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February 15

stumper questions

What are good questions (riddles?) to stump a person with considerable knowledge? Include the answer. Thank you!

What is brown and sticky? --TotoBaggins 03:41, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
And what is the answer?
A stick. --TotoBaggins 03:54, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Here's one that I just solved a couple of minutes ago from GEB. Probably copyrighted all to hell, but who cares? Achilles is talking to his friend the Tortoise on the phone and you can only "hear" Achilles's side of the conversation. I cut out the beginning and the end of the conversation to save typing (they're discussions about music only obliquely related to the actual riddle). Email me for the solution, I don't want to ruin it.
...Speaking of fiddling, how would you like to come over and listen to one of the sonatas for unaccompanied violin by your favorite composer JS Bach? I just bought a marvelous recording of them. I still can't get over the way Bach uses a single violin to create a piece with such interest.
A headache too? That's a shame. Perhaps you should just go to bed.
I see. Have you tried counting sheep?
Oh, oh I see. Yes I fully know what you mean. Well if it's THAT distracting perhaps you'd better tell it to me and let me try to work on it too.
A word with the letters 'A', 'D', 'A', 'C' consecutively inside it... Hmm... What about "abracadabra"?
True. ADAC occurs backwards, not forwards, in that word.
Hours and hours? It sounds like I'm in for a long puzzle, then. Where did you hear this infernal riddle?
You mean he looked like he was meditating on esoteric Buddhist matters but in reality he was just trying to think up complex word puzzles?
Aha!- the snail knew what this fellow was up to. But how did you come to talk to the snail?
Say, I once heard a word puzzle a little bit like this one. Do you want to hear it? Or would it just drive you further into distraction?
I agree- can't do any harm. Here it is: What's a word that begins with the letters "HE" and also ends in with "HE"?
Very ingenious- but that's almost cheating. It's certainly not what I meant!
Of course you're right- it fulfills the conditions but it's sort of a "degenerate" solution. There's another solution which I had in mind.
That's exactly it! How did you come up with it so fast?
So here's a case where having a headache actually mgiht have helped you rather than hindering you. Excellent! But I'm still in the dark on your "ADAC" puzzle.
Congratulations! Now maybe you'll be able to get to sleep! So tell me, what IS the solution?
Well normally I don't like hints but all right. What's your hint?
I don't know what you mean by "figure" and "ground" in this case.
Certainly I know Mosaic II! I know ALL of Escher's works. After all, he's my favorite artist. In any case, I've got a print of Mosaic II hanging on my wall, in plain view from here.
Mosaic II is printed in the book, but you can view it here --frothT
Yes, I see all the black animals.
Yes, I also see how their negative space -what's left out- defines the white nimals.
So THAT's what you mean by "figure" and "ground". But what does that have to do with the "ADAC" puzzle?
Oh, this is too tricky for me I think I'M starting to get a headache.
You want to come over now? But I thought-
Very well. Perhaps by then I'll have thought of the right answer to YOUR puzzle, using your figure-ground hint, relating it to MY puzzle.
I'd love to play them for you.
--frothT 03:49, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • Which satement is false
  1. At least one of these ten statements is false.
  2. At least two of these ten statements are false.
  3. At least three of these ten statements are false.
  4. At least four of these ten statements are false.
  5. At least five of these ten statements are false.
  6. At least six of these ten statements are false.
  7. At least seven of these ten statements are false.
  8. At least eight of these ten statements are false.
  9. At least nine of these ten statements are false.
  10. At least ten of these ten statements are false.
None of them. Note that's not the same as #10. Gödel's incompleteness theorem. --frothT 04:13, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Fair comment, but the intended puzzle can retrieved by changing the lead-in. "Each of the following statements is either true or false. Which are which?" --Anon, Feb. 16, 00:31 (UTC).
  • What English word is nine letters long, and can remain an English word at each step as you remove one letter at a time, right down to a single letter. List the letter you remove each time and the words that result at each step.
Startling, starting, staring, string, sting, sing, sin, in, i. Found via google I'm afraid --frothT 04:11, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Accepting anagrams: Anticeremonialist, Nonmaterialities, Ornamentalities, Interlaminates, Maternalities, Matrilineate, Trilaminate, Terminalia, Latimeria, Material, Taliera, Retail, Alter, Rate, Tea, At, A. Not sure how many of those are archaic though. 213.48.15.234 08:33, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?
Queue --frothT 04:04, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • Mom and Dad have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?
Five --frothT 04:03, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Seven? --TotoBaggins 04:12, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Seven? I can see 8 if you don't get the riddle but seven? Each daughter has one brother. There's only one brother. 4 daughters + 1 brother = 5 kidlins --frothT 04:17, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
How many people in the family? == 5 kidlins + mom + dad == 7. --TotoBaggins 04:21, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Ooh, nice catch --frothT 20:00, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well, suppose the Mim and Dad had their daughters in previous marriages...you can come up with almost any answer for the total! SteveBaker 01:54, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • I turn polar bears white
and I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
and girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
and normal people look like celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
and make your champane bubble.
If you sqeeze me, I'll pop.
If you look at me, you'll pop.
Do you know what I am?
− Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 03:56, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
ANSWERS PLEASE! Gracias.
I'm trying! --frothT 04:09, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Water, or maybe not?... 惑乱 分からん 13:18, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I amended this one (the original poster forgot the last line). An interesting thing about this riddle is that your ability to solve it is inversely proportional to your intelligence and education. --TotoBaggins 15:44, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Is the answer "no"? --frothT 20:01, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
"Yes!" :) --TotoBaggins 00:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Q: What do a fish and a pig have in common? A: They both have gills, except the pig. --TotoBaggins 04:23, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(Groan) Don't you have a ring you need to take back to Kansas? Clarityfiend 13:09, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, I'm on a quest to pour water on the Witch-king of Angmar. --TotoBaggins 00:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Two from me....

What's orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot.

There's also the riddle of the Sphinx, answered correctly by Oedipus (which brought him fame and glory... and misfortune and misery: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening?" The answer is "man", referring to phases of life (crawling, walking, using a stick)

By the way a "stumper" is slang for a wicketkeeper. Depending on the person's nationality, that could very well "stump" them. --Dweller 13:14, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What's the difference between a bicycle? One of its legs is both the same. Depending on their personality, this will greatly please or annoy them. Unless they already know it, which is likely.
A boy has twice as many sisters as brothers, but his sister has the same number of brothers as sisters. How many siblings are there in this family? Skittle 00:29, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
One I like is the old one about the guy who accidentally drops his gun - then he walks a mile south, a mile east and a mile north - finds his gun right there on the ground and uses it to shoot a bear...what colour is the bear? Well, the only place you can walk in those directions and get back to the exact same place and shoot a bear is at the North Pole - where the bears are (of course) white. Lots of people know that one - but if you ask the same question - except instead of him shooting a bear, he shoots a man - can you still tell where he was at the time? Is there still only one possible place this could happen? Two places? Lots of places? SteveBaker 01:54, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Suppose he did this walking at the South pole? How far East can you go from there?? V-Man737 02:07, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The Southern Hemisphere answer is that he starts out a bit over a mile north of the South Pole, such that when he walks a mile east, he makes one or more exact complete circles of a parallel of latitude. There are an infinite number of possible starting points, all in a small area. As for bears, though, they are land animals and do not live anywhere near the North Pole. There are none in Antarctica either. --Anon, February 16, 2007, 04:13 (UTC).
Does anything live at the North pole? And for the South pole, you could say he shoots a penguin! Aww, sad... Then again, do they live right at the South pole? V-Man737 07:05, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well done - yes, the answer is "infinity" - all points in a band from one mile north of the south pole to a point one mule north of where the earth's cross section has a circumpherence of one mile....plus the North pole. But Polar Bears can definitely be found at the North pole - they are excellent swimmers (According to Polar bear: "The polar bear is a semi-aquatic marine mammal"!!) and they move from one floating ice chunk to another in search of prey. "there is evidence of polar bears all the way across the Arctic." ----

Here's a good one that a friend of mine constructed in October of 2005, at which point it had a unique solution:

In a restaurant there is a round table with six seats equally spaced. Three married couples are each occupying a pair of adjacent seats at the table.
Two of the men are seated adjacently; two of the men are seated opposite each other. Likewise, two of the women are seated adjacently, and two of the women are seated opposite each other.
All six people are citizens of the same country -- in fact, none of them has ever been outside it -- and each of them has become fluent in all of the official languages of the country. Nobody at the table speaks any other language, though.
Although the conversation takes place in a mixture of languages, everyone around the table prefers to speak in one particular language. It is, in fact, a truly perfect, symmetrical example of politically correct diversity:
  • each of the three men prefers a different language;
  • each of the three women prefers a different language; and
  • in each married couple, the two people prefer different languages (which must make things interesting when they get to arguing!)
Two people who prefer the same language are in adjacent seats; so are another two who prefer the same language as each other; so also are the third two.
What country is the restaurant in?

(The OP asked for answers. I'll provide one in a day or two, if nobody else does. Here is a giant hint, which I have made small so you don't accidentally mouse over it and see.) —Steve Summit (talk) 13:19, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I guess that the information is largely irrelevant, except for the fact it is a country with (at least?) three official languages? Aren't there several of these countries? South Africa? India? Have I misunderstood anything? 惑乱 分からん 14:27, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Certainly, there are countries with three or more languages -- the question is, which one? (And that's what the rest of the information is relevant to.) --Steve Summit (talk) 15:44, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
For anyone still wondering, I'm pretty sure (though the friend I got this from is being coy about confirming it) that the original answer was Switzerland Belgium, and that the additional answer today is South Africa. —Steve Summit (talk) 17:08, 19 February 2007 (UTC) [fixed 18:44, 19 February 2007 (UTC)][reply]

February 16

What are some cool stuff about Australia?

Hi, our school is supposed to do this decorating competition where we decorate our rooms to a theme of a country and I was wondering since ours is Austrailia, what we can do to our room to make it look good? I looked at some of the other questions here, so I looked at the article myself and I just saw pictures of some parliament building and stuff about Captain Cook. Didn't he drown in a pond or something? But I can't even find that fancy opera house with the "sail" decorations in the article! What else could we do with our room? --student in despair, 03:38, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Australia should get you started; as for Captain Cook, it appears that he was ultimately stabbed to death by angry Hawaiians. V-Man737 03:53, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Oh yeah, and that building is called the Sydney Opera House. V-Man737 03:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Australia is home of the platypus and echidna, the only species of monotremes in the world, that is mammals that lay eggs. Some echidnas live in New Guinea but we ignore that mostly:). Also, the home of the largest marsupials in the world kangaroo.. My other fav iconic Australian things are the Cork hat, the didgeridoo and Uluru. No link for cork hat yet? Google it:) Vespine 05:31, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Fair Dinkum, mate. Rockpocket 09:14, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Your local travel agent will give you free brochures about Australia with lots of good pictures.--Shantavira 09:50, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
A pair of thongs wouldn't go astray. Also try the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is a well-known landmark. We also have a lot of farming and mining communities, particularly in the more central (i.e., non-coastal) areas. BenC7 11:09, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The fact, that they all have to live upside down... --Zeizmic 12:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

[Gee, anybody want to take a wild guess which country User:211.28.131.148 is proud to hail from? :-) —Steve Summit (talk) 13:32, 16 February 2007 (UTC)][reply]
They've got more poisonous critters than anywhere else in the world. --Carnildo 20:00, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Last I checked, they have brothels. That makes them cool by default -- febtalk 15:18, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Largest work of reference in sports

Arthur Haygarth's Cricket scores and biographies is a 15 volume work running into nearly 10000 pages covering cricket matches from 1744 till early 20th century (the first 14 were compiled by him; a 15th was done a few years after his death, partly based on the notes that he had left). Is there any work of reference in any sport that is as big ? Tintin 05:47, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 07:15, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Reference work that is exclusively for a sport or a game ? How big is the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, btw ? Tintin 07:22, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Biggest I've seen is Batsworth's, which is a single (very large) volume. There may be a larger, but I can't think it'll come close to 15 volumes. --Dweller 09:44, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Presumably Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is in there with a shout. --Tagishsimon (talk)
Only if you consider each year's volume as part of a single work. Almanacs usually don't and I don't believe The Almanack does either. --Dweller 09:44, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I think I will consider them to be part of a single work, just to antagonise. Haygarth's volumes were not published at the same time, but over time. What is The Almanack? --Tagishsimon (talk)
Sorry. I love Wisden's spelling of "Almanack". It's somehow very appropriate in a way I struggle to explain. Grace and a thousand Victorian ghosts stalk every page of the little yellow bible just daring some modern editor to tinker that bit too much. I'll stop there before I wax lyrical. Most cricket traditionalists would understand what I mean. It'd take an Arlott to put it in words. And I'm no Arlott. I'm not even a Blowers. --Dweller 20:09, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Australia tourists

Shall much appreciate help for my grandparents (81 and 78) who are visiting Australia in March/April. They are spending a week in each of Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Thoughts on what they should do/see - and what not to do/see, please. ALSO: How far is Sydney airport from the city ? The taxi fare demanded is 85 (Dollars or Pounds ?). Thanks.90.0.0.126 15:43, 16 February 2007 (UTC)drew[reply]

Try WikiTravel. - Zepheus <ゼィフィアス> 20:33, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You can find distances around Sydney and the rest of Australia using Google maps: http://maps.google.com - type 'Sydney, Australia' into the text box and hit 'Search'. It looks like the airport is right in the center of the city - three miles from the 'official' center of the city. For things to see, I would start off by reading the articles we have about all of those cities. Taxi fares from the airport are here: http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/SACL/To+and+From+Airport/Taxis/Default.htm - it looks like AUS$25 is the fare from the airport into the 'city' - but it's going to depend a lot on where exactly within the city you need to go. SteveBaker 23:12, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The fare from Sydney airport to the CBD is probably more like AU$40. Downunda 21:53, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Smoking

I recently made a decision to quit smoking. I do not believe I can do it cold turkey so I decided to slow down first. I have already gone from thirty marlboro reds to fourteen marlboro lights a day. I am looking for a brand that has the least amount of harmful ingredients such as tar and nicotine, but I cant find any information anywhere. Can you please help me, I would really appreciate it.

google normally sorts this sort of thing out. --Tagishsimon (talk)
I know this is going to sound trite and patronising, but go for Cold Turkey. That way, you can look yourself in the mirror every day and say, "I have given up smoking". I had to stop 20 years ago when the surgeon said to me, "You have two choices - you can live - or you can smoke - but not both". Guess what? I gave up there and then. And I used to smoke 60 King Size every day, and had done for 20 years plus. And guess what? I crave a cigarette every day of my life. Moral? Once a smoker..................... However, I now see a Cardiologist every 6 months and he always asks me this question, "At Today's prices for 60 per day of the brand you used to smoke, how much money have you saved over the last 20 years?" And at today's prices, the answer in Pounds Sterling is - £128,115, which is equivalent to around US $250,000. Still want to give up smoking? Best wishes and lots of strength - there's no easy way. Oh, by the way, the day I got home from Intensive Care, I bought a packet of 20 of my usual brand - opened it and threw one in the trash can, and kept the remaining 19 in my bedside cabinet where they remain untouched to this day, despite having moved home four times since then. You see, I will never describe myself as a Non-Smoker - Oh No - I will always be a Smoker who is only one cigarette away from being a 60 a day man again. Go for Cold Turkey.

February 17

"God's beta testing" theory?

Is there a term for the theory that the universe is still unfinished and that (the) God(s) is/are intermittently making updates to the laws by which it runs? Such a term must exist, since such a theory would be so useful -- applied to the real world, it would provide hope and deter complacency; applied to speculative fiction, it would mean a licence to retcon. NeonMerlin 01:22, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The closest thing I can think of is the Gnostic concept of the demiurge, which proposes the Earth is a flawed creation of a lesser god rather than the true diety. - SimonP 03:20, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting concept. So "laws" like gravity would be mutable and tomorrow it could work differently. Wow. Reminds me of joints and wine on the beach a long time ago. --Justanother 04:19, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What a weird idea: God as an uber-Bill Gates. Clarityfiend 07:47, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Who says that there IS a God?--88.109.204.136 06:57, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Tons of people. V-Man737 07:08, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
At its heart it sounds like pure Hume-ian skepticism — just because certain things happened one way in the past doesn't mean they'll happen that way in the future — but mixed with theological underpinnings. In any case it would seem to me to be an unlikely theological position: it makes God's intentions difficult to understand, it does not jive with the relative stability of the observable universe over the past 10,000 years, and it would not jive with any of the long-standing messages put forth by most scriptures. --24.147.86.187 15:04, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If God exists and made the world, then he made a right pigs ear of it, wars, sickness, adverse weather, crime, etc, so lets hope that it is a beta and that the final result is better than of now.--88.110.98.40 10:37, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is only a temporary universe. God will destroy it eventually. So, if Earth is the beta, then heaven is the final version. AlexanderTG 20:05, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hmmm - the problem is that the whole idea of beta testing is that you keep making beta releases until you get it right - then you let the last beta "go gold". Given the mess that this beta is in - we're going to need at least another beta iteration before we rush into a half-finished "final release".  :-) SteveBaker 22:32, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What if we don't ever reach alpha or RC1? --Ouro (blah blah) 20:01, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cleaning NES Games

I recently bought a nes and some games from my friend. When i load the game, the game doesn't start; the light on the front flashes on and off and the game stops and starts, i have heard blowing in the cartridge is bad, but i'm not sure, thanks to whoever can help ^.^ 67.8.55.119

Happens a lot in NES games. Blow in the cartridge, insert, if it doesn't work, repeat until it does. -Wooty Woot? contribs 03:27, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It might be dirty contacts on either the cartridge or the console. If blowing the fluff out of them doesn't work you can buy special 'electrical contact cleaner' (sometimes called 'switch cleaner') at some electronics stores - I got mine at Radio Shack. It's in the form of an aerosol - just squirt it on both the cartridge and into the slot on the console (make sure it's turned off when you do that!) - wait a bit then insert and remove the cartridge a couple of times before trying it again. If it's not dirty contacts, it may be that the contacts inside the console have gotten bent out of shape slightly so that they don't grip the contacts on the cartridge properly. With care you can open the console up and very gently bend them back towards the middle. Basically, it's all a bit chancey - but I've had success reviving an N64 that had bent contacts and GameBoy that had dirty contacts - so you can certainly fix them with care. SteveBaker 04:02, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, at least according to the NES article, blowing on the contacts will make them degrade faster. ColourBurst 05:02, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I think moisture in your breath could cause corrosion - but that would be a long-term thing. In the short term, it might help...but probably not. If you are concerned about that, buy 'canned air' (also from Radio Shack or similar) which is 100% dry - but if you are following my advice to try switch cleaner, that'll blow the fluff out too. SteveBaker 16:33, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There used to be NES cleaners that you could buy that would include swabs and rubbing alcohol to clean the contacts on the games, and some sort of cleaning device for the NES itself (it was shaped like a cartridge but with a long handle coming out of it; you would put it in and push it down and up again about five times to clean). The former would be easy to approximate; the latter I don't really recall how it worked, so it is a bit more difficult, I iamgine. --24.147.86.187 14:35, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Modern switch/contact cleaner works much better than rubbing alcohol or whatever. They contain all sorts of solvents and lubricants that not only get rid of the crud - but also make the contacts slide together more smoothely. But if you have bent contact then you'll need to disassemble the console and carefully bend the contacts back into shape. SteveBaker 16:33, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
In my experience, unless the game/console is severely corroded/bent, you can sort that by just shifting the cartridge so it connects differently. Open the flap, push the game sideways and reset. If that doesn't work, try moving it slightly the other way etc. You can usually find a position that works. But in the long term, cleaning would probably be good. Skittle 21:19, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Most difficult authour

I am looking for the name of an author that according to yahoo, among what appears to be the greater population as well, wrote a book that is considered to be one of the most difficult to read in the world. The reason they featured this author is because he has a new book coming out either now or in the very near future and the yahoo article feautred a guy who was obbsessed (in the good way) with this author and book. I would really like to know who the author is and what book they were reffering too. Thanks 24.20.52.246 03:23, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thomas Pynchon, perhaps. Rmhermen 04:06, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/02/06/214754.php perhaps? He is compared to James Joyce who is often considered the hardest novelist to read. 75.138.84.159 19:32, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Personally I found Joyce harder than Pynchon. Aside from the Dubliners I've never managed to finish a Joyce book. Lisiate 04:11, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Male Orgasm

Is it possible to increase the pleasure of male orgasms? I used to have extremely pleasurable toe curling orgasms.. but now they just don't feel that way. No i am not old and i don't need viagra.. thank you!

This site says what food can lower the pleasure. There was also something I remember about a hold and cold treatment, but that might just be the strength of ejaculation. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 16:25, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
But always be careful about information on sex related websites. Not all are thrustworthy. - Akamad 00:21, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Was that a freudian slip, or a very witty comment? Either way, I enjoyed it.  :) JackofOz 11:12, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Oh boy. Sex-related websites are crazy, they invent and perpetuate all kinds of techniques that never work a wink for anybody I don't think. [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 08:18, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

99 cents

How come here in the US it's so common for prices to end in 99 cents (or for bigger items, 99 dollars)? From fast food to exercise machines to home appliances to furniture, so many things seem, systematically, to end in a bunch of 9s - just 1 cent or 1 dollar away from a nice round number. What is the purpose of this, and when did it start? --Lazar Taxon 07:47, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Psychological reasons, I suppose. The round number never exists because of sales tax, but people will disregard that if faced with a price less than one that it could be (the one dollar or cent more). It causes consumers to spend more, since with $100 you'd expect to get 100 items at 99 cents, but really you can only get 93 (in CA); meaning you'd put 100 in the cart and end up paying $110+. z ε n  08:20, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I would question how much of an effect sales tax has on this phenomenon, since it is also common in other countries (such as Britain) where the price on something in a shop is generally what you actually pay. Far more likely to be attributable to psychological pricing, as Clarityfiend said, plus I heard that it forces the person behind the counter to use the till to get change, and thus prevents them pocketing the money. Skittle 14:03, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This has been asked before recently. See psychological pricing. Clarityfiend 08:34, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This seems to be asked weekly. --Proficient 11:14, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Copyrighted translations

If I make an English translation of some non-English lyrics to a song, does the copyright on the translation still belong to the original author? Hence, would posting the translation - even sans the original - be copyright infringement?

I guess this is asking for legal advice, but I'm hoping it's an obvious enough question for someone to answer. It's way too trivial to pay a lawyer for. --82.14.68.39 14:15, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The right to translation is part of copyright ownership, and all translations are derivative works and publishing them without authorization would be a copyright infringement unless it fell under a fair use-like clause (i.e. translating a small snippet). Obviously translating for your own personal use would probably fall under fair use, but posting it on the internet likely would not be. --24.147.86.187 14:32, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Lots of Websites post original song lyrics from CDs without permission of the song writers, so it's probably covered by fair use. NeonMerlin 18:15, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That doesn't follow. Lots of websites are posting copyrighted material illegally.--Shantavira 09:09, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Lots of people smoke crack cocaine, it must be legal. :-P --24.147.86.187 14:21, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • If you took a look at those sites you would notice a lot of them have no clue whatsoever about copyright law. As with books, translation rights to songs belong to whoever wrote it in the first place. Posting a translation would be as much a copyright violation as posting the original work. - Mgm|(talk) 10:48, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Transit visa at Frankfurt

I plan to travel from India by Air India to Chicago via Frankfurt. There is a two-hour stop at Frankfurt airport for cleaning the aircraft. Do I have to get a transit visa? Jay

I would phone the airline - they'll have good info. SteveBaker 16:14, 17 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
When I had a long layover in Frankfurt five years ago, no transit visa was required. Matchups 17:15, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

February 18

Sea Horses

Hello I would like to know where in the state of FL do you locate Sea Horses. How do I find that info?

In the ocean. Hahahaha. They live in shallow areas with lots of cover. They like to hide in rocks, kelp, coral, etc. Rya Min 03:21, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

They live in the sea, <personal attack removed>. --MikeHunt35 10:33, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe you can go down to the docks over there and contact some fisherman to help you out or something. I'd guess it'll be very hard to find them by yourself. Jayant,18 Years, India • contribs 14:56, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

can i open account with "paypal" if my country is not listed in paypal ?

What country are you in? If paypal has one of those million-country drop-down menus, then I don't see why you can't? Better wait for another response. [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 08:15, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If memory serves me right, I think PayPal have to check on your bank details. They do this (bizarrely) by attempting to electronically deposit two small payments (less than $0.50 US) into your account - if this works then you're in. If it doesn't then there is a problem. So if your bank can do that then you might be OK despite being in an 'unsupported' country. But why not just try? What have you got to lose? SteveBaker 16:50, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Absinthe

I live in the UK so have easy access to absinthe. I will be shortly going to america to visit a friend and they want me to bring some over for them. After reading the absinthe page it seems as though america is pretty much the only country in the world that is still funny about all things absinthe. If i were to take a bottle over there would they actually take it off me? would any further actions come from this i.e. would i be considered a smuggler or something? would they even notice i had it? or would they just let me take it through seeing as it cannot be considered a threat in the same way hard drugs are?

The US customs guys with the guns and fat fingers think that it is forbidden to bring the stuff in the country. I would not irritate them. --Zeizmic 13:25, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The absinthe article discusses this in detail: besides the U.S., it is illegal in parts of Canada, Vanuatu and some Swiss absinthe is illegal in France (because of other components besides thujone) Rmhermen 16:30, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
U.S. airline security is screening everyone's bag for liquids and gels. I would suspect that they would require the same guidelines for incoming traffic as well as outgoing. So, you might not even get it past security if you have a bottle of it. Dismas|(talk) 17:40, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The US customs people are easily the most humorless customs folks on the planet - I truly wouldn't want to do anything to provoke them in the least. Whilst it might turn out that this stuff is legal, you might not enjoy the body cavity searches that might result from figuring that out. Don't do it. SteveBaker 18:00, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Nevertheless, it's great that you're going to visit your friend. It seems absinthe has made your heart grow fonder. :) JackofOz 03:40, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It's an illicit drug status in the entire United States as far as I know! [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 08:10, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I swear I saw some in New Orleans

I beleive it's legal to possess and drink in the states, just not sell. If you empty out a bottle of british liquor, poor in some absinthe, and declare it as an alchoholic beverage, I doubt they'll give you much trouble. -- febtalk 11:45, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Congratulations. You've just advised someone to deliberately attempt to mislead US Customs officials. Way to go. Instead of just getting his bottle confiscated, he'll be detained and possibly arrested or deported. I recommend having a look at our article and the linked references to get started, if you have questions about legality: Absinthe#United States. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:51, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I doubt it. That import clause seems more intended to prohibit nations from exporting it as a good, rather than a single person to take it in as a personal favor. And also, what's the likelyhood of a customs official testing the substance inside a bottle in the first place, just to see if it's a slightly more shady thing? -- febtalk 15:02, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I was going to say that a green liquid might arouse some suspicion but then I remembered that mouth wash is commonly green and thus the Customs official might think it's that. Dismas|(talk) 15:15, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That's bloody stupid advice - do you have any idea how unpleasant your life would be if they caught you deliberately running an illegal substance through customs disguised as something else? If this is on their list of banned substances, you could be in a world of hurt. They won't say "Oh - this isn't so bad - we'll just ignore it" - they'll go into hard-ass mode and start going down the list of things they are required by Homeland Security to do to people who bring illegal substances into the country - that list won't have a special exception for Absynth. They'll do this because it'll improve their arrest rate and because that makes their job more secure. So expect that infamous body cavity search. Expect to be kept in a jail cell for 24 hours while they watch what you poop out to see if you swallowed any condoms stuffed with heroin. Expect to get deported and banned from ever returning to the USA. Compared to the small benefit of pleasing a friend who is already going to be very happy to see you and just as pleased if you bring him/her something legal. Just don't do it...it's stupid, stupid, stupid. SteveBaker 16:46, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]


Dude if youve heard of Marilyn Manson then you probably should know Absinthe is banned in the US.

It all seems so over egged just for some damn alcohol, if i can expect those kind of things to happen (i.e. at the least get it confiscated - at worst deportation, body searches (hell no!)) then i'm not bothering, after all i can get the stuff whenever i want it is just my friend that cant! hehe.

The situation is strange indeed. The U.S. Customs website says that you can't import Absinthe or any alcoholic beverages containing Artemisia absinthium. So the short answer to your question is no, you can't bring it in. Have your friends come visit you in the U.K. and drink it there. The odd thing is that the FDA regulation found at 21 CFR 172.510 says Artemisia is a legal flavoring in the U.S. if the finished food is thujone-free. And it is now believed that Absinthe is thujone-free. So ask your friends to write letters to the Customs Service suggesting that they update their own regulations. Crypticfirefly 04:42, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

India and UK educational degrees

can u help me in comparing Pre-Degree(Higher Secondary) from India and the 2:2 Honours degree in UK 82.37.252.248 13:34, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I know nothing about Indian education, but on the British end bear in mind that there are about 100 universities in the UK issuing degrees, with no standardisation of degree quality between them. So to speak of a II:2 Honours degree is misleading; any employer or suchlike would want to know what institution awarded it and in what subject. Algebraist 17:52, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Discrete-time systems

What is the relationship between the energy of a non-minimum phase system and minimum phase system? 

      If it's Σ hnon-min(n)= Σ hmin(n),

how do you prove it? d@sa 15:41, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You're more likely to find scientists at the Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science desk. Assuming that's science. I just plain don't understand it. I assume everything I don't understand is Science. It's a strategy that mostly works. Until I go to countries where they don't speak English. --Dweller 09:59, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fabricated entry

I know and can prove that an entire entry is false. A user created an entry about an organization that does not and has never existed. How can this be deleted? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.125.142.253 (talk • contribs) 17:01, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bring it up at Articles For Deletion -- but be prepared to argue your case. —Steve Summit (talk) 17:32, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
OP seems to be talking about this article. Looks legit, but I wouldn't put anything past a bunch of students. They get up to some weird stuff (both on Wiki and back in 1834).--Shantavira 19:39, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There are lots of Google hits for "Order of the Bull's Blood Rutgers" - I'm pretty sure it's real. Which probably means that our questioner is a member who is trying to restore some measure of secrecy?! (Hint: If you get Google hits for your secret society then someone blabbed and it ain't secret anymore!) SteveBaker 22:14, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I have no idea whether the group is real or not, but if you google "Order of the Bull's Blood" Rutgers -wikipedia, you get a very limited number of results. Once question becomes, how many of those hits are based on info from Wikipedia without attribution? I haven't looked into the edit history of the article to know how long it's been around...–RHolton≡– 14:05, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The policy is clear: If a statement can't be attributed to a reliable source, then it should be removed. In this case, the very existence of the subject can't be attributed to a reliable source; thus the entire article should be deleted. --mglg(talk) 01:54, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That may be, but: this Reference Desk is not the place to carry about the debate. As I mentioned before, articles potentially for deletion are discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion. —Steve Summit (talk) 02:14, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Free Stuff?

Greetings,

I am wondering, I have found a site, and I can't find anything wrong with it. I want to know if it's legitimate or not.

Here, click here.

AlexanderTG 17:45, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

One thing you know for absolute sure is that companies don't give stuff away for free without some kind of payback. More to the point, because setting up the mechanisms for 'giving stuff away' also costs money, they have to get more payback than the thing is worth. So - the only question is, how are they getting their payback? The answer to that question is the thing you need to know. SteveBaker 18:18, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Advertisement I guess. They said something about working with other companies like yahoo, eb games and others. Has anybody here actually used it? AlexanderTG 20:17, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know if the site is legit, but (at the risk of sounding obvious) if they ever ask you for any money, even 'just for postage/packaging' or whatever, or they ever ask for bank details (even just so they can pay you), or even (personally) if they asked for much personal info, I would back away. Oh, and if they asked you to get other people to sign up, particularly if doing so is required to get the prize. Skittle 21:07, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Here's the terms and conditions. To get the free stuff you have to "complete" offers on the site -- for example signing up for a credit card (they require you to use the card for 1 purchase), signing up for a free trial of something (which probably starts costing money if you don't cancel), or buying a product from a certain online store. It takes about 10 offers to get an Ipod Nano. You can also get points through referrals, but this is not required. So it's not a scam, but it's probably easier to just save up $250 and buy the Ipod instead of going through this site and signing up for a bunch of offers. Dave6 talk 21:24, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ah. Can I take an offer then just cancel? I don't want to spend money or do any transactions like that. I can't do the credit card thing anyway. 63.215.28.114 21:47, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I havn't looked into it - but they would be incredibly stupid to give you something in return for some paid service and then let you simply cancel - they would go out of business overnight if they worked that way. I would be very, very surprised if you could get out of it like that. But please check these things in very great detail before you sign up - you could come to regret it big time otherwise. Better still, just don't do it. "There aint no such thing as a free lunch". SteveBaker 22:10, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There have been a number of accounts posted online of the tribulations people had to go through in an attempt to get an allegedly "free" iPod or other item. It's an incredibly tedious, timeconsuming, and difficult process; expect to spend a couple of months -- and dozens of hours over those months -- complying with requirements and figuring out how to avoid the "incidental" monetary costs that inevitably arise. I suspect you'd find it far, far easier to spend those hours working at some respectable job, and earn the money to just buy whatever you want. —Steve Summit (talk) 22:29, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
A google search for "free ipod expose scam" turns up several of the accounts I mentioned. (The one I remembered reading is the one by David Lazarus at the San Fransciso Chronicle. This one is good, too.) —Steve Summit (talk) 22:38, 18 February 2007 (UTC) (edited 22:56, 18 February 2007 (UTC))[reply]

http://sandbox.adv.ualberta.ca/cms3/deleting a redundant copy of a page

Could an editor with deleting privileges delete one of the two copies of the page 'Invective_against_Swans'?

I added a second copy, thinking the first had been deleted for some reason. The copy that should stay has a title with a capitalized 'A' in 'Against'. Also it's longer and has a note and a reference.

So, the copy that should be deleted is named 'Invective_against_Swans'. The copy that should remain is named 'Invective_Against_Swans'.

This isn't urgent, because I have deleted the "category" link in the copy to be deleted, so the poem doesn't show up twice in the list of WS's poems. Also I've changed the link on the 'Harmonium' page so that it points to the copy that should remain. Rats 17:59, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. This sort of thing is a common problem with different capitalisations of titles. I have turned Invective against Swans into a redirect to Invective Against Swans, by deleting what was there and replacing it with #REDIRECT [[Invective Against Swans]]. This means if someone types Invective against Swans into the search box, or creates a link to it, they will get sent to the page at Invective Against Swans. Click the links to see! This also means someone else is unlikely to do the same thing you did! Oh, and in future you'd probably get a quicker, clearer response if you asked at the Help Desk, as they specialise in Wikipedia-related questions. :-) Skittle 21:02, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bamboo for furnitutes and bowls

Would bamboo be a good material to use to make bowls, plates and furnitures? For example, is it durable, strong, hard to tarnish, etc... Thanks Jamesino 19:20, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bamboo is used to make items like bowls, plates, an furniture. I have a bamboo container from China that's also fireproof, though I'm unsure of the method. See Bamboo#Other uses. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:26, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I believe the method would be steaming it at high temperature, like induction hardening. I'll ask my mom though in the morning, she was born in rural Thailand and knows for sure! We have a bunch of those things. [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 08:08, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
How does it compare (in terms of durability and performance) with other wooden materials for bowls, plates and furnitures? Jamesino 20:02, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well, you just have to look at it. The advantage is that bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants and it is cheap and easy to grow in many climates. Durability wise, I guess it would place somewhere higher then wicker and rattan but not quite pine. It is very widely used in Asian countries to make all of the things mentioned above, PLUS very common are bamboo chopsticks and bamboo steamers. I heard once that over 100 million bamboo chopstics are thrown away every day in China alone, and the article seems to verify that claim. So overall, I don't don't durability and performance are the strong points of bamboo as much as cheapness and versatility. Vespine 21:59, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Look at Scaffolding. The Chinese build huge structures using bamboo scaffolds. Search for "bamboo scaffolding" in Google Images. There are some very nice and impressive pictures which answer at least the "strong" part of the question.A.Z. 23:19, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

footnotes/references

footnotes/referecnes I am not able to get my footnotes to show up in the reference section of the article. I have footnoted using the <ref><ref> feature and then put <reference> down in the notes/reference section at the end of the article, and the footnote citations do not appear (although footnote numbers appear in the text of the article. Please provide assistance. footnotes/references —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rodhurst (talk • contribs).

you have to type <references/> in the reference section not <reference>. In the future, the help desk is the place to ask wikipedia related questions. Jon513 22:35, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The help desk being found at WP:HD. Skittle 20:55, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

February 19

Best type of Fencing

Which of the 3 types of fencing is most internationally popular or prestigious? Epee, foil or sabre? Thanks. Jamesino 02:18, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply] 

I prefer wooden ones myself, give much more privacy.
I would think foil is the most popular as it is usually taught first. Rmhermen 01:38, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Épeé is probably the hardest weapon to master. Foil shouldn't be underestimated for its complicated Right of Way rules. Sabre seems to be the most 'prestigious' weapon, only because its equipment costs leagues more than the other weapons'. If you're asking which one to pursue, choose whichever appeals to you. Sabre is more power, épée is agressive, and foil is ninja skills. z ε n  08:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Class Action?

I was recently contacted by some law firm from Miami, Florida about some class-action lawsuit they were assembling that involved a bunch of former and current Wikipedia editors that are suing the Wikimedia Foundation for compensation for all the time they spent improving the site without pay. Has anyone else been contacted about this? What do you think I should do? I've been sweating bullets since I got this phone call. Thanks. Snowboarder77 03:35, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

We don't offer legal advice, but I don't see how anyone can sue for not being paid from volunteering. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 03:41, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds like a scam.--ChesterMarcol 03:45, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What are they asking you to do? I'm not sure why you're "sweating bullets." Although I'm not a lawyer, I too can't see any merit to the alleged suit, but why should that cause you concern? Are they asking you to contribute money up front? Another question that comes to mind: how did they get your phone number? –RHolton≡– 04:37, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Not interested at this time. If they plan on suing Google to get money for all the searches we do, count me in.scam -- ReyBrujo 04:51, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There are indeed scams where law firms cast a wide net looking for disgruntled people to use as plaintiffs. The goal is to settle out of court, the lawyers pocketing most of the money, plaintiffs get a pittance for their trouble. These lawyers have got to be exceptionally clueless (listening to Daniel Brandt?), please share the name so I can blacken it to everyone I know. Stan 04:58, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you have the name of the law firm or any other information about the case, you can always pass it along to the Wikimedia Foundation's legal counsel, Brad Patrick. (He is User:BradPatrick here on Wikipedia, but for legal issues you're best to contact him offwiki via email: bpatrick at wikimedia.org.) TenOfAllTrades(talk) 05:33, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I had a similar experience, a gentleman wanted to sell me a portion of the Brooklyn Bridge. V-Man737 11:41, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Now, I know why I all those editors I interact with are so grumpy.... --Zeizmic 16:56, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

user:Snowboarder77 has been indefinitely blocked for trolling. Corvus cornix 19:44, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Car Warning Light

I have a 1994 Lexus ES300 and i just got the transmission replaced. As i was leaving the mechanic i noticed the ABS (anti-lock brake system) light was lit up. It has been on for a couple days now. I asked the mechanic but he said not to worry about it. What could the problem be? Did he forget to hook something up correctly, because i never saw the ABS light before then.

This may not be the same thing, but a very similar thing happened to my friend recently, he ended up having big arguments with the mechanic and even taking the issue to consumer affairs. but in the end, no one could actually prove that the mechaninc had done anything wrong so my friend had to shell out about $100 for an auto electrician to fix it.... Vespine 04:48, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I would take this car to a different mechanic. If he can't give you any more explanation than "don't worry about it", I question his competence. You don't really want to take a chance with faulty brakes, do you? Friday (talk) 15:47, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It's almost certain that he forgot to reconnect a wheel speed sensor (or accidentally pulled on the cable and broke something inside - or somehow bashed something into the wheel speed sensor and broke something). ABS works by measuring the speed that each wheel is spinning when you apply the brakes. It releases the brake briefly when one or more of the wheels locks up and stops spinning (Hence 'Anti-lock brakes'). Most of the time, the computer knows that your car is rolling down the road just fine with the brakes off - but one of the wheel speed sensors is saying that that wheel is not moving (or moving impossibly fast or something). This is clearly a problem - so it lights up the warning light to tell you that the ABS probably won't work. Your mechanic is 100% wrong in saying that it's OK - it's not OK. Your ABS won't work properly when you need it and that's potentially dangerous. If the problem was not there when you took the car in - and it is there now - then it's his fault and he has to fix it - for free - and without complaining or making excuses. Go back immediately and complain - and keep on complaining until it's fixed. If your car has a tyre pressure warning light, it may come on and off too - you may also find that the brake pedal feels funny sometimes...all due to the same thing. SteveBaker 16:32, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There's usually a "main vehicle speed" sensor associated with the transmission; that'd be my guess for what your mechanic forgot to reconnect/broke off.
Atlant 20:38, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fencing

I might decide to take up fencing next year at my college team; is there anything I should know? (Let's say I've read the articles) [Mαc Δαvιs] X (How's my driving?) ❖ 07:59, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • Get a good instructor and make sure you always were protective gear. I don't know how the application procedure is in your college, but you probably want to check how to get in ahead of time. - Mgm|(talk) 10:40, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Usually you'd want to start with Foil, and see how you like it. Épée and sabre may seem more fun, but foil is the most forgiving when it comes to rules and regulations. Buy CHEAP starting equipment. Do not spend more than 200 USD on the basic equipment, because you may not like the sport enough to continue your investment. Like other sports of this nature, it may seem fun to give it a go with play bouts, but these exacerbate bad habits and encourage bad form - stick to drills until you are at competition level. Fencing is a great sport and for the short time I have been involved, I have taken lifetimes of enjoyment from foil. Where are you going to college? z ε n  08:41, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Pepto bismol commercial

This is a dumb question, but I still want to ask. Anyone remember that pepto Bismol commercial in which two children make pancakes for their parents, and just as the father takes a bite, the mother informs him that "We don't have the stuff to make pancakes"? What the hell were pancakes made from?— Preceding unsigned comment added by KeeganB (talk • contribs)

I've never seen Pepto Bismol, but I'm guessing it could be mistaken for flour?--Shantavira 09:49, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Pepto Bismol is bright pink...available in either a syrupy liquid or chewable tablet.[1] It for upset stomach, etc. I've never seen the commercial, but I think it's up to the viewer's imagination as to what the children actually use to make the pancakes..but the suggestion is that the pancakes will result in a stomach ailment the Pepto Bismol will relieve. –RHolton≡– 12:43, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

invention

help me out..what is long useful and invented by a black american

Traffic lights!! At least, the ones near my home are rather long... List of African-American inventors would be useful to peruse, huh. V-Man737 11:05, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There's the Category:African American inventors and Notable black innovators, inventors and scientists. ---Sluzzelin, around noon, today (UTC)

Bird Migration & Avian Flu risk (associated with H5N1 viral strain)

Some background first...

I am heavily involved in making pandemic preparations (for a large international company) around the bird flu risk, due to the appearance of the new H5N1 strain of virus.

We were originally warned by medical experts back in 2005 about a 2nd wave of H5N1 hitting the northern hemisphere in 2006/7. This seems to be happening, but on a lesser scale than anticipated.

Therefore my QUESTION concerning bird migration:

With the exceptionally warm winter in the northern hemisphere in late 2006/early 2007, does this have an impact on the bird migration routes of swans, geese and ducks (that are the main carriers of H5N1)? Is the risk of such species appearing higher or lower for the more populated regions of Europe? Does this have an impact on our possible risk exposure to H5N1 (even though it has yet to mutate into a human strain)?

Thx in advance.

XocetmanXocetman 11:42, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As a famous flu-doctor said: "When you finally get whacked by this flu, it won't be from a duck." (more or less). --Zeizmic 12:56, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yep - you can take that to the bank! Humans can catch bird flu from birds - but look at the numbers - a couple of hundred people have died from bird flu over four or five YEARS - and then only in parts of the world where people keep flocks of ducks and chickens in and around their homes and are close enough that when a duck sneezes, they inhale the results. Think of all of those billions of people who are more exposed to the disease than you will ever be - then think about just 200 infections. Statistically, the chances of someone who doesn't farm birds to catch it from a passing sparrow is about as likely as them dying because a passing bird smacked into an aircraft engine and made the plane crash onto their house while they were in bed asleep...it's that remote. Bird flu as it is today is an utter irrelevence compared to almost any other disease you can think of. The huge concern is if/when the disease mutates and turns into a human flu. If that happens (and it probably will eventually), it's irrelevent what the flu is doing to birds - you'll catch it from your kid who caught it from another kid at school - or you'll catch it from a co-worker who is too stupid to take the day off sick when they get the symptoms. SteveBaker 16:20, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
FWIW, I can look out my window and see some Canada geese, which is quite strange for this area and time. V-Man737 01:54, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
To hell with bird flu, we must prepare ourselves for the real threat! 69.81.50.3 17:27, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Doing others' homework

Why is it, when someone obviously asks a homework related question here, that the first answer is usually "we don't do homework here" but starting with the second response people nevertheless start discussing the original question? This way, I don't see school kids stop asking for others to do their homework. Please answer quickly, my teacher wants it till tomorrow! Thanks, --82.83.96.158 13:12, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps because the best and most useful response is to guide the student to where they can find the information for themselves, which is a) what the Ref Desk is for and b) a sound educational response. If the teacher who set the question did not want the students to refer to any kind of reference material, they would have been more likely to set the question in exam conditions. --Dweller 13:22, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I don't think editors should be posting "Do your own homework" sentences if that's all they have to post. As Dweller pointed out, most editors like to help you out by pointing you to sources or even outlining a reasonable approach to solve the problem. There are ways to help out without in effect doing the original posters' homework for them. "Do your own homework"' should never be the reply, in my opinion. (Of course this is a meta-comment and therefore might get removed, just like the meta-meta comment in this sentence) ---Sluzzelin 13:32, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
When someone comes here with "I have a homework assignment, and I can't get started, can someone help?" it almost always get a positive, helpful response. When someone posts what is obviously a homework question, it seems right to call them out on it and mildly chastise them for being lazy...following up with a helpful nudge in the right direction is also good. –RHolton≡– 13:44, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The problem with calling out on the poster's laziness is that it might violate WP:AGF. Don't get me wrong, I'm just as guilty, and once posted what I thought was a very clever and witty response about the brain's process of learning, but later I regretted it because it made the original poster (and myself) look bad. Of course, we shouldn't deliver ready-made answers to homework questions, and I understand someone posting a warning so overly eager editors wont give the answer. I don't mind referring to this, if someone is also offering help, I just don't think the desks need to be all too didactic in tone. I appreciate how diligently most of the editors at the mathematics desk handle these questions. ---Sluzzelin 13:55, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
In most cases, the answers people get here are far more detailed and nicely explained than would be required for a homework assignment - the student will probably learn far more from actually paying attention to our replies than they would have done from struggling to do the work by themselves. Besides - what difference whether they learn it from us or from their teacher or textbook? Too many people forget that the purpose of education is to impart knowledge - not to measure it. If a kid comes here with a question and actually goes away with some knowledge and insight - then the world is a better place. SteveBaker 16:11, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It depends upon the purpose of the homework, which we are not privy to. If the entire point of the homework is to find information, your analysis is correct. However, if the point of the homework is to give the student practice in using a particular resource, or to check for understanding, or to reinforce methods learned, or...well you get the idea. There are benefits to doing your own homework that go beyond simply getting information. It would be a lot easier for me to sit down and do my son's algebra homework than for me to sit with him and help him to learn the principles involved, but only one of those two ways will help my son be successful in life. –RHolton≡– 16:28, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, almost all of those people posting 'homework' questions never seem to come back. --Zeizmic 16:59, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It does actually say on the reference desk itself, that "The Wikipedia reference desk works like a library reference desk. Users leave questions on the reference desk and Wikipedia volunteers work to help you find the information you need." (Emphasis mine.) It doesn't say we'll answer the questions for you. It's all too easy to cut and paste a response without understanding why it's the correct answer, or even bothering to read it properly. IMO, questions that are blatently homework should be (politely) pointed towards helpful articles, with a few tips or the start of the answer if it's a particularly hard question. Spiral Wave 17:26, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Images

Can anyone suggest any free easy-to-use software that can be used to lighten, crop etc images? This is to make them possibly clearer. Simply south 17:22, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This could go to the Computing desk, but I generally find that any photo package will do a good job, and many come free with the camera. However, it does take a good many hours to become proficient. --Zeizmic 17:32, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'm a huge fan od "The GIMP". I work with images professionally and I find GIMP to be better than programs that cost a small fortune...and it's free. The website is here: [2].
Adobe Photoshop Elements is by far the most popular. May I also suggest, google "free online photo editor" for a wide selection of websites that allow you to do just that without installing software. ofcourse, they're less advanced, slower and more cumbersome than Photoshop Elements. 209.53.181.150 18:20, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Of you had an Apple Mac, then iPhoto will do it easily.--88.110.158.71 20:16, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Picasa, does that and also manages your photos. --antilivedT | C | G 03:56, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Serbia

I may be visiting Serbia this summer. What is the general attitude toward Americans? Is it different in the cities vs rural areas?129.112.109.250 18:06, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Nothing to worry about; Serbs are generally friendly towards foreigners, and there are plenty of foreign visitors. I've never heard of any incident caused by anti-Americanism. While the general attitude against America is fairly negative, it's more on political than on emotional level and it doesn't tend to pass to individual Americans. Duja► 08:15, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How soccerballs and other stiched balls are sewn.

Hello,

I'm trying to find out about how soccer balls are sewn. They are spherical with the stiches on the inside. How is it possible? I can't seam to find information on this anywhere (pun intended).

Thanks,

Joshua Feinberg

One of the science or learning channels on American cable TV is running a show on how different things are made. They may have done a segment on soccer balls. While I was in a hotel in Virginia, I happened to catch the episode on golf and tennis balls. You might try seeing if they have a DVD of it out. I'm sorry, I don't know which channel specifically or even the show name. Dismas|(talk) 18:35, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The show you're referring to is probably How It's Made, which airs on the Discovery Channel in the United States. However, it doesn't appear that any of the episdoes deal with soccer balls. Carom 21:49, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I hope someone comes along with a specific, ball-based answer. Usually, things with the stitching on the inside are mostly sown while inside-out, leaving a tiny bit unsown. Then the thing is turned the right way round through the tiny hole. Then the last bit is carefully sown. Skittle 20:24, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Unfortunately the Football (ball) article doesn't go into the details of construction (but includes all sorts of interesting info about shapes). It does list as a source a book entitled 'How Soccer balls are made' though. Oh and I'm pretty sure Skittle's right, the balls are stitched inside out. Lisiate 21:01, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I too agree with Skittle. Traditionally the unsown part was then laced up. Tough luck if you head the ball and you make contact with the laces ;-) Downunda 22:09, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you examine a soccer ball carefully, you'll find that one or two of the 90 edges (that is, the seams between adjacent pentagons and hexagons) has some diagonal stitches externally visible. (I'd post a picture, but I don't have a ball handy.) These are, indeed, the last ones that were stitched, from the outside, ater the ball was turned right-side-out, after all the rest of the seams (edges) were, as Skittle and Lisiate suggested, sewn more easily and conventionally while the nacent ball was turned inside-out.
You don't have to examine an American football at all carefully to find the last set of stitches -- they're the big and hugely obvious ones! (No one has any interest in hiding or minimizing those, as they're vital in throwing a proper spiral pass.)—Steve Summit (talk) 22:42, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Search" & "Go"

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question but can someone please tell me how to clear the history on the "Search" and "Go" box(es). Man thanks.--88.110.158.71 20:14, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you're using Firefox, click "Tools" → "Clear Private Data" → "Saved Form Information" → "OK". --TotoBaggins 20:42, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for this, but I am using Safari on my AppleMac, any other ideas will be appreciated.

I'm not at home right now and therefore not on my Mac, so I'm sorry I can't jog my memory with the program in front of me. But... If you pull down, I believe it's the File menu, there is an option to "Reset Safari". This should delete your search histories although it will also delete all your cookies. So the next time you go to a web site for which you are always logged in, you will have to re-log in since the cookie for that site will have been deleted. Dismas|(talk) 07:48, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for this, much appreciated.. Have yet to try it but I am sure that is the way forward.--88.110.171.142 11:02, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I did and it was! Thanks again--88.110.171.142 11:04, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Whatever happened to the Effidac 24-hour pain reliever?

Circa 1997 (or in the general mid-to-late 90s time range), I remember how the Effidac commercial was comparing Tylenol, Advil, and other pain relievers, and stated that they only worked for 8 to 12 hours. Effidac worked for 24. The commercial ran for some time, but I never heard anything of it ever again. I've never seen Effidac on any OTC medicine aisle anywhere, so what happened to the product? Why did it disappear? --70.179.170.119 21:47, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I get plenty of hits for Efidac 24 - looks like it's still being sold, at least online. Clarityfiend 22:47, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Are you sure it was Effidac? A quick Google suggests that the the active ingredient is chlorpheniramine, but that isn't a pain reliever. --Mdwyer 21:27, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Male super orgasm tehnique

By an accident I happened once to rub with my hand my lower stomach just abowe pubic bone during an orgasm, and it resulted incredibly great orgasm. My hand was like enchanted, when I felt how good it feels my hand automatically rubbed that place harder and harder, very strongly and deeply. After that I have rubbed my lower stomach almost every time when I have orgasm. This is why I usually want to have sex at doggy style -my hand is free to rub my stomach. My theory is that this rubbing stimulates prostate. Is that a plausible theory? However I have tried standard prostate massaging methods through anus or perineum without any result or even resulting to temporal unability to have orgasm. Why does rubbing stomach make better orgasm? Nitsimagoi 23:46, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The prostate sounds strange, but I don't see it unlikely that this could be another erogenous zone. 惑乱 分からん 02:42, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

February 20

All-district performer in US high school sports (football)

Hello, I am looking for a citable source with a good definition of "all-district performer" in US high school sports. This is to improve our article on Vince Young. Every sports site I can think of takes for granted that the reader already knows what this means. Google brings back plenty of hits, but all the ones I have checked are all just saying "so-and-so was an all-district performer". Vince Young played high school football in Houston, Texas if that affects the definition. I don't know if the criteria is standard across the nation or not. Thanks in advance for any help. Johntex\talk 00:02, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It certainly is a tough one, as it is a relatively new term and seems to be used loosely in most cases. However, this indicates (to quote) "Being chosen All-District is quite a high honor because it shows the kids' talents are recognized by other coaches in the (eight-team) district." The article continues in that general vein, making "All-District" sound like a runner-up to MVP. Any other information would need to be inferred from the context. V-Man737 01:46, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Googling indicates it likely means he was among the best in Division 5-A, or the quintile of Texas football-playing schools with the highest (male) enrollment. -- Mwalcoff 03:14, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, in this case it means he was rated as one of the top performers at his position among the players at the 8 schools in the subdivision (district) of AAAAA that his school played in. Being among the best in all of AAAAA would be "all-state". Other possibilities are "all-area" (group of districts) and "all-region" (group of areas) and "all-city" (best in metro area, regardless of district or school size). *Mishatx*-In\Out 03:35, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
AAAAA? V-Man737 03:41, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
AAAAA as opposed to AAAA AAA AA or A. Now you see why we need a good source to help explain this nonsense. *Mishatx*-In\Out 03:44, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Not to mention a more convenient style of referring to different groupings. V-Man737 03:47, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(grin) True, they are often spoken as 5A, 5A, etc. - so at least it is easier when spoken. Johntex\talk 15:01, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Mishatx, from your definitions above, it seems like "all-district" is a distinction given at the school district level? Is that right? If so, then it seems like the honor would mean considerably more or less depending on the school district. Some districts consist of just the one high school, for instance. Do you know any source that defines these terms ("all-district", "all-state", "all-area", etc.)? Johntex\talk 15:01, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
No, it's given at the district level, which is a division with the conference. For instance, 25-AAAAA is a district consisting of schools from the Austin, Bastrop, San Marcos, and Seguin school districts. [3] All school distict or all-city awards might only be given out in larger cities where it makes sense, if given out at all. In Texas, all-district teams are selected by coaches in the district. All other teams are usually selected by a newspaper or media organization. I'm looking for good cites. *Mishatx*-In\Out 17:12, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
See page 5, paragraph 13 of this document. *Mishatx*-In\Out 17:17, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also page 19, section 28. *Mishatx*-In\Out 17:19, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
AAAAAAAAA! 69.81.50.3 17:24, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Train travel in the Balkans

Is there any way of getting reliable train time tables for the Balkan states. I'm interested in inter Railing there in the summer but the normally accurate Deutsche Bahn website is throwing up some odd timetables. eg Sarajevo to Dubrovnik takes about 90hours with 7 stops, including one in Moscow, while Sarajevo to Split take a much more reasonable 20 hours with only one stop! are trains out there real that slow? Ken 00:49, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dunno about the rest of the Balkans, but Serbian railways is notoriously lax with schedules. Delays of several hours are not uncommon, and even though the international trains get priority, an hour or two delay should be, if not expected, at least prepared for. Although I really have no idea how a train can go from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik and go through Moscow, so there must be some other problem here. Shinhan 11:17, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Have you looked at the relevant Thomas Cook timetable? --Anonymous, February 21, 00:33 (UTC).

Sport governing bodies

Our article on women's soccer says that The Football Association of England banned women from playing on member teams' fields from 1921-1971. This struck me as strange not only because of the sexism but because of the fact than any organization had that kind of power. Looking into it more, I found the FA claims jurisdiction over all soccer played in England at every level and has a 500-page rule book detailing everything from goalpost standards to the medical criteria of youth academies that presumably must be followed by every organized league in the country.

We don't have anything like that in America. To use American football as an example, every professional, college, amateur and youth league makes its own rules, although of course the basics are the same everywhere. For example, the two-point conversion was adopted by the NCAA in 1958, the American Football League in 1960, the United States Football League in 1982 and the National Football League in 1994. None of the entities needed permission from anyone else to use it. Similarly, the National Basketball Association has had a 24-second shot clock since the 50s; the NCAA adopted a 45-second shot clock in the 80s (it's now 35 seconds); and some states still don't have a shot clock in high school. If the East Poughkeepsie Over-40 Recreational Basketball League wanted to have a 36-second shot clock, nothing would stop them.

On the other hand, I've read that when the North American Soccer League wanted to adopt some of its own rules, like stopping the clock when the ball was not in play, FIFA threatened to kick the United States out of the association. And this was considered an example of American arrogance.

I guess my question is -- other than to arrange tournaments and the national team, what's the point of a sport governing body like the FA or FIFA? Is some trans-Atlantic cultural gap thing going on here? -- Mwalcoff 00:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Their purpose is to have a uniform rule book for everyone. it simplifies the game when everyone is actually playing the same game. This is especially important in a universal sport like soccerKen 00:49, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes but there are many possible rule variations that don't affect the core of the game, such as how to resolve ties (draws), offsides, substitutions, etc. I'm not a big soccer fan, but I understand FIFA has messed with rules like these over the past several years. If those rules are flexible enough for FIFA to change them back and forth, why does every single league from the top-flight to the high school league need to have the exact same ones? In other words, what's wrong with one league deciding to have three substitutions, another five and another 11? Even if that's not ideal, shouldn't it be the right of individual leagues to make those decisions? -- Mwalcoff 02:28, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'd say that since it's such an international sport, people want to make sure they are playing it the same way others are. It's an issue of being able to play the same way no matter where you are, I think - something that American leagues differ in, but seem to be moving toward. V-Man737 02:37, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Exactly - there is a world cup soccer event which a vast number of countries participate. International events are really common. If one country has a different set of rules for their national version then it becomes very hard to arrange such events without all sorts of argument and rancor when one team wants to play with the rules they are used to. With American Football, hardly any other countries have any significant teams - and international games are very rare indeed (at least compared to soccer). So I guess there just isn't the need to standardize. The idea of 'stopping the clock' when the ball goes out of play is a bare-faced way to try to make the sport fit the frequent advertising breaks needed to show live Soccer on US television stations. But when you change the game that way, players end up getting frequent breaks in which they can rest for a while - which totally changes the kind of game and (more importantly) the type of athletes you need in order to play it. So that wasn't a small rule change - it was a HUGE rule change - and one that would have changed the entire nature of the game for purely provincial US reasons. No wonder FIFA nixed it! SteveBaker 05:28, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There needs to be some standard for rules, so people would compete on equal conditions. I wonder, if NASL really would get their rule through, it would only be an international disadvantage, since the players would lack the endurance to play on a high level throughout the game. 惑乱 分からん 16:26, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps, but the only losers would be the NASL and its players, so I don't see why FIFA had any business getting involved. It might be best for the purpose of this discussion not to think of any particular examples but just to ask: Isn't it -- I don't know, undemocratic, communistic, illiberal, whatever -- to take away the right of individual leagues to make their own rules, good or bad? -- Mwalcoff 23:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Pardon my Americentricism, and no offense, but as far as I'm concerned, Europe suxxorz. Solely because of this. 69.81.50.3 17:22, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What is the German festival during the week before Lent?

65.1.226.216 00:56, 20 February 2007 (UTC)mWhat is the German festival during the week before Lent?65.1.226.216 00:56, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Moved from Help desk. x42bn6 Talk 01:03, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That would be called Karneval, I believe. V-Man737 01:24, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fasching redirects to Carnival but the article has no further information. Rmhermen 01:25, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Fasching is just another word for Karneval/Carnival. Chl 01:34, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Portal

I want to make a portal I already read the instuctions but when it says I should " Create a new page using Portal:Topic as the title of the page " I know how to make a new page but when I put the name of the portal in the 'Type a title:" it says "The requested page title was invalid, empty, an incorrectly linked inter-language or inter-wiki title, or contained unsupported characters".Bewareofdog 02:09, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What portal topic are you trying to create? (copying to HelpDesk) V-Man737 02:35, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Roman Catholic Church.Bewareofdog 04:32, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'll copy this to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Catholicism/To-do list, they'd probably have some sort of prerogative with it. V-Man737 04:57, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Accounting Policies & Procedures

Dear Sir,

I am a business man in the Gulf Region. I want to expand it to the area of service / professional rendering business. I will be having income as well as expnses and of course around $ 300,000/- as investment. I am qualified in the Accounting Degree. I will be appointing 2 persons to assist me in the operation.

What minimum Accounting Policies & Procedures I have to set up with before starting a new venture.

Regards

Ajish Mathew

Pardon my asking, but wouldn't your accounting degree give you a better handle on this topic than a random web reference desk? --TotoBaggins 23:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You need three tons of flax. 69.81.50.3 17:18, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

CBSE Exams 2007, India

Dear Sir,

I am studying for CBSE 12th Standard, and preparing for my exams in March 2007. Which are the useful sites I can refer with for my studies for the exam?

Thanks

J R S

The official CBSE sample papers really helped me (I wrote mine last year), search over here and the previous years question over here might help you as well. Personally, I would suggest you not to worry too much about these exams and go through a lot of reference books and sample books. They just mess up your head. :-P.. Just keep your preparation simple and know your text books well. That should be enough. Anyways.. Best Of Luck!! Hope I helped! Jayant,18 Years, India • contribs 14:48, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Playstation 2 connection to TV (UK)

Hi, i want to buy a PS2, but the TV i want to use it with only has a UK aeriel socket i.e. 1/2-inch diameter round hole with one pin in the middle. will i be able to connect a PS2 to this tv by way of some sort of adapter or would it be a total waste of money? thank you, — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.176.105.39 (talk • contribs)

Yes you can. You will have to get an adaptor from a PSX, which connects to the arial port. MHDIV ɪŋglɪʃnɜː(r)d(Suggestion?|wanna chat?) 10:18, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Or you can buy a dedicated PS2 RF unit. If you ask for one at a videogame store, they'll sort you out. Spiral Wave 10:42, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The PS2 outputs composite as standard - so any composite to RF adaptor should do - the SONY branded one will work obviously too.87.102.36.28 15:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This will certainly work - but your picture quality will be much worse than if you could use the composite signal directly. If you can find one with a TV/Game switch on it - so you can plug both the aeriel and the PS2 into the box - then plug the box into the TV. You should get that kind if you can because the aeriel sockets on UK TV's wear out and bend very easily and you don't want to be repeatedly plugging and unplugging things if you can possibly avoid it. SteveBaker 17:12, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

thinner face

does anyone know how to get a thinner face its really bugging me, because i have an oval face that looks roundish because i've got some fat (or puppy fat) around my jaw-line and cheeks and i have a good strong bone structure in my face that i want to bring out but this fat is really annoying! any tips or ideas? thx :)

Sadly you just have to lose weight through diet and exercise. There's no shortcut way to remove fat from around the face. --Richardrj talk email 12:41, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What about that operation where they suck the fat out from parts of the face, especially the jaw area....liposuction or something..?? Jayant,18 Years, India • contribs 14:39, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That doesnt sound very smart on your face, you'll probably be left with scarring. I would recommend smiling a little more :) 213.48.15.234 09:01, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

well i have been noticing that my puppy fat is gradually going over time (its kinda now starting on my face) but how do i diet healthyly if i want to make sure that i lose my puppy fat completly and not go overboard?? i dont wanna end up like a lollypop! :)

Walking on a jumbo jet

is it possible to wing walk on a jumbo jet in flight — Preceding unsigned comment added by Abs123 (talk • contribs) 12:43, Feb 20, 2007 (UTC)

No. Next time you ask a question, please give it a title and sign your name with four tildes, like this: ~~~~. --Richardrj talk email 12:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
To expand, at the speed and altitude that jumbo jets fly, it would be impossible to stay on the wing. Anyone out there would be blown off the wing very quickly. GhostPirate 13:38, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The wind would knock you off the wing, so it would be like being in a wind tunnel. I suppose it would be technically possible if you has some really good magnetic boots or some kind of harness or something. But there are other concerns too. If the plane gets struck by lightning, the plane's body acts as a faraday cage, but on the wing you'd get frazzled. So possible, I suppose, but unadvisable. --h2g2bob 14:06, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Even if you had magnetic boots strong enough to stay on the wing, wouldn't the speed do serious damage to the rest of your body, unless you wore a thick astronaut space suit or something like that? 惑乱 分からん 15:10, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
So that Twilight Zone episode where William Shatner is an airplane passenger who keeps seeing some sasquatch-like creature out on the wing was just fiction? alteripse 16:31, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I believe that was a gremlin (in the episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"), though these traditionally plague pilots, not passengers. -- Deborahjay 21:07, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You would need electromagnetic boots as the wings of a jumbo jet are skinned with aluminium and not going to attract a [Magnet|permanent magnet]]. Even the ribs of the wings are non-magnetic.
Atlant 20:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I would say yes. Here it seems that approach speed on a 747 is 150 knots (172 mph) and that is 130% of stall speed putting stall speed at 115 knots (132 mph). That is probably with normal fuel and passenger loading. One fight sim site, here, put the unloaded stall speed at only 86 knots (99 mph). Assuming that a very lightly loaded 747 can fly safely at 100 knots (115 mph) then, certainly, "wing-walking" can occur. The stunt person would only need something like motorcycle leathers and a helmet and, of course, be tethered to a cable running along the leading edge of the wing to prevent being blown off. --Justanother 16:33, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Short answer: No way. Utterly impossible.
Longer answer: Magnetic boots aren't going to help you much on non-magnetic aluminium! But even if they were - they would have to be only just magnetic enough so you could still lift your feet - but magnetic enough to hold you onto the wing...that seems impossible to me. You can't lift your foot off the ground with (say) a 20lb weight tied to it - so the most 'down force' the boots could give you might be maybe 40lbs with both feet on the ground - 20lbs when you are in mid-step. That's nothing compared to the aerodynamic forces involved here. The force on a body moving through the air increases as the square of the speed - so while you might be able to stand up in maybe a 50mph wind - at 100mph, the forces are four times greater, at 200mph, they are 16 times greater and at 500mph, one hundred times greater. A jumbo jet flies at maybe 550mph. There is absolutely no way to survive that - let alone stay standing up! For comparison, wind speeds in a hurricane are typically under 100mph - even a cat5 hurricane has top wind speeds of 'only' 150mph and it can demolish solid brick buildings! So there is absolutely no way to do this if the plane is flying at 'cruising' speeds.
But if our 747 has no cargo or passengers and very little fuel on board - then the slowest it can fly without stalling and falling out of the sky is about 100mph. But even that is cat 3 hurricane-force wind. So you're going to need some pretty serious equipment - you'd need to be strapped into some kind of frame fixed to the superstructure of the plane - but maybe it's just possible - if the plane were to fly as slow as it possibly can. But for sure you aren't going to be doing any actual "walking" along the wing.
16:36, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
What would that be roughly in Metrics? x1.5=km/h? 惑乱 分からん 18:09, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Skydivers routinely fall through the air at speeds much greater than 100 mph. That speed of air is not going to hurt a person wearing minimal protective clothing. Building collapse during storms is not a good analogy for a number of reasons. Just for example, most building damage is roof damage due to uplift forces that they were not designed to sustain and that are addressed in modern building codes in hurricane-prone areas. --Justanother 16:43, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(Remember - the terminal velocity for a human is 125mph - so at 100mph, you are pretty close to that). SteveBaker 16:44, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That is simply an equilibrium of weight and drag and that figure is likely a fully laid-out position. Much higher speeds are possible depending on the body position of the skydiver and use of low-drag helmets and suits. See[4]. --Justanother 16:53, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

[5] tells of a wingwalker on a prop biplane with an added J85 jet engine. The "walking" these days usually just means being supported on top of the plane on a pylon the "walker" is strapped to. Not clear how fast the pilot goes with the walker exposed, but the combination of jet and prop can push the plane to 200 mph. Edison 17:34, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

On an amazing side note, the famous World War I ace Ernst Udet was once flying a two-seater plane when "a shackle on a wing-cable snapped", according to the article. His observer walked out onto the wing and held it together until Udet was able to land! Clarityfiend 08:28, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

deleting bio's

How do you delete a bio you started?

If you mean the band then put {{db-band}} on the page. If a bio use {{db-bio}} --Justanother 14:27, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Accounting Policies & Procedures

Will anyone help me in getting a brief of the Accounting Policies & Procedures to be set before starting an accounting department in an organisation.

Just I need the minimum requirements in a para or 2, for a normal business unit.

Thanks

This must be urgent for multiple posts! Sorry, but I've never seen business research being given away here. Some things you have to pay for... --Zeizmic 16:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Football Teams

How many professional football (soccer) teams are there worldwide, and how many leagues.

What is your definition on professional? Playing full-time for a living, or playing in a higher league? (I believe most woman players in the higher leagues worldwide have to supprt themselves with other things, due to lack of sponsoring) Otherwise, the question seems nearly impossible to answer, but check out List of football (soccer) clubs for a start. 惑乱 分からん 16:07, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
To give you an idea, perhaps, according to the Library of Congress, "FIFA is currently made up of 205 member associations with over 300,000 clubs and 240 million players from around the world." (of which 30 million are women). There's some information on average salaries and revenues further down in the article, but no direct indication of level or percentage of professionality. ---Sluzzelin 20:12, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Help!!!!

Hi i was wondering if anyone can help me with the poetry works of john milton. i am seeking a poem about angels falling fron heaven and beconing hells riders.........i have searched high and low ....am not a poetry person ....im a latin major.........any help to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. thank you for your time.

You're probably looking for Paradise Lost, or possibly Paradise Regained, at a guess. Skittle 16:23, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Lucifer and his various followers are cast out of heaven into Pandaemonium in Milton's Paradise Lost. I have no idea what 'hell's riders' refers to, I have to confess! Clio the Muse 23:49, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hells Angels? V-Man737 04:28, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, no, three centuries too early... 惑乱 分からん 14:48, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Something caught in my brakes?

I have a car that, every once in a while, will begin to squeal while it is in motion. It sounds as if something is rubbing on the disc brake rotors. The sound changes with the speed of the car. However, braking doesn't change the sound, so it doesn't appear to be related to the brake pads. After a little while, whatever is caught in there will go ping! and the sound will go away. What is going on? Any ideas? --Mdwyer 18:06, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm afraid I don't know, but maybe the year, make and model of the car would help narrow it down. Lowerarchy 18:46, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You know that many disc brake designs employ "squeekers": pieces of sheet metal attached to the brakes' friction pads that are designed to deliberately drag on the brake rotors once the pads wear to a certain thinness. The awful noises that result usually provoke the owner of the car to go get the brakes "fixed" (meaning having the rotors checked/turned/replaced and new pads installed). Often, but not always, the squeeker changes sound when the brakes are applied.
Atlant 20:50, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If it does it when your brakes are not on - then either your brakes are locked up for some reason - or (perhaps more likely) your serpentine belt is worn and is slipping. SteveBaker 20:53, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I appreciate your suggestions. It is an 8yr old Subaru. The sound is related to wheel speed, not engine speed, which along with the distinctive 'ringing' of the sound suggests brake rotors to me. The brakes are relatively new, so it shouldn't be a squeeker. Besides, the sound doesn't change when the brakes are applied. That said, the noise has the same qualities, which is why I'm pretty sure it is coming from the rotor. In any case, when I went out for lunch, the noise had already gone away without the usual ping!. Perhaps it was ice that melted? Or maybe backing out of the parking place dislodged it? The car wasn't performing any differently, but still, I wonder if it was a frozen parking brake. I thought those usually only go to the back wheels, though.
I've never heard of something like this happening before, but it has happened to me a half dozen times or so. It sets my teeth on edge! --Mdwyer 21:23, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'd have to agree with Atlant, it sounds like your brakes have worn and the sensors are letting you know it's time to get them worked on. Corvus cornix 00:04, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It can still be the squeal from a loose or worn serpentine belt because whilst it's related to the engine speed, the amount of torque that the belt is transmitting to the devices it drives is also a factor. A slipping clutch is another possibility - you didn't tell us whether it's a stick shift or a manual. But a stuck brake caliper is certainly something to look for. Does the car tend to pull to one side when it's doing this? If so, you can be pretty sure it's a front wheel caliper - if not then more likely it's a rear caliper. SteveBaker 03:31, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It does sound like what Corvus called a sensor, but the brakes are fairly new, and that doesn't explain the ping! and the noise stopping. Also, these brakes are relatively new. Furthmore, I'm pretty sure this happened before I had the brakes replaced. The squeal would happen when the engine is off, so long as the wheels are rotating. The sound doesn't change with the position of the clutch.
The car doesn't pull, and it doesn't feel like it is dragging, but still a stuck brake could be the problem. It still seems to me like a rock or pebble caught in the brakes, though. Nobody's had that happen to them? --Mdwyer 23:05, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

slingbox

Can I watch slingbox on my wii? I have a nintendo wii at a house w/o cable tv but with internet. Could I use my slingbox to watch tv?

No, you can't. The slingbox software is only available for Windows PC's and Windows-Mobile PDA's and cellphones. The Wii has it's own operating system and uses the Opera browser - it's not able to run the sling software. SteveBaker 00:08, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Airline emergency escape doors

When flying on large jets, like 777s, I can't help noticing the large emergency escape doors in the rear of the plane. These doors have large levers and clearly printed instructions on how to open them. My question is, is it possible to open one of these doors during flight? What's to stop me from opening that door at 30,000 feet? It is locked somehow while the plane is in the air? GhostPirate 21:15, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Air pressure. The pressure of the cabin holds the doors tightly to their frame while the airplane is at cruising altitude. Note that airplane doors open IN. --Mdwyer 21:24, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well, actually they open in and then open out, which has always struck me as one of the greater engineering feats of all time. See also this answer by the master. —Steve Summit (talk) 02:51, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also, "depressurization" is not actually as critical to the aircraft as some movies would let you believe. Unless you "physically" get sucked out of the aircraft, opening the door wouldn't have a disasterous effect on the aircraft, as long as your oxygen mask worked, the pilot would be quite capable of landing the aircraft. There was a case a long time ago when half the 1st class cabin roof was literally torn of due to a structural defect and only one person was lost because they were sucked out of the aircraft. The plane landed safely and everyone else was fine. Another good reason to sit with your seat belt on whenever you can.Vespine 21:44, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That was Aloha Airlines Flight 243. Clarityfiend 22:17, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
My favorite explosive-decompression story is this one from 1990, where the pilot was sucked halfway out and survived thanks to crew members holding onto him. No fatalities. Of course explosive decompressions does not always turn out so well; this one in 1974 was a major disaster. But it involved the cargo door, which is much bigger than the cabin doors and does open outwards, and the reason it was disastrous is that control cables were damaged. --Anonymous, February 21, 00:44 (UTC).
For ramps in the backs of airplanes, it's a device known as a Cooper Vane (after D. B. Cooper, who used the rear exit of a 727 to bail out after hijacking and ransoming the plane) that generates an upforce on the ramp while the airplane is in flight. --Carnildo 00:29, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

request

how do I make a requestfor an article?

Go to Wikipedia:Requested articles. Clarityfiend 21:20, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How To!?

how do you create your own wikipedia page? Blindman.rms 22:05, 20 February 2007 (UTC)Dylan[reply]

Well, you can create a new Wikipedia page by typing the name you'd like it to have into the 'search' box and hitting 'Go'. Presuming your title hasn't already been used, it'll pop up a screen that says (amongst other things) "You can create this page or request it". If you click on "create this page" (which is in red) - then you'll be dropped into the editor to get your article started.
One thing though - when you say "your own wikipedia page" - do you mean "a page about yourself"? If so, then you should know that we don't allow people to write articles about themselves - it breaks any number of rules and guidelines. You can create your "user page" by clicking on your name up in the very top of your browser window (it'll be in red because it doesn't exist yet). This isn't a part of the encyclopedia - but really serves more as a place to briefly describe your interests and qualifications - and as a place for people to discuss things with you. My user page is User:SteveBaker...it'll give you and idea of the kind of things people put there. SteveBaker 23:59, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Beckham being sent off

David Beckham was sent off in a league match for Real Madrid on Saturday. Yet he played for them in the Champions League this evening. How can this be? I thought that whenever a player was sent off, he automatically had a one-match ban, across all competitions. Real had no games between Saturday and today. --Richardrj talk email 22:20, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Different competitions. Beckham will serve his suspension in domestic competition. Similiarly, if he was dismissed during a Champions League match, he would be banned for the next European match. Downunda 22:36, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cold Nasal Airway

Why is it that usually when one of your nostrils is stuffed up, the other nostril becomes very cold when inhaling air? Im guessing this is partially due to the fact that only 1 nostril has air flowing through it and therefore has to double the load. But why does your nostril feel cold exactly? Thanks. Jamesino 23:59, 20 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

One of the purposes of your nose is to warm the incoming air so it's closer to body temperature when it enters the lungs. When twice the amount of air is pulling heat out of that nostril, it's bound to feel colder. SteveBaker 00:10, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I have a cold i think, and the cold air is giving me a headache. Is there any risk of a perhaps an infection? Jamesino 00:14, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Any time there's a build-up of mucus, such as if your nostril(s) is/are clogged, there's a chance of infection. However, we cannot offer you medical advice other than to tell you to ask a doctor. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 02:50, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
And to avoid drinking cyanide. V-Man737 02:53, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

February 21

Is this a reliable webhoster?

Is the following site a reliable webhoster: [IX Webhosting]? I tried googling it, but was unable to find a reliable third-party source. Thanks. Jamesino 00:12, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ask here http://www.webhostingtalk.com/ That is where I went when mine changed hands for the 4th time. I went with http://www.asmallorange.com/ after looking over the posts there and have been very happy. --Justanother 03:09, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Civil Rights 2007

I was convicted of Sexual Battery on a Disabled Adult in 1997. I was wondering how I could get my civil rights restored so I can vote and own weapons, etc. Can you help me out man? Hallibrah 02:40, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

We definately cannot offer you any legal advice on that one. You'd need to ask a lawyer. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 02:48, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Unfrozen Sprite

I left a can of Diet Sprite in my car overnight, and it froze. I brought it in and let it sit for a bit, then poured out the liquid when it was about half-defrosted. It tasted really good, as if it had 50% more flavor than normal Diet Sprite. When the other half melted, it had very little taste at all. What happened, and does the rest of the world know about this phenomenon? -- Mwalcoff 03:12, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's effectively 'freeze distillation'. A simplistic explanation is that when you chill something like that, the water in the drink freezes at a higher temperature than the rest of the ingredients - leaving most of the other ingredients behind as a liquid. So if half of the drink has turned to ice, what remains is about twice as concentrated. However, that's actually not quite what happens - the Freeze distillation and Fractional freezing articles have a more accurate explanation. When you drank the second half of the drink after it melted, you were drinking mostly water - which is why it tasted of nothing. SteveBaker 03:23, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Zone melting (zone refining) gives another point of view on the process. Think of all the flavor (sugar, fruit flavors, etc.) as "impurities" relative to the water that makes up most of the contents of the can.
Atlant 12:29, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone know how to contact someone who lives in Antarctica?

AIM, IRC, email. I'd like to ask them what the weather is like. 68.56.241.32 03:27, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Demographics of Antarctica might get you started... V-Man737 04:03, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Too bad you didn't ask the question earlier, the woman who writes this blog has already left for the winter season. http://www.icewrite.blogspot.com. Crypticfirefly 04:11, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
at any rate, this resulted from a search for "Antarctica" on Weather.com. V-Man737 04:22, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

meaning

can u help me know the meaning of the name 'SHIMOLI'?? i heard i somewhere and quite liked it.. so wanted to find out its meaning.. please help me find it!!!!

This website seems to suggest it means 'calf'.. Vespine 09:29, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I forgot to log in

I forgot to log before editing entries concerned with Polish provinces. Has my contribution been 'signed' in any way?

By your IP address, that's not really a unique identifier though since most people's IP addresses change over time. Go to the page you made changes on and press the 'history' tab there, you'll see the changes logged. I'm not aware of a way to go back and modify that, but it's not really a big deal.Vespine 09:32, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Oh and if you are signed in now, please sign your posts using four ~ in a row. Vespine 09:33, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If the question is "Can I change the history for those articles to reflect my username instead of my IP address" - then the answer is a definite "No". Changing edit histories is made deliberately difficult on Wikipedia and it requires some ungodly level of admin privilages to be able to do it. There are very strict rules about when they will consider doing those edits and - trust me - "I forgot to log in when I did those edits" is not remotely close to being one of them! SteveBaker 15:02, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

unedit it, and then edit it back, making sure you sign it then172.143.134.90

Airplane Doors

Would it be Physically possible to open an airplane door in mid flight? Has it ever happened and what were/ would be the consequences?

If you actually could open the door in mid-flight (impossible!), then this would be happening: [6] --Zeizmic 12:44, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This has been addressed above. anonymous6494 16:09, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

G

Help wanted for a book. I need lots of insults, preferably mostly English, and all beginning with G.172.143.134.90

  • You good-for-nothing god-damn grubbing gurchly glad-swaggler! 69.81.50.3 17:13, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • Prefix great onto your favourite insults: great idiot, &c
  • Ditto girt (dialect for great)
  • Ditto god-damn / damned
  • Ditto galumphing - blend of galloping and triumphantly; a nonce word in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky
  • Ditto galloping - you great galloping gobshite
  • Ditto god-awful
  • Ditto Gangrenous
  • Ditto ganky - used to express disgust or insult
  • gobshite - person who talks rubbish / general insult
  • gobby - person prone to talking out of turn
  • granny / grandpa - can be used to insult

These will be useful, but I was really thinking of words more like arrogant, concieted, &c. But obviously not those as they don't begin with G

Ah. Adjectives.
ghost writer —The preceding unsigned comment was added by MeltBanana (talk • contribs) 19:59, 21 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
Greedy, grumpy, grudgy(?), gross, gullible, ghastly... Btw, this might be better posted at the language desk. 惑乱 分からん 21:26, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Git! Edison 21:32, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

a pestering question

Headline text

was hitler a jew or a german? Hartbraker 101 17:02, 21 February 2007 (UTC)hartbraker 101[reply]

neither, he was austrian:)

But he did get his german citizenship, in any case he wasnt a jew. Joneleth 17:14, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It has been alleged that he was 1/4 Jewish. Clarityfiend 17:30, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And that allegation has no basis, there is even numerous facts that speaks against it making it less possible than a conspiracy theory. Joneleth 20:19, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Absolutely. Moreover, German and Jewish aren't mutually exclusive categories, nor were they in the late 19th century, when Hitler was born. Many Jewish Germans fought (for Germany) in World War I. Have a look at the section German Jews, particularly the section Freedom and Repression (1815-1930s). ---Sluzzelin 20:29, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Example of a company that moved from enterprise to consumer

I'm designing a website for a company that has a b2b branch and is opening a consumer branch. I'm having trouble figuring out how to entice consumers, while not confusing enterprise customers.

Can anyone think of a company that was solely selling to enterprise customers, but made a transition to selling to end users while maintaining their enterprise base? I'm trying to do a bit of research on strategy. Thanks! -Ambassador1 19:14, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

european cup/champions league

who are the five men who have won the european cup/champions league,both as player and manager.?? - hw.

Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruijff, Carlo Ancelotti and Frank Rijkaard. Skarioffszky 22:53, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Contract law

My question is about two parties involved in a contract dispute. If a Contractor (A) assigned contracts to Contractor (B) and that contractor (B) did in fact contact each and every Individual to those said contracts of Consumer (C) where does the Liability of the contractor (A) or contractor (B) after acceptance, Consideration and bounding of said contracts from Consumer (C) to Contractor (B) has been already done. Also where can i find documentation to that fact or would there a web site i could find that information. Thank You ( Iceman4501@hotmail.com ) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Screenguy1 (talk • contribs) 19:32, 21 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]

We are not allowed to give legal advice here at the reference desk. Sorry. SteveBaker 20:13, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Stool Color

What does Green Poop mean in an Adult female human? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.210.74.146 (talk) 20:01, 21 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]

It could mean that the adult female human had recently ingested quantities of iodine. The tablets that are used to purify water while hiking cause a rather shocking display of color a day or two later. --Mdwyer 20:06, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What else besides Iodine would cause that. I don't thinki could have eaten anything with iodine in it, and i know i didn't take any pills, Or wait...Does Dayquil and Niquil have iodine in it.

Well you have ingested some kind of chemical that coloured your poop because as far as im aware theres no natural biological state in which your poop turns green. But then again im no doctor. Joneleth 20:22, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Found some additional information I believe.

"What is the cause of green poop?"

I have consulted with a doctor, a physiologist and a microbiologist on this question, and the following summarizes their answers: Healthy people can have green poop if they eat a diet rich in leafy green vegetables, or if they consume large quantities of food coloring (in ice cream, cake frosting etc.). Green poop can also be caused by excess iron in the diet, from dietary supplements, for example. If the body does not absorb all the iron consumed, the iron may stain the poop green, the color of iron (II) salts. Ordinarily, the green color may be masked by the normal brown poop color, but if digestion is thrown off by illness so that bilirubin is less concentrated in the intestine, the green color may become apparent. This can happen when a person is afflicted with diarrhea.

Green poop in sick babies may come from iron in baby formula not being properly absorbed, or by green pigments in bile salts (again, green from iron). "

Joneleth 20:27, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, But i think i found the culprit. I take a daily vitamin with 100% of the daily value of Iodine in it. Thanks for the info.

One possible culprit, at least. Please consider talking to a doctor and remember that Wikipedia Does Not Offer Medical Advice. --Mdwyer 20:44, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Blue Kool-Aid in even relatively low doses will turn your poop green. Dismas|(talk) 23:42, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Masturbation

How to stop masturbating? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.81.69.219 (talk) 20:09, 21 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Get a woman 193.65.112.51 20:21, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I think this answer is very presumptuous. Please don't assume that anyone who masturbates (or wishes to stop masturbating) would be satisfied with a woman as a substitute. It also presumes that people (or men and lesbians, I guess) in (again, presumably) sexual relationships stop masturbating; an assumption disproven times over by surveys. Anchoress 23:42, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Just... Stop? Last I checked masturbation wasn't that terribly addictive although it is pleasant. Joneleth 20:28, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Could have a problem with wet dreams if you do that though -- febtalk 23:37, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

cut your hands off:]

If it interfers with your daily life, you could get some counseling. If you keep it moderate, and don't bother anyone else, it's no problem in itself. 惑乱 分からん 21:11, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

cut off your thing, you will die but it will work

national service

In canada do they still have national service, and if so how long do they have to serve?

No compulsory military service in Canada. --Zeizmic 23:01, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

metabolic engineering

So many Greeks or other people with Greek names in metabolic engineering - coincidence or is there a reason? DId Greece spearhead the modern Metabolic Engineering research?

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