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May 16

How does I publish me books?

How do amateur/first-time manga illustrators usually publish their work? I happen to be one of people working on my story but I have no idea how to properly publish it into book form. I already have drawings for the title covers and drew out all the chapters and stuff, but what is the recommended method of publishing your first work into a manga comic? 64.75.158.195 (talk) 04:51, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Send some samples to publishers? I think this is the way to go - send some samples of your best work to publishers and include an outline of the whole story. Or, seek out a manga fanzine, maybe they're taking newcomers? If a portion of your manga may be cropped to serve as a standalone short story, maybe try that? --Ouro (blah blah) 07:42, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Whenever this question is asked here concerning regular books, the answer that is normally supplied is "Find an agent". Publishers don't generally accept unsolicited manuscripts. I don't know if this is different for manga publishers. Dismas|^(talk) 07:58, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

A second alternative would be publish some material online and offer it for free. This will get you some feedback from readers and possibly attention from real publishers.--Quest09 (talk) 19:46, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Here is what I know (bear in mind that I am not a manga/comics artist, so take all I say here with a BIG grain of salt). As far as I know, there are three "conventional" ways to become a mangaka. The first one is to create and sell your doujinshi, to earn yourself some fame this way, and then to try submitting stuff to the magazines. The second one is to become an apprentice to an established mangaka, and then to "graduate" to publishing your own stuff this way. (Keep in mind that the assistant/apprentice names do not usually appear on the manga, the work is crazy hard, and the pay sucks). The third one is to draw one-shots, or self-contained first chapters of the mangas you have in mind, and to try submitting those to the magazines directly (with very slim but still nonzero chances of success). The biggest caveat in all this is that you need to be a native Nihongo speaker. Korean or Chinese manga (manhwa) still qualifies as a manga, but original English-language manga is technically a comics and not a manga at all. That doesn't mean you'd be worse off if it is in English; you may actually be better off. There are English-language webcomic artsts (Ursula Vernon, Jeph Jacques, Fred Gallagher, Mark Crilley, Bill Holbrook, ...) who largely or fully support themselves by drawing comics and publishing some or all of it on the web. None of it is really manga though, not even any of Mark Crilley's stuff. Still, this venue is definitely worth considering, unless you would want to move to Japan and starve yourself for many years for a very long shot at getting published in any of the Kodansha / Shueisha / Hakusensha / Shogakukan journals. --Dr Dima (talk) 23:30, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

If your (the OP's) main interest is to get a properly bound book, check out some print-on-demand shops or (more pejoratively, "vanity publishers"). I've had a comparatively good impression of Lulu (company). Chances that you will earn money are slim, but you can get books produced to a wide range of physical requirements, and you can potentially reach a large audience for very little initial outlay. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 09:34, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

"Get books produced . . ." I agree with, but "potentially reach a large audience for very little initial outlay" I don't, unless you mean that, having the books, the OP can then advertise, distribute and get paid for them entirely through his/her own efforts. Some of the various print on demand or other print-shop services (like, I too have heard, Lulu) will indeed produce bound copies for reasonable mark-ups over real costs. Many others, who describe themselves variously as agents, editorial services, independent publishers etc, etc but are in reality vanity presses, will typically charge for inferior or illusory editorial and other work, and overcharge for what they actually do (which often means secretly farming out the work to the same print services their customer could access directly for a large mark-up). Such operators, unlike real agents or publishers, have no more abilities than J. Q. Public to get adverts and reviews published, and no means of getting stores to stock their titles because no-one in the professional book industry will deal with them under any circumstances. Many such operators have to change their company names frequently to avoid dunning creditors and disappointed, sueing clients.

As an ex-bookseller and ex-editor, I broadly concur with the advice of the first three replies above. Try also visiting a Public Library and studying publications like The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook to find out about publishers and agents, looking at existing Manga publishers' websites for advice on submissions, and finding, studying and participating in the various on-line forum sites for aspiring writers and artists (random example, Absolute Write). Also, go to Manga or other Comics Conventions and ask successful writers how they did it. It's obviously possible to become a successful publisher of your own work, whether printed or online, as people like Dave Sim (not Manga, but certainly comics) and Jeph Jacques (Manga references) have demonstrated, but it takes years of very hard and poorly renumerated work. Finally, remember the rule of thumb that all money should flow towards the writer/artist, and be very wary if asked for up-front fees for services or production costs; in most (I agree not all) professional publishing circumstances such charges, where legitimate, are taken out of what a publication earns through sales. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 23:14, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Lulu, unlike traditional vanity presses, will have your book in their catalogue more or less forever, and have the infrastructure to accept orders and ship it all over the world. That's what I meant by "potentially large audience". With a traditional vanity press, you order X00 copies, the publisher may even promise to produce Y00 (Y>X), but he will nearly always make a fat profit off your initial investment and quietly burn what's left of the print run after a few months to save on storage. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 23:31, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Agreed: another old vanity press trick is to print the requisite number of sheets, but not fold, bind and case them into book form. Lulu is, I agree, generally said to offer an honest and decent service as far as it goes, but while they do indeed catalogue your book and supply it to anyone who orders it, they don't (so far as I know) actively advertise to the public or to retail booksellers, or send reps to the stores to generate stock orders; nor do they accept returns from booksellers who, therefore, will almost never order shelf stock from them, only copies firmly ordered by customers. Consequently, creating awareness of and demand for your book is down to your own efforts. Some people are in a good position to do that - for example, those who give lectures and talks related to their book's subject - but for Manga it may be less easy. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 04:29, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Ratio analysis Non–Performing Credit to Total Credit

please tell me about ratio analysis Non–Performing Credit to Total Credit... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Surakshya (talk • contribs) 12:37, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

This sounds like a homework question to me - if it isn't I apologise. We will not do your homework for you, but we will help you advance from a stuck point. If it isn't a homework question, please explain a little more as it seems people aren't sure of what you mean. Thank you :) Chevymontecarlo. 12:04, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

How small are the smallest clients of big law firms?

Law firms like those belonging to the Magic Circle (law) or the White shoe firm. Mr.K. (talk) 13:14, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Fixed redlink 131.111.248.99 (talk) 16:57, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

The very largest and most well known law firm would cheerfully take on the very smallest client, if that client were willing to pay the going hourly rate for the work to be done. They might refuse the work if they already had the adversary as a client. They might charge far more per hour than a local storefront law firm for contracts, rental agreements, deeds, wills, or prenups. Large firms have associates, junior partners and new hires whose work gets billed out and which pays revenue to the partnership as well as the lawyer or paralegal actually talking to the client and preparing the documents. The senior partners would be aghast at the notion of turning away billings. Come one, come all! Edison (talk) 22:15, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Law firms are also ethically required to perform at least some pro bono work every once in a while. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 05:39, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

212.219.39.146 (talk) 09:09, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/legal_services_pai.html Everard Proudfoot (talk) 18:24, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

"Ethically required"? And what if they don't do it, will law firms burn in hell? Mr.K. (talk) 15:40, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

See the pro bono article, which was already linked above. In the US, the ABA "recommends" a certain amount of pro bono work, under its ethics rules. There is this idea that since lawyers and doctors have their privileged positions by means, partly, of community support, that they are supposed to give back to the community with pro bono work. As far as law firms burning in hell, well, yes, we all know that's a given. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:58, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Er...surely the smallest clients of law firms,would be those who represented Pygmies'R'Us or Dwarves Incorporated? :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.149.57.118 (talk) 12:28, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

No, it would probably be for the old lady's canary. The one she gave her vast fortune to. Googlemeister (talk) 13:38, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Not her ant farm? Nil Einne (talk) 07:23, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

May 17

Canadian pedia?

Is this the Canadian Wikipedia? http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portada It is in French? There's no Canadian pedia in English? Is this French much different from the native French? --117.204.84.55 (talk) 07:48, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

It's not like any French I've ever read! You might like to read our article on Catalan language. Our friends in Canada read either the standard English or the standard French Wikipedias. Dbfirs 08:27, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

That's Catalan Wikipedia, not Canadian. The various Wikipedias are distinguished by language, not nationality. Thus, this Wikipedia, the English-language one, is for anyone who speaks English anywhere in the world. There is no Canadian language, hence no Canadian Wikipedia. (French-language Wikipedia is found here: http://fr.wikipedia.org )—D. Monack ^talk 09:24, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

There is a Kannada language edition of Wikipedia. Warofdreams talk 14:03, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

LOL. That's a good one. Anyway, if the OP is looking for a Canadian encyclopedia, maybe they can try The Canadian Encyclopedia which is also a free online encyclopedia available both in English and French. --99.244.91.182 (talk) 03:08, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Why isn't there a Swiss Wikipedia either? --84.61.146.104 (talk) 16:13, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

See Languages of Switzerland. The project does not cater specifically for nationalists. Dbfirs 19:42, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

With a few exceptions, of course. LANTZY^TALK 01:28, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Oops, yes, I was wrong there, wasn't I? There are exceptions! Dbfirs 15:38, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Is ch.wikipedia.org the Swiss Wikipedia? --84.61.146.104 (talk) 07:47, 22 May 2010 (UTC)

ch.wikipedia.org is the Chamorro language edition of Wikipedia. As it was noted above, there isn't a Swiss Wikipedia because there isn't Swiss language. --Магьосник (talk) 17:00, 22 May 2010 (UTC)

360 => laptop

Disclaimer: I know computers, I don't know AV. Wasn't sure whether this was appropriate for the computing desk, which is why I'm posting here. Is there any way to get my Xbox 360 to display in HD on my laptop screen? The laptop doesn't have any video inputs, although it's got the usual USB/Firewire/eSATA complement. I'm in the UK, if that's relevant for video formats or anything. Thanks 131.111.248.99 (talk) 09:41, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

If it has no inputs, then it's not possible without some major hacking of the hardware. You COULD probably pick up an HDMI to Firewire converter and use the 360 as a video capture input, but it's not likely to be even halfway decent quality. Buffered Input Output 15:35, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Buffered Input Output. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:54, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Also, many laptops have rather small screens, so are unlikely to support full HD (1920×1080) resolution. What's the max resolution on your screen ? StuRat (talk) 22:12, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

qualifications

hi, i'm currently in 12th grade, so i'm gonna finish high school next year. i just wanted to know what are the qualifications and areas of expertise and subjects required for an architect. also the same question goes for a game designer

thanx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.197.248.168 (talk) 13:21, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Take a look at both the admission and courses of the degree you want to study.--Mr.K. (talk) 15:22, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

For architecture, you could also look through the American Institute of Architects (AIA) site here. Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:27, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Many schools have architecture programs, you may also want to major in a related discipline like design or civil engineering; architecture is basically a cross between those two. As far as game design goes, you'd need to decide which part of game design you want to go into. The person that writes code has a very different job than the one that makes the artwork. SteveBaker works in the field, I am sure he will be able to help you in that realm. --Jayron32 15:35, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

For game designer, gamecareerguide may help, but be warned that it's owned by CMP, so I assume a major point of gamecareerguide is to try to convince you to pay for Game Developers Conference passes. As Mr.K. says, you should hit up the few schools that have a game design track for information. However, know that 99% or more of game designers don't have a degree in game design. As for the areas of expertise: Math helps a lot in order to be able to design systems that make sense. It's an entertainment field, so courses in writing, plot structure, etc., help. Some designers lean heavily toward the "writing" side of the job, creating the plot and dialogue. Other designers are "level designers", where they use 3D software like 3D Studio Max or Autodesk Maya to actually create the game's levels, and then set up all the trigger points for things like elevators, puzzles, and traps; and, usually, utilize some scripting system or a language like Lua to actually write code to tell the elevators, puzzles, and traps exactly what to do. (I think that if you were to count all game designers in the industry, most would call themselves level designers; though the job is varied; at some companies it's a 3D modeling artist who creates the world in Max or Maya, working with the designer to find out how to model the level; whereas at other companies the level designer does everything.) Usually it's a more experienced designer who does the "system" work, where the designer writes (and then tweaks endlessly after playing the first few drafts) the systems of hit points, weapon damage, how often the player should find a new item in general, how many milliseconds should elapse before a powerup times out, and the entire feel of the core gameplay (movement and combat, usually). A lot of video game playing is useful. I recommend googling "game design podcasts" and find some designers you like to listen to. Many, many video game designers started out with QA jobs, playing the same few levels endlessly to find all the bugs, and eventually they get a chance to be a junior level designer; I think this is a pretty tedious way to enter the industry as a designer, but it's how many designers do get their positions. In the first-person shooter area, it's more typical, I think, for the video game developer companies like Gearbox Software and id Software to find the very best of the popular mods for the popular games and hire those guys as level designers. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:52, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

While I agree that a lot of Game Designers don't have a degree (I think it's a lot less than 99%...maybe 60% at most) - those are the ones that have been in the business for a while and who have shifted over from another discipline. But the games business is changing and professionalizing at a steep rate. NEW game designers, being recruited into the business as their first jobs in the industry will find it next to impossible to break into the field without a degree. Don't take my word for it - look at any game company web site, almost all of them have a "JOBS" section - and I don't see any that don't require a degree for every job track except QA. SteveBaker (talk) 02:38, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Oh, and I wanted to emphasize: The job "game designer" differs a lot at every company. If you were to get a degree in this unusual field and walk into a video game developer with it, they won't necessarily be impressed, because the work varies so much, and the work you completed for your degree may not apply to the particular role they need to fill. As I mentioned above, some designers are closer to programmers, others are closer to 3D modelers, others are closer to writers, and others sit and tweak game systems all day; it is rare to find a versatile designer who is comfortable doing all these disparate things, so large developers have a mix. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:02, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

An acquaintance of mine who is a self-employed game designer studied math and computer science at MIT. Game theory might be worth studying, for example. My acquaintance is really strong on algorithms, though he has enough of a command of web design to develop relatively user friendly prototypes making use of his algorithms. I think that companies that buy his concepts or his services use teams of web designers to further polish the user interface for his games. Marco polo (talk) 20:00, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

For questions like this the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Outlook Handbook is a good start, although they don't have a separate listing for game designers, only computer programmers. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:02, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

I work in the games industry. There is a very specific job title called "Game Designer" - which is someone who figures out things like what levels there should be - or what puzzles there are - how the 'story arc' plays out - and lays out the design of the system in rather broad-brush terms. Other people who "design video games" are not "Game Designers" - but Artists, programmers, sound designers, musicians, voice actors, motion capture actors, etc. If you specifically want to be a "Game Designer" then there are a few colleges who specialize in game design and who offer degrees in the subject. "Full Sail University" in Florida is one particularly renowned one. Another route is to start off as a game Artist or perhaps even (if you're desperate) a Play Tester/Quality-assurance guy. It's generally possible to progress from one of those jobs into game design after a few years. A few programmers also decide to become designers - but that might entail a pay cut! If you can possibly manage to get an internship at a game company over your summer vacation - that would be a huge benefit - both for your resume - and because it would help you to understand whether this is really what you want to do.

If you had in mind a more general career in the game business - then there are a wide range of entry routes. One is to take a specialized degree in games - or possibly "Arts and Technology" or something. That would get you into the Art track, the Design track or any of the others for that matter. Programmers might be better off taking a hard computer-science degree - but a specialised degree of the sort that Full Sail offer would be OK too. A very few artists who are able to demonstrate amazing work in their portfolio's can get jobs without a degree - but it's tough to get that level of capability (and demonstrate that you understand things like 'work flow') without somehow getting to work in the games business first.

The easiest track to get into is Play Tester/Quality Assurance. In many cases, you can walk into a job like that straight out of high school...however, it's by far the lowest paid job in the games business (often at minimum wage) and people tend not to last long in it because "playing video games all day" turns out to be spectacularly less fun than it sounds when you're playing the exact same game 8 hours a day for 3 years...with it crashing and failing for a good portion of that time! Although a very few QA folks manage to break out into Art, Design or Programming and some of them end up running the QA department from which they can progress to becoming managers - most of them simply go off and do something else.

A very few people (these days) make it into the business by making their own game in the privacy of their own homes and breaking into the business that way. At one time, that was perhaps the commonest route - but these days, making a credible game without the support of a big publisher is virtually impossible. You'll need a day job first!

In general, the highest paid workers are the programmers, followed by art and design, then play-testing. A good programmer can earn $120k to $150k at the peak of his/her career and if you get lucky and work on a game that turns out to be a RockBand, GTA-IV or HALO-3 quality blockbuster, you can pick up royalty checks that could keep you in luxury for life! (Sadly, you don't usually get that lucky because only about one in 35 games ever turns a profit!) SteveBaker (talk) 02:32, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

For both those professions, the real qualification is having a fertile but calm mind. Degrees don't mean a thing in the end, should you lack imagination and vision. Vranak (talk) 14:58, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

You don't work in the games business do you? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't say that if you worked in the business! The vast percentage of the tasks required in making a modern game require little "imagination and vision". Raw, hard, technical skill and an ability to focus on the task for long periods is what we mostly need. Consider a game like GTA IV: Somewhere, an army of artists were taking photographs of real buildings, real cars, real mailboxes, trash cans and streetlamps ("reference imagery") and bashing out 3D models of them using 3DStudio or Maya by rote according to strict 'look and feel' guidelines set out by someone else. That 'someone else' had street plans drawn up by designers and a large Excel spreadsheet where he's tracking the status of assets against schedule. Very little imagination or vision is required for that - just an ability to make efficient art in huge volume, on time and in budget. Being a programmer in the games industry requires an almost identical skillset to someone who programs accountancy systems (although our tolerance for people who come to work in Hawaiian shirt, shorts and sandals is higher!). Obviously there are jobs where those traits are valuable - but they are generally in the more senior staff - lead engineers, art directors, producers, etc. For entry-level jobs, the ability to get the work done quickly, accurately and to specification is more important. Yes, you DO need a degree to get a decent job in the games business. Again, you don't have to believe me - just go to pretty much any game company web site - click on the "Jobs" link and look. You'll immediately see that "Bachelor's degree in XXX" comes up in almost every case...and in the cases where it doesn't, I can tell you that a candidate without a degree will almost never make it into a non-QA position unless they have a ton of professional game development experience already - and that's a chicken-and-egg situation. Heck, even our minimum-wage interns are required to be in their third year of a degree program to get to work here! SteveBaker (talk) 14:28, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Lost recorded delivery letter UK - how to complain/enquire by email?

Early last week I went to the post office and sent a first class recorded delivery letter. The destination address was less than a mile away - I expected it to arrive the next morning. Now six days later, it has still not arrived, according to the Royal Mail's online tracking service, which keeps saying "We have your item...blah blah blah...is being progressed through our networks for delivery".

I've looked through the Royal Mails website and I cannot find how to complain/enquire by email. Does anyone know how to do this please? I've found a telephone number, but I do not want to pay what is probably a premium rate and/or be stuck in a queue for an hour. By coincidence, someone else claims to have repeatedly posted letters to me which I've never got. Thanks 78.147.140.229 (talk) 15:17, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

This page has a link saying "Send Royal Mail Customer Services an email" - linking to this page. Have you tried that? Otherwise, perhaps you should go back to the post office and start raising a complaint there. Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:45, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, I followed your link and it says I have to wait three weeks! before I can complain (or even enquire?) and did not give any means of sending an email. Bad service. 78.147.140.229 (talk) 16:07, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Did you get a receipt when you sent the letter? If so, does it contain instructions on how to complain? You probably want to try and find a way to complain directly to the Recorded Delivery people rather than a general customer service e-mail address that could take a while to get to the right place (ironic, huh?). --Tango (talk) 15:56, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes. No. Its a flimsy bit of paper like a supermarket till reciept. It only tells you how to look online to check if its been delivered, as described above. 78.147.140.229 (talk) 16:07, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

They lost it. Royal Mail lose hundreds of items of post every day. You can guess what happens to them. It's not a big deal for them. When you complain they will just tell you to fill out a compensation claim. You should always make a claim because if they get a disproportionate number of complaints about a particular postal round they will keep an eye on that particular postman.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 16:00, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Its disgraceful that you cannot even trust recorded delivery to get a letter there, and that to be certain of delivery you have to go to the address in person, as I did, which defeats the whole purpose of having a postal system. And then you are prevented from complaining about it, which seems to be a common trick of shadey organisations in my experience. It was lucky I was paranoid enough to check that it had actually been delivered rather than just assuming it would be. 78.147.140.229 (talk) 16:17, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

It doesn't defeat the whole purpose, just a small portion of it. The purpose is to make it cheaper and more convenient to get things from one place to another. That purpose still works at a success rate of a little bit under 100%. We take risks every day and sending something by post is a risk as well. If the risk of it not getting there is high enough then it might be worth you delivering it yourself (roughly speaking, you need to multiply the chance of it not getting there by the cost of it not getting there and see if that number is smaller than the cost of you delivering it by hand), but in most cases it isn't. Royal Mail is very good at getting letters to the right place, you have just been unlucky. --Tango (talk) 16:29, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the sermon. 78.147.140.229 (talk) 17:04, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

It was leftover change from your soapbox. Vimescarrot (talk) 19:58, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

I recall reading once upon a time how London Diamond Merchants preferred sending uninsured precious gems through the ordinary post on the grounds that it was inconspicuous, reliable, and cheaper than sending them insured by courier service. But the law of averages must dictate that some letters and parcels just don't reach their destination, however frustrating that is. But I do agree that not being able to timeously complain is a disgrace. 92.30.74.111 (talk) 22:10, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Your letter will probably be delivered tomorrow. Are you sure that the recipient was at home to sign for the letter? Unfortunately, you can't track or trace the letter online because only the delivery is recorded. If it is really lost, then there is compensation of up to £41 available. For urgent items, "Guaranteed next-day delivery" is more appropriate. Sorry, this doesn't help for your lost or delayed letter. I can sympathise with your frustration, especially when the distance was so short! Dbfirs 00:44, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

"Your letter will probably be delivered tomorrow". LOL! So on the basis of zero knowledge, including that its been undelivered on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th. and 7th. days after posting, you happily make that pronouncement? That shows the standard of veracity that the internet has developed a reputation for. 92.24.191.128 (talk) 13:49, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

People are trying to help, why are you being so nasty? ╟─TreasuryTag►Speaker─╢ 14:16, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, I was using a local idiom (containing irony which obviously doesn't translate well). I meant "Your letter still has a (small) probability of being delivered tomorrow". I'll be more careful about my use of idiom in future! Dbfirs 08:14, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Recorded delivery isn't about having any better or worse chance of the letter being delivered. It's about the recipient being unable to claim that it wasn't delivered when in fact it was. If (for example) you sold someone something on eBay - if you just post the item to them, they can simply take delivery of the item - then claim that you didn't send it and probably get a refund from PayPal or whatever. On the other hand, if you send it recorded delivery - then you'll have proof that they did in fact sign for it - and you'll be safe from their fraud. However, if it really doesn't get there, you can at least prove that you sent it - and make the claim through the post office. SteveBaker (talk) 02:04, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

No need to keep pointing out the blinking obvious Steve. 92.24.191.128 (talk) 13:49, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

People are trying to help, why are you being so nasty? ╟─TreasuryTag►Speaker─╢ 14:16, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Steve was pointing out the blinking obvious that you clearly did not know. In your post you say "Its disgraceful that you cannot even trust recorded delivery to get a letter there". Steve pointed out that this is not the reason for Recorded Delivery. If you want to find out more, call them on 08457 740 740 - this is not premium rate. In my experience they answer quite quickly. YMMV. --Phil Holmes (talk) 07:33, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Exactly. Recorded delivery is all about proof of delivery - not guarantee of delivery. So your clearly stated expectation of more reliable delivery by recorded mail was clearly a misunderstanding. I merely sought to correct that. It seems that your entire outrage is due to one misunderstanding or another. The "recorded" bit worked fine - when the mail wasn't delivered, you were able to find that out because you'd sent it "recorded delivery". Your expectation of some other kind of service improvement over regular first-class mail was unjustified. Like any complex system, the mail sometimes fails - it's inevitable, and widely understood. You got unlucky. Your only (perhaps) justifiable complaint is the amount of time that has to elapse before you can claim for a loss. But even that is not entirely unreasonable because the mail service has to be allowed time to correct the error if the mail was (for example) redirected to the wrong address and might (as we speak) still be delivered. Reducing that time would result in them paying out more claims for things that were eventually delivered - and that would push up the price of postage. Some kind of a balance has to be struck between cost of service and delay for payment of loss. Furthermore, you seem to imagine that the distance the mail had to travel should have had some effect on the outcome - but it really doesn't. I'm sure you realize that the mail isn't carried from the postbox directly to it's destination! It first travels to some large sorting office somewhere - possibly to a number of such places - and these days, that could easily mean that the letter travels 100 miles or more before it arrives at a destination just one mile from where it was posted. The time-to-deliver and the probability of mis-delivering are completely unrelated to the distance to the final destination. SteveBaker (talk) 13:56, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Grand Rapids from 5/4-5/5-5/6-1931 in my posession

I have the above three papers.What do I do with them and how do I store them for preservtion? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.227.170.48 (talk) 17:59, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

One option may be to store them in plastic bags, like those used for preserving comic books; a local comic-book shop may be able to help locate a vendor, or even order some for you that are designed to hold newspapers. Also, I found this website talking about how to preserve old newspapers. Hope this gets you started! --McDoobAU93 (talk) 18:43, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

orkut

how can I used orkut as my business site.Supriyochowdhury (talk) 18:59, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

Do you mean business site? That will depend on what your business is... --Tango (talk) 23:23, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

See the article Orkut. Orkut is intended to be a social network service and has in place a system to disable attempts to exploit it for spam. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:47, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

May 18

1902 edwardvs quarter

I recently found an edwardvs vii dei gratta rex imperator 1902 quarter... does anyone know how much it is worth? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rileymygolden (talk • contribs) 00:16, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Have a look here. Marco polo (talk) 01:22, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

It's very hard to judge the value of coins without inspecting them up-close. The problem is that the condition of the coin is critical to the value - it can sometimes make a difference of a factor of 100 in the price! Coin collectors grade coins very carefully - and it's virtually impossible to do that accurately with a photo. SteveBaker (talk) 01:36, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

As long as the photo is of good quality, you can at least get in the ballpark for coins that are not in mint condition. You could try a google search for a coin collectors forum, since they would be more likely to have more specific knowledge. Googlemeister (talk) 13:37, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

(Tip : As with all antique coins be sure not to try to clean it. That will usually reduce their value. ) APL (talk) 03:14, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Author of the legendary (for its stupidity) Pro-Tip?

Has an author ever been identified for, or confessed to, authoring that legendary Pro-Tip which says (paraphrasing) to shoot the monster until it's dead? 218.25.32.210 (talk) 05:30, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Can someone, possibly the OP, explain what this is referring to? A Google search didn't turn up much at all for me except maybe this blog. I think I'm on the right track considering Protip redirects to GamePro. Dismas|^(talk) 05:39, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Company firewalls prevent me from linking directly, but Googling "protip to defeat the cyberdemon" will take you right to it... 218.25.32.210 (talk) 08:57, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

`Perhaps you could explain what it is about instead? --Saddhiyama (talk) 09:00, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Are you referring to this? Googling those words doesn't take me "right to" anything. The first result is to UrbanDictionary.com. Dismas|^(talk) 09:05, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

It's obviously a famous Protip, as indicated by the Encyclopedia Dramatica entry http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Protip (can't link: spam filter gets it). It appears that it did originate with Gamepro, which gives "Protips" on how to beat video games. This particular "helpful" tip appears to reference Doom (video game). The full text appears to be "To defeat the Cyberdemon, shoot at it until it dies". I am only relating what I'm finding on the internet; I was too young to remember Doom. Buddy431 (talk) 14:12, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Notre dam des apotre --------> correct to Notre Dame Des Apotres and its abbreviation is (NDA)

Copy/paste of the full text of Rod El Farag

Rod El Farag From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:navigation, search Rod El Farag (Arabic: روض الفرج‎, also spelled Road El Farag, Road Elfarag or Road Alfarag) is currently an administrative region forming about one third of Shobra in Cairo, Egypt. Rod Elfarag neighbours the River Nile to the west, Boulaq to the south, Shobra (administrative region) to the east and Elsahel to the north.

Historically Road Elfarag has been a residential area for centuries and was known in the early twentieth century for its Night clubs.

For many years Road El Farag was home to Cairo's biggest fruit and vegetable market,and the world famous El-nozah candy shop, started in 1940. This candy shop is home of the world famous homemade icecream. If you live in Egypt, stop by today and try some of the icecream or candy. [1] until it was relocated to and area on outskirts of Greater Cairo, like its neighbours it is generally overcrowded (170,000 residents per square kilometre).[2]

The Road el Farag market used to be the largest in all of Egypt and was the reason why many regional farmers and traders settled in Road El Farag area[3] The area were the market used to stand now hosts Road El-Farag Cultural Palace, which stands where the old market used to be.[4]

This district also contains good infrastructure such as the French school Notre dam des apotre and on its cornich there is Arkadia mall that contains famous stores such as Mobcco and Trianon confectionary and cafe.

[edit] References ^ Rough guide ^ Bulaq, Shobra and Road El Farag at Rough guide ^ Aljazeera ^ Ahram weekley

[hide]v • d • eDistricts of Greater Cairo

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Historical Coptic Cairo · Downtown Cairo · Faggala · Fustat · Heliopolis · Islamic Cairo · Kerdasa · Maadi · Mataria · Old Cairo ·

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—Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.235.189.99 (talk) 06:13, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

The original poster copied the entire article, requesting a typo-fix. I have fixed the original article and hidden the post above. Anyone else who wants to take a pass at copy-editing Rod El Farag is more than welcome, the article could use some help. Nimur (talk) 09:43, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Imperial Beach CA. quality of ocean water

How clean or dirty is the water off imperial beach? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ttuna (talk • contribs) 13:15, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

That seems to depend on how recently it's rained. See this article. According to this article, beaches in Imperial Beach were closed as recently as last month. According to recent climate records, San Diego has not had any rainfall since late April. Rainfall is unusual there from May through September. So, the ocean water there is probably okay now. However, I would check with the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health if you have any concerns. Marco polo (talk) 16:37, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Lawn

I have had a lawn in my backyard for over two years. Last spring it was green and healthy but in the summer it wilted. We thought that it was just too hot but in the fall it remained brown but we thought that maybe in the spring it would come back to normal. It hasnt. We have watered and weeded and taken care of it. What can we do to help it be healthy? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr toocoolman (talk • contribs) 16:43, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

I apologise if this may sound stupidly obvious, and you may have already tried this, but there is lawn feed that you can buy. They are normally in tablet/capsule or liquid form. Here in the UK there are brands like Evergreen but if you're not from here then I doubt you'll have heard of it :) Chevymontecarlo. 18:23, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

It might be completely dead from drought, even the roots. If it is still brown nearly a year later, then that is what I would conclude. To introduce living material you could either try seeds or fresh new turf. The best way would be to remove the old dead turf so that you had bare earth to put the seeds or new turf on. Rake the bare earth to loosen it. But there is a chance that scarifying the old turf and sowing seeds onto it might work. Keep it moist while the seeds are establishing. Good luck.

If it is green but not as lush as it was, then try using some fertilizer or "lawn feed" as Chevymontecarlo suggested, and you could scatter some seed as well. If the soil is hard or too wet then it may need aerating, where you repeatedly stick a fork into it or go over it with a spiked roller. Update: you may have knocked it back by cutting it too low, especially during the drought period. If it is still green then adjust your lawnmower for a longer cut. Only after it is fully established and healthy can you gradually lower the blade. In other drought periods, raise the blade again. 92.26.59.108 (talk) 20:17, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

( Well, once again my horizon has been broadened by frequent use of Wikipedia. Otherwise, it would never have occurred to me that "It's dead, stick a fork in it" also applies to lawns! DaHorsesMouth (talk) 00:38, 19 May 2010 (UTC) )

Lawns suffer badly when sown on heavy clays that bake dry in the sun. I am relatively lucky in the UK that we get more than our fair share of rain so this baking effect rarely applies. But nevertheless I would agree with 92 above about aeration. Every Spring, for about £20, I get a lawncare contractor to visit my lawn for about 30 minutes with his great big petrol driven rolling machine that punches and lifts thousands of plugs about 4 inches long by 1 inch diameter. After he leaves, I lift all the plugs and either use them for compost, or discard them. And then, I scatter a mixture of lawn sand and lawn seed across the lawn and water them in. The holes give the lawn relief from over-compaction after a typical wet winter, and allow the fertiliser and seed to wash into the plugholes, and so far, I can boast one of the best and greenest lawns in town. Best of luck. By the way, I have neighbours who save their £20 by "forking" holes into their lawns using a standard garden fork, but I think they are kidding themselves as they are not removing any material, merely further compacting the soil around the tines. 92.30.74.114 (talk) 18:19, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

I've been in lawn care for some years now and it sounds to me as if something else is going on here. Is there any animal activity on the lawn (birds digging, etc.). Have a dig around in the soil and look for grubs. Specifically Chafer Grubs or Leatherjackets. You say you have been watering and taking care of it, does this mean you have put down a lot of fertiliser? If so you may have burnt it. Grass doesn't need feeding too much to just grow normally, it gets fed to make it green up nicely and thicken. If you haven't got grass left then putting down fertliser won't make any grow, and if you seed while there is a problem underground, then the seeds/new grass will soon die. Also you might like to think about whether it could have been a fungal infection such as Red Thread or more likely Fusarium. Good Luck. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.109.194.40 (talk) 07:49, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Well we live in New Mexico so thats why we wernt scared at first but it dosent seem to be the heat and I cant find any signs of animals except for our dog and our kids. Should we just burn it and replant? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr toocoolman (talk • contribs) 18:05, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

What colour is the lawn? Has it turned green after being brown last summer, or is it still brown? If its still brown, then it's dead and you need to start again. 92.28.253.142 (talk) 14:52, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, by all means try reseeding. Break the ground up a bit and rake out any crap. Put the seed down with a bit of compost/soil mixed into it and try to keep it wet while it germinates. I'm in the south of England so my knowledge of New Mexico weather/soil is limited I'm afraid.91.109.194.40 (talk) 23:19, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Podcast paid-for features

Ok, so I'm requesting some advice from other users regarding a podcast I'm subscribed to. Recently it's spawned a paid-for version which has more episodes per week, plus some bonus content. Before this, the podcast was free and the free part of the podcast is still being updated.

My question to you is - should I subscribe to this podcast? It's American, and since I'm in England and the prices are in Dollars I'm not sure how it would work if I was going to pay. Would it be worth getting the paid podcast?

I have been a subscriber to the free podcast for many years and it's great, but I'm not so sure about paying a monthly subscription for a new part of the podcast and then getting bored of it or running out of money. What can I do and how would the currency that I pay change from GB Pounds to US Dollars? Chevymontecarlo. 18:29, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

I can't advise on whether or not you ought to subscribe (other than to say that if you get bored, be sure to unsubscribe), but credit cards are a good simple way to manage the currency conversion. Your statement will show up in pounds and you'll all-but-certainly get an exchange rate with minimal overhead. — Lomn 21:22, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

I'd imagine that it would work like the times that I've traveled to other countries. I pay with my credit card company works out the exchange rate. Although, it may appear strange in your online statement at first. When I went to Canada a few years ago, the dollar amount that was taken out of my account was in Canadian dollars. Then later in the day it was converted to American dollars and I suddenly had more money than when the sums were in Can. dollars. Dismas|^(talk) 08:14, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

property

is a living animal, such as a dog or cat, considered to be property? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.27.140.198 (talk) 19:45, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

In the UK I suggest that all animals are property. This is implicit in the legal need for all people who own animals to treat them without cruelty and to be responsible for the misdeeds of the animal. Some animals are very valuable and will have some form of medical and/or loss insurance attached to them which again implies they are someone's property. You could try stealing someone's dog or horse or even hamster and see if the "owner" or the police have an opinion. Whatever you do don't tell the cats because they are convinced the ownership is the other way round. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 20:12, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Note that it is a very particular form of "property"—in most other property, you can do what you want with it (if I want to destroy my television, that's within my rights, if it's mine). With dogs, cats, etc., there are other regulations involved—you cannot treat them as "just" property, you have certain other obligations regarding their care, treatment, control, etc. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:24, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

(Edit Conflict) This has varied by era, culture, jurisdiction, individual philosophy, whether the animal is domesticated or wild, in the latter case who owns the land it's on, and who is doing the considering, so the general question is too vague to generate anything more than the general answer of "it depends," and debate which is not what the Reference Desks are for. If you have a more specific context in mind (e.g. 21st-century downtown New York), we may be able to give specific answers for it. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 20:13, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

The OP specifically mentioned dog and cat, which are typically household pets, and of course they are owned. The owner has certain responsibilites and legal obligations with them, just as with kids. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:37, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm guessing you knew this, but I don't know whether the 'kids' example is a good one, since many people are not going to consider kids the property of their parents. However in many countries there are plenty of laws which restrict what you can and cannot do with what most people would agree is property (i.e. I'm not talking about children or pets). Nil Einne (talk) 00:14, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Kids are not quite "property", but they are not "free" in the way adults are either; they are under care and responsibility of their parents. They are like "property" in some sense, just not the way a dog or cat would be. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:51, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Kids certainly aren't "free" - they're extremely expensive, in my experience. Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:03, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Regardless of laws, yes, the de facto situation is generally "this is my pet, I own him, I control him, I do what I want with him. If I want to feed my dog pig brains, you are going to stand here and watch it and not say a damn word. My dog, do you understand?!" Any ideas to the contrary would be met with hard cynicism. Vranak (talk) 13:03, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

See the article Animal rights. In many jurisdictions legal authorities have power to search and seize where cruelty to animals is suspected. This is often enforced for farm animals. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:38, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Abuse of both animals and children is typically illegal. The specifics of what constitutes abuse may differ. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:52, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Another hopelessly incorrect answer from Vranak. I'm not sure what country you are in, Vranak, but in much of the world, if you abuse a dog that you own, you can go to jail. Dog fighting can land you in prison for years and with hundreds of thousands of dollars in prison fines, in the United States. --Mr.98 (talk) 22:29, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Try civility 98. Anyway, I'm talking about attitudes, not laws. Vranak (talk) 02:43, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Well, you're still hopelessly wrong, as usual. Abuse of pets is not tolerated by most people in the Western world. The laws don't get there by magic and they are enforced. When big stories come out about, say, football players who abuse dogs, it leads to huge amounts of outcry against the players, their teams, etc. I see zero evidence of toleration of animal cruelty. People identify pets with family members and are readily supportive of them in general (by contrast, they are more tolerant about treatment of livestock and food animals). --Mr.98 (talk) 14:45, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Supplementary questions
If someone's male dog/cat runs loose and impregnates my bitch/catess are they bound to take ownership of the resulting puppies/kittens? Can I sell them if they are valuable pedigree puppies/kittens? If a champion stallion similarly impregnates my filly can I keep the foal and maybe race him? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:38, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

I think, absent of a contract saying otherwise (and any planned impregnations involving valuable animals would have contracts associated with them), the owner of the female owns the offspring. Nothing else really makes sense, due to the difficulty of proving paternity - it can be done now, at a cost, but I'm not aware of any changes in the law to make use of that new ability. If you behaved dishonestly in order to get your female pregnant, there may be laws regarding fraud, etc. that are relevant. --Tango (talk) 16:46, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Anyone who allows a pedigreed animal to run around freely outside is pretty much asking for trouble. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:53, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Can you sue for puppy support? That seems to be the norm for human interactions of this type. 65.121.141.34 (talk) 21:33, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Lol - and I doubt it. The owner of the bitch is responsible for the puppies. But, if you can afford paternity testing for the puppies (and can get permission to test the other dog) it'd be interesting to try! --203.202.43.53 (talk) 08:39, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

collecting cost data from a hospital

hi,

How do I collect the cost data for calculating fixed cost and variable cost per day, for a ct scan machine for a given hospital? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Avinash madhukar (talk • contribs) 20:02, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Do you mean a CAT Scan machine? Chevymontecarlo. 05:38, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Presumably Avinash means CT scan —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.202.43.53 (talk) 07:41, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

I am no expert but in the absence of one I would suggest you think about everything you will need to operate a CT scan machine and for each item decide whether it is a fixed cost or a variable cost. You will accumulate a list that might include the cost of a machine (bought or leased?), the cost of a building to house it in (rented or purchased?), the service and maintenance of the machine. The procurement of suitable staff to operate the machine. (full time, part time?) A power source for the machine, and so the list proceeds. When you have completed your list you will then need to individually source the cost of each item. I know this sounds as though it is commissioning a new machine and service but essentially that is how you will need to approach the problem. I am concerned that if you have to ask on this desk you may have some serious problems. The only other suggestion I have is to date someone from the finance department of your local hospital! 86.4.186.107 (talk) 08:43, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Cartoon

Does anyone know where I can buy the entire collection of Thorgal cartoons? Joneleth (talk) 20:28, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Amazon.co.uk seems to offer a good selection [1]. Karenjc 20:47, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

May 19

How to build an outline of a talk at a political level?

¿cómo construyo un esquema de un conversatorio a nivel político? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.232.119.83 (talk) 02:55, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

¿Qué? Lo siento, no entiendo amigo español. [What? Sorry, I do not understand Spanish friend.]
"How do I build an outline of a talk at a political level?" [Google translation of OPs' question] --220.101.28.25 (talk) 04:20, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Maybe they should've asked at the Spanish WP... Chevymontecarlo. 05:39, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. Le sugiero que envíe su pregunta allí en vez. And strangely enough, the IP is from Peru, so you would think that unless they deliberately sought out the English wiki, the default one would be in Spanish, right? 24.189.90.68 (talk) 08:15, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps they accidentally typed in eN.Wiki rather than eS.Wiki. At least I now know how to use Google Translate! ;-) --220.101.28.25 (talk) 08:35, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Don't rely on it too much for anything beyond simple sentences, more often than not it gives incorrect translations. 24.189.90.68 (talk) 10:31, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes, never use it for homework! I found out the hard way! :D Chevymontecarlo. 12:09, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Anyway, have they asked at the Spanish WP? If not, please ask at the Spanish WP, if you can understand me... If someone else could translate that and then add it to here, that'd be great. Translation is blocked on the computer I'm currently using. Chevymontecarlo. 12:13, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

24.189... has already suggested in Spanish that they ask at the Spanish WP. Marco polo (talk) 15:26, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Si quiere una respuesta en español, debe hacer su pregunta aquí. Marco polo (talk) 15:31, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

I doubt that the Spanish wikipedia has a reference desk. Not many non-English languages do - and those that do tend to be kinda pathetic. Sadly, we're not set up to answer questions in other languages here - so there isn't much we can do to help. SteveBaker (talk) 16:23, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Marco's link actually does led you the the Spanish Wiki Ref Desk. They have one desk for all topics, and they also take on some "Why was my article deleted" questions, and are careful to refuse to give medical/legal advice. They appear to do a fine job, with s smaller number of questioners and volunteers than here. Edison (talk) 19:18, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

If you want an answer in English, I am guessing that by conversatorio you mean something like a brainstorming session. Depending on the political topics your brainstorming session will address, you could create a structure or outline by listing the topics you want to address, and perhaps breaking each topic into smaller subtopics or questions. If this does not respond to your question, please restate your question more clearly in English. Marco polo (talk) 15:57, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

South Mountain High School Notable Alumni

https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3500&ATCLID=96352 The Link For Barry Wagner South Mountain High School graduate now works For Y.D.I. in Phoenix, AZ helping troubled youth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.26.21.21 (talk) 17:30, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Have you got a question? --ColinFine (talk) 18:50, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Keynote Paper

what is a keynote paper? How is it different from a paper? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Karthik1809 (talk • contribs) 17:48, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

See keynote and come back if you still have questions. --Tango (talk) 17:58, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

'Keynote speaker' is one of those buzzwords that is used very frequently...it just means it is the most important part of something, for example, a paper or speech written by somebody considered to be one of the leading experts in their field. GaryReggae (talk) 14:53, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

It's more than that. The keynote speaker is someone (usually very prestigious and respected) that speaks first and sets the tone for the conference. --Tango (talk) 15:00, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

...apart from the entity organising the conference, who had previously informed them what the conference is about. --Ouro (blah blah) 18:49, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Youtube and copyright

A couple years ago, I uploaded a short (<30 seconds) clip to Youtube of the scene from Wayne's World where Dana (a la Garth) plays the drums. A few days ago, it was removed due to a claim of copyright infringement from Paramount. Now I know Wikipedia does not offer legal advice, and I am not asking for any -- but is it possible to argue that the video was only uploaded under the guise of fair use, and should not have been removed? Keep in mind that this is not because I'm planning on fighting Youtube or Paramount about it (I know that it's absolutely pointless, considering how tenacious Youtube is about this nonsense); I'm just curious as to whether or not Paramount actually had a legitimate right to remove it. I read the article (and paid close attention the the "common misconceptions" bit), but like all documentation of copyright laws, it's vague. From what I read there, I'd say that A.) the clip was not long or substantial enough to really infringe on any major part of the movie, B.) it certainly didn't net a profit for me (that wouldn't make the case, I know, but it's much different than directly stealing the scene and, say, using it in a new movie), and C.) it's twenty Goddamn years old. I don't believe Paramount is still producing new copies of Wayne's World for people to buy, so who really cares?

Anyway. Sorry for the wall-of-text, but I thought I'd give a bit of detail. Again, this is not a cry for legal advice, just morbid curiosity on my part. Copyright holders can be real assholes when it comes to Youtube, and Youtube is notorious for bending over the instant anyone claims copyright, but I don't know. Does anyone else think this was overkill, and just another instance of big media walking all over the consumer? --69.144.20.28 (talk) 18:55, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Just to be clear...you are asking for legal advice; saying you're not doesn't make it so. That said, in these circumstances, plenty of people won't care and will tell you what you're asking for. I shall look forward to which side wins the inevitable discussion, which I shall not be a part of since I know nothing about copyright law. Vimescarrot (talk) 19:27, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

It's not legal advice, it's a question related to law. There is a significant difference. There's absolutely zero chance of Youtube reversing their decision, so why would I bother? --69.144.20.28 (talk) 05:10, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

"Can I put forward this legal argument in my defence?" That's legal advice. Vimescarrot (talk) 06:04, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Hardly. Again, it's not a "defense" -- it's simply a question. Do you honestly think I'm going to try to fight both Youtube and Paramount for something so irrelevant? Asking questions about chicken pox isn't medical advice, nor are the ones I presented legal advice. You said yourself that you know nothing of copyright law, so I don't think it's very fair for you to label a perfectly legitimate request for comment as a plea for "advice". Just because something pertains to a particular subject does not mean that it is a part of that subject. Wikipedia cannot offer legal advice, but that's not to say that editors cannot comment on legal happenings. As I said: there is a difference. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 08:26, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

What I think you're going to do with the information isn't relevant. And if you'd asked "Could I use (technique here) to treat chickenpox?" (which would be the medical version of your question, "Could I use fair use as a legal defence against Paramount?") then yes...that would be medical advice. 212.219.39.146 (talk) 09:37, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Sigh... I suddenly distinctly remember why I stopped editing here. The bureaucracy and stickler attitude of some makes it such an uncomfortable, rigid place; it used to be something better. It's not about opening every interpretation of a supposed rule and using it against something that you think may have a slim possibility of being slightly related to that rule. It's about being helpful. I'd comment on your contribution history and attitude on the reference desk, but why bother? No one understands anymore. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 19:58, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure commenting on someone's previous actions to judge present ones is a logical fallacy of some kind. Either way, it's irrelevant; that IP address is used by a college, shared by a few hundred people. Vimescarrot (talk) 05:45, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Would it be a logical fallacy to assume that if Willy on Wheels were to create another batch of accounts, they would most likely be for vandalism? I don't think you at all understand what a fallacy is, nor what I was saying. Learning from the past is the only thing that prepares us for the future. And no, I was not referring to the contributions of the IP address. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 07:51, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Try searching and asking at YouTube's community help forum, link: [2]. Not quite addressing your questions, but there I have seen advice to members considering challenging a copyright take down (there exists a procedure), and I have also seen a particular member get YouTube reinstate their videos (after a few false starts) which contained short clips of copyrighted films, but this member had used them as part of a film analysis, ie with detailed commentary. Good luck. -84user (talk) 19:36, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

From the Fair Use article : "To justify the use as fair, one must demonstrate how it either advances knowledge or the progress of the arts through the addition of something new. A key consideration is the extent to which the use is interpreted as transformative, as opposed to merely derivative."

It sounds like you were just putting up the clip for its originally intended entertainment value. If you weren't using it as part of a parody, or an art critique, or a movie review, or something that you, personally, were creating, you're going to have a hard time justifying your use as a "fair" one.

This isn't a minor nit-pick, it's the whole point of the "Fair Use" doctrine! The idea is to allow people to create new works without unreasonable restriction. APL (talk) 19:53, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

I agree, if the clip with entirely from the movie then it is not fair use. You aren't actually using the clip at all, just distributing it without permission. --Tango (talk) 01:19, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

It's a semi-famous piece from a somewhat significant cult movie, and I would think it would serve as a good example of Wayne's World-type humor. I'll definitely concede that it's not "educational" in the traditional sense, but if someone wanted to understand the attitude of the film (or perhaps reference the scene for some reason: Dana Carvey's real-life ability to play the drums? I don't know), it'd be a decent starting point. You can listen to samples of songs on iTunes if you're curious, so I've never understood why you can't watch clips if you're curious about a movie as well. I'm not about to piece together the entire movie in seventeen different uploads, but it was short, and it was a nonsense scene. And of course Fair Use is irrelevant to the media lords anyway, because it's always been about profit. I don't think a half-minute of silliness is particularly damaging to whatever their monetary gain may be, so I didn't quite understand Paramount's problem. (Note that I do understand entirely what you all are saying, I'm just explaining in a bit more detail why I disagreed with the removal in the first place). --69.144.20.28 (talk) 05:10, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

As a minor factual quibble, it's worth noting that a trivial search on Amazon reveals that new copies of Wayne's World are indeed being manufactured and sold. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 20:28, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Ah, I was unaware. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 05:10, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

The real question is, does YouTube care enough in order to defy the takedown order? Probably not—especially since actual fair use must be used as a defense (in court), and is not straightforward. As for why Paramount cares—they probably do still produce copies of Wayne's World to buy (you can get it on Blu-Ray, which is pretty recent!), and anyway, they don't really need to have a compelling reason to care. The movie isn't ancient, the property isn't dead, they probably do make royalties off of it regularly. --Mr.98 (talk) 22:26, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Of course Youtube wouldn't bother to put it back up; of this I was certain. I was just curious as to whether or not it seemed a bit picky on Paramount's part to anyone else. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 05:10, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

The law that YouTube is operating under is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, where a copyright owner can send YouTube a "takedown notice". The alleged copyright violator can respond in various ways. If you don't respond in any way by a certain deadline, then you're not following the DMCA's procedures, so the takedown will be permanent. Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:05, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

Err, I'm not sure about the end. The takedown notice lets the host (in this case, YouTube), avoid being sued if they comply. If they don't comply, then they can be sued. YouTube doesn't have to take it down, if they really think it is fair use. But there's a chance in that case that they'd have to go to court over it. Which in the case of Wayne's World clips, is probably not really in their interest. --Mr.98 (talk) 01:20, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

As I understand it, it is possible to get nearly any video removed within a day just by submitting enough copyright claims -- I really can't blame Youtube for being paranoid, lest the courts order something drastic like reviewing every existing movie and manually checking new additions (you never know), but it's frustrating sometimes nonetheless. It's enormously difficult to get the videos put back up, as well. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 05:10, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

The wikipedia article has a lot of links which are supposed to try and help you determine whether what you're doing is likely to be fair use. They're probably the next step having read the article. BTW, Youtube almost definitely doesn't consider fair use or anything of that sort. If they receive a complaint perhaps they check if it's in accordance with the way laid out under law (i.e. a simple did they cross the 't's and dot the 'i's) if that, and then they take it down. I suspect they probably don't even check the video to see if it's even what the alleged copyright holder said it was in the complaint. From Youtube's POV, particularly for the original complaint it isn't simply about being paranoid or avoiding the costs of a court case. It's about keeping all their costs to a minimum and while they don't want to alienate their userbase, they also don't want to spend much time (which would also require someone with more expertise i.e. would cost more) on each request which at a random guess I expect 99% are probably legitimate with no possible fair use justification. They leave that up to the original contributor.

And for that matter Paramount likely doesn't consider fair use (even though a judge said they should [3]), similarly to Youtube they probably don't consider much at all, it's likely a fairly automated system with some sort of 'monkey' (no offense intended to people who actually do such a job) who just takes a quick look and confirms anything tagged by their system looks like it may be a copyright violation (the person may very well know less about fair use then you).

Thank you for the link. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 20:01, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Nil Einne (talk) 10:52, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Note also that ParamountViacom is currently suing YouTube i;e; Google for over a billion dollars for copyright violations. YouTube would definitely be extra careful about Paramount copyvios. Rhinoracer (talk) 12:15, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

And not just active copyvios, but the perception of tolerating copyvios. If I recall part of the suits in question are that YouTube is rather passive about copyvios and tolerates them quite willingly. So looking like they truly care about copyvio is one way to appear better in court (e.g., saying "we complied with 99.9% of takedown requests [regardless of whether they were fair use or not]" will look good to a judge). --Mr.98 (talk) 14:34, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

That's exactly what makes it frustrating, yes. And the thing is, I can understand Youtube's problem with the whole thing, but it's still saddening. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 20:01, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Fair use is a legal doctrine but a guise is an artful or simulated semblance. We are deeply moved by your tragic account of the cruel treatment you have suffered at the hands of heartless corporate henchmen intent on denying you your holy right to make them use the server they paid for to distribute free for you a film clip for which you never paid what it cost to make. Your frustration is understandable and should now be sufficiently ventilated. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:02, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

It was a figure of speech, and everyone reading knew exactly what I meant, but thank you for the context-Nazism nonetheless. Way to be a dick, as well. It was just a question, and not once did I act like a victim or whine about the circumstances. I was curious, and requested some input. You also missed the point entirely, for the record. And as long as we're being Nazis here, I should probably let you know that commas are your friend, and will help people navigate your walls of text. Nothing gave you the right to make a comment so drippingly sarcastic and vile. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 07:51, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Also: guise is a simulated semblance, yes, and fair use is a doctrine -- since when is it not possible to simulate a doctrine, especially one so vague? Fair use doesn't have literal, specific rules, you know, it's just an idea. --69.144.20.28 (talk) 07:57, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Podcast question.

Maybe this should be asked on the Computing Desk - I'm not sure. I am a bit of a technosaurus and have just purchased an iPod nano version 5. I am pretty confident about copying and transferring music and creating playlists etc., but have just discovered Podcasts, hence my query. I discovered a 3 series free language course which I thought would really help my conversation when on the Continent, and after an initial struggle, managed to download the many episodes and transfer them to my iPod. But no matter how hard I try to re-order them on my PC, whether in the Podcast List or in the Playlists after I transfer them, I always end up with the most recent episode playing first and the initial episode playing last, which clearly, in a language course, is daft. What I don't get is how, when I upload a music CD to my iTunes library, it too arrives as last in first out - but when I re-order them in my Playlists, they stay that way. So if I can re-order music lists that stay that way, why can't I do it with Podcast episodes? Like I said, I was born before television! 92.30.74.114 (talk) 22:43, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

I agree that the Computer Ref Desk is the right place to ask this. StuRat (talk) 01:04, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes, you should probably go and ask your question there. Chevymontecarlo 04:32, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Bench pressing

I just turned 15 last week and decided to see how much I could bench press, I got 175 and I weigh 135. Is that good or what?

(I can't take full credit, because if it wasn't for my God then I never would have gotten to that). Thanks Taynk (talk) 22:54, 19 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm guessing those are pounds ? Personally, I'd think that God could bench at least 180. :-) StuRat (talk) 01:07, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Umm...yes they are pounds, and uh ya He can, it's the fact that He did it through me that makes it difficult :D Taynk (talk) 01:34, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

It doesn't matter what we think. Self-esteem comes from within. Vranak (talk) 02:40, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Could God make a bench press so heavy that even he could not powerlift it? Adam Bishop (talk) 03:29, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

And maybe have it exceeding the speed of light just for fun> ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:35, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Also note he didn't say "God", he said "HIS God". I'm guessing his God is Atlas, the God of Heavy Lifting. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:39, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Would anyone care to actually answer the OP? I'm assuming he just wants to know how that compares to some kind of average. It's the kind of question that does actually have an answer. Vimescarrot (talk) 06:02, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

For starters, there's Progression of the bench press world record. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:39, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Nope! I'm a psychologist by nature, so I get straight underneath the question to deal with why it was asked. The question itself is far too pedestrian to be of much interest, wouldn't you agree? I mean, lifting weights... really. Who cares! If he lifts a great amount, should he feel like a hot shot? I don't think so. Vranak (talk) 14:46, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

EXRX has a bench press standards chart that are a general guide to how advanced you are (there are other charts for military press, squat, deadlift, and clean if you're interested). Yes, 175lb bench press for a 135lb person is a very solid effort.--droptone (talk) 14:01, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

...or credit her God for extraordinary effort. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:26, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

now umm you guys are kinda strange about how you are all talking about the God thing. I didnt say that I saw God bench pressing 175 lbs. I said "if it wasn't for my God I wouldn't have gotten that). and thank you vimescarret apparently your the first one to actually get the question. and vranak I don't want to feel like a "hot shot", I just wanted to know what you think. Thank you Droptone. and Cuddlyable3, I am not a girl. Oh one thing I forgot to mention that might be important to mention for my weight factor is that I am 5'8" Taynk (talk) 02:51, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

May 20

DVB-s2 Card reader

I've read your articles on this subject. I'd like to purchase a DVB-s2 PCI/USB card. The TSReader and other software's I have. Can you assist in where to purchase the Hardware?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.228.101.77 (talk) 00:56, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Assist how ? You might do better to ask this at the Computer Ref Desk. StuRat (talk) 01:01, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Try a search for the item on PriceWatch. I've found very few pieces of computer hardware that the site does not have, so it's worth a shot. --McDoobAU93 (talk) 04:22, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Jamglue.com

Does anyone know why jamglue.com is shut down? I would like it if Wikipedia could help with this answer. Thank You. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.241.19.155 (talk) 04:02, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Have you tried asking the maintainers of the site? After all, the home page clearly says "Thanks for all your support. If you have questions, contact holla@jamglue.com". This would seem to be the easiest and most direct way of finding out. Dismas|^(talk) 04:06, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Considering what the site was about (from searches, I haven't come across the site before) my first though was 'copyright violations'. A quick search comes up with many people suggesting the same thing although I wasn't able to find anything more definitive like a statement or court case. You can try e-mailing them (and there's no harm in it, it's the only way you're likely to get an any more useful answer) but considering they didn't say either now or when they were shutting down on their website, it's possible a lawyer has advised them not to explain why they are shutting down. Or perhaps they reached and agreement with someone not to say (probably unlikely, I would expect an agreement is far more likely to ask them to direct visitors to some anti copyright violation site like [4] or otherwise warn people about violating copyright) Nil Einne (talk) 10:23, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Light bulb that contacts the dead

This video shows a light bulb that comes on and off at the will of the "spirits" (the live human operator). I'm wondering if anyone can confirm how it works. The board looks thick enough to hold some other electrical units, such as a radio device??91.109.194.40 (talk) 07:28, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

A- its really dead people contacting him.

B- some electrical device. I seen something that can be done with an remote.

But I am just judging from a video. wiooiw ^(talk) 08:41, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm at work at the moment, and so can't watch the video, but historically lights that flash "because of spirits" are usually triggered:

• If the operator (con artist) is touching any part of the device, by the operator touching a concealed switch
• If the operator is holding strings or wires from which the device hangs, by the operator touching a concealed switch connected by the wires by which the device is hanging
• if the operator is not holding the device, and the device is on a table, by the operator closing a switch on the floor or table which operates an inductive power source under the light, turning on the light
• if there's no way for wires to get to the device, and no way for power to get to the device by induction, it's being operated by radio - yes a radio device to do that could be miniscule.
• If it really is the spirits, why hasn't the operator claimed his million dollars from James Randi yet?

--203.202.43.53 (talk) 08:53, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

I just watched the video on my phone - the most likely answer is it turns on or not randomly based on sound detection. Given that they're advertising the device to sell, I doubt it's controlled by the operator. The electronics could easily, for example, after 10 seconds of noise (talking), followed by 5 seconds of silence, randomly either switch on the lamp or not. --203.202.43.53 (talk) 09:08, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

203.202.43.53 is probably right.It is a simple devise. Something like that could easily be done. And we are looking at a video off from youtube, so anything could be done. wiooiw ^(talk) 09:15, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

The board is a 2-layer sandwich with wires concealed between the layers. The battery is held by a cutout in the upper layer. I bet it contains a magnetic switch that the operator affects by moving a magnet on his knee under the table. Around 2:48 in the video he may have bumped the table. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:20, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Cuddlyable3, these devices are being sold on e-bay as if they were really supernatural. Think of them more like a magic 8-ball than a card trick -- that is, it's intended to fool or entertain the purchaser, it requires no skill to operate. It's not intended to be cleverly operated by the purchaser to fool an observer. Also it is described in adverts as able to be used without touching it or with someone else holding it, so that leaves control only by light, radio or sound. With the presumption that it is intended to trick or entertain the purchaser/operator we have to assume that the operator does not deliberately switch the light. That leaves sound. --203.202.43.54 (talk) 04:45, 21 May 2010 (UTC) (aka 203.202.43.*)

17th & 18th century mail coaches

Where can i find a list of mail coach numbers, especially trying to establish the number(s) of the mail coach from Bath to London / London to Bath. Each mail coach had a number painted on the side.Oaktp (talk) 11:58, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

The British Postal Museum & Archive state that they welcome research enquiries. Worth an email? Dalliance (talk) 12:39, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Some of the references or links at our article mail coach may also be of use. DuncanHill (talk) 12:59, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Song

Is there a specific name for when a song changes in tempo, tone and rhythm? Here is an example of what I mean, at time 2:12 link 82.44.55.254 (talk) 14:36, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Transition? What about trying at the Wikipedia Language Desk or the Wikipedia Entertainment Desk? Chevymontecarlo 18:24, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Thank you. I will try asking at the Language desk (the ent desk is dead except for the same people who browse misc) 82.44.55.254 (talk) 21:17, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

need money for collage

hew do i need to contact to git financial help for school from my tribe the northern cherokee nation of the old louisiana territory? thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.87.120.80 (talk) 15:10, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

I suggest you contact the college you want to go to and ask them for advice. Is English your first language, because the spelling in the question meant it took a while to understand the question being asked? -- SGBailey (talk) 16:08, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Well, here are some Native American Scholarships, but I don't think any of them are specifically for the Northern Cherokee Nation. You could go to a free scholarship search engine, like Fastweb, and search there. At Fastweb, you have to create a username and profile. The Reader who Writes (talk) 16:16, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

The Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory are not a federally-recognized tribe so scholarships would probably be limited to only those (if any) offered by that non-profit organization. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 22:31, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Fridge dial

I have a second-hand fridge, with the usual dial tucked away inside to set temperature. Is it usually the low numbers on these dials which signify lower temperatures, or the high numbers (in which case a higher setting would mean "put more work into making things cold")? Trying to find out by experimenting is hampered by time-lag and by the possibility that the fridge is broken. (Currently the fridge is too cold for my liking and I'm getting ice in my tomatoes.) 81.131.0.25 (talk) 15:36, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

In my experience higher numbers mean more powerful cooling. (I guess they go from 0 to 5 or something - sometimes you can start at 0 and turn the dial up until you hear the thermostat on the fridge switch on - and the motor starts chugging..) It's quite possible that some manufacturers have done it the other way - but higher = colder has been my experience.77.86.115.45 (talk) 15:47, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Cool, thanks. 81.131.0.25 (talk) 15:49, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes, every fridge I have ever used has had high numbers = more cooling, so to stop your toms freezing, turn it down. DuncanHill (talk) 15:54, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Elevator doors

How many kinds of elevator sliding doors exist in the world? --84.61.146.104 (talk) 16:11, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Have you tried looking here? It gives a little bit of information. Chevymontecarlo 18:22, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Six or seven87.113.245.170 (talk) 20:15, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Archive question

In the question answer section the results are shown for only last five days.how could i get my answers if by chance i miss to see it?

thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.197.254.21 (talk) 16:22, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

I've split this apart from the previous question since it seems to be unrelated. To search for a question that is older than five days (and thus, has been archived), use the search bar at the top of any of the individual Ref Desks (NOT the Ref Desk portal, which will just search the whole of Wikipedia). It will search all the archives. If you have a username, a great way to find your old question is to type that in...but since you're not using one, I assume you don't have one. Vimescarrot (talk) 16:32, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Specifically this link Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives

You can also search the archives using google or similar eg http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=reference+desk+archives+wikipedia+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= and add the title of your question or some key phrase. The archives are in googles search index.77.86.115.45 (talk) 17:34, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Trousers

Do mens/womens trousers fly area open to one side or the other based on gender, like button-down shirts? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.178.4.10 (talk) 21:08, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes - and it all traces back to the old days of yore when men wore swords on their left hip (being mainly right-handed) so that in an emergency they could rip open their coat with their left hand, and gain rapid access to their sword hilt with their right hand. Naturally, the fairer sex didn't have that problem so probably chose to advertise their femininity by NOT copying the male fashion. And it followed that what happened to men's coats, eventually happened with their trousers - though to be historically accurate, men's trouser openings did not initially have flies at the front - instead they had a flap or fall, that buttoned or tied at each side. Fly front openings followed much later, first with ribbons, then buttons and finally zips. But the pattern of the coat was copied into the trousers (and again, women didn't originally wear trousers so when they did, they chose to differ from the male fashion) and hence, your assumption is correct. 92.30.141.198 (talk) 21:47, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Is there a source for this myth? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 21:56, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

See Suit (clothing)#Front buttons. -- Wavelength (talk) 22:22, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

I've heard both of the stories listed in our article — drawing the sword is one; women were dressed by their maids and therefore had buttons on the opposite side would be the other. Unfortunately, our article provides no cite for the latter hypothesis, and an unreliable non-academic source (a website for a clothing designer) for the former. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 22:53, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Obligatory link to The Straight Dope. Dismas|^(talk) 01:08, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Swedish Universities: Academic Requirements for Postgraduate Admission

Hello! I am an American citizen who, in 2 years, wishes to attend the University of Gothenburg and study their Master's program in International Administration and Global Governance. I couldn't find precise academic prerequisites (GPA, etc.) that are required for admission. I am interested in applying to many Swedish universities for post-graduate studies; generally, what seems to be needed for admission into Master's programs there? Thank You! - Vikramkr (talk) 22:26, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Assuming that the program you are interested in is taught in English and you are a native speaker of English, a bachelor's degree from an English-language university seems to satisfy the basic requirements for application to a master's program in Sweden according to this site. According to the web page for the program you mention, the förkunskapskrav (prerequisites) also include 60 hec (higher education credits)—in Swedish terms the equivalent of a full year of study—in a social science discipline. So, if you studied for four years, at least 25% of your credits would have to be in a social science discipline. The other prerequisites involve results on English-language exams. You'd need to contact the program to see if they'd waive these for a native speaker with a degree from an English-language university. Under Urwal (selection) they mention further criteria that affect their admission decision. Beyond that, presumably they will want to see good grades and strong letters of reference. Generally, it's impossible to know for certain in advance whether one will be accepted into an academic program. Here is the home page for the program. Marco polo (talk) 00:48, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Indeed, this program is taught in English. They waive the requirement to prove proficiency in English if the language of instruction at the undergraduate institution was English. Additionally, I am pursuing an undergraduate degree that is interdisciplinary and completely grounded in social sciences, so that is good to know. Thank you for your help. However, as it is of course impossible to predict admission with certainty, I was hoping for some insight from Swedes in regards to the general academic requirements for admission, for postgraduate studies in Sweden. In other words, whether it be in reference to the University of Gothenburg or another university, what are the general expectations grade-wise? - Vikramkr (talk) 02:38, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Since these programs are intended for students with undergraduate backgrounds in Sweden and worldwide they usually don't have any actual expectations "grade-wise". The grading system used in undergraduate studies will be different for almost every applying student. It is also worth noting that in Swedish Academia - at least outside the technology field - there is very little focus on grades. Many undergraduate courses and programmes in the social sciences use only pass/fail grades, and it is definitely different between universities. Thus, I assume other factors are used to determine suitability of applicants, but I am afraid I failed when trying to look it up right now. /Coffeeshivers (talk) 07:31, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Graduation Dress

What is the significance of a wide yellow scarf in traditional commencement dress? As compared to a gold rope for example. 132.209.95.55 (talk) 22:31, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

I think you're referring to an academic stole, the meaning and significance of which can vary widely. Our article on academic dress generally may also be of assistance. — Lomn 22:45, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

There is nothing specific in either of those articles. I was looking for something more specific. 132.209.95.55 (talk) 23:23, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

The article on academic stoles tells you some of the reasons that a person might wear that garment. Unless we know where you saw someone wearing an academic stole, it will be difficult to be more specific. Marnanel (talk) 00:01, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Individual schools generally create their own system of significances for colored stoles and cords- they can represent honors, organizations, areas of study, or something else. The best way to find out what an individual one means is to ask the faculty member in charge of graduation at the specific school in question. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 01:26, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

May 21

Tesla Motors

Where are Tesla Motors cars manufactured? Everard Proudfoot (talk) 01:15, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Model S sedan [5]

Roadster - final assemby [6] chassis [7]

electric Powertrain [8] 77.86.115.45 (talk) 01:41, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Crab Lice

Why can't animals get crab lice (also known as pubic lice)? - I need to know for a school project!
~QwerpQwertus |_Talk_| |_Contribs_| 04:30, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

We have an article on the buggers: Crab louse. It confirms that humans are the only known host, but does not say why (and that particular assertion is not supported by an inline citation). I've also left a message on the talk page to see if there are any experts on the critters over there. Buddy431 (talk) 04:49, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

As an ancillary point – and assuming that our article's note about species specificity is correct – one wonders if there are not other, related lice which occupy similar niches in other mammals. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 11:57, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Historical Centuries and Decades

Hello:

I was unaware that decade boundaries overlap century boundaries. Example: Wikipedia defines the Tenth Century in the Julian Calendar in the Common Era as being from 901 to 1000. I agree. However, the same source discusses that century's first decade as being from 900 to 909. Shouldn't the first decade of ANY century begin at the first year of that century? E.g., first decade XX01-XX10, second decade XX11-XX20, third decade XX21-XX30 . . . LAST decade XX91-XX00.

In the Tenth Century, this logic would dictate first decade 901-910, second decade 911-920, third decade 921-930 . . . LAST decade 991-1000. At the present time in 2010, we would be ENDING the first decade of the 21st Century and beginning the second decade in 2011. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dick1945 (talk • contribs) 05:24, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes, your logic is sound, but, unfortunately, logic and common usage don't coincide. Most people assume (wrongly) that there was a year zero, so they take January 1st 2010 as the start of a new decade, just as they celebrated the millennium on January 1st 2000. Then we could start arguing over whether the Common Era really began in 4 BC, so I celebrated the millennium at the start of 1997. Dbfirs 07:22, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

(e/c)Yes. Because there was no year "zero" all decades and centuries should logically start with "1". (Of course there was no year 1 either, but that's beside the point.) However, most people are not as pedantic as us, and prefer the equally logical view that all the 'seventies, say, start with 197x and so on.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:30, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

I would very much like to see a citation about most people assuming there was a year 0. In my view, most people would assume no such thing, because it makes no sense to start counting anything at all, whether it be years of a new era, pages of a book, fingers on your left hand, days of the month, or Mother Courage's children, with a zero. They're all assumed to start with 1, unless we're told otherwise in some particular case. People group decades in a certain way for common convenience. It's intuitively obvious that "the 1940s" are the years 1940-1949, for example, so this needs no explanation. But if they're talking about "the 5th decade" of the 20th Century, that's 1941-1950. These are equally valid ways of grouping years into decades, as long as you don't confuse them. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 08:34, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

The same goes for centuries as well. If I said "the fifteen hundreds", I would be talking about the years 1500-1599, which is slightly different than "the sixteenth century", 1501-1600. But while both constructions for specifying centuries are used, nearly everyone refers to decades as "the twenties" rather than "the third decade" or "the one-hundred and ninety-third decade". Buddy431 (talk) 12:27, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Equivalent of B.A.M.S. Degree of Panjab University with B.A.

I want to know whether Degree of B.A.M.S. (Bachelor in Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery) awarded by Panjab University is considered equivalent to B.A. or not.

Dr Jyoti Bala drjyotibala@gmail.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.56.110.84 (talk) 08:52, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

In what country, and for what purpose? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 11:55, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Bend test

Pls. Clarify 0t,1t 2t bend test. Need of this test in reference to galvanized/colour coated coils. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rakeshknit (talk • contribs) 11:36, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

What? ╟─TreasuryTag►consulate─╢ 11:39, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

This appears to be a follow-up to an archived question; see Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010_May_10#BEND_TEST. I'm not sure how much more help we can provide, beyond the links given in response to that question. -- Coneslayer (talk) 12:32, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

I'll repeat the link here for ease of finding:

Answer [9] 77.86.115.45 (talk) 12:57, 21 May 2010 (UTC)