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February 21

Penn vs Cornell vs Duke

Hello, I am a graduating high school student and a recruited athlete with excellent academic qualifications. I have received "likely letters" from the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University and Duke University. The most important factor, ironically, is not the quality of their sport teams, but rather, the education that I will be receiving. I would like to go on to a prestigious medical school and become a doctor later on. In the fortunate event that I should be accepted to all 3 institutions, which one, if by only a slight margin, is better in terms of prestige, social life and ability to grab an employer's attention?

According to the US News and Report, Penn is above Duke, which is above Cornell. But rankings are not always the best indicator of the quality of the schools and can vary depending on which one you look at.

Thank you for your time. Hustle (talk) 00:14, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Durham, North Carolina is known as the "City of Medicine" mainly because of Duke University and its various hospitals. Remember that at Duke you are also 8 miles from Chapel Hill, North Carolina which also has an excellent medical school. At Penn, you'll be in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which has a number of well-regarded hospitals and medical schools. At Cornell you'll be in Ithaca, New York which is a small town in the middle of nowhere. Although, it should be noted that your undergraduate degree can be in just about anything when applying to med school; I have read somewhere that chemistry majors tend to have higher acceptance rates at med schools than biology majors. Also, just because you do undergraduate at one of these schools does not mean that you would not attend a medical school at another place. If you want my honest opinion, they are all top-notch schools, and I have known people to go to and love all of them. You may have to base you decision on more than their academic reputation, which is pretty much equal between them all. Other factors like size of the school, location, city vs. rural campus, extracurriculars, interviews, specific programs, etc. should all come into play. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 03:34, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Ivy League is Ivy League, and you might end up deciding that medicine is not for you. Of the three, I'd say choose whichever of the two Ivy League schools is most agreeable to you (location, weather, etc.) or whichever offers you the best financial package. But, if you're a basketball player, Duke might be a little harder to pass up. —Eustress ^talk 05:20, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the comments. For my undergrad, I'm mainly looking for a social and fun experience, yet at the same time receive a top-notch education. For Med School, I plan on applying to many different ones and may not stay at the school I went to for undergrad. I actually live in a medium sized city, so both a large city like Philly or a tiny rural town like Ithaca would be a pleasant change for me. Hustle (talk) 07:45, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

"better in terms of prestige, social life and ability to grab an employer's attention"

Prestige- 1. Duke 2. Cornell 3. Penn Duke is hands down the best known name in the South. 2. Cornell is well known. 3. Educated people here on the west coast are generally not aware of the reputation of Penn and assume it is a public university. Employer reputation - should be no different from the prestige evaluation. Social life - As a city person I would prefer Philly. (Just b/c Cornell is in NY don't assume you will be visiting NYC often. You will make rare visits only. So NYC will definitely not be part of your social life!)

But you know what my honest advice is? Go to your state university for free. As a doctor you undergraduate degree will add no value to your career prospects. It will simply be more expensive. There are many state universities with honors college programs that group students with high caliber SATs together. You can go to those schools for free on a merit scholarship and still have the benefits of a good education with bright peers. I know many people who went to expensive private schools, paying out of their own pocket for the privilege. They admit they made a mistake. Since we are going to go through a long recession that may even continue beyond your college graduate, it's even more important to consider the costs you might be bearing.

Watchwait (talk) 08:05, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I second what Watchwait said. Save the money, or your parents' money, and go to a quality public school. When you're 40, or even 30, no one will care that you went to Duke or Cornell for your undergrad. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:46, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

That's not exactly true. If you want to get into a quality medical school then the prestige of your undergrad institution does play its role. There are only a handful of public schools with the prestige of those schools he mentioned. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 23:39, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

For me, cost is not really an issue as due to my family's poor financial circumstance, I qualify for near-complete need-based financial aid. How do the three school's prestige stack up internationally? Hustle (talk) 02:31, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

You should probably review College and university rankings and go from there if you want to look more into rankings. Also, I suggest talking to a university counselor regarding student financial aid. Uncle Sam can only get you a little over $5,000 (max) per year with a Pell Grant, and private need-based grants are competitive. Yes, you can get loans, but if you're planning to attend med school, I'd shoot to exit your undergrad with little to no debt. —Eustress ^talk 05:39, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

What are you thinking about majoring in? If you know that then you may want to look and see what the professors in that field are doing research in. If one or two pique your interested, then apply to that school. You can become a research assistant, boost your resume for med school and enjoy what you're doing at the same time.--droptone (talk) 12:38, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Live in the US without funding the military

Is it possible to live and work legally in the United States without paying taxes that can be used to fund the US armed forces, the Pentagon, the DHS or the CIA? NeonMerlin 00:51, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

No. Taxes are all pooled together, you can't distinguish which purposes your particular dollars go towards. If you want to avoid funding the US military, you need to leave the US. I can't see how it would work anyway. It's obviously unfair for you to pay less tax (you still benefit from the military whether you fund it or not), so if you want to not fund the military, you need to fund something else more. The funding requirements haven't changed, so that means someone else will be funding that something else less and the military more, so all you've really done is swap your taxes with someone else. It doesn't achieve anything. --Tango (talk) 01:01, 21 February 2009 (UTC

Even if you don't pay income taxes, almost everything else you purchase or consume has a tax component built into the final price. As Tango points out, no individual gets to say where specific tax dollars are spent. // BL \\ (talk) 01:05, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

And the idea that the benefits of military protection are non-rivalrous and non-exclusive make it a public good in Economics. The idea that everyone in the world benefits from it is one of many in the hegemonic stability theory. Just interesting side notes.NByz (talk) 03:43, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but you wouldn't care much for the lifestyle. Income below a certain (very low) threshold is not taxed (or, more accurately, no tax is paid), and subsidence farming is certainly a viable (though unexciting) possibility. Most land is also subject to property tax, so you either need a sympathetic landlord (which might be considered cheating), land that is part of a Native-American reservation, or to live entirely on public property. Practically speaking, you'd probably be much happier emigrating to a country whose policies you actually agree with. – 74  03:58, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

You might be interested in articles like War Resisters League, National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, Conscientious objection to military taxation, Tax resistance and their external and internal links.John Z (talk) 07:44, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I note that all the agencies named by the original poster were federal. From what I gather, property taxes in the United States are levied at the local level — no property tax revenue will be used to directly fund any of the agencies listed. Now, it's possible that a local police force (funded by your property taxes) may cooperate with the FBI (for example) as part of an investigation, so I suppose it comes down to how picky you're willing to be about who gets what money.

Similarly, sales taxes in the United States are levied at the state and local level; goods can often be purchased without making a direct contribution to federal coffers. Be cautious here, however. Many items – including gasoline – are subject to excise taxes or import duties which are collected directly by the federal government. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:36, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Also, don't make any phone calls or buy any cigarettes or alcoholic beverages if you want to avoid paying excise taxes. Gasoline has an excise tax too, but it's not directed toward the government's general fund. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:40, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Henry David Thoreau refused to pay his taxes because he didn't want to fund the Mexican-American War. He did get thrown in jail, but he did write Civil Disobedience while there. bibliomaniac15 00:48, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Supplementary question

Which nation, either current or in the past, has managed to combine a high level of law-and-order with a low-level of military activity the most successfully? One could say that Switzerland has kept out of trouble, but on the other hand they have national service. New Zealand would be my first guess, but I'd like that to be trumped, please almost-instinct 13:18, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

While Switzerland may have pretty much every able bodied man in the army, their military activity is extremely low. There is lots of training, but that's about it. Also, if you're an immigrant, you wouldn't be eligible for national service anyway. --Tango (talk) 14:09, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but that means that there's a healthy disincentive for would-be invaders. I was wondering if any nation had successfully decided to do away with armies and militarism, and but retained a civilised level of law-and-order. I can't imagine it happening (maybe I've read too much George Orwell on this subject) but am wondering how far in that direction a nation has got. In NZ's case their remoteness is obviously doing a lot as a natural defence almost-instinct 14:17, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Iceland was protected by on-site U.S. forces until recently but now is going it alone without a standing army. Of course, geography plays an important factor there. Rmhermen (talk) 15:27, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Wouldn't you know, we have an article: List of countries without armed forces. – 74  15:13, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

That makes for interesting reading. Clearly being surrounded by water helps! Or being tiny and nestled up against a much larger civilised country. How about tweaking the question: which non-island nation with a population over, say, 2 million, has the lowest per capita spending on armed forces over a sustained period and/or has the most war-free history over the last couple of centuries? Hard to quantify that second part, sorry almost-instinct 15:55, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

My first thought was Costa Rica. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 18:58, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

List of countries by military expenditures looks promising, but you would have to balance that with some useful "law and order" metrics. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 19:13, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

On the per capita list there, interesting to note the positions of NZ, Canada and Japan. Have we any "law and order" stats? almost-instinct 19:34, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

List of countries by intentional homicide rate would be one data set. NByz (talk) 20:04, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

There is Category:Wars by country (incl. NZ, Canada and Japan), but it seems a labourious task to get some meaningful stats out of that. Clearly, homicide and other stats on crime would pertain to "law and order" but crime rates seem to be fairly unrelated to military spending. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 20:11, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

OP, there is a way, if my information is correct. Some years back, a British journalist resident in Hong Kong was posted to the US. Since the UK and HK don't tax residents abroad -- and the US doesn't tax foreign correspondents living in the US -- he was effectively living tax free. Again, it is a story I was told directly by the person involved, and with no other support. DOR (HK) (talk) 08:17, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

He would have to pay tax on any money he took back to the UK or HK, so it's just money spent in the US that would have been tax free. I'm surprised the US don't tax foreign correspondents that are being paid in the US (the money would need to go into a US bank account), but I guess there are lots of strange tax laws, so it's far from impossible. --Tango (talk) 22:42, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

A Riddle I Just Can't Figure Out

A friend of mine asked me this.Can anyone figure it out?? I'm at a loss....

3 MEN GO INTO A MOTEL. THE MAN BEHIND THE DESK SAID THE ROOM IS $30, SO EACH MAN PAID $10 AND WENT TO THE ROOM.

A WHILE LATER THE MAN BEHIND THE DESK REALIZED THE ROOM WAS ONLY $25, SO HE SENT THE BELLBOY TO THE 3 GUYS' ROOM WITH $5.

ON THE WAY, THE BELLBOY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SPLIT $5 EVENLY BETWEEN 3 MEN, SO HE GAVE EACH MAN A $1 AND KEPT THE OTHER $2 FOR HIMSELF.

THIS MEANT THAT THE 3 MEN EACH PAID $9 FOR THE ROOM, WHICH IS A TOTAL OF $27, ADD THE $2 THAT THE BELLBOY KEPT = $29.

WHERE IS THE OTHER DOLLAR?

Thanks in advance... 117.194.231.8 (talk) 06:59, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

It seems problematic, but it's just an abuse of math. The guests paid $9 each, $27 total, of which the hotel kept $25 and the bellboy kept $2. There is no reason to add the $2 to the $27 that the guests paid (since the $2 is *already included* in that amount), but adding the $3 that the guests received as a refund ($1 each) does indeed produce the original $30 value. So, in summary, the fact that 27 + 2 ≠ 30 is neither surprising nor noteworthy, but the word problem incorrectly suggests otherwise. – 74  07:11, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

These things used to drive me up the well known, too. I've put it in a couple of equations that may help seeing it clearer.

charge A $30 /3 = $10 each

charge B $25/3 = $8 1/3 each

overcharge $5 = $1 2/3 each

reimbursement $3/3 = $1 each

final charge $27/3 = $9 each

= 25 change B + $2 bellhop tip (or $2/3 he embezzled from each of the men)

= 30 charge A - $3 they got back

(Mathematicians please don't bite. I know it's not proper math syntax.) Hope this helps. 76.97.245.5 (talk) 08:31, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Or you could read the article: Missing dollar riddle. --Anonymous, 09:49 UTC, February 21, 2009.

This joke is often used in Pantomime in the UK, it must date back to the invention of money. I repeat my comment from yesterday... old jokes are new to those who have not heard them.86.197.175.121 (talk) 11:29, 21 February 2009 (UTC)DT

If you actually try it with coins / poker chips whatever, it becomes easy to visualise. The first point is that at no time are there less than 30 coins in circulation, so none have "disappeared". At the end of the transaction the hotel has 25, indicating that each man paid a hotel bill of 25 divide by 3 = 8¹/₃ NOT 9 each ! The point is they have been ripped off by the bell boy to the amount of ²/₃ each, being a total of 2. At the end of the day, nothing is missing, as they have the balancing value of 3 in their pockets !--41.15.133.227 (talk) 04:38, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

American efect? is it

in laymans terms what id global recession or meltdown and how do we get rid of this and how is US economy effecting the world economy. is american economy directly responsible?? is it true that, russia was not effected by the great depression of 1929, but how??thanking you in advance

You could start by reading Global financial crisis of 2008–2009 and relevant articles linked therein. The article on the Great Depression has a section on the Soviet Union and a couple of promising looking links on its economic events around that time. 88.112.63.253 (talk) 12:59, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

The financial crisis, which has triggered an economic crisis (likely both are the first-ever ‘global’ crises of their kinds), is based on a loss of faith in the value of certain bonds (a short-hand term I’ll use for Mr. Layman that includes many other kinds of financial instruments). The people who would normally buy these bonds from those who hold them don’t think they’re worth much (if anything), which means those who hold these bonds feel like they’ve suffered a loss. The path to stability requires finding a willing price, or value for these bonds. Once that is done, buyers will buy and sellers will sell (the definition of a willing price).

Since economies cannot be held responsible, the blame shouldn’t be placed there. Rather, it might be more useful to place the blame with those who created these special kinds of bonds, and those who decided they were valuable investments. As for Russia (the USSR, in the 1920s and 1930s), it was only very poorly integrated with the rest of the world during the Great Depression, and so was more strongly affected by its own internal affairs. DOR (HK) (talk) 08:26, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

70's or 80's arcade game

Hi, I remember an arcade game in the 70s or 80s, it was a diving game where you are a diver with some kind of underwater jetpack and you mission is to attack a submarine with a spear gun. Does anyone know what the game I am talking about is called? Thanks. 86.137.97.95 (talk) 18:04, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Was it an arcade game or a console system game (or both). If console, do you know which system(s). Jungle_Hunt fits part of your description. It has an underwater diver with a spear attacking alligators. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 06:16, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

A game for the Atari 2600 sounds similar but I'm not sure if it was also an arcade game. Sea Quest [1]. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 06:27, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Wine

My father gave me a bottle of wine that he said was very old and im trying to research it with no results.Hope you can help. The name is Cocai Italico. Below that is Di Scodovacca. Below that is Azienda MERK Agricola. Below that Scodovacca/Italia. Below that Vino Da Tavola. To the left of that e 0,750l. On the side of the label it says IMBOTT.DA V.G.A.-S.STINO-ITALIA 11,50%VOL. The label has an etching of a vineyard and a family seal with MERK and what looks like a Knights helmet above it. The label surrounding the cork says Az.Agricola Merk. Below that CONTR.IVA A-2 SRP R.I. 7650/UD. Any help ?

Is this (http://www.vinigeretto.it/ing/Linea.asp?Linea=Merk) any good? The name and logo match the brand and there are a series of bottles but none match that - though presumably this is their 'currently buyable' selection. If it is the brand i'd use that as a term for seeking out more info about this particular bottle. ny156uk (talk) 22:05, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

It would seem to be a table wine from Aquilea, between Udine and Trieste in the Friuli area of NE Italy. There are a lot of Google hits, but it is all in Italian :( --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 22:12, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Also see Table wine. e 0,750l there are 0.75 liters of wine in the bottle. IMBOTT.DA V.G.A.-S.STINO-ITALIA that's the company that put the wine into the bottle. 11,50%VOL is the alcohol content (remember they use , instead of . for decimall). Cervignano del Friuli is what Scodovacca it:Scodovacca is a part of. Azienda is company. "Azienda Agricola" would usually be translated as "farm" but would most probably be "vineyard" here. MERK seems to be their name [2]. The vineyard is int the Province of Udine. The number R.I. 7650/UD is some registration number there. Hope this helps. 76.97.245.5 (talk) 09:38, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

February 22

Google Help

Is there anyway to contact Google for general help and not about a specific product? I'm just looking for something like a general help contact form for Google. --72.195.153.210 (talk) 01:21, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

They don't seem to have an easy-to-find contact form for the main search engine itself. The most general contact/help page I could find was the one for Google accounts, but first check to see if the Google Cheat Sheet has what you're looking for. 152.16.59.190 (talk) 02:25, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Update: I believe this may be what you're looking for. 152.16.59.190 (talk) 05:03, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps someone here can help, if you are willing to post the question. - Akamad (talk) 02:18, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Most pictures of one person

I don't know if this one can be factually proven one way or another. Who in history has had the most pictures of their face reproduced? My nomination would be Queen Elizabeth II. Her face is on every single coin in a whole heap of different countries (UK, Australia, NZ, etc). Could there be any other contenders? I suppose perhaps Jesus Christ, but does he count if no-one knows what he looked like? Thanks everyone!!!121.44.57.245 (talk) 02:02, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

My money would be on George Washington. He was appearing on notes and coins long before Queen Elizabeth was born. LANTZY^TALK 04:17, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

It says here that Queen Elizabeth might be the winner.--Lenticel ^(talk) 05:38, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Washington is only on two denominations of US coin as far as I know: the Washington quarter in most or all years since 1932 and the first presidential $1 coin in 2007 only. Queen Elizabeth II has been on coins since 1953, and in the countries that do it, she's on all denominations. And at last some of the paper money too (in Canada she was on all denominations for a while, then we put past prime ministers on the $5, $10, $50, and $100, then they stopped making the $1, $2, and $1,000, so that leaves only the $20 with the Queen on it), but Washington $1 bills in the US do go back much further.

Doesn't she also appear as a small image on British postage stamps? Those get used once and discarded, unlike money, but I don't know how production figures compare. --Anonymous, 07:11 UTC, February 22, 2009.

As the main, and sole, image on the vast majority (if not all) of them. That link says there have been 180 billion stamps with her face on it. (I've always thought it odd that the country that invented the postage stamp has always been so ... non-creative with their philatelic designs. But that's neither here nor there as far as this question is concerned.) Then, as the questioner says, she's been on every single coin in every Commonwealth country realm for 55 years, and on many of those nations' banknotes for the same time. Australia (and some/all? other Commonwealth countries realms) have always had the current monarch's face on the lowest denomination note, but curiously, Elizabeth II was the first UK sovereign whose face appeared on British banknotes. -- JackofOz (talk) 07:24, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

• Jack, you're exaggerating. She isn't the queen of a majority of Commonwealth countries, including seven of the eight most populous ones. I'm sure there are many that don't put her on their coins; a quick check shows that India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and South Africa (the four most populous) don't, anyway. --Anonymous, 00:33 UTC, February 23, 2009.

• I did, of course, mean to say Commonwealth realms, not Commonwealth countries. Thanks for the correction. -- JackofOz (talk) 00:43, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I think she may well be on all of them. I inherited several stamp albums, and from what I can see, if she's not the main image then she's a silhouette in the corner. There are a couple of exceptions - I've found one (this one) that's split vertically, half with the Post Office Tower and half with her face. She always seems to be there somewhere, though.— Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 09:20, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

It is a legal requirement that the Monarch's head appear on British coins, notes and stamps.86.202.25.99 (talk) 14:53, 22 February 2009 (UTC)DT

British postage stamps are the only ones not to have the name of the issuing country on them. DuncanHill (talk) 16:02, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Do film frames count? Imagine how many pictures of an actor were generated from a movie. One per frame, 24 per second. 15000 a copy for a mere 10 minutes of screen time. This article mentions 35 million VHS copies of the Star Wars films. 10 minutes of screen time per movie would be half a trillion little pictures for just the VHS copies of those three films. --JGGardiner (talk) 21:19, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Film frames might (arguably) count - but I think waveforms on a VHS tape is a bit of a stretch. After all - I could create a few billion pictures of myself on my computer in a fairly short amount of time...then you'd have to say that I won. SteveBaker (talk) 04:21, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

While your argument is good, you need more then a few billion to win. Of course it still won't take too long. If I used a 0.05 megabyte image being written to memory at 5000 MB/s that's 100000 in 1 second. In 10 days I'd have written 86400000000 images, probably enough to win. With high end modern GPUs having massive amounts of memory bandwidth (e.g. 159 gigabytes/s for the GTX285) and given that even a 10k JPEG should be recognisable you could easily do 100+ times that, surely definitely enough to win. It also depends how you define an image. After all you could write an image and then just keep writing 1 and say it means the previous image (which is partly how video compression works) which shows how meaningless it is Nil Einne (talk) 13:00, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

OK - so the average color of a picture of myself is 0x85386A - I'm now going to claim that all pixels of that color everywhere in the world are in fact very low resolution 1x1 pixel portraits of myself. I win!  :-P SteveBaker (talk) 14:01, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

If you want to compete you could just do it the same way as Elizabeth and print tiny pictures serially on sheets. That's how banknotes and stamps are produced. --JGGardiner (talk) 01:56, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Leaving money aside, I'm not sure that he would beat Elizabeth but Colonel Sanders must be high on the list. I don't eat fried chicken but I worked at a mall for a time when I was in university and there was a KFC in the food court. His picture was on everything: the box, the napkins, the cups, the ketchup packets etc. I wouldn't be surprised if the restaurant today produces more images of him on a yearly basis than are produced of the Queen. Although the gap would be wider in the past when KFC had fewer locations, simpler packaging and she was the Queen of more places. Although I suppose he may well surpass her after she dies. --JGGardiner (talk) 02:00, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, if we're going by annual rate, I see more than a billion standard UK coins were minted in 2007 [3] and a little less than a billion Bank of England banknotes are usually printed [4]. More than a billion last year, but then the new £20 note was being phased in. Add in Bank of Scotland notes, and money alone is easily giving us more than 2 billion pictures of the Queen every year on mainland Britain. Add to that stamps (surely at least a billion?) and then start thinking about places other than that one island.

KFC claim to serve nearly 8 million customers a day [5] on a global basis. Assume we can extrapolate that up to 2.8 billion customers a year. Assume each customer has a napkin, a cup, a box, fries. 4 pictures per customer? May be a little generous (some of those customers won't be having a full meal), but it probably works out (with the ketchup packets). 11.2 billion pictures printed a year, assuming all locations print pictures of the guy on everything. So, which is printing at a higher rate depends on whether Canada, Australia and the rest are printing more than 8 billion images of her per year. (I have ignored commemorative plates, coins, mugs etc, as negligible. An assumption on my part.)

From Australia, looks like we can expect at least half a billion coins a year [6] plus nearly 300 million notes (on an upward trend) [7], so money gives us about another billion from Australia. I don't know about Australian stamps. So, 7 billion to go.

She has appeared on various Australian stamps over the years, but her visage on our stamps is far from the norm. I'd say that's true for every Commonwealth realm except the UK. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:19, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

Canada. Looks like [8] about 1.8 billion coins, banknotes are more tricky since she's only on the $20. Since the Bank of Canada doesn't want to tell me how many notes it prints annually, I'll have to guess based on other countries and say total notes is probably roughly the same as total coins, but not many of them will be $20. Perhaps we can say Canada is producing about 2 billion portraits of the Queen on its money every year, and again I don't know about stamps although this [9] would suggest we could easily add at least another billion. Oops, except I had my UK head on :P So, 5 billion to go.

New Zealand: not a lot, although [10] suggests that with coins and the few notes featuring her, we could be looking at nearly another half billion.

But wait! This otherwise grim little document from the Royal Mail [11] (you would think 'number of stamps printed' would make for an easy fact on some kiddy-friendly page, but noooooo) suggests we can easily increase our UK stamp estimate to at least cover the gap (bottom of page 4). So, I'm making QE2 the winner on an annual-rate basis, but there doesn't seem to be a lot in it. Of course, there are many assumptions present in this. I would estimate that other sources would eventually give her an edge of a billion or more per year, but I don't have documentation for this.

This public service announcement brought to you by the back of the most epic envelope ever. Or perhaps several million napkins. 79.66.56.21 (talk) 21:42, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

music in Dollhouse

What is the song in the opening credits for Dollhouse? see here —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.80.240.66 (talk) 12:00, 22 February 2009

The site TV Show Music says it's "What You Don't Know" by Jonatha Brooke, as does our article on her. --Milkbreath (talk) 13:18, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Train enthusiast

On the television show Psych last night the used a word for train enthusiast that I cannot find. Since I erased it from my DVR I cannot review the tape. The word starts with an F and is pretty long. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.74.171.89 (talk) 12:14, 22 February 2009

Ferroequinology (or -ist) is the word you're looking for I think. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 12:22, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

I love it. Should we now refer to car enthusiasts by the term "Sansequinocarriagologists" ? StuRat (talk) 12:46, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Train spotter? Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 21:16, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Now that we're off word criterion, let's remember the other term. Julia Rossi (talk) 22:13, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Why do the British drive on the left-hand side of the road?

I have read the article, and this suggests simple historical continuity. I have heard somewhere that it is due to it allowing the drivers dominant hand to control the wheel when changing gears, whilst my mother insists it is so the gentleman's pistol or sword is on the road side and he can protect her from attack. Does anyone know for sure? Cheers, Quincel99 (talk) 18:04, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Just folklore as a source from me, but I had heard it originated in the times of mounted knights. When two knights approach eachother on a road, they will pass with the other knight on their right, so - much like your mother's story - they are ready to use their sword with their right hand if need be. NByz (talk) 19:12, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

The article Right- and left-hand traffic does suggest historical continuity but also presents several of the various theories put forward to explain it, including the dominant-eye and sword-defence ideas and a suggestion about the habits of teamsters being responsible for the US switch to the right. No one explanation appears to be generally accepted, and it looks likely that there is no definitive answer to your question. Karenjc 19:14, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Here is the answer on the Straight Dope, which seems like a generally reliable source, and corroborates both of the posts above mine. Hope this helps, Antandrus (talk) 19:17, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Why do you drive on the right? It's all about perspective. -mattbuck (Talk) 19:25, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Because they won't let me drive down the middle, even though I promised to wear my tin foil hat. Clarityfiend (talk) 00:55, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

When the Chunnel opened, there was some concern because the British drive on the left, and the French drive on the right. After all, that must be one busy lane! Lots of head-on collisions! <rimshot> I know it's a train tunnel, and no-one drives in it. But sometimes the truth gets in the way of a funny joke! --Jayron32.talk.contribs 03:44, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Actually, the Channel Tunnel does include a road tunnel as well as the two train tunnels. But it's only for tunnel staff (and emergency evacuations), not the public. They use special service vehicles, and they drive on the left. --Anonymous, 07:09 UTC, February 23, 2009.

I'm sure the left/right drive article said they drove on the right in the tunnel. -mattbuck (Talk) 12:52, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

So it did. Fixed. --Anon, 05:42 UTC, Feb. 24, 2009.

My favorite Just So story: You mount a horse from the left so as not to get entangled with the sword hanging at your left hip. Therefore, when you leave a building and walk into the street, your horse is waiting with his left side toward you. When you mount, you then find yourself on the left side of the street. —Tamfang (talk) 12:43, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Cheers everyone, perhaps not a decisive answer but it looks likely I'm wrong, so I'll say no more about it! Quincel99 (talk) 15:57, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Fuel pump

Hello, I have a Honda Civic whose engine has been rumbling more than usual whenever I press the gas. The problem started after a hilly 2-hour round trip. When I took it to Sears for inspection, they said it was an issue with the fuel pump but could not tell me more since it was not a place equipped for serious work (they pointed me to Firestone). I was wondering how serious a fuel pump issue would be? I've been avoiding driving it too much, and I will get it checked eventually. Searching online for answers has not seemed to turn up anything specific. How should I handle this fuel pump problem? 98.228.34.62 (talk) 23:21, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

The good news is that it's unlikely to explode. The bad news is that a fuel pump is quite necessary to "go". I guess the seriousness of this particular problem would depend on how serious you consider your engine dying during the middle of a drive to be. If you're going to get it checked eventually, I would recommend doing it sooner rather than later. In general, putting off necessary maintenance can cause additional damage. – 74  23:48, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

(ec) Get it fixed. To have your car's engine stop running while you're driving can be dangerous, especially with power steering. The job itself is probably going to be an expensive nightmare, if Sears got it right. At least they have no conflict of interest, not being able to do the job themselves. I don't know the Hondas, but the fuel pump is often part of the fuel tank, and there is often more than one. Me, I would try a couple of things first for that symptom: get a bottle of injector cleaner, pour it in your (full) tank, and run it through. If that doesn't make it better, I'd try a new fuel filter before I went for a pump—same symptom, right? Can't hurt. It's amazing how cruddy a fuel filter can get. Check your air cleaner, too. Are you getting a code? And I'm surprised you haven't provided a model and year. That's barebones info for car repair questions. --Milkbreath (talk) 23:53, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

If the fuel pump is on the engine, it can be very serious if the fuel leaks into the engine. (oil diluted, bearings die and leak, engine catches fire). If the engine oil smells of fuel then this might well be it. Polypipe Wrangler (talk) 23:56, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

How's this for coincidence? The fuel pump on my car has been playing up lately, and on Friday night it stopped working completely. I got it to the mechanic yesterday (Monday), and I've just had a phone call saying the car's ready. It's going to cost me AUD $361.50 - slightly steep, but not too bad. My car's not exactly of recent vintage, though, and a more recently made one may cost somewhat more than that. -- JackofOz (talk) 03:25, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I once had a car with a faulty fuel pump and it kept cutting out. It would run for maybe a week then cut out twice in a day; or it wouldn't start 'til I gave the fuel pump a kick. It always seemed like it was cutting out when I was going down the motorway, or it was raining heavily, or when I had something urgent to do. Of course, whenever the AA got there the fault had mysteiously fixed itself and were only able to suggest it "might be the fuel pump". In the end, I got so sick of the unreliability, I fitted a new pump. It was easy to fit, cheaper than I feared and certainly fixed the problem. Astronaut (talk) 06:38, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The fuel pumps on many older cars are failing because of the introduction of ethanol into gasoline. Ethanol dissolves many of the older kinds of seals and also is conductive to electricity - both of which can drastically shorten the lives of fuel pumps that were designed to pump pure gasoline. This is especially true of the pumps that are immersed in gasoline inside the gas tank for cooling purposes. If your car is more than about 10 years old...you're going to need a new fuel pump sooner or later! SteveBaker (talk) 13:57, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

That's assuming you have no choice but to have ethanol in your fuel. In Australia, ethanol-free fuel is the norm, but ethanol-added fuel is also available. Maybe we won't have that choice one day, who knows. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:42, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

February 23

Chances of Contracting STI's

Suppose if one engages in unprotected heterosexual intercourse with someone who has HIV/AIDS, what is the likelihood (%) that one will contract the disease if one is a) a man and b) a woman. What about if one has sex with someone who has other types of STI's such as herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, etc... ? Acceptable (talk) 00:04, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Our article on HIV contains information from a number of sources, offering estimates of per-act risks: HIV#Transmission. (Missing – to my brief inspection, it may be hiding somewhere in the article – is a discussion about the increased risk caused by the presence of other infections or injuries: open sores on the genitalia, etc.) TenOfAllTrades(talk) 01:18, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

The only people I can think of who would want to engage in sexual intercourse with an HIV-positive person is someone who has a death wish and desperately wants to contract the disease himself/herself. --Ericdn (talk) 11:29, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

See bug chaser. --Tango (talk) 12:00, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Or perhaps if one is not aware of the fact that one's partner is infected. Acceptable (talk) 21:56, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Disaster

Why does everyone think the Victorian Bushfires are the worst natural disaster in Australia's history? Cyclone Mahina killed about twice as many people. JCI (talk) 02:14, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

1. Does everyone? 2. Because hyperbole sells news. --Tagishsimon (talk) 02:56, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

While the number of deaths is an important factor, I suspect the area damaged or destroyed is much larger than that affected by the Cyclone Mahini. I haven't seen a cost comparison; that may be a part of the equation. Then there is the infamous "recentism" against which editors of WP are so often cautioned. The bush fires are current; Mahini was over 100 years ago. I do think that Tagashimon's #2 is spot on, however. // BL \\ (talk) 03:57, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It's particularly odd because there are reports that perhaps 50% of the fires were not 'natural' at all - being started deliberately by arsonists. SteveBaker (talk) 04:30, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

One possibility is that Mahina happened in 1899, when technically there was no such place as Australia. Bathurst Bay was then part of the British colony of Queensland, not part of the future Australian state of Queensland. But that distinction isn't normally made when considering Australian history, and I've heard no reference to it in relation to the recent news. But you never know. -- JackofOz (talk) 07:20, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Recovering damage from nail biting

I found a little bit of (related, but inconclusive) information in the RD archives from a while ago, and this page where pretty much the exact same question is being asked (without answer), but I was wondering if anybody knew anything about this.

I'm not sure if it's directly related to my old nailbiting habit (I hope it's "old", every once in a while I chomp down and have to stop myself again) or if it could be genetic, but I'm wondering if it's possible to increase the appearance of the "nail plate" after it has been shortened/separated by something such as chronic nail biting. I've often heard that nails should be cut so that the end of the nail is close to flush with the end of the finger, but if I were to do that most of my fingers would have a white nail edge something like 4mm long, obviously way too long for comfort! I understand that the nail plate is essentially where the nail is fully in contact with the skin, so I was wondering if it was possible to train the nail to stay in contact with the skin, effectively lengthening the plate. Thanks!

Also, one other weird question. Is there an easy way to measure the length of ones digits accurately? My left thumb is noticably (to me, not so much to other people) stumpier than my right, and I think it's because of the length of my first and second digit, as opposed to the position/length of the nail, but I can't figure out a way to measure the lengths accurately to within 1mm or so, because I don't have any expensive measuring equipment. Any ideas! Thanks again! 219.102.220.90 (talk) 02:37, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Speaking as one who also stopped nail biting after a long time, it would seem that you need to allow your nails to grow. The advice is good. If you wait until the nail reaches the end of the finger and then keep it that length, eventually the nail bed will grow until it reaches a "normal" length. On my left hand, however, the nails are more brittle than on the right, and the nail beds have remained short, mainly because the nails break before they reach the ends of the fingers. --88.108.231.179 (talk) 09:08, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I understand that an asymmetry in length between the fingers of either hand is developmental, possibly genetic as well, while a difference in breadth of the fingers and their nail beds is affected by use/disuse and handedness. I'd suggest posting a more specific query on the Science Reference Desk. -- Deborahjay (talk) 23:10, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Try band-aids to keep your nails from breaking or snagging before your nail bed has had time to recover a bit. (Work on alternate fingers to prevent the skin from shriveling up too much. File them instead of cutting. Leave them a bit longer each time. This will take quite a while. Be patient. 76.97.245.5 (talk) 23:52, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Ok, great thanks! I'll be patient : P. 219.102.220.90 (talk) 00:39, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I kicked an entrenched nailbiting habit of 34 years by beginning to get manicures regularly. I had stopped many times before but only until my nails got long and brittle. At that point, I didn't have the skills to take care of them properly because nobody ever showed me. When they were long and brittle, they'd chip and break, giving me inviting "toothholds" and I'd be back into the cycle.

The regular manicures gave me four things. First, someone who is an expert on taking care of nails looks them over and makes sure they are in good shape and never get too long. Second, she shows me what to do if I chip or break one to make it look nice and not be a temptation. Third, she brushes on a clear nail strengthener and topcoat (it comes in a polish bottle, but it's more of an epoxy than anything cosmetic) after the manicure. They give the nails some strength and also create a slick, smooth finish that I immediately notice if I put my finger in my mouth to chew it. Forth, the whole process makes me invest some money in the effort, giving me incentive to not "wreck" the results.

I'm almost 2 years down the road with this plan and my nails look great. I've even taken a girl I dated out to get our nails done. She thought that it was pretty cool to get a "mani/pedi" together. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.197.157.106 (talk) 16:30, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

To be honest I'm ok with manicures, but I couldn't handle the clear epoxy unless it had a matte finish to it lol. 219.102.220.90 (talk) 00:03, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Tattoo

If you get your head tatted, does your hair still grow? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.45.233.91 (talk) 03:26, 23 February 2009

Yes. Dismas|^(talk) 03:55, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Note the second item in the list of steganographic techniques. B00P (talk) 06:26, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

You mean "steganographic." Stenographers don't write on people's heads... I hope... -- BenRG (talk) 18:11, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Never say "Never." Edison (talk) 20:39, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Fixed it. Don't know how that happened; I did a copy-and-paste. But thanks. B00P (talk) 23:30, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I know how it happened - you copied it from someone that got it wrong! Always a good way to keep homework markers amused. --Tango (talk) 19:03, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Asian American gun ownership rates

Hi, I'm looking for (as the title implies) Asian American gun ownership numbers, such as how many there are in America, where they are concentrated, and such. I've tried with google with little luck.

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ireallyneedanewsn (talk • contribs) 04:43, 23 February 2009

Identification of a song

What's the name of the song that basically goes "hai ai aaaaai, oh ai ai ai" the entire way? It's a staple of TV ads and would most easily be classified as world music - it's famous, so this shouldn't be too difficult to identify.

202.156.14.83 (talk) 05:47, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Could you provide a little more information, like a commercial that includes the song? From your description it might be Adiemus from Adiemus; that track has seen some commercial play and involves strings of vowels. – 74  06:13, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps the ululation from Difang and Igay Duana's "Jubilant Drinking Song" which was sampled in Enigma's "Return to Innocence" [12]? Nanonic (talk) 06:37, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I suggest that we move this question to Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Entertainment instead.--Lenticel ^(talk) 07:12, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It's alright, it's Return to Innocence by Enigma. I should have guessed it. 202.156.14.83 (talk) 09:12, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

When I read the question and your rendition of the 'lyrics', that song by Enigma sprang to my mind instantly. And then I noticed that you already figured it out yourself. Great track by the way. --Ouro (blah blah) 12:29, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Rule of the hall

In the UK, Japan, Australia, and India (and several other nations), people drive on the left side of the road. Do these people also walk on the left side of the hallway? LANTZY^TALK 09:43, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

There is a certain amount of that occuring as a sort of force of habit thing, but no - people just walk where they want. When things get busier then certainly it becomes more noticeable, I suspect that because more walk on the left unthinkingly that this then ends up becoming the best place to walk, creating a (feedback loop?) that makes it more likely for people to choose the left on a busy street because that's the 'path of least resistance' sort of. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 10:01, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

At school we had to walk on the left in the corridors, becomes ingrained after that. Lanfear's Bane | t 10:21, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I ask because, where I come from (the United States), most people keep to the right side of the hallway. In elementary school (in Ohio) we were explicitly told to walk on the right side, especially when climbing stairs. I have noticed that those who violate this rule tend to be East Asian or South Asian, and this led me to suspect that it was related to the rule of the road. LANTZY^TALK 11:28, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm in the UK and at school we were always told to keep left in the hallways. It certainly makes sense to do it on the same side as people drive, saves unnecessary confusion... I think your hypothesis sounds right. ~ mazca ^t|c 12:41, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

At junior school, which had wide stairs, we were always told to keep left. At senior school, where the stairs were much taller and narrower, it was anything goes. -mattbuck (Talk) 12:51, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Oh stairs are a completely different story. The people who are climbing should stay on the "inside" of the stairs-helix so they don't have to walk as far; people going down can more easily navigate the greater length of the outside. Usually I find that stairs spiral right as they go up so you do walk on the right side, but sometimes they don't. .froth. (talk) 18:34, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Why should that matter? Why should people going up get preferential treatment? It won't reduce their vertical travel, which is where the majority of the effort comes from. APL (talk) 19:23, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Well I don't know, I find it much easier to concentrate on hauling myself up 3 stories without walking an additional 3 or 4 paces between flights. If you take stairs two at a time, those paces could add as much as a third to your total number of steps. Any consideration the people going down can offer is welcome, especially as their work is much easier. They just have to spring forward lightly on each step and let gravity take them down and momentum forward. .froth. (talk) 22:15, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

On the London Underground the rule has always been to stand on the right of escalators and move on the left.86.197.44.234 (talk) 15:54, 23 February 2009 (UTC)DT

That's the custom on Bay Area Rapid Transit, too. —Tamfang (talk) 17:28, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It's the reverse on Australian escalators. We're used to driving on the left, and being overtaken on the right. The UK also drives on the left, so their escalator rule seems a little counter-intuitive. In one place I lived, the city council painted thick white lines down the middle of the footpaths in the main shopping areas, decreed that pedestrians must keep to the left, and fined them for contravening. The idea was later abandoned. -- JackofOz (talk) 23:00, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

"Sidewalk Rage: Rudy's Response" ("Rudy" being former New York City mayor Giuliani). Deor (talk) 01:29, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

While NZ escalator etiquette is often a bit crap I too always stand to the left if I'm not walking (which I usually am unless I can't because of the aforementioned crap etiquette problems) precisely for the driving on the left means staying to the left seems logical reason. IIRC, it was also recommend in school (in Malaysia) once for stairs (without a reason). I too have always found the London underground rule odd given their driving on the left. Nil Einne (talk) 12:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I was out shopping once with my then-girlfriend, and she berated me for standing on the left hand side of the escalator. I think it's a regional thing in Britain - AFAIK you don't get any escalators with that sort of delineation outside of the London Underground, so it would make sense to me that the closer you are to London (this was in Reading, I'm from Bristol) the more prevalent it would be. -mattbuck (Talk) 03:30, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Actually, that's how people ride the escalators on the Washington Metro. LANTZY^TALK 06:57, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Sniper computer game

How do we get past the "Mutiny" phase in this sharp shooting game Sniper...Anyone? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.122.36.6 (talk) 11:06, 23 February 2009

go to google (I don't have full internet access in work otherwise I'd find it myself) and type the game name with "hints" after it... There will be many sites that give cheat codes, but more importantly hints and tips... Gazhiley (talk) 11:04, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Try GameFAQs.com. -mattbuck (Talk) 22:18, 25 February 2009 (UTC) Edited to correct what looks like a typo; "gamefaws.com" seems to be a malware site.—Tamfang (talk) 03:16, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

What's the deal with europe/mediterranean/mideast?

My history prof says Indians had been in North America for like 12000 years prior to Columbus and lived very peacefully compared to Europe. So why did the Europeans have like physics and mathematics and astronomy and great literature.. and ancient Greece, and Rome, and shakespeare, and geez the renaissance! Plus they had massive merchant fleets and international trade and organized religion for thousands of years already. Then they met the Indians, who had canoes, wampum.. um pottery?.. oh yeah corn.. they were good at tanning skins. Tomahawks. So why have certain areas, just as rich in resources, remained stagnant and others advanced so much? I can't imagine it's that underdeveloped areas have histories of subjugation and struggles to survive; if anything that describes europe more.. Was it the ruthless capitalist/imperial regimes that utilized slave/laborer work to allow a whole class to sit around and study? .froth. (talk) 18:32, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

This is all rather open-ended, but there's possibly some truth to the idea that the native americans had no real need to advance. As for europe... well, we organised into countries, and then went to war, and nothing breeds creativity like trying to kill the enemy. -mattbuck (Talk) 18:47, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

This question is the subject of Guns, Germs and Steel, which says that it's basically geography and local plants and animals. I found some of the conclusions very unsatisfying, but the book seems to be well regarded. --Sean 18:51, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Oooh, very good link thanks. Exactly what I was looking for. .froth. (talk) 22:10, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I thought it was a very interesting book, I'd recommend it if you're looking for something to read. TastyCakes (talk) 22:16, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

It kind of all depends on what you mean by 'peacefully'. The native American tribes were in fact pretty frequently 'at war' with one another. Fighting was a fairly constant theme. However because the number of people on the continent was low, and the technology of weapons was low, the number of people killed was small (compared with Europe). However after allowing for those two factors I would want to see evidence that the native Americans 'lived peacefully'.

Another suggestion I've heard is that cultural assumptions can affect tendency to make technological progress. Thomas Cahill posits that the Jewish tradition was unusual in it's concept of 'progress', i.e. that the future is likely to be better than the past. In many other cultures the past is seen as a 'golden age' to which we can at best hope to return. If your culture believes that then there would be no point in trying to invent anything truly new. DJ Clayworth (talk) 19:25, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

You'll also want to read 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, a great book on this issue. The deal is, the myth of the Indians as "noble savages" is quite wrong. They had just as complex a societies in many was as Europe, and they weren't all peace-loving tree-hugging hippies as some would have you believe, and neither were they savages, living barely above subsitance level. They had extensive technologies well suited to their environments, they fought wars and committed murder, and did all the things that Europe did. They did it differnetly than Europe did, but it doesn't make it worse or lower or less advanced. Just different. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 19:37, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't think the peoples conquered by the Aztecs thought they were particularly peaceful. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 20:12, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

War, torture, slavery, murder, and genocide are not peaceful, and were to be found in PreColumbian America. It would be very hard to prove who was less peaceful, PreColumbian America or Europe. Edison (talk) 20:38, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

A lot also depends on the viewpoint of who writes the history books. Just one example Mabila probably wasn't built because everyone in the area was living peacefully with their neighbors. The Ancient Pueblo Peoples probably didn't carve their homes out of the rocks high up in the walls of the Grand canyon because they enjoyed the view. The fact that much of the population had been wiped out by "superior" European pathogens by the time the armies arrived to help "settle" the country didn't help preserve any historical knowledge. Europeans are also quite good at including/excluding convenient parts of histories of neighboring areas into their own. The fact that Persia (Iran) used to be a power house when it came to math and science is often conveniently overlooked. Not wanting to belittle things, does the fact that stories told by some British guy a couple of hundred years back were written down and preserved really mean his stories were superior to those told by my great-grandma? While you can still go see Venice, though, the big acorn tree and gurgling stream that featured in one of her tales have long since been cut down or built over. The fact that Europeans and their descendants measure other cultures with their own value system isn't helping any either. A lot of misunderstandings between the native population and the new arrivals were caused by the fact that native views make no distinction between spiritual and physical worlds. AFAIK the strict separation of religion and sciences had become necessary in Europe because religious organizations were powerful and clung to views that were incompatible with what scientists were observing. Only recently have pharmaceutical companies begun to screen remaining pockets of native herbal lore for useful applications. A little higher up our resident pastor mentioned native Americans living on reservations. To explain that they were poor and living in deplorable conditions he said "they live in houses without running water and electricity." I grew up in a house without running water. (We often had electricity for lighting, though.) We would have laughed at the suggestion that we were poor. Was schlepping water from the well to the house inconvenient? Sure. But am I really that much better off now that I spend that time sitting in traffic jams and working out on an exercise bike? Looking at things from a different perspective is very difficult, but changes the picture significantly. [13] - 76.97.245.5 (talk) 21:51, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

My question is still valid without "peacefully". And come on, running water 2 feet away is certainly an accomplishment over walking to the town square, different perspective or not, and iron and steel are better than wood and copper, and guns are better than bows, and shakespeare told better stories than your grandma. I appreciate your point that all these "better"s are judged by european values, but also reject your claim that it's entirely a matter of perspective. If anything, european values are "better" simply because they survived, but I think there's also a relatively absolute (heh) idea of progress. Indians eagerly adopted superior European technologies when they were confronted; even they recognized superiority. Perhaps their values would have played into it if they could have clearly seen how the lifestyle and moral changes that come along with those new technologies would conflict with their way of life, but since they couldn't, we can look at the issue divorced from values and tell that eurasia has had the greater accomplishments. Plus, I mean really, that's ridiculous of course Eurasia did more. .froth. (talk) 22:09, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Your comments doesn't make me hopeful that you're open to a different viewpoint. I don't wish to let this deteriorate into a soapbox contest. I'm just going to throw out a couple of things I dug up in trying to point out why Native Americans did not unanimously consider Europeans superior because they had guns and horses: Jamestown Settlement, [14] 500 Nations, Dances with wolves, Trail of Tears. Your argument that what survives is automatically superior could have some very scary historical and ethical implications. It also doesn't hold water in view of the fact that so many "cultural treasures" get lost for extended periods and their survival all too often depends on chance. (E.g. the Roman hippodrome in Istanbul didn't make it because someone needed the rocks for a government building.) I know more about physics and the particle zoo than any of my ancestors could have dreamed of. But I am equally aware that legions of supercomputers could not replace the knowledge that was lost. When it comes to nature and how it worked they knew more than a library's worth. We need complicated weather models where they could look at a cloud and take that in context with a myriad of half recognized other factors, like the smell of the wind, to say "it's going to rain soon" or "we're going to get an early winter". (And yes, both old and modern methods are occasionally wrong.) It's going to take generations of chemical, plant biological and DNA analysis to reproduce what some people knew about useful plants, pests and sustainable use. Now that we are getting close to "... the last trees have been cut down etc." such knowledge has all of a sudden gained a lot of value. Only a handful of quotes from a few Native American thinkers remain. Yet many of those sayings are known and regarded throughout the world. It is illustrative that while I have read Shakespear, you have not heard any of my great-grandma's stories. Yet you immediately know which one is "better". Most of the native cultures and peoples of North America got wiped out. We will never know what was there. We sometimes don't even recognize what's left. Extrapolating that nothing could ever have been there might make you miss snake mound while standing on it. Progress is far from as clear cut a path as you may think. If I had to put a finger on what made Europeans/Eurasians superior I'd say it was their firm belief that they were both superior and right. (Well it did get a bit long, but I couldn't just let it stand like that. Apologies to refdesk purists.) - 76.97.245.5 (talk) 10:53, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Since Shakespeare is widely considered to be the greatest playwright with surviving works, which excludes many thousands of other playwrights with surviving works, I think it's pretty certain that a particular storyteller is not superior to him even though I've never heard her stories.. .froth. (talk) 21:34, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

How widely is that view held outside of European cultures though? Is it a view shared by the Chinese? By the Japanese? By Indians (from India)? By Arabs? Heck bringing this back to the main topic, by native/indigenous Americans who maintain strong cultural ties to their ancesterial roots? Nil Einne (talk) 16:58, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Everybody measures things by their own value system, including you. You bring a pretty standard set of prejudices to the debate. Luwilt (talk) 16:54, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

The aforementioned Guns, Germs, and Steel goes some way to broadly answering some of these questions, so I would definately reccomend it. In a nut shell, here are some of the things it looks at.... like how most of the large domesticated animals in the world (14 out of 15) are from the Middle-east/Europe area, with only Llamas coming from the Americas. This means that ploughing fields and producing enough crops to feed large populations are much easier, so you've got time and resources to produce huge structures and sit back and think about society, etc. without getting too hungry. It also mentions how the development of writing is key in getting technology from one people to another. The American people weren't big on writing with only the Mayans really having anything along those lines. One of the most interesting things it looks at is the notion that if you move around the globe in a lateral direction, (ie: from East to West and vice versa) then you generally stay in the same sort of geography, you can grow the same crops in the same land with the same weather and the same length of day. So from Spain, across the Mediterranean, past Babylon and into India, you were looking at similar rules for survival. Whereas in the Americas, the people came originally from the North before spreading down through the different climates until they reached the Southern tip. Each time they went through a different region, the people would of had to learn all about the flora and fauna of the region again and again. It also covers war and weapons technology, pointing out that the sword would have taken centuries of craftsmanship to develop into something flexible, tough and slim like the Rapier and the Spanish who were successful in conquering parts of South America would have grown up around horses and learnt how to control them expertly. The Americans didn't have horses.91.111.86.8 (talk) 22:18, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Every region of the world had tens of thousands of years of pre-history before it made major technological/economic advances, so there is nothing remarkable about Indians in the Americas going 12,000 years without doing all the things you mention. As for the Americas being peaceful, that is just baloney. War was a normal state of affairs in all pre-industrial regions of the world. With very few exceptions, pre-Industrial elites are warrior elites: there had to be warfare every generation, because war was the main means to achieve personal status. I suspect your prof is deluding himself out of a misguided belief that he must attribute some other merit to the pre-Columbans to excuse their lack of achievements the fields of endeavour you mention. Sadly this is quite a common response the obvious disparity in the achievements of different civilisations. Luwilt (talk) 16:47, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

largest tree trunk

Which tree has the biggest trunk?Tiki Tiki girl (talk) 20:37, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

There is General Sherman, a giant sequoia whose trunk is "1487 cubic meters, making it the largest non-clonal tree by volume." "The trunk alone is estimated to weigh over 2,000 short tons (1,800 t)" (from "Largest organisms"). If you want diameter, it's likely the Baobab of Little Prince fame, the largest of which "has a circumference of 47 metres (150 ft) and an average diameter of 15 metres (49 ft)." General Sherman's trunk is a paltry 11 meters in diameter. --Milkbreath (talk) 21:00, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Árbol del Tule claims it has the stoutest. Clarityfiend (talk) 21:12, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Sewn up pockets

Why are the pockets in blazers sewn up when you buy them new?

To stop them getting caught on things, maybe? --Tango (talk) 21:05, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

My guess is to indicate that the garment is new, unused. Just a guess. Bus stop (talk) 21:07, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, there are two sorts of people. There are people who want a sharp suit - these people don't want pockets that open, as it spoils the clean lines. Then there are those who believe the point of a pocket is to put stuff in, and do so - these people want pockets that open. Therefore, rather than making one set of suits with no pockets and another set with, they stitch them up to begin with, so they they can easily be unpicked if needed.

That or the makers are out to get me. -mattbuck (Talk) 21:17, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

The makers are out to get you, Matt. They sew the pockets up when they see you coming. Actually they are in the pay of your Significant Other who wants you to look sharp and not fill your pockets with stuff. :-)

Matt is right, putting stuff in pockets ruins the look of a jacket, not just when the stuff is in there but the future look as well; so for good jackets the pockets are usually sewn up to prevent stuff being put in them. Think of it as a hint from the maker. DJ Clayworth (talk) 21:51, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Even my £30 Tesco suit has the pockets sewn up, so it's not restricted to "good jackets" ;) ~ mazca ^t|c 22:11, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Following EC: While manufacturers couldn't care less whether or not you look smart in the suit after you bought it, they have a vested interested in you looking smart in it when you try it on and look at yourself in the mirror. Before you take them home clothes get picked, packed, shipped, "finished" (steam cleaned). They are probably also tried on by a couple of other people before you get them. If the pockets aren't sewn closed throughout all this the seam of the pocket could bulge and you'd probably hang it back on the rack and buy something else. So, no, they don't want to get you, just your money :-) 76.97.245.5 (talk) 22:15, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

surely on the manufacturers of three piece suits have a vested interest? ;-) --LarryMac | Talk 15:31, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you, 76.97!! Thank you for using the phrase "couldn't care less" correctly!! It's a pet peeve of mine hearing/seeing people use "could care less", so I thank those who use it correctly Dismas|^(talk) 04:26, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

So one might say you could care less if people use it correctly?   ;-)   – 74  05:45, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Why despise an easy opportunity to tell if someone's an idiot? .froth. (talk) 21:29, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Does anyone manufacture suits without pockets, to cater for the people who never use them? -- JackofOz (talk) 22:52, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I think if your culture expects you to wear a suit then nobody's terribly concerned about utility. Ties especially, ugh. .froth. (talk) 23:28, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Ties - ah yes. Ceremonial cloth garrotes designed to demonstrate to your customers that you are literally prepared to choke yourself in order to please them. Small cloth coverings designed to prevent people from getting a tantalizing glimpse of a naked shirt button...badly designed. A means to ensure that blood flow to the brain is limited in higher management in order that they may better allow the engineers to run the company. SteveBaker (talk) 23:40, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

But ties are absolutely essential ! Ever since Napolean put those ugly brass buttons on the jacket sleeves to prevent people from rubbing the snot off their noses there, the tie has been essential in that regard. :-) StuRat (talk) 21:51, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

That must be a facetious comment, Steve. I'm no huge advocate for the wearing of ties, but as a scientist, you must know that if they're uncomfortable, that means the collar is too tight, which means the shirt is too small for the body it's on. It's the fault of the shirt, and/or the purchaser of that too-small shirt, rather than the tie. Properly worn, a tie should never be uncomfortable; the wearer should hardly even be aware they're wearing one. Some shirt top buttons are sewn too far apart from the button-hole, and can easily be adjusted if that's the only problem with the shirt. -- JackofOz (talk) 00:04, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I once worked for a bank in a rôle which involved no contact whatsoever with customers or the public. We were based in an office with no air-conditioning, and no opening windows. We were told that we had to wear a tie because it was "more professional" - well if "professional" means "uncomfortable and sweaty" then I suppose it was. I wore a bright red tie, which thoroughly pissed off the managers who all wore shades of blue (as did almost everyone else). It was a plain tie & neither too wide nor too narrow, and so there was nothing they could do about it, but the colour of international revolution had a definate unsettling effect on them. Female staff were allowed to wear open-necked blouses, much more suitable to the temperature of the office (and I suspect much more agreeable to the predominantly male, middle-aged managers responsible for enforcing the dress code). DuncanHill (talk) 06:37, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Where I work, Hawaiian shirts, shorts and sandals are as close as we come to a summer dress code - in winter, sneakers, jeans and a t-shirt (typically one given away at a trade show - optionally with a Hawaiian shirt worn open over the top) is more likely...but then we have artists...so, um, all bets are off. SteveBaker (talk) 13:48, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

A red tie? Always snazzy. Seraphim♥ 12:14, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

This designer made (at least) one. [15]. You guys try pencil skirts and tops in winter weather if you'd like to try uncomfortable. -76.97.245.5 (talk) 23:45, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. -- JackofOz (talk) 00:04, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The pockets of coats can also be found sewn up when you buy them. I had always assumed this was done to prevent thievery. Seraphim♥ 06:22, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Thievery of the coat? What difference would open or closed pockets make to someone who intends on stealing a coat? Dismas|^(talk) 10:55, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Lol, that wasn't very clear of me. I meant: it stops people from stealing things by putting them in the coat's pockets. Seraphim♥ 12:13, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

It stops them getting 'baggy' and makes them look good in-store. On a side note a 'pet peeve' of mine is the silly people who wander around with the designer's 'details' on the jacket's arm as if it were part of the design, rather than being something that should be removed on purchase. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 11:55, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Minnie Pearl's descendants ? StuRat (talk) 21:58, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

This is bob dylan shopping. I don't know if this sheds light on anything. [16]

While learning fashion design (yes, there are degrees) I was taught that pockets are sewn closed early in construction, either to create the pocket opening itself out of 2 pieces of fabric, or for ease of construction further down the line, especially in tailoring or haute couture. If it's a welt pocket, for instance, the top and bottom welts are sewn together so they can be folded away from each other to create the pocket opening itself.--68.47.208.67 (talk) 08:32, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

February 24

info on montreal

is there any stores like marc emery's in the montreal area

Not sure what that is, but www.yellowpages.com may have an analogue in Canada; or maybe it even covers there, I haven't checked. That's the first place I'd look; both for store name and then for type, so you have some idea of what else might be there.209.244.30.221 (talk) 19:49, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The Canadian version is [17]. Thanks, Genius101^Guestbook 21:26, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Re-Naming of a Non-Profit

I would like to rename a non-profit corporation that will provide housing services through multi-family and single family affordable housing opportunities, but may also be used for nursing homes, retirement centers, governmental housing (military), or hospitals. Each of these will be under their own corporate entity, but will be ultimately fall under the umbrella of the approved non-profit. Initially, the name Phoenix Foundation or Phoenix Housing was discussed for its meaning of rising from the ashes, but this name has been used quite a number of times and would be very difficult to get approved.

Your help and input would be greatly appreciated and would help this entity in making the first steps on a very solid footing.

Thank you in advance.--RobertNOP1 (talk) 04:06, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

How about a simple modification: "The Phoenix Egg Foundation" ? SteveBaker (talk) 04:13, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Phoenix Nestbuilders (?) 76.97.245.5 (talk) 10:59, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

How about The Bennu Foundation? Would probably be too obscure a reference though. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 13:07, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure "rising from the ashes" presents a positive image for a housing services foundation. I would suggest something involving stability and shelter instead, but I don't have any prepared names. – 74  18:34, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

It was the spontaneously busting into flames part that bothered me! SteveBaker (talk) 21:22, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

What country/region are we talking about? --Milkbreath (talk) 18:40, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

There only seems to be the Phoenix in Arizona when it comes to places.76.97.245.5 (talk) 16:24, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Not really. And even if that were the case, there's nothing in this question to indicate that this corporation is named after a place. Tomdobb (talk) 16:55, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Oops. My google map apparently had myopia. 76.97.245.5 (talk) 18:42, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

comic book site

My friend is planning on promoting a comic series by posting a one-shot teaser on the internet to attract readers and probably publishers. Do you know any sites that could freely host these images without messing up the resolution or copyright issues?--Lenticel ^(talk) 04:31, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Comic Genesis claims to be a free comic hosting service run by Keenspot. Their copyright policy seems sensible, but I have no idea what resolutions are supported. – 74  05:27, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll talk to him about this.--Lenticel ^(talk) 12:30, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

looking for documention

Is there documented information there could be a chance a GRANDCHILD could have scheuermann's disease from grandfather rated 100% Agent Orange. Not spina bifida. I,his mother, also have back problems including spinal problems. I found some info on the children able to have problems from deformities to death. Just looking for possibility of documentation on son or daughter being able to paa something onto their child. If the dioxin and other herbicides could be past down.

Thank You,

Pkatie

This is not medical advice, but I suspect the possibility of toxins passed from father to child to be extremely remote—there just isn't enough transfer of material in sperm. Genetic mutations, however, can be transfered (transferring genetic material is the point of sperm, after all) so exposure to mutagens might cause inherited genetic damage. Again, we cannot provide medical advice; please consult a medical practitioner for questions about your specifc case. – 74  05:37, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

You definitely need to consult a professional. For example your comment "rated 100% Agent Orange" makes no sense to me but a professional will be able to ascertain what you mean and whether your understanding of the grandfather's condition is accurate Nil Einne (talk) 13:41, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

OP wasn't looking for advice but rather for an other documented case. People here [18] might be able to point you towards a reliable source. There is a birth defects registry, but that seems to have some commercial background. The combination "Agent Orange" and "Scheuermann's disease" gets only 155 ghits and a lot of those are junk. Since we can assume that, if there is a relation, many of the remaining are second generation cases, it seems unlikely there's a third generation one burred there. Give it a try. (You might have more luck with "Osteochondrosis" and "dioxins" or "TCDD".) Spina bifida is well documented for second generation effect. Scheuermann's disease is listed as "multifactorial with unknown causes". (That means they don't know what causes it but are pretty certain that several factors have to come together for the condition to present itself.) There's at least this one report that indicates there are occurrences of father to son transmission. [19] Even if you do find some other cases it may still be within the usual statistical variation and doesn't necessary help to establish a cause and effect relation. Someone with access to medical databases and journal articles might be able to help you further. BTW: If you are asking for help finding information or reference sources it's not good to include personal case history here. That will make people think you are looking for medical advice which we can't help you with.76.97.245.5 (talk) 18:38, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

VIDEO KILLED THE ARTICLE

wikipedia needs to create a youtube section for educational material. It will will create more depth to your website and gathering information will be more efficient. I believe that it's faster to watch a video than to read an article, videos also depict information with more depth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.93.158.3 (talk) 07:17, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

And your question is? Richard Avery (talk) 08:07, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• The Wikimedia Commons stores videos as well as pictures. It is just harder to get videos because of copyright issues and then I'm not even mentioning the fact that editing video in a wiki fashion is a nightmare. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:43, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The Reference Desk isn't for suggestions about things Wikipedia should do; if you have a suggestion for Wikipedia you could post it at Wikipedia:Village pump. This is divided up by topic and you should read the introductory text there. --Maltelauridsbrigge (talk) 11:25, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I would dispute that in terms of information, videos are more efficient. Text is an infinitely better organizer of complicated ideas and content, and you can navigate it quite quickly. Video, on the other hand, basically forces you to watch it straight though, at the pace of the person who created it, and usually cannot sustain complicated diction or grammar. Not to mention the whole difficulty of wikifying video concepts. There are some things videos are better at than text—but for most purposes of an encyclopedia, text should be primary, while images, sounds, videos, etc., are secondary, ways of giving certain types of evidence that text cannot give very well (how something sounds, how something looks, how something appears while in motion, etc.). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 13:17, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Example 1

Example 2

One example, compare these two diagrams showing the same physical process. Which of them is quicker and easier to understand? In my opinion the static one wins hands down—same amount of information (if not more), delivered near instantly, while the animated one takes an unnecessarily long amount of time to show something that a few arrows and our clever visual forebrains could put together in an instant otherwise. (Barring the fact that the animation on the right has some scientific/conceptual problems as well... which are impossible to correct without the original source that produced the animation, another strike against the idea.) In short, animation for its own sake—without attention to what animation can do better than text—is a horrible, horrible, horrible idea, and one which is for a number of practical reasons incompatible with the requirements of Wikipedia (easy to edit collaboratively, easy to cross-reference, etc.). --98.217.14.211 (talk) 13:22, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't think the OP is talking about animation. More about live action video and other such things. Personally I agree with you, text is usually far better. But I also read this [20] a while back so it appears the OP isn't the only one who feels that way. Kids these days, eh? :-P N.B. I'm not saying we should follow the OP's suggestion Nil Einne (talk) 13:33, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Videos may support the written word (and that's how Wikipedia uses it) - but:

• You can't efficiently search video (try searching for all occurrances of "Deuterium-tritium fusion" in a bunch of videos).
• The audio track is essentially impossible to edit, so you can't easily correct errors of fact, grammar, pronunciation without re-recording the entire track.
• You can't conveniently add footnotes and references to a video.
• Video is a linear media - I can't quickly scroll down to the "History" section of the Oxygen article and find out who discovered it without waiting through a 20 minute presentation about stuff that I don't care about.
• Video is costly to store, costly to stream, etc. I can pull a bunch of text onto my Kindle and read it - despite lack of color or fast screen updates.
• Text can easily be cut-and-pasted seamlessly into another document.
• Text can be edited right there in your browser with no additional tools.

Take (for example) my article on the Mini car. Since November 2006, it's been edited close to 1000 times by about 150 people. If each person who improved the article just wanted to insert a tiny bit of additional information or change the phrasing or correct a small error - how could that be possible AT ALL with video? Suppose that after reading a book on the subject I discover that the car was manufactured for a short period during 1968 in Portugal...how could I add that into a video? Firstly, I'm adding 10 seconds of new material...but I don't have video of the car being made in Portugal to create 10 seconds of additional material. Next, my voice has a british accent and perhaps the narrator of the 'video article' speaks with an Australian accent...the change of voice over just one sentence would be glaring and horrible...I'd probably have to re-record the entire article.

No - a video version of Wikipedia would be unmaintainable and almost impossible to search or to quickly dip into for an occasional fact. Your suggestion sucks in every possible way! SteveBaker (talk) 13:38, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

(ec) I just opened IE and as I thought the gif is static. Text is currently superior to video for users. Sure videos are great if you have a connection that can handle them but text will always load. With text I can jump to the section in an article that I want rather than having to wait and fiddle with a video to find what I need. That's assuming that I don't want to read the whole thing. Enter CambridgeBayWeather, waits for audience applause, not a sausage 13:41, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I just opened IE (and am typing this in it now). It's not static although it does have problems (artifacts/ghosting) here. Looking at the image page with the original GIF it appears fine. Are you sure you're not using some ancient version of IE like IE6? IE7 has been out for over 2 years now and was long overdue (IE6 was ancient even then) so you really should upgrade if you are. Speaking of SB's problem re: voice, we do have spoken versions of some articles but they suffer from the problems SB describes. Nil Einne (talk) 14:48, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Yep. I forgot again. I was using the one work computer that still has IE6. Nobody uses it for Internet access, some minor work related stuff and then only with Firefox. The only reason I left 6 on it was because I can't get 7 to support Inuktitut syllabics and it gives me one computer that can look at the odd page that is set up for IE. And some pages are still like that. Enter CambridgeBayWeather, waits for audience applause, not a sausage 20:45, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm kind of forced, aren't I? I've got several sites that don't load well in Chrome or Firefox, so I have to use IE6. Installing IE7 would bring my computer to a grinding halt due to memory bloat and space on harddrive issues. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:00, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Your objections are interesting and I think the OP's suggestion is a good one. Isn't SVG supposed to be able to do animation with Javascript or SMIL? Then you could do animations like "Example 2" and they'd be correctable and editable by anybody with a text editor instead of inaccessible to anyone without external tools, or in the case of more complex animations the original project files. Even if SVG animation isn't supported by browsers, mediwiki could render it as gif, like it currently renders SVGs as PNG. .froth. (talk) 18:53, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Videos almost always have extremely annoying music. --Milkbreath (talk) 13:47, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

No, absolutely the worst idea for an "improvement". Just take a look at some of those "how to..." or "instructional" videos you can find on Youtube an you will instantly see it is a very bad idea. Astronaut (talk) 15:11, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

"Worst" is a little too superlative, don't ya think? I mean, hypothetically, "Now that we have experience creating an online encyclopedia, I suggest we delete all the articles and start over from scratch." would be just a bit worse, right? – 74  18:45, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Can you be "too superlative"? --Tango (talk) 18:57, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Nothing succeeds like excess (Oscar Wilde). -- JackofOz (talk) 21:33, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I meant to say "absolutely the worst idea for an "improvement" - so far."  :-)) Astronaut (talk) 23:30, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

While I agree that text is far better, at present, I wonder how many of these shortcomings of video are inherent and how many are only limitations of current technology. For example, I can easily imagine video that would allow you to jump to any section or subsection immediately, using a table of contents. StuRat (talk) 21:44, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

UK and US Stock Markets during the war

What happened to the stock-markets during World War 1 & 2? Were they closed/suspended or were people still making a living by trading on the exchange? What about people who owned stock? 194.221.133.226 (talk) 13:05, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

According to the article NYSE, the market was closed for a little more than 4 months in ww1 and not closed at all during ww2 Phil_burnstein (talk) 17:13, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The LSE was "closed from the end of July until the new year" in 1914. and "closed for 6 days and reopens on 7 September. The floor of the House closes for only one more day, in 1945 due to damage from a V2 rocket – trading then continues in the basement." in 1939, according to their official history. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 17:24, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Paradox

You could ruin your perfection if you commit a mistake but if you're perfect in the first place you wouldn't commit a mistake, thus could you in no way ruin your perfection? 94.196.9.90 (talk) 16:56, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

So you're saying that perfect people can't stop being perfect because in doing so they'd be doing something that isn't perfect? It doesn't really follow because 'perfect' things stop being perfect all the time - in fact, most things are 'perfect' until they go wrong. But I'm no philosopher. - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 17:20, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

You are confusing two kinds of perfection. One calls someone perfect because they have never made a mistake. The other calls someone perfect if they are inherently incapable of making a mistake. A perfect person of the first kind can make a mistake and become imperfect. A perfect person of the second kind clearly cannot. DJ Clayworth (talk) 18:20, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't see a paradox, all you're saying is that being perfect implies you are perfect. That's a tautology, not a paradox. --Tango (talk) 18:38, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Yep - it's people who are always inconsistent that you need to worry about. SteveBaker (talk) 21:18, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Oh boy that's so close to something I read once that I cannot find anywhere, or maybe it was on TV. Something like "At least I always lie. It's people who aren't consistent you have to watch out for." Please tell me you know what it's from! .froth. (talk) 21:38, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I just made it up...although presumably other people also just made it up. SteveBaker (talk) 03:09, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

I think froth is thinking of Jack Sparrow's quote from Pirates of the Caribbean: "Me? I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man, you can always count on to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for. Because you can never predict when they're going to do something... incredibly... stupid." (It's what sprang to my mind first too, even though it's not really the same as what Steve said.) Cherry Red Toenails (talk) 07:22, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you I would have never remembered .froth. (talk) 17:48, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Practice makes perfect, but nobody's perfect, so why practice? I am a nobody so therefore I'm perfect.--Lenticel ^(talk) 01:43, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

You might be interested in the Free will article. --JGGardiner (talk) 01:54, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

February 25

Games not played

Why do some people buy games just to leave them untouched? Also, if they have never touched the game, how do they know so much about that game? Yes, I know they might have played the game before, but what if they haven't? And I know they leave games untouched so they can sell them in mint condition, but why does the original buyer buy the games if they won't even touch them? JCI (talk) 02:10, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

So they can sell them in mint condition. It's not a game to them, it's an investment. -mattbuck (Talk) 03:22, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

An extreme example on eBay, the very rare Super Mario RPG. Useight (talk) 03:37, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Why is that game so rare? The article doesn't really say. And I'd be more convinced it was woth $1000 if the bidding had gone up to that, rather than it just being a buy it now. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 10:22, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

And I know they leave games untouched so they can sell them in mint condition, but why does the original buyer buy the games if they won't even touch them? You're answering your own question. Tomdobb (talk) 13:54, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm not sure what your question is exactly, but I have occasionally bought games with the intention of playing them, then never get around to it. (I don't play them immediately, then newer, better games come out in the interim.) Leaving them still in their shrink-wrap. I've done this a lot less since I got a Gamefly Account. APL (talk) 14:04, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Quite a few have also been gifts (e.g. from relatives) at some point. Dealers then either pick them up at garage sales or from "game swap" places. 76.97.245.5 (talk) 14:20, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

For me and my family, it's mostly gifts of games we already have...the duplicates are in mint condition because we never opened them. Also, many people in the games industry (I'm a game programmer) get freebie copies of games they've worked on. Free copies are often given to people who were only involved in the most tangential manner. Anyway - most of those copies end up being unopened and in mint condition simply because if you've spent the last few years of your existence trying to get the darned thing working well - the very last thing you want to do at the end is to play it at home! SteveBaker (talk) 17:08, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

The Best Custom Online News Source

I have been using Google News pretty religiously for the past several years. I like the fact that there isn't an editor making news decisions, that nearly any news story published has a chance of making it, and that stories are displayed based, somewhat, on popularity. I also like that it doesn't really have any huge geographical biases (like say... CNN...), and instead displays only what you ask for.

I do have some sticking points. Firstly, local coverage is very difficult. Setting up a section for "Vancouver" or "Canada" often just yields the most popular stories that have those words in them, not the news that's most relevant to people who live there. And, although the layout is customizable, I think there could be better ways of delivering the content. Can anyone recommend some good, free, online news source/aggregators that have the benefits of delivering stories from the huge array of sources that Google News has, but maybe offers more features and better editing and story filtering. More generally, what sources or tools do you use to make sure that you keep up with international, local and (important to me) business news? NByz (talk) 08:01, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, it's a bit more labor intensive but you could get an RSS feed aggregation program and pull RSS feeds from your favorite web sites: Local, national, and international. You may be inundated with all the various stories from each periodical/web site. Dismas|^(talk) 09:12, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Your concerns will largely be addressed by looking at the website of an actual news organization, that isn't restricted to web publication. I've found http://new.bbc.co.uk to be excellent, but given your mention of Canada you may find http://www.cbc.ca/news to be more relevant. These organizations do have news editors and do make decisions based on something other than popularity. And while they aren't customizable they do have region-specific sections. DJ Clayworth (talk) 14:20, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Try [21]76.97.245.5 (talk) 16:02, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

His concerns will not be addressed at all. I am sure he is quite aware already that individual news sites exist, but like me he may feel that there is no single site that is satisfactory. Luwilt (talk) 16:40, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Mumbai query

what is dupping ground, and where are dupping in mumbai location? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.182.144.191 (talk) 13:22, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

I have added a header to differentiate your question from the one above, but I'm afraid I don't understand what you are asking for. Could you explain in more detail what you mean by "dupping ground" (perhaps "dumping"?) so we can try to help you? Thanks. Karenjc 13:34, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

If you are referring to landfill sites, here is a great page to get your information. Fribbler (talk) 14:40, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

(ec) See "Landfill". There is a dumping-ground in Mumbai at 19°08′13″N 72°50′23″E. --Milkbreath (talk) 14:55, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

U-Haul rates

Has anyone ever moved from one state to another and rented a U-Haul? I am moving from an apartment in Pennsylvania to New Jersey. I am already living in Jersey, but need to get my things back in PA (sofa, bed, desk). I figure I will only need one of these bad boys. Does anyone have an idea of the cost? It's less than a 200 mile round trip and I'd only need it for one day. Also, should I rent the truck in Jersey or can I rent it in PA and drop it off in Jersey? Which would be most cost effective? Also, what is the deposit amount? Any help or ideas of cost would be most appreciated. --Endlessdan and his problem 14:37, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Not to be a dick, but you could try calling U-Haul. Tomdobb (talk) 14:52, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Or click on "reserve now" at the link for that "bad boy" you gave us, enter all the information we don't have in the green window (left-hand panel) and follow the thread from there. They'll quote you a price right there. If you're not in the boonies a pod [22] might come cheaper if you don't have s.o. to drive your car up. They don't service everywhere. They'll e-mail you a quote. 76.97.245.5 (talk) 15:14, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Before renting it, you should determine whether your auto insurance will cover any damage to the truck. U-Haul will try to sell you insurance for around $100, so you'll need to know whether you need it. --Sean 16:02, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

What percentage of men remove their pubic hair in some way?

I'm just wondering: is it normal for men to remove some/all of their pubic hair? The articles pubic hair and hair removal give no information as to the incidence of pubic hair removal amongst men. And what about women, what proportion of them remove some or all of their pubic hair? It's actually quite an interesting topic, although would be kinda taboo as a subject therefore difficult to estimate reliably unless surveys have been done... but have such surveys taken place?--HootlePooch (talk) 17:46, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm sure there's a lot of variation across age, race, culture, etc. I wouldn't call it abnormal, although it may not be exceptionally common. I'm sure Maxim or Men's Health or Cosmo has done some survey on this, unfortunately I am Google-less in my current state, but it shouldn't be terribly hard to track something down. Tomdobb (talk) 18:10, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Does "Google-less" mean you were over-zealous with the hair removal? Cycle~ (talk) 18:41, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

I imagine so. But I can't find anything on it at the moment.--HootlePooch (talk) 18:12, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Conversation with my barber:

"Hey Joe, can you take a little off the top? And trim up my sideburns a bit. Oh, and tidy up my balls for me too, wouldya? It's getting a little hairy down there." --Jayron32.talk.contribs 19:18, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Heh. I mostly cut my own hair, but when I do go to the barber (my contribution to keeping the economy flowing), I trust them to know their job, so I've rarely given instructions any more definite than "The same as it is now, only shorter" (which they knew anyway, but you've got to say something). However, in view of Jayron's comment, I'm going to be a little more precise from now on. :) -- JackofOz (talk) 20:14, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Here's an actual source, but it certainly doesn't cover much   ;-)   – 74  19:26, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. But I would like more actual information. And I'm not talking about specialised treatment, really - merely simple removal of hair.--HootlePooch (talk) 20:46, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

According to this article: "The Flinders University survey showed that 60 per cent of heterosexual men under 50 removed some or all of their pubic, back or buttock hair at least occasionally, with almost a third doing it weekly, fortnightly or monthly." – 74  22:44, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Throwing back hair in with pubes on a survey seems a bit odd. Not wanting to look like a sasquatch isn't the same as wanting to look like a member of the Vienna Boy's Choir, after all. StuRat (talk) 21:31, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I'm curious what exemplar you would choose to represent the third category. Anyway, the survey results were published in Body Image and are available here (not free), so I don't know if that was the format of the survey or some artful interpretation by the article writer. – 74  23:33, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

A peach so moldy that it's growing "hair" ? StuRat (talk) 16:17, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Interesting to know, thanks. It's just 'cause I always kinda assumed that the only place that straight men were supposed to have hair removed was on their face, neck, and scalp. But evidently not...--HootlePooch (talk) 23:40, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Straight men will do just about anything if they think it will get women to touch their penis. Picture, if you will, a woman who said "You know, I really dig it when guys have cleanly shaven balls." 95% of straight men, upon being told that by a perspective date, would probably be figuring out whether to use shaving cream or an electric for the job. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 03:01, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Interesting that this should be asked now. Seven Days just came out with their bi-yearly Sex Issue. For the issue, they always put together a survey for people to fill out. One of the questions was, of course, about pubic hair. You can view the entire article here. Dismas|^(talk) 03:31, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

It is always hard to judge questions like this, because the sort of people who complete sex surveys may well not be representative of the general population. They may be suspected of being more open, or exhibitionistic, or boastful. There are other sources of information. One is health professionals -- urologists, obviously, but family doctors/GPs too, and family practice nurses, etc. You could ask yours when you have an appointment, or ask any you meet socially (great ice breaker!). A second source is artwork or public projects such as those by photographer Spencer Tunick. Tunick specialises in persuading thousands of people to strip off simultaneously and walk around a city naked, all turning to the right or raising their arms at his word. The artistic effect is a surreal one. His volunteers are, by definition, not shy about their bodies. The last video I saw featured people of all ages, mostly 20-50 but not all, and very very few shaven pubes. BrainyBabe (talk) 06:57, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I shave my head once a month and while I'm doing it I shave under my arms and my public hair. Have done for about 10 years now. I don't do it for any sexual reason (I've been married for 7 years so I'm passed all that now). I do it because it makes me feel cleaner, more hygienic. I highly recommend it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.215.183.223 (talk) 10:46, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I shave mine too, but generally only before a date... if there's no prospect of anything happening I generally don't bother... I find it just seems more "clean" in appearance to the woman... Plus as I personally prefer a hair-less woman down there, i feel its hard for me to ask her to do that if I won't do it myself... Gazhiley (talk) 10:59, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

?! Julia Rossi (talk) 12:22, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

?! what? Gazhiley (talk) 13:30, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Don't take any of the above too seriously! Dbfirs 19:54, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

This brings me to a related question- how many men prefer women to shave their pubes and how many women actually do it? --124.254.77.148 (talk) 12:53, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Again, see the survey I posted. Dismas|^(talk) 12:57, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Groundskeeper Willie viewing a pic on upkilt.com: "Eww, this lass could do with a bit a groundskeeping... Ach ! That's Willie !". StuRat (talk) 16:21, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Lytton report

Are there any copies of (the text of) the Lytton Report online anywhere free? I had a quick search, but couldn't find anything online. I'm interested because history sources tend to paint the reports as fair and well-judged, but an overly-long tim in the making, but I'm interested to see just what it said (having influenced British thinking to a very great extent). Extracts would be a great start. Thanks, - Jarry1250 ^{(t, c)} 18:56, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

I can't seem to find an online copy. Karl Radek famously said of it that "nothing is to be learned [from it] that any reader could not learn from the Encyclopedia Britannica". But he also said "joking aside, the bad literary composition of this scientific research brigade... has nevertheless a great deal of value"; and "there is more significance in what it says between the lines than in what it states". Strawless ^(talk) 23:42, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Typing your pin in reverse at an ATM

I've just received a message from a friend on facebook which tells me that...
"When a thief forces you to take money from the ATM, do not argue or resist, you might not know what he or she might do to you. What you should do is to punch your PIN in the reverse, i.e if your PIN is 1254, you punch 4521. The moment you punch in the reverse, the money will come out but will be stuck into the machine half way out and it will alert police without the notice of the thief. Every ATM has it, it is specially made to signify danger and help. Not everyone is aware of this. Forward this to all your friends and those you care for." This sounds like a load of old cobblers (or worse) but before I reply informing them of this, I thought I'd check. Is this possibly the case? Could ATMs do this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.111.86.8 (talk) 21:41, 25 February 2009 (UTC) (Formatted: all-caps removed. – 74  23:27, 25 February 2009 (UTC))

False & False, thanks. Of course, one would hope it was true, but there we go. --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:56, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

If it were true it would be self-defeating. To be effective most people would have to know the trick. Yet to be effective it relies on any potential thief not knowing the trick. DJ Clayworth (talk) 22:15, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Not true - after all, what if your PIN is palindromic. -mattbuck (Talk) 22:14, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps the OP might consider getting rid of the shouting, now that the query has been answered. // BL \\ (talk) 23:02, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, as I thought, thanks. So what's the point of these messages? Is there something more going on behind them or are they just pointless? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.111.86.8 (talk) 22:42, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

See chain letter. – 74  22:47, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

They are pointless. I suppose what motivates people to write them is the challenge, in most cases. (In some cases, there are clear political motivations, but it doesn't seem to be the case here.) --98.217.14.211 (talk) 23:09, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Sorry about the shouting // BL \\ I didn't know how to change a block of text to lower case without re-typing the whole thing. How's it done? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.111.86.8 (talk) 23:34, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

MS-Word and many text editors can change case between five or more options - title, sentence, upper, lower, and, err, I forget. --Tagishsimon (talk) 00:11, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Fully capitalised? --Tango (talk) 00:43, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Toggle case, in case you've been typing with caps lock on. Under 'Format' -> 'Change Case'. 67.169.118.40 (talk) 01:29, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

This is just one in a wide variety of "send this to all your friends" messages. They basically qualify as computer worms - the intent is for the content to reproduce itself in the wild, and the challenge is to write something plausible enough that it will get widely distributed. One of the ingenious ones was about how Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC because they had genetically modified their chickens so that they weren't chickens anymore. I suppose the proof of success is when you get your message back weeks later, then you know that your creation was successful. It's amazing how many people fall for the wilder stories. Franamax (talk) 02:08, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

But in this case, you're liable to get a good punch in the face when your card gets rejected the first time. Franamax (talk) 02:10, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Not all such email warnings are false. I received the following message today from a 100% reliable source and I urge everyone to heed it lest they fall victim to this devious scam...:

This warning is VERY important. Please send it to everyone on your email list. If someone comes to your front door and says they are conducting a survey and asks you to show them your arse, DO NOT show them your arse. This is a SCAM, they just want to see your arse. I wish I'd got this yesterday. I feel so stupid and cheap.

Be warned! Rockpocket 07:10, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Ahh, but - you forgot the part about "SEND this to ALL your friends". That's the difference - obviously that one was a genuine warning :) Which reminds me, this morning a slip of paper was stuck under my apartment door "We will be testing smoke alarms in all units on Mar. 2". I see now it's just another one of those scams... :) Franamax (talk) 08:17, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

You have to send it to all your friends, not just some, or you will get 100 years bad luck and/or your email account will be terminated. -mattbuck (Talk) 14:12, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

What if your PIN is palindromic? Either it will alert the police every time or it won't ever alert them. 194.100.223.164 (talk) 09:25, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, you say that...but it's well known that if someone is forcing you at gunpoint to ask stupid questions on the Wikipedia reference desk, all you have to do is to sneakily HIT THE CAPS=LOCK KEY AND THE HIGHLY TRAINED RESPONDANTS ON THE REF DESK WILL KEEP WHINING ON ABOUT IT WITHOUT ANSWERING THE QUESTION UNTIL EITHER THE POLICE GET THERE OR YOUR ASSAILANT GETS BORED AND GOES HOME. ALL REFERENCE DESKS AND FORUM SYSTEMS ARE BUILT LIKE THIS. SteveBaker (talk) 01:55, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Quick, somebody type up an email! We've got to get the word out and save countless lives! – 74  03:17, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

ALERT THE INTERNET! -mattbuck (Talk) 16:52, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

February 26

Straight people in gay bars

I heard that some gay bars are actually becoming places where heterosexual females are to be found in increasing numbers, and the heterosexual males are following them there too, defeating the purpose of a gay bar. What is the prevalence of this? It's difficult to enforce gay-only entry to gay bars in a number of different ways, so has this phenomenon been picked up on much? There is the term 'fag hag' but that doesn't explain the acceptance of straight couples in gay bars... or is it just that gay bars are tolerating straight people as well as long as they don't dominate?--HootlePooch (talk) 00:32, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I just had this bizarre flash on how one would check to confirm if a customer was gay, as opposed to pretending to be gay, or straight but meeting up with gay friends or family, or straight but a stranger and not aware that gay bars are only for gays or . . . I think the answer is that, with a few exceptions, most bars in gay neighbourhoods welcome customers who eat and drink and don't cause injury to themselves, each other, the staff or the premises. Unless the customer is behaving in a way that makes the staff or the other clientele uncomfortable, no one will care. Women often like gay bars because they may be lively and yet no one is likely to hit on them there. And straight men frequently follow straight women. I don't know of any jurisdictions where, if you are behaving yourself, a bar (as opposed to a private club where membership is required) has the right to refuse to serve you because you aren't gay (or Latino, or a biker or a stockbroker or even a lawyer. . .) // BL \\ (talk) 00:51, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

(ec) I can't speak about the prevalence. What is the purpose of a gay bar? Well, one purpose is to create a place where gay people can meet, without fear of harrasment. If non-gay people are there, as long as they don't do any harrassing, that purpose is not defeated. While it might be assumed that, in general, a person at a gay bar is gay, this is not the case when it comes to many visitors. Some straight women like going to gay bars because there's little or no chance of being hit on, apart from straight guys (and lesbians) who happen to also be there. And some straight guys like going to gay bars, whether accompanied by a woman or not, because they like gay people, have no issues with homosexuality, and maybe they even like flirting a little (or a lot), or like being noticed by other guys, even if they'd never "come to the party". There are some men-only and woman-only bars that cater for the gay community, and anyone who enters is assumed to be gay, but I'm sure there have been many exceptions. As for tolerance, the gay movement is all about tolerance; and if they can't tolerate the presence of non-gay people, their cause would be doomed from the outset. That's why most gay bars have no such thing as a "gay only" policy. Quite how a person "proves" they're gay is quite beyond me, but I do believe there are gay-only bars. -- JackofOz (talk) 00:59, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Based on my personal experience of being a straight man who spent a lot of time in Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C., my sense is that a lot of bachelorette parties went to gay clubs, where young attractive women could get trashed without having to worry about being groped or hit on. I can imagine that this would attract some straight men, but I didn't see it. I have no idea what gays think of this. It should also be noted that gay bars are just as diverse as straight bars, e.g. there are some bars that you go to when you just want to have a drink with friends, with perhaps more pictures of half-naked men on the walls than one would otherwise see, and there are some bars that are known far and wide as meat markets. I can't imagine that the owners of the former would have a problem with straights wandering in, as long as they weren't engaged in some kind of 'gay tourism', but I think people who go to the latter would be justifiably annoyed if some straight came in and messed up the social expectations. - BanyanTree 03:16, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

At least in the Peel Hotel case I mentioned below, I don't think gay patrons particularly like hens parties because they often don't just go there to get trashed but to oogle the gay patrons. Of course if they really just go there to drink then I suspect the gay patrons would not be so concerned. Nil Einne (talk) 11:50, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Let me sing you the ballad of Canal Street my children, and the things that happened there.

Once was a land of gay bars in a time when this was shocking. And these gay bars served a community, as well as those who travelled from afar to see the wonders that could be seen. And lo, they were a refuge and a happy place for many gay people.

And then, as these things became less shocking, ladies who were, in fact, attracted to men began to spend their nights out in the gay bars. For they wished to dance and drink with their friends without being groped, and knew of no other place they could enjoy such a thing. Also, the gay bars were full of men dressed up and dancing in an attractive way, but this in no way influenced their choices... And for a while things were happy, as the women who ventured into the gay bars with their friends were generally the sort who had no issues with men who liked other men.

But then, people who would previously have nothing to do with such things came to hear of the lovely time these women were having, dressing up nicely and drinking and dancing without men assuming they were doing it for the benefit of men. And less understanding crowds of straight women descended on the bars, and the gay men came to feel self-conscious and objectivised. And the exact straight men who the straight women were trying to avoid heard of all these women going into clubs and enjoying themselves and thought 'We'll be in there'. And these straight men were not the sort of straight men who would have gone to a gay bar unless they were pursuing women with a mob of other straight men who were all defensive about their masculinity. And these men made the gay men feel threatened, and frequently that feeling was justified. And violence and bitter language broke out in what had been a safe haven. Fights. With chairs.

And so, many clubs sadly said they would only let in truly gay people, and judged that as they saw fit. Some just by looking, some by questioning. And so if you were a member of a musical theatre company, and many of your members were not gay, you found yourself refused entry to clubs you had previously treated as decent nights out and introduced new members to. Which was sad. But on the other hand fewer people got hit over the head with chairs.

The end. 79.66.56.21 (talk) 02:05, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

About 12 years ago, I - a straight male - would go out on the Canal Street gay scene on occasion with some gay friends. I can affirm that most bars and patrons were either perfectly welcoming (or at least tolerant) of my presence. A very small minority did appear to have an issue with me being there, but not aggressively so. It seemed to me that straight people who treat gay bars as a zoo are generally unwelcome, but if you are respectful and mind your own business then most people don't give two hoots. Rockpocket 07:24, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

But how the heck would they know you were straight? I don't mean idiots who come in pointing and laughing; when you went with your gay friends, what set you apart? Franamax (talk) 08:10, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Gaydar? In some cases it came up in conversation with between myself, my friends and other people in the bars. Rockpocket 20:12, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

It appears that whereas men generally want to meet women, women want to avoid meeting men. 194.100.223.164 (talk) 09:17, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

???? Evidence? What on earth are they doing in a bar - any bar - if they want to avoid meeting men? -- JackofOz (talk) 18:39, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Having a drink with their friends? --Tango (talk) 18:43, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I think "meet" is perhaps being used euphemistically by the IP. Rockpocket 20:12, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, that's right. The impression I get is, whereas men often want to go to bars to hit on women, most women usually do everything they can to avoid being hit on. 194.100.223.164 (talk) 11:48, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

An interesting example, as noted in our gay bar article is the Peel Hotel in Melbourne which banned (well can refuse entry to) non gay clientele because of concerns over the atmosphere and actions of non gay patrons [23]. Australia does have anti-discrimination legislation but it was ruled acceptable given the reasons for the ban [24] [25] were considered sufficiently justified. One of the articles say they ask you if you are gay. Obviously you can lie, but I doubt they care about the odd person who does so. If you start to behave inappropriately they can kick you out and because they've said non-gays are not allowed in and you lied about your sexuality, you're not going to be able to sue them for discrimination for example. Nil Einne (talk) 11:47, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Tiny red bugs

Okay, so my mom's pregnant asthmatic friend stopped me before going to school to see if I new what kind of insect this bug was that she found in her hair. It was tiny and red, and found on her head (No, I don't usually speak in riddles). Could someone tell me what this bug was and give me a link to the page about it (if there is one) Filosojia X Non(Philosophia X Known) 02:25, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

It's hard to say without a picture, but the tiniest, reddest bug I know of is the spider mite. - Eron^Talk 01:18, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

How many legs did it have? (6 means it's an insect - 8 would suggest a spider or a mite). Where in the world are you? (It really helps a lot to know). SteveBaker (talk) 01:30, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I am in CA, near Davis and Sacramento Filosojia X Non(Philosophia X Known) 02:25, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Whilst Steve's right to ask, like Eron I'd anticipate it is a spider mite. -Tagishsimon (talk) 01:32, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Also, it didn't look like it was smaller than 1 mm in size, but I guess it couldn't've been much bigger either, I suppoze it could be a spider mite, but it would help to know what else it could've been Filosojia X Non(Philosophia X Known) 02:25, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Try this Phil_burnstein (talk) 02:58, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I'd also try seeing a doctor... Gazhiley (talk) 11:48, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

That would be an enormous overreaction. -Elmer Clark (talk) 14:11, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Maybe it's just me then but if I found something crawling around on my skin that I didn't know what it was, I would go see a doctor first rather than show it to someone else and them discuss it on a ref desk... But as I said maybe that is just me... Gazhiley (talk) 08:59, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

But it wasn't a ladybug, and it was too small to be one anyways. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.137.194.47 (talk) 00:45, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't think we really have enough to go on, but what the hell—harvest mite (adult)?

Why not post this query on the Science Reference Desk? -- Deborahjay (talk) 14:21, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

boeing 747

Can I please ask how many Boeing 747's have ever crashed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.90.178.189 (talk) 02:27, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Boeing 747 hull losses may be the nearest we get to - 47. There may be many other crashes in which the aircraft was not destroyed beyond economic repair. But if, as I suspect, you mean big-ticket crashes, not low-speed impact with the air-bridge and other taxiing accidents, then that may be what you're after. And that would be 47 out of 1,412, fwiw. --Tagishsimon (talk) 02:57, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't know about that. While I would agree any accident resulting in a hull loss could probably be considered a major crash (although I note 22 of them didn't result in any loss of life and our article says some of them were written off partially because they were old), I would personally also consider any crash which results in fatality directly attributable to the accident a major crash and it's possible some have happened without hull loss I presume Nil Einne (talk) 11:38, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Of course, you can also have a hull loss not caused by a crash. A number of hull losses – including the first two in our article – were aircraft that had been hijacked, landed, and blown up on the ground after the passengers had all disembarked. Depending on how you choose to define 'crash', the Tenerife airport disaster may also not qualify. Two 747s collided on the ground (one was taking off in heavy fog when another aircraft taxied on to the runway). In 1977, Korean Airlines 007 was shot down by a Soviet fighter. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:45, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Free motion gallery/ video footage for use in youtube (creative commons?)

I recently noticed even the BBC's [www.bbcmotiongallery motion gallery] want payment for use of their "royalty free" footage. So much for them working for the nation! Lord MacAuley once said "Copyright is monopoly, and produces all the effects which the general voice of mankind attributes to monopoly. [...] Monopoly is an evil. For the sake of the good we must submit to the evil; but the evil ought not to last a day longer than is necessary for the purpose of securing the good." So, is there anywhere on the entire net that I can find videos that have creative commons licences? It seems to me most of the videos on YouTube are breaching copyright in some way. Many of them made by children or teenagers...surely these aren't breaking the law, they're merely being creative! Is there any other (large) site except than wikipedia that takes creative commons seriously? Thanks, --217.84.188.209 (talk) 10:52, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

The Creative Commons themselves do obviously. I believe Flickr also allows video nowadays. There are also some news agencies (Brazilian for example) who also release their content under the CC license unfortunately they are not always clear when the content isn't theirs/CC. Then there are public domain stuff released by the US government (particularly NASA has quite a few videos I believe) Nil Einne (talk) 11:31, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Prelinger Archives has lots of PD licenses, Internet Archive in general has lots of CC ones. --140.247.254.97 (talk) 17:12, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Job descriptions asking for "customer service experience"

I'm looking for a job in Liverpool, UK, and I've seen a lot of call centre based jobs on offer. They usually ask for either "sales experience", which I don't have, or "customer service experience", which I do have but not in a call centre. I've been a receptionist and a library assistant. My question is, am I wasting my time by taking these "customer service" ads at face value and applying? Anyone know if this is jargon for "call centre experience", or if they are interested in people who have dealt with customer enquiries face to face? 86.166.68.249 (talk) 12:52, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Generally right on the latter - what they want is people with experience of dealing with customers... Sales experience is helpful in the majority of call centre jobs, but generally as long as you have had customer service experience, that is generally enough... Also to be honest, the turnover of staff in call centres is that high that generally they can't afford to be that picky - any customer experience, whether it be phone or face to face - is often accepted... from one call centre worker to another potential call centre worker, good luck... Gazhiley (talk) 14:01, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Agreed completely. I have helped set up call centers from the US to Canada to India. If it'an inbound customer support group for something general (like a wireless provider), they are looking for a strong, confident and pleasant phone voice. But most importantly, they are looking to reduce first-year attrition. The most important questions they will ask you will be around "life goals" or "where you see yourself in five years." They want to hear that you appreciate the work, think that the wage is great, and are going to be around for the long haul (whether you are or not). Many sites have average tenure of less than one year (or annual attrition rates of > 100%). Since most include 2-10 weeks of paid training, his is generally a call center's biggest cost: even bigger than IT. NByz (talk) 17:56, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

We should also note that the reason for such attrition is burn-out from the enormous amounts of apathy and abuse you will receive from the people you call. Adam Bishop (talk) 05:34, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

I would think it depends on the job description. Customer service/sales especially in a call center environment pertains to thinking on your feet and doing what you can to help the customer while maintaining the best interests of the company. They want to know that you are good with people, able to handle concerns in a friendly manner, and possibly able to sell. You should look into your transferrable skills and put these forth should you get an interview. As a manager in a customer service environment, I think that with experience as a receptionist and as a library assistant, you are dealing with people a majority of the time. You should be well suited for a job asking for these qualifications.

Wonder the name of the fonts

1. As in http://www.rp-network.com/tvforum/uploads/cns_font_1.jpg
2. Title of a film named The Terminator.

-- JSH-alive ^{talk • cont • mail} 15:29, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

You might try cutting up the image and sending it into What The Font. APL (talk) 17:57, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

What the Font sucks 90% of the time. It points you fonts that are totally obscure and often quite, quite different from the input files. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 22:28, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't know if the Terminator headline font was its own font before the movie came out—it looks custom to me. You can easily find fonts based on the movie poster font though. The font used in white for the text is just plain old Avant Garde, of course. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 22:28, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

The first one is remarkably similar to Myriad, though it is not the same. But if you are looking for a font with the same look, Myriad in bold looks pretty dang similar, it takes a very close eye to see it is different. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 22:34, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Juicing key limes

A number of key limes have recently come into my possession. They're adorable-looking little things, but their small size renders extraction of their juice most frustrating.

Can anyone recommend techniques to maximize recovery of key lime juice from these tiny, tasty fruits? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:34, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

A food processor and a strainer, perhaps? Note: I've not tried this myself, I just think it seems reasonable. Peel and seed as much as possible before pulping. — Lomn 16:19, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Or use a juicer, which is, effectively, a food processor with a built in strainer. --Tango (talk) 18:16, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Well, yes. But I assume Ten has considered such pedestrian, dare we say, passe methods and found them "most frustrating". I was hoping to hit the "more than juicer, less than chainsaw" sweet spot. — Lomn 20:50, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Truth be told, I'm actually coming from the position of having fewer tools, rather than more. If someone can recommend an appropriate gizmo that won't take up too much space in my kitchen or make a nightmare of the washing up, I'm willing to spend. At the moment, I'm just slicing in half, picking out the seeds, and squeezing mightily — and finding it to be a less-than-satisfactory approach.

If I were at work, it would be an easy matter — gross dissection with scalpel and razor blade, removal of seeds with forceps, and blend in Waring blender. (Subsequent centrifugation to remove insoluble pulp optional.) My kitchen is not so well equipped. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 22:37, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

A simple hand-juicer is a lot easier than squeezing, especially with small fruit. We have a nice one that fits over a measuring cup and filters out the seeds automatically. You just slice the fruit in half, twist it on the end, pow, you've got juice. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 22:41, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

One of these? They're great - very easy to wash and very effective at getting a decent amount of juice very easily (an electric juicer will generally get more, though). You should be able to find one at any half-decent kitchen shop. --Tango (talk) 22:58, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

It will be well worth it, however you get the juice out. You have come in possesion of some of the most wonderful fruits on the earth. They aren't much like traditional limes, and aren't like lemons either. They have a flavor which is all their own, sweeter and more palatable than either lemons or limes. My favorite applications are key lime pie, key lime cheesecake, or key lime squares (like lemon squares or lemon bars, but with key lime juice). Their flavor reaches their peak when they go yellow. I am jealous. They are hard to find around where I live. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 18:50, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

One of the most beautifully and functional items in the entire history of mankind is the Philippe Starck juice extractor. It's gorgeous to look at - it works VASTLY better than the ugly contraption shown above because you can squeeze directly into a glass or cup - and it's easier to clean. There is not one single aspect of the design that isn't both entirely necessary and yet beautiful. Truly a masterpiece of the design art. SteveBaker (talk) 01:36, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

• cough* For the tenth anniversary of its launch, 10,000 were individually numbered and gold plated. ... The gold plated version was described as an ornament because the citric acid in a lemon discolors and erodes the gold plating. Starck is even rumored to have said, "My juicer is not meant to squeeze lemons; it is meant to start conversations" *cough* Nil Einne (talk) 02:12, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Well - yes, but that was after 9 years of not-gold-plated ones that worked just fine. I believe that the context of that comment from Starck was in discussing the gold plated version of it. And he was right...it just started a conversation. But the stainless steel version (which I have) is entirely functional and does a superb job of extracting juice from oranges, lemons and limes. SteveBaker (talk) 17:10, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

The non-Stark one pictured above, as noted by the person who posted it, is designed to squeeze directly into a cup. The non-Stark one described before the one pictured is designed to squeeze directly into a cup. Everyone I know who has a Stark juicer says it looks great, but is functionally inadequate; juice dribbles down the legs and the rounded top doesn't 'gouge' the fruit as effectively as a normal hand-juicer. Does that not happen for you? 79.66.56.21 (talk) 18:50, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Incidently, I recommend against the food processor/whole-fruit juicer idea. I think you'd get too many bitter flavors from the skins and pith if you did that. --Mdwyer (talk) 06:45, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

I think Mdwyer has a point here. I know someone with a juice extractor (meaning the kind you put whole or sliced fruit in without removing the skin etc) and the manual recommends you remove most of the pith for citrus fruit. Also IIRC when doing rind you're generally supposed to avoid the pith Nil Einne (talk) 13:42, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

• All you need is to slice the limes in half along the circumference, dig into the flesh with a fork and gouge it around while squeezing. No other equipment necessary. //roux   06:53, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Lemons and limes produce more juice if they are rolled firmly in the hands first.This loosens the pulp inside and makes more juice come out.hotclaws 19:00, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Manav Sthali School

Does anyone have any additional information on the Manav Sthali School? I can't seem to find any information about the history of the school or it's chairman. Any help is appreciated. Papercutbiology♫ (talk) 15:41, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Power Point Problem

Hey, does anyone know if there is any way to open a .pptx file on an old version of powerpoint? I e-mailed a presentation to myself from Powerpoint 2007 and I have 2005, so I can't open it. I need to open it, so if someone could please tell me a way to open it ASAP that would be great. Thanks! Grango242 (talk) 23:04, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't know the answer, but in general it is unreasonable to expect old versions of programs to be able to read newer versions of their files. What you may be able to do is to persuade 2007 to store the presentation in a 2005-compatible file; but you are unlikely to be able to do anything with the software and file that you have. --ColinFine (talk) 23:18, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

This only mentions '03, not '05, but it might be what you want. Algebraist 23:49, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

(This is really more of a question for the computer desk, but anyways...) If you go to Save As in Powerpoint 2007, there is the option to save it as a .ppt file. It will then warn you that you might lose some features of the original that are only available with 2007. The only problem I've ever had with this is some font changes and occasionally animation effects. And for some reason, the file usually becomes massively larger. If you're okay with that, there's your solution.

Of course, you said you want to open it "ASAP" so if that means you emailed it home from school, need to work on it tonight, and hand it in the morning, and you can't get to your school computer that has Powerpoint 2007, I'm afraid I don't know how to help you. Maybe someone who knows more about computers knows a way to convert the file without Ppt 2007. Best of luck. Cherry Red Toenails (talk) 23:53, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

You might be able to scrape the content out of it by using something like PowerPoint Viewer 2007. I've not used it, but it must be better than a locked file, non? --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:56, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Or, you could try downloading the 30-day trial of the most recent Powerpoint version, and, as above, save it as a .ppt file next time. Thanks, Genius101^Guestbook 01:50, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

A reasonable solution is to install the "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 file format", which will convert your pptx files into ppt files. I believe it's free and has no prerequisites other than a Microsoft operating system (the expectation that you have an earlier version of Office is so you can open the older-format files, although other software products can open older formats too). See [26].-gadfium 02:19, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

aircraft parts

What would become of US Airways Flight 1549 after the investigations are all done? Will the aircraft be dismantled now that it's a total write-off?72.229.135.200 (talk) 23:43, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

The airline will determine if it's cheaper to repair the aircraft or write it off and buy/lease a new one (given the damage, a write-off is likely). If they write it off, the parts are scrapped and diposed of / recycled, as with any other kind of waste. — QuantumEleven 13:41, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Will any portion of the aircraft be donated the National Air & Space Museum?72.229.135.200 (talk) 19:09, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

February 27

Is the golfer Vijay Singh of Indian descent?

If so, are both of his parents Indian? - Vikramkr (talk) 01:08, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

The article Vijay Singh (Golfer) says: "An Indo-Fijian of Hindu background,[1][2] Singh was born in Lautoka, Fiji and grew up in Nadi. His name means Victorious Lion." That's a start. // BL \\ (talk) 01:28, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

(ec)Our article Vijay Singh (golfer) simply says he is Indo-Fijian, so yes, he is of Indian descent. It says nothing about his parents. DuncanHill (talk) 01:29, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

(ecc) Yes. Have your read our article on him? Vijay Singh seems to cover a lot of that ground. It says that he was born in Fijii and "of a Hindu background" - and both mother and father have very Indian-sounding names. SteveBaker (talk) 01:31, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

According to this site [27], his father's name is Mohan and his mother's is Parwati. I could find nothing else on their ethnicity. // BL \\ (talk) 01:38, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

He is almost certainly of Indian descent. There has been a long history of people moving around a lot between British colonies and former British colonies, and at some point (parents, grandparents) Vijay's family will trace back to India. He is not an indigenous Pacific Islander. As another famous example of this sort of free movement, look at the example of Freddie Mercury. He comes from a family of Iranian Zoroastrians, was raised in Zanzibar and went to school in Mumbai (then Bombay). --Jayron32.talk.contribs 02:15, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes, he is on Indian descent, like nearly two Fijians in five. Indo-Fijians are the descendants of contract labourers imported to Fiji in the 19th century. The tension between Indo-Fijians and the indigenous majority is the central issue in Fiji's modern history and politics. Luwilt (talk) 16:22, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Victorian gays

Were gays seen as bad in Victorian time? Why was Oscar Wilde imprisonment while others continued or was it just he is the most well known? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.80.240.66 (talk) 13:41, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

I believe there was a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude at the time. That is, a closeted homosexual might have been reasonably safe, especially if they had the money to pay off anyone who caught them "in the act". However, public homosexuality was likely to result in severe punishment. StuRat (talk) 16:05, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Take a look at Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 and particularly the Labouchere Amendment for more background to this. DuncanHill (talk) 16:14, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Category:19th century in LGBT history may also be worth looking at. DuncanHill (talk) 16:16, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

This certainly depends where you're talking about. In Europe and the US and Canada, male homosexuality was illegal in most places, and there were different social standards applied to men and women. Men who married but had affairs on the side with women were somewhat accepted. Married men who had affairs with other men were accepted only so far as class, money, and social permission would allow. Oscar Wilde was imprisoned more for sheer balls than for sex acts. He challenged the father of his lover; a social duel and he lost. For women, homosexuality was almost invisible, but the Victorian era fostered a culture of asexual love between women with the term "romantic friendship". Women may have seen themselves as asexual, but their records indicate they had passionate romances with each other. In the 19th and 20th century, gender roles were strictly prescribed and followed. Any variation brought social downfall. Men should be married to women and start families. Women should be married to men and nurture those families. If they had enough money, they might be able to fool around, but women refusing to adhere to their roles had to have a viable option, such as a convent, or again, enough money to be considered eccentric and rich. Men had some more leeway with bachelorhood, but buggery was a criminal offense, and a man who refused to marry and instead pursued sexual relationships with other men was only begging for social ostracism. See Cleveland Street scandal and Lesbian#Re-examining romantic friendships. --Moni3 (talk) 16:20, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

why does this occur?

having followed the link and then searched for 'adolf hitler' i am deeply unimpressed by the article. please advise why i cannot get any actual information about the man —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.249.138.179 (talk) 13:53, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Please don't post your questions to multiple pages. Your time could be better spent reading responses to your posting at WP:HD. Algebraist 13:56, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

What an unfriendly comment! Luwilt (talk) 16:32, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

What an unhelpful response! – 74  18:35, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Newspaper delivery in the United States

The websites of some American newspapers carry invitation to subscribe to the paper edition of the newspaper. This would never happen in the UK. Here, if you want your newspaper delivered, you go to your local newsagent, and arrange it with him. He sends a teenager out on a bike before school each morning to deliver to all his customers. We have about ten national newspapers, so it wouldn't make sense for each paper to have its own door-to-door delivery system. But so far as I can work out, in most parts of America, there is a choice of only one or two daily papers. In practical terms, if you subscribe to the paper edition of an American paper, how is the delivery actually arranged? Who organises the deliveries? The newspaper company, a contractor, a local store? Who physically delivers? A kid on a bike, a man in a van (would that be light truck?), the postal service? What time of day are the papers delivered? Luwilt (talk) 16:30, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Home delivery is primarily arranged my the newspaper company. I suppose a store could set up their own delivery system if they wanted, but this is not common. Historically, newspapers are delivered by paperboys, but it's entirely likely that your newspaper may be delivered by a girl or an adult of either gender. In more densely populated areas, it is almost always delivered on foot/bicycle, but more rural areas will typically have their mail left in a box by a driver (if delivery is available). Some national papers offer delivery via mail. In my paperboy days, I delivered the evening edition in the late afternoon. Now the evening edition is no longer offered and papers are delivered in the early morning, which I suspect is the most common situation. Tomdobb (talk) 16:46, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

In my paper boy days (late 80s), I delivered a local paper on my bike or on foot after school. The papers didn't usually get to my house in enough time to do the route before school. The customers worked it out with the paper itself and not a store. In many areas, the paper is not just thrown on the doorstep or driveway but put into a box much like a mailbox but it generally doesn't have a door to close. To get a better idea of what these look like, see the mailbox baseball article. Dismas|^(talk) 18:27, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Can you help me edit my grant proposal?

I am applying for a technology grant and need some help of what to add and what to edit. Any additional ideas would be greatly appreciated.

At minimum the proposal must:

Describe the different types of student populations and student grade levels that you serve; Provide the number of students that I serve; Clearly articulate hou you plan to improve student achievement by the integration of technology in to your classroom curriculum through innovative ways; Clearly describe how you will measure student achievement gains as a result of integrating innovative technology strategies into classroom curriculum; Describe any additional outcomes you seek to achieve; Describe how you will measure the success of these additional outcomes; Provide a detailed timeline for the implementation of the grant.

The school that I work for is a rural school with approximately 76% of the students receiving free and reduced lunches. I think that number reflects that socioeconomic status of our community. For many of our student’s the only access they have to technology is what we provide for them in our classrooms. Due to budget cuts and other changes in our district over the past year we have cut our computer classes, and now the school is relying more on teachers to pick up the slack, by bringing more technology in to our daily lessons. The benefit this gives us is that now technology is starting to be integrated more into students’ daily routines and is not treated as a separate entity. The problem we face is getting the technology in the hands of the students. With limited lab space, it becomes hard for teachers to plan lessons around when there are computers available.

I believe we have a problem that faces many schools. Our students are being prepared for the 20th century, when they are living in and will be working in the 21st century. We need to work on getting the tools our students will be using in their hands. With the school being the only place our students will be exposed to some forms of technology, I feel the burden falls upon the teachers to make sure students at our school are not falling further behind than they are already starting.

Our school could truly benefit by getting net books in our school. These are more cost effective than full sized computers and run nearly all the same operations. I would like to start by getting a class set of 20, so I could pilot the use of these computers. I believe once the school sees all the uses of these computers, they will allow us to budget for more of them in the future. There has already been talk about looking for cheaper alternatives to desktop computers, so I feel this would be a good alternative.

I would use this in my social studies classroom. Because there is only one social studies teacher per grade level, I see every seventh grade student in our building. With one class set of net books I would be able to serve nearly 150 students every year. Every student that came through our school system would benefit from the use of this technology in my classroom.

There will be a number of benefits to having this technology at our fingertips. In my classroom we study ancient world history. We will now have the opportunity to contact professionals in these areas. With the built in web cams we could even have face to face discussions with these people. I know these people are busy, but it would be easier to get them to spend five minutes with us online, as opposed to trying to actually get them to come to our school. We will be able to do the same thing with authors that have written books and have done research on these time periods. When we study ancient Chinese dynasties we would have to opportunity to skype students in china and see if we could start a discussion and see what they know.

I think having net books will have a direct impact on student achievement, not only in my class, but in other classes as well. Students will be able to improve their writing by creating wikis and responding to questions I post to the class. We will be able to publish papers to the web, my class will become authors and can have their work published online. They will also improve their critical thinking and editing skills by reading the posts of other students and responding to them. Reading achievement will be improved by providing students with access to more information that is outside the textbook. We will also have the ability to research topics that interest the students in greater detail. When students spend time researching and reading about subjects they are interested in they will be more engaged and more learning will take place.

By having the students blog and produce wikis I will be able to check and see what the students are writing about, this will give me instant feedback to see if students are grasping concepts I am teaching. I will also be able to assess their improvements in writing, and I will be able to work with language arts to make sure the students are using the skills that are being taught in their classes. There will be instant feedback available for me and the students, so we will be able to move through areas quicker when the students understand what is going on.

--Tuckerwillard (talk) 18:16, 27 February 2009 (UTC)Willard

Sorry, that's not what the reference desk is for. Try asking your colleagues, they may have made similar proposals in the past. --Tango (talk) 19:34, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Odd question

I live in the USA. If I wanted to purchase obsolete military equipment (Specifically a tank or APC), who would I need to talk to? I would assume that this is possible though I strongly suspect that they would remove or disable any weaponry on the vehicle. At least one would never have to worry about being booted or towed and you could really show up your neighbor who had an H2? No but seriously? 65.167.146.130 (talk) 18:40, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

I think you would find it exceedingly hard to keep it 'street legal' - so unless you have a LARGE amount of private land to drive it on - you can forget it right now! They are definitely available though - and people do own them privately after they have been de-militarized. SteveBaker (talk) 19:36, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

That sounds like what I am looking for. Where can I get more info? 65.167.146.130 (talk) 19:44, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Dismantling (and remantling) a Swiss Army knife.

I have a swiss army knife - one of the crazy ones with about 30 gizmo's...but a genuine Victorinox one, not a knock-off.

Due to a series of unfortunate events, the thing is gummed up with some tarry stuff that got spilled onto it - and since (a) they cost about $120 bucks and (b) it has a certain sentimental value - I want to take it apart and clean it with some kind of solvent.

So - here's the question. Can you dismantle a swiss army knife and put it back together without wrecking it? If so - how do you start? It looks like the plastic side panels are glued onto the metal frame - if I remove them, will there be a handy set of screws underneath for pulling it all apart?

SteveBaker (talk) 19:33, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

The one's I buy (Huntsman) are nowhere near $120, about $20. Try leaving it for 24 hours soaking in petrol with all the blades open. I don't think they come apart. -- SGBailey (talk) 19:37, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

You could try several different solvents such as Xylene or Acetone. Depending on what the gunk is, they might dissolve it without harming the knife. 65.167.146.130 (talk) 19:45, 27 February 2009 (UTC)