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June 17

Height/weight and falling over

If a tall person and a short person both fall over at the same time does the tall person get hurt more because he's higher off the ground? Also does a fat person get hurt less than a skinny person because the fat cushions the fall, or does he hit the ground with more force because he's heavier? --124.254.77.148 (talk) 07:37, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Ooh can we try this at home? :) Lemon martini (talk) 11:59, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

The Wikipedia article Falling (accident) deals mainly with persons who fall from a height above ground. The OP asks about falling over which can happen in many ways so we cannot say categorically who would be injured most. The linked article notes that older men when matched with women of identical height, weight, and age, on average, performed better in balance and reaction time; this may cause differences in falling injuries. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:00, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Both having a higher mass and a higher center of gravity (which goes along with being tall), create the potential for more serious injuries. Toddlers, with both low mass and low center of gravity, rarely seriously injure themselves, despite falling over constantly. StuRat (talk) 13:24, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

While adults tend not to fall over as often, they don't usually suffer any significant injuries either. (The exception being the elderly, who are less able to withstand the forces of landing.) --Tango (talk) 13:27, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

The height matters most and yes fat will cushion your fall. The inactivity caused by falling over and breaking a hip is extremely dangerous for the elderly. The modern love for concrete floors and a hard surface in public buildings is deadly. Dmcq (talk) 14:10, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Very strange New Zealand flag

Flag of Namibia

Flag of Eritrea

Flag aparently belonging to New Caledonia's independence movement.

Our shop offers prepaid phone cards and there's a little leaflet showing all the countries and their phone costs,with a little flag next to each country.However,the New Zealand one is not our normal flag,but what appears to be a red,green and blue(I think)tricolour with a yellow disc on with some sort of tree.I'm from NZ and I've never seen it before-any ideas what it is and why it's taken over?I'd try and post it up,but it's rather on the minute side Lemon martini (talk) 12:03, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

It sounds a little like the flag of Chatham Island as depicted in our List of New Zealand flags, but the red would seem to rule this out. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 12:40, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Also sounds a little like the flag of Eritrea, although that's a long way from New Zealand. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 13:00, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

And the flag of Lebanon, from 1920-1943, was a tricolor with a tree, but no yellow disk. The colors were red, white, and blue, though: [1], with green only on the tree. StuRat (talk) 13:18, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

This site is excellent for identifying flags, but I can't find anything to meet the description. Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:31, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Wasn't that the flag Aragorn used in the movie? I don't think you can credit phone-card companies as particularly reliable sources for stuff like this. could be a regional flag, or (as I noticed in google) an official flag for one of the government offices of positions. --Ludwigs2 20:18, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Sounds a bit like the Namibia flag (right). Anyway, they've undoubtedly put the wrong image in...either mistaken someone esle's flag, or put a company logo in. What brand phonecards are they? Gwinva (talk) 22:51, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Lot's of countries start with "New", they must have chosen the wrong one! Check out this flag. APL (talk) 05:51, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

That's it---the New Caledonia flag!!Somebody must have pressed the wrong button to select it.It's PDSA/Nomi phones and I thought at first it might be some Maori group flag but I'd never seen it before and in its microscopic form on the leaflet,it looked some sort of tree or tower on it.On closer look it appears to be some sort of funky design rather like a soyonbo I shall go investigate further !Thanks folks. Lemon martini (talk) 12:10, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Flag of New Caledonia#FLNKS political flag says: "The yellow disc is a representation of the sun and the symbol upon it consists of a flèche faitière, a kind of arrow which adorns the roofs of Kanak houses thrust through tutut shells.". PrimeHunter (talk) 03:14, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

GPS coordinates for all US counties

I don't know where the appropriate place to ask this question is, so I'm starting here. If I need to go to Village Pump, or Help Desk or Bot Request, just tell me.

I'm trying to get a list of the GPS coordinates for every county in the US for a personal project. Of interest may be Category:Counties of the United States by state which has a category for each state which contains the counties. Each county's page should contain the {{coord}} template. Any help would be greatly appreciated.»NMajdan·talk 16:03, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

I just happen to have the very list you are looking for on my user page. Go to "county table". (Caution - it is a lengthy page, so it may take a while to come up.) ... Also see the discussion of this at the Infobox U.S. County talk page — Michael J 20:39, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Wow. Do you also have the entire wombat genome in there, somewhere ? :-) StuRat (talk) 12:07, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much.»NMajdan·talk 18:24, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Whipcar

This scheme enables hirer to rent a car belonging to renter. If renter has Kensington London residents permit and congestion charge, can he let renter use them within the rental and charge more as a result? Or is that somehow a breach of a law? Kittybrewster ☎ 16:13, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Without getting involved in speculation or legal advice, I have found two things online that may be relevant. Whipcar themselves have a Q&A facility here [2] so you might be able to get an answer that way. Secondly, if you read the application form for the congestion charge Residents' Discount here [3], it states in page 7 line 4: "You cannot transfer your Residents' discount to another person." That would seem to be pretty clear. The Whipcar scheme is unlikely to be mentioned within the existing rules because it wasn't in operation when they were written, so for a definitive answer you're probably better off asking Transport for London directly (and I bet I know what they'll say ...) Karenjc 17:11, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Artist (Oils)-Abstract-Lived in France

Can you tell me anything about an artist: Sydney Madison who painted abstract modern art, in oils, who lived in Paris, France?≈≈≈ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.4.240.158 (talk) 16:23, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

ArtPrice lists only one "Madison", first name "Corinne", so "Sydney Madison"'s works do not sell at auction. Googling also came up blank. Sorry, but I couldn't find anything to help you. Perhaps someone else will have better luck. Bielle (talk) 03:34, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Do you have any more information, such as a date? Or at least a timeframe? Zoonoses (talk) 00:46, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Canned fruit packed in juices

When I buy cans of pineapple and cans of pears, they're always packed in pineapple juice and pear juice respectively (I try to avoid the syrup), but when I buy cans of peaches, they're always packed in pear juice. Why aren't peaches packed in peach juice? I'm in the USA, if that matters at all. Nyttend (talk) 17:00, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

I've just checked the tin of peach slices in my cupboard (in the UK) and their {they're} in pear juice too. I don't know why, but I guess it's either because pear juice is cheaper or because it makes for nicer tinned peaches (either taste or texture - peach juice tends to be very thick, maybe that makes it unpleasant). --Tango (talk) 17:12, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Yahoo Answers isn't an authoritative source, but this answer here [4] to a similar question suggests that peaches are expensive and produce little juice, whereas pears, grapes and apples are cheap and produce quite a lot of juice. Canning your expensive peaches in cheap pear juice thus keeps costs down; pear juice is described as the most "neutral" of the three cheaper juices, so presumably it has the smallest effect on the flavour of the peaches. Karenjc 17:20, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

I also found this page. The manufacturers boast that their fruit is supplied in its own juice, including peaches. The copy seems to imply that this is not the usual situation with canned fruit, and that the brand in question is a premium one, which would tend to support the Yahoo Answers reasoning. Karenjc 17:25, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Karenjc is correct. That is why they are packed in pear juice. It is much cheaper and doesn't change the flavor of the peaches all that much. The same way that fruit juice is mostly apple juice. Most "fruit juice", if you look at the ingredients, it's mostly apple. As well as "grape cocktail" or any of the "cocktail" juices that you see in the grocery store. It's just a marketing gimick to sell the apple juice and charge more for it by adding 10% of a fruit that has a much stronger flavor, like cranberry. So it taste like other fruits, but it's really mostly apple or white grape. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.218.50.226 (talk) 20:38, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

I can't stand those things. The apple comes through pretty strong, and I really don't much care for apple juice (which I also think is pretty low on those phytochemicals you're probably drinking the fruit juice for). Try real cranberry juice. It takes a little getting used to, but once you do you like it (or at least I like it). The only thing is it doesn't have much vitamin C, so you need to get it from somewhere else, or else stir a little of the C powder into your cranberry (because it's not sour enough on its own :-). --Trovatore (talk) 22:00, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

In my experience anything labeled "cocktail" is fake juice; just corn syrup, water, and dye, with perhaps an insignificant portion of real juice so they can say "contains real juice !". When they say "100% real juice !", that's when you get mostly apple juice with a dash of whatever type of juice you think you are really getting. Only when they say "100% cranberry juice !" (or some other type) are you really getting over 99% of that juice. Note that, even though they said 100%, it isn't, since it still contains preservatives, etc. You'd have to go to an organic juice to actually find 100%. Juice is an exercise in deception, at least in the US. StuRat (talk) 11:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

"Why does Ocean Spray call their juices Cran-raspberry and Cran-apple ?"..."Because Crassberry and Crapple didn't test well with the focus group." :-) StuRat (talk) 12:00, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

World cup soccer 2010

Yellow card

Do players who receive a yellow card in the group stage begin the final sixteen with a clean slate?

Jazzyizzy —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jazzyizzy (talk • contribs) 17:38, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

No. According to this newspaper article, the slate is wiped clean, but not until after the quarter finals. So yellow cards stay on a player's record until teams have qualified for the last four. Karenjc 17:57, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

June 18

A fly touching mah cereal

Is it alright to continue eating cereal after an ordinary housefly lands or even touches it for a second or two? If not, why? 64.75.158.194 (talk) 01:47, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Houseflies are known to be vectors for some diseases, see housefly. That being said, I have eat food that houseflies have touched my whole life, and have never had a problem. If you live in an area where the houseflies are likely to come into contact with certain disease agents, they can transfer those agents to you. If you live in a generally clean environment, you likely will fair better. --Jayron32 02:01, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

You probably don't want to see the kitchens in many popular restaurants. hydnjo (talk) 02:06, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

if you're worried then just toss out the individual bit of cereal that the fly landed on, not the whole bowl. 75.57.243.88 (talk) 02:36, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

75... You have some mighty disciplined flies in mind that land on only one bit of food. The ones around here seem to be in more of a foraging frame of mind - checking out everything in the bowl or whatever. Usually pretty tough to visualize their exact flight plan. hydnjo (talk) 02:51, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

BTW, if I do manage to swat one of those critters it becomes a treat for one of our pets, whoever gets there first - and without any side effects. hydnjo (talk) 03:01, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

So far. As the housefly article states, a risk is "mechanical transmission of organisms on its hairs, mouthparts, vomitus and feces," and the article mentions Giardia lamblia, which does infect dogs and cats, so I would cut out that entertainment if I were you. The extra protein for the pet isn't worth the risk, IMO. Plus, you know, ewww. Comet Tuttle (talk) 03:54, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

My old grandmother ysed to dismiss such incidents with the phrase <you have to eat a peck of dirt before you die>, but she still swotted flies, and festooned the kitchen with adhesive fly papers.95.176.61.56 (talk) 09:07, 18 June 2010 (UTC)Froggie34

Before anybody asks - A peck is a dry measure of 2 gallons http://www.answers.com/topic/we-must-eat-a-peck-of-dirt-before-we-dieFroggie34 (talk) 09:14, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

That's always been one of my mom's sayings. I've never known for sure whether the peck of dirt is the minimum needed to kill you, or a requirement that you'd better have completed before your death, or else.

A bit of my dad's favorite verse is also relevant here: --Berton Braley, see here for more such. --Trovatore (talk) 10:18, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

The amount of bacteria a fly will transfer is quite small, so that eating something it touched isn't likely to cause you any problems unless it happens to be carrying something so deadly your body has no defense against it, or you are immuno-compromised from AIDS, having had your own immune system destroyed prior to a bone marrow transplant as part of a leukemia treatment, etc. So, if you're the boy in the bubble, avoid flies. For the rest of us, the major danger would be if you left the food for several days, where the formerly sterile food (say just-boiled oatmeal) would now grow bacteria colonies originating from the fly's footsteps. But, of course, flies aren't the only source of bacterial contamination, dust particles do nicely, too.

StuRat (talk) 11:44, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Lol, You people are so entertaining! @75.57.243.88, I can't always tell where the flies land, you know. @Comet Tuttle, yes eating flies sounds revolting, but I heard that some poor people eat roasted or cooked flies on a daily basis. @95.176.61.56, Im not gonna eat two gallons of dirt before I die! That would pretty much cause my death. @Trovatore, nice poem. @StuRat, you do know that dust is everywhere, right? That means that everyone is potentially bacteria contaminated! 64.75.158.195 (talk) 03:00, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Actually, you are coated in bacteria right now, some of it known disease-causing agents. You probably have some Staphylococcus aureus and/or Staphylococcus epidermidis on you right now; both of which can cause staph infections. For most people this doesn't cause a problem. For unknown reasons, sometimes this makes you sick. See skin flora for the bacteria you are walking around with on a daily basis. A significant portion of household dust is sloughed skin cells, and its got much the same bacteria on it you have on you. --Jayron32 05:33, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! APL (talk) 05:57, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

It could very well be a problem if it had time to try and eat off of the food it landed on. That basically means it vomits on the food, that also means that remains of its previous meal could be transfer to your food. And knowing that flies eats all sorts of things that could be potentially unhealthy for humans, like carcasses or feces, there is a good chance that it may be a transmitter of disease. --Saddhiyama (talk) 07:56, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

In the words of the great Humphrey Lyttelton 'the rabbit droppings of fate nestle in the fruit and nut muesli of destiny' Lemon martini (talk) 12:17, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Startup incorporation

When angel investors / VCs invest in a business, do they prefer for it to have already incorporated, or is it acceptable for them if incorporation is included in "startup costs?"--LastLived 04:00, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, the costs of incorporation are startup costs. It has to be incorporated before they'll hand over any cash, though, otherwise there is nothing for them to transfer the cash too (I can't imaging them giving it to a private individual). Part of that cash can be used to pay back a loan (often a directors loan) that was used to cover the start-up costs. --Tango (talk) 05:47, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

There are several other forms of business beside corporations. Rmhermen (talk) 06:00, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, but not ones that angel investors/VCs would usually invest in. Sole traders and partnerships are clearly not appropriate for angel investors/VCs. --Tango (talk) 06:38, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

It would be an interesting experiment to ask them to invest in a workers cooperative. But they would probably just say no and you would never know whether it was because of the business type or because they didn't like the product idea. Itsmejudith (talk) 15:12, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

How would they get a return on their investment? --Tango (talk) 18:52, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Tango is correct. It needs to be incorporated first. An extra, secondary reason is that if the principals haven't even bothered to incorporate, then they obviously don't have much skin in the game which is an often cited reason that VCs and angels don't fund people's ideas. Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:35, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

If the startup has actually commenced operations, then investors naturally will expect it already to be incorporated. If there have been no operations at all, and the promoter is trying to get initial funding before doing anything, then it doesn't matter if the legal incorporation has not yet taken place. It might even be better if it has not yet been incorporated, in case the investors have specific provisions they want in the charter. However, the corporate name should have been reserved, if the promoter has one in mind. John M Baker (talk) 00:15, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

What Novel are we talking about

There are two brothers. The elder secretly works for the mob. One day, due to his carelessness a big consignment of drugs get nabbed and the boy goes behind the bars. The bosses blame him and want the money back. But how can he arrange so much, especially when he is behind the bars, but the bosses don't care they just want the money back. They start harrasing the family. Now there is only one way out - the younger brother who is totally innocent and clean has to start smuggling to make up for the loss. But due to inexperience he too gets nabbed. But the authorities keep it secret and send him back to mob with a wire to capture the whole gang, the mob finds out and that's that...which novel was it ?  Jon Ascton  (talk) 14:06, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Stereotypical criminal pulp fiction / no meaningful character development / starring faceless interests "the authorities" & "mob bosses" / zero female participation / zero romance / a dead end story. These distinguishing qualities should narrow your search for this literary gem. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:09, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Adidas Shirt

So I have this adidas shirt, and it's my most favorite shirt of all time, but it's seen better days. I got it at Rugged Warehouse (the Big Lots of clothes), and I'm having trouble locating where I can buy this shirt so I can replace it and keep rocking it. Here is the link for the picture, and any help is appreciated! http://s903.photobucket.com/albums/ac235/ziggeh/ 24.181.202.2 (talk) 14:09, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Not sure, but here's where other people are discussing where to get that shirt: [5]. It seems to be from the Addidas Originals line offered at Urban Industry clothing store. However, when I go to their web site, they no longer carry it: http://www. u r b a n i n d u s t r y.co.uk/brands/adidas-originals.asp (I had to space it out to get past Wikipedia's stupid SPAM filter, remove the spaces to go to the site). StuRat (talk) 14:53, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

I looked at that blog, but it doesn't seem to reveal anything about where I can actually buy it. Any more suggestions? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.181.202.2 (talk) 17:01, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

It's available here (http://www.retrokillerclothing.com/adidas-originals-scattered-80s-rave-logo-tee-blue-t-shirt---mens---204329-4658-p.asp) but is in light blue. Not sure if that's close enough for you? ny156uk (talk) 20:46, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

You could learn screen printing, print a similar design on white t-shirts without infringing copyright, and sell them. 92.15.4.168 (talk) 13:47, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

That's a terrible answer - for two reasons:

Firstly: The design incorporates the Adidas name and logo - you can't make a reproduction of it without infringing on copyright. Just changing the color of the shirt wouldn't be enough to make it be considered as a new copyright-free work - and I don't see a way to claim this as 'fair use'. Even if the shirt had been around long enough for copyright to expire (which it hasn't) then the fact that the 'leaf' logo is also a registered trade mark of Adidas would still get you into trouble. So, no - do not make a copy - and selling them would be outright intellectual property theft - which would certainly get you into a ton of trouble if they ever found out!

Secondly: Even if you changed the design enough to get around those issues, you wouldn't need to learn screen printing to make yourself some - there are plenty of companies out there (like Cafe Press for example) who will print T-shirts for you in as few as one-off quantities - and you can even upload the design as an image file and order online. They'll also print onto colored shirts for you (although getting the design to look right on a colored shirt can be tricky).

SteveBaker (talk) 14:03, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Well duh, it would be easy to do a similar design without infringing copyright. For example you could have the multi-coloured letters of Steve, with a different font as well. If there are people discussing it on the internet, then it could be an opportunity for the OP to make some $$$$ learn something about business and get a t-shirt they like. 92.28.240.72 (talk) 11:00, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

But if he used different letters and a different font then it wouldn't be the T-shirt he wanted, would it? He wants it to be the same as his original one, "duh". --Viennese Waltz ^talk 11:39, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

You have assumed that he only likes one design only, but he has not said that. He may like other similar designs also. He likes the blue version for example. He may be able to design something he likes even better than his current favourite. Don't deny him a chance of becoming a fashion designer. 92.24.178.183 (talk) 20:25, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

He said he wanted to replace it, i.e. get a new one the same as his old one. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 09:18, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

I like the light blue, but I would really like to have the white version as well; let's keep looking! haha —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.82.209.100 (talk) 18:20, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Would it be legal to make one or two for personal use? Bus stop (talk) 13:51, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Probably not, because "personal use" in this case is wearing it for everyone to see. As a practical matter, it's unlikely that anyone would find out, or care (not legal advice of course; copy at your own risk). Buddy431 (talk) 00:59, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

"Personal use" is not an exception under copyright law - and even if it were - it's definitely not an exception under trade mark law - so this is still illegal whether you sell them or give them away or just hide them in your bottom drawer and wear them only on leap-days. SteveBaker (talk) 22:19, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

It is not "illegal." No police or prosecutor will get involved. It's "actionable," which means you can do it without breaking any law; the owner could sue you, but that would be insane unless you were selling the product. (e.g., The Beatles sued people for selling buttons with Beatles images on them; they never sued anybody for making such buttons but not selling them. The point wasn't to recoup the lost sales revenue but to avoid diluting the brand and/or suggesting official sanction or sponsorship of the product.) Yet again, I'll repeat: in most cases (exceptions include pirating and so on), intellectual property torts are not crimes, hence are not "illegal." 63.17.90.134 (talk) 11:10, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Since people get arrested for selling pirate or counterfiet copies of goods in street markets in the UK, then I infer that it is illegal and criminal here, not just unlawful. 92.15.17.9 (talk) 12:02, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

AA rechargeable batteries

How many hours does it take to fully recharge four AA camera batteries from a charger plugged into a household socket - I have no instructions on my charger - (I have fully discharged the batteries through my camera) —Preceding unsigned comment added by John23736 (talk • contribs) 14:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Not sure, but "overnight" seems to do it for me. StuRat (talk) 15:09, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

It can vary considerably. NiMH AA rechargeables have a capacity of roughly 2000 mAh. My charger, a good quality one with an adjustable charging rate, offers charging currents of 200 mA to 1500 mA. That would correspond to charging times of (2000 mAh / 1500 mA) = 1.3 hours to (2000 mAh / 200 mA) = 10 hours. -- Coneslayer (talk) 15:17, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Modern NiMH cells seem to cope with a higher charge rate, though I think it slightly shortens their lives. The early ones had a recommended charge of one tenth of their capacity (say 200mA for a 2000mAh cell) for fourteen hours, allowing for some energy wasted as heat. Fast charges often give only 80% to 90% of full capacity. If you know the manufacturer and model of the charger, it might be possible to find out whether it is designed for a fast charge or a slow one. Modern chargers tend to be more sophisticated and adjust the charging current as the cells gain charge, ending with just a trickle charge at the end, or switching off completely so that the cell is not ruined if it is accidentally left on charge. Dbfirs 16:04, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

If the charger has coloured lights, it's done when the colour changes... Aaronite (talk) 18:14, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

If the charger has coloured lights that change colour. Like Dbfirs says, there are a lot of different kinds of battery charger. Mine is twenty years old, has red lights that indicate only whether the batteries are properly seated, and takes about 8 hours. 81.131.52.194 (talk) 08:32, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

If they're NiCAD, they get warm when fully charged. --Phil Holmes (talk) 10:35, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Tell me something about yourself

TMSAY is the word which is probably heard by almost everybody asked in the interviews and also what are you weaknesses and strengths also what has been your achievments.why do you want to leave this job and why should we hire you. Are there any close to perfect answers to these, i have a job interview lined up ,can anyone help me with these please. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.122.36.6 (talk) 17:43, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

A person who tells the complete truth at an interview is a wierdo so don't. Give an example of something where you had problems initially but eventually overcame them successfully. Having discussed it with someone else and taking their advice is a plus. Dmcq (talk) 18:25, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

I do recommend preparing answers, specific to you, for the standard questions like this, but I also recommend not trying to look up a "perfect" answer, because the perfect answers are a standard joke among the hiring managers. I believe it was I Married Marge in which the interviewees were asked about their worst qualities, and they instantly answered "I'm a workaholic" and "I push myself too hard". (But, also, don't answer as Homer did: "I'm kind of a goof-off, it takes me a long time to learn anything, and little stuff starts disappearing from the workplace.") Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:32, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

When you're asked to say something about yourself, it's the chance to say the things they haven't asked you about that you really want them to know. Say you were going for a job and you have a skill they will like, but won't be asking most of the interviewees about, that's your chance to bring it up and demonstrate it. It's a chance to show off your strong points. It's good to think of what things related to that job you're best at, or that people have complimented you for. Something along the lines of "My previous boss/church leader/dance teacher often told me I was {good thing}, and that encouraged me to try {something interesting you have done}. I enjoy {thing you did} because {why you like it}. The best interviewees will never use such an obviously formulaic answer, but if you're having trouble thinking of something, it's a solid thing to fall back on.

Interviewers also often like to hear that you're enthusiastic and motivated about something, and it doesn't really matter what. They're also making sure you can construct coherent sentences and link them together, and that you do indeed have a personality. Even if you're a capable individual, people like to employ interesting and likeable people over boring and unsociable people. Steewi (talk) 04:40, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Very often this question is just a 'warm up' to get the candidate comfortable and to provide some sort of basis for ongoing questioning. I don't think you should obsess about it...just spend a few minutes beforehand thinking of something honest and comfortable to say so that you don't get the "Deer in the headlights" look and panic - then be a ball of nerves for the important questions that are yet to come!

I interview quite a few people and personally, I try not to ask that kind of question - I prefer warmup questions like "What's the most fun thing you've worked on in your career to date?", and unless the candidate is completely work-shy, that should elucidate a more relaxed answer and hopefully give you an idea of the enthusiasm the candidate can muster...then I'll ask "...and what's the worst thing?" - which also reveals interesting details.

But if you get stuck with a TMSAY then you'll need to have prepared with things like "I like working with people" or "I love working with computers" - which are OK if you're being honest about it. I've said things like "I'm an ideas man - sometimes I'll go home with a difficult problem and wake up at 4am with the complete solution in my head - and then I can't sleep!"...that's true and it seems to go down well. You can stick in some generalities to pad out the answer and make it sound more personal: Stuff like "I come from a large family" or "I'm an only child" or "My family are originally from Italy" - but keep that kind of stuff short, the interviewer really doesn't care about your family history and your home life - but it adds 'dimension' to your answer - makes you seem more human. If you get the "What's your worst quality?" nonsense - you can fend that off with mildly self-deprecating humor - "Oh that's easy! A weakness for Donuts! You do have free donuts here - right?" is one that I've used. But again, think about an answer up-front - it's not that the answer matters - it's that you don't want to let it rattle you into screwing up the rest of the interview. So if you can reply quickly and get it over with, you'll be more relaxed as the real questions come across.

The other question you might want to pre-prepare an answer for is the dreaded "So why do you want to work here?" (Hint: "Because I need a job" or "Because I need the money" are considered disasterously poor answers...even though I'm pretty sure they are the truth for 90% of candidates!)...Yuck! For that one, you need to mentally put the emphasis on the word "here" and not on "Why do you want to work" which is the thing most people focus on. The question is "Why here? Why not at our competitor or in some other industry?" - and you should definitely prepare a solid answer for that. Spend an hour cruising around the companies web site - see what their corporate message is - figure out how you can fit right in with that without sounding sycophantic (which is what you're going to feel because really it's "because I need the money").

Above all, try to be relaxed - it's hard to assess whether someone is right for the job when they are a nervous wreck. Preparation is the route to calmness.

SteveBaker (talk) 05:05, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Heh, heh. "Try to be relaxed" - is a surefire way of not being relaxed. You have to just let it happen. :) But, as Steve says, if you're well prepared you'll be much more likely to achieve that confident and relaxed space you need. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 22:05, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, you may have heard of the whole Zen doctrine of 'no mind'. I would say that just saying whatever comes to mind will do fine. What you don't want is to give a long-winded, boring, self-centered, or calculated, pre-determined answer. Entertaining, informative, or funny would be ideal. You want the employer to like you, first and foremost. That said, they may be deadly serious, so no joking or flighty anecdotes if that's the case. Vranak (talk) 03:17, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

chamcha

What is the meaning of "chamcha" or chamchagiri in hindi?? anyone —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.122.36.6 (talk) 17:46, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Try asking at the Language Desk. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:00, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Chamcha means "spoon", and chamchagiri "spooning". It's a colloquialism for a follower, particularly an obsequious one, so it could mean "toady" or "sycophant". The Satanic Verses features a character named Saladin Chamcha, an actor who has sold out his heritage and become a voice-over artist in England. See wikt:chamcha Karenjc 18:39, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Karenjic, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.122.36.6 (talk) 09:24, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Not many people are familiar with the origins of this very interesting hindustani joke-term. It literally means "spoon" of course, and is pointed as an allegation for a sycophant, chamchagiri meaning the trait of obsequiousness. But what has spoon got to do with sycophancy ? Durning British Raj the officers, both Army and civil, used shoehorns to help the easing of their foot into a shoe. Which were also used by thier overtly loyal servants to help their superiors tying their shoes, hence the term  Jon Ascton  (talk) 15:34, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Wild turkeys

I am trying to find some information on Wild Turkeys. I am trying to find out how to deter them from my garden and yard. They have been around for almost a week. Six or more at a time. Besides going through my garden, they leave large droppings around. They are beautiful creatures, but it's not good having them in your yard. Thank you Ron Bombard —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.228.104.171 (talk) 20:33, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Contact your municipality or county's Animal Control Officer, who would be interested in knowing the ecology involved and most likely knowledgeable about solutions, especially if this is a protected animal. -- Deborahjay (talk) 10:52, 19 June 2010

(UTC)

"... they leave large droppings around." Wow, what great manure, dig it into your garden it is loaded with nitrogen. It's their way of saying thank you. Richard Avery (talk) 14:08, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

There is a handy turkey season in most states. Shadowjams (talk) 07:47, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Corn & Sweetcorn

Does anybody happen to know if Corn and Sweetcorn are safe for canine consumption? Thanks 92.15.60.29 (talk) 21:22, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Corn is a common ingredient in manufactured dog food but it should not by any means be a major component of a dog's diet. Acroterion _(talk) 21:27, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Corn is the first ingredient in many brand name dog foods such as Purina Dog Chow and Purina Beneful. Other dog foods like Innova Evo lists beef and lamb as their first ingredients claiming that this is better. A simple Google search will show a lot of results saying that it's not good to have corn as the first ingredient but this site claims that ground corn is 91% digestible by a dog. Dismas|^(talk) 21:58, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

With the notable exception of chocolate, most things humans eat is generally safe for dogs. Most dogs can eat just about any meat or vegetable humans can. Chocolate is problematic because of the theobromine in it. See Theobromine poisoning. I suspect that other similar alkaloids (such as caffeine) may have similar problems for dogs. But any simple vegetable or meat or cereal that you would is probably OK. If you have doubts, call your veterenarian. They can tell you more. --Jayron32 05:20, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

It was my understanding that raisins are bad for dogs, as well. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 20:13, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

If you're asking about table scraps, consider that the ingredients in commercial pet food have been processed in ways that may transform them to be (optimally) digestible, let alone nutritious. A recent query on answers.yahoo suggests: "onion and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate...pets affected...will develop hemolytic anemia" (that destroys blood cells). There's some mention of "high doses," but why take chances? That dogs are omnivores doesn't qualify them as garbage disposals. A web search on "cooking for dogs" might yield practical suggestions, but I'd advise following up with a veterinarian's professional opinion. -- Deborahjay (talk) 10:48, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

To the original poster: The fact that you use corn distinctively from sweetcorn, and that your IP traces to the UK, makes me think that maybe you're using corn to mean wheat. Is that right? You should be aware that any responses above that happen to be from Americans almost certainly assume that corn means the same as what I think you're calling "sweetcorn" (technically maize, although we use that word a bit differently as well). --Trovatore (talk) 20:21, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

That's the sense I got too... which begs the question, what form is your corn in? I mean, sweetcorn, out the can, but corn not so much. - Jarry1250 ^{[Humorous? Discuss.]} 21:39, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I have no particular prior reason to believe that corn is either better or worse than wheat, for dogs. I take it you think wheat is OK but corn is not? --Trovatore (talk) 22:38, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

But wheat is corn. DuncanHill (talk) 09:16, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Dogs are primarily carnivores and their diets should be based on meat, but most commercial dog foods are based on grains because they are cheaper. Grains are "safe" for canine consumption in one sense -- dogs can often eat them with no ill effects -- but they're not ideal, and many people believe that grains are actually responsible for a lot of health conditions in dogs. Corn in particular is not an ideal ingredient for dogs.

In an ideal dog food, grains are either totally absent or represent only a small proportion of the ingredients. Bear in mind that ingredients are listed by weight, and the food may actually contain less of the first ingredient listed on the label (say, chicken) than those listed further down because meats are weighed fresh but lose their water content during processing, and grains are often split into their constituent parts on labels so that they can be listed further down: rice, rice brain and rice flour may be listed separately, but they are all parts of the same grain.

It's all exceedingly confusing, but there are websites that review dog foods. Because someone mentioned Purina above, and because its primary ingredient is corn, here's an excerpt of a review for Purina Beneful Healthy Harvest, which they rate as 1 out of a possible 6 stars:

"The primary ingredient in this food is corn. Corn is a difficult to digest grain of limited value in dog food, and which is also commonly associated with food allergies. Even if this had been a good quality grain, we would still note that grains are an unnatural foodstuff for canines, and that dog food products should be based on meat rather than grain. Corn gluten meal, next on the ingredient list, is also low quality"

See more at www.dogfoodanalysis.com. Exploding Boy (talk) 16:12, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Exploding Boy, what do you mean by "corn"? DuncanHill (talk) 09:16, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

If you follow the link, you'll see that the first ingredient in the food analyzed is "ground yellow corn", and that there is a reference to "Animal feeding tests using Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) procedures". So I think we can assume that Exploding Boy is using the word correctly. --Trovatore (talk) 23:36, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

If you mean maize, do not give the dog the cob as it can easily be swallowed and cause a bowel obstruction. My boss' dog died from that very thing. --Sean 16:39, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I meant the yellow knobby stuff that grows on cobs, but wheat is also not an ideal food for dogs. Like yellow corn, wheat is often found in dog foods, and like corn, it is often associated with food-related allergies in dogs. By the way, I've never heard wheat referred to as corn in the UK; is this some new or regional thing? Exploding Boy (talk) 21:31, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

See the corn disambig page. I gather that corn means more or less "grain in general" in the UK. Because of that ambiguity, most WP articles refer to real corn as maize, which is supposedly unambiguous, even though it isn't really (in the States, outside of very technical uses, maize refers specifically to corn with hard, dry kernels, usually deeply colored — we have an article, flint corn, that seems to be talking about maize as I understand it). --Trovatore (talk) 03:15, 23 June 2, 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I did read that, but it's the first I've ever heard of it. I've never known any British person to call anything corn except the stuff that grows on cobs, and maize is not commonly used either. At any rate, I think this question has been answered. Exploding Boy (talk) 15:32, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

A Human Egg

I was wondering how long it would normally take for sperm to fertilze a egg? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.114.225.229 (talk) 23:32, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

I guess it depends on where you start and stop the clock! The egg can only survive for 24 hours after ovulation - and the sperm can only survive for 48 hours - so the process is necessarily shorter than that. The sperm have to swim 'upstream' for about 10 hours to get into the fallopian tube where they can meet the egg. Only a microscopic fraction of them survive to make it that far. But around 300 million of them set out - so it's OK that only a small fraction get there! After that, the sperm has to get through the outer casing of the egg (the zona pellucida) - which is a fairly tough membrane - and that takes about twenty minutes. So if the egg is ready - 11 hours after intercourse...more or less. But if ovulation happens a day or so after intercourse, I suppose it could be as long as the sperm can survive - which is 48 hours. Once egg and sperm are together, that 'stops the clock' on the survival of the resulting cell. It takes another 6 days for the fertilized egg to actually implant in the womb and start dividing...and much can go wrong before that happens. SteveBaker (talk) 04:24, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

What is your source for those 24 hours and 48 hours figures? They are shorter than I remember and I can't find any Wikipedia article that gives figures (I haven't looked anywhere else, yet). --Tango (talk) 15:47, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't have any sources for it but I remember being told those figures myself in my high school health class and on trips to science museums and such. Dismas|^(talk) 16:21, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

It's now 13 hours since our IP posted.Wonder how they're getting on? :) Lemon martini (talk) 12:21, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Probably still at it, stop watch in hand!--Artjo (talk) 12:48, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

According to these people, the time for sperm to reach an egg varies a bit, between about 12 to 48 hours, so I'm going to go with them because I have no obvious idea. And now, if you don't mind, i shall quote something that my friend once said to someone else.

"You moron!!! Thats not what you're supposed to do!!! God, over 300,000,000 sperm and 20 hours later, YOU'RE the one that got through!!! Damn!!!" XD 64.75.158.194 (talk) 05:12, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

June 19

Where to go to offer services as an online private tutor?

Craigslist is blocked for non-us users. I need a free classified ads web-site--83.54.228.138 (talk) 11:32, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

There are Craigslists for lots of non-US locations. As your IP geolocates to Spain, the list of ones for Spain is here. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 11:44, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I know, but craigslist happens to be not very active here. Besides that, I want to be a Spanish tutor, a service not many here need.--83.54.228.138 (talk) 11:59, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

You may wish to contact the British Embassy as there are thousands of ex-patriate Britons in Spain, who need to learn how to speak the local lingo and the Embassy may keep lists of Spanish tutors. I understand there are English language radio stations in Spain too. My contact in Spain's on holiday otherwise I'd ask him for you. --TammyMoet (talk) 15:22, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't know if this will work for you, but you could try using Tor and hope to get to an open proxy that happens to be in the US. (I don't know if Craigslist blocks posts from open proxies like Wikipedia does.) Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:09, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm confused. Are you looking for online services to advertise your own online services? Or are you looking for online services to advertise your real world local services? If the latter, then Tammy's suggestion of going to embassies and such is a good one. No, it's not online advertising but then it's targeted. Other things in that direction are American schools and US military bases. Dismas|^(talk) 16:17, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

How about http://www.gumtree.com? (Besides the UK, it has partner sites in many other countries, see the list at the foot of that page.) 213.122.25.172 (talk) 16:33, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Do you have any relevant qualifications or experience teaching Spanish? If so, you might be able to find an agency that will find you work. That would probably be better than just advertising on a generic website. If you don't have any qualifications or experience then you may struggle to find an agency that will accept you. --Tango (talk) 16:42, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

The Beard?

"The Beard" at some time was informal term for Fidel Castro ? Jon Ascton  (talk) 16:44, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, "The Big Beard" - "El Barba Grande" according to this [6]. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 08:48, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Unfortunately, the link provided by Caesar's Daddy is to a joke blog, and not one written by a person who speaks Spanish, as it would be "La Barba", not "El Barba". Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:24, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Doh!! Caesar's Daddy (talk) 17:31, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

I would trust you anyway :) Chevymontecarlo 15:34, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

At last, an answer to the question "What do Fidel Castro and Katie Holmes have in common?" 63.17.50.124 (talk)

Confusable elevator companies

Can the largest Japanese elevator company be confused with a Japanese automobile manufacturer? --84.62.192.52 (talk) 19:43, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes. Anything can be confused if you aren't playing close enough attention. Even more so if things aren't in your native culture or language. However, it is entirely possible that the two are in fact the same company. Mitsubishi, for example makes both cars and elevators. Japanese comglomerates do everything. 24.83.104.78 (talk) 20:35, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

It's a little inaccurate to think of Mitsubishi as a single company. Technically each member company is separate and autonomous, but joined under the same banner. It's like the European Union, only different. I believe that's the case for a large number of Japanese firms, where there are separate companies in diverse industries, all joined under the same branding (see Keiretsu, also Zaibatsu and Chaebol). You sometimes see a similar structure in the US too, where a single holding company will oversee a number of (technically) separate businesses, which may share similar branding. -- 174.24.195.56 (talk) 20:50, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Well, people can confuse anything with pretty much anything. I don't know how reliable it is, but this suggests Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha, Ltd. (a member of the Mitsubishi group of companies) is the biggest elevator manufacturer in Japan, so confusion is understandable. Karenjc 20:42, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

This is the same guy who asked about "Mitsubishi car" earlier. I don't know what his deal is but I'm sure he thinks it's very amusing. Adam Bishop (talk) 20:51, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Maybe he's stuck in an elevator and can't work out whether to press the call button or engage reverse gear? Karenjc 20:56, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Much the same way that Yamaha is known for both motorcycles and pianos — hardly items that one would conjure in the same thought. — Michael J 23:28, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

My motorbike's got A♭... 81.131.2.69 (talk) 00:38, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Actually, didn't some work Yamaha did to improve tone in it's brass instruments , trnalsted to make better (more effcient) bike engines? Sfan00 IMG (talk) 19:15, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Mitsubishi also makes good CDR & DVD+/-R of course sold under the Mitsubishi brand name in Asia and Verbatim (which they bought a while time ago) in much of the world with the MCC (Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) media code Nil Einne (talk) 03:07, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Virgin is another example of this. I mean, they have a record company, airline, publishing company (although that's part of a different company now) and finance company all making up the brand. Chevymontecarlo 15:32, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Coupon cash value follow up

And now, following up from the question on the 16th, the rest of the story. Okay, after calling the Pizza Hut complaint line, I received a call from a girl at the corporate office letting me know that my complaint was being expedited. Later that day, I got a call from a Regional Manager who asked me to explain the situation to him. He told me that he'd never heard of anyone trying this during his 36 years there. He said he'd contact the Vice President of Marketing in Dallas and get back to me. Today I heard back. They had a shiny penny and a plaque for me, and they requested that I take a picture with the store manager. So, in the end, I got my penny for my twenty coupons. It can be done. 76.27.40.75 (talk) 22:58, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Congratulations. Don't suppose this is going to be covered by local news, is it? It'd make an interesting read, I'm sure. Vimescarrot (talk) 00:35, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

You got your penny but what a measly sum they have paid you for a fantastic publicity occasion! Great story. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 07:58, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Write to The Consumerist and get it broadcast through the land. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:21, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Yay! A happy ending! APL (talk) 03:07, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

June 20

What's English name of "Trigger" (drum sensor used e.g. death metal drummers)

Hi, I'm wondering what's the English/American name of "trigger". I mean this. There are called "Drum trigger" but I'm not sure is the standard name. Italian/English interwiki was wrong, it was Trigger pad. Thank you.

--DracoRoboter (talk) 15:30, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

"Drum trigger" is the only term I'm familiar with when referring to electronic drums. They are particular type of MIDI trigger. —D. Monack ^talk 21:31, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

It seems trigger pad redirected to stomp box for some reason. I moved the redirect to the more appropriate MIDI. —D. Monack ^talk 21:36, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Why does google.com.hk have doodles of snowy scenes today (6/20/10)?

71.161.58.42 (talk) 17:44, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

I think it does not. Try clicking on the snowy scenes. Kittybrewster ☎ 18:29, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Apparently it's for Summer Solstice. 71.161.58.42 (talk) 19:10, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

With the American version, you can simply hover your mouse over the doodle and an explanation normally pops up. Dismas|^(talk) 23:18, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, an explanation appeared there too, but in Chinese. I clicked through, found the same characters, copied them, and pasted them in a translator to find out it was about Summer Solstice. It's funny to my American eyes that snow would be associated with anything with "Summer" in the name. 71.161.48.53 (talk) 01:39, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

That makes very little sense to me... The Hong Kong article indicates to me that it never snows in Hong Kong, at least not without severely breaking away from the averages. These months are the warmest there too. Why would it have snow?

The more likely connotation would be the end of snow, even if it seems a little late. Also it may be more directed as Chinese culture in general then HK in particular. However IMHO the more likely thing is someone simply screwed up and put the southern hemisphere doodle in a northern hemisphere location. [7] Doesn't show any snowy theme for HK, only sunny/warm weather themes for selected northern hemisphere location and snowy & cold weather ones for selected southern hemisphere locations. Nil Einne (talk) 01:52, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Confusing logic question

What's the truth value of the statement "This statement is false."?--75.25.103.109 (talk) 18:52, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

See Liar paradox. Algebraist 18:57, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Oscillatory. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 08:14, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I could kiss you for that. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 16:55, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

The statement is not about anything in particular, so it has no truth value. It's kind of like asking what's in the Empty Set. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:16, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

The King of France is not bald. True? False? See Bertrand Russell 's theory of names/descriptions that don't name/describe anything (I can't remember the term he used for "names/descriptions"). 63.17.90.134 (talk) 11:20, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

June 21

New type of high-heel shoes?

I've been having a chuckle over some awkward family photos and came across this entry. It appears as though there's some sort of toe coming off the back of the shoe that is taking the place of a standard high-heel. Is this actually how the shoe is built? Maybe some sort of specialty shoe to accentuate the look of her leg while not having a stiletto heel? Or is this a sandal with some piece of material on the floor? Dismas|^(talk) 05:25, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

They appear to be a sort of 'Cantilever heel'. I searched on google for that and found (http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/30655) but can't find anything that says they're specifically called that (I also found a number of images on google-image with a search 'inverted heel' and found a blog mentioning them in 2007 (http://shoesmitten.com/blog/?tag=inverted-heel). ny156uk (talk) 08:33, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Interesting design. It seems like they'd be even more uncomfortable than regular high heels though. Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 09:43, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Posh Spice once wore heel-less boots like that without even the cantilever. I suppose she had to lean forward all the time. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1063083/Beckham-mania-Poshs-heel-thigh-high-PVC-boots-stop-traffic-New-York.html 92.24.176.41 (talk) 10:28, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I spotted this style with the same type of heel in a shoe shop just a couple of weeks ago, and was also intrigued. An assistant told me they were 'surprisingly comfortable' to wear, but comfort is relative where women's shoes are concerned, in my experience. Karenjc 15:45, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I somehow doubt that woman is all that concerned about the comfort of her shoes, there. however, I can see the advantages of a shoe like that; it would take away the heel pressure of a normal step in high-heeled shoes (where the first impact of the foot goes straight to the heel) and distribute it more naturally into the arch of the foot. I think we need to find a physicist with a foot fetish to study this in detail. --Ludwigs2 18:01, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

New York Times Obituaries

Hi there, I am interested in reading a New York Times obituary in the 1970s. A simple google search doesn't bring up anything. What would be the easiest way to read it? I would prefer it to be free.

Thanks in advance, 110.174.151.109 (talk) 06:33, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Try putting in a request here, a very useful page where Wikipedia editors with access to paid-for resources will try and help. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 08:12, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

There's also Google News Archive Search, which includes New York Times articles over the whole history of the paper. However, they are not free. And if by "obituary" you actually mean a paid death notice, I don't know if those are included. --Anonymous, 06:04 UTC, June, 22, 2010.

No, an obituary is a short biography of a prominent, recently died person printed in a newspaper. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 07:34, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, the person in question would have been quite prominent- maybe even a front page(?) obituary or at least quite big. 110.174.151.109 (talk) 09:45, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Why not just give us the name here? It would simplify things. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 14:48, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Birds and Fish Bones

While watching this video with the penguin swallowing that large fish whole I began to wonder - what do penguins and birds in general do with the bones? How is their digestive system adapted to digest bones? Won't the bones puncture things on the way? --antilived^{T | C | G} 09:06, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Many people, myself included, feed their dogs a raw diet of chicken. This includes chicken bones. The dogs are able to digest what they can and what comes out does not resemble bone fragments at all. While not the same since dogs chew their food more than birds do, it demonstrates that bone is digestible. If you're wondering, we get a 50 lb box of chicken backs (all the breasts, legs, etc. for human consumption have been trimmed off and what's left is the back and rib cage) and bag them up for daily meals. Dismas|^(talk) 09:27, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Owls regularly regurgitate a pellet of undigestable leftovers[8]. Not sure about penguins though. Alansplodge (talk) 12:15, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

This page describes penguin digestion. The esophagus and proventriculus (something like the stomach) of the penguin have tough muscular walls that can deal with the rough edges of a whole fish. The proventriculus secretes acids that break down and soften the hard parts of the fish. The partly broken-down and softened fish then enters the gizzard, where stones and the abrasive walls of the gizzard itself break the fish even further apart into safely digestible bits. By this time, the bones are ground down and softened so that they can be at least partly digested in the intestine. Of course, what can't be digested is eliminated. Marco polo (talk) 13:52, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I used to have a Florida king snake -- but this will apply to all snakes -- I fed it live mice and what came out certainly didn't look like bone. But when one does histologic slides of hard tissue (bone, tooth), it must be decalicified. It can certainly be accommodated (if necessary) for the hard tissue to remain in the acidic portion of the digestive tract long enough to decalcify them. Whether or not that happens, I don't know, but it's not like it's some wild concept from an alien movie. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 02:17, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Tangle toy snake-y thing

Hi! Does anyone know of high-street British shops (as in, actual, physical shops) which sell this sort of stress-relieve-y-tangle-y-toy-thing? Thanks! ╟─TreasuryTag►Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster─╢ 14:32, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, there's the company's retailer list here [9] , but I couldn't tell you if any particular branch of a shop would stock them. I see you live in Greater London - you would be almost certain to get them at Harrods (as that is listed as a retailer and only has one store) or Hamleys' London store (since the store is massive and I would expect it to stock all of their lines). Equisetum (talk | email | contributions) 15:09, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

You could try www.hawkin.co.uk, because they have high street shops called "Hawkin's Bazaar", and your local branch could try and get it. --TammyMoet (talk) 15:32, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I agree with TammyMoet. I have seen products like that a few times before, and I think it's most likely to be sold by Hawkin's Bazaar. Chevymontecarlo 18:31, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

And if you're really cheap, order a free Quit Kit from the NHS which includes one. Nanonic (talk) 20:05, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

I saw something that looked like a cross between that item and a Rubic's cube, in Poundland a few days ago. When I was a graduate student sitting at a desk writing for twelve hours a day, I bought similar toys myself. Or learn juggling perhaps. 92.15.27.255 (talk) 20:08, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Maybe the thing you saw was Rubik's Snake? --Viennese Waltz ^talk 07:39, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Clothes made from Cryogenic Gloves

Would I be very warm under extreme temperatures (-50 C) if I was to fashion a winter coat made from the same material used in cryogenic gloves designed to handle Liquid nitrogen? [[10]] Acceptable (talk) 21:27, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Toasty warm. The gloves protect from -160 C. So, then, would the coat. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:41, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Blue hands and fingers all over you. Sounds kinky ;-) Dmcq (talk) 23:29, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs

Who's the leader of the Pokémon Pinchers? Bulbapedia said that it is the Tea Party, but that was probably just some childish vandalism that didn't get removed before Bulbapedia was locked from editing. --75.25.103.109 (talk) 22:12, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Some old versions of the page says someone called "Red Eye" (example). Don't know if that means anything to you. Vimescarrot (talk) 10:53, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Look here: [11]--151.51.25.173 (talk) 18:08, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Tv / digi-box that will increase the 'size' of subtitles

My partner's grandma used to have a non-digital tv that had Teletext which she used for subtitles. On teletext you get the option to increase the font-size (it looks like it works as a basic zoom of the text rather than an increased font per-se). Anyhoo her new digital tv has subtitles, but we cannot find anyway to make them bigger. Is there any way to increase the size of subtitles on digital tvs/or any tvs that you're aware of that have this functionality? ny156uk (talk) 23:05, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

If the TV can't do it (I'm trusting you've already read the manual) you would need to find an external digital TV tuner with that option. There were millions of them sold - see if anyone you know has one and see if you can change the teletext size with it.--mboverload@ 09:34, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

There is a huge difference between the new digital teletext technology and the old analogue version, and I think it unlikely that larger subtitles will be available in the near future. On the plus side, you should find that the subtitle text is now much clearer than before, and the clarity of the text does vary from one set to another, so it would be worth shopping around and looking at new tv sets bearing that in mind.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 13:47, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

June 22

Copyright on MIDI music.

Suppose there is a piece of music that's LONG out of copyright - something composed in 1800 let's say. If someone published a music score on paper then the score itself could still be copyrighted - and also a MIDI file that someone put together would also be copyrighted. But if someone wanted to perform the piece from the sheet music - their performance wouldn't be covered by the copyright on the score they happen to use...right? So what about a performance from the MIDI-file? Is a sound file made by a computer processing the MIDI file covered by copyright that the author of the MIDI file has or not?

If the answer is "yes" - the copyright on the MIDI data applies to the performance of it - then what if I use a score-editing program to turn a paper score into a MIDI-file?

SteveBaker (talk) 00:54, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

With the obvious caveat that I am not a lawyer, law student, or anything of the like, I'd expect that Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service would provide a useful example of a similar case. If you're taking the sheet music and transposing it exactly into a MIDI format, then you probably don't meet any standard of originality and thus the MIDI file wouldn't be subject to copyright. However, a live performance all but certainly would be sufficiently original, as a human performer isn't going to be playing the music with machinelike precision. Similarly, subtle alterations in the MIDI file (altering tempo, redefining one of the instruments, what have you) could probably constitute originality. This leaves aside any issues of the copyright on the sheet music itself, and under what conditions that sheet music has been licensed -- that's well beyond anything I know about. — Lomn 01:31, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Searching for info on this turns up mostly the issue of using someone else's MIDI file. This book, for example, say that according to the U.S. Copyright Office, a standard MIDI file is a work of authorship copyrightable as a sound recording. Whether one can use of the MIDI file to print out sheet music is another issue. This book suggests the question has not been resolved, but that some licenses specifically deny persmission to print the MIDI data as sheet music. From what I can tell in my quick search, the question of whether a performance of a copyrighted MIDI file is covered by the copyright is something unresolved in U.S. law (but don't take my word for it--I only did a quick search). Your question, "what if I use a score-editing program to turn a paper score into a MIDI-file?" is a different issue. I couldn't find a source with this info, but I'm skeptical there would be a problem. Music notation does not indicate exactly how the music is to be performed--especially older long out of copyright music. Sheet music terms like espressivo, ritardando, etc, as well as dynamic markings like pp, p, mf, f, ff, etc, are vague and relative. Much is left to performance interpretation with common notation symbols like slurs, grace notes, accents, etc. So creating a MIDI file from sheet music necessarily involves interpreation and some degree of creativity--even if rendered as mechanically as possible, that it still an interpretation and likely not at all what the composer intended! Further, if the music itself is long out of copyright it should usually be possible to find out of copyright sheet music as well. And in any case, how would anyone know you made the MIDI file using sheet music instead of, say, working it out by ear? Sorry I have no definitive answer--just very skeptical on that one. Pfly (talk) 09:21, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Now here is an interesting question and a somewhat counterintuitive possibility: If I have a copy of an 1815 score of the Eroica, then both the music and the score are out of copyright. If I do a completely automatic translation into MIDI, the MIDI score should be without copyright as well - or is it? The program I use to interpret musical choices certainly has tunable parameters (how loud is fortissimo, how fast is allegro). Is their choice a creative act? What if I later use the same settings for the Nutcracker suite? On the other hand, if I listen to a performance and work the MIDI out from their, I'm probably infringing on the performers copyright. But am I again adding creativity, i.e. do I also have a copyright interest in the MIDI? What if I use a program that samples the recording and creates a MIDI file from that? Creative commons sure looks attractive ;-) --Stephan Schulz (talk) 10:01, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

So you're all essentially saying that creativity is the issue here?

Whether the MIDI file (or the paper score) is copyrightable depends on creativity put into it? So if I merely photocopy an original hand-written score by Mozart, then I don't have copyright on the photocopy - but if I beautify the score, lay it out more neatly, remove the crossings-out, etc - then I have copyright on my copy of the score - even though the actual notes on the stave and the annotations around it are identical to Mozart's. The same must be true for MIDI. The question is about the nature of the performance from those (potentially copyrighted) scores/MIDI. I don't think a pianist who plays music from a paper score and sells recordings of that music has to pay licensing fees to the person who printed the score since none of the creative cleanup of Mozart's original work ended up in his recording...right? The musician owns copyright on the recording because he used considerable creativity in playing it.

But when my computer automatically replays the MIDI file does the resulting audio stream have:

• Copyright owned by the creator of the MIDI file - because in transcribing the Mozart score into MIDI, some measure of creativity is implied...just as it was with the paper score transcription.
• Copyright ownership by the person who caused the MIDI file to be played on the computer.
• No copyright at all since zero creativity was added to what Mozart originally wrote - and that's out of copyright now.

How the heck are people supposed to avoid legal issues when the law is such a fuzzy mess?!?

SteveBaker (talk) 11:08, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Well, to some extent they're not. The technology enabling novel manipilations in this and many other fields advances much more quickly than the pace at which legislators can be expected to envisage and legislate for all possible resultant scenarios; the latter are more the province of science fiction authors. Instead, novel legal precedents are often created by legal cases over specific issues - see Case law. Sometimes a glaring lack of law appropriate to an area of newly developed possibilities will prompt a special effort to analyse and recommend on it - the Warnock Report (1984) (shockingly, no article) springs to mind - otherwise, the uncertainties that understandably annoy many of us (some more than others depending on personality and philosophy) is the price we pay for a dynamic society and the rich variety of human possibilities. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 15:07, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

But if you create the midi file then you can release all your rights (if any). Graeme Bartlett (talk) 11:26, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

The solution of course is to ask the legal department at the publisher, but I can save you some time: They will say, "There's no case law — there are risks — find another way." Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:26, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Court etiquette

I've never actually been to court (other than speeding violation court) but from the general access provided by films over the years, it seems as though the courtroom etiquette in Philadelphia (film) is very different than anything else I've ever seen (in particular: how Denzel Washington is asked to step away from the defendant, how there's a blockade of some sort between the judge and the defense/prosecution, how the bailiff wears a suit, etc.). Is this just how they do it in Philadelphia (the city) or is the film not supposed to be set in 1993? DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 21:19, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

How can this question be up for so long and still not receive any comments? DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 17:43, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

It's been less than 24 hours. That isn't that long, especially for a very specialist question (there probably aren't many ref deskers that know about Philadelphia courts). The instructions at the top of the page say you may have to wait up to 4 days to get a full response. Please be patient. --Tango (talk) 17:53, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Ecoterrorism

Who was the person who first coined the term ecoterrorism? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.176.14.2 (talk) 04:44, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the term "eco-terrorism" was as a headline in the Globe and Mail on 23 August 1980, so probably a sub-editor there. Warofdreams talk 09:50, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

The OED says no such thing. That's the earliest use they quote, but they make no claim to document earliest known uses of words. Algebraist 11:58, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, they do, as their information for A level students states: "the OED quotes from the earliest material that can be found featuring the word". Warofdreams talk 14:47, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

This article[12] credits Ron Arnold as "Father of the Wise Use Movement and Creator of the Term “Ecoterrorism”", apparently based on [13]. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:40, 22 June 2010 (UTC)