Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 May 3

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May 3

adding a totally new article

I still cannot find out how to do this...I want to add the bio of an emerging jazz artist and cannot figure out how? Jeanne O'Keefe Personal details removed —Preceding unsigned comment added by Twinjok (talk • contribs) 00:01, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Please see Your first article.

1. Make sure the subject is notable enough to have their own article.
2. Find references
3. Make sure no article on the subject exists under a different title by typing the subject into the search box to the left (←) and clicking 'Search'
4. Type the page name in the search box to the left (←) and click 'Go'
5. Click 'Create this page'
6. Create the article, including all your references, making sure you adhere to the Manual of Style and our article layout
7. Be aware that Wikipedia deletes thousands of new articles for failing to adhere to our policies and guidelines. New articles by new users are at extra risk of deletion, due to new users' unfamiliarity with our rules. Consider gaining experience by editing existing articles before attempting to create new ones.

BUT, if the subject is "the bio of an emerging jazz artist" please be sure the subject meets the notability requirements for musicians otherwise the article will be speedily deleted (ie. within minutes).

Hint: It could be a good idea to develop the article in a subpage of your userpage. For example click the following red link to begin a "Music Bio" page there: User:Twinjok/Music Bio. That way, it won't get speedily deleted while you're working on the finer detail and getting the references in order. When you're done, you can request other editors to review the article, and the completed article can be moved into the main encyclopedia namespace.

Astronaut (talk) 00:13, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Please do NOT include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you wish for them to be permanently removed from the page history, email this address. Astronaut (talk) 00:17, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Is There Anybody Out There

I was in a club the other day and heard this awesome song. It had lyrics like "Woooooah Woo Wooo Woah Is there anybody out there?" and would probably be classified as a dance track. Does anyone know what it is (I may not be 100% accurate on the lyrics)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.166.80.4 (talk) 01:28, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Is There Anybody Out There? - iTunes - 99¢, now that's awesome!. --hydnjo talk 01:53, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply, but it's not the Pink Floyd song. It's much more upbeat, and has a somewhat strong drum backing to it (but less than most other club songs). I've had a look at the other ones, I don't think it's the cover (the song I heard is distinct to the Pink Floyd one) and it's not the DJ Junior one. I couldn't find much information on the "Ode to the Wall" mention, is this what you meant when you said "the wall" in your edit summary? 124.183.145.239 (talk) 02:46, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

No, I was referring to the original release of the song on The Wall album. --hydnjo talk 03:02, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps a release from one of these bands? --hydnjo talk 03:27, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Could it be The Scissor Sisters' cover of Comfortably Numb - "Hello (hello)... Is there anybody in there?" with plenty of Whoohoo-ing. Rockpocket 07:59, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Rockpocket, for even mentioning that, I am afraid I must put you on the list. That song was pretty much the worst cover ever. Unfortunately you may well be right. -mattbuck (Talk) 09:09, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Or perhaps Electro Illusion's cover of Rockpocket's suggestion. --hydnjo talk 11:25, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

"Is There Anybody Out There?" by apparently non-notable UK hitmakers Bassheads, perhaps? -212.139.108.231 (talk) 13:13, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Any chance it's this: [1]? 82.210.249.81 (talk) 14:15, 5 May 2008 (UTC)amoe

New Project

Myself and several other editors have been compiling a list of very active editors who would likely be available to help new editors in the event they have questions or concerns. As the list grew and the table became more detailed, it was determined that the best way to complete the table was to ask each potential candidate to fill in their own information, if they so desire. This list is sorted geographically in order to provide a better estimate as to whether the listed editor is likely to be active.

If you consider yourself a very active Wikipedian who is willing to help newcomers, please either complete your information in the table or add your entry. If you do not want to be on the list, either remove your name or just disregard this message and your entry will be removed within 72 hours. The table can be found at User:Useight/Highly Active, as it has yet to have been moved into the Wikipedia namespace. Thank you for your help.

P.S. - Sorry for posting this here, but I didn't want to post on everyone's individual talk page (I started to, but I felt like I was spamming everyone). Useight (talk) 03:03, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

You might be interested in considering whether you could merge this aim with the already well established Wikipedia:Adoption and Wikipedia:Help desk. Just a thought. Rockpocket 07:49, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Access to electronic texts in library

Does someone know of a -public or open for all- library where I can login with my laptop and have access to scientific electronic texts? SaltnVinegar (talk) 11:59, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Sounds unlikely—subscriptions to said texts are extremely expensive (PLoS as the exception, of course—which doesn't mean I think it's a great idea). --98.217.8.46 (talk) 14:11, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Some university libraries, especially public universities, will let members of the local public have access to the library, or purchase access for a small yearly fee, and often this includes at least the right to log onto the library's own terminals and access the electronic materials there. --Delirium (talk) 15:31, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Economies of oil-producing countries: Saudi Arabia and Norway

In Norway, there's the debate about using income from our oil industry to directly fund such things as hospitals or other weakspots of the budget economy. I've read up on the economy of Saudi Arabia (particularly #diversification), but could not quite understand how come the Saudi Arabian economy has not been run straight into the ground; as I understand economics, a sudden and major squirt of money will easily cause inflation. The economies of Norway and Saudi Arabia are quite different, but what makes it impossible for Norway to use the income from the oil economy in as direct a manner as the Saudis have? I have a hunch that a poorly educated population versus skilled foreign workforce is an important factor in here, but I am not quite able to place it. Did (or are) the Saudis pay(ing) foreigners to erect modern industry, so the Saudi to-be educated population could work there? Scaller (talk) 16:06, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

One answer, perhaps overly simplistic, is that countries like Saudi Arabia do indeed have large inflation problems, so haven't found a magic way to avoid the issue. --Delirium (talk) 16:30, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

The indexmundi listings here (Saudi) and here (Norway) don't show any real issues, and an inflation between 0.8 to 1.6% seems rather negligible. Of course the recent sharp change in Saudi inflation (375% more in one year) can be debated, but my question is about a lot longer timespan. It is only recently that the Saudi economy has gone properly haywire; before the nineties there was still progress, without oil barrel prices quite comparable to those nowadays. Scaller (talk) 17:14, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

An economics expert could probably tell you more, but I think you may be dealing with figures that can't really be compared. The following model just might give an idea of what could be going on. Imagine a sheik in "Sandy Arabia" earned $101 million a year and none of the rest of the 100 inhabitants had any income. Next lets say every one of the 101 inhabitants of "Noway" earned a million a year. The per capita income would then be the same for both countries. Let's say our sheik could afford 101 Ferraris and each of the inhabitants of Noway could afford one. If you compare the gross picture inhabitants of both countries can each afford a Ferrari, but only in Noway could each also buy one. I tried to look for "income distribution" statistics for Saudi Arabia and came up pretty much empty [http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2003/issue3/jv7n3a2.html#The Economy�s Non-Oil Tax Base]. Apart from that, the two economic systems are not comparable. A large part of the Saudi Arabian economy is based on government monopolies and limited competition in the market. The fact that the population is moving from mostly nomadic agriculture to settled untrained labor/job seekers is putting a huge strain on local economic policies. Eventually the government can not provide enough jobs and finance the deficit and things go downhill fast. Lisa4edit (talk) 07:35, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

I'd imagine that immigration pays a role, Saudi Arabia has a lot of immigrant workers who cannot get permanent residence (I think. There may be some information in Demographics of Saudi Arabia). The problem in Norway is that if you spend a lot of money on hospitals and roads, that will inevitably "crowd out" other sectors of the economy (construction work will be more expensive, for example, so more workers will be drawn to construction, making it harder to get people for other types of job). This spiral also leads to inflation, and immigration helps cut a part of the feedback. Also, Saudi Arabia's oil reserves are vastly larger than Norway's, and are expected to last longer. Jørgen (talk) 09:05, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Alright, the application of money from oil production is not directly comparable over the two countries, due to different economic environments. The Saudi use of money can be said to not 'saturate' its population's economy, in part due to work immigration and maintaining low wages for the poor. Where wages are naturally higher, and the economy more transparent (in the sense that money will 'bleed through' and that differences in wages are lower, as in Norway), such direct use of large amounts of money can have a much more dire effect on inflation. Have I understood it all right then? I'll keep a look out for an economist's answer. Thank you. Scaller (talk) 13:51, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

There is a term used in political science and economics that may help: a Rentier state. Saudi Arabia is a classic example; Norway is not. BrainyBabe (talk) 15:11, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Menopause website

Has anyone used MenopauseRx educational website? 192.58.204.226 (talk) 16:42, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Yes. According to Quantcast, the "site reaches approximately 16,164 U.S. monthly uniques." [2] The demographics indicate that 74% of users are female, and 69% are over 40 years of age. It appears as though the site does indeed get frequented by its target audience. ---Sluzzelin talk 18:41, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Swarm Photographers

Frequently on TV, when high-profile individuals are leaving or entering a court house, a swarm of reporters and photographers can be seen taking pictures and videos of them. In North America, does one need some sort of "press-pass" to be legally swarming the individuals and taking their picture? Or can anybody just walk up and take pictures? Acceptable (talk) 17:38, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

This would fall in under "legal information" (as opposed to advice), but you should not act on these matters based upon unreferenced "yes" or "no"s. :) Scaller (talk) 17:59, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

If they're on public property, as far as I know anyone who wants to can swarm away. Mangostar (talk) 18:57, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Look at these Privacy laws in the United States, First Amendment to the United States Constitution#Freedom of speech and Freedom of the press#United StatesLisa4edit (talk) 05:55, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Chicken Feed

If I were to not feed my chickens commercial food what would I feed them? These are ingredients for feed I found in a book: wheat meat, corn meal, oats, fish meal, dried milk, ground seashells, salt. Would it be okay if I took out the dried milk, seashells, and fishmeal? I pretty much want to be able to make it all myself so I don't have to pay to much. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 20:35, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

All those items are high in calcium; they're probably recommended so the hens can lay eggs with solid shells. Cutting out all the calcium would seem to be an invitation to malnutrition for the bird and/or deformed/easily cracked eggs. Matt Deres (talk) 21:10, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Where do you live? If the climate is suitable, you can allow your chickens to free range during the spring, summer, and fall and depending on your locale, the winter as well. The chickens would probably still desire some more calcium such as from ground seashells or even milk. And you don't really have to worry about milk that's gone bad a bit. We give our chickens clabber quite often since we have a friend who owns a cow that they hand milk. Dismas|^(talk) 21:18, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Would you be able to feed a chicken egg shell? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 02:11, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

The dried milk, fishmeal etc. is also needed as a source of protein. You can supplant that with Earthworms. 3 possible sources for those: mail order, attach a car battery to stakes put some yards apart in the ground (NOT RECOMMENDED, but some line fishermen do that, if you are a minor, DON'T) or start a Compost pile. They will congregate there and you can start your own breeding program in a barrel or even a bucket from there. Add vegetable scraps and rotate the barrel at regular intervals. Or you could breed Cricket (insect). They eat those. Many other insects also work. My gramps used to feed his chickens eggshells, so I'd say, yes. 7% hydrated lime works as a substitute. They also need tiny pebbles (very coarse sand) for digestion. Chopped up fresh Dandelion leaves are also an excellent source of calcium. Chickens like fresh stuff like berries and lettuce. Lisa4edit (talk) 05:15, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

You can't feed a chicken egg anything. In some places pet shops sell various types of insects. Finding a place like that would be easier than catching your own.HS7 (talk) 18:57, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

You can feed them pretty much what you eat. Dry and crush any eggshells so the chickens dont learn to peck eggs. With the wheat (or other grain) you can soak it for 2 days first to soften it. Oh yes, put useful info on en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Raising_Chickens/Feeding .Polypipe Wrangler (talk) 12:23, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Dialogue between Merry and Pippin

I need some samples of dialogue between Merry and Pippin as presented in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Preferably from the books, but script from the movies are OK, too. I'd just leaf through the series myself looking for scenes involving the two, but I don't have enough time on my hands. I just need perhaps a scene or two primarily from the point of view of the two hobbits, with a lot of speaking between them, preferably funny. It doesn't have to be one giant block of text, it can also be from various situations throughout the books. If it helps, I'm trying to make about an eight minute duo for high school speech where a friend and I act as them as well as narrate. Thanks, False Tournament (talk) 23:35, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

I haven't yet memorised the entire book, so I'm not of much help, but I did rather like their conversation just after the destruction of Isengard, where they were sitting there chating, eating and smoking when the others came across them. I can't actually remember whether that was from the book or the movie though.HS7 (talk) 11:41, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

It's in the book, primarily. I think the "extended" movie version (third film) has a little bit of that, but not as much as the book. It's in the second book (which covers a lot more ground than the second movie did, in part because the Battle of Helm's Deep is pretty short in the book, if I recall). --98.217.8.46 (talk) 18:26, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

ZOOM H2 question

Hello all you clever people. Can you anser me this. I just bought a zoom h2 recorder. What I want to know is, when you have it connected to the power supply, does it charge the internal rechargeable batteries or do you have to charge the outside. Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.218.136 (talk) 23:44, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Did it come with instructions? Look somewhere under batteries or power supply there. --Lisa4edit (talk) 04:43, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Here is the owners manual [3] AtaruMoroboshi (talk) 13:42, 5 May 2008 (UTC)