Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 June 26

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June 26

Way to control air conditioner in different areas of the house?

Is there a way to set up an air conditioner (or heater, for that matter) to provide different amounts of air to different parts of the house? Such as, allowing the temperature to be alternately adjusted for a garage apartment and the main house, without having to have two separate AC units burning cash? -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 02:55, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Surely this is dependant on your system, I would imagine that some systems have this functionality built in? Other than that, I don't know if you could fit some aftermarket attachment to do this - have you enquired at a relevant store? What about just altering the amount the vents are open so that different amounts of air go to each place, rather than individually controlling the actual temperatures, as this would have much the same effect. --jjron 03:04, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I would have thought you could find a more cost-effective fuel with which to power an AC unit than cash. Rockpocket 03:10, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, you can, is the short answer. You can have thermostats in every room in your house, if you want. I think we have 10, controlling separately several bedrooms, living areas, kitchen, studio, workshop, upper floor of the garage. What happens, though, is that, unless you can shut off the areas entirely from each other physically, the air leaks, as it were, and all the rooms generally move to the highest (in summer) or lowest (in winter) common denominator. The areas we shut off (like a guest bedroom that is not always in use, and the upper floor of the garage) keep their own temperature beautifully. The rest seems to mesh, with extremes where there is direct wind or sun. (The system works by opening and closing dampers in the ductwork.) Whether it is cheaper to have one a/c unit big enough for both the main house and the apartment, and running it on an "as needed" basis, or two smaller ones each entirely independent, is a question for a heating/cooling specialist. Bielle 03:45, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

My answer (above) does assume that you already have a forced air heating/cooling system in place. If you don't, then it will be very unlikely you can find a single air-conditioner with enough capacity to do all the areas you have noted. If you have two separate forced-air systems, and thus, two furnaces (one for the house and another for the apartment), you may also have to stay with two air-conditioners as it is the fan on the furnace that powers the air (cold and hot) around. Bielle 03:52, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Just to be safe, I would ask an HVAC/R technician. --Mayfare 03:56, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Ok, thanks. Sounds like I'll just get a seperate AC unit setup then to avoid wasting energy -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 05:53, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

YES. Edison 04:39, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

See our Zone damper article for a commonly-used method.

Atlant 11:48, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I deliberately designed my home to have two smaller A/C units rather than one big one. This has proven to be a very wise move because one of the two units has failed twice over the ten years we've had the house and having the second unit to heat/cool the house when the other one failed has been a great thing! One unit by itself has to run flat out - and doesn't really get the temperature exactly where you'd like it - but it's a lot better than not having A/C for a couple of days until you can get someone out to fix it. SteveBaker 02:50, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Letters of Recommendation

(Inserted title and section break for clarity) Bielle 07:01, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Hi. Can you please help me? I am going to attend University at the end of the year and for getting my "place" confirmed, I have to bring along three letters of recommendation for further studies. I already got two from my high school teacher and Mayor of my town and I still have one remaining which the priest was supposed to write. Unfortunately he just cannot help me.

Could you please write a draft or give me links to some reference.

Yours

Letters of recommendation generally require that the writer know the person or the person's work. Unless you know someone here personally, it isn't the place to be looking for such things. Is there not another teacher, a team coach, a friend's parent who is a professional in the area you want to study, or who just knows you well and thinks highly of you, an employer, the school principal, your doctor who could help you? Bielle 07:01, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Employment Application

On an employment application when it tells you how much salary you are expecting per hour what be the best thing to place if you were flexible with that salary.--logger 05:49, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I would either write a "range", ie $7 - $12 / hour, or simply the word "flexible", though that depends on the company and the job. Charlie-talk to me-what I've done 09:25, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

First, you should already have an idea of the industry average for a person of your skills in that position, but sometimes a company is willing to pay more than you might think. I always put "Negotiable" for two reasons: to indicate flexibility and to keep from selling myself short. This gives an opportunity to impress them during the interview(s) and possibly raise the amount they are willing to pay. 152.16.188.111 09:30, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

The books, experts, etc. always give the same advice; dodge the question. As in most any bargaining, the person who puts out the number first is at the disadvantage. Believe me, the company knows what they intend to pay you, and they also know what they will go as high as. I usually leave it blank on applications which seems to work out OK, or dodge it in person with "Oh, I'm sure the salary you are considering is appropriate for a job of this level, and that's just fine with me" or "Well, the salary's not the primary thing; as long as the job is a good fit for both of us, then the salary will be fine" or some such. I think most people undersell themselves to be "safe" which gives the firm the upper hand. If you oversell yourself a little, I don't think the company is going to write you off, they just will suggest that they can't deal with that, here's our offer. If you oversell by a million miles, they'll probably start to suspect you're not too familiar with the job/industry/anything after all, though. You also get asked this by headhunters, agencies, etc., again just to make sure that you're not expecting something that they shouldn't waste their time on, like a $100,000 salary for mailroom boy.Gzuckier 16:23, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I should beware of any firm that asks such a question. It suggests they are trying to recruit on the cheap, and who wants to work for a cheapskate ? (Unless no choice, of course.) Sad, isn't it!90.0.135.205 15:00, 26 June 2007 (UTC)DWT

Everybody asks that. And they want to know what you last salary was, which I always thought was none of their business, but apparently it's legal for them to require it. ?? But in the end, the recruitment policy of pretty much every company seems to be 'We are looking for people who are the absolute best in their field, but willing to work at the salary which is average for their field.' Go figure.Gzuckier 16:23, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

The American and Canadian goverments, and perhaps others, have websites in which you can look up the average salaries for particular jobs. It may be helpful to check out the appropriate website and base your "request" on the figures. -- Mwalcoff 22:37, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

The advice I've seen everywhere has been to say "Flexible" or "Negotiable" or "Open" - or even to leave that space blank! Basically don't answer! The deal is this: If you price yourself above what they were expecting to pay, there is a good chance that they won't even interview you - they'll never find out what an amazingly talented person you are - so they'll never know that you are clearly worth that much! If you price yourself below what they were prepared to offer - you know they won't offer you the amount they'd originally thought of - and you'll get paid less than the job is worth. Even worse, it might imply to them that you are a lesser skilled person - why else would you be so cheap? - and again, maybe you don't get into the interview. So the best bet is to leave out the entire question until after they've interviewed you and decided that you are the person they need. Once they want you, the tables have turned. Instead of you being desperate to get the job - you've got the job - now they are the ones who are desperate to get you to say "Yes". This puts you in a better position to try to push up the money. If they offer you the job at $X, you can come over as kinda reluctant..."Well, I was hoping to get $Y..." - at this point, they may offer you what you ask - or they may at least go a bit higher than $X. In the worst case, they say "Sorry - we just can't go a penny higher than $X." - and then you get to decide whether you want the job at that price or not - or perhaps you can haggle for shorter hours or more vacation or more benefits. If all else fails - you can still say "Well, OK - you've convinced me that this is a great place to work - so I'll take the job at $X". But if you didn't even get into the interview - then it's irrelevent whether you would or would not have gotten the money. Of course recriuters are wise to this trick - and many application forms will require you to name your salary. Still, you should put in a range so you have wiggle room when it comes to accepting the job. If they ask you the question at the interview, so you point-blank have to answer it, you can talk about what you were earning at your last job and say something like "I was hoping to be able to improve on my last salary of $Z". This has the advantage that the potential employer can see that you were worth $Y - so it might not be bad to offer you $Y plus a little bit. It can get tough though. If they utterly pin you down to a price partway through the interview - then offer you the job at the price you named - you could STILL try something like "Well, this job looks fascinating - and it's certainly a challenge - but it's more responsibility/effort/whatever than I was expecting and I feel $Y would be what I'd need in order to accept it."...I don't like that though...try not to get boxed into that corner! No matter what though - you need to get into that interview - and you need to be offered the job - even if you have to turn it down because the pay isn't good enough. If you don't make the interview or if you don't get offered the job then there is zero scope for negotiation - so you have to do whatever it takes to get to that point. SteveBaker 02:41, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

W@H Jobs

Does anyone know of what types of businesses are most likely to have work at home employees? Our article on telecommuting only mentions freelancing, which I don't think I'd be comfortable with.-- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 08:58, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Scams :-) In all seriousness, though, most work at home jobs come after you've been hired by a company the "old-fashioned" way, since there's more of an opportunity for the business to evaluate their "investment" in an employee that way, before entrusting them with company information/software/whatever. That said, some call centers and tech support companies can outsource to anywhere, including your living room, and I happen to tutor for a company that lets you work basically anywhere there's internet: Tutor.com. Drop me a line on my talk page if you'd like more info about that. Charlie-talk to me-what I've done 09:19, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

• Tarot readers and sexphone workers often work from home.They are very dull jobs and not well paid.hotclaws 12:06, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

My dad administrates some mega data farm over at IBM, and he rarely has to go to the office since he can just connect to the IBM network from home. I'd say that's one job (server admin) that's highly likely to be a mostly at-home job, since there's really no reason at all to go to the server physically unless you're installing hardware. --froth^t 14:04, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I work for an insurance company in Connecticut (not really narrowing it down much there) and there are plenty of positions that are WAH, but they're given to employees who have already been working in the company for several years. In 2008-2009, we're undergoing a major office restructuring and about 20% of all employees in our Connecticut offices are moving to WAH positions (crossing my fingers :D) Leebo ^T/C 14:10, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I know a woman who works at home as a telephone answerer for one of the Shop at Home shows. The company redirects a certain percentage of their calls in to her home phone (she may have a separate line for that, I'm not sure), and she's able to answer the phones and place orders for call-ins from her house. Corvus cornix 15:43, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the previous posters - the news is not good. For a company to allow you to telecommute requires either that the company trusts you an awful lot - or that they can somehow accurately monitor that you are actually working when you are supposed to.

• Trust has to be earned - so in the first case, they certainly aren't going to recruit people off the street and just trust them to actually work.
• In the second case, you're looking at a job where the company pays you for each item of work done (and these are very often scams where they charge you for the materials you need to work with - or pay you very, very little for what seems like an easy task - but which turns out to be immensely time-consuming). Jobs which entail you taking phone calls (telemarketting, help desks, sex/party hotlines, ridiculous fortune telling scams...you get the idea). Worst still - jobs that don't require trust - that can be done over the phone - can also be done in India, Mexico, China...where wages are maybe a tenth what they are in the US, UK, etc. So don't expect a very secure job either.

Your best hope is to find a job that is part-telecommute, part-office time. This makes it easier to be sure that the job is getting done. But these kinds of position are not common. It's not a good situation. SteveBaker 02:21, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Start your own business. You can then run it from anywhere that suits you and the kind of product or service you offer. You can also keep your own hours. Bielle 06:30, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

This is good advice. Most self-employed people work from home, at least at the beginning. There are tax implications that may involve your home (and that will differ significantly from country to country), and you need to talk to a lawyer about those because Wikipedia doesn't give legal advice. But plumbers, writers, tutors, paralegals, web designers, contractors - they can all work from home. --Charlene 13:07, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

accounting

what is the purpose of a suspense account and howis it completed? Anga sadetou 11:44, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

We do have an article Suspense account, but it is not very detailed. In general its purpose is to identify and reconcile unexplained transactions and balances. You can make your trial balance balance by posting to suspense. At the end of the day you explain the transaction and clear the suspense account. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 11:48, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Mount Everest

How do you measure the height of Mount Everest

With a very large tape measure -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 13:30, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

The article has a rather detailed section on this. Recury 13:34, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Modern methods use GPS. But the height of the mountain was first measured accurately by the Great Trigonometric Survey of India, using equipment like this and this to produce detailed survey maps like these. Over 150 years ago, working in very difficult conditions and having to make their observations from 150 miles away, the survey team still managed to produce a measured height that is only about 8m different from modern mesaurments - an error of less than 0.1%. John Keay's 2000 book The Great Arc is an excellent account of the Great Trigonometric Survey. Gandalf61 16:18, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

It's also been measured by radar from the space shuttle. They flew a mission to map the height of almost the entire earth at high precision a few years ago. Some cartographers have also mapped mountain heights using parallax between pairs of satellite photos. SteveBaker 02:08, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Hawkeye technology at Wimbledon

This year's Wimbledon tournament is the first one to use Hawk-Eye technology to resolve disputed line calls. I would like to know how the technology is being applied, specifically at this year's Wimbledon (the rules might be different at other tournaments, but I'm only interested in Wimbledon). Who can call for a Hawkeye adjudication - just the umpire, or the players as well? If the latter, I suspect there might be a limitation on the number of times a player can call for it - is this correct? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 14:07, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

The players can call for Hawkeye three times per set.90.0.135.205 14:58, 26 June 2007 (UTC)DT

Thanks for this. And the umpire? Can he call for it as well, and if so is there a limit on the number of times? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 15:00, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I thought it was three unsuccessful calls. - X201 15:03, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

This article [1] has info, a correct challenge does not count against a player's 3 per set allowance, and in a tie-break an additional challenge is allowed. No mention afaics of the umpire challenging - an umpire can already over-rule a line call. DuncanHill 15:04, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

The Wimbledon website has an article, and it says three calls per set. It does not mention whether challenges are only lost on incorrect calls, and it does not mention whether the chair umpire may use Hawkeye either (I assume the latter is almost definitely a no). I'll try poking around the ITF website to see if they have anything useful. –Pakman044 00:38, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

A foreign language news item on the ATP website mentions that in addition to the three challenges per set, a player will receive an additional challenge for tiebreaks (remember that Wimbledon has no final set tiebreaks though!). –Pakman044 01:07, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

SCREW TANNING im staying pale

for some reason my skin seems reluctant to tan and this started a few years ago but the main thing is im really young (16) and when i was much younger i tanned in an instant! , ok so my family says you have to be out in the sun all the time to get a tan but even when i was at school and was out at lunch, playing sports or walking to class i only managed to get a very subtle glow, i now officially give up on tanning so i want to know how i can keep my skin very porcelain (my legs, face and the back of my arms are extremely pale), which products are best for my skin when i am out in the sun and what should i eat and drink to keep my skin great on a daily basis? hope to hear from you soon! :D

Firstly - Wikipedia does not offer medical advice, but you and your family should be aware of the risk of skin-cancer from exposure to sunlight. Everyone should use a high SPF suncream for protection. Ask your pharmacist or doctor for advice on skin-protection and diet. DuncanHill 15:08, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict) We're not very big on handing out dermatology advice. Sunscreen, cover up, drink plenty of water and get lots of sleep will probably be about as far as we can go. Move to Iceland, maybe. --Tagishsimon (talk)

[NOTE: the following is to be read as information, not medical advice]: Before you shun the sun entirely, get some advice about how avoiding the sun might negatively affect your body's use of Vitamin D. Some exposure to sunlight—whose radiation varies at different latitudes—promotes the synthesis of Vit. D. (Taking this vitamin in pill form isn't enough for your body to use it effectively.) If that mechanism is weak, you risk developing a Vitamin D deficiency and long-term, serious health threats to your organs and metabolism, such as the functioning of the parathyroid glands, kidney stones, osteoporosis and more. A pharmacist can advise on sunscreen products, but only a medical doctor can explain your total health picture. A good start would be to read about this on public health advisory websites for the country where you live.-- Deborahjay 19:18, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

And also remember that most dermatologists strongly recommend that anyone with red or reddish hair never, never, NEVER be in the sun without sunscreen. Redheads have a 15 to 30 times greater chance of developing melanoma than other white people. You can get your vitamin D just fine from milk and soy milk. --Charlene 13:04, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Caveat to --Charlene's assurance of "just fine"—

Mere consumption of a nutritional substance doesn't ensure its successful metabolism by your body. Obtaining Vit. D primarily or solely from food sources but without sufficient exposure to solar radiation that allows the body's own production of that vitamin, is inferior to the latter process and may be inadequate and still result in Vit. D. deficiency. Again, this is a medical matter that affects your long-term health; consult a doctor regarding your personal case, after you've gathered information from general sources such as Wikipedia and websites. -- Deborahjay 10:52, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Typical medical costs in California? / Health/repatriation insurance question

Does anyone know of a list of typical medical costs (from little things to major surgery) excluding insurance cover in California? I'm starting university in the US soon as an international student, and while the university insurance offers 90% cover after $300 deductible for medical emergencies and related hospitalization (50% cover for non-emergency), I'm wondering whether I should really also buy repatriation/medevac insurance to return me to my home country (the UK) which has free-at-the-point-of-service national healthcare (it has its problems and is rather geographically uneven in quality but is generally adequate-to-excellent), should I, say, get knocked down by one of those American car chases. 90% sounds nice, but what if fixing a broken leg has, I dont know, a pre-insurance price tag of $500,000 in LA (there is no sample list of prices included with the university insurance documents)? (Yes, this question is somewhat inspired by the Michael Moore movie, though I havent seen it and am not really a fan of his work). Thanks for any advice! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.110.47.156 (talk • contribs) 15:26, 26 June 2007

"Free at the point of service" means free, paid for by taxes. I can't understand why people keep using that "free at the point of service" phrase which I imagine was originally used by the politicians setting up the NHS in 1948. 80.2.205.119 08:52, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Neither I nor Wikipedia are medical insurance experts, but I would strongly suggest getting additional cover, including repatriation and third-party cover. Your university may be able to put you in touvh with existing British students there who may be able to offer the fruits of their personal experiences. Congratulations on getting your place, and best wishes for your studies. DuncanHill 15:37, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I can't preovid you with a list, but I would note that certain visas (like J1s, for example) require you have medevac insurance, though they usually only demand it covers the repatriation of remains in the event of your death.

My personal opinion, having been in a similar situation to you, would be that the 90% coverage is pretty standard for medical emergency treatment, though should should find out what the maximum payout is per annum. A night in hospital may cost up to $1000. I can give you an example that a friend of mine was recently hospitalised for 5 days, in that time had an emergency operation. That, and all associated medical treatments, cost about $10,000. (So, he had to pay $1000 after insurance). 50% cover for non emergency sounds low (I have 90% coverage for that also). Simply seeing a doctor can cost up to $100 a time in California, so if you are a sickly sort of person, that could stack up. Rockpocket 17:58, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

First, are you sure your UK coverage doesn't cover emergency/urgent treatment here while a student? I know Canadians are covered for a few weeks while visiting the US, don't know about students.

Secondly, for costs, think "huge". Yeah, $1000 a night for hospital stay is not just "up to" it's probably more like average. Bear in mind that that's not including the charges of any actual doctors you may wish to have involved during your stay; or medications, for which hospitals typically charge like ten times the actual cost, since that is one area where US medical insurers are currently not seeking savings and the hospitals are making up for the tight squeeze they're getting elsewhere. As for office visits; well, just got an office visit in CT, probably not that different from CA; just a routine checkup, $250. (Not covered by my insurance, I discovered btw, after they've been bugging me to get one all year). Whereas the last time I went to a doctor in Canada, an office visit with skin biopsy cost me $40. Gzuckier 20:29, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

See below -- I don't think Canadians are always covered; be careful. --Trovatore 20:51, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

They will not have any coverage from the NHS in America. Unlike many other countries, especially those in the EEA, the UK has no reciprocal agreement with the US (or with Canada). [2] So they need the most insurance they can get! Skittle 20:53, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Looking at the insurance documents closers, I see that the out of pocket maximum is $3,500 (a lifetime insurance payout max of $500,000 though). The 50% for non-medical emergencies seems to apply to only if you show up in an emergency room and the hospital decide actually what you had is not an emergency (hmmm.... this seems a bit dodgy), otherwise its 90%. Most or all costs appear to be covered at a 80%-90% level. Anyway, I'm looking into medevac isnurance too now...

I wanted to respond to the claim that Canadians are covered for medical expenses during short visits to the US. This may depend on your province of residence. I'm almost sure it's not true for Ontarians; you might be covered for care after repatriation, but I don't think you're covered for most care actually delivered in the US. When I lived in Ontario I took out travel insurance to visit the US. The price is very reasonable. --Trovatore 20:51, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

It looks like I was partly right and partly wrong (but mostly right). See this page. In the case of accident or illness, OHIP will pay for necessary care, up to what they would have paid in Ontario. And if you need to go to the ICU, they'll pay up to $400 Canadian a day! That'll maybe cover changing your linens. --Trovatore 01:25, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Canadians (yeah, it probably varies some by province) are covered for vacation travel for reasonable periods, as any reasonable system would do. ("Leave the country at your own risk! You're Canadian!"). My folks live in Canada, and visiting the US is limited by however many weeks they are covered, it's like 3 or six or something.

As a sidenote, the National Center for Policy Analysis in the US, in their effort to demonstrate that Canadian one payer healthcare is a disaster, claims to show that Canadians are coming here in droves to get care that they can't get at home (see the discussion above about costs....) and they link to a page tabulating Ontario residents getting cardiac surgery in the US. I note that 40% of them are in Florida, and I think it's quite a bit more likely these are vacationers having heart attacks, rather than Ontario residents who choose to pay their life savings for cardiac surgery in Florida for some reason. The other 60% are all in states neighboring Ontario, and I suspect it's the same story, but it's not quite as unlikely that they are going just over the border to get care as is going to Florida. But I do note that of the list of best US hospitals for cardiac care, the highest ranking one in any state where the Ontario folks are going is #12, Michigan, so I'm still leaning to the vacation theory. Gzuckier 18:21, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

I would encourage your parents to check just how much they're covered during vacation travel. What province are they from? If it's a similar situation to OHIP, they may technically be covered, but with dollar limits that imply they're incurring a substantial financial risk. --Trovatore 00:06, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

Songs with a melody inside

What I need are songs with the word melody within the lyrics, genre's entirely up to you, and preferably it's not going to be found in the title. Songs that are actually listenable is an obvious bonus, of course.

GO.

Piano man contains "we're all in the mood for a melody" in the chorus. Friday (talk) 15:38, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

http://www.lyricwiki.org/Main_Page might be a good starting point. 194.168.231.2 15:42, 26 June 2007 (UTC)Wes.

A little 'off topic' but along a similar lines there's a song by Henry Phillips which says "I just changed the key, so I can have a girlfriend, start having sex for free with my girlfriend". Whilst not mentioning melody it does at least mention a component of song-writing. Also a song by Belle and Sebastianwhich mentions "play me a song to set me free, nobody writes 'em like they used to so it may as well be me" - again on the theme of the process of song writing. Sorry all this is a stall for me racking my brain for songs I know with melody mentioned in them. ny156uk 16:06, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

On that note there is "The Shame" by The Blood Brothers which has the gem: "How many chords till this song vomits out real love?" Recury 17:27, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Try (http://www.getlyrical.com/results.html). You can search by lyric content. ny156uk 16:39, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

How about the oldie: A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody? Google it to find the words and perhaps, even the music. Someone else will likely know who the composer is. Bielle 17:09, 26 June 2007 (UTC) Sorry about that. I just noticed the "not in the title" part of the question. Bielle 17:11, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Then there is I Feel a Song Coming On (music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Field), which has the line: It's a melody full of the laughter of children out after the rain. Bielle 17:18, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

How about "in the mood (for a melody)" by Robert Plant? Czmtzc 18:27, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Interesting question. Here's a few:

• ABBA's last single Thank You for the Music, written and recorded in 1977 but released in 1983: "Who found out that nothing can capture a heart/Like a melody can?/Well, whoever it was, I'm a fan..."
• Another ABBA song - superb and underrated in my opinion! The Piper from the Super Trouper album, 1980: "We're all following a strange melody/We're all summoned by a tune..."
• Little Bird by the legendary Annie Lennox: "He sings the clearest melody/It makes me want to cry..."
• Words by F.R. David, from 1982, contains this: "Well I'm just a music man/Melodies are for my best friend..."
• Lost in Music by Sister Sledge has the line "Give me the melody/That's all that I ever need/For music is my salvation..." (Oddly enough, I had always thought that song was by the Pointer Sisters; I've learnt something new today!!) Hassocks5489 19:21, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

• IN THE MOOD

Robert Plant

I'm in the mood for a melody

I'm in the mood for a melody I'm in the mood

I'm in the mood for a melody

I'm in the mood for a melody I'm in the mood

I'm in the mood for a melody

I'm in the mood for a melody I'm in the mood

etc. Very listenable. Me likee.Gzuckier 20:18, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

It's Still Rock 'N' Roll to Me --Trovatore 20:23, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Whoops, I had that mixed up. The song I'm thinking of is Rock and Roll Music, which is apparently -- I'd never have guessed this -- by the Beatles. --Trovatore 20:30, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Ah, and that's wrong too. It's by Chuck Berry, covered by the Beatles. I hate it when people think Janis Joplin wrote Me and Bobby McGee; the obviously best version is the one sung by Kristofferson. --Trovatore 20:36, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Irving Berlin wrote a song, "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" [3] Donald Hosek 22:31, 26 June 2007

Thank you, that's all been absolutely perfect. If anyone has any other ideas it'd be great if you kept them coming in, a perfeone would not have melody or any other derivatives of it in the title of the song. AlmostCrimes 07:59, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Stardust contains the lyrics, "The melody haunts my reverie". Possibly one of the most covered standards ever. --Charlene 13:00, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

You can also check www.lyricsdir.com & type "melody"

AVI Video get smaller size

I have a 3:41 long video that is 152 MB. I want to put it on youtube, so I need to get it to a max of 100 MB. How can I do this? I suppose I need something to reduce the quality to make it a lower size, but is there something like this?--71.185.143.126 21:47, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

• There are quite a few tools you can use to do this. Here are a couple of links you could try which offer free trials [4] [5]. EliminatorJR ^Talk 23:20, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, the first one worked great.--71.185.143.126 00:37, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

You could try transcoding using VideoLAN Player. Splintercellguy 03:00, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Belle Terre

What does Belle Terre mean. It is the name of the sub-division that I live in and am currious what it means.

Beautiful Earth or Beautiful Ground, it's French. DuncanHill 23:45, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

It is also "Beautiful lands" in Italian, but I think the French is more likely.SaundersW 11:30, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, if it's French, it's two syllables. If it's Italian, it's four. Not that I expect the pronunciation in English to necessarily conform to the original language! --Anonymous, June 28, 2007, 07:25 (UTC).