would be no worse than the videos of police chasing cars ending in fatal crashes which are shown every day on TV, or the videos of car suicide bombings on the news. Edison 23:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

People always find a way of leaking things. I expect the videos to leak out eventually. --Proficient 03:35, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Whereas I expect the footage to be returned to its rightful owner, and promptly destroyed. People do not always find a way of leaking things. People have only ever found ways of leaking those things that we've seen / heard about. Can you find Princess Diana autopsy shots on the internet? Police photographs of Jim Morrison lying dead in the bath? Kurt Cobain sans head? No? That's because they're not there. And that's good. TheMadBaron 09:57, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't put it past them to release a 'Crocodile Hunter: The Death of a National Hero' DVD.

Bad standards

Hello. I don't know where this question belongs, so I chose miscellaneous. There are some standards that seem virtually unchangeable, inspite of their relative inadequacy and inspite of improved suggestions at our disposition. I'm thinking of the QWERTY layout on keyboards, the hour/minute/second system, angular measurement, the calendar system etc. My question: Is there a word for these seemingly inefficient yet persistent standards? Thank you. Pat83.77.215.216 09:38, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't know if there's a word for it, sorry, but I'm curious what you feel is so inefficient about hours/minutes/seconds and the calendar. As for the QWERTY layout, it's not that way all around the world. Though I know what you're getting at. At this point it would be harder to get everyone to switch over to a differently standardized keyboard layout than it's really worth. Dismas|^(talk) 09:49, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The anon is not the only one to feel the calendar/time measure is inefficient. See Calendar reform, Swatch Internet Time and Decimal time. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 10:26, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

And Dvorak Simplified Keyboard. --Lambiam^Talk 11:01, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

For many things it's absolutely critical that there be a standard, but what the standard is is totally unimportant. For example, alphabetical order. It would be just as useful if the alphabet was arranged in any other order, but changing from the current order to another order would be extremely painful. The layout of the keyboard is one of these things. It might be slightly better if the keyboard was in alphabetical order, but dealing with the changeover would create all types of problems (for example, touch typists would need to learn to type all over). The French actually tried to change to digital time and dates during the French Revolution, but similarly found that the changeover was prohibitive. StuRat 10:29, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Albatross? --Lambiam^Talk 11:04, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd agree with StuRat about the importance of standards, except I'd say a particular standard might be arbitrary, but not unimportant. The chosen standard is what makes the particular order important. Btw, the French did introduce the French Republican Calendar, but abandoned it after 12 years of use. JackofOz 11:40, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, all, for responding. Dismas asked about which inefficiencies in time measurement I was referring to. CambridgeBayWeather has basically answered this question. Simple operations, such as calculating my age expressed in days, take me forever. Figuring out which date and day of the week it will be 200 days from now makes my head hurt. I may be somewhat challenged, arithmetically, but I have no difficulty comparing or adding, subtracting, and multiplying prices in Euros or figures expressed in units of the metric system. These challenges in calculating time keep our synapses busy and may be desirable. I was mainly curious on whether there was a word for this kind of standard. Pat83.77.215.216 12:54, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I think some people call this the "QWERTY phenomenon". In case you were wondering, 200 days from today will be Sunday, March 25, 2007. – b_jonas 14:02, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Richard Feynman in his book Surely You’re Joking makes the point that sin and cos and tan are not the best way to present a function because it looks like s times i times n. he perfered using symbles simmalar to a square root sign, which make clear that it is a function acting on something. Jon513 17:36, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes. THe word is traditional (or conventional)--Light current 18:30, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, days are the length they are, and so are years, not much anyone can do about that. It's built into fundamental astronomical facts about the Earth's rotation and orbit. I suppose hypothetically you could opt for a 100-day year, or a 1000-day year, but then you'd completely break the correspondence between the time of year and the weather/length of day. --Trovatore 20:58, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, CambridgeBayWeather for pointing out those articles to me. Though, I still don't mind the current system as I so seldomly care, much less need to know, what day of the week it will be however far off in the future or past. But then I guess that just makes me self centered... I can live with that.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 21:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't see how you come to that self-flagellatory conclusion. Go easy on yourself, Dismas.  :--) JackofOz 22:41, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The transition from a current bad system to a better system is too much of a change to make it worthwhile in the short run. --Proficient 03:37, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Dismas, about the inadequacy of our timekeeping and other units and some possible solutions, see my user page. The keyboard layout could easily be personalised by mapping the keystrokes to characterfs differently. After all, some mapping has to be done, so why not give several options or even let people build their own preferences? A problem is that if you use a computer elsewhere you'd also have to be able to access that or you wouldn't be able to type anymore. But the mapping is done by the operating system, so if the major ones (Unix, Mac, msWindows) incorporate it (plus an option to download a personal layout) that solves that problem. It would be a minor adaption, I assume. The dvorak keyboard appears to be usable with the three big ones, so why not this? I use Ubuntu and it has an enormous amount of layouts, all organised by country (lots of redundancy, I suppose). Dvorak is under the US and UK versions. Not the best way to organise them. I suppose that's because it's a little known phenomenon. Do Mac and msWindows have this? DirkvdM 07:54, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

The Qwerty kyboard is an extremely intelligent design though, in that no commomly used letter pairs are next to each other in the keyboard, this minimises the risk of typos that pass spell check and editing. I cant see any more logical way to arrange it to be honest. 12 hour time periods, and hours devided into 12ths is also extremely intelligent, allowing for halfs thirds and quarters, a ten based system is actually relatively stupid, but prevailed because we have ten fingers. 60 seconds in a minute because again, it is a good length of time, it is easy to work with because it is about the shortest length of time the human mind can count in without being rushed, and also it fits in 12 groups of 5 into the clock face, back to the extremely sensibile 12ths again. To be honest, the problem is with our counting system having such a crap base, not our timekeeping system being odd. Philc _T^E_C^I 10:14, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

It makes too much sense to have your units based on your nubering system, so then we should either change our numbering system and all other units or only change our time-unit(s). The former would be such a big change it would have to represent a huge advantage. And I don't see 'divisible by 2 and 3' as a huge advantage. And tehn there's the convenience that 10³ is almost equal to 2¹⁰.

The qwerty keyboard is designed to prevent people from typing too fast by relying heavily on the 'smaller fingers' (pinky and such), so the machine doesnt' get stuck. But we don't use those machines anymore, so that doesn't make sense. Then again, I just noticed it does have the advantage that it is easier to type 'qwerty'. :) DirkvdM 06:15, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, 'easily divisible by 2 and 3' can't be considered a good argument in favor to change to Base 12. Base 10 is 'easily divisible by 5'. Base 10 might not have many inherent advantages, either, except that for most people, I'd say it's easier to think in Base 10. 惑乱 分からん 10:23, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Thats only because you are acustomed to it. Philc _T^E_C^I 17:37, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

If instead of 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, 60 seconds a minute, we went to 10 hours a day, 100 minutes an hour, 100 seconds a minute, it would be more efficient, and even a little more precise. Instead of 86,400 seconds a day, there would be 100,000 seconds a day — very nearly the same order of magnitude. — Michael J 17:37, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

It is the same order of magnitude.Its very nearly the same number as well 8-)--Light current 03:45, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

10 Hours a day is stupid though, because there are 4 significant points in a day, midday, midnight, when you get up and when you go to sleep. No one ever seems to pay attention to the fact that these times are perfect lengths, it is easy for a human to judge a second, a minute and an hour, because they are the right lengths for us to work with in our head, it is incredibly easy to count in seconds, because we are in tune with these measurements. 2.4 hours is a difficult time to judge in your head, so is 1.44 minutes, and so is 0.8 seconds. And yet these are the standardized lengths of time you intend to use. For example a train leaves the station every half hour, this is a good time, because there is never to longer time between trains leaving, without clogging up the system with too many tains on the same route, to maintain this level of service, they would have to leave every 0.2833333 or something hours, which is just annoyingly awkward. Philc _T^E_C^I 22:39, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Firsst world war

Hello,

I would like to ask the help of anyone in trying to trace my grandad's service in the war. His name is Septimus Craggs and he served the whole war in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you. --"""

I would start by trying the contact link at the bottom of the Royal Army Medical Corps site. They might be able to help with where to find the information or may even be able to provide it. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 11:30, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

A good place to look is the National Archives website. They have recently digitised the entire collection of WW1 medal records - my understanding is that pretty much everyone who served in that war received some kind of medal, so it's a very comprehensive database. I searched your granddad's name for you and came up with this. You have to pay a small fee and they will send you a scan of his original medal card. This will tell you about what medal(s) he was awarded and maybe some more details about where he served and so on. Hope this helps. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 11:36, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

MySpace information.

I'm doing a speech on MySpace for my class, and I'm having trouble finding the following facts;

-On average, how many hits a day does MySpace have?

-Where is it ranked among website in terms of popularity?

Thanks, Tyler

Try Alexa. Here is their MySpace report [15]. Hope this helps. Skittle 14:22, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

poetry

I'm currently working on a challenging crossword puzzle and I'm hoping for either an answer or directions towards finding the answer. My question is what would complete this clue: Before, to a poet. Three letter answer E E with the middle letter missing. Any idea?

Thanks 68.226.188.185 17:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)Ellen

Ere. --Rallette 17:41, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Able was I ere I saw Elba. (Napoleon?)--Light current 18:45, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Where did the term 'El Jefe' come from?

Any help?

It's spanish for 'The Boss.'--24.250.33.247 20:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

From Spanish approximation of French "chef" (chief), I guess, ultimately from French sound change evolution of Latin caput (head). (Btw, this is a typical "language" reference question.) 惑乱 分からん 22:37, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Unit Unvestment Trust Documents

There were documents on how to set up a unit investment trust on this site. Now i cannot find them. Please tell me where to go to locate that information.

Please reply to me at (email address redacted)

Thank you

Wikipedia's search engine isn't as sophisticated as google's. If you can't find the results you want using wikisearch, go to google and type 'wiki unit investment trust' which is quickest and should work. If that gives you too many answers try 'unit investment site:wikipedia.org' or some combination of these two. Rentwa 21:55, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

This query might help --Tagishsimon (talk)

What two colours make pink?

Serious question

Red and white? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 21:15, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Depends whether you are talking additve or subtractive color formation.(ie paint or filtered light)--Light current 21:58, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

In computer paint software; approximately Red 100%, Green 50%, Blue 50%, I'd guess. (In CMYK Magenta is basically Pink in itself.) 惑乱 分からん 22:21, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

In CMYK, about a 35% saturation of magenta plus a 15% saturation of yellow makes pink. Pantone "Sachet Pink" is M=50, Y=5 so there's quite a bit of gamut inside "pink". Sachet Pink in RGB is R=255, G=160, B=191. dpotter 02:18, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

What about the obvious link? Pink. That gives the RGB values 255, 192, 203. Another way of putting that is red plus white (experiment) plus a tiny bit of blue. DirkvdM 08:03, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Disney/Dimension Films

Since October 1, 2005 Harvey and Bob Weinstein left the Walt Disney Company to make their own independant company taking Dmension films with them. Disney still has rights to join in for sequels to Scary Movie, etc.. but does Disney still own the rights to the rest of Dimension Film's Movies (Sin City, Brothers Grimm...)?

This was asked before. Check through the archives. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 23:33, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

September 7

Can cereal be patented ?

I saw an ad for new Fruity Cheerios today, which looks to be a rip-off of Froot Loops. Can they be sued ? StuRat 00:22, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

In the case of serial infringements, I think they could be 8-)--Light current 00:26, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Cereal can only be patent the exact recipe that is used. If it was found that General Mills happened to steal Kellogg's recipe then they could be sued. However, if General Mills was able to just experiment around a little and make something similar, then they're home free. This is why knock-off brands (like Wal-Mart's Great Value series) are able to have their own versions of every popular food product out there. It's always why they never taste quite the same. Of course, I don't really know law, but that's how I guess it works.--SeizureDog 00:48, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

That's not totally true; patent claims can be of many different sizes and scopes (it is not limited to the "exact recipe"). The variations possible would depend on the exact patent claims that were upheld. --Fastfission 14:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

For those unfamiliar with Fruity Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios are quite distinct from Froot Loops. They are about half the size, do not have that sugary-coating, and are more fruity flavored than sugary sweet. While Froot Loops are puffed, Fruity Cheerios have a harder, more cheerio-like texture. So the recipe seems to be completely different rather than only slightly changed. Hyenaste ^(tell) 02:33, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

In the United States, patents used to last seventeen years from the date they were granted, but now they last twenty years from the application date. Of course, the recipes for cereal probably change from time to time, but if Fruit Loops were patented when they first came out (I'd guess that was forty years ago) anyone is free to make cerial according to the old recipe.

If a cereal company does not have a patent, anyone is free to experiment until they copy the taste and appearance. --Gerry Ashton 03:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

They could declare the recipe a trade secret. DMacks 04:40, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

But that doesn't prevent anyone else from reverse engineering the product. Rmhermen 14:16, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

You only want to use trade secrets with recipes that can't be easaily reverse engineered, i.e. soft drink formulas. --Fastfission 14:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Froot Loops were introduced in the 1960s; if there ever was a patent on them it has long expired. I don't know of any good reason that cereal wouldn't be patentable. The exact claims of the patent would determine what was infringement or not—if you patented a specific recipe, then a similar-but-different knockoff would be ok. If you patented, "cereal with freeze-dried marshmellows in it" then the patent would apply just to that characteristic (if it was granted) and the specifics of the recipe wouldn't matter. If you managed to slip a patent for "food to which milk would be added before eating" past the Patent Office (stranger things have happened) then you'd have the possibility of a monopoly on the whole industry. --Fastfission 14:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

If there were legal repercussions for making look-alike or "taste-alike" cereal, I believe the Malt-O-Meal company would have been in trouble long ago. --LarryMac 15:26, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Cure for acid burns on the tongue

Of course, it's really not as serious of a question as it can sound. What I'm referring to is when one eats too many sour foods (like Sour Skittles) and it burns your tastes buds to where it really hurts to eat anything. Does anyone know of any way to counter-act this?--SeizureDog 00:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Milk is good for this type of thing, since it contains both water and fat, so is able to dissolve both water-soluble and fat-soluble chemicals, and thus dilute them. Of course, if the damage to the tongue is already done, then you will just have to wait for the tongue to heal. StuRat 00:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Neutralize it with a base. --Proficient 03:40, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I hope you just intended this as a joke. – b_jonas 08:01, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Base (chemistry), not the drug-variant of freebase, if that's what you were thinking of. DirkvdM 08:07, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Yea, you could chew up a Tums, Rolaids or other antacid and roll it around on your tongue, that might work, too. StuRat 08:12, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I considered the whole base thing, but is there any food that is naturally a base? I don't really want to eat medicine. --SeizureDog 21:53, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I think chocolate is somewhat alkaline, as are dark green, leafy veggies, like spinach (that choice is a no-brainer, isn't it ?). The chocolate also contains fat to help dissolve fat-soluble molecules, and you could add some butter to your spinach for the same effect. However, antacids made with calcium carbonate are quite healthy, although they do, predictably, taste like chalk. StuRat 02:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

You mean like when you eat a whole box of lemon heads? Russian F 11:58, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

• I use the stuff for teething or mouth ulcers as I'm always doing that-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 21:53, 7 September 2006 (UTC))

I generally find that I can't do anything about the damage that's already been done, though of course you can stop it from getting any worse. If I could somehow eat a Tums while I'm sucking on a lemon (which I love doing) without ruining the taste, I probably would, but by the time your tongue actually starts to hurt, wouldn't most of the acid already have been cleaned from your mouth?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:15, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• Lemonheads don't have lemon juice. bibliomaniac15 04:23, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Number of College Student in the US?

Facebook is supposed to have 7.7 million members and be at 80% saturation of the college market. Is that correct? How many college students are in the US? How Many High School Students are in the US? 10 million college students seems low to me. STHayden ^{[ Talk ]} 02:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Looks like 14.5 million undergrads in 2003 [16]. Rmhermen 03:30, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Poet G Venora LaMarche

Please add this author to the list of Poets. G. Venora LaMarche has published two Poetry Chapbooks. The first titled "Crazee Lady, Too" and the second is "This Life: Orison of Life" both published by Publish America. The first was released in 2005 and "This Life" is released in July 2006. G. Venora was born 1941 and presently resides in Wichita Kansas.

Hello. Since this is a wiki, you could always create an article - G. Venora LaMarche - on the poet in question yourself. However, i'm not sure she or he meets the notability guidelines for inclusion in wikipedia. PublishAmerica is essentially an author mill and thus the poety may be considered a vanity publication. However, if you can justify his or her inclusion in policy, then please be bold. Rockpocket 07:01, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Song-bird

What is the name of the song-bird used as a symbol for the Kursk Region in Russia? thanks, KN

I don't know but I find this strange. So do we get to shar in the prize? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 12:15, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Well I wouldn't have said it was a songbird, but if you go to Kursk, click on the coat of arms, then click on the link, then translate the relevant section using Babelfish, you get ... partridge. --Shantavira 11:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

In the link above to the original question there is a wma file that you can download. From what I saw the answer is in there, you just need to listen to it. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:13, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Identification of a song...

This is a song that I heard on the radio, but unfortunately, muffled. It's a rather heavy song; I would say, it's rock, or even alternative. One lead male singer. These are the notes:

                ||          |           ||
vocals: * * a c ||. d e a c | d * a c  .||
bass:           ||. f------ | d------- .||
                ||          |           ||

The notes just increase from a to e, and then from the same a to d. This repeats a few times. I'm fairly certain the key is A minor. Slight possibility it is in D minor, but I did not hear any b-flats. I've identified the chors which I believe start right at the bar line. There is also some drums...Any ideas?? --HappyCamper 12:38, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Do you know any lines from the lyric? If so you could try searching for them on Google. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:49, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

No, I don't unfortunately. I think there is the word "my" or "me" somewhere, but that would not help. The song must be something fairly recent, written after 2000 at minimum if I had to bet. --HappyCamper 13:04, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

It would help if we knew the rythm and where the barlines are. (Can Wikipedia render musical notation by now?) Anyway, let me try guessing: It's my life —Bromskloss 13:24, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Okay, I added 4/4 bar lines - and also indicated where the two bars of music seem to repeat a few times. All of them are just quarter notes. The stars are what sounded like rests. It's not It's my life though. I have that song :-) --HappyCamper 16:31, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Keyboard, countour, sing, whistle, rhythm : try [Musipedia] searches. -- DLL ^{.. T} 20:17, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

law 502

Hi. am having trouble finding info on a 1960's-1970's law known among rock'en rollers and bikers. 502 is common number in rock-cafes/bars, and its supposed to mean something about a restricting law having to do with bikers n rock en roll. As my final option i chose to ask you about that 502 "symbol". thank you in advance for your efforts. 193.92.44.132 13:06, 7 September 2006 (UTC)Dimitris

"502" is (or was, supposedly, in some jurisdiction, at some time) police code for driving under the influence, as in "502 blues (drinkin' and drivin')" by Wayne Shorter. --Rallette 15:53, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Grizzly vs. croc

Which would win in a fight to the death between a grizzly bear versus a saltwater crocodile? Battle Ape 13:13, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I think the stingray would win. --Zeizmic 13:38, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Considering that grizzly bears and saltwater crocodiles occupy very different ecosystems, they would probably never meet. Durova 18:11, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Where's the fight? If it's in the water, I reckon that bear's pwned. TheMadBaron 21:00, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Okay, the arena will have a land area and a water area, but the fight starts on land. So the croc would have to drag the grizzly over there. Durova, I know it would never happen, it's just hypothetical. Battle Ape 01:39, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Because both of them would probably run away, I think you have to tweak the setting a little more. A small, closed (like a valley) area with scattered areas of dry land and murkey water, which is coincidentally home to both a nest of baby croc eggs (and their big assed-mother) and a snatch of bear cubs (and their angry frothy mother). Now, I think you've got a fight.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:08, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmmmm...I think the bear would win. First, because it starts out on land. Second, the croc would have trouble getting a good grip on the bear through all the fur. Finally, the croc's standard tactic is to drag its victim into the water and drown it. The beasties are about the same maximum weight, so that would be tough. 06:31, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

No.

It has to be a closed arena with no other food resources, or they're never going to fight.

The crocodile, generally very lethargic, and capable of surviving for months without food, takes one look at the bear and heads straight for the water. The bear stays close to her cubs. She avoids the water, perhaps for several days. One night, she heads quietly, cautiously, closer to the water in the hope of taking a fish. She stops. She waits. There is neither smell nor sound of the crocodile, so she approaches the waters edge. Splash - snap - drag - roll.... pwned. TheMadBaron 11:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Remember though that bears have a sense of smell ten times better than a dog's. A bear can smell a fish underwater a mile away. So the bear certainly knows that the only food around is that big strange thing at the bottom of the pond. The croc has relatively poor senses. So I'd say the bear gets the first swipe and lays the croc's innards open, then the fatally injured croc uses its tail to sweep the bear toward its jaws. The bear takes a nasty injury, but the croc doesn't have the strength to drag it underwater. Croc dies, bear eats dinner, then bear expires from an abscessed wound. Final score 0-0. Durova 13:54, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Now, remember that the bear is in a weakened state, not having eaten for a few days. And the crocodile's skin is made of the same stuff they make shoes out of. And if you want me to accept that a bear can smell a fish underwater from a mile away, I'm afraid you'll have to cite your sources.... besides, a crocodile is not a fish, it's an insect. No, I tell you, the crocodile has the elephant of surprise on her side, and that bear is crocodile poo. TheMadBaron 21:15, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I think the crocodile would win. --Proficient 03:41, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

UFO

What is the latest story for UFOs? Thanks196.200.100.232 13:48, 7 September 2006 (UTC)poppy

Do you mean the latest news story? Try list of major UFO sightings and the many and various links from there. Otherwise UFO will fill you in.--Shantavira 15:26, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Fifteen Aliens Arrested in Roswell, New Mexico --Shantavira 17:29, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

LOL. StuRat 17:34, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Funniest thing I've ever seen on Wikipedia. Jamesino 01:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

You not been here very long then?--Light current 01:58, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Incorrect Jamesino 00:38, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Did you not witness the tapeworm incident? THat was the funniest by far IMO--Light current 03:50, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

See that one here: [17]. StuRat 06:47, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Amaniyat

I was looking at Canadian soldiers kill Afghan police officer over on Wikinews, wanted to wikilink Amaniyat, and was surprised there was no article.

Google turns up a mention here, apparently this is the Afghan Secret Police, or National Directorate of Security (NDS). Only mention of the NDS I've found in Wikipedia is at Human rights in Afghanistan.

And to turn this into a question... Who would be a good person to ask about making a stub on this? I was looking for a "request an article" page and wouldn't mind if this was moved to one. --Brianmc 15:43, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Requested articles would be what you're looking for there. Tony Fox (arf!) 16:02, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! --Brianmc 16:04, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Desert

I am looking for a world map, but on it should be marked where the deserts in the world is. It is for a project for school. I can`t find it on Wikipedia. Can you please help? Do you know where I can find something like that on the internet?

Our desert article really should have a map showing the location of deserts around the world (but doesn't right now). --Tagishsimon (talk)

Hopefully this answer will be of more use to you.[18]--Light current 16:08, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

This query points towards some maps - the first link might indeed be all you need. IINAL, but there may be an educational fair use justification for appropriating images; and if not, well, in your place I'd borrow the map anyway. --Tagishsimon (talk)

This might also help: List of deserts. Durova 17:56, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

If it is for school, you could trace your own map, and mark significant deserts of the world. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

Don't forget the cold deserts, unless your project is specifically about hot deserts.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I can't help but think of ice cream vs hot apple pie. :--) JackofOz 23:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. Do you need both hot/cold deserts? --Proficient 03:42, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Musical form and harmony

THis in not homework! Im doing a study of the musical form of popular jazz songs (standards). I find that the harmony starts usually either with I maj, or IIm7 in most cases. So if the song is in Cmaj, the first chord tends to be Cmaj or Dm7.

What I want to know is: are there tunes which start on chords built on other steps of the scale, like Em, Fmaj etc (in the key of Cmaj agian). If so, what percentage (if any) of songs start on these other steps of the scale?--Light current 16:22, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

• Well, let's see. I'll omit the rarely sung verses for the purpose of this question, and transpose to C. "What Is This Thing Called Love" starts on Gm7b5. "Nice Work if You Can Get It" starts on E7#5. "Love for Sale", FMaj7. "I Thought About You", F#m7b5. That's all I could find skimming quickly through two fake books; so yes, they exist, and they are pretty rare. Cole Porter is a good place to look, since he quite often didn't stick to more common formats. Can't give a percentage, though I'd guess less than 5%. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 17:41, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

OK Well thats very useful. THanks JP. 8-)). As you may have guessed, Im trying to work out an easy way of remembering the harmonies of the common jazz standards. THe M8s are of course another task!

• "What Is This Thing Called Love" has a fairly inharmonious beginning- I suppose its the b5.
• "Nice Work if You Can Get It" yes I can hear it now!
• "I Thought About You" I m not familiar with this one.
• "Love for Sale" I should have guessed this one as Ive played it. Altho' couldnt that be a Dm7 insted of Fmaj7?

Any more additions will be most welcome. THese of course will be the exceptions to my new 'rule'--Light current 17:53, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

• Well, my fakebook has Love for sale in Bb, and it starts on EbMaj7. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 18:45, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I take your word for it: thers not much diff between Fmaj7 and Dm9 except the bass note really.--Light current 23:47, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Finding Ulf and Siw Rosen

I am trying to find a swedish couple Mr and Mrs Rosen, They use to live in: Monrov. 7b 75244 upsala Sweden.

They were my sponsors in education 26yrs ago in a village in the gambia. I want to thank them. My life is very successful because of them.

Regards

Do you speak Swedish? I wasn't able to find Monrov. at all, and casually matching Siw Rosen with Ulf Rosen didn't yield any results either. Sorry. Were they missionaries? —Bromskloss 21:09, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

It could have been a typo for "Morgonv(ägen)", an actual street name in Uppsala, (though it currently has another Postal code). 惑乱 分からん 22:00, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm, the postal code fits with "Marmorv(ägen)", though. Don't know how much that helps. 惑乱 分からん 22:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Changing the user profile name

How do I change the profile name to read David E. Mumford instead of David mumford? It's showing up now with a lower case m on mumford. Thanks.

Create a new user name, and copy the text over from the old user name. You will lose the history, but since you only have 3 edits, that's no big deal. StuRat 17:53, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

However, when so copying, please don't commit copyright infringement as with User:David mumford. Thanks! — Lomn | Talk 17:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Your user page was flagged as a copyright violation, since you copied your own biography directly from a web site. This is an interesting case, I wonder if there's any "fair use" argument saying you can copy your own biography from a web site without the express written permission of the site. StuRat 18:01, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I really can't see how there would be, since this sort of copyright is more concerned with the presentation of the facts therein rather than what the facts themselves are. Composing a quick autobiographical statement shouldn't be any real effort, though. — Lomn | Talk 18:32, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Wouldn't that be original research? :p --70.61.33.138 13:24, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

What happens if you create an account "David E. Mumford" and then move page "User:David Mumford" to "User:David E. Mumford"? In any case, this seems more a question for the Help desk than for the refefrence desks. --Lambiam^Talk 15:17, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

This is definitely and interesting situation. --Proficient 03:43, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Value of chemical elements

I noticed that the value of germanium in 1997 and 2000 was provided in that article. That sparked the question: what is the best source for determining the current value of such commodities? Is there a reliable web source for finding this information. I'd like to find a consistent source for updating this aspect of the chemical articles. Much thanks in advance. LeyteWolfer 17:58, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Wasn't this already asked and answered elsewhere ? StuRat 18:03, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Asked, yes; answered, no. Thought it wiser to try and reach potential financial people. LeyteWolfer 22:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Tried Johnson Matthey metals

chemical market reporter

Thanks, I'll give those a go. LeyteWolfer 22:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Yet another obscure song info request

I head this many years ago on the radio, but don't know the group. It goes something like this: A la puerta del sol, ay contigi del mar, wantavorta compensiero y fortadia siem momen (excuse the spelling). After a while, it switches to the English translation. Clarityfiend 20:34, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Try copy-pasting the lyrics into Google. It usually works when I need lyrics. Luigi30 (Taλk) 12:15, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

But after "A la puerta del sol", the Spanish gets messed up, so you better ask for a rewrite on the Language section, first. 惑乱 分からん 12:45, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Trying to find back a funny (chibi) image of the Vegeta character from Dragonball

File:WeirdVEGETA.JPG

Hello, as an avatar on my MSN I have a picture of Vegeta from Dragonball. I lost the original though. It is kind of chibi-style. It could be fanart but it is drawn quite well. His outfit is much like on planet Namek when he was fighting Freeza (he is wearing black with a white armor over it). He is walking to the left and clapping his hands in order to remove the dust and makes a funny face like : "Finally got that solved". I'll try to upload a low quality version of it.(EDIT:got one)

I am trying to find the original. Can anyone help? Thanks! (Please tell me if I violated a rule by uploading that screenshot) Evilbu 22:45, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

If you have the original file name, throwing that into Google might net you something. Other than that, you're probably out of luck. There is Google Images, but I imagine with a character like him you could be on there a long time searching for a particular image. Mitaphane _talk 00:01, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

It looks like fanart, as opposed to an official "chibi print".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:47, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I know about some technology that allows you to search for similar images according to appearance (color, shape, shades etc) but I don't know how and where to use it. 惑乱 分からん 12:47, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

"gay"

why is "gay" almost always in the top 10 "most searched" on nytimes.com?

Might it have something to do with this phenomenon?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Because being gay can be considered trendy. Look at Google's Zeitgeist sometime. Luigi30 (Taλk) 12:14, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Neither of those answers are very good. I don't think anyone has the slightest idea why "gay" is a top searched item on nytimes.com. I suppose the more natural assumption would be that people are interested in articles from the New York Times related to homosexuality, but who knows what motivates people. I tried searching for "gay" on it and didn't come up with anything obvious. It also might be something related to the fact that it is high on the rankings—people like you (and me) tried to search for it too, wondering why it is such a high search term. But I doubt that this sort of curiosity can keep a search term very high on its own, since relatively few people are likely to care what are high search terms at nytimes.com. --Fastfission 14:55, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I was attempting to answer the question. You could ask a similar question, "Why do people often add the word gay when they vandalize Wikipedia?" The answer is simply that "gay" is often used out of context, and wrongly, as some sort of explicit word, and many of the more immature internet users would probably think it just hilarious to have "gay" as one of the most searched words in a list, in the same way they'd probably like to have "penis" or "poopsex" in the list. What Marco Polo says below certainly also contributes to the effect.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  19:21, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Homosexuality is a phenomenon affecting close to 10% of the population directly (that is, at least this percentage has homosexual desires or feelings at some point) and indirectly affecting their parents and friends, a much larger number. Yet few educational systems offer people any information or guidance on this topic, which is taboo in many countries, at least as a topic for school instruction. So, when this topic confronts people (e.g. they notice feelings of attraction to others of the same sex, or they discover that their child, pupil, uncle, aunt, neighbor, or whoever, has such feelings), they rush to the internet for enlightenment. Marco polo 15:29, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. People want to find out more about it, use it to insult others, use it for acceptance, etc. It's like a crown phenomena. --Proficient 03:45, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Septmber is what designated what month?

I have a health homework that asks what is designated for the month of september. An example given to the class was that october is breast cancer awarness month. I would be thankful if you could help me out with this topic.

It seems a little silly to me to designate an entire month to a given the amount of diseases that exist out there. But anyway, BCAM seems to be given its designation by the president of the US. See List of observances in the United States by presidential proclamation for other months, weeks, days that have special designations. --Mitaphane _talk 23:57, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

i think its drug and alcohol awareness month Modesty84 03:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Let me guess. Is this a US thing? DirkvdM 06:23, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Could be a Netherlands thing, too, as in "be aware of the nearest locations to buy and consume exotic drugs and alcohol". :-) StuRat 06:49, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, I know that a) April is the cruellest month, and b) the American Library Associations 'read a banned book' week is always in September. Oh man, I've redeemed myself. You wanna know what September is? Check out THIS site. Pace yourself my friend. Anchoress 11:30, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

BTW I hope I don't have to tell you to independently confirm anything you use from that list. I checked the first one (ADHD month), one that would be useful to you, and it actually is. Anchoress 11:35, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

No, seriously, is this a US thing? I know of mother's day and all that, but I've only occasionally heard of months or years dedicated to one thing as a one-off occasion. I thought that was a UN thing, but I understand from this dicsussion that every month is dedicated to something in the US. DirkvdM 07:46, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Note that most of those silly things are never mentioned anywhere. I suppose if you are with the National Artichoke Board (if there is such a thing) you might put out an ad that says "try an artichoke during national artichoke week !". StuRat 06:35, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It might depend on where you live. --Proficient 03:46, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

CS vs CS2

What are the major pros and cons when comparing Adobe Photoshop versions CS and CS2? Overall, which of the two is better (speed, functionality, loading times, etc...)? Thanks Jamesino 23:30, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Check out Photoshop's release history. --Mitaphane _talk 00:08, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes but that only lists the new functions. Is there a site with opinions and a direct comparison? Jamesino 01:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

CS2 I believe since it's the latest. --Proficient 03:46, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

blushing

I have a problem. I blush at just about anything. I mean, if someone talks to me, no matter what kind of relatiosnship I have with them, I usually get embarassed somehow. Usually the only time it doesn;t happen is when I'm talking to family or guy friends that I'm close to. If I don't know them, it usually hapens. I have already had it happen with 3 girls in the first 2 weeks of school and it was not pretty. I mean, when one sat down next to me in class I did it. I don't try to blush, and it's like uncontrollable. Can somebody help me. What is going on? By the way, I am a freshman. In high school. Thanks.

Have you looked at our page on blushing? It tells you why, but may not tell you how to cure it.--Light current 23:40, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Hey, look at this LC- Idiopathic craniofacial erythema it looks kinda like it- Blusher

Yes. It does. Im glad you found that!--Light current 23:56, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Looks like I'm kinda outta luck treatmentwise- Blusher

Dont worry - youll grow out of it!--Light current 00:31, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Hope so, thanks for your help LC, its kinda nice on Wikipedia because I can be myself, and I've got a more specific question about this but i gotta go for now, so I'll be back later, and I think you'd be able to answer it. Thanks a bunch, man. :)

• "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." Mark Twain. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 00:50, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Man (or woman) is the only animal that has a bare face. Is that why?--Light current 02:03, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Arthropods? Good question though. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

I have two suggestions:

1) Makeup, specifically a base, would cover up the blush. However, I get the impression you're male, so this might seem "effeminate".

2) Aversion Desensitization therapy. After you talk to lots of strange girls about risque topics the blush reaction will lessen with time. You might just set a goal of talking with a certain number each day, not particularly worrying if you make a good impression. A night club might be a good place to practice. And, a bonus is that a dark room will hide the blush well.

Blushing makes you look shy and inexperienced. This may be a turn-off for some women, but may actually be a turn-on for a few.

StuRat 06:41, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure I'd go as far as sturat and tell you to talk dirty to the girls, but you should realize that it's really not that big of a deal, and that you'll probably grow out of it soon. And like he said, some girls might find it cute or something. If it's really bothering you, you might (not) want to consider Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. --Froth (public computer) 13:30, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• I think guys blushing is attractive myself-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 19:55, 8 September 2006 (UTC))

Seriously, it is?- Blusher

Note that I used the wrong term, it' actually called desensitization therapy, not aversion therapy, that's something else. StuRat 01:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

You're male, correct? --Proficient 03:47, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

September 8

SCRIPTS

Are there any good places or websites I can go to buy Hollywood scripts? They don't have to be original, but I want to become a collector. I already have 4 from eBay. And also, what was the most popular movie Eddie Murphy was in?

Thanks

Possibly Beverly Hills Cop? By what criteria are you judging popularity? He was also pretty popular as Donkey in Shrek.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Just basically the most seen movie Eddie Murphy has been in. BEverly Hills Cop is great! Also, does anyone know about the scripts?

Well I tried this and got some sites that look good. You could try variations on what I entered. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:05, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

The cheapest solution would be to copy the script yourself. Which should be a cinch if you're a big fan, with a photographic memory.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  13:18, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Need help in geography of Netherlands

I was given an address:

'S Gravenenhage,

2572 HX,

The Netherlands

I interpret that The Netherlands is the name of a country unknown to an ignorant person like me. Perhaps 2572 HX is their zip-code.

Question-1: What is 'S? Does it mean SOUTH?

Question-2: What is "Gravenenhage"? Is it the name of a state (or province) of Netherlands?

Question-3: What is the relationship between Gravenenhage and Den Haag? Is Gravenenhage a small part of Den Haag? Is Den Haag a small part of Gravenenhage? Are they two nearby cities?

Question-4: If Gravenenhage is a small part of Den Haag, then would it be better to write

'S Gravenenhage,

2572 HX, Den Haag,

The Netherlands

Thank you in advance for your help. I tried several chat rooms without getting anywhere. Twma 03:14, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Though I know nothing about the Netherlands, it seems you must have made a spelling mistake? 'S-Gravenhage is The Hague in English. The 'S appears to be the possessive particle, so it means the same as "de" in many romance languages, or "den" in Dutch, hence you get the common name "Den Haag" from "Den Gravenhage".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:26, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• The address is incomplete 's Gravenhage and Den Haag are the same, but the adres doesn't contain a street or house number. A real Dutch address should look something like this (wihtout my sig of course):

Kerkstraat 1,

2572 HX, Den Haag,

The Netherlands - Mgm|^(talk) 04:50, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe 2572 HX is a famous postal code... like 90210?  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  04:54, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

So the correct address should be

street name, number

2572 HX, Den Haag

The Netherlands

Thank you very much for your help. Twma 05:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• This might help: [19]. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 05:30, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Your example certainly answers all my questions already. Thanks with appreciation. This site is better than many chat rooms in Europe. Twma 06:05, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Note that ZIP Code is a US term, the general term is postal code. StuRat 06:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

After edit conflict:

A zip postal code for a country? Funny, I heard someone suggest that in a US film the other day and wasn't sure if it was meant as a joke. And now you. Are you from the US too perchance?

Freshofftheufo, that full name would be 'des Graven Hage' (the earl's hedge - don't ask), not 'den Gravenhage'. Also, see Den Haag.

Jpgordon, that address you linked to has the countryname in German, so Twma, don't copy that bit. Oh, and note that you wrote 'S Gravenenhage. Make sure you take out the stammer. :) DirkvdM 06:40, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmm, I assumed that den had the same meaning as 'S, and I've no idea where des came from, but that's good because that means I wasn't lying when I said I knew nothing about Dutch! Maybe I'll tackle it as my 5th language. ...right after I figure out how to communicate with the trees!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  07:48, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Too late to do anything now. Final decision has been made under time pressure. Just wish me luck with your blessing. Thanks to all again. Bye. Twma 06:05, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

'Den' is an antiquated version of 'de' ('the'). 'Des' (or 'der') means 'of the'. As in 'the hedge of the earl'. It's also rather antiquated - not sure if it's still official Dutch, but it's still used in a lot of expressions. Or names, like mine - van der Made. DirkvdM 07:53, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

About Edit Wars

I have painstakingly written and re-written the section on the IAU definition of Planet in the article on Pluto many times. Each time, someone has reverted it. It seems that they have no feelings for anothers work, even fair compromises.... I was wondering if someone could talk sense into them? (They left their edit tags on the bottom of the talk page) Alphabetagamma 04:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

P.S.: It seems that I have won this edit war for now. Alphabetagamma 04:13, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• I think the following comment was the problem:

The above text was copied directly from the IAU website (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0602/index.html) at 3:50 8 September 2006 (UTC).

You're not supposed to copy text directly from websites, that is a copyright violation. Also, the section in question is supposed to be a summary of the main article about the decision, not a fully detailed one. - Mgm|^(talk) 04:44, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

And that last bit at least was pointed out to you at the talk page too. DirkvdM 06:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Edit wars are not for winning. You should not enter into one at all. If you find that your work is reverted, your first action should be to raise it on the talk page, and try to reach a consensus. Notinasnaid 09:02, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

featured article

there is a featured article on fyodorovskaya icon, i am pretty sure i have seen this picture in a church in poland just out side Katowitse. Wanted to drop a note on the talk page but the option was not there.

I am not sure what you are asking. If you wish to discuss the article, just go to Talk:Theotokos of St. Theodore, and click on "edit this page".--Shantavira 09:18, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

please suitly emphazi your question --frothInClassRightNowAndNotLoggedIn

emphaSi? Is that a briticism? 惑乱 分からん 18:08, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Whatever do you mean? :) --Froth 19:57, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I meant emphaZi had teh suitly misspell! 惑乱 分からん 12:39, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

This confusing joke has now been suitly nominated for emphazical deletion; see Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Suitly emphazi. Sandstein 21:19, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

MOH FRONTLINE

Hi I have just completed Medal of Honor Frontline on the ps2 and am wondering if there is any other way to unlock the cheats other than the passwords found in the magazines and on the net? I have already looked on Gamefaqs and other gaming sites but they only have the passwords. I am looking to see if they can be unlocked through the game like the first two MOHs, any help appreciated.

You could use a PS2 Action Replay to unlock things in games, or whatever the thing's called (I still call them all GameSharks) Luigi30 (Taλk) 12:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Any computer that you need external hardware to hack the memory is not worth supporting - anyway if you want cheats try PC games, they've traditionally had more diverse and powerful cheats than console games (excluding of course goldeneye!). Meanwhile I'll continue evangelizing PC gaming anytime the topic is even remotely related --Froth 20:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I play both, and there are certain genres I would never use a console for, and certain genres I would never use a PC for, and genres I use both for. (eg Rayman is the only good platformer on the PC (and non PC-exclusive), and it's tough playing FPSes on a console, with the exception of Goldeneye 007.) ColourBurst 00:58, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Size of pages

Is there any way to determine the current size of a page without waiting for the '32k warning' maessage in the edit window?--Light current 15:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Cut & paste the text from the edit window into something that'll do a character count; Word or a good text editor. Or into web-based counting tool such as Cut & Paste Character count --Tagishsimon (talk)

How about if you right click on the page then click "properties"? A blank Wikipedia page seems to be about 1kB so deduct that. Of course if there are pics on the page they will make a difference which you don't want to include. --Shantavira 17:35, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I dont get any size indication. Im using Cologne blue skin.--Light current 17:38, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it depends on your browser. That's standard in IE for all web pages as long as you click a blank area.--Shantavira 19:44, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

IE?! >:( shame on you .. in firefox, its in View Page Info in the page context menu (right click). Right below encoding and above referrer. RD/Misc is 114.83 KB (117,589 bytes) right now. --Froth 20:03, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• I must have altered my Firefox copy too much. Apparently I have no such context menu item. - Mgm|^(talk) 20:41, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Right click in any white space on the page, then select view page info. Just like IE except it has a different name (Properties in firefox views the properties of the element - image, button, or in this case the body of the document). It's not likely that you configured it out. Maybe you just misread what I said? It was a bit unclear --Froth 22:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

If you haven't configured it out, have you now figured it out? :) DirkvdM 08:04, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

eggs and soldiers

My 4 year old daughter would like to know where the term eggs and soldiers come from after having her eggs and soldiers for breakfast this morning. I have searched on the web to no conclusion-help,any ideas,many thanks,Denise

Yup, I got nowhere too, except a suggestion that it was because lines of cut toast looked like ranks of soldiers - "crispy strips of buttered toast were lined up like little soldiers"; and another that when dipped, the yolk formed a soldier-like helmet. There might, I suppose, be some connection with Humpty-Dumpty, who could not be put back together by all the kings's horses & men ... sadly just speculation, no well referenced information --Tagishsimon (talk)

I was completely unaware of this term until reading this question, and I feel I've been deprived lo these many years. We don't seem to have an article on Eggs and soldiers, so, the toast is cut into strips; how are the eggs prepared? --LarryMac 18:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Boiled eggs. And the bread isn't always (and shouldn't be, for me) toasted. violet/riga (t) 20:51, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

I might be way off, but I came to think of French Toast, which is named akin to "poor knights" in several languages of Northern Europe (likely calqued); British English Poor Knights of Windsor, German Arme Ritter, Danish/Norwegian Arme riddere, Swedish Fattiga riddare, Finnish Köyhät ritarit. 惑乱 分からん 18:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Still not an answer to the original question, but in my fascination, I found this article which has a nice picture for ignorant Yanks such as myself. --LarryMac 18:16, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

The OED doesn't record this colloquial usage in print until 1966, but it must have been around for some time before then.--Shantavira 19:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Dipping white bread in eggs? Honestly it's revolting --Froth 20:05, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

There's a fan site but they use toast, bloody heathens. And just in case the soldier cutting machine in LarryMac's link was not enough there is always this. And the I've used the term since I was a kid which would put it before 1966. On the other hand there is this. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 23:46, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Surely toast has a practical advantage over untoasted bread in its rigidity. With fresh bread it would get pretty messy, one would think. Then again, war is messy, so maybe thats appropriate. Rockpocket 06:22, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

My mother used to make little deep fried bread triangles to go with pea soup. She called these 'soldaatjes' or 'little soldiers'. Too similar to be a coincidence, but Googling it doesn't give exactly this variety, although something similar also seems to go well with spinach. And I now remember a smaller variety is also served with gazpacho. That article says it's not necessarily made of tomatoes and that "bread is the ingredient that really identifies a gazpacho". So my mother unwittingly made gazpacho. DirkvdM 08:24, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I have never heard of such a thing, without looking it up. --Proficient 03:49, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

military salute

I think the military salute which is used by many soldiers of a different countries has its origin. I want to know the country of this origin & how it began.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

Salute may be of value to you. Dismas|^(talk) 20:07, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

See Emission theory (vision) and Salute#Military_Salutes -- The origin of this salute is unknown. One theory is that it came from Roman soldiers' shading their eyes from the intense light that was supposed to shine from the eyes of their superiors (see emission theory (vision)). Another theory is that it came from when men-at-arms wore armor--a friendly approach would include holding the reins of the horse with the left hand while raising the visor of the helmet with the right, so that one could be recognised. A third theory is that the salute, and the handshake, came from a way of showing that the right hand (the fighting hand) was not concealing a weapon. The most widely accepted theory is that it evolved from the practice of men raising their hats in the presence of officers. Tipping one's hat on meeting a social superior was the normal civilian sign of respect at the time [1]. Repeated hat-raising was impractical if heavy helmets were worn, so the gesture was stylised to a mere hand movement. --Froth 20:09, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

name of cities

I find that in your pages cities like Assab, Barentu and Ghindae are found in Eritrea. Is there any one who can tell me the meanings of these names and their origin?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

You might get a better answer at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language. User:Zoe|(talk) 23:27, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Animal/innovations

I heard that the innovation of Airplane is derived or based from the nature of birds. If that is true, are there any other innovations which are created on the basis of animals nature?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

Aeroplanes are not really based on birds - birds have wings which flap, and they have feathers. However to answer your question: yes, many inventors take inspiration from nature (can't think of any examples at the moment). —Daniel (‽) 19:49, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Here's one I know off the top of my head: the teardrop hull shape of modern submarines is directly copied from the body shape of large whales Raul654 18:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• radar and bats-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 20:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC))

What bats have is sonar. Sorry, more accurately, echolocation. Anchoress 23:28, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

• yes but wasn't radar based on how bats echo-locate? hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 09:23, 9 September 2006 (UTC))

No, radar uses radio waves, sonar/echolocation uses sound waves. Anchoress 18:28, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Military camouflage, antibiotics, dams... Rockpocket 06:19, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

As Daniel said, the notion of flying got its inspiration from birds, but the actual implementation is very different, especially with a helicopter. Giders, however, function very similar to the way, say, vultures fly and the use of updrafts may also have been gleamed from birds. I wonder if man would ever have thought of the notion of flying if it hadn't been for birds (natura artis magistra).

I once saw diagrams of the way copulating dragonflies interlock and a coupling mechanism of spacecrafts, which were very similar. I don't know, though, if that was a pure coincidence (convergent evolution?). I think it was developed for a space station. DirkvdM 09:26, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Please give me any other more example of innovations which are based on the notion of animals.

XP

Is the abbreviation XP for "experience" in Windows XP based on the use of the same abbreviation in RPGs? NeonMerlin 18:51, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Sort of. XP in role-playing games is more usually eXperience points. However, I'm sure the guys at MS were influenced by the RPG use. — Lomn | Talk 19:32, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

My bet is that marketing people came up with it, and that RPGs play no role in those types of decisions. --Fastfission 19:38, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

It symbolizes the face you make when it fails on you :) --Froth 20:11, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Probably more like the face it makes when it fails on you. Vitriol 21:35, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I've always considered it funny that Microsoft chose a mocking smiley as part of their OS logo... XP 惑乱 分からん 12:17, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Probably not. --Proficient 03:50, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

tribes

which country from africa is a country with the highest number of tribes?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

I think that this question is impossible to answer, because there are many different ways to interpret the word tribe. Not only that, but there is no commonly accepted way to draw lines between related "tribes" or ethnic groups. To take an example from Europe, should all speakers of German be considered members of a single ethnic group, even though they may have different cultures and may not be able to understand each others' dialects? Do we consider the people of Liechtenstein a different ethnic group from the German speakers of Switzerland, even though they speak more or less the same dialect and have similar customs? Do we consider Germans in Germany to be a separate ethnic group from Austrians, even though the customs and dialect of Bavaria, Germany, are more similar to those of Austria than to the customs and dialects of northern Germany? What about the ancient "tribal" divisions of Germany, between the Swabians, Bavarians, Saxons, etc? Are these the most important distinctions? The same questions apply in any region of Africa, but with even more ambiguity. Marco polo 19:11, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

ethnic group (nationality)

which country from africa is the country with highest number of ethnic group (nationality)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.200.102.42 (talk • contribs)

See my comments above on the lack of clear lines separating ethnic groups. That said, there is some correlation between language and ethnicity. People who belong to the same ethnic group generally speak the same language. (There are exceptions, such as people from a rural ethnic group who move to the city and raise children who belong to that ethnic group but speak only the language of the city where they were raised.) However, people from different ethnic groups may also speak the same language. (Think of the number of ethnic groups that include speakers of English.) Still, the number of languages can provide a rough measure of ethnic diversity. By that measure, according to Ethnologue, Nigeria is the country in Africa with the largest number of living languages: 510 in all. Marco polo 19:19, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

best computer

If price was absolutely no object, how would you build a gaming PC? Here are two "fences" I'm not sure which side would be better. BTW i don't actually intend to buy it I'm just curious :)

• 2x itanium montecito processors (dual core, 2 threads per core, 13mb cache per core) OR Some mainstream high-power single processor like AMD 64 FX (is that still in production? I don't buy amd) or Core 2 Duo
• NVIDIA's best SLI setup OR AMD's best crossfire setup

--Froth 23:12, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

yea right, there are no games that even exist to utilize even half of the power in that kind of system.

But theoretically for the kind of processing involved in games.. --Froth 23:50, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Try one of these machines. My guess is that there perfermance in a PC gaming role would be out of this world ;) TomStar81 (Talk) 07:37, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I would think that the decentralization of components and non-repetitiveness of the operations would make supercomputers less up to the task --Froth 17:07, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

If you're looking for one of the best systems an average person can buy and get performance from, perhaps something like this would be good:

CPU: X6800 Conroe, Mobo: P5W DH Deluxe, RAM: 4 GB G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500), GPU: Quad SLI 7950GX2 or Crossfire with x1900xtx, ... --Proficient 03:53, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

September 9

anothe man law

wtf does this mean: "if it's that time of the month for your girlfriend, you are allowed to take matters into your own hands". is this condoning cheating? explain?

btw, this is jasbutal

masturbation --Nelson Ricardo 00:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Note that there aren't any real "man laws," just common courtesy and "good man-manners." These two you are confused about are more supposed to be funny. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

well no shit mac_davis. No, i didn't realize that there wasn't a man-legislature enacting man-laws. I really thought that I was going to be arrested when I didn't jack off because my woman was bleeding.

I thought intercourse was still possible with a menstruating woman. Jamesino 16:55, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

It's absolutely possible, the question is if the two partners will still be willing. Masturbation, on the other hand, is generally possible just about anytime, although perhaps not always appropriate. 惑乱 分からん 17:50, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

While menstrating, the girlfriend's hormone levels will be at a low, so not only is intercourse not as desirable (unless you like it bloody), it may not be desired either. Oh, and Mr. Jasbutal: We all appreciate your lofty, casual speech here, but let's put on our friendly hats and answer questions like real, appreciative people! Also, girls don't tend to enjoy being called "my woman" by their man, though I'm sure you're well aware of that as well.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:56, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

"Taking matters into your own hands is an euphemism for masturbation. But, then most men masturbate even during other times of the month. Also, having sex while she is menstruating is pretty common too. Jut put a couple towels down. As for hormone levels, it can me mixed. Hormones are sometimes low, and sometimes they spike high too. Some women are less interested, and some more interested. Also, you are forgetting about oral sex, and anal sex. Besides that, you could probably just give her a nice massage, and still be intimate. Maybe masturbate for her entertainment afterward?

Another option is that you could go out with one of your other girlfriends, or partners. As for condoning cheating, as you suggest -- There is no way to condone being dishonest, or cheating on your partner. Atom 02:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Power Pigs

Anyone know what a "power pig" is? My french math teacher talks about it very often. Could it be a french joke? Jamesino 00:39, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, what immediately comes to mind for me is Power Pig, the alter ego of Orson the pig from U.S. Acres, a cartoon on Garfield & Friends. But boy would that be an esoteric reference to make. --Maxamegalon2000 02:14, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

In what context does she use the phrase? Just as a general insult, or what? --Aaron 02:21, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

"If you answer this question correctly, you get a Power Pig!" Jamesino 16:51, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps it's just a nice way of saying a reward, without refering to the cliched 'gold star' or 'brownie point'. —Daniel (‽) 17:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps he's actually saying "You get a power, pig!"  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:45, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm dying to know this myself now. Please ask your teacher and report back to us.--Shantavira 19:26, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Here's a powerful looking pig. Flying_pig--Light current 19:49, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Curious what 'French math' is... do the French do math differently? All the story problems involve baguettes, maybe? 192.168.1.1 20:17, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

By french math, I mean he teaches english math, but he is of french nationality. Jamesino 02:51, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Ah. The English do do math differently. That's why they do maths instead of math (and why "innings" is singular.) --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 05:36, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Maybe they need a French math teacher to help them learn how to count in 20s.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

No-one should learn that. The French empire has already exported their despicable counting system to the Danes... Enough is enough, we have to draw a line somewhere!! @_@ 惑乱 分からん 23:40, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The poster was saying his or her math teacher was French because that may provide context so that one can better arrive at an answer, perhaps. --Proficient 03:55, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

The plurality of mathematics

Watch and learn: MATHEMATICS = MATHS 8-))--Light current 10:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

MATHEMATICS = MATH — Michael J 16:24, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

what's with the empiricism???

seriously, what's with people thinking that logical, positivistic rationalism with a healthy tincture of analysis is the solution to everything and the end-all-be-all???

Here are a couple examples that I've seen in the last few days.

Examples:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities#Philosophical_Argument:_God

"God is omnibenevolent. God is omnipotent. God is omnipresent. God is omniscient. Humans have free will."

"If God is omniscient, then he knows what we will do. If God knows what we will do, he knows our destiny. If God set our lives in motion, he is responsible for causing that destiny. If we do evil things, God is responsible for them since he had the foreknowledge of the events and still caused us."

Is this a joke? Without even looking at his contorted, convoluted arguments, it's pretty obvious that proving the existence of "God" is impossible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science#backlog.3F

"What are the scientific chances that 2 unrelated words would sound so similar"

Where do these people get the notion that science and math can solve and prove everything? Jasbutal 07:52, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Scientists have discovered it is all in the genes. --Lambiam^Talk 08:49, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

What makes you think that's what they think? Solve everything is not quite the same as the best we can do. Can you think of a better way to explain things than with scientific methods (such as logic)? And why did you put empiricism in the title? That's just one aspect (or method) of science. DirkvdM 09:34, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

all I'm saying is that to avoid all this, the following statement should be drilled into every students head just before the profs/teachers delve into the modern wonders science has created: "There are no absolute scientific truths. There are no absolute scientific laws. In science, there is no truth or fact, just very likely theories that are themselves still approximations." Jasbutal 19:22, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I understand your feeling, Jasbutal, and would answer both the questions you quoted with "we don't know", or "there is no definite logical right answer" - as I would yours. But to be comfortable with don't-know takes a while, and many never feel that way, or simply give up asking. So maybe one should just accept the way thing are, where no harm is done (according to how your philosophy defines harm :)). --Seejyb 13:13, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I guess my questions some time turn into rants... Jasbutal 19:22, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Why specifically tell students that there are no absolute truths in science? Why not just tell them there are no absolute truths? DirkvdM 06:24, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

cause that's not true dirk ;) Jasbutal 17:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Absolutely not... ;P 惑乱 分からん 23:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Michelle Pfeiffer

I thought michelle pfeiffer was a large, belligerent black man who was friends with eminem!??!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000201/

You're thinking of Mekhi Phifer.

Michelle Pfeiffer + Mia Farrow

ok, does Michelle Pfeiffer in "Dangerous Minds" (when Michelle was ~37) look like Mia Farrow in "Purple Rose of Cairo" (when Mia was ~40) ??

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_03_img1276.jpg

http://aili.blogzine.jp/cinema/images/mia-thumb.bmp

incidentally, don't they both kind of look like Catherine Hicks in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (when Catherine was ~35) ??

http://www.movieactors.com/freezeframes5/startrekIV26.jpeg

they're all so cute... Jasbutal 08:06, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

International standard of blanditude so no-one gets offended I guess.-hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 09:27, 9 September 2006 (UTC))

Cute isn't the word I'd use. They all look like my mom (at 35).  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

You heard about MILFs, right? (Although that generally refers to others' moms...) 惑乱 分からん 18:59, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

implicit and explicit subsidies - definition

202.164.132.61 11:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)6456457

An explicit subsidy is directly giving a business money to do something, while an implicit subsidy is giving them some other benefit which is equivalent to giving them money. For example, railroads received land for every mile of track laid, and they could then sell some of that land. StuRat 11:46, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Stuck at level in Hopmon game

File:Hopmon.png

I bought a copy of this game on CD. It it unconnected with the Hopmon character. A screenshot of the game can be seen at http://www.gamealbum.com/Games/Arcade/HOPMON_223_Review.html

I like the game because of the graphics, but I have become stuck at a level thats only three or four levels into the game. I have to collect a jewel in an area thats patrolled by one or two killer robots, but however hard I try it is impossible for me to move out of the way quick enough to avoid being killed.

I have tried searching on google to find a solution, with no luck.

Has anyone played the game, or is perhaps more ingenious with internet searching than me, and can tell me how to get through this deadly situation please?

I just downloaded the free demo and played the game (for the sake of research only, of course) and I played through the first 6 levels without any problems. I'll assume you were having trouble on the 5th level, though the strategy is basically the same throughout the game (game theory anyone?):

• You slow down a little more for each jewel you pick up, so unless you're deliberately trying to make it harder on yourself, collect one jewel at a time. There are a few places with timed traps (e.g. those fireball things) that are deliberately designed to force you to run fast (thus carry little).
• Do not destroy any more gates than you need to, unless not destroying one will make it more difficult for you to escape or will lead the enemies more directly to you. This will stop enemies from coming up behind you. Doors should only be destroyed when the enemies are furthest away, or else you'll be in trouble waiting for your gun to recharge.
• Go through the level slowly, doing one thing at a time. If there's going to be a lot of bad guys in the next area, stay back in the previous room and pick them off one by one and then hide (a common "strategy" called hit and run). This is really the only strategy you have when you have to wait such a long time for the gun to recharge.

Hope this helps!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:20, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Diamond Rio

It seems that Diamond Rio has written a new Song and only played it a few times and because of it's "Political Incorrectness" it has been ostrisized and the media will not play it . What is it's Name and where can it be obtained? leetoots

It's called "In God We Still Trust", and that nebulous unified entity called "the media" won't play it because it pushes an inappropriate level of political-religious unification which isn't appropriate in a secular country like the United States and has nothing to do with entertainment and all to do with making a political statement. You can find the lyrics at any number of websites which have no problems with violating copyright. User:Zoe|(talk) 17:50, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Although the media don't play it, it could still probably be bought on CD, or if you'd like, obtained in various ways through other channels than the legal ones. No links here, though... 惑乱 分からん 19:01, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Blogs

Does anybody know where I could go to find a specific person on a blog? This is assuming that I know they have one but I don't know where. Thanks.

• You could stick their name (or pen name) and the blog subject in Google together with the word blog or simply ask their URL. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:44, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Sound

Why won't any sound come out of my speakers?? When using Media player the music is playing according to that but no sounds comes out, and it's not my speakers either because I've tried three different sets now. Basically I think that I've put something on mute somewhere and it's effected my whole computer. Could you please tell me as many different places this can be done on my computer so I hopefully can solve the problem. Many thanks

You can sign your post by typing four tildes. That would give Jozzismint and the current date. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:47, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks alot but that wasn't really my question.

Some Keyboards have a mute button on them, make sure that is not on. I'm assuming that you have a Windows PC, in control panels, there is a sound manager, check its settings. Make sure the connection from your computer to your speakers is tight proper. In windows media player, make sure the mute is not on. Jamesino 16:58, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Well I think this would probablt be a computer/IT question in the first place, but, oh well. First (if using Windows), I would suggest to right click on the little speaker icon in the lower right hand corner of the screen (if it isn't there click the arrow and it should show) and select Open Volume Control. There is a box in that window in the lower left hand corner that says Mute All. If it is checked, uncheck it and the problem should be fixed. If that doesn't work, in that same window there is a help tab at the top. Click it and choose help topics. This might help you solve the problem. If your volume is still not working, click Start and choose Help and Support (this will be right there in the right column of the staret menu if you are using Windows XP Start Menu and not the "classic" start menu. There is a list of topics that you can choose from. If you don't think any of them cover your problems, click the search box at the top left corner and type in your problem. If you are STILL having problems, I suggest calling technical support or calling someone to come over and help you. schyler 17:07, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

In WMP, there is also a little speaker icon which also represents sound level. In the beta at least, it is at the bottom of the window and slightly to the center-right. But there is a level meter, and the further right you go the louder it is, so make sure it is not clicked (mute) or it is not at the very bottom. Iolakana•T 19:20, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

You probably already know this, but it's always worth looking at the obvious. There should be a tiny light on one of your speakers. (At least, I assume this is standard.) If it is not lit, then it's a power supply problem.--Shantavira 19:31, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Also, if the little speaker icon is not in the taskbar, go START>Settings>Control Panel>"Sound and Audio Devices" something like that anyway, I'm going by memory. A window will come up and uncheck any "mutes" that are there. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

Baseball's Hall of Fame card collection

To the Pro who knows :-)

I have an original, and complete box of BB mini cards. The box reads:

"WHO'S WHO IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES BASEBALL..." presents... Pictures & Records of the Immortals (in the) BBHoF"

They appear to be printed by B.E. Callahan, 328 Jefferson St. Chicago, IL.

The box measures: .75"T x 1.75"W x 2.5"L and contains 52 black and white cards with renderings and bios of Hall of Famers dating back to the 1870s and inducted into the HH in 1945.

It appears as if it might have been sold, at the BBHF as a souvenier in the '50s???

I have shown it to a number of sport card collectors, none of whom have any idea of its origin or value. Having never seen such cards before???

Any information concerning these cards, especially their value, and where they might find a "buyer" will be greatly appreciated.

Know you have my "Sincere THANKS!" for Your efforts!

Roger Morrison, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada

Disclaimer: I'm not a Pro, nor do I know. Nevertheless I'm posting what I consider might be helpful: Here's a google search with several leads. Here's tomfolio's site selling a product that sounds similar to the one you described. ---Sluzzelin 17:42, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Related ebay auctions]. None of those seem to be cards though, and unfortunately none of them seem to be going for much cash.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:30, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I guess that explains why it's called "WWITMLB... presents... Anyways, some of those books are going for much more ($500+) at this site, so you might be able to get something for those cards, if they're in decent condition.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  18:36, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

reproducable goods

What's the name for goods (like music or software) that it costs the author nothing if you steal it? "digital" fits but I'm sure there's a more specific term --Froth 17:19, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Freeware? Free software? BTW, "stealing" implies a criminal act. 惑乱 分からん 17:21, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that's what i mean. In relation to piracy - as in not free sofware. Free speech as opposed to free beer. I'm struggling for an appropriate word to describe the argument for illegal file sharing that it doesn't hurt anyone because copying of digital media doesn't deprive the author of anything like stealing a car would deprive someone of a car. --Froth 17:33, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

What you're depriving the author of is royalty payments. There really isn't any difference between this and, say, copying a book (with paper and ink that you provide). In this case you're not taking something physical from the author (or anyone else), but the value of the book is not the value of the paper, etc. The general term for the thing of value that's being taken in this case is intellectual property, and I think the argument that it's OK to do this has to be based on an assumption that intellectual property has no value. -- Rick Block (talk) 17:43, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Anyway, you could check out Pirate Party, a Swedish registered political party that mainly strives to reform/remove laws regarding copuyright, patent etc. 惑乱 分からん 17:48, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

• Which would mean authors, photographers and musicians get nothing past the initial payment from whoever buys their work. After that, with no copyright law in place, anyone would simply copy stuff. If that party ever gets their way arty people will suffer financially. As a pro-copyright person myself, I sincerely hope they will never get their way. It may be a pain in the behind, but it protects the creators in the long run. - Mgm|^(talk) 17:54, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

yeah but for 75 years after the author's death; able to be renewed by massive corporations with no hand in its creation??? Let's get some reasonable copyrights for intellectual property. I think that is more what the pirate party is aiming at. Nowimnthing 19:34, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Looking at Swedish Wikipedia, it appears that they will limit the copyright period to five years after the creator's death and, even more notable, legalizing all fire-sharing without commercial intent. 惑乱 分からん 19:57, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

'Intellectual property' is about the legal side of it. The most general term is 'information'. Then again, money is also information ... DirkvdM 06:28, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

In that case, I must be misinformed... =S 惑乱 分からん 11:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Dirk, when you say "money is information", are you referring to notes, coins and other representations of money? I think so, because money itself is not those things. Money is an energy. How can energy be "information"? JackofOz 20:54, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The economics term for what you are describing is club good. - SimonP 00:39, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

American equivalent of Shakespeare

Was/Is there a famous playwright who/is was just as famous as Skakespeare, but was/is American?

sure, Arthur Miller. Death of a Salesman was the USA's answer to Shakespeare's sappy plays about aristocrats and their hubris. Jasbutal 19:27, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

It's impossible to say. Shakespeare lived 450 years ago, there aren't any US writers who have been around that long. We'll know in 400 years or so whether or not Miller is as famous as WS. Anchoress 19:34, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm inclined to mention Steven Spielberg, although he works in a more modern medium. 惑乱 分からん 19:46, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I suspect Miller and Williams will still be well-known in 450 years. {note to Wikipedians working on the 100,000,000,000,000 article Wikipedia in AD 2456: edit/correct this statement as appropiate} -- the GREAT Gavini 20:19, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I think they'll probably be as well known as, say, Ben Jonson or Thomas Kyd, at most. Steven Spielberg is the only person who compares to Shakespeare in terms of both popularity, variety, and (if it's a word) prolificacy, but his relentless sappiness, often flat characterization, dependence on special effects (which will be dated in a few decades), and relentless attempts to go bigger and bigger, to top himself (who watches The Guns of Navarone nowadays?) mean that most of his movies will probably not last a fraction of the time of Shakespeare's plays. The short answer to the original question is, of course, that there is no American equivalent to Shakespeare. zafiroblue05 | Talk 21:40, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

(who watches The Guns of Navarone nowadays?) - oh ha ha zafirolbleu .Jasbutal 21:56, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I think if we're going to include storytellers who work in the medium of film, Alfred Hitchcock is a better choice than Spielberg. For one thing, he wrote more of his movies than Spielberg, and IMO he did a better job of straddling the same fence WS did, between popularity and art. In particular, I think Hitchcock's character development was great, particularly for the era. And while he was born in the UK, he was a naturalised US citizen. So I don't know if he counts. And BTW I know there are other prolific directors who are also writers, Billy Wilder being an example, but IMO Hitchcock is the most iconic. Anchoress 22:04, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Hitchcock films will almost certainly last longer than (most) Spielberg films, but I don't think he's much like Shakespeare - he worked almost exclusively in one genre. Spielberg, for all his faults, is much more diverse, in terms of going from the lighthearted (from Indiana Jones to Catch Me If You Can) to the dark (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List), from epic blockbuster (Jaws, Jurassic Park) to (rather) small thriller (Duel, Munich), from historical drama (Empire of the Sun, Amistad) to science fiction (E.T., Close Encounters, War of the Worlds), and so on. Hitchcock is comparatively limited. Shakespeare, by comparison, wrote masterpieces in all of the available, totally unrelated, genres (tragedy, comedy, and history). zafiroblue05 | Talk 23:06, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Well if we're emphasising range, Billy Wilder's got as much range as Spielberg, and with way more writing credits and a heap of Oscars, he could bitchslap Spielberg any day. Anchoress 01:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd pay to see that. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 05:35, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Some of Joss Whedon's scripts, in the first few seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, were up the the Shakespeare standard. Edison 00:33, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

lol, good one edison.

Arguments of quality aside, Whedon is merely a cult favorite only today. It's hard to believe his name will survive for 500 years, if that's what's asked. 惑乱 分からん 10:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Tony Kushner is also up there. "G. David Shine in Hell" had me in stitches. Raul654 03:37, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Stephen King? 1001001 04:50, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Could you consider that a playwright? Unlike people working for film and TV, King generally doesn't write for actors. =S 惑乱 分からん 10:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

There isn't one. Shakespeare is the most famous dramatist in the English language - in fact, in all languages. I could toss around names such as Eugene O'Neill, but they wouldn't really come close. Of course, there really isn't any other British writer who comes close. When was the last time you saw a play by Kit Marlowe? B00P 08:55, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

looking for a movie to watch

Looking to rent a movie like Maltese Falcon with a private investigator who wears a trenchcoat and some femme, and mystery and all. any ideas? Did they break the mold with Maltese Falcon ?Jasbutal 19:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Have you tried Humphrey Bogart's other movies? Also look at the fim credit list in the Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid article (which is a brilliant film in itself).--Shantavira 19:37, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Apparently there is even a film called Trenchcoat, but I've never seen it. Anyone know if it's any good?--Shantavira 19:42, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

If you just like the style, check out the article about Film noir, including a list of 35 of the most classic movies from the Noir era. 惑乱 分からん 19:44, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

thankx. 70.225.165.130 20:05, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Try a movie called The Black Bird. It stars George Segal as Sam Spade, Jr., who has inherited his father's San Francisco detective agency. It's now in a bad part of town, and still employs Effie Perrine (Lee Patrick, reprising her role), Sam Sr's secretary. It was her last film. It also has Elisha Cook Jr. in it. User:Zoe|(talk) 01:29, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

May not be exactly what you first expect, but try The Long Goodbye if you want to see an interesting '70s take on the genre by one of the most notable directors. After that, you might like Trouble in Mind, an '80s take on the Noir genre. 192.168.1.1 07:15 10 Dismember 2006 (UTC)

The Black Dahlia (film) has just been released - it sounds like what you're looking for. Natgoo 09:13, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Chinatown is one of my most favourite movies. The protagonist is a private eye, and I think he wears a trenchcoat at least some of the time.

The writer who wrote the book that the film The Maltese Falcon was based on was Dashiell Hammett and his books are still in print today. If you havnt read any Raymond Chandler yet then you are in for a treat. They are more readable than Hamnett. Both Chandler and Hammett had their novels turned into both b&w and more recent colour films (b&w films are on average better in my opinion). You could look up the articles for Chandler and Hammett and see what films were based on their novels. 81.104.12.24 15:33, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

looking for antoher movie ...

i wanna see gregory peck beat the shit outta someone. recommendatison? (already seen guns of navarone) 70.225.165.130 20:02, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Looking through the article, I find the old Cape Fear movie the most interesting. 惑乱 分からん 20:07, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

oooh! 70.225.165.130 20:10, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I haven't seen it, myself, yet, but it's high on my list of movies I want to see sometime. 惑乱 分からん 20:13, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

The one where he beat the **** of his Oscar contenders, while being a peace-and-justice-lover in the movie itself, was To Kill a Mockingbird (film). JackofOz 00:58, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

seen it. it was so boring I turned into a an african-american septuagenarian while i was watching it. Jasbutal 05:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

How about The Bravados? User:Zoe|(talk) 01:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The Boys from Brazil has one of the most violent scenes I've seen Peck in. - SimonP 00:35, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

tapiers

My father is 72 and in palliative care with cancer. He cant go out and time is against us. My dad is mad about tapiers and I'm desperately searching for a dvd but have had no luck. I've searched W H Smith, HMV, amazon and even London Zoo's website all to no avail. Can somebody please help me? Kind Regards Clair

dunno if you can find a dvd solely about tapirs, but this has a section on tapirs: 70.225.165.130 20:12, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008OM6C?v=glance

I remember that David Attenborough's programs were great, when I saw them. Which disc contains the tapir sequence? 惑乱 分からん 20:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

dunno, I assume the first? Do a control-f "tapir", some guy talks about it.

See tapirs for our article, you might want to print that out for him, and follow the links at the bottom for more articles and pics. StuRat 01:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

http://www.junglewalk.com/shop/Tapir-gifts.htm has all sorts of tapir gifts-posters,mousemats,etc. I can't see any DVDs,but there are video clips online that he might like. Lemon martini 09:25, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

professional tennis requirements for women and men

I am looking for some explanation as to why men and women play unequal number of sets in professional tennis. Thanks - Franco

I'll tell you, but only if you can get me a pardon after the feminazis arrest me. Jasbutal 20:35, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I've been wondering why men's and women's doubles matches are only best-of-3-sets and not best-of-5, like men's singles matches. Doubles tennis requires a lot less running, so their matches could be considerably longer. One possible answer is that singles is generally more fun to watch (longer rallies), but in my opinion that's a weak answer. Does anyone have a better response? (Hope you don't mind me asking another question, Franco.)

Anyway, the reason why they men and women play an unequal number of sets is probably the same reason why men and women don't compete against each other in professional sports (although there may be exceptions that I am unaware of). Oh, and if you didn't pick it up in the last paragraph, men's doubles and women's doubles are both best-of-3-sets, so that's equal. It's just singles that it's different (But why? I don't know. Anyone?). —EdGl 21:45, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

it's because they're weaker than men. it's not easy to stand out in the heat for that long .Jasbutal 22:01, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Must be something to do with unequal stamina--Light current 22:04, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

On the other hand, women should have higher pain tolerance. 惑乱 分からん 23:00, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

False. women have a higher capacity for love, but a lower pain tolerance...that's the sole reason why men can't give birth. Jasbutal 23:08, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Really? Anyway, it cannot be the sole reason, surely there are some biological reasons in the male anatomy, as well... ;) 惑乱 分からん 23:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

wait, I mistyped. you're right it's not the reason, that fact that women give birth is evidence of the reason that they have a higher love capacity nad a lower pain tolerance...if that makes any sense at all......Jasbutal 23:28, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't want to offend you, but not really... What's the idea? Women grow more attached because they carry the kid inside them for nine months? That makes sort of sense, but that their pain tolerance is lower, because they must go through the painful ordeal of childbirth doesn't make sense at all... 惑乱 分からん 01:30, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

nixce logical analysis, i'm defeated Jasbutal 04:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Anyways! Women don't run 3/5 ths of a marathon or work 24 hours per week. So the 3 sets for women and 5 sets for men is sexist. But where are these "feminazis" complaining of this inequality? Thanks - Franco

I don't know much about tennis, but perhaps because men are generally stronger than women, they play more? --Proficient 03:58, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Langauge help

moved to Language desk--Light current 09:11, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

battlefront 2 copy protection

Someone in my dormitory unit owns battlefront 2 and on the dvd case it says something along the lines of "this contains software to counter piracy" .. is this some specialty DRM like starforce? --Froth 22:15, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Mints

Why do cold beverages seem colder after eating a mint?--67.172.248.207 22:57, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Evaporating menthol in the peppermint oil creates a sensation of coolness (because the evaporation takes thermal energy from your mouth) --Froth 00:23, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

There was a different explanation recently on the Ref Desk that it only makes it "feel" cooler, as opposed to actually lowering the temp, due to an effect on the "ion channels" of the temperature sensing nerves. StuRat 01:01, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Smoking a cigarette after eating a mint gives a funny sensation - hot and cool at the same time. Like pancakes and ice. :) I suppose menthol cigarettes are inspired by this, but they don't do the trick (actually, I think they're quite disgusting). DirkvdM 06:33, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Have you heard the thing where people say that chewing mints and smoking greatly increases your chance of getting lung cancer? Something to do with the increased saliva build up. I never miss the chance to tell my friends how stupid they are when they do it, but I'm not in any way directing my previous statement at anyone on RD!  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Number of Active users

Special:Statistics says 2,192,501 users, but how many are active? By that I mean, say, at least 20 non-vandalism, non-user-page edits. An estimate would be fine. Thanks! Reywas92 23:33, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Do you also want to include "made an edit in the past month or two" in your criteria (i.e., do you mean currently active?).—EdGl 00:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Sure! Reywas92 01:49, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

(I merely wanted a clarification of your question; I can't answer it for you, sorry! hehe) —EdGl 02:26, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

About 38000 in June. I think this table may give you more answers. [20]--Light current 03:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Hey, we're on the second most edited 'article' here. DirkvdM 06:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

How can you get that info from the stats page? ok found it!--Light current 07:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It's partly because WP:RD/Misc held the entire RD before it was split up into pieces.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:29, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Ref Desk: Misc --- the most popular page on WP?

No need to count 'sandbox' so its official: THis is the most popular page on WP?--Light current 07:18, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The main language selection page then ? [21] Or do you mean the most popular article ? StuRat 07:28, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Never seen that one before! No, most pop 'article' (in terms of edits) according to the stats.--Light current 09:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

There is a (rather new) list that shows the most popular articles by hits, though I'd rather not link it because I believe keeping track of such things is harmful to Wikipedia.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  09:23, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Please list it. How would that be harmful ? StuRat 10:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

here. It tends to change by what happens to be popular that month. so Steve Irwin and Stingray is at the top for september. in august Irukandji jellyfish was number 11 probally because of a Discovery Channel show on them. Sex is always popular. Still, none of the page besides the main page (always on top) has more than 1% of total views, so it seems that most people look at unpopular pages in their respective areas of interest. Jon513 11:58, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm not really sure exactly why I feel they're harmful. I think the fact that we haven't had them for the past few years is one of the reasons Wikipedia has evolved in the way it has, and I believe the whole concept of hit counting (which can be interpreted as "article popularity") is contrary to the principles of Wikipedia. One part of me hopes that these numbers don't make contributors start thinking that Wikipedia is a popularity contest, and the other part of me hopes that these figures will suddenly stop working because of server load, and are forgotten in the ripples of internet time.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  14:24, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Though at the same time, I do believe that such figures are valuable and quite interesting for studying Wikiology. I'm a little conflicted about it all.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  14:27, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Interesting. Seems even Wikipedia can't escape the reason God created the internet. However, what i would like to know is, why the dickens is the Buggery Act 1533 ranked so high. Has it been in the news this month? Rockpocket 02:29, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

September 10

The James Bond series

After Bond 22, will there be any more James Bond movies? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.18.90.7 (talk • contribs)

I would expect that any series around as long as this one, and as successful, would continue forever, or at least until a series of miserable failures. I would think it would take a world government to eliminate the need for state espionage, and even then there would still be a need to infiltrate criminal organizations (like the Mafia). Also, even if the need for espionage was completely eliminated, people may still retain a historical interest in it afterwards. StuRat 00:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Now if you're asking if they currently have another movie planned, that I don't know. StuRat 00:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

BBC reported that Daniel Craig is signed up for at least one more movie. 1001001 04:34, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Something that often kills a (tv) series is when one of the main actors quits (or dies or whatever). James Bond is, however, regularly someone else. People have grown to accept that, so that's one major obstruction out of the way. Dr Who is unique in that it is a tv series that has the same advantage. It actually even has a 'decent' explanation for the phenomenon. Something that could kill the Bond movies would be if someone decided to make a bunch of crap Bond ripoffs in such a way that people can no longer distinguish betweeen those and the 'real thing'. Or does someone have the rights to Bond movies? Sounds unlikely.

Actually, I think EON Productions own the legal rights to be the sole producer of James Bond movies. 惑乱 分からん 11:39, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Funny, btw, the actress playing Moneypenny and others also changed without an explanation, but not so for Q. He was the only constant factor in the series, so when John Cleese started playing him, he was presented as a replacement. Luckily, his name was obviously a pseudonym, so that could be kept the same. DirkvdM 07:00, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I believe that Q was actually based on a real British inventor who designed all sorts of neat tools for spies in the World War 2 era (I don't know his name). One device I found particularly amusing was a rectally-inserted, single-shot zip gun..."now how do I get the guard to stare at my anus while I fire it ?" :-) StuRat 10:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I wonder why Ian Fleming never chose to copy that... ;) 惑乱 分からん 11:39, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• The producers have been the same for all films. I'm pretty sure they bought the rights from Ian Fleming's heirs. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Boston Red Sox

i have a baseball with 28 signatures.some of the autographs include...Pete Rose,Johnny Bench,Ken Griffey,Ray Knight,Dave Tomlin,Fred Norman.can anyone tell me what year these players played together and where i could get an estimate on what if anything this ball is worth?216.234.126.184 02:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, Rose never played for the Red Sox, so I don't know why you would think it's from the Sox. Rose, Bench, and Griffey played together with the Cincinnati Reds from '73 to '78, and Tomlin was with them in '73 and '78, so that narrows it down to those two years. All the others played with the Reds for both of those years, so by process of elimination, it had to be either '73 or '78 but without more names, we can't narrow it down anymore. Dismas|^(talk) 04:40, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm... ask an appraiser perhaps. --Proficient 09:31, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The original poster gave me a few more names on my talk page. So I don't have to repeat myself, and in case anyone is wondering but too lazy to go looking on talk pages :-) Here's the text of my reply:

All I did was go to the articles for each of the players that you mentioned starting with Pete Rose since I knew he only played for a small number of teams. Then I just saw that each of the other players were also on the Reds during a similar time period. Just process of elimination. And now that you gave me another list, I went to the first name on that list, Doug Bair. His article says that he was on the Reds in '78 and he made his major league debut in '76. Therefore, the ball could not be from '73. It must be from '78. You could double check with the rest of the names on your list to see if they were all on the Reds during '78 but I'm fairly certain I've narrowed it down correctly. As for the worth of the ball... I'd start going to baseball card shops in your area and asking how much they'd give for it as well as how much they think it's worth. Without having seen it, I can't say whether they would give you much for it. It may just be a printed ball that the players never actually saw. Some company may have printed up thousands of them and handed them out to the first 100, 500, 1000 spectators at some game. Or someone may have worked really hard to get all the players to sign it. Either way, best wishes

After having posted that, I thought of something else. If the signatures are fairly clear, your chances of having the actual signatures on that ball, I would think, would go down. See if you follow my reasoning... If a company is going to print up a bunch of balls then they probably sit the entire team down and have them sign a blank sheet of paper. Take that paper, photograph the signature, send the photos to their printers, then print up the balls. If someone went to the Reds' stadium before one or more of the games to try and get all the signatures on that one ball then they were probably in a crowd with several other fans trying to get the players to sign things (baseball cards, balls, hats, shirts, etc.). The players would probably just scribble their names on the items since they had so many fans waiting and only a limited amount of time before the game to sign stuff. Therefore, the signatures would be more illegible. Just a thought, but either way I'd still get it looked at by a collector. Dismas|^(talk) 09:47, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Obscure sport needed to be identified

One man stands with what looks like an enormous long golf club. The handle of the club is in his hand (obviously) whilst the head of the club rests on some sort of track. On the track, directly in front of the hitter is the ball - In an equivalent position to where a golf ball would be when taking a swing.

The hitter swings the club along the track and whacks the ball as hard as he can, and it flies for miles. I'm also FAIRLY sure there's a man out miles away trying to catch the ball.

[22] - Artist's Impression, if you can call it that

I'm pretty sure the game is Scandinavian in origin, or possibly Dutch. Or somewhere like that. --218.186.9.1 04:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

THat artist impression is classic! Is the game called Suicide golf by any chance? 8-)--Light current 04:37, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

wtf!? This is the most obscure thing I've ever heard of. Jasbutal 05:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I've seen it but don't know the name... Sorry. I do like the illustration though. Gets the point across which a lot of art these days doesn't do.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 05:08, 10 September 2006 UTC

I think I've seen this sport in a traveling quiz show on Swedish television: (På spåret), if I recall correctly, the sport was played in some Central European country, like Switzerland or perhaps Belgium. 惑乱 分からん 11:30, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I found it! It's a Swiss indigenous sport. Check out Hornussen! ;) 惑乱 分からん 11:31, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Good article, but it could use some sort of diagram showing how it's played. Now, where have I seen one of those...–RHolton≡– 20:45, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Looks like an Alphorn - but thats a horn. Ricola... --JimWae 06:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the great answering, chaps, kudos! --218.186.9.1 13:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

If they hit it that far, it could be astronaut Alan Shepard playing golf on the moon. He said his shot went "miles and miles." — Michael J 16:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Flag of the EU vs. Flag of Indiana

• 
  Flag of the European Union
• 
  Flag of Indiana

I recently noticed that the flag of the European Union is very similar to the flag of the U.S. state of Indiana. Is the design of the former based (at least partially) on the latter? Thanks in advance.

European flag doesnt seem to indicate a connection. Does look a bit similar though.1001001 04:45, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

European union flag simply has 12 stars. Whats with the stars on the other one?--Light current 04:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

13 stars in the outer loop for the original 13 colonies, 5 inside them for the next five states, and one large star above the torch for Indiana. 1001001 04:57, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

um....they represent the drivers in the NASCAR hall of fame. Jasbutal 04:58, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

They missed one. 1001001 05:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

In that case I dont think theres any more than a coincidental connection between the 2 flag designs.--Light current 05:00, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd agree with that. With so many flags in the world, there are bound to be coincidences sometimes. The arrangement of stars in a circle on a blue background certainly isn't unique to either the EU or Indiana — the Cook Islands have a notable example of a similar design, although with white stars instead of gold. The flags of Myanmar, Cape Verde, and the US state of Georgia also contain similar patterns, as did the early Betsy Ross flag of the United States. The Caquetá Department in Colombia and Rhode Island in the US both use a circle-of-gold-stars pattern without the blue background. The EU and Indiana flags certainly have similarities, but not more than can be explained by simple coincidence, I think. -- Vardion 06:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

certainly, the Libyan flag looks like my backyard Jasbutal 06:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It's amazing how much your backyard resembles my billiard table! --Lambiam^Talk 10:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think either is based on each other, irregardless to whichever came first. :P --Proficient 09:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

The flag of Indiana was adopted in 1917. I don't think there is any doubt which came first. Rmhermen 19:59, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Forced upholding of the law

Are citizens required to uphold the law (ie report crimes, attempt to prevent crimes, etc?) in the UK?

As long as preventing said crime doesn't put their life in danger, I think they are. But they might not be required to if the criminal involved is a loved one. I'm not sure. = Mgm|^(talk) 08:09, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

No, they're permitted to uphold the law, to a very basic degree, using rights that derive largely from common law. The only circumstance under which they're obligated is (as far as I'm aware) Section 19 of the Terrorism Act 2000 which makes it an offense to know that another person is planning a terrorist act and fail to tell the police. The relatives of the two British men who went to Israel to be suicide bombers where charged under this this section [23], but I think all were acquitted (it's very difficult to prove what someone knew). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 11:57, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Not really - here is an interesting paper looking at how the duty to report changed after the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and comparing the situation in the UK with that of France. It is really only professionals becoming aware of crime through their work who have an obligation to report, unless the crime is treason, terrorism, or a road or traffic offence. According to this paper, only social workers have a legal obligation to report suspected child abuse, but most people working with children or vulnerable adults (such as people with disabilities and mental health issues) will be required to report suspected abuse through their code of conduct. It seems as though UK law relies on a moral obligation to report rather than a necessarily legal obligation. Natgoo 08:58, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

What the anon is describing are called Good Samaritan laws. Unfortunately, the name can refer to two totally different kids of laws. The good kind of good samirtan law says that any person attempting to render assistance to someone in distress is not legally liable -- e.g, you cannot sue someone trying to rescue you, even if they harm you. The second (bad) kind of good samaritan law says that you are guilty of a criminal act if you fail to render aid. This is the kind of law that was made famous on Seinfeld's last episode. Raul654 01:37, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

2 questions

Hi, Wikipedia. I have 2 questions:

1) Where, online, can I find an English-German dictionary? (With pronunciations and all that)

2) Where, online, can I find a scale for a tenor trombone? (With note names, postition names, ect.)

Thanks. Partisan 5 16:27, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I use http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/ for the dictionary Benbread 17:01, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I use http://www.dict.cc . It even has a voice pronouncing the word. Reywas92 17:33, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I use http://dict.leo.org. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 18:18, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you muchly. Anyone have an answer for question 2? Partisan 5 22:39, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

What kind of scale? Chromatic? At trombone there is a picture of slide posistions and the notes played in its partial. this link, which is from my old band, takes you to where you can download a pdf file of the major scales and the chromatic scale for trombone and euphonium. Happy playing! schyler 23:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I just entered 'trombone positions' into Google and the first hit was http://www.yeodoug.com/resources/faq/faq_text/slidechart.html. Google is your friend. ColinFine 23:37, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

History of the manicure

I am looking for any information on where manicures started, how they got started. What kind of products were used when performing a manicure. Tools that were used. What was used when polishing a color on their fingers. I would appreciate any help you can lend me. Thank you Penny--64.50.228.36 17:00, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Manicure by a remote possibility might have what you're looking for. schyler 23:36, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for the help, but I have already been out to this area. It gives you one sentence of history - which does not help me for a 10 page thesis. I am looking for help to find books that might have more history to them.

What can I do tonight?

Nothing on TV. My meat-based friends are all out of town. My cyber-friends never seem to be online on Sunday evenings. My dad doesn't want to go for a curry with me. No money. I don't drink. I don't smoke any more. I don't take drugs. I look at my music and DVD collection and I can't think of anything I want to watch/listen to. Just a boring Sunday night for me. Any suggestions for stuff that I can do? --Kurt Shaped Box 17:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

How about existing or breathing? I love doing that. -- TheGreatLlama ^{(speak to the Llama!)} 17:13, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

See acedia and get off your butt. Write an article, read a book and learn something, ask your dad what he would like to do with you, or go interact with someone or some gull you dont know well. You have something that most of the world envies: youth, health, safety, food and shelter. Calculate how many breaths you have left. This is meant in a friendly way. Young people should never, ever complain of boredom. alteripse 17:16, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Fair point. I suppose I could find some free porn to look at too... --Kurt Shaped Box 17:20, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

How 'bout you create an article for the Requested Articles page? Anchoress 17:56, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Click on "random page". There's loads of weird stuff out there that needs a good cleanup. Especially all those commmercial links. Or if you're not going to church with Jasbutal you could always try meditation. --Shantavira 18:40, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

yea, come on kurt, let's go to churhc. Jasbutal 19:02, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

A propos "go to church", check out Big Boi's Speakerboxx album. Nice party hiphop, if you like the band's style. 惑乱 分からん 19:31, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

sorry Wak, I need the real thing. Jasbutal 19:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It's a shame to dismiss him just because of that... Perhaps you could give the album a chance on common weekdays... ;) 惑乱 分からん 19:50, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• If you have time left, you can always contribute to Wikipedia. Otherwise, expand your horizons. Reading a book is a good idea. Just take something from the shelf and see how far you get. I wonder what your father wants to do, perhaps you can do the same. - Mgm|^(talk) 19:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
• You could take up drinking. Or, click on the Random article link over on the left side of the page. Repeat as necessary. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 21:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• Turn your TV to the FOX channel. Real funny shows on Sunday night. Russian F 22:30, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• Or watch FOX News, equally funny and scary, but could hopefully activate you... 惑乱 分からん 22:49, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Free porn? That will only eat up 10 minutes in the entire evening! schyler 23:23, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

He never mentioned anything about obtaining "free porn" legally... How much time you're willing to spend on it is another question, though... =S 惑乱 分からん 23:27, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Never mind what I said about FOX. Usually, the sunday night lineup is pretty good, but I forgot that it's football season. Stupid football. Russian F 23:48, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Why not download some game demos and give them a go? That should keep you entertained until the shops open. Then, if you've fallen in love with any of the games, buy 'em. Howard Train 23:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

When I'm bored and TV isn't an option I find the best thing is a walk or a bike ride. There's a big park downtown about 30 minutes away by train from here, and if I have a free Sunday I often like to just head out there in the afternoon, spend about an hour walking around staring at all the loonies practicing their comedy skits and didgeridoos, and then make my way into the city and walk around some of the busy shopping streets there pretending to have some kind of purpose. I'm the kind of guy that can walk or ride a bike for 12 hours straight without complaining though, so I guess something like that's not for everyone. Another thing I like to do is just head down to the library and save money on air conditioning by using theirs while put my nose in a book for a couple of hours. If there was a University library nearby that I could go to I'd rather hang out there, but as long as I have a little stack of unread English books I can get comfortable.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  03:16, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

what's happened after the first Lord's Supper?

I'm going to a late night Catholic mass today and I'm gonna take communion. Are there accounts of people experiencing the holy ghost, or God in general terms, with their communion (especially their first one)? Jasbutal 18:12, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

If you are not going with intent to offend, talk to the priest about your intention before the service. The Roman church is quite explicit in most places about the purpose of the eucharist and who is eligible to partake. Most Christian denominations have an explicit theology around the eucharist and the degree to which other Christians are welcome varies by denomination. You will be quite welcome at the service and if God's grace is extended to you, you will be moved to seek catechism from the priest. Anything else is simply mocking someone else's religion and will strike most people as a betrayal of the hospitality with which you were invited. alteripse 20:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

ok fine. so do you think people will be offended if I go alone, keep quiet, and sit in the back? Jasbutal 20:16, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think so, but I'm agnostic/culturally protestant, myself. 惑乱 分からん 21:27, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Unless you are Catholic (or belong to one of the very few "approved" denominations), you are not allowed to take communion in a Catholic church. You will not experience anything besides odd bread. --Nelson Ricardo 22:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Most congregations would be flattered and welcoming if you sat quietly in the back. You may find the customs confusing: the congregation probably kneels at certain points in the service. If you're interested in learning about Catholicism you might ask about less formal youth group meetings. Durova 00:01, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

To answer your question - no, not really. God isn't primarily concerned about getting people to "feel" him. God is interested in people having faith; responding to him and obeying him whether they "feel" his presence or not. Relying on "experiences" makes for an unsustainable, fanatical Christianity. BenC7 02:36, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

then from whence does this faith come from, Ben? I assume you're not one to denigrate Christianity by trying to "prove" that Christ existed and did this 'n that? Jasbutal 04:09, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

The Bible says, "Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). Faith comes from hearing and reading the word of God. BenC7 10:14, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

In Eucharist you will see that some Christian denominations (Roman Catholics for instance) believe that the bread and wine actually become Christ's flesh and blood through transubstantiation when the priest says the words of institution. It still appears to be bread and wine, but these are the accident while the substance has changed. Lutherans believe the body and blood are in and with the bread and wine, a very slight difference but no less miraculous. The worshippers may indeed feel that they are blessed and strengthned by the Eucharist. Other denominations see it as merely a symbolic remembrance of the Last Supper, like a historic reenactment. Some Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Missouri Synod Lutheran for instance) have closed communion, and one must have special approval to get communion. Some others have open communion, perhaps open to all who share their belief that the body and blood of Jesus are present in the Eucharist or to all who receive communion in their home church. First Communion in Roman Catholic churches follows a period of instruction and preparation. The requirements vary greatly in different denominations. It is best to speak to the minister or Priest if you are in doubt about receiving Eucharist. I have never heard of any minister who was not delighted by the opportunity to talk to you about possibly joining them in worship. Most churches would be happy to provide a member who can sit by you and assist you in following the service. Edison 05:28, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

what to wear to a catholic churhc

I've heard of Sunday best, but does it apply to a college catholic church? Jasbutal 18:21, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Not necessarily. College students have a habit of not following customs. Rmhermen 19:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

However, if you are not familiar with the congregation or the priest himself, i would recommend dressing relatively soberly. Wearing a 'let the fucking begin' t-shirt could offend. Rockpocket 20:34, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

turns out you can wear whatever the fuck you want. jeans, shorts, t-shirt, whatever . Jasbutal 04:36, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

While you can wear whatever you like, you probably should wear something similar to what you'd wear to work in an office, merely out of respect for the other people who will be there.

Continually doing the minimum that you can get away with, and not taking others' sensibilities into account, is probably not the way to go. B00P 09:12, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

200 lbs woman

How does a 200 lbs woman look like without her clothes on, especially bikini?

You might google BBW, and see what comes up... 惑乱 分からん 19:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

It depends on 1) how tall she is, 2) what kind of muscle tone she has, and 3) her body type. If she's 6-foot-2 and muscular, she might look average, if larger in all dimensions. If she's 5-feet with no muscle tone, she'll probably have fat on her hips, abdomen, thighs, legs, and arms. I have a very good female friend who's a little over 200 pounds, but she's tall, athletic, has a large frame, and a large bustline. She looks like a very curvy woman with good muscle tone, and she has almost no cellulite. 65.96.181.140 21:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Try looking up the WNBA player profiles and the biographies of professional beach volleyball players. They tend to be tall, sometimes 200 pounds or near that. Also Google "large sized models" - these are beautiful women who earn their living posing for fashion catalogs for larger sized clothes. Durova 23:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I was raised thinking metric, still finding imperial confusing. Anyway my sister is about 186 cm/80 kg (About 6'1"/175 lbs I guess), she doesn't look fat, so I guess it's not too strange if tall and muscular women could reach that weight without particularly much body fat. 惑乱 分からん 01:23, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Bikinis don't count as clothes these days? JIP | Talk 13:17, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

OMNI Television 2006 World Cup Matches

On OMNI. 2, most of the matches were commented in Chinese. Why couldn't comment games that deal with Iran in Farsi, Japan's in Japanese, South Korea in Korean, and Tunisia and Saudi Arabia in Arabic?

Which World Cup are you talking about? Soccer? Anyway, to try to anser the question, I'd guess the Chinese is a larger market group. The answer is probably money. 惑乱 分からん 19:45, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Miles per gallon

What automobile, available in the USA, will go farthest on one gallon of gasoline?

The US Energy Department says the Honda Insight with manual transmission, which gets 60MPG in the city and 66 on the highway. The worst are the Bugatti Veyron (8/15 MPG) and the Bentley Arnage (10/14 MPG). -- Mwalcoff 22:57, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

That must just be cars, because there are trucks far worse than that. StuRat 01:33, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

For consumer pickup trucks, there doesn't seem to be any worse than that. The Dodge 1500 SLT got 11 mpg overall (called the worst) from Consumer Reports in Jan 2006 but officially it gets 14 city/19 highway. Rmhermen 02:15, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

A sherman tank gets 1/2 mile per gallon ;) Raul654 01:34, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, but try fitting in a parking space without having to file insurance claims with the people on either side.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 01:43, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Make sure they are sitting in the car at the time. Problem solved. Raul654 02:14, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Editing confusion

I edited the List of Stoner Rock Bands by adding Dave Matthews. Afterwards I realized that there was a note on the page saying address the talk page if changing this list because this is only a list of artists with wikipedia's pages but DMB does have there own page. Im confused.

What? Anyway, if you added Dave Matthews band, and they have their own Wikipedia article, I fail to see that you have done anything wrong, on the contrary, you have added an entry to the list. 惑乱 分からん 21:24, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Not sure if this is what you're asking, but you make a link to another wikipedia article by enclosing the article title in square brakets. For example: [[Dave Matthews]] results in Dave Matthews. If what you put in square brackets does not have an article, it will show up as a red link (or, if you've changed your preferences, as a link with a question mark after it). As you can see, Dave Matthews does have an article, as does Dave Matthews Band.–RHolton≡– 12:38, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

list of websites

looking for a list of websites like this one http://www.stewielive.com/ where you type in a command to "control" someone. There's also the burger king chicken one but I forgot the site. I enjoy messing around onthese, is there a list of them? Jasbutal 21:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

You might like www.killfrog.com. It's a lot of fun.

The Burger King one? Try The Subservient Chicken. Crazy Fox (T|C|E) 02:08, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

difference between research and theory

what is the difference between research and theory?

We won't answer your homework questions for you but we can point you in the direction of answers about research and theory. Dismas|^(talk) 21:59, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• If you don't know the difference, you obviously didn't do much research yourself. - 131.211.210.11 07:24, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

radio station

What are the guidelines for starting an article on a radio station? I mean, like, can I just start it or do I have to get it approved?

Look at an article on another radio station. Base your article on that. If you are a user on Wikipedia, you can just start any old article. You just have to make sure there isn't already an article on the subject. And that it's appropriate. Russian F 22:34, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Even better, look at several, and see how they are structured and what they cover. If you are lucky, they will all have the same, helpful, structure, which you can adopt. If you are unlucky they will all be arranged differently (or have no structure at all), and you will need to devise your own structure. Then you could go back and edit the other ones to match your excellent arrangement. ColinFine 23:42, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think there's any consistent structure (which would be nice). IMO, this is how not to do it.--Shantavira 08:17, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Specific Retro Show

I think it was called "Pappy's Paint". Some old guy went around his puppet forest and taught kids how to draw and paint. Could anyone try to help me find some sources? -MF14

Man, I loved that show so much... Russian F 23:44, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

castling on opposite sides in chess

I've noticed in chess, when players castle on opposite sides, there is some kind of a paradox about the impact of defensive pieces in front of the king. Most writers (eg. Keres and Kotov in The Art of the Middle Game), say that these pieces present targets for the enemy pawn storm. But I have seen many games, especially Sicilians where white castles long, in which one player (usu. white in the Sicilian) uses the defensive pieces and a pawn thrust to actually blockade the pawn storm. Are these blockading possibilities merely special exceptions, or is there a good general rule behind them? The Mad Echidna 23:08, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean castling queenside instead of castling kingside? Castling queenside is somewhat less common, partly because more pieces need to be developed before the move can take place. In casual games it may be less frequent because, as with the en passant rule, some players are not aware that this move is legal. I believe there are more opening lines that castle kingside. From my own playing level (very good casual player, get creamed in rated tournaments) I tend to castle on whatever side of the board offers better defensive possibilities: if my kingside pawns are already in play then I tend to castle queenside. I'll also castle queenside if it offers the potential to place the queenside rook in control of an important file. In terms of chess theory this may hinge on the wisdom of developing the queen early in the game: that's a very aggressive (and often reckless) style of play that happens less often at higher levels than among novices. Durova 23:35, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Detailed information on horse guardian road fatality by truck nassau ny 1970's

I am doing research on deaths of roadway guards for horse trailers by trucks and cars . I am interested in the details (legal, medical and otherwise) and outcomes for the queens/nassau, new york area in the early 1970's. Where would i go to get this information and not just general statistics?

I don't understand the question, what are "roadway guards for horse trailers" ? StuRat 01:30, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Have you gotten in touch with the mounted division of the NYPD? Or the Belmont racetrack? Or horse farms/riding schools in Nassau County? Durova 01:59, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

September 11

Steve Irwin

I was reading the article on Steve Irwin. I was wondering what religion he was, if he did believe anything. I know that it was his own personal business and probably no one will really know other than his own family. Thanks for any information. Van00:23, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

There has been no mention of Irwin's religious beliefs in any of the voluminous coverage of his death here in Australia. If he was a member of any organised religion, he and his family have kept very quiet about it. --Robert Merkel 02:53, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

baseball field question

This is just a question that was brought up to me and now im trying to get an answer for it, Should the fences on any baseball diamond in the nation or world whether its major league or even just t-ball be tight to the ground on the bottom so nobody can get a foot caught under the bottom pipe support and the ground and get a broken ankle or foot. What is the correct answer or specifications or rules to this question?

I doubt there are any rules for "every" field especially considering as there is not even a rule on how far the fences are. Rmhermen 02:05, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Why do all my cactuses die?

All of my potted houseplant cactuses die the same way: they get soft and dark green and they fall over and go flat. Their base sort of dies first. Why do they die? I don't water them much, only like once a month (and only like 2tbsp). These particular cactuses died after they were repotted: File:Thedeadcactusses.JPG The one in the bottom right has died, the one in the bottom left has started dying in it's base.(I realize that it's supposed to be 'cacti', but I prefer 'cactuses')

Could be a number of things. Temperature? Sunlight? Repotting procedure? You could try leaving them in the thing you get them in from the nursery and see if they still die. You could also try leaving them outside to see if that makes any difference. BenC7 02:40, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

I've heard they do best in very sandy soil; from the picture your soil looks kind of loamy. Don't know if that's important enough to mean the difference between life and death, though. --Allen 04:59, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Which species of cactus do you have? 惑乱 分からん 07:02, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it looks to me as though the soil needs to be much better drained, with the addition of plenty of sand or fine gravel.--Shantavira 12:17, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

catholics

if you don't know already, I went to a Catholic mass to see what it was like, to try and learn some things about Christianity, and to meet the cute ,clean, Catholic girls (is it so wron g to only want to date prima materia ???)

oh ,I forgot to add, this isn't homework. Jasbutal 05:03, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Questions:

1. what's with the cross on the staff that they kept moving around the Church, in and out, aisle to aisle? I'm familiar with the cross, but why were they walking around with it at what seemed randome times?

2. what's the point of singing stuff?

3. greater than 75% of the mass was singing ! wtf, the priest only talked for like 5 min on the Bible. why so much singing !?

4. one of the reasons I came was to take the eucharist, because that's the whole point of why Christianity is a living religion, because the sacrifice of Jesus actually happens every day and every week. It's not just confined to 2000 years ago .

can i just go protestant and take it there!? They'll give the supper to anyoone.

5. I f catholics barely even talk about or read the Bible in Chruch how do they learn about ti? just reading it on their own? Do they have bible studies like the protestants?

6. if I go to an orthodox church, will all the shit be in Greek? fuck that.

7. What's with the red light on the staff they carried around with the cross sometimes?

8. do any churches do Gregorian chant? That' sthe only signing I want to do, forget these egocentric hymns and egocentric songs like "AMazing Grace"

9. The priest talked about the "Culture of Death" (something the pope talked about on youth day or somethign) is this a common Catholic perception of the current American/Western culture?

10. he said that a personal intimacy with the God and Jesus was possible. I thought catholics were famous for saying that the only way the comman man can communicate or "get to" God/jesus was by proxy through the Priest!? ??

I'm pretty sure Orthodox churches hold services in whatever language is most convenient for the parishoners. Catholics definitely have Bible study just like Protestants. Not all Protestant churches have the Eucharist, and of those that do, they have different requirements for who can receive it. At some, anyone can receive it; in the Episcopal Church, you have to be baptised in the name of the Trinity but you don't have to be Episcopal. (Like the Catholics, of course, they don't actually check.) I don't know the answers to a lot of your questions. I'm curious to know about that red light on the staff; I went to a Catholic church as a kid and I don't remember that. Maybe it was a safer alternative to carrying a burning candle on a staff? You might be interested in reading Mass (Catholic Church). --Allen 04:57, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

1. and 8. The cross is just a symbol. The movements were probably not random. (I can only remember it moving when the priest comes in or leaves?) 2. Singing is a large part of how the church members participate in the mass. Gregorian chant is used (see that article which describes chants like the Alleluia, Agnus Dei and Kyrie) perhaps you didn't recognize it or perhaps as a college service, a very modern liturgy was used? In some churches, the priest, cantor and choir seems to do almost all the actual singing (although the parishioners are encouraged to sing as well.) 3. Catholics are known for short sermons although there has been increased focus since Vatican II. Protestant sermons are generally much longer. (In Catholicsm the central point of the Mass is the Eucharist, with the singing secondary and the sermon least important. In Protestant church, generally the sermon is most important - although in some, and more recently, it is the singing that is most important in the average service. The Lord's Supper is not part of every service but is central when it is.) 4. Protestants would emphatically disagree with this statement and even the Catholics interpretation is more subtle (Eucharist (Catholic Church)#Transubstantiation) 5. Catholics are perceived to study the Bible less than Protestants but home Bible reading, Bible studies and church classes outside of Mass do occur. 7. Another symbol (Jesus as the light to the world.) 10. Catholics believe in a personal relationship with God (such as prayer). The priest has certain roles to fulfill (such as absolution and consecration of the Eucharist) So perhaps communicate - no; get to God, yes. Rmhermen 05:45, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

appreciate the response, Rmhermen. The wiki article tells us a lot about transubstantiation but not why it's done. In regards to that, I was doing some googling just after I asked this, and check this out: "In the Eucharist, we don't merely "remember" the death and resurrection of Christ, like we remember some historic event. Rather, the Eucharist is a living memorial that makes Christ's sacrifice present anew in every parish community which offers it at the hands of a bishop or priest."

from http://www.kofc.org/publications/columbia/detail.cfm?id=2273 Jasbutal 05:57, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

appreciate the response, Rmhermen. The wiki article tells us a lot about transubstantiation but not why it's done. In regards to that, I was doing some googling just after I asked this, and check this out: "In the Eucharist, we don't merely "remember" the death and resurrection of Christ, like we remember some historic event. Rather, the Eucharist is a living memorial that makes Christ's sacrifice present anew in every parish community which offers it at the hands of a bishop or priest."

The "Why is it done" is simplest and applies to any Christian church: because Jesus said "This do in rembrance of me." (Luke 29:19) Our Eucharist article gives: "Eucharist is therefore understood to be not simply a representation of Christ's presence, or a remembrance of his Passion and Death, but an actual participation in the Sacrifice of Christ, the manifestation, in the present, of an event that occurred once for all in time. The Eucharist makes present that one sacrifice, not a different sacrifice." You can see how this differs from "the sacrifice of Jesus actually happens every day and every week." Rmhermen 06:12, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

so you're saying an element of the eucharist is that we sacrifice ourselves during it, just as Christ sacrificed himself to the Father? Is this the meaning of Galatians 2:20?

also, I honestly don't understand how "the manifestation, in the present, of an event that occurred once for all in time." is different than "the sacrifice of Jesus actually happens every day and every week."!?? Jasbutal 06:23, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

from http://www.kofc.org/publications/columbia/detail.cfm?id=2273 Jasbutal 05:57, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

From a non-Catholic: 1. Sometimes they Process. It is a symbol of salvation through faith in Christ. see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12448a.htm for Catholic info 2. Psalm 150: Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with crashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! 3. See 2. 4. You raise good points. 5. Catholics have traditionally not been really big on weekly Bible study compared to some Protestant denominations, but traditionally they had a great deal of Christian education in the catechism before first communion and learned a great deal of doctrine as developed by church theologians. 6. Some people have indeed heard a fair amount of Greek in Orthodox services. 7. A long burning light may be the Sanctuary Light, a sign that Christ is present in the tabernacle or church. 8. Gregorian chant are in Latin, which I thought went out of Catholic church liturgy after the Second Vatican Council, but the Gregorian Chant article says it is still fine for Catholic worship. There might be choirs in some Catholic, Lutheran, or Episcopal (Anglican) churches which do Gregorian chants on occasion. 9. Culture of death: perhaps he was echoing the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion or capital puinishment. 10. The more "evangelical" protestant churches speak of "accepting Jesus as your personal savior" and being "born again" to receive salvation. I expect Catholics who are devout feel they too have a close relation to Jesus.

You are asking good questions. I strongly encourage you to "church shop," something many college students do as part of their exploration of life. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will lead you to a particular church. Edison 06:08, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Gregorian chant is a musical style. It isn't all in Latin - and many Catholic churches still use at least some Latin. The Kyrie for instance is Greek. Vernacular (local language) translations are used primarily. Rmhermen 06:19, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmmmm, my first impression, by reading that, is that you should change your definition of dating material. It'd seem you're heading for disappointments... =S 惑乱 分からん 07:06, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

~!?? explain how! The vigin Mary was prima materia...I'd date her. Jasbutal 07:14, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Having gone to a Catholic grade school for eight years, I don't see any issue with wanting to check out the women. Those starched white shirts and plaid skirts that the female students wore were... nice! Yeah, nice.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 09:32, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

You go to church as a part of your relationship with God, to connect with others who also have a relationship with God, and to learn more about God. It is not about checking out girls. If you are going there for that reason, you're going for entirely the wrong reason. If you want to learn about God, start by reading the New Testament. BenC7 10:11, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

ben's the type of guy who walks out of a woody allen movie and asks himself "was that supposed to be funny?" Jasbutal 12:57, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

...but then again, so is Woody Allen. :-) StuRat 13:23, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Australia (continent) is wrong

This article says that the continent Australia has more than one country in it, such as papua new guinea and the islands around it, THIS IS NOT TRUE. AUSTRALIA IS ITS OWN CONTINENT. i was going to edit this but i desided not to since the map had papua new ginea coloured in. Can someone please change this as this article is VERY VERY wrong.

lol. read

http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Continents-Critique-Metageography/dp/0520207432/sr=8-1/qid=1157962394/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-7510196-0752049?ie=UTF8&s=books

and then come back and make your changes. Jasbutal 08:14, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

That was selling something, it didnt tell me anything, anyway Papua New Guinea is apart of asia. Some Proof is it use to be apart of indonesia, AND INDONESIA IS ASIA!! ITS ASIA!!!!

I live in Australia and i know that WE are our own country and continent!

ur asian, dude, sorry! im asian though, wikipedia says so, so you better just admit it. Jasbutal 08:25, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Umm... AUSTRALIA IS A CONTINENT, SO HOW COULD AUSTRALIA BE APART OF ASIA. !!!!!!! Listen i know more about my country than u do! Also, go type in Asia, does it say AUstralia is apart of it.... NO, dont tell me stuff if u dont even know it! Also if ur asian then u should know Australia isnt apart of your continent

look, don't get mad at me! u should be mad at wikipedia. But you proved it yourself:

1. papua new guinea is part of Asia.

2. papua new guinea is part of Australia

3. Therefore, Australia is part of Asia!!!

logic doesn't lie. sorry, man, I really feel bad for you and your country. I admit, I never knew Australia was part of Asia until now either. Man am I glad I'm not australian...Jasbutal 08:46, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Continents can not be apart of other continents, and u said u were glad u were not australian, well im glad im not ASIAN LIKE YOU!

The proper place to discuss this is on the article discussion page, but see also the discussion of this on the Australasia discussion page. And please don't shout. It will detract from your argument (if you have one), not reinforce it. And it's best to sign your posts if you want to be taken seriously.--Shantavira 08:40, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Video/computer game design process

In your page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_design#Video.2Fcomputer_game_design_process under the title Video/computer game design process you say "Game design begins with a concept: some are original inspirations, while others are client-mandated, often as part of a broader marketing campaign." But what is "client-mandated"??? Thanks

Client-mandated means that your client (a movie company, a fast-food chain that wants to use a video game for marketing purposes, or whatever) has some definite requirements of what they want the finished game to look like, and your job as a game designer is not so much to come up with clever ideas of how the game could work but rather to bring the client's ideas (which may or may not be good) to life. Say you're designing a video game as a tie-in to some movie franchise (like designing the latest Star Wars game). In such a case, the movie studio will have a very definite idea of their target audience and of the image they want to project, so they will give you a pretty definite list of what can and can't be done in a video game. On the one hand, it will be pretty much impossible to just design the game you want to design - on the other hand, you can profit immensely from established brand recognition, and you won't have to worry too much about marketing your game. -- Ferkelparade π 10:00, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

The Peoples' Democratic Partiy of Nigeria

       Please i would like to know the contents of the PDP of Nigeria