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August 14

How can I save a word in Chinese characters as an image?

I want to use Chinese characters in a particular font on a website, and I don't have any fancy software. I have word 2003, and Micrografx Windows Draw (a stupid little free program that won't let me input Chinese characters). Exploding Boy (talk) 01:52, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

I'll assume that you can input Chinese characters other than in Windows Draw, e.g. in Word 2003.

Using Word (for example), input the characters. Select the font, select the size, select the zoom percentage, select the font color and background color. Capture the window. Save (perhaps as PNG). Crop the result. Save again. There's your image file. -- Hoary (talk) 02:19, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

(EC) :Set the word up in MS-Word, take a screenshot, crop it, save it as a jpg. Download GIMP if you do not have a jpg editor. --Tagishsimon (talk) 02:21, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Ahhh, much better. Thank you! Exploding Boy (talk) 02:58, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Avoid using JPEG (.jpg) for things like this - it's a "lossy" file compression system and it does particularly badly with solid-color images such as the one you're talking about making here. Use PNG or GIF. JPEG is really only useful for photographs that you intend to be viewed from a normal viewing distance at close to their original size. SteveBaker (talk) 03:19, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

JPEG is terrible for bilevel images, but there is such a thing as lossy compression for bilevel images, e.g. JBIG2. -- BenRG (talk) 11:00, 14 August 2009 (UTC) (Edit to add: this had nothing to do with the original question, I only mentioned it because SteveBaker's reply made it sound like lossy compression and bilevel images don't mix.)

I suggest that while you are working on the image that you avoid using any and all comptession-type formats. Srick with bitmaps (.bmp) until you're done, then convert the image to ,png ot .svg. or .gif or wharever. Of course you could just lwave it as a .bmp. B00P (talk) 07:17, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

.svg is not a lossy format, nor is it a bitmap format. Leaving it as BMP is not recommended. You can save non-lossy PNGs that are much, much smaller than BMPs. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 12:58, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Wooaah guys. The OP wants this for a website - since I don't think any browsers support JBIG2, BMP is not well supported in all of it's complicated variations - and Microsoft don't support SVG - you should ask a graphics guy (oh - wait, that's me) and stick with PNG or GIF. SteveBaker (talk) 14:14, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

I believe IE6 also has issues with transparency on PNG so that's another thing that could cause problems. Also while this is fairly OT I guess, you may want to make sure you are allowed to reproduce the fonts you plan to use in the way you wish to particularly if we're referring to a commercial website here. In other words, do the license terms of the font allow it? If they don't, while this should not be construed as legal advice, this may complicate things. Bitmap fonts are not copyrightable in the US [1], I'm not sure if this is definitely the case outside the US [2] [3]. The situation with Chinese fonts may be more unclear given the greater level of freedom in creating them [4] and I would expect and even greater uncertainty over PRC law. In other words, while it's possible what you are doing may be legal whatever the license terms of the font says, it's possible they won't be. Finally remember what you are doing is likely to have a significant negative effect on the website's accessibility. At the very least, remember to include an alternative text for the image you are using, and I would suggest you also consider whether the problems what you are doing is liable to cause is worth the perceived visual benefits. Nil Einne (talk) 16:18, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Indeed, IE6 doesn't do transparent PNGs without a hack. However, it's not a very difficult hack - and it works for IE5.5 too: [5]...but perhaps our OP doesn't need transparency. SteveBaker (talk) 02:44, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

How To Spread The Word

I have this blog titled, (redacted, don't advertise it here, please TenOfAllTrades(talk) 12:19, 14 August 2009 (UTC)) on Salon.com, which warns people about the content of this website, but I don't know how to advertise it. I've heard of optimizing, but the whole process is difficult to understand and most require payment, which, especially in this economy is impossible. Is there anyway I can spread word about my blog so more people will read it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.4.130.216 (talk) 05:37, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Optimizing is a way of trying to get your page at the top of search engine results, and yes, it does cost money. You could just buy adverts, e.g. through Google AdWords. Text-based ads wouldn't necessarily cost very much (Google suggests an amount of 10c per person clicking on your link, up to a $5 limit per day). You can also put a link on your Facebook/Myspace/etc. page(s) if you have them. 212.114.159.142 (talk) 07:06, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

The tried and tested way is to provide quality content that people will find interesting and link to. Most modern search engines rank page results based on (amongst many other things) the number of times the page is linked to by other, well-respected pages. The way for that to happen is the aforementioned quality content. Otherwise, as 212.114 said, either buy adverts which will be displayed on other websites, or raise awareness by participating in discussions elsewhere on the internet which may lead users back to your site (just don't [[Link spam#Using world-writable pages|]] in forums and blog comments, that will only annoy people). — QuantumEleven 09:27, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Advertising criticism of Wikipedia on Wikipedia itself is perhaps not the best way to go about it. Adam Bishop (talk) 13:19, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

The now-redacted title indicated the criticism was of another site. --LarryMac | Talk 13:22, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Oh! Haha, I see. Adam Bishop (talk) 15:16, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Look at search engine optimization this way: if you write interesting things that people actually want to read, brainiacs at Google will be *working for you* to get your site to come up in searches, but if you write stuff that nobody's interested in and then spend effort trying to game the search engines, they have an equally fell team of brainiacs *working against you* to prevent your site from coming up. If you're smarter than all those nerds put together, then the world will be beating a path to your blog anyway. Otherwise, just write something interesting. --Sean 16:32, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

How do Marketing firms win clients?

How does a marketing firm distinguish itself from other marketing firms so that clients will hire them? --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 07:48, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Marketing :-) --Phil Holmes (talk) 09:59, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Presume that you mean a Consulting firm, since all firms have some degree of marketing. The answer is very simple to explain, very hard to implement. Every trading company needs one or more USPs. Unique Sales Propositions. Something that they offer in such a way as to be attractive to the potential clients. Possibly the most famous is the turn round of a failing Avis by researching carefully and idenitying one single USP. The ":We try harder" campaign. brilliantly executed, turned Avis' fortunes and set them on the way to being number two to Hertz,86.219.161.186 (talk) 09:40, 14 August 2009 (UTC)DT

They do Bids and Tenders for business, they pitch based on their illustrious past-successes, they compete on price. Infact, in essence they do prety much what all businesses do to attract new customers. They sell themselves by saying what they do, how well they do it, why they're better than the competition, and sell their 'price' (if they're cheaper they hammer that, if they're more expensive they'll point out the great service and value for money you're getting etc.). 11:23, 14 August 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.221.133.226 (talk)

It sounds like the OP is asking about advertising agencies. An AA will present to a prospective client a plan for a campaign. They make the campaign idea attractive by showing artwork, slogan(s) and statistical projections about how many of the intended target audience the campaign will reach. They allege to have advantages over competitors such as value-for-money, good contacts in the industry, skilled employees and a good track record, illustrated (if possible) by previous campaigns or customers. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:41, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Let us just clarify that the one key factor is to offer what the client is seeking to buy. He will check your qualifications, experience, etc. But what will sell him is an understanding of his needs, and a solution that will help to satisfy those needs. The suggestions, above, are "Product Centred" i.e. what we have. The solution is to be "Client centred" i.e. understand and satisfy his needs. Consider these openings to a job application: I am just about to leave school and am hoping that you will offer me employment, and: You are, I am sure, looking for people who will fit into your firm.86.219.161.186 (talk) 15:24, 14 August 2009 (UTC)DT

Commission at High-End Retailers

How much commission do sales representatives receive at high-end designer retailers such as Gucci, D&G, Lacoste, etc...? Needless to say, everyone will be in a good mood when a Saudi princess comes shopping? Acceptable (talk) 10:16, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

A good friend of mine worked at Louis Vuitton (doing some kind of long-term marketing, or acquisitions, or something) in the United Arab Emirates. Suffice to say, she found the work unsatisfying, the salary unsuitable, and the environment too hot; and she moved to North Carolina. This is merely anecdotal, but I suspect it's pretty much the case that the "luxury-goods-for-Saudi-princesses" retailers are not making as much buck as you might think. Nimur (talk) 04:27, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

What is the usual university degree possessed by bankers?

I should know this, but can't find it via Google. Specifically, I'm curious about bank managers - in general, what would an aspiring bank manager study at university (if anything)? Considered accounting and business as possibilities, but honestly have no idea. Thanks in advance, --124.184.89.119 (talk) 16:27, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Just a guess, but perhaps a Bachelor of Commerce or other business degree? Maybe an MBA... TastyCakes (talk) 16:31, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

I went to monster.com and typed "bank manager" in the search field. The first page of results had one listing that asked for a "Bachelor's Degree" which in the US means a 4-year university degree without any requirement of being in a particular field. I would assume accounting would be useful. Tempshill (talk) 16:35, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

I'd also guess most of them work their way up through the bank's lower positions first, and may have a variety of degrees, some of which don't seem very related (this goes for most jobs, in my opinion). I would think it also depends on the type of bank, if you're talking about a run of the mill Bank of America branch or something, that's gonna be different from a "banker" at a hedge fund or something like Goldman Sachs. TastyCakes (talk) 16:37, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Economics perchance? Or Finance. Both of those were majors at my University Googlemeister (talk) 16:37, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the responses, all. Hadn't considered the possibility that there wouldn't be a specific prerequisite. --124.184.89.119 (talk) 16:41, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

When I was at university a couple of years ago, the Milkround targeted people in degrees with a lot of maths (like Chemistry, Physics and obviously Maths). This was for investment banking. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 18:27, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

For what it's worth, there is one open position on Monster for an assistant bank manager and all that's required is a high school diploma (12 years of school). Tempshill (talk) 19:08, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

While you can generally parlay any degree into a job at a bank, some pretty high up, (I have known English majors to later become bankers) you would be best served to get a degree in some form of economics/finance/accounting field OR get a degree in magagement. You should definately consult a career/academic counselor of some sort, but I would think some combination of a money-related bachelors (economics/finance/accounting) with a managament masters degree (like an MBA) would give you the best options if banking is your desired field. --Jayron32 04:23, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Knowledge of Law, Statistics, Real Estate or Taxation couldn't hurt, if those are subjects to which you feel inclined. And given what's happened to banking, Marketing and Public Relations are also more relevant than they would have been earlier. But I have no personal knowledge of the banking business, so take that for whatever little it's worth, and pay more heed to those above who do know the business. —— Shakescene (talk) 06:52, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Public companies in porn

The only I know are Private Media Group and Jill Kelly Productions RIP. I don't count Playboy Enterprises (although they own Spice Network and ClubJenna). Are there more public companies in this field? 217.132.110.10 (talk) 20:47, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

What's your definition of a "porn company" if a sometimes-porn-producer like Playboy doesn't count? --Sean 21:16, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

A company that produce hardcore porn. 89.139.90.83 (talk) 11:45, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Try starting off with List of pornographic movie studios. I'd be surprised if it were an exhaustive list worldwide though. -- Alexandr Dmitri (Александр Дмитрий) (talk) 11:25, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

I think they're all private companies excluding the two I mentioned above. 89.139.90.83 (talk) 11:45, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Paydirt

Where did the term "hitting paydirt" originate? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.149.222.193 (talk) 23:15, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Mining [6] http://paydirt.com.au/ 83.100.250.79 (talk) 00:11, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

August 15

Turkish University Holidays

On what days do Turkish university students have holiday? - Vikramkr (talk) 02:32, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

I have no evidence that the dates are set nationally - in many countries, universities jealously guard their independence, and that may well extend to their academic calendar. Searching for Turkey + "academic calendar" gives this, including (in English) information from the Erasmus programme here. Oh, and the word "vacation" is probably more helpful than "holiday" in this context. Or better yet, "term time". BrainyBabe (talk) 17:50, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Crop circles and universities

Are crop circles found in greater density near universities? If so, is this more true at those specializing in the sciences or in the liberal arts? Have any been found near seminaries? NeonMerlin 04:00, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Well in the UK universities are in towns, and crop circles are found in fields, which are not in towns. Go figure, as they say. --TammyMoet (talk) 08:56, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but fields still vary in their distance from universities. There was a famous example of a crop circle near Cambridge a few years ago in the approximate shape of the Mandelbrot set. Cambridge University is particularly strong in mathematics, so make of that what you will (and die-hard believers certainly did). AndrewWTaylor (talk) 13:44, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Well, there you have it "a famous example near Cambridge". So what does that tell us. Not a great deal. To my knowledge the majority of crop circles were in southern England where cereal crops tend to be grown in comparatively more isolated places. I guess it depends where the lads fancy making their patterns and how sharp their sense of humour is when they plan them. 86.4.181.14 (talk) 14:18, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

The circle-makers I've met (disclaimer: I have never personally taken part in such activities) tend to be older than the usual age for university undergraduates, though I think most of them are graduates or of graduate calibre. Good sites for circle art are not as common as you might think, requiring appropriate crops, good overlooking viewpoints from which to see the finished art, accessibility for the makers, yet sufficient remoteness (from busy road and inhabited farm buildings) to avoid casual detection during the construction. Circle-makers will drive considerable distances to such sites. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 02:30, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Yahoo SiteBuilder

I've been using SiteBuilder to make a website, part of which includes Japanese characters. I can enter Japanese in certain areas, such as the Page Properties (which includes things like the page title and keywords) and the navigation bar editing window, but I when I type Japanese in a text window I get those annoying little boxes -- the Japanese shows up in the browser, though, just not in Site Builder. Yahoo clearly doesn't understand the issue; does anyone know if there's some way I can see what I'm doing when editing Japanese text in SiteBuilder? Exploding Boy (talk) 06:20, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like SiteBuilder does not support the Unicode characters. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 11:51, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Things to try: search around in preferences, as there may be a hidden setting to make it understand Unicode. Also make sure you have the latest versiion (2.6) Things that WILL WORK : All things Yahoo have (and often need) work-arounds. Text boxes in particular are very basic. The solution is to type your text in some other editor program that DOES understand Japanese characters, then copy and paste it into the SiteBuilder box. - KoolerStill (talk) 12:16, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

That's what I've been doing; it's an imperfect solution though, because the text turns into boxes when I paste it into a text window... Exploding Boy (talk) 15:43, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Song

I am trying to find any information on the song that I think is called O'brian is tryin' to learn to talk Hawiian, Chords especially, but any info would be appreciated. inclueding who wrote it, when, notable recordings etc —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 08:44, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Just search for "O'brien is tryin' to learn to talk Hawaiian" on Google. Here are a few links I found quickly: [7], [8], and [9]. :) Theleftorium 15:57, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

words by Al Dubin music by Rennie Cormack 1914; © 1918; sung by Ada Jones c.1917 Collected Works of Ada Jones Part 1, at archive.org. DOR (HK) (talk) 07:11, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Elderly Iraqi woman shows two bullets

I saw this picture on Facebook. How can they have "hit her house" when they're in that condition? Is this news item real or a parody? If it's real, then hasn't she ever seen a fired bullet before or what? JIP | Talk 12:15, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Haven't seen the bullets, but Iraqi houses are often built of sun dried mud and straw.86.197.43.177 (talk) 14:42, 15 August 2009 (UTC)DT

Lol. Acceptable (talk) 15:15, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Don't know. I'm guessing that the picture was posed and that the photographer suggested the two unfired cartridges as props, in order to have a picture that tells the story that the photographer was trying to tell. It's also possible that the caption was not written carefully—the woman was trying to say that two bullets from rounds like those she was holding hit her house. I'm inclined to think that the first possibility is what happened. --98.114.98.16 (talk) 17:26, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps she said "These are the two kinds of bullet that have hit my house." and in fact her house is riddled with holes from those two kinds. No way to know without a second source, really. APL (talk) 21:07, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

More likely she didn't still have the bullets but the unthinking photographer said "No problem, we've got bullets here. No one will tell the difference." APL (talk) 21:09, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Even though even I, never having fired a gun, or having seen a bullet in real life, was instantly able to tell the difference, thanks to studying how firearms work and seeing pictures of unfired and fired ammunition. =) JIP | Talk 21:14, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Technically, the caption says the bullets "hit" the house; there is no mention that they were fired from a rifle. Somebody might have thrown them at the house... Nimur (talk) 21:13, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Looks like a bad captioning to me. I have no experience with news photography, but in other realms of "publicly accessible" media I've been involved with, editors often rewrite things according to what they think will be most powerful, even if, in the end, it no longer makes any sense. It's like a game of Chinese whispers. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 01:03, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Maybe soldiers threw the bullets at her house. —D. Monack ^talk 09:16, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Parliment of World Religions

I wish to know more about the above, this was held in Cape Town about 10 years ago or so, and I beleive it is held every year. any info? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 13:04, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Parliament of the World's Religions has some info. Note the "a" in the middle of parliament, it might help with the searching if it wasn't just a typo above. - Jarry1250 ^{[ In the UK? Sign the petition! ]} 13:21, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Tetrapod - generic or specific?

Can the concrete structures inspired by the (original) tetrapod now be referred to as tetrapods themselves?

The article and sub-articles are a little confused on the matter. Given that the idea is seemingly covered by none of our many fine WikiProjects, I thought to ask here. I'm going to have a guess at "becoming generic" myself (biro-style) - but what would be great is some evidence of the usage so that the mess that those pages are in can be cleaned up successfully. Thanks - Jarry1250 ^{[ In the UK? Sign the petition! ]} 13:22, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

This isn't much of an answer (I'm in a rush), but if one Googles tetrapod +breakwater, one certainly finds a lot of cases, including published works (e.g., here), in which it's used as a common noun (uncapitalized). The Japan Times article at the first external link in Tetrapod (structure) says, "TETRAPOD is a registered trademark held by Fudo Tetra, but it is also a generic term used, written in lower-case letters, to refer to any of the concrete blocks that come in a variety of configurations, with three to eight legs"; but that trademark must apply only in Japan, since the company named doesn't seem to be the original developer of the things. (Oddly, I'm currently in the middle of reading Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, in which the narrator's father was into tetrapods.) Deor (talk) 18:31, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

two cents plain

Hello ! Please excuse my bad English. How can I translate in French the expression "two cents plain" for waters sold during the Great Depression ? Please, see Carbonated water. Thank you in advance. --Égoïté (talk) 15:52, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

I suggest you move this question to the Language Desk. BrainyBabe (talk) 17:52, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Good suggestion; go to Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language. The phrase refers to the price of unflavored seltzer water (2 cents) in New York during the Depression; adding chocolate or vanilla syrup would cost more.

Googling "For two cents plain" will also give you good answers, e.g. Urban Dictionary definition and Big Apple blog entry. In 1959, Harry Golden wrote a memoir of the time and place called For Two Cents Plain that is readily available in libraries and from on-line booksellers [ISBN 978-0-84881-015-3]; an explanatory excerpt from that book is in the Big Apple blog entry above. —— Shakescene (talk) 20:31, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for yours answers. --Égoïté (talk) 06:18, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

UN e-mail address

Please send me the e-mail address of the UN.

<personal information removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.184.89.23 (talk) 20:51, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

I took the liberty of removing your personal information, which we don't encourage being posted here, as it encourages spam at the very least. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 20:56, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

You can try to get in contact through their website, but it's unlikely that you are going to make a lot of difference in doing so. There isn't one "United Nations"—so if you are eager in getting their attention, expressing an opinion, and so forth, it is better that you get in touch with your national representative to the United Nations. For the United States, this is the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, who you can contact through this website. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 20:59, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

The trouble is that the UN is a huge organization - and like all organizations, there are different points of contact for different purposes. Why do you want to email the UN? If you answer this, you can help us narrow down which contacts are most appropriate for your purposes. Otherwise, chances are high that your email will be lost in a sea of generic form-letter responses and whatever you are trying communicate will not get to the people who you wanted to reach. For example, if you're looking for a job, the primary contacts can be found at United Nations Human Resources - and you will be funneled to the appropriate contact organization based on your interests, capabilities, and nation of origin. Nimur (talk) 21:34, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

What is the age that you can ride a street legal moped on the road

i am a teen looking to do some bikeing however there are some very large hills i can bike up and when i walk up them i am to tired to continue i wanted to know how old i have to be in pa to ride a moped —Preceding unsigned comment added by Moomonkey003 (talk • contribs) 23:50, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

You could ask the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which has this handy moped fact sheet. It includes a definition of "moped," so your vehicle must match this to be "street legal," I'd think. You must have a Class C driver's license for which the minimum age is 16. --- OtherDave (talk) 00:08, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

What jurisdiction are you in? (That is, what state, what country?) The laws will vary accordingly... (Also, walking up hills is good for you. Someday you'll be able to complain about it to your kids!) --98.217.14.211 (talk) 00:56, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Certainly we can't answer the question without knowing what country/state you live in. Anyway - you might also try googling for electric bicycle...Electric bicycle laws describes the rules they are restricted by. SteveBaker (talk) 00:00, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I took "how old I have to be in pa" to mean "in Pennsylvania." But I've been wrong before. --- OtherDave (talk) 00:55, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

August 16

Jonathan Ross

He has got to be one of the funniest human beings on the planet. What I was wondering though, is whether his way of speaking is a regional accent or specific to him. He pronounces all his r's and l's as w's and it just adds to his hilarity but is it just him? The article on him here says he's from London but he could have gotten it from his family background or maybe it has to do with the neighborhood he grew up in? I guess I'm bascially asking for some of the English in the know to comment.--68.160.248.210 (talk) 01:09, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

No (says this native Brit), in Ross's case it's not (just) a regional accent, though in less marked form it is a feature of some East-end Londoners' accents (see as a good written example the Viz cartoon character, "Cockney Wanker"). It's a not uncommon minor speech impediment (if you can call it that, and it has a specific name I've forgotten - anyone?), in which the speaker learned as a child to make the sound of "r" (and sometimes "l") not by using the tongue in conjunction with the hard palate, but instead by pressing the lower lip to the upper incisors - depending on one's exact physiognomy, this can also bring the upper lip into play, accentuating the "w-ness" in the sound. I myself exhibit it (only on "r") less markedly than Ross (you might not notice it in conversation with me unless I drew your attention to it, or ask me to "roll an r" in Scottish fashion, which I find physically impossible). Another prominent "sufferer" was the writer and humorist Frank Muir, who you should be able to find on sites like YouTube quite easily. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 02:16, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Rhotacism. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 04:23, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

That's the bunny. Ta vewwy much. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 22:49, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Aside from the speech impediment he is a commonly cited example of Estuary English meltBanana 00:41, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

If it is a regional thing, Elmer Fudd has a strange accent for a Brit. Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit! --Dweller (talk) 14:15, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

He is not at all funny, just a jerk. He gets paid several million pounds a year for a job that hundreds of thousands of other UK people could do just as well. I have to pay for his salary out of my compulsory tv licence fee - thats not funny at all. 78.146.232.198 (talk) 10:39, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Close on...

When people say "sth "close on" this day", for example "Nomination close on 30 June 2008", does that generally mean nominations must be sent not later than 29 June? Or 30 June? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.0.10.104 (talk) 06:05, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

I would say it means that nominations must be received by close of business on 30 June. If a nom arrives later than this, it would be disregarded. It's the sender's job to make sure they send it in sufficient time to get there by then. -- JackofOz (talk) 07:00, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Thank you. What if 30 June is Saturday or Sunday? And nominations come via email? Does it mean midnight? Or the Friday before that? 117.0.51.36 (talk) 11:38, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

It is unlikely that there is any law governing the meaning of the phrase. Therefore, the phrase is a rough description, and you will need to read the bylaws of the specific organization to determine the precise day and time that is the last possible acceptable entry. In some cases the bylaws will be ambiguous, and some entity within the organization (such as an elections comittee or a board of directors) will need to rule for each specific election. -Arch dude (talk) 12:06, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Thank you. It's certainly important to ask specific organizations. I wan wondering only about the general meaning people would get from such a phrase. 117.0.51.36 (talk) 12:43, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

When inviting tenders for a large government department, it was always my standard practice to stipulate the date and time beyond which no further tender documents would be accepted - not even by one minute. And I stuck to that rigorously, often to the real annoyance of a courier. And I would issue the return envelope to bidders who had previously indicated their wish to be invited to submit a tender - and that envelope was marked by me or my staff with a code that would identify the package as a tender intended for delivery by that date and time. If the envelope was not sufficiently large, I would permit it to be used as a label on a larger envelope/parcel on the strict understanding that if that supplier supplied larger envelope bore any marks that externally identified the sender, it would peremptorily be rejected - unopened - but only after the closing time for receipt of tenders, thus denying a second opportunity to submit a correctly submitted tender. And I would expect similar levels of control to apply to any formal application or nominational procedure. Think Caesar's wife.92.23.193.35 (talk) 18:16, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Car model variations

Why do some car companies change the design of their models for each country? For example the American Volkswagen Golf looks different to the European version. Why? Chevymontecarlo (talk) 09:20, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

There may be some local laws to be obeyed (e.g. the fender law in the US in the 70s). Otherwise it's probably just the martketing folks. --Phil Holmes (talk) 09:54, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

But one has to presume that the "marketing folks" have their reasons. 93.97.184.230 (talk) 12:36, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

i presume they presume so. But the ones I've met generally can't explain them too well :-) --Phil Holmes (talk) 20:54, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

If the chaps off Top Gear are to be believed, the roads make a difference. Lots of narrow, winding roads in Europe...not so many in America. So, smaller cars for Europe. Or something. Vimescarrot (talk) 18:12, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Probably they are responding to different expectations of the market. North Americans are infamously influenced by the number of cupholders when buying a car, as various European manufacturers anecdotally found to their surprise. North Americans also expect automatic transmission as standard, and expect the engines of their cars to be generally more powerful than their European counterparts. Air conditioning is also more likely to be standard rather than a luxury option. DJ Clayworth (talk) 14:02, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

The profit on selling OEM-approved spare parts is more than on a new car, an apparently fresh new car model is more attractive to buyers than a model that is known to have been sold for some time in a foreign country, and private imports of foreign equivalent cars may erode the local markets. Those are 3 reasons for a national subsidiary of a car company to differentiate the cars it sells. The changes may be no more than cosmetic such as a name on a badge. This also helps keep customers unaware of whether the car is imported whole, imported and assembled locally or manufactured locally. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:53, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

A classic case of a car model that should have been revised was when Chevrolet marketed their "Nova" model in Latin America. "Nova" in Spanish says "Doesn't go!". Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:53, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

This is a popular myth that is better as a cute story than as an object lesson. See Snopes. Worth noting is that the Mexican state oil company Pemex sold gasoline under the 'Nova' name until the use of leaded fuel was abandoned. An automobile name that only works if it isn't translated for the English-language market might be Citroën: who wants to buy a Lemon? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 16:55, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Citroën is the name of a company, not a brand - we don't see Volkswagen calling themselves The People's Car in English speaking counties. Oh and the French for lemon is "citron". -- Александр Дмитрий (Alexandr Dmitri) (talk) 11:06, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

The source of Citroën's founder's name is a seller of lemons. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 17:45, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks to everyone who put forward some answers to my question. It's been something that I've wondered about for ages. Chevymontecarlo (talk) 16:35, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

George Lorin Miller first house destroyed by fires

My great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson O'Daniels worked for Dr. Miller. The first fire took the lives of my great grandmother and an uncle. Mr. O'Daniels continued working for Dr. Miller. The second fire claimed the lives of the second Mrs. O'Daniels and 5 of their children. The second fire was August 9, 1906. I am searching for the obituaries of the family members killed in the first fire. References: The Omaha Daily Bee, The Evening World Herald. Thank You, Hope I can get some help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.252.28.52 (talk) 12:13, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Have you looked at the resources on Ancestry.com? There seems to be quite a few references to this name, having just done a quick search. --TammyMoet (talk) 18:11, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Do you have the names of the people whose obituaries you're trying to locate? Without that, we have to search for the two names you mentioned, and work tangentially from there to locate obituaries for names that we don't know - a daunting task. Some things to consider during your search: The Omaha Bee was merged with the Omaha Daily Herald, which was sold to the Omaha World-Herald. The Evening World Herald also ended up belonging to Omaha World-Herald. This page lets you search Omaha World-Herald obituaries by name, although I'm not sure how far back their records go. Searching for "Thomas O'Daniels" returned no hits, but perhaps he moved out of Omaha before he died. Try entering the names of his wives and see if their records are there. If not, then you may consider contacting the Omaha World-Herald to ask if they can put you in touch with local historians who may have copies of newspapers from that period. According to our article George L. Miller, the location of the building consumed in the first fire was at what is now 75th and Oakwood Streets in Ralston, a West Omaha suburb. If you learn what the street names were then, you may be able to search for records based on that information. 152.16.16.75 (talk) 23:58, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

hamburger

why are hamburgers often labeled as fast food items? i don't see a single unhealthy constituent in the making of that so called "fast food". pizzas and french fries and chips, they all have been found to contain high amounts of salt and fat, but what about hamburgers?

note: there's also a side question. once i was watching a documentary on chinese fast food, and the host presented some "wanton" noodles or somethings like that, describing them as "healthy" fast food. is it true? is chinese fast food, consisting of mainly egg rolls and noodles, healthy?

It's all down to how they are made. Burgers often use very low quality meat because it is concealed with other stuff (onion, spices, the bun, mustard and so on), kind of like why sausages are so unhealthy. In theory you can easily make your own burgers at home with good meat and they are perfectly healthy. The other issue is that they are friend, which automatically adds a lot of fat. As for Chinese food, same thing. Noodles are in theory a very simple and healthy food, but lots of Chinese fast food adds huge amounts of salt and MSG to save money on meat and other ingredients. Prokhorovka (talk) 13:12, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Fried burgers? Who fries burgers -- aren't they usually grilled? DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 03:43, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Presumably the definite answer is that a hamburger (from eg from McDonalds or Hungry Jack's) is servered very quickly (compared to a traditional "sit-down" restaurant). Hence "fast food". Mitch Ames (talk) 13:51, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Of course if you make them yourself at home - as I occasionally do - it's not so fast, but does taste much better! Mitch Ames (talk) 13:52, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Consider also how many calories are in a "typical" hamburger these days that one buys from a fast-food joint. The Carls Jr. menu is particularly fatty and high in calories -- you can easily get 800-900 calories from their burgers alone (plus heaps of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol), without even counting what you get from their sodas, fries (small fries = 320 calories, medium soda = ~400 calories), etc. One of their burgers rate as high as 1040 calories, which is madness for one component of one meal. (Amazingly, one of their salads rank about as high too—salad is not usually a "fast-food", but if you smother it in chili and cheese...) Like all things, you could make a "healthy" version of this sort of thing... but that's not what people are ordering or eating. You can easily top out at over 2000 calories for lunch at a place like this. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 15:04, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

As Mitch Ames has hinted at, you should perhaps read fast food. "Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away". Note it doesn't say anything about 'unhealthy' Nil Einne (talk) 16:02, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

If you look at the McDonalds nutrional information ([10]) you'll see that one of their regular hamburgers has 16% of your daily allowance of saturated fat and 22% for sodium (salt). A quarter pounder is even more and a double quarter pounder with cheese is 95% for saturated fat and 57% for sodium, that's enormously unhealthy. If we then add some medium fries (13% and 11% respectively) and a medium coke (no fat but 1% for sodium), that single meal gives you 108% of your daily allowance of saturated fat and 69% of sodium. That's for one meal, you probably eat 3 meals a day. You might be able to keep your salt intake very low in the other 2 (and any snakes) and keep your sodium below the limit (but that will be a challenge - even a slice of bread contains a considerable amount of salt!) but there is no way you have a negative amount of saturated fat! And then, if we look at calories that mean contains 740+380+210=1330kcal. A reasonably active man should eat about 2000kcal a day and you've had about 2/3 of that in one meal. With 2 more meals and probably a snack or two, you're very likely to go over your calorie limit. So, in this hypothetical day you've had way too much saturated fat, probably too much salt and probably too many calories - not a healthy diet by any means! (Other sources of burgers and other choices from the menu will obviously have different values, but I think a double quarter pounder with cheese, medium fries and a medium coke is a pretty typical order from McDonalds.) --Tango (talk) 16:47, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

"Fast food" has somehow become a synonym for "junk food", but its being "fast" continues to be a major reason for its popularity. McDonald's originally bragged about what they called their "Speedee Service System". You can pull up to the window, place the order, and have it in your hands in less time than it takes to just walk in and sit down at a regular restaurant. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 17:27, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

I think the confusion here is the false assumption that "fast food" is necessarily unhealthy. "Fast Food" refers to it's preparation. McDonalds' factory-line preparation and under 60second food-prep times is what makes the food "fast food". That applies even if you're ordering a salad.

If you're at a nice sit-down restaurant and they happen to have a burger on the menu, the burger would not be "fast food" because it would, presumably, be individually prepared by a chef in the traditional manner. Same goes for hamburgers you cook yourself on the grill. APL (talk) 17:42, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

From what I've heard about McDonalds' salads, the unhealthy classification applies even when you're ordering a salad! --Tango (talk) 19:06, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

One could, presumably, create hamburgers which meet the Slow Food designation. Gwinva (talk) 22:22, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

There is no "presumably" amount it - plenty of regular restaurants serve hamburgers. --Tango (talk) 02:29, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

A 'fast food' joint is geared to just that: getting food to you ASAP. Naturally some corners will be cut in the pursuit of immediacy. Then you have a chain like Fatburger, where everything is cooked to order. The cost is higher but they seem to turn a tidy profit. Vranak (talk) 16:23, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

It should be noted that cheese is very high in saturated fat, which is part of the reason cheeseburgers are so bad for you, and burgers often contain things like mayonnaise, which can also be very high in fat. A burger alone may contribute 16% of your saturated fat requirement, which is actually not bad for a main meal, but if you add the cheese, plus fries, you're eating a lot of fat.

Why did Kazakhstan join UEFA?

And why did UEFA accept them? Bonus points; is there anywhere on WP that discusses how FIFA chooses to recognise regions as footballing nations? Cheers,  Skomorokh  13:09, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Because, historically, Kazakhstan was a constituent state of the Soviet Union which was a member of UEFA and part of the European cultural sphere, even if it is physically part of Asia. UEFA and FIFA are not bound by strict physical definitions of continental borders, and it is likely Kazakhstan chose to make the jump from AFC to UEFA because of the historical connection to European states rather than other AFC member states. --Jayron32 00:46, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

A more interesting question is why Israel (whom many Muslim countries won't recognize) is in UEFA. Looking at the map at UEFA, you can see that apart from Israel (and the islands of Iceland, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta), there is a continuous UEFA territory including not only Russia and Kazakhstan but the Transcaucasian former Soviet Republics of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has long since spread out far beyond the Atlantic. —— Shakescene (talk) 07:56, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Another interesting answer from the mercurial Jayron :) I find it odd that Muslim, autocratic, underdeveloped Kazakhstan would identify with the Europeans or choose to join a region that is much more competitive. Thanks to you both for your insight,  Skomorokh  16:09, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Bored on Sunday?

I found online on a site giving on-line orders to freelancers an order to crack the following code.

061050059043057054083085001082086005085083084086089010103097093095091095067067074069069 068123125025021022030027015017075141139230246244228178178190132128179191163188188190164 163189165165166154146168170172173173169146170147146147157149158150155155153152157156156

This may contain text and/or numbers. I took a jab at it but to no avail. It isn't simple ASCII or anything the like as far as I was able to determine. It's supposed to be a single line with no CRs. 261 numbers. If anyone finds the solution and would share it, I'd be happy. I'm not gonna get anything for it, apart from satisfaction if I manage to crack it. Anyone interested? Cheers, Ouro (blah blah) 13:13, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Didn't someone ask this same question some time ago? Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 13:20, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

No idea. Wasn't me, though. I skimmed through the archives just now but couldn't see any related entry. Are you positive it was the same code? --Ouro (blah blah) 13:28, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

First thing I notice is disproportionately many 0's in the first half and then disproportionately few in the second half. Therefore, I would start by studying the 0's. --Tango (talk) 16:27, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

I think 3 digits represents a number: 61,50,59......,157,156,156. 89.139.122.23 (talk) 16:33, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

That is my suppossition as well - that the code is actually 87 chunks, 3 digits each. --Ouro (blah blah) 16:37, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I agree. That explains the disproportionate number of 0's - the numbers range for 1 to 246. If you graph the numbers you get something interesting that I can't interpret. At first they are mostly between 50 and 100 and then the second half are mostly between 150 and 200. --Tango (talk) 17:10, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

I guess every 3 digit number represents a byte (= 8 binary digits = 0 to 255 in decimal). I think it's something with the binary level. 89.139.122.23 (talk) 17:25, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

I guess that too, but I can't work it out. In ASCII all the basic characters are between 0 and 127. --Tango (talk) 17:33, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Where is the site you found this on? APL (talk) 17:35, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

The link is here [11] if it helps. Know any Polish? --Ouro (blah blah) 17:54, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Is the encrypted message in Polish? Knowing what language the plaintext is written in is extremely important for decrypting it. --Tango (talk) 02:28, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Not necessarily, Tango. Maybe, but I don't really know. --Ouro (blah blah) 04:58, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I speak polish fairly well, not well enough to break a code, but well enough to hold a conversation without a native Polish speaker catching on, for a little while anyway. There is nothing in the description to suggest what language the code is in. So, there's probably a good chance it is in polish. In which case good luck! lol. It is pretty sparse on clues all round. All it says is ignore the line breaks, treat as one continuous string. I don't really understand the next line, he seems to say "in the text is coded 10231607 or allegro4 and other information, you have to find the method to extract that and other hidden information." No idea what he means by the 1st bit, maybe that there might be strings of numbers and or words with numbers in them. This alone seems to me like it would make the code fairly hard to break... Vespine (talk) 06:38, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Insect problems in countries

I'm considering emigrating after my studies (for various reasons), but am concerned about possible issues with insect in other places. When I say "problem", I mean that I have a morbid fear of insects (especially larger ones), and find the situation in my part of the world (South-west England) bad enough (one of the reasons I wish to leave!).

I have been unable to find any resources detailing the extent of such pest problems in other parts of the world (or rather, nothing suitable). May anyone be able to direct me to some? Failing that, how do the following places fare for size and quantity of insects in urban areas?

1. Northern USA.
2. The Netherlands.
3. Germany.
4. Scandinavia.

Thanks!--Leon (talk) 19:07, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Oh, and perhaps by "insect" I mean "invertebrate pest", thus including spiders, etc.--Leon (talk) 19:09, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

In Boston there are not very many insects. It is cold much of the year the bugs don't come out for that. In the summer you get, at worst, some crane flies, cicadas, and maybe house centipedes. Wasps, honeybees, and bumblebees are not uncommon. I would consider the insect load to be pretty low, even with the above named. I see bumblebees probably more than anything else, clustering around flowers, and only in the summer. (And they mind their own business, as usual.) House centipedes show up in the basement occasionally, and they are pretty freaky, as far as bugs in the house go. Maybe a few spiders here and there but not many. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 19:24, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

I don't know about actually in Boston, Mass., but when I visited Massachusetts a couple of years ago I got very thoroughly bitten by a wide variety of flying beasties, and a strange itchy red mark on my ankle from something which I never saw. DuncanHill (talk) 20:10, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Well, there are mosquitos, too, I guess. And there are, I now remember, some very odd nasty beetles that fly around light sources at night. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 20:46, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

In Norway & Sweden, like Boston, you get a long period with no active bugs, but there can be plenty of biting flies in the summer, mosquitos, midges and clegs, although not many in urban areas. I've been working in Stavanger in Norway on and off for the last five years and I've hardly noticed any flies at all, possibly due to the wind and proximity to the sea. Mikenorton (talk) 22:27, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm afraid that arthropods are everywhere, except maybe in Antarctica. I've lived in Germany and several different parts of the United States. I've lived in Boston and other parts of Massachusetts (as well as Illinois and northern California). Every place I've lived has had bugs of various kinds. Outside my living room window (in Massachusetts) is an enormous spider, close to 2 inches (5 cm) in length. I don't think that Massachusetts is particularly rich in spiders or other crawly creatures, but we have our share. I'm guessing the farther north you go, the less time bugs have to grow big (because summer is so short), so you might think about northern Scandinavia. Marco polo (talk) 02:12, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Nope, arthropods exist EVEN in antarctica. In fact, the largest terrestrial species endemic to the continent is Belgica antarctica, a flightless midge. --Jayron32 02:41, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Concur, I've never seen so many flies as I experienced doing fieldwork in West Greenland. We used flynets over our heads on the worst days, one particularly strong image is combing my hair after a bad fly day and seeing a line of wriggling bodies caught between the teeth of the comb afterwards. Mikenorton (talk) 11:31, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm aware they're found in all places, but I'm hoping for a place considerably better in this regard to the UK, in terms of size and quantity of the things. For the record, I live in South-West England.--Leon (talk) 08:05, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Leon, if part of your reason for leaving SW England is to distance yourself from the bugs then maybe all you will do is intensify your dislike, fear, ?phobia or whatever. For what it is worth I think you would help your situation immeasurably if you were to consider some sort of cognitive therapy to overcome the discomfort. The best way to increase the power of a fear or phobia is to get away from the stimulus. Facing up to the problem, in a controlled (and assisted) way would give you a degree of happiness, satisfaction and confidence you could not at present imagine. You are fearing fear, you need to face down that fear and laugh at the bugs. 86.4.181.14 (talk) 09:56, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I agree that you are unlikely to find a place free of bugs or even noticeably freer than SW England that also offers gainful employment. I don't think that leaving your region will solve this problem for you. Marco polo (talk) 13:20, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I live on the northern edge of SW England (Bristol) and regard the area as essentially bug free. I might see a largish (one inch across legs) spider in our house about every three months. I've never seen a cockroach in my entire life. Beetles are rare and never in the house. There might be a few houseflies in the house on the warmest days. I'll see a few dozen wasps and bees in a whole summer. So I'm quite puzzled what bugs the OP is seeing and doubt he will find a more bug free area anywhere. - Adrian Pingstone (talk) 12:04, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

The OP (me) lives in Bath and sees a (in)decent number of spiders, wasps and flies. Also creatures resembling stick insects, which frequently keep me up a night, as do spiders and crane flies (I'll add I don't see too many crane flies around here). I see beetles in green spaces and those bother me a fair bit. And also in open (to the outside world) corridors, such as to the entrance to my building, which has on occasion deterred me from going out (though I do make the effort to go out nonetheless).--Leon (talk) 12:18, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Lost this question about intelligence

I know it wasn't very intelligent of me not to bookmark it right away. It was about a week ago. The question was about people of lower intelligence being more inclined to be confident that they do know something, than people of higher intelligence. Someone gave a link to an article, but I can't recall the title. Thanks in advance, whoever remembers it. - KoolerStill (talk) 19:30, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Was it Unskilled and Unaware of It? 94.168.184.16 (talk) 19:41, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, 94. That is an article that was extensively quoted in the WP article I was thinking of. (too extensively, if it wasn't credited). This will do me fine for my original purpose, now I'll have to find the WP one to see it it needs fixing. -KoolerStill (talk) 20:34, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Dunning–Kruger effect.83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:29, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

That's the one! who'd ever guess that? Thanks, 83.- KoolerStill (talk) 05:16, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Overconfident and underconfident. Guess which type typically ends up in leadership roles? Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 14:08, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

G. Bush was a long time ago - seriously someone would notice before an overconfident idiot got their hands on the nuke button, and command of the US army. Right???83.100.250.79 (talk) 16:46, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Sure they would. Hey, I've got a slightly used bridge to sell you. Some assembly required. :) Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 20:12, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Just because Bush was a terrible public speaker does not mean he was an idiot. He has an MBA from an ivy league school, and they don't just give those out in crackerjack boxes. Googlemeister (talk) 20:41, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

My understanding is that the hardest part about Harvard Business (like Harvard itself) is getting in. Once you are in, it is not hard to pass through, if you don't care about having the top grade in the class (which is hard). Getting Cs is pretty easy and comes at no real cost in terms of getting the degree. I don't say this to imply that is necessarily what Bush did (though I do recall reading that that pretty much is what he did), but an MBA is not the same thing as, say, a PhD, where you actually have to produce significant new research to get the degree (thus implying a somewhat higher level of commitment). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 23:17, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Hey, let's not be bashing Cracker Jack. Bus stop (talk) 20:51, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I can think of any number of national leaders that were much more confident than they had a right to be. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 21:14, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps people with subtle intelligence are inclined to watch, wait, and listen rather than act. When you misstep, you get burned. When you observe, there's scant risk of anything untoward occurring. Vranak (talk) 16:19, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

As a periodontal resident, I can attest to 98's assertion that it is most probably true for most, if not the vast majority, of programs that the most difficult part is the "getting in" -- because post-doc is a lot about "getting out what you put it," many professors are not pushy and, even if they don't care for a student's relative lack of effort and/or determination, that's the way it works. It certainly worked that way in college, dental school and now my post-doc program. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 01:32, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Number sequence question

You know the famous number sequence that starts out as 1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221, 312211 and so on? The idea is to form item n+1 by reading the sequences of repeating digits in item n and concatenating them, as in "one", "one one", "two ones", "one two and one one" and so on. Well, I have figured that digits above 3 can never appear in the sequence. Proof: Assume, by counterassumption, that item n contains a digit 4. This means item n-1 contains four consecutive same digits. This, however, also means that item n-2 contains something like "a ns, b ns", in other words, a sequence of consecutive same digits that has somehow artificially been broken down to two sequences, which can never happen, because the way of forming the sequences is greedy. Is this correct? JIP | Talk 19:16, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes, that is correct. We have an article on the sequence: Look-and-say sequence. --Tango (talk) 21:03, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

This might get better responses on the Math desk. It is possible to obtain larger numbers, if you seed the initial sequence, to generate other numbers. If you intend to start from the seed sequence, "1", then as JIP has mentioned, there are certain known constraints. I think the sequence eventually converges to members of a known set of possible cyclic results, for many types of seeds. Nimur (talk) 21:28, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Cost of rail travel in Italia

This seems like a silly question to ask for help with, but Google is letting me down right now. Here goes:

I'm filling out paperwork in which I'm supposed to "estimate" some future travel costs. I'm going to Italy, and to save on airfare, I'm flying into Florence and out of Venice, although the event I'm attending is in Trieste. I plan to connect by train, which I'm told is very easy to do.

Now... what would it cost, to simply take a train from Florence to Trieste, and another one from there to Venice? I don't need exact numbers, and my actual route will involve some personal wanderings. Thus I just need a ballpark estimate, which will not be reflected on any particular receipt.

I looked at some websites, but all I found were ads for Eurail passes, which seem to cost much more $$ than I'm looking to spend. Can someone point me to a good resource, please? If it's in Italian... well, the numbers won't be in Roman numerals, just in Euros. :) -GTBacchus^(talk) 21:45, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

www.italiarail.co.uk is in English and allows you to search for fares for specific journeys. I tried to get some fares for you, but "this website is experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again later". DuncanHill (talk) 22:02, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

www.italiarail.com is in American, and again you should be able to get fares for specific journeys. DuncanHill (talk) 22:06, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

try raileurope.co.uk eg florence to trieste (one way) £40-£50 takes under 5hrs, often change at venice.83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:11, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

similar price/time for trieste to florence.83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:14, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

trieste to venice 2-3hr, £15-£17.83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:17, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

1£ ~= 1euro nowadays.83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:19, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

No. £1 = 1.16 Euros. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.50.118.230 (talk) 14:09, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Better still try the italian passenger rail company (english) http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html - if you get a slow train - you pay less than above..83.100.250.79 (talk) 22:23, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

That's awesome. Thank you very much! -GTBacchus^(talk) 22:26, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

The usual URL to use is http://www.trenitalia.it/ (Trenitalia is the marketing name of the railways), which redirects to www.ferroviedellostato.it (State Railways - their old title). Cost will vary depending on the class of train used. For a single journey Firenze SMN - Trieste a week tomorrow, the fares offered are 2nd class €49.90, 1st class €75.10 on Eurostar and Eurostar City (the fastest trains) and 2nd class €43.20, 1st class €65.55 on the Eurostar and Regionali combination (in both cases you have to change trains at Venezia - Mestre). Trieste to Venezia one way will be either €9.20 2nd class, €14.45 1st class, or €11.80 2nd class, €18.45 1st class - curiously, the cheaper selections appear to be faster journeys (2 hours instead of 3). Don't forget there are two main stations in Venice, Mestre in the suburbs, and Santa Lucia at the end of the causeway, on the lagoon. -- Arwel Parry (talk) 22:42, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Also have a look at this excellent website which has a wealth of useful information on travelling by train all over the world. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 22:52, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

A question about my car

My car (Fiat Uno 45) Was first registered In 04.12 1987 , ok the question is it says in my car book, that the model is 1988 while it was first registered in 1987, I was was wondering since it was first registered in 1987 , Why isn't it's model year 1987 ? (p.s im from iceland) 85.220.97.100 (talk) 23:22, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

In the US, the 2010 models are out now. Car models are usually released to the public about 6 months before the model year of the car. Probably works the same in Europe. Dismas|^(talk) 23:34, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah - that was true in the UK too back in the 1980's. I believe the rules have changed now though. In the US, the model year starts three or four months before the actual year - so it's VERY common for a car to be registered in the year preceding it's model year. SteveBaker (talk) 23:42, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks very much, for the info/answer :D , Another tiny question, Since it was first registered in '87 , Wouldn't it be manufactured that year (1987)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.220.97.100 (talk) 00:21, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

There can be a delay between manufacture finishing and registration, particularly for imported vehicles, but a delay of over 11 months sounds unlikely. --Tango (talk) 02:25, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah - the car must have been manufactured earlier than the registration date (duh!) - so the car was built in '87. If it had been built in '86 and just sat on the showroom floor for however many months, it would have been an '86 or '87 model year. SteveBaker (talk) 01:32, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

August 17

Punkah fan

Where can I find woodworking plans to build a punkah fan? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Terrellschafer (talk • contribs) 00:28, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

horror movie

can anyone tell me some of the best horror movies?

The reference desk does not answer requests for opinions. You'd be much better off googling that question. Vespine (talk) 05:22, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

My favorite horror movies of all time are Fahrenheit 9/11 and Recount. DOR (HK) (talk) 07:23, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

The top five horror movies of all time based on voting at the IMDB are Psycho, Alien, The Shining, Aliens, and Les Diaboliques. The full top 50 (and the 10 worst!) can be found here. -Elmer Clark (talk) 09:12, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Are you talking about the "so-bad-it's-horrible" horror movie?--WaltCip (talk) 19:22, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I consider that IMDB list to be very weak, as far as "best horror movies" go. What is meant by "best" anyway? Most commercially successful? I don't think that's a very good way to rank horror movies because they are on the fringes of mainstream. Best story? Scariest effects? Creepiest plot? Makes you have nightmares? These are all subjective measures. The IMDB list is made of "horror movies" pulled from a ranting system in which all movies are voted on by "film buffs". I think the "old classics" are way over represented in this list, there are 8 movies from the 20s and eight from the 30s and 14 from the 60s. Were horror movies better back then? Maybe if you were old enough to enjoy them but for the vast majority of people born after then those movies are dated and irrelevant. Many of what are cosidered seminal horror movies from later generations are not represented; Hellraiser, Jacob's Ladder and Ringu being a few that spring immediately to mind. Nice however to see "Let the Right One In" there, as well as some of the other foreign films. I think this list would look very different if horror movie buffs of today were asked to rate their fav horror movies. Hence why I think questions like this should avoid being asked on the ref desk. Vespine (talk) 06:03, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I can think of two horror flicks that I have ample respect for: Aliens, and Dawn of the Dead. Vranak (talk) 16:13, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

blank discs

why do blank blue ray discs cost so much more than dvd-rw discs which cost more than dvd-r? they all look the same to me! especially dvd-rw and dvd-r. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.202.43.54 (talk) 04:15, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Costlier technology? More required precision? The willingness of the industry to squeeze money out of early adopters? --Ouro (blah blah) 05:37, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

As with the other recordables, unit cost will come down as demand drives supply up. That was true of recordable CD's, recordable videotapes, and even recordable audiotapes. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 07:19, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

As production costs are usually pretty low, it is likely the very high Research and Development costs that need to be recouped (though machinery will cost a fair bit). ny156uk (talk) 16:21, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Also, to address what I feel is a key point in the original poster's question, even though they look the same, they really aren't. At a glance, you can't tell a CD from a Blu-Ray disc, but even though they both look like shiny discs, they have vast structural differences. It's a little like asking why a brown paper bag containing nuggets of gold costs more than a brown paper bag containing nuggets of lead, and the answer is simply that the price isn't based on what the product looks like on the surface; it's what's inside it that counts. Without going too much into the technical details, the information on an optical disc is stored as tiny, tiny indentations, known as pits, on the surface. On a CD, these pits are really small; on a Blu-Ray disc, they are -- to use a technical term -- hella small. That level of precision requires newer and more expensive technology not only in the reading and writing of the disc, but also in its manufacture to begin with. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 07:51, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Taking his question at face value, that's a fair answer. It's just not the whole story. The price will come down over time, as unit sales increase and as research costs are recouped. Think of the typical pre-recorded CD, which costs the same or often less in sticker price than it did when introduced about 25 years ago, which means that its real price, adjusting for inflation, is way much lower. Such is the case with pre-recorded DVD's, and will be for Blu-Rays eventually. Likewise with recordable media of various kinds. Pre-recorded VHS tapes used to cost close to 100 dollars and had a limited market. E.T. introduced the 19.95 price (later mimicked by DVD's) and the bottom dropped out of that market, as demand increased exponentially. Again, likewise with Blu-Ray. As more people buy, prices will drop. And as with the demise of pre-recorded VHS tapes, once a movie comes out only on Blu-Ray, you'll know the end is near for pre-recorded DVD's. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 07:58, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Driving a car that has not been driven for a while

When I left for vacation, there was a half-tank full of gas in my car. The car has not been driven for 6 weeks. Is it safe to drive it again without performing any safety checks or something? Acceptable (talk) 04:57, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

How old is the car? If it is not very old (10+ years old) I would say six weeks wasn't a long time at all to leave a car. If you had said six months, or a year on the other hand.. Just to be safe it's easy to check the tyres, radiator fluid and engine oil, and test the breaks before you go at any decent speed. I'm not an expert, maybe a mechanic can confirm, but I'm pretty sure six weeks is not long at all for a car. Vespine (talk) 05:11, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Hopefully the OPs car doesn't have any breaks. One should certainly test the brakes. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 14:14, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

The car is 5 years old. Acceptable (talk) 05:46, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Then that proves it doesn't have breaks. "Breaks" is what they called them until about 1880-1900. --Anon, 20:29 UTC, August 17, 2009.

Start her up, see how she's running and like Vespine says taking it easy till you're sure nothing's wrong. You could check the oil and tyre pressure (a good idea at any time to be fair) but can't see 6 weeks being long. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 08:15, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Your main issue may be that your battery has lost power, particularly if it has had to run any alarm/security systems during your absence. After a two-week trip without our car, I found that our car's battery was dead, but all it needed was a jump start, and it was fine. Marco polo (talk) 13:15, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Probably the only thing that should definitely be checked is the tyres (spare also).86.197.144.53 (talk) 14:00, 17 August 2009 (UTC)DT

And you may find that the brakes squeal a bit as you drive off due to a film of rust on the discs. Just keep depressing the footbrake whilst in motion to get rid of it. You may also find that your handbrake/parking brake has stuck in the "on" position. That too can usually be freed by driving away slowly whilst pulling/pressing the operating lever intermittently/ And don't forget to check the windscreen washer fluid in case it was low when you went away. 92.23.193.35 (talk) 14:17, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the responses. What about gas vapours? Could the gasoline that was in my tank have evaporated and cause some sort of havoc? Acceptable (talk) 14:33, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Extremely unlikely. It's possible that you've got a hole in your gas tank (which would allow said evaporation and badness), but that's completely unrelated to letting the car sit for a month. The tank itself is a closed system, and 6 weeks is far too short a time to be concerned with the gas deteriorating. — Lomn 14:40, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

So I gave it a try; the car starts properly, but as I go to drive it, the back wheel will not spin. The car refuses to go forwards and backwards. The parking brake was applied when I left for vacation, could it have somehow rusted? But even then, before when it was working properly, the car can drive even with the parking brake on. Acceptable (talk) 16:47, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Did you take it out of neutral? Sorry, I have to ask. Googlemeister (talk) 17:58, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Back to my seized brake response earlier - please permit a potentially stupid question - is the car in gear? If it is, and still won't move, is the car driven by the rear wheels or the front - or is it maybe a 4 wheel drive? And in any event, I still suspect your parking brake has seized on and the car needs to be FORCED to move when I would expect the brake/s to release. Try rocking it back and forth under power. If still no movement, I think you are looking at calling in a repair service.92.23.193.35 (talk) 18:01, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

The car is in gear. Yeah, the parking brake is probably seized. Acceptable (talk) 20:04, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah - that's a pretty common result. As '92 said - release the brake lever and rock the car gently back and forth...it'll probably release pretty quickly. In general - don't leave the parking brake on when you plan to leave the car for a long time - and try to park it on level ground. SteveBaker (talk) 01:27, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Another cause for one rear wheel freezing is the parking brake cables rusting into their guides. (Keep in mind that in the driving brake system, pedal force is transferred to the brake system by hydraulics, whilst in the parking brake system the force is usually transferred by good old-fashioned steel cables.)

Thus, even though you release the parking brake lever, the cable only releases as far back as a bad guide, and the rust is keeping the tension on the line back to the brakes themselves.

This is a somewhat more difficult problem to address; if its at all possible to get under the car and trace the cable, you can much more easily rule this in or out. Good luck! --DaHorsesMouth (talk) 23:28, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

That's a possibility - but the car was only parked for 6 weeks - if the parking brake was working OK before, then it's unlikely that the cable suddenly corroded to that degree. However, if the weight of the car leans onto the brake shoes for 6 weeks, the things can get wedged against the drum, and they do unstick fairly easily. SteveBaker (talk) 00:27, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

blogs

Hello wikipedians I'm thinking of starting a new blog but I'm wondering if there's such a thing as a blog that enables me to share the URLs with friends yet can be kept safe from googlestalkers even if the blog contains specific names. Side question, if there are, are they any good? Thank you. --142.132.6.29 (talk) 15:05, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Using the MediaWiki software, it is possible to set up a "private wiki" with restricted viewing: mw:Manual:Preventing_access#Simple_private_wiki. Provided only your friends have accounts, your blog would be invisible to search engines. Erik9 (talk) 15:14, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

What is the cost, requirements or procedures needed to start a personal wiki? --142.132.6.29 (talk) 15:56, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Trust me, do NOT set up a private Wiki to use as a blog. There are a million better and easier ways to blog out there. Check out Wordpress.com, Blogspot.com, and sites like that. Free blogs, specialized software, already set up for you, can be made private very easily. Using a Mediawiki to blog is like... I don't know, trying to do something relatively simple and using an enormous and complicated tool to do so. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 19:14, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

See http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-noindex-behavior/ and http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35303

For more detailed info. please ask on the computing desk.83.100.250.79 (talk) 15:17, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

That approach will work so long as your "googlestalkers" restrict themselves to Google, but should they switch to Yahoo!, which doesn't fully respect the NOINDEX meta tag, you're out of luck... The only effective method of preventing indexing by any search engine is password-restricted viewing. Erik9 (talk) 15:25, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Please forgive my internet cluelessness, but how do I do such a thing? --142.132.6.29 (talk) 15:56, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Seriously - ask on the computer desk - it's a computer question, you'll get a full how to there if you need it.83.100.250.79 (talk) 16:44, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Social networking sites often allow you to publish notes which can be restricted as to who can view them. Would that do what you want? DJ Clayworth (talk) 16:10, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

sites.google.com, ironically, can be kept private from "googlestalkers" with a checkbox. You specifically send invites to the list of people who you want to have access to the site, and mark them either as co-owners, contributors, or readers only. The checkbox can mark the site private and shared just between those people; or you can change it so the site is visible to the whole world. It's easy to edit the pages though is not a wiki. Tempshill (talk) 16:49, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Wowowow! What a bunch of waaay more complicated answers than the OP needs. On any of the free blogging sites (WordPress, Blogspot, Livejournal, etc.), you should be able to set up password protected blogs that only friends can view. It's the standard approach..., it's very easy, it's a basic feature of any of those sites to have private postings... --98.217.14.211 (talk) 19:13, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

going from South orange county to Santa Monica avoiding the 10 Fwy

Is this possible to get to Santa Monica main placewithout taking the 10 Fwy? to just via the 405 straight? Then which exit should I get off if I don't want the take the 10?--69.229.39.33 (talk) 17:28, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Might this question get a better answer from one of the automatic mapping tools like Google Maps? [12] Clearly there are dozens of alternative routes, depending on how comfortable you are taking surface streets vs. freeway. Nimur (talk) 17:57, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

If for whatever reason, you aren't comfortable using online mapping services, the answer is, yes, you can take the 405 to Santa Monica without taking the 10. Just stay on 405 one exit past the I-10. The next exit is Santa Monica Boulevard. After you exit the freeway, turn left on Santa Monica Blvd, which will take you into downtown Santa Monica. Marco polo (talk) 19:00, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

The Pacific Coast Highway, good 'ol California 1, is a fine alternative, if you have the time. DOR (HK) (talk) 09:06, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

to get from Tustin to Ventura via the 405, avoiding the 101 passing Downtown LA?

If I'm ging from Tustin to Ventura if i want to avoid taking the 101 passing Downtown LA and if I want to via the 405 will it be faster to take the 5 to the 55 to the 405 to the 101, or take the 5 to the 22 to the 405 to the 101 or take the Jamboree Blvd. south straight to the 405 to the 101? Which one would be the most convienient if I want to eventually take the 405 to Ventura?--69.229.39.33 (talk) 17:32, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

It depends on exactly where in Tustin you are starting from. From some parts of Tustin (north of the 5 and west of Newport Blvd), it actually makes more sense to take the 55 north (instead of the 5) to the 22. In any case, Google Maps recommends taking the 22 to the 405, so unless you happen to know that the 22 will be stalled with traffic at the time when you are leaving, that is probably the most efficient route. Marco polo (talk) 19:35, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Universities Near Stockholm, Sweden: Undergraduate Programs in English?

Are there any universities in or near Stockholm, Sweden that offer undergraduate programs in Business and/or Engineering, that are conducted in English? - Vikramkr (talk) 18:08, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I don't know, but if I recall correctly, Swedish Universities do require nopn-native students to have proficiency in Swedish. Your local Swedish consulate may be able to give you more specific advice, as may the Swedish Institute (website at http://www.si.se/English/ ) DuncanHill (talk) 18:12, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

A friend of mine (who speaks virtually zero Swedish) participated in an exchange program at Lund University, where he took some engineering and business classes, in English. I'm not sure if it is possible to obtain your entire degree in English, but it's worth checking out. Here is their exchange-student webpage. Lund, Sweden is not very far from Stockholm (by American standards of distance, at least). You can try contacting Srvora on his talk page, too; he will gladly share his experiences. Nimur (talk) 20:20, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I would just point out that Lund is 375 miles from Stockholm. I suppose that is not far by Texas standards of distance. It is about a 7-hour drive without traffic. By standards of distance in the Northeastern US, that is pretty far. Marco polo (talk) 20:30, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm Nimur's friend who studied at Lund University. Marco polo is correct in that Lund is quite far from Stockholm. It is an hour by train east of Copenhagen though, and 4 to 5 hours by train from Stockholm. As far as studies go, I found that some courses have English support, and some are not. The course bulletin of the university stated which courses would be offered in English. I believe this is done in support of the study abroad program agreement (called ERASMUS?) that many European countries have adopted. I took an engineering course in Lund, and while the primary lectures were given in Swedish, the professor taught a separate class in English for us; all the labs, homeworks, exams, and textbook was in English too. Other courses I took where entirely taught in English. Saket (talk) 20:38, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Generally, very few entry level undergraduate programmes at Swedish Unis are accesible for English speakers. As the levels progress, more and more lectures, books etc. tend to be in English. Since the Bologna reform, almost all Swedish Uni programmes are organised on a 3+2 year basis, with the 2 latter years being a Master's Programme. These Master's Programmes are far more likely to be outright in English, and many Unis offer students from abroad to apply to them without any sort of exchange student deals. They are commonly labelled as International Master's Programmes, or similar. See e.g. Linköping Universitys' site: [[13]]. Other Unis near Stockholm that may be interesting are Uppsala University, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, Stockholm School of Economics, as well as Mälardalen College and Södertörn College./Coffeeshivers (talk) 18:48, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

August 18

Stocks: A public record?

I would like to find out if my private American university holds stock in companies which do business in Israel. How can I go about finding this out? Would it be a matter of public record? --S.dedalus (talk) 07:37, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

My understand (this is in the Uk but potentially is of a simmilar nature) is that shareholders are only held on public record when the amount of stock their own exceeds a certain % of that company's stock. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 08:52, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

It might help if you said which university. That said, if your university has a significant endowment it almost certainly does own stock in companies that do business in Israel as most large international corporations do some sort of business there. —D. Monack ^talk 11:05, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

In the United States, large investment managers must file quarterly reports of their holdings of public equity securities on Form 13F. Some universities do make these filings, and they are available online through the SEC's EDGAR system. However, I don't know of any way to take the next step and analyze these holdings to see if the companies do business in Israel. I believe it is illegal in the United States for companies to boycott Israel. John M Baker (talk) 14:36, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure but will guess that as a private entity, the university has no legal responsibility whatsoever to disclose its investments. You can always ask for the list, though as D. Monack says, a lot of companies do business with Israel and the university certainly won't have the list sorted in a way that will make it easy for you to figure it out. John M Baker is referring to the US laws enacted in response to the Arab League boycott of Israel; these laws do seem to make it illegal for US individuals or companies to boycott individual nations; though disinvestment is not made illegal. (I would link to our article disinvestment in that sentence but the article appears out of control and conflates disinvestment with boycotts.) Tempshill (talk) 15:54, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

From our boycott article:

“However, the EAR only applies to foreign government initiated boycotts: a domestic boycott campaign arising within the United States that happens to also have the same object as the foreign-government-initiated boycott is completely lawful, assuming that it is an independent effort not connected with the foreign government's boycott. Anti-boycott organizations often attempt to claim that domestic boycott campaigns that are not related to a foreign governmental boycott are in violation of these regulations; unfortunately, for them, their claims are untrue, and potentially unlawful. Inducing government action through lies or fraud, attempting to suppress free speech through intimidation, or falsely claiming that a domestic boycott campaign is foreign governmental in origin may, in fact, constitute conspiracy against civil rights, a Federal felony, punishable by fine and imprisonment. Provided that an individual or an organization does not act at the behest of a foreign government's boycott, or foreign organizations responding to a foreign government's boycott, it is completely lawful to choose to--or to choose not to--engage in commerce with anyone they please for any reasons they wish.”

My understanding is that it certainly isn’t illegal for American individuals or companies to make consumer decisions up to and including boycotts. I believe it would be unconstitutional to restrict that freedom. Thanks for the responses folks! --S.dedalus (talk) 02:27, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

No, the university does have a disclosure obligation, as I mentioned above. (This is under U.S. law, but the OP refers to an American university.) The obligation arises under 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and generally applies if the university has investment discretion with respect to publicly traded equity securities of more than $100 million. The university may also have to file Schedule 13D or 13G if it holds more than 5% of the stock of an individual public company. John M Baker (talk) 23:08, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

How to extract Tribulus saponins

can anybody pls help me to know how to get saponins from Tribulus Terrestris?Kinnowman (talk) 10:11, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

you should ask this question on the science reference desk83.100.250.79 (talk) 13:05, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

You should be aware that Tribulus terrestris saponins seem to only have an aphrodisiac effect in rodents, but not in humans. Even if you manage to extract some, chances are you'll just end up with an upset stomach. --Dr Dima (talk) 20:01, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Collier

What is a "Collier" in Italy?64.20.151.144 (talk) 13:20, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

It is a word borrowed from the French language. In French it simply means necklace, but in Italian it is used for a type of necklace, usually fitting close to the neck, like a choker (but not necessarily "Goth", despite what the article says :) ---Sluzzelin talk 14:10, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

'locking' a lever latch door

hi, is it possible to prevent people barging into a room with a lever latched door without having to damage the door/change the door handle, etc.? (coz it's a school dorm i'm talking about) the 'lock' is preferably easy to 'lock and unlock' by me inside the room? (o yea, please don't suggest talking to the people or putting up a sign, coz i've tried those already...) thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.202.252.179 (talk) 15:57, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I think you should bring it up with your RA or housing administrator and see if you can get a lock put on the door. If the door opens into your room then you could get a simple wedge doorstop, or there are contraptions like this that wedge under the doorknob and extend down to the floor, and are meant for nervous travelers who stay in hotel rooms. Tempshill (talk) 16:07, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I doubt that the OP has the right to prevent access within a school property. Ways to discourage unannounced entries could be considered if we were told what might attract people to barge in.Cuddlyable3 (talk) 17:12, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Then how would the OP prevent other students from stealing his stuff? Googlemeister (talk) 19:48, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Legal ramification or school-based reprimands usually work. What Cuddlyable3 is trying to say is that since OP doesn't own the room, the school (college?) is not going to allow him or her to place a lock on the door that would prevent school officials from entering the room. It's not only a fire hazard but, I'm assuming, a violation of school regulations, as it is most places. Same concept applies to lockers, where the school officers have a right to clip your lock to search the locker, which is their own property. ~ Amory (user • talk • contribs) 20:21, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

How is this any different from an apartment? The landlord owns the apartment, but because you are paying rent, you are entitled to privacy and forewarning before the owner can enter. Perhaps these expectations are different in other countries. Having only experience with US and Australia. Googlemeister (talk) 20:27, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Because it's not an apartment, it's a room at school. The legal expectations are different; technically I guess the difference is that a school pupil has no right to "quiet enjoyment" as does an apartment-dweller. When I was at boarding school the only lockable space was a tuckbox (small trunk about 18"x12"x12") to keep snacks in. There wasn't a significant theft problem. (Note that I'm talking about school here, 13-18 age group, rather than university. At uni here in the UK, rooms will have locks and, while staff typically have a right to enter for certain reasons, they don't generally exercise it unless it's really necessary.) I'm not quite sure what the OP means by a "lever latched door", but if it's the kind with a horizontal handle each side that rotates downwards to open, a piece of wood sized to just fit under the handle with the base on the floor will prevent the handle moving and hence the door opening without either damage or taking the handle off the outside. 93.97.184.230 (talk) 21:40, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Unless the handle can be opened by swinging up as well as down... --Jayron32 01:02, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

As you point out 184.230 this may not be a boarding school, but rather a university. If so, and if my experience in American university holds true, the school probably has some sort of student rights guarantee. This probably includes a right to a safe, quite, living environment. Talk to your RLA and see what can be done. --S.dedalus (talk) 02:39, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

As the comments above mine state, it's not that cut and dry. Most boarding schools, colleges, and universities have a set of student rights, and that usually entails a fair amount of privacy and "ownership" as far as your dorm room goes. However, they reserve full ownership of the room, and can, when the time comes, pretty much do as they like, as long as it is within the boundaries of the state and federal law and their own charter. The college owns the facilities, and when you sign your enrollment agreement, you just agree to live there, not actually have any major rights. ~ Amory (user • talk • contribs) 03:17, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Try sticking a wedge under the door. DOR (HK) (talk) 09:08, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

If you're just trying to keep miscellaneous blokes out, what I've done is tie a rope (or a shoelace, even) around the doorknob (wrap it around a few times) and clip it to my bed frame with a karabiner (so I can just use that instead of spending thirty seconds tying/untying it when I want to open the door). The bed frame (or desk, or whatever) will have to be pretty close to the door if it opens into the room. But if it opens out into the hallway, you can have it tied wherever you want, as long as it's sturdy. It won't keep someone from breaking in - if the door opens in they can just reach in and cut the rope, or they can just pull/push until the rope slides off the door/breaks/comes untied/pulls the bed or whatever. But if you just want to be alone for a few minutes, it will probably work. ZS 02:55, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Proctology

What draws someone into becoming a proctologist? Anyone a proctologist here, or know one? 209.147.155.17 (talk) 22:40, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

A solid career, good money, and a chance to probably help people? I mean, if you're asking for a sadistic motive, there might be in some cases, but such is rarely enough to sustain a whole career. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 23:10, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

This question was asked recently on the Science desk. Here. APL (talk) 23:30, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Maybe stupidity - if someone expects to grow rich from poking around up other peoples arses...?? I for one will not be paying for that.83.100.250.79 (talk) 23:53, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

You (or whoever pays your medical bills) will when you get to be around 50. Unless you like the idea of a slow, painful, and unnecessary death from undiagnosed colorectal cancer. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 00:08, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

There's stupidity, and then there's criminality, I see no difference between what you describe and paying protection money to the mafia after getting roughed up because "i don't want any accidents to happen" - not buying it.83.100.250.79 (talk) 00:29, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

You seem to be suggesting that it is criminal to provide diagnostics for colorectal cancer, or other related crippling and/or life threatening conditions. You certainly don't have to take advantage, and I wish you good health in the absence of potentially critical information. // BL \\ (talk) 00:45, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

83 is comparing Mother Nature with the Mafia??? When it comes to humans fighting against Mother Nature, guess who always wins? Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 01:16, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, well let's see him get through the rest of his life with a semi-colon... HalfShadow 02:19, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

As he says, there's stupidity first, and a fine display of it. (I know people who have died because they were too fearful or disdainful of tiny cameras up their butts. Pity, that.) --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 05:26, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

The difference is simple. Unlike the mafia, doctors are not the cause. Vimescarrot (talk) 10:38, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

The suggestion is that they are liars - making up diseases to frighten people to get rich without doing proper work. Akin to extortion through fear.83.100.250.79 (talk) 12:43, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I know we all want to assume good faith, but please don't troll the reference desk. Thank you. Livewireo (talk) 13:02, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Colon cancer is a lie? Then what are those folks that thought they had colon cancer actually dying from? Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 13:03, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Don't feed the trolls, everybody. After all, this particular troll will (if he takes himself seriously) be sorted out by Darwin in later life. DJ Clayworth (talk) 13:34, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

To return to the subject, there is in fact a whole song about this question. [14] DJ Clayworth (talk) 13:34, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

"Doctor, doctor! Why are you trying to write my prescription using a rectal thermometer?"

"Damn! Some asshole has stolen my pen!"

PhGustaf (talk) 03:41, 20 August 2009 (UTC), who will be here all week.

What's the difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer?

The taste. ~ mazca ^talk 10:28, 20 August 2009 (UTC), who will also be here all week.

Ironically, Mazca just finished a gig at The Bitter End. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 10:44, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

This question has been asked twice on Yahoo Questions recently, it always generates plenty of opinion and little fact!! 86.4.181.14 (talk) 13:44, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Some people are obviously born to it. The proctologist at my local hospital goes by the name of Shatwell! --TammyMoet (talk) 14:08, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

August 19

Give me a comment on this

Referring to the following passage in the current version of the article:

Debicella was one of three State Senators to vote against requiring health care facilities to provide emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. While defending this vote during the 2008 campaign, Debicella stated, "On the rape bill all I voted against was a bill allowing morning-after contraception to be issued to victims." This comment was heavily criticized by Democrats, including his opponent, Janice Andersen, who called it "insensitive to rape victims." Debicella defended his position by explaining that he supports access to emergency contraception but opposes forcing Catholic hospitals, who would have been affected by the bill, to go against their religious beliefs, and said Andersen was "using an emotional issue for political gain."

Should the quote "On the rape bill all I voted against was a bill allowing morning-after contraception to be issued to victims" be included and how should it be treated? Discussion has arrived at 4 possible ways forward:

  1. Leave the passage as above.
  2. Keep a passage similar to above, but explicitly clarify that the quote is not factually correct, since the vote was about requiring, not allowing, emergency contraception.
  3. Keep a passage similar to above, but remove the quote and mention that Debicella's position and comments were contentious with a citation link to a source that reproduces the quote.
  4. Shorten the entire passage to one or two sentences, without the quote.

Which is the most appropriate choice? 63.215.29.212 (talk) 00:26, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

This is a content issue and needs to be settled on the talk page of the article. The Ref Desk sometimes provides content that is used in articles, but the editors working on the articles decide how (and if) the content will be used. // BL \\ (talk) 00:36, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Agreed, this belongs on the talk page of the article, which will not be as trafficked as the Refdesk; but the Refdesk otherwise would be full of Wikipedia content disputes, and there's a whole other process for that. Tempshill (talk) 03:37, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Whatever you do, make it clear that the "requiring"/"allowing" in both cases refer to different agents. Debicella is against requiring hospitals to provide contraception (on demand); the allowing refers to the victims being allowed to use it. That is very different than requiring the victim to use it, or allowing the hospital to provide it. As it is, your #2 is ambiguous (the bill did not require the victim to use emergency contraception, which could be inferred from it as written). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 14:41, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

horse--rope "caught tinder the tail"?

There's a passage from a book I don't understand. It has to do with a horse panicking when a rope got "caught tinder the tail". Is this some expression I am not familiar with? Could it be a typo (the passage was typed out from the book and has a few other minor typos). I could understand "caught under the tail", but to write "tinder" for "under" seems like quite a typo. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks. Here's the passage with a bit more context:

He was now leading a pack horse by a lead rope. The lead rope to the Pack horse was thrown around the horn, and the reins of Mr. Sylvester's horse were knotted over the neck of the horse. As the horses bunched up so that the group could talk better, the lead rope caught tinder the tail of Sylvester's horse. ... They were in trouble. Sylvester's horse went off the trail bucking. The lead rope would not come free because of its position on the horn and Mr. Sylvester was caught in the saddle, his leg being pinned down with the lead rope. Pfly (talk) 04:15, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Probably just a typo - a "u" looks a bit like "ti". Clarityfiend (talk) 04:39, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Here's a longer version of this, from 2008. [15] "Tinder" refers to a flammable substance, so I doubt this is anything but a typo. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 05:39, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Ok, thanks for the quick replies. I'm not familiar with horses and didn't know whether a rope getting under a tail would cause a horse to run off a what amounts to a cliff. Pfly (talk) 05:49, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

"ti" instead of "u" looks more like an OCR scanning error than a typo. are teh other errors plausible typos, or are they more plausibly OCR scanning errors? -Arch dude (talk) 09:34, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

what's on his chest?

A row of cylinders across the chest of his coat: what are they? —Tamfang (talk) 05:24, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Hm. Do you think perhaps it's another of these? --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 05:35, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

No No No. They are clearly the same brand of cigars that Bill enjoyed with Monica. 92.8.6.58 (talk) 11:53, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I've always wondered about these, which seem a standard part of Cossack dress. I had thought they were decorative; "bandolier" hadn't occurred to me. --- OtherDave (talk) 14:42, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I don't know what their real name is, but I've seen them called "breast cartridges". --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 15:30, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Meaning of Name Rithvi

Please provide me the meaning of Rithvi 192.165.213.18 (talk) 16:12, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

What language? Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 18:04, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

A quick Google search and a survey of the top 20 results reveals that Rithvi is, in fact, a surname. The origin of the name is currently unknown according to Ancestry.com and other genealogy websites.--WaltCip (talk) 19:46, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Eating reindeer

Do Brits and Americans really have such a big problem with eating reindeer as I've been told? Do they equate reindeer with Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and get all teary-eyed because they're eating such a cute faerytale animal? I've eaten reindeer hundreds of times, and haven't had any problem with it. For us southern Finns, the reindeer is little bit exotic, but not nearly as exotic as, for example, the kangaroo, which I've never seen live, but wouldn't have the slightest problem eating. JIP | Talk 20:03, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm a Brit. I've never eaten reindeer (not a lot of it about in the south of England) but I'd have no problem doing so. 93.97.184.230 (talk) 20:06, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I have only had Caribou (The North American equivalent to reindeer) once. Lived in Alaska and they lived about 500 miles north of us. People would go hunt them once in a while. I will say that it was quite tasty and I had no qualms about eating it. Alaska folk are a bit odd though, kind of like Aussies of the North. Googlemeister (talk) 20:39, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm now a vegetarian, but some time ago I ate reindeer. It was OK, though not to my mind as nice as regular venison. I think the British don't eat it simply because it's scarce here. The only time you're likely to see it on offer is in tiny chipolata/saveloy sized sausages in the Ikea food hall. AlexTiefling (talk) 20:47, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm sure part of it for many will be to do with 'cute rudolph', but you say that like it's some girly stupid reason and it isn't. Ultimately different cultures produce different ideas of what is and isn't 'food'. I'm sure there are 1000s of Brits that would eat Reindeer, probably less that that would eat Dog - but in some cultures that's reasonably normal. Ultimately the culture and society you are brought up in is likely to have an impact on whether you consider certain animals as 'food' or 'pets/too mean to eat'. That said many Brits will eat Deer meat (Venison) and I doubt they'd care whether it was a Roe Deer or a Reindeer or any other - provided it tasted good. ny156uk (talk) 21:00, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Why is it necessary to make the distinction? I'd be overjoyed with a pet pig, and continue to happily eat pork. I've never understood people who have qualms about eating food beyond that of personal physical disgust. Vimescarrot (talk) 21:04, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

It would be weird eating a ham sandwich in front of the pet pig. If it were me I'd tell him it was roast beef. APL (talk) 05:37, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

(after EC) Some do. Some don't. Did you want specifics? Numbers (percentage, possibly), reasons (logical or otherwise)? You didn't ask for either of them, and it would be a waste of time to research something you weren't after. Anecdotally, my mother would never eat elephant or horse, though she would eat reindeer. When I asked why she'd eat reindeer, she said "Well, it's just like...it's like a sheep. A sheep's a sheep, you know?" I couldn't get any sort of reasoned response to the counter-argument "A horse is a horse". It's possible people don't know why they wouldn't eat things. Vimescarrot (talk) 21:02, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I've also had Caribou, which is delicious, and I don't think I'd have any problem with Reindeer. But I also know plenty of people who would have trouble eating rabbit, which is really a pretty common food animal.

A friend of mine took his pre-teen daughter to a petting zoo, and when it came to the chickens said (as Daddies do) "Yum yum, they would be good on a plate with chips". "Don't be stupid, Daddy" she says "you can't eat chickens!" DJ Clayworth (talk) 21:07, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

According to my Uncle Donald's 1943 edition of The_Bluejacket's_Manual, all birds, mammals, and reptiles (except possibly venomous snakes which have bitten themselves) are edible. Some fish can kill you right dead, though. I have eaten farmed venison, and it's OK but expensive. Farmed bison is tasty, reasonably cheap, and about as sustainable as meat can get. PhGustaf (talk) 23:08, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

My guess is most Americans are only familiar with reindeer from the Rudolph story and never have thought of reindeer meat one way or the other. I don't think it's something that would repulse most Americans like dog meat or horse meat. Many Americans will eat white-tailed deer, although it's by no means a common dish among non-hunters. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:22, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

I have heard it said here in the UK: "I couldn't eat Rudolf". However, I suspect it is a lot more to do with availability. I have visited both Finland and Australia and while reindeer meat seemed readily available in Finland and kangaroo meat seemed readily available in Australia, both are very rare things to find here in the UK. Astronaut (talk) 02:14, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Reindeer is pretty rare in most US states. (I hear you can get in in Alaska, but I wouldn' tknow.) I think there's a natural aversion to eating any animal you haven't before.

I've also met people who assume that if a meat isn't a stereotypical farm animal like a cow or a chicken, they assume it must have been killed in the wild, which makes people squeamish. Some people really don't realize that you can actually put other animals on farms. APL (talk) 05:37, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Venison in the USA

Speaking of venison: Our venison article claims that the reason that USA supermarkets do not generally carry deer meat is that the USDA inspects meat, combined with the claim that "There are very few abattoirs which process deer in North America, and most of this venison is destined for restaurants."

Can anyone point out why this is? Has it been tried? Tempshill (talk) 21:10, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

There are relatively few deer farms (they don't produce much meat per carcass and are hard to control - ever seen cattle jump over an 8-foot fence?) Specialty grocers carry it. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 21:47, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Hard to control — logical; meat per carcass — well, less than a steer, but there's plenty of meat on a deer. I guess I should have asked why it's not found in US supermarkets while, according to the venison article, it is "widely available" in European supermarkets during hunting season. Tempshill (talk) 00:15, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

I thought that U.S. supermarkets could get a game license, allowing them to sell wild game. Are they only permitted to sell farm raised game? Edison (talk) 00:25, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Sale of wild game is illegal in my state. Is it legal in any U.S. state? 75.41.110.200 (talk) 04:15, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

I don't know about that, but keep in mind that supermarkets are interested in mass-market and are unlikely to stock marginal foods. That's why they stock the standard beef, pork and chicken, and seldom stock bison, elk, etc. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 05:00, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Wild deer are abundant in a great many areas of the US, and there are a great many hunters. Most folks who like venison know someone who has plenty to give away. -Arch dude (talk) 01:27, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Meat from deer, elk, bison, etc., can be had from specialty meat shops. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 03:37, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Some supermarkets carry game meat. [16] Buffalo has become a bit more common in the last couple of years.

family data removed from right column summary block

Did you do a global change that removed the spouse/family data from all pages? It does not appear anywhere even on pages it used to.....

If yes, can you explain why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.65.157.219 (talk) 21:22, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Since this is a question about Wikipedia, this is probably a better question for the Help Desk, and when asking over there, you should cite some specific pages you're referring to. The Bill Clinton article, for example, still has some family data in his infobox. Tempshill (talk) 21:48, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

CA 39 to open again

When should CA 39 the close part (north of CA 2) open again? First they said by 2008 they will open, then they delay another I don't know time? Will will the close part of CA 39 open again so people can drive on it to get to 2?--69.229.39.33 (talk) 23:42, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

You might find useful information at http://www.cahighways.org/state.html Also you may consider looking for the appropriate government website. This answer applies to the two questions below by the way. 152.16.15.144 (talk) 00:40, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

In April 2009, it was noted that the project is fully funded. The project is programmed in the 2008 State Highway Operation and Protection Program for $43,360,000, capital and support. Construction is estimated to begin in Fiscal Year 2010-11.

Quote from CA hwy article it's going to begin construction in November 2010 but completion date is unknown. Construction can take at least 3 years to complete. Maybe more.--69.229.39.33 (talk) 01:46, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

CA 15 becoming I-15

When will the southern end of CA 15 become I-15? They said once they upgrade parts close to lemon grove in San Diego, should it be 2012 when the 15 is full up to interstate.--69.229.39.33 (talk) 23:44, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

CA 210 ceoming i-210

When will the east half of CA-210 become I-210? Since the unbuilt portion of the 210 was finish in 2007, they said soon but when will the east part of 210 become interstate? They said about fix something in orange show. Is it like 2010?--69.229.39.33 (talk) 23:49, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

August 20

Who dropped Little Boy?

The articles on Enola Gay and Bockscar list the flight crew, and it says who 'directed' the release, but it doesn't say who physically pushed the button/pulled the lever/whatever. Can someone find out? ZS 03:35, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

According to the New York Times, it was Thomas Ferebee, the bombardier, "who dropped the atomic bomb". He activated an "automatic system", then pushed a lever just to make sure. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:58, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Bubble tea

Where can I get bubble tea in India? In particular Calcutta or Ludhiana. K thx. ReluctantPhilosopher (talk) 11:45, 20 August 2009 (UTC)