May 19

Bird Poo

Why do birds line up their poop in my backyard? They dont poop it in a straight line. They carry them onto my deck and line them up manually. What causes this behavior/why do they do it?

Probably if they poop when they are perched on the edge of your roof above the deck, the general outline made by their scat will resemble the shape of the edge of your roof. V-Man - ^T/_C 02:01, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Many birds protect the young in their nests by carrying the nestlings' feces away from the nest area. If the droppings are a golden colour that might be grackles or robins trying to hide their nest site from would-be predators. Bielle 02:53, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe they're sending you a hidden message. Break out the tin-foil hats! Clarityfiend 21:58, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Manual vs Automatic

How much faster is a car with manual transmission compared to the same car but with automatic transmission in terms of acceleration? Can an average human shift gears faster than the high-end automatic transmissions found in modern high-end sports cars? Thanks. 74.14.72.139 02:35, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think an automatic could hit the ideal shift points more precisely, but there are two other considerations that make the manual faster:

1) The automatic transmission system adds quite a bit of weight to the car, slowing it down.

2) Most automatic transmission systems are not tuned for maximum accel, but rather for some compromise between max accel and good fuel economy. StuRat 04:40, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Manual gearbox for sure. In addition to the weight and tuning issues, a proficient driver with a performance clutch and gearbox can definitely shift faster than the automatic. Also the ability to double clutch the manual keeps the engine up in its power band. The technique is also useful when cornering at speed. 161.222.160.8 04:59, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Um, that's sort of beside the point. Any transmission (manual or automatic) strives to keep the engine in its power band! (Some do better than others, of course.) Double-clutching is fine & dandy, but you can get by without it: if you don't mind waiting for them, your synchronizers will take care of a downshift almost as well as an upshift, and of course an automatic transmission needs neither synchronizers nor double-clutching, and can downshift with impunity.

The principal inefficiency in an automatic transmission is in the torque converter, which IIRC wastes about 4% of the power being transmitted through it. But this affects fuel efficiency more than it does "top speed". —Steve Summit (talk) 05:16, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Aren't some "automatics" nowadays not true automatics, but manuals that are controlled by computers? I think the Smart uses something like this. I'd think this would give the best line between the two extremes -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 06:13, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The efficiency loss in the torque converter is a big factor, as mentioned about. Also, typically an auto may have fewer gears than a manual, so the manual may also provide better acceleration for that reason. Then again, a modern auto can generally shift faster than a typical driver. I think the difference in real life will depend on lot on what specific car you're comparing. And yes, there are some modern transmissions that are mechanically like a manual, but still shift automatically. Friday (talk) 19:17, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The problem with an automatic (any automatic) is that it doesn't know what's about to happen - it can't see a corner coming or know that you are thinking about overtaking that annoying truck that's right in front of you. It can't read your mind. That means that manuals will always have the advantage in general driving situations. Most automatics eat engine power - but every year they get better. Paddle-shifted automatics are a reasonable compromise - and the up-market ones are pretty fast and are probably the way of the future. But for daily commutes - being able to double-clutch and heel-and-toe it through corners in a lightweight front-wheel drive car mean that you'll have to pry my stick-shift out of my cold, dead hands though - driving stick is just so much more fun. (Ob. links to Mini Moke - by far the most fun street-legal "car" on the planet, Mini the second most fun car - and MINI (BMW), almost as much fun, but practical.) SteveBaker 01:32, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What are the advantages of double-clutching? Jamesino 02:45, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you don't have a synchromesh gearbox (for example, if your vehicle is very very old), avoiding horrible grinding sounds. Otherwise the realistic advantages are slim to none on the upshift, and a little smoother downshift. I double clutch on the downshift but usually don't bother on upshifts. -- mattb 02:52, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah - I agree. For details of how this helps, check out Double clutch. If you don't have synchro's then double-clutching (or double-declutching if you're British) is a vital skill - but cars have had synchromesh since the 1950's or so - and double-clutching is an almost obsolete skill for everyone except race car and big truck drivers (some big-rig trucks don't have synchros because they wear out faster than unsynchronised gearboxes). My 1963 Mini has synchromesh on all gears except 1st. This is really annoying because in modern cars I like to drop into 1st gear as I roll to a stop at traffic lights or junctions. This bad habit causes a terrible grinding/grating noise every time I forget and do that in my '63 Mini. The 'official' way to drive that car is to stay in 2nd gear until you come to a dead stop and THEN drop into 1st. But I never remember to do that for the first couple of stop-lights when I havn't driven the car for a while. Argh! SteveBaker 13:54, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Acceleration of a car

When you see in advertisements where the manufacturers are saying for example "The Buggati Veryon can go from 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds". How do they exactly time that? Do they rev the engine to 6,000 RPM and release the clutch while in 1st gear? 64.230.43.77 02:48, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'd expect the wheels to spin if you did that, which, contrary to every bad car chase scene ever filmed, both slows the acceleration and makes the car difficult to steer. StuRat 04:36, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

They time it how you'd expect; they put the car on a racetrack and a driver drives it. If you think 3.2 seconds sounds improbable, the Veyron has an 8L engine which produces around 1000 horsepower: that's twice the horsepower of a current model Freightliner semi-trailer, and as much as some railway locomotives. FiggyBee 06:29, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It is however done under ideal conditions (e.g., racetrack, dry conditions, driver only in car) by a professional driver, who will drive in whatever manner will get the best time. Your average driver on the street is unlikely to be able to match these figures. --jjron 14:09, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

When you're talking about a fast car, traction is almost always the limiting factor in low gears. In some cars they may use a very aggressive launch similar to what you've described, but in most cars this would be counterproductive since static friction is generally greater than sliding friction and excess wheelspin gives you a sliding friction situation. A better way to measure overall acceleration of a car is to look at the quarter mile trap speed, since 0-60 measurements are so traction-dependent. Friday (talk) 19:13, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Check out the Ariel Atom - it's street-legal in most countries, costs only $50,000 and does 0-60 in under 3 seconds! But it doesn't need an exotic engine - it has a really conventional supercharged 2 liter Honda Civic engine reaching about 300hp. It's all about power to weight ratio. Going with increasingly huge engines in order to get more power just makes it harder to tires to grip hard enough. The trick is to dramatically reduce weight - that lets you use a smaller engine, lighter transmission - which in turn saves more weight. They measure 0-60 times as you'd expect - with an electronic timer. With sub-3-second 0-60 cars, the problem is that it's not really humanly possible to shift fast enough to achieve those times and automatic transmissions waste a lot of engine power. The Atom can theoretically do 0-60 in 2.8 seconds - but 3.0 is (I believe) the best anyone has driven it in practice. SteveBaker 01:19, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The traction component is so important that some vehicles will accelerate faster from 60-120 than from 0-60. The reason is that they have wings which will give them additional downforce for better traction at higher speeds.

Why would the wheels spin if the clutch is depressed? Jamesino 02:42, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No - the wheel spin happens when you have the engine revved fairly high and you let the clutch out suddenly. The engine wants the car to be going a lot faster than it is - so the wheels spin. That's generally a bad thing because the rubber in the tires has a lower coefficient of friction when slipping. SteveBaker 13:12, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Veyron has Launch Control and an automatic clutch (well, actually two of them). So anyone can achieve a blisteringly quick 0-60 time with no skill whatsoever. Best username yet 13:46, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

On my car (check out the photo in the info-box in MINI Cooper'S) the 'traction control' system stops the wheels from spinning by limiting the throttle when it detects that the (driven) front wheels are rotating faster than the (free-running) rear wheels. This is completely effective in preventing wheel-spin when you do an overly enthusiastic launch. However, to get the best 0-60 times you need to turn that system off (there is a handy switch for that!) because in preventing wheel spin, it is being overly cautious and is cutting the engine power for too long. However, I'm sure the system in the Veyron does it right. Without such an automatic system, getting the advertised 0-60 time in a stick-shift car takes practice. When I first got my MINI, there was this freeway on-ramp that was perfect for practicing 0-60 launches - dead flat, no traffic. I'd take it every morning - using a cheap G-tech accelerometer to figure out my 0-60 time. Getting the shift points at just the right RPM and getting the revs matched through each shift was a tricky thing - but I was eventually able to do significantly better than was claimed in the cars' manufacturer specification. It's tough to do though - without regular practice I doubt I could come within a half second of the 'official' number anymore and things like the air temperature and pressure change the optimum RPM's to shift at - which can easily make a half second difference on a 6 second run. SteveBaker 13:12, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

kashrut

I was surprised to find my cough-drops marked "(U)D", meaning certified as kosher and classified as dairy; I expected "P", neutral. Which of these ingredients came from an udder? : Menthol, glucose syrup, eucalyptus oil, flavoring, honey, sucrose, water, yellow no. 5 (tartrazine), soybean oil. —Tamfang 05:41, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly this product's manufacturing process involves equipment also used for dairy products. If further clarification is required, try contacting the authorizing rabbinate's consumer relations service. -- Deborahjay 07:09, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

They don't tell you what the "favouring" is; it could include traces of milk byproducts such as lactose. Laïka 09:46, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

why ducth men are most found in ocean bussiness?

As i am a good observer and reader i have found and read that most of the dutch men are found in ocean bussiness such as ocean race or in pirates role. as i am a journalist i am writing on ocean race if you find and clue regrading this please reply—Preceding unsigned comment added by Rhutu dave (talk • contribs)

I was under the impression that the British are more historically known as the great sea-faring race.Otherwise,I really don't understand your question.hotclaws 08:36, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There have been many great seafaring cultures at different points in history, from the Phoenicians to the Romans to the Portuguese to the Spanish to the Dutch to the British. Only landlocked countries seem to be permanently excluded from this club. StuRat 19:01, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This assertion suggests a title for an alternate history story: Hibernia Rule the Waves. —Tamfang 20:26, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hibernia (Latin, prob. from hibernus, wintry) is Ireland, not Holland. Vultur 05:37, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And also not Phoenicia or Rome or Portugal or Spain or Britain. So? —Tamfang 08:17, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry. I thoguht we were still discussing the Dutch. Vultur 13:22, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Dutch have always been a sea-going race, but so have several others, especially those with an extensive ocean shoreline, good natural harbours, and a plentiful supply of timber. You might want to read our articles on piracy, yacht racing, and the Flying Dutchman.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 10:10, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

For some more historical context, the articles on Dutch Revolt, Dutch empire, Dutch East India Company, Dutch West India Company and further links from these articles might be helpful, though perhaps a bit tortuous in answering your question. ---Sluzzelin talk 12:34, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

IIRC, the Dutch had been a sea-faring race before the British, the British became a great naval power only after the Dutch.Coolotter88 01:05, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Poem sample from "Sheila"

The Jamie T song "Sheila" features a sample of a play or poem, read by someone with a strong RP accent, which goes "Good Heavens, you boys! Blue-blooded murder of the English tongue!". What is this taken from? The NME review of the song claims this was taken from the Betjeman poem "The Cockney Amorist", but this line itself doesn't occur within the poem (although other lines from the song do). Laïka 11:23, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That sample does sound different from the Betjeman sample. Haven't had any luck locating it, the closest I get are the lyrics "cold blooded murder of the English tongue" from the song Why Cant the English? (My Fair Lady) and the term blue murder. You could ask the man himself, this site Jamie T has links Mhicaoidh 01:58, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This site [1] has the unsubstantiated comment "That's the lyrics to the original, as it was in the first place. When it got released as in single in 2007 the lyrics had change from "Heavens what a noise, cold blooded murder.." To "Good heavens you boys! Blue blooded murder.." 'cause Jamie T got in trouble for taking it straight off a Sherlock Holmes film" Mhicaoidh 10:13, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

highly specialized bibliographies

How do I go about submitting bibliographic materials I have collected over the past half century of academic studies?rich 12:06, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, Wikipedia has a policy against original research, so you need to keep that in mind before even begining. Wikipedia is not a place for breakthrough work. That aside, if you have bibliographic information to add, you add them to the articles about the subjects. If the subject does not have an article, then you will need to create one, assuming that the subject is notable enough to be featured in an encyclopedia. --24.147.86.187 13:16, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wikiversity might be a good place for that type of material, as original research is welcomed there. StuRat 18:50, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's from "My Fair Lady" , Professor Henry Higgins says it to describe Eliza Dolittle's accent when he first meets her.

requesting info on "the algorithm" used to generate marketing names for drug companies

Levitra, Viagra, Protagra, Procylex, Sporanox, Ambien, Seldane, Prilosec, Equanim, Vivitol, Telavor, Tramadol, Panadol, Vulviax, Puselan, Lugubri, Immovex, Zybane, Provox, Symbiax, Amevive, Procrit, Raptiva ...

I need the algorithm that will allow me to automatically differentiate the "suitable" marketing names from the "unsuitable" ones, as well as allow me to generate all the remaining names that will be used in the future until this particular naming convention becomes extinct. Thanks. NoClutter 15:02, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There's no algorithm per se; the drug company is allowed to call the drug whatever they like, so long as it doesn't clash with anything else, is short, and doesn't promise anything or state anything (Rogaine was originally called Regain, for instance, but this was considered too leading).[2] This article covers the thought behind drug naming nicely; there's a bit of science (Liptor is a "Lipid regulator") and part psychology (Serafem, an anti-depressant for women, is a pun on "Seraphim" and "fem"). For their uncopyrightable generic names however, drugs are named by United States Adopted Name Council or by the International Nonproprietary Name council of WHO based on the functional groups present in the chemical, with an arbitrary string of letters to differentiate it. The WHO has a list of the stems used for naming, the "Stem book". This shows all the different stems which can be used. For example, Ibuprofen contains a -profen group, and the "ibu" is then a string of letters, picked at random, to differentiate it from Odalprofen, or Bakeprofen, or Flurbiprofen. Laïka 16:33, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Very good answer. Rfwoolf

Additionally, names are rejected as unsuitable if they clash with preexisting trademarks (in theory only for drugs or other medical-type stuff, but in practice for well-known trademarks in general too). Further they'll do a search to see if the proposed name is, or sounds uncomfortably like, an unsuitable word in one of a large name of world languages - so if you decided you wanted to call your new drug Faenpik, you're probably going to have to call it something else in Norwegian. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:59, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I believe Dilbert once came up with an algorithm for something similar, the names of companies after mergers. It randomly combined names from astronomy and electronics and then checked against a database of existing names for clashes. Thus, the old name after the merger of Pathways Electronics and the E-Tech Management Group (Path-E-Tech Management) was replaced by the new name, the Uranus-Hertz Corporation. StuRat 18:39, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

...thus creating an untranslatable comic strip! A.Z. 19:51, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That's an interesting point. I wonder what they do when a comic relies on humor that only works in English, do they place a rerun in foreign language translations on that day ? StuRat 06:50, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, the usual approach is to just "localize" the joke to reflect the domestic language and customs. Perhaps the most striking example of this can be seen on DVD releases of American television shows (many of which feature French and Spanish overdubs).

For example, if you watch A Fish out of Water (Family Guy) on DVD in English, one joke depends on a main character being humiliated because everyone except her (even the janitor who speaks only Spanish) has plans for spring break. If you watch the same episode in Spanish, the joke is changed. The janitor speaks an apparently "Arabic-sounding" mixture of gibberish that does not appear to match any real language.

This is an interesting issue which is touched-on in various WP articles. (See e.g., Asterix and Hofstadter.) dr.ef.tymac 15:05, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I was searching for the Portuguese translation of the said comic strip. I didn't find it yet, but here is a page where someone asked the same question asked here and someone answered the same thing that StuRat answered. A.Z. 21:37, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, finding out how they translated the comic strip turns out to be an impossible task for me. Maybe I should ask on the reference desk? A.Z. 21:49, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Music and such

Ok. So, in music, we have 14 major scales, one each starting on C,C#,D,D#,E, and so on, going up in steps WWHWWWH. Each has certain sharps or flats - the C scale has none, the G scale has a B flat, if I recall correctly. There are 7 possible sharp key signatures, 7 flat, and one natural, or 15 total. How are there more key signatures than major scales, and which key signature does not correspond to a major scale? --ST47Talk 17:02, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

C# (7 sharps) is the same notes as Db (5 flats); F# (6 sharps) is the same as Gb (6 flats.); Cb (7 flats) is the same notes as B (5 sharps.) Which will bring us back to Do. Or 12 keys. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 17:26, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If that's not clear, see key signature, where there is also an interesting summary of the mood of each key.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 18:33, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It is only in the past few centuries that C# and Db came to have the same pitch. See musical temperament. You're thinking in terms of equal temperament but standard notation is more closely fitted to meantone temperament (of which equal is a special case). —Tamfang 20:31, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The original question says there are 14 major scales, but just to clarify, there are only 12 unique sounding major scales. (The original poster may have mis-counted by considering A to G plus A# to G# to get 14, but B#=C and E#=F would get counted twice that way.) There are more key signatures than major scales because some of the key signatures sound the same (for example, C# major and Db major), as explained above by jpgordon. All 15 key signatures correspond to major scales. Bavi H 04:48, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In brief, as explained above, look at the table here. You can see which key signatures fit the same scales. Skittle 15:40, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Voice Generation

Is there a website where you can type something out and then have a computer generated voice say it?

Yes: [3]. StuRat 19:23, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Also, Opera is a web browser which allows you to select text on any website and have a voice say it out loud. JoshHolloway 19:36, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Really ? I have Opera. How do I get it to do that ? StuRat 05:58, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That's so cool! I wasn't the one who asked the question, but I'm definitely going to use the website. I think it might be a useful tool to help with learning English. A.Z. 19:44, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, it doesn't have a Canadian accent, only American and British. A.Z. 19:54, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I assume you've already used Microsoft Sam. On Windows XP, you can find it either in Start>Accessories>Accessibility>Narrator or Start>Control Panel>Speech. Laïka 21:32, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

To get a Canadian accent perhaps you could run the source text through a pre-processing program to respell "house" as "hoose" and "about" as "aboot" and throw in an occasional "Eh?" Edison 22:10, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I havent tried the one linked by StuRat, but AT&T also has one that uses their "natural voices" engine. natural voices. Also note, a google search on "Text to speech demo" will give you dozens if not more links to all sorts of companies extolling their own text to speech solutions. (See also Text to speech, Computational linguistics). dr.ef.tymac 23:25, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

accidental poisoning case: 100 killed

Hi, I bumped into this article today about a case of accidental poisoning of toothpaste. However, interestingly there is a mention of a case last year in which pharmaceuticals were contaminated with mislabled ingredients, resulting in 100 deaths. Do we have an article on this disaster? If not, where might I start looking for sources to write one myself (I can do most of the research, but I can't make out where to start - show me a few good sources and I can do the rest myself). Blood Red Sandman ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 21:12, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

[4] is a story in the NY Times abut a Chinese firm exporting antifreeze labelled as glycerine which killed a number of people when it was put in cough syrup.Stories like that could lead one to adopt a policy of buying stuff 6 months before you expect to need it, so that it will have time to get recalled if poisonous. Edison 22:08, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Broadcast zone?

When i went to the hockey hall of fame their was a place where you could broadcast a short scene from a hockey game.The video said that i can go to some kind of website where i can watch it again so if isaved it. I would like to know what the name of the website was. Thank you 4 ur time.

Are you talking about the TSN/RDS Broadcast Zone exhibit? The page says that you can see your personally made clips at hhof.com, although it doesn't give anymore specific information than that. You might consider emailing someone at the website to see if they can walk you through the process. –Pakman044 03:41, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Here's some more information: Using Google, I found this hidden page on their website. It looks like you are e-mailed a link to this page with a special code on the end that loads your video. It says the video is removed after 5 days. Bavi H 03:48, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bean dip

Is bean dip supposed to be served warm or cold?

    It can be served either way, although it is more common cold.

Tabbing creates that funny box, use : marks to indent your answer. Bean dips generaly are server cold, else they may be mistaken for frijoles, no articles on frijoles?!? I'm stunned.. Vespine 00:14, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

oh, sorry. thought it would do the thing that ":" does, but I guess not

No article on frijoles but frijole redirects to Phaseolus :-)

May 20

Huge Dick

What is the name of the black guy with the enormous dick with a giant wart on the side tthat often stars in BangBros porno productions? is anything else known about him?

At the risk of being understood all too well, I think this question belongs in Ref Desk: Entertainment. Bielle 01:27, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Funniest question and answer so far. PS:Isn't it "belongs to" instead of "belongs in"? --Taraborn 16:46, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Entertainment desk isn't an agent that can own things. The question belongs at a certain location, and that location is "in WP:RD/E". —Keenan Pepper 21:40, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Aha, thank you. As you see, English is not my first language, and situations like this one are good to learn. --Taraborn 09:47, 23 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe its a secret agent :] HS7 19:55, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Belongs in" implies something that can contain and be contained. (This is getting worse.) I see the Ref Desks as categories of questions and answers, so that something may "belong in" a specific category. "Belong to" suggests ownership or associative kinship, as in "That car belongs to me" or "I belong to the public library". I am sure there is a linguist out there who can be definitive for us. Bielle 23:00, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Why don't you try the Bang Bros website at www.bangbros.com. (I haven't made this a link for obvious reasons.)--Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:20, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bielle's idea of a linguist is brilliant.This seems to be quite a tricky question,so it would be best and most appropriate to get a particularly cunning linguist ;) Lemon martini 10:21, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You should save that kind of comment, for later.. Vespine 01:05, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

China's population

China's population exceeds more than 1 billion ppl, but they have started the onechild policy. My question is, would the population rate in China decline in about 30-40 years because all those born during the zedong era would have died and there isnt enough children to take the place?

You're making a big assumption here: That people listen to the rules -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 02:31, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Check out Demographics of the People's Republic of China. Looks like the population is projected to stabilize, but not decline, around 2050. Neither it or one-child policy explains how this is possible, though the latter does say that having more than one child is not prohibited, just penalized. Clarityfiend 04:44, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The one-child policy allows legitimate exceptions (a second child without penalty, if the first is female, in rural areas; up to three or four are permitted for ethnic minorities), and it does not ban second children, just penalises the family for them - you have to pay education costs for the second child, etc. So many wealthier families can choose to have multiple children, and pay the costs.

All this taken together makes the fertility rate about 1.8 - about the same as New Zealand, Norway or Denmark. You'd expect a decline, but not a collapse. Shimgray | talk | 14:11, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Vaughan

Just a quick question. How do you pronounce the name of Vaughan, Ontario? I've heard both 'von' as in Otto von Bismarck and 'vah-gen'. Thanks for your help208.96.96.207 02:04, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Locally, we pronounce it "Von". I've never heard the other anywhere in Canada. Bielle 02:19, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It rhymes with "dawn" -- at least, that's how I say it. I've never heard it pronounced as a two-syllable word. -- Mwalcoff 02:28, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've never been to Ontario, but as a person's name, both first and last, I've only ever heard it pronounced "vorn", rhyming with "dawn". FiggyBee 07:56, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you persist in using two syllables, we'll have to send somebody around to "fix your vah-gen". Clarityfiend 04:50, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Downshifting to overtake car

I've read a few articles online that said if you are looking to rapidly overtake another vehicle, you should downshift to get your engine in the proper power band and then accelerate. But if you downshift, won't your car slow down a bit? Also, what is the exact process of performing this downshift overtake? thanks. 64.230.4.107 03:39, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Whether and how much your car will slow down depends on how long you take to shift, and how hard you press the accelerator as you release the clutch. Whether you want to downshift or not will depend on how fast you're going and what gear you're in to begin with; my car has five gears, and if I wanted to overtake someone at 70km/h I might shift down from 5 to 4. But I wouldn't shift down if I was overtaking at 90. Basically, it's a question of which gear you will have the most acceleration in at that speed. However, I will just say that if you need every ounce of acceleration available to make the pass in time, you probably shouldn't be trying to overtake in the first place. FiggyBee 07:51, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, your car will slow down a little bit, depending how slow you are with your gearshifts. But that is easily compensated by for what you gain in acceleration when you go to overtake. Try for example driving on flat ground at a fairly slow speed in a high gear (say 60km/h in fifth gear) where your engine will be at very low revs and then accelerating - you'll find it's a pretty slow and arduous process no matter how much you put your foot down, especially if your engine isn't that powerful. Now try the same thing in say third gear and notice the difference. That's the principle of downshifting, most engines generate more power and torque at higher revs (it's also the same reason you might downshift when going up a steep hill). And if you don't have a car to try this on, you can get exactly the same effect using a geared pushbike. What's the process of performing it? Push in the clutch, choose a lower gear, press the accelerator slightly to bring up the engine revs, then release the clutch gently while still accelerating to try to get a smooth gear change. --jjron 07:56, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Surely anyone stupid enough to ask this question shouldn't be driving a car in teh first place? Best username yet 13:42, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think that's particularly appropriate, or for that matter correct. I'm amazed when travelling with others how many people are reticent to downshift, often for this very reason. And did you think that perhaps this person in fact does not drive a car (lots of teenagers for example use Wikipedia, which is why I added the info about the pushbike to my answer). --jjron 14:14, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Short answer: Yes, down-shifting gives you more power for accelleration (in a stick-shift car).

Long answer: Most cars produce more horsepower at high RPM's - but are most fuel efficient at lower RPM's. My MINI Cooper'S - for example - gets best gas mileage at 2000 to 3000 RPM - but most accelleration at 4000 to 6000 RPM. So when you are cruising along the freeway, you want to be in top gear (6th on the MINI) at somewhere around the freeway speed limit - you'll see you are running about 3000 RPM which is great for fuel economy. But at 3000 RPM, you don't have much horsepower to get the car accellerating. Dropping down a gear - but squeezing gently on the gas pedal to maintain the same speed - pushes the RPM's up - if I drop from 6th gear to 4th - the RPMs will leap from 3000 up to 5000 or so. Now, if I stamp on the gas pedal, I'll get much more accelleration than I would have done in 6th gear and the car will rocket up to 100mph in just a few seconds. However, you can only do that if your RPM's were in the 'efficiency' band around 2000 to 3000 as you were cruising along. If I were driving my car at 130 mph (eek!) in 6th gear, it's already turning 6000 RPM - if I down-shifted - even just down to 5th, the RPM's would jump up to maybe 7500 RPM - into the dangerously over-revving "red band" region - and the engine could even be damaged as a result. But beyond about 6000 RPM, the amount of power the engine produces starts to drop again - so down-shifting at 130 mph would slow the car down dramatically. At lower speeds, this need to downshift to maximise accelleration has another benefit. When going through corners, you can drop down a gear or two - without squeezing the gas pedal to keep your speed up - and the engine will slow the car down - helping out the brakes. So you can drop a gear to slow down coming into the corner - then take advantage of being in the 'power band' of RPM to accelerate back out of the turn again. This can leave you in the weird situation of wanting to brake and push on the gas pedal at the same time - hence 'heel and toe' driving where you use one part of your right foot to push on the brake with the other part pushing on the gas. Performance cars (like my MINI) are often designed with foot pedal placed so as to make this easy. Cars with automatic gearboxes will often downshift for you automatically if you press down on the gas pedal hard and suddenly. This is called 'kick-down' and it does pretty much what you'd do yourself in a stick-shift car. SteveBaker 16:32, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oh - you also asked for the exact process: Stomp on the clutch - while you move the shifter to the lower gear, squeeze gently on the gas to match the engine speed to the speed of the car in the new gear - release the clutch - now floor the gas pedal to accellerate away. Once you've passed whatever it was, simply up-shift in the usual way to get back into your cruising gear. The knack of doing it well is to match the RPM of the engine to the new gear without over or under revving it - which would cause a jerk when you released the clutch. Learning to get that right takes practice - but it's important to do it smoothly or you'll wear your clutch out and put undue stresses on the transmission. Once you get good at it, you won't even need to think about it anymore. SteveBaker 16:57, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you get really good at it you can shift down without even using the clutch. However I definitely do NOT recommend you even try this in a new car with a tight gearbox, I used to do it all the time in a '84 corolla with a loose transmission, it was very easy. Cruising at 60km/h in 4th gear and around 2000RPM, you give it a bit of gas to make sure the engine is pushing on the gears and then you'd slowly let the accelerator go, as the revs of the engine decrease there is a moment where the engine stops pushing on the gears and the gears start dragging on the engine, at that exact moment you can pop into neutral without the clutch, that's the easy and relatively safe part. Then what you do is the exact opposite, you rev the engine slowly up until the 3rd gear is spinning at the same speed as the gears, from memory around 3000RPM at which point you don't need the clutch to pop it into gear, you just gently push against 3rd feeling for when the gears will mesh, it should just sort of melt into place, at this point though if you mess it up you can get a nasty crunch as the gears scrape, and if you are unlucky you can trash your gearbox entirely, so again, do not experiment with a car you care about:) Vespine 02:10, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I can vouch for Vespine's comment. When I was in high school my best mate had a Daewoo Nexia (think Mk II Vauxhall Astra in slightly-modernised bodywork). One day we were out on a mini-roadtrip somewhere and the clutch pedal mechanism collapsed, leaving it stuck in second gear. Since the car was mildly knackered anyway (and my mate is not given to calling out breakdown assistance in any circumstances), he decided to try out something his dad had mentioned about changing gear without the clutch. We managed to get home (about 25 miles of mixed country lanes and urban driving) by carefully matching the revs of the engine and gearbox; 3000RPM sounds about right, there's resistance from the gearbox until they're matched and then it'll drop in, with or without some crunching. I think at this stage the car had done about 70000 miles, but I can't say how much longer the gearbox lasted after that treatment because about two months later my friend had his car keys stolen from a leisure centre locker. They took the car, used it in an armed robbery of a post office about 140 miles away and then nicked the wheels and dumped the car in a car park with the windows down and the sunroof open, during a thunderstorm. Unsurprisingly it was a write-off :-) --YFB ¿ 03:41, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, at least it went out in a blaze of glory - much better than ignominiously rusting out! SteveBaker 23:32, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Metal's reaction to price scanners

Today I bought some cheap silver coloured metal earrings, and after I'd got them back from the check-out them I noticed there was a strange gold colouring on the lower part of both earrings which wasn't there before. It rubbed off easily with my fingers. I was wondering if maybe the price scanner at the check-out caused this weird reaction, and how is it caused? --Candy-Panda 07:43, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Probably the "silver colour" coming away from the cheap metal base. Common on low priced goods. Not the scanner.86.202.156.216 15:20, 20 May 2007 (UTC)DT[reply]

The barcode scanner? I've never heard of a very low-power laser removing coatings like that. -- mattb 02:49, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No the gold stuff rubbed off, the silver stuff is still there. --Candy-Panda 07:00, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds like some mild tarnishing. FiggyBee 07:32, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Exhibitionism

how to react when faced by an exhibionist? Official police hint? Comprehensive study of "stratgies"? (move along [and tell police], laugh, tell how small "he" is, fotograph with mobile phone, beat him [if skilled in fighting]) -- 172.158.202.78 10:26, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Don't Panic, keep walking? --antilived^{T | C | G} 10:45, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

WP:DENY them! -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 12:29, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think (as seen here and here) that this question is better suited on the Psychology reference desk. A.Z. 18:11, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Whoever created that, they need to add it to the Reference Desks header so that it shows up on all of the other pages. Corvus cornix 18:53, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'll do so in a couple of minutes. Thank you. A.Z. 19:09, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It appears that I don't know how to do it, but I think I'll eventually learn it, if I keep trying. A.Z. 20:04, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It works! Now someone has to draw an icon so we can link it from the main header, the one with the mona lisa, the book and the atom. I made my suggestion on the new desk. A.Z. 22:41, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

<jk>Whip out scissors and approach with maniacal expression on face, mumbling over and over "Lorena Bobbit"? Or apologize profusely for having left your magnifying glass at home.</jk> Clarityfiend 18:34, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

How about "Ooh that reminds me.I need to buy some chipolata sausages" Lemon martini 10:24, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ignore him. Exhibitionists get off on your reaction. --Carnildo 22:40, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The opening credits of Cagney and Lacey featured Marybeth Lacey seemingly giving a frank and heated opinion to a flasher. Sadly, the title music meant that her words were inaudible. I vaguely recall that the British TV programme Points of View requested a lipreader to decipher the comments, but I don't remember the answer. --Dweller 10:51, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

digital rape

Look im a little cofused hear. i herd the term "digital rape" on the news. what is the meaning of the term becouse thay did not say wether it was any difrent form the usal type. i say neither looks to any good.

Thanks DRY IYC

It refers to penetration of the victim using the finger/s (digit/s). --jjron 13:57, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well, a story came out a few weeks ago about a girl that has been raped on Second Life. I'd guess that's it. — Kieff | Talk 16:46, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That's right, it could either mean rape with the fingers (digits) or simulated rape on a computer/in a game/video. StuRat 20:09, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It could also mean raping a digit? A.Z. 20:10, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dear God - I mean, there are literally thousands being raped and murdered in Darfur, Iraq, and Afghanistan, et al. Can we please get a little bit real in here?

That may be, but still doesn't mean we should ignore rapes committed by the forcible insertion of a finger. StuRat 23:28, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Digital Ass Rape exists, but it redirects to digital rights management. A.Z. 23:52, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think that's someone's comment on how they feel about DRM. :-) StuRat 05:55, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

One of most misleading phrases in advertising is when an ad for a medical clinic says the docter will give male patients a digital exam of the prostate. I wonder if any patient expects doc will be looking at a digital display on a meter.Edison 20:47, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What site?

A few days ago when i went to the hockey hall of fame , there was a place where i could broadcast a hockey game and then watch it , the video then said that i could go on specific site to watch it again if i saved it.I would like to know what that site is.Thank you for your time.

You got two answers here, the first time you asked it. --Steve Summit (talk) 21:52, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

whoops!! my bad (74.102.217.142 23:16, 20 May 2007 (UTC))[reply]

Downloading a flash movie

Is there anyway I can download a flash movie from a website? More sepcifically, a historical short from Historica Thanks. Jamesino 16:59, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You may find some tips in this thread from a week or so at the Computing Desk. —Steve Summit (talk) 17:55, 20 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

FlashGet is versatile for this sort of thing and not restricted to the popular video sites. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:21, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

sexuality

My partner and I had a debate over whether science has said it is normal and/or safe for partners to sleep during intercourse (sleep together while penetrated/penetrating) I know i read it here somewhere but now cant find my source. PLease help::

So, what is your question?

Come on people, get with the 21st century already:) There really is no such thing as normal when considering sexual matters between two consenting adults. I can not possibly see a safety issue regarding this, my opinion is that the operative word here really is consenting. When you are asleep you can not give consent, which even between married couples should never be disregarded, but if you and your partner decide and agree that you are both happy and comfortable to be woken up (or not woken up) occasionally mid coitus, then as above, what's the question? Vespine 00:02, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I would just like to say that I'm glad who ever it was undeleted this question. I agree it isn't very tasteful or terribly informative or anything like that, but who ever deleted it without even entering into discussion was inappropriate for a place where free speech is promoted. Thank you. Vespine 01:00, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I read this to mean, "we both fall asleep mid-intercourse." Which, if the case, present century's mores aside, might be considered a little abnormal. -- Azi Like a Fox 04:42, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No idea how safe or normal it is but the word you want to research is somnophilia. meltBanana 18:23, 23 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ice cream in hospitals

This question has been moved to the appropriate desk i.e. Science which deals with the Human Body. You can find it here: Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science#Ice_cream_in_hospitals. --Eptypes 01:15, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Rage Virus

This question has been moved to the appropriate desk i.e. Science which deals with the Human Body. You can find it here: Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Science#Rage_Virus. --Eptypes 01:14, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

May 21

Online University Theses

I would like to know if there is a theses portal like the Canadian Theses Portal for theses published from American, British, French, or Spanish (from Spain) universities.

If not, I would like to know if there are online theses databases for the major universities of the world?

I am inquiring about this matter because I would simply like to peruse some university theses.

Thanks in advance.

Je voudrais voler, comme un oiseau d'ailleurs

What does this mean? Je voudrais voler, comme un oiseau d'ailleurs d'ailleurs.

It's in a song I heard, so I looked the words up but I don't know what they mean. any help appreciated!

That is french, which would translate to...

"I would like to fly, like a bird besides besides"

-Dixie48 03:09, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This would have been an excellent question for the Language Ref Desk. StuRat 05:52, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Uh it's "d'aile" ([of] wing) from [5], but it doesn't really make sense, what does "a bird of wing" mean? --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:08, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe "wingéd bird"? Corvus cornix 23:30, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ok I've just listened to the Enya version of Only If and I really doubt if that's proper French, especially with the way she say it (like American). --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:21, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Enya is Irish, why would she speak French "like an American", whatever that means? Corvus cornix 17:45, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well it's like someone trying to do a bad American accent, for instance she says "vou-dray" and "vo-lay". --antilived^{T | C | G} 04:02, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Global Warming

Ice Age. Are we to one close?

No, although a shutdown of the thermohaline circulation near Greenland could result from glacier melt water introduced into the North Atlantic due to global warming. If this happens, it could significantly cool Northern Europe, due to the loss of the North Atlantic Drift branch of the Gulf Stream. See shutdown of thermohaline circulation. StuRat 07:33, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes we are quite close to one. We are at the end of the last one. Thats why all the glaciers are melting

Second Life Rape

Whats this I hear about someone being raped on second life? Was it some major hack or something? Or was it a figuratively raped?

Some paedophiles were creating little kids as characters and selling them to other paedophiles. See [6] 131.111.203.154 09:38, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You might be referring to this story of a "rape" of a player in the game. --TotoBaggins 01:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

total institutions

Is this a sociological question?

Is this a question at all? JackofOz 12:56, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, but this is an answer. </ancient Oxford joke> Algebraist 17:22, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Blair + Bush = Hitler

Some time ago on TV, I saw this billboard which had a picture of Blair + Bush = Hitler. It was Tony Blair's face + George W. Bush's Face = Adolf Hitler's face. Is there any way that I can find a picture of it on the internet?

Maybe try Google's image search? Dismas|^(talk) 01:50, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

CROSSWORD CLUE

Help. Two clues to one answer: Beauty specialist. Company's encountered multinational article - one will make you look good. 11 letters. Thanks in advance.86.202.156.216 10:36, 21 May 2007 (UTC)DT[reply]

Cosmetician (company's = cos; encountered = met; multinational = ici; article = an).--Shantavira|^{feed me} 12:18, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Brilliant... many thanks.86.202.156.216 13:38, 21 May 2007 (UTC)DT[reply]

I don't get the multinational = ici part. But otherwise...Brilliant Zain Ebrahim 14:53, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

ICI. --Shantavira|^{feed me} 14:55, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oh ok. Good one.Zain Ebrahim 15:10, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

wikipedia & spelling errors

What percentage of wikipedia articles contain obvious, easily correctable spelling errors? It seems like every time I hit random article, I find a new typo--69.118.235.97 15:15, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Um, well, y'know, if we had the technology to count them automatically, we'd have the technology to fix them automatically... --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 15:29, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I hope you're not counting color/colour, tire/tyre, etc. as typos and correcting these. Putting regional spelling differences aside, I think most pages acquire their spelling mistakes over time as they are edited by less-careful editors and as they are vandalized with the vandalism manually edited-out again rather than simply being reverted.

Atlant 15:57, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Don't worry, I'm not changing things to/from British/American English, I'm just fixing obvious typos such as becaues --> because etc..--69.118.235.97 17:43, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

For what it's worth - your experience is probably a lot worse because you are hitting 'Random article'. That will get you to a lot of articles that are so obscure that almost nobody reads them and (consequently) hardly anyone fixes them. If on the other hand you stick to actually looking up stuff that you need to know, the odds are vastly better that other people will be looking at those articles too - and spelling mistakes and typo's are therefore going to be much more short-lived. Another thing I suspect to be true is that 'Random article' has a bias towards giving you a recently edited article. I can't prove that for Wikipedia - but I run a couple of websites that use the WikiMedia software - and it's really noticable on those sites where I know which pages are recent and which are ancient. If that's true here too (and we're using the same software - so I'd expect so) - then because on the average you are seeing younger article when you grab one at random, you are also more likely to see typo's than in more mature articles. However, if everyone 'does their bit' and fixes problems when they see them then gradually this problem will go away. But it's simply inevitable that a work that's created in the way that Wikipedia is will have lots of these kinds of problems. SteveBaker 23:27, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Agree that we all need to be vigilant and fix errors whenever we see them, but I doubt it's ever going to go away. We have editors from all over the world, many of whom are not native English speakers. Even among anglophones, the educational standards to which most of them seem subject these days don't require or even strongly encourage good spelling, so the issue goes deeper than just the editors themselves. When students after 12 years of school don't know their 7 times table, or can't spell relatively simple words, and seem to know little about punctuation or syntax, there's something really rotten with the system. JackofOz 03:10, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Burglary(WHAT CAN HAPPEN)

Alright sorry for posting the question in the wrong area...........My brother was going home with some friends he was in the car asleep it was 3 males excluding him and a adult female him and the female where in the car asleep cause they were tired so the other guys decided they were goin 2 steal something out of vehicles they broke into three trucks the 3rd tim they had got caught in my brother was with them(cause they took off in the car) they took them to the jail house the girl got put in jail cause she was an adult and parents came and got the other guys....so what can happen to my brother when they go to court....

P.S. PLEASE SEND ME A LETTER BACK AT THIS EMAIL: email removed to prevent spam. Skittle 17:42, 21 May 2007 (UTC)216.206.210.163 17:36, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

WE WILL NOT SEND YOU A LETTER OR AN EMAIL, WE ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS HERE OR ON YOUR TALK PAGE. I hope that someone can offer you a little guidance, but I must remind you that Wikipedia cannot and will not give you legal advice. Good luck. Skittle 17:42, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Please use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, that is almost impossible to read. As for your predicament ,If You live in Saudi Arabia he might get his hand cut of. Ken 17:54, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Ken. Do you think you could remove that comment? It is rather unfriendly, and potentially very insensitive if someone is worried about their brother. Picking at a question-askers grammar, spelling and punctuation looks a lot like biting, and is rather ironic when your own is far from perfect :-) Try considering that English may not be this person's first language. If you remove your comment, please remove this one too :-D Skittle 21:43, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia logo font

Does anyone know what the font of the Wikipedia logo is? Or is it proprietary? I'm referring to the "Wikipedia" part, not the "The Free Encyclopedia" part, in case they're different. Thanks. - ^Рэд_хот^{(t • c • e)} 18:03, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You may want to discuss this at the Help Desk, which discusses matters Wikipedia-related. Corvus cornix 18:08, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As far as I can tell, it is 'Garamond'. I'm not a font expert though, so I could easily be wrong. --80.229.152.246 22:02, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Pet Behavior

My puppy eats poop. I can't get her to stop - is this dangerous to her or just disgusting?

Is it a Shih Tzu? Edison 20:43, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

LOL! Sandman30s 10:14, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you google "Dogs eating feces" you will see many sites devoted to describing coprophagia in the dog world, and others dealing with possible cures. Bielle 21:47, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

At least it's eating its own poop, I lived with two house mates, one had a dog and one had a cat and the dog would follow the cat around like a lolly dispencer, eeeew... Vespine 22:29, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Is she eating her own poop? If she is eating other dogs' poop, she could get whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, or coccidia, not to mention a variety of bacterial or viral diseases. --Joelmills 01:16, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

drug testing

i'm asking a question regarding the "detection period" undering the drug test page. According to what it says now it takes 2 to 7 days for a single use of marijuana to become undetectable. I can understand that. But then it says for prolonged use it takes 1 to 2 months to get out. How is that possible? Mathematically, it just doesn't seem to work out. At the same rate of "expulsion", it would require an impossible amount of ingested marijuana for it to take months to get rid of. Does your metabolism slow down according to the amount of a specific metabolite you have inside your body? I just dont understand why it takes so long. Does the "half-life" not matter anymore when it comes to getting rid of a metabolite? But I'm just wanting to figure all this out. Thank you.

Josh24.74.20.206 21:57, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's more along the lines of prolonged or chronic use of marijuana allows the drug to seep deeper into your system, that's not the scientific way of putting it but I think that's roughly what's happening. I've read that marijuana use is even recorded in your hair growth, so it is possible to measure if you have used Marijuana for as long as you have been growing your hair. Vespine 00:54, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The primary metabolite of THC is fat-solubule and is stored to some extent in fat cells. Chronic users can have stored, and released over time, enough of this metabolite (THC-COOH I believe) to cause you to fail a urine drug screen. This is highly variable, depending on percent of body fat, metabolic rate, diet, etc. --killing sparrows^(chirp!) 01:26, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a pretty good reference.--killing sparrows^(chirp!) 02:46, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ipod volume

Would playing my ipod on a very low volume compared to a very high volume have any noticeable difference on how long the battery lasts? 68.231.151.161 23:15, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It will certainly have an effect on how long your ears will last. Corvus cornix 23:32, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Low volume should, all other things being equal, make the batteries last longer, and as Corvus cornix notes, cause much less damage to your hearing.

Additionally, yes, the difference can be noticible. -- mattb 02:30, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, very much so. Headphones that don't have battery packs draw their power from the device they're connected to, so turning the volume down reduces the amount of power needed. An iPod probably has to spend power on a CPU, HDD, screen, backlight, and headphones. turning off the light and turning down the volume can have a large impact on the battery life on my nano -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 04:43, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

May 22

beans from Mexico

This is an odd question,but please hear me out. Are the imported canned pinto beans from Mexico, refried or otherwise, actually bayo beans?

A similar question was asked last month, you can read the answer offered then. Rockpocket 06:52, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

KeeganB was the one who asked the question last month. Maybe this little ditty will help her/him remember:

Pintos and bayos the magical fruit

In separate sections they're written about

The more you remember the better we'll feel

So check for responses this time, you schlemiel.

--Anchoress 07:07, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Very nice, Anchoress. It works better if you read it with a Scottish or Canadian accent, thereby rhyming fruit with aboot ;) Rockpocket 07:22, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

TYVM, and yeah, that was what I had in mind. But to be fair, Canadians only say 'aboot' on South Park. Anchoress 07:55, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hey Anchoress, can you send me some beaver in a carpet-lined box?

What RPM to shift?

Generally, when trying to achieve the fastest possible acceleration with a manual transmission stock production car, when (in the RPM range) should you shift gears? For example, should you shift just as you are about to hit the redline? Thanks. 74.14.72.36 02:21, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

AFAIK, there isn't a "general" answer to that question. It would depend on the power output-RPM curve of the car in question; to get maximum acceleration, you want to keep the car in its peak power band, which is likely to be somewhat less than the redline. As RPM increases, power output increases up to the peak power point, then decreases again beyond that point. You should be able to find the peak-power RPM for your engine in the car's manual or specifications; some cars have relatively flat power bands, with a broad region of almost-constant high power output. Others have very 'peaky' power delivery, which means you have to make rapid gearshifts before the engine falls out of its power band on one side or the other. Thinking about this futher, I may mean the peak torque rather than peak power... it's late here, and my brain is full of sail aerodynamics. --YFB ¿ 02:56, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, as above, it depends, but often, shifting near redline is the way to go, except with cars whose torque curve drops off significantly before then. Lower gears give you more mechanical advantage, so there's something to be said for staying in the lower gear longer. Friday (talk) 03:02, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Also note, generally even going over 80% to the redline would be considered 'thrashing it' and doing it regularly will considerably lower the life of your engine. In typical conditions, even if you like taking off fast at the lights you can keep within 60% - 70% and still get very good performance. Vespine 06:38, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

TEEL Model of essay writing

What is the TEEL Model of essay writing? --Candy-Panda 08:52, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Try Google. See here or here. Lupo 10:22, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Final Fantasy VIII soundtrack

Does anyone know where I can download this sound track?