Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/October 2005

NIT2WNIT

What does NIT2WNIT mean???

Uh...all I can come up with is "Need To Win it". Anyone else?--inks 02:11, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

It's "In it to win it" Proto t c 09:44, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Trivia: In the 2005 American movie "Be Cool" (a kind of sequel to "Get Shorty") this character sequence appears as the California vanity plate on Raji's (played by Vince Vaughn) Cadillac. Raji is pretty stupid, and the vanity plate can easily be misread as "nitwit". ^IMDBWmCAllen3rd (talk) 17:41, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

Thanks. I don't see that mentioned in the IMDB trivia section for this movie, but the plate is visible in this screenshot. (I formatted the links in your comment. References don't work as well as external links on talk pages.) -- ToE 23:40, 23 August 2017 (UTC)

Help with translating this into 1337

Alright, I know this is a very odd question, but I would like help with obfuscating this sentence with 1337. The more obfuscated the better; the more symbols used the better:

Frequency estimation has fundamental significance in statistical signal processing.

Thanks for your help! --HappyCamper 02:56, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

i'll give it a try

ph|23/\|<\/\/1C 35+1^^/\+10h ]-[/\5+ ph|_||\||)|_|^^3|V+^|_ 51Oj|\|1ph1|</\|\|53 1n 5+/\+15+1</\|_ 51oj|\|/-\1 |o|2[]53551|\|0;!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111oneoneone111!!! -Drdisque 05:53, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Chargers' name

Are you asking about the San Diego Chargers? If you have a question that the article doesn't answer, you'll have to phrase your question in more of a complete sentence so that we understand what it is that you're looking for. Dismas|^(talk) 03:31, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

The Chargers originated in Los Angeles in 1960. At that time, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a fan chant in which a recorded bugle sound played "Da da da DA da daaaaaa" and the crowd would respond with, "Charge!". The Chargers' name was meant to capitalize on the well-known cheer. User:Zoe|^(talk) 04:23, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Scott Adam's book God's Debris

What are all the factual inaccuracies in the book God's Debris by Scott Adams? I was trying to find a list off all the facts that he made up himself.

That would be Scott Adams, not Scott Adam's. User:Zoe|^(talk) 00:45, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Geography Questions - Ethnicity

hello, we have a question on our geography revision...

Name ethnic groups which arrived in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in the 1950's and 60's, another group which arrived in the 1970's & 80's and another group that arrived in the 90's and 2000's.

if you could help that would be great!! thanks!!!

165.228.131.11 04:26, 26 September 2005 (UTC)two geog students

• I would try Greeks and Italians during the 1950's and 1960's, the Vietnamese for the 1970's and 1980's and the Chinese in the 1990s although there was an earlier influx of Chinese after the goldrush. Our Demographics of Australia article contains more information about Australian population trends. Please contact me if you need more info. Capitalistroadster 10:46, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

what age is a fetus considered a baby

legally, birth, morally, well thats up to you -Drdisque 05:55, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

It depends on whose doing the considering. This is one of the most controversial issues in politics, particularly American politics, because of its implications for the abortion debate. Go read that article as well as abortion debate to get a sense of the range of opinions. --Robert Merkel 06:27, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Supreme Court

what are the names of the nine Judges in the Supreme Court?

See the article on United States Supreme Court and you'll see that your question isn't exactly a simple one at this time in history. Dismas|^(talk) 04:45, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Travel from Bahrain to Iran

Can you get to Iran by sea from Bahrain?

• It's physically possible, and at least one cruise offers them as consecutive stops [1], so the answer is yes. --Metropolitan90 06:53, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Principles

Stick to 'em! — ceejayoz ^★ 14:18, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

ERP configuration

what is meant by configuration of an ERP Application?

• ERP is an abbreviation that can mean many things.

See if you can find a useful link in that article. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:33, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

• You might check out APICS via a search engine like Google. APICS was the organization that invented ERP standards in the early 1950's, and most every Computer Software application today that claims to do any Enterprise Resource Planning pays lipservice to the APICS standards. AlMac|^(talk) 04:40, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

geography

plz tell me about geomorphology of ocean floor

• See Geomorphology. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:34, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Lloyds "Names"

Please will you tell me what is a "Lloyds Name" and what qualifies one to become a "Lloyds Name"?

• Our article on Lloyd's of London will help you out. It states "For most of Lloyd's history, rich individuals ("Names") backed policies written at Lloyd's with all of their personal wealth (unlimited liability). Since 1994, Lloyd's has allowed corporate members into the market, with limited liability. The losses in the early 1990s devastated the finances of many Names (1,500 out of 34,000 Names declared bankruptcy) and scared away others. Today, Names provide only 20% of capacity at Lloyd's, with corporations accounting for the rest. No new Names with unlimited liability are admitted, and the importance of individual Names will continue to decline as they slowly withdraw or die off." Capitalistroadster 10:52, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Health system in India

See Healthcare in India. olivier 06:35, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Engrish

Rich successful China manufacturer electronic goods excellent, in this condition why instruction of manuals always confused utter English? Shantavira 12:23, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

1. Translation is hard, particularly for linguistic nuances
2. Good products with bad manuals sell better than bad products with good manuals — Lomn | Talk / RfC 12:49, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Also, many companies (worldwide) neglect documentation as a time or cost saving measure, and because of the difficulty of retaining good technical authors. akaDruid 11:26, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

role of the male turtledove

Procreation? For some info, why don't you try the turtledove article? Dismas|^(talk) 13:02, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Rescue markings

In the recent hurricanes, rescue workers went house to house marking the buildings with a large cross, with numbers in the four quadrants made by the cross. I know that one quadrant contains the date, another contains a number indicating survivors, but don't know what the others are. What are these called? Is there a standard, or does each agency use a different system? Thanks!

Breslov Chasidus

Breslov Chassidus probably needs an article - [2].

You would probably be interested in our Breslov (Hasidic dynasty) article.--Pharos 15:59, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Thanks - should this be a redirect? Do we need another article?

OK, I've created a couple of redirects, which is easy to do. There's no need for two articles on the same topic of course.--Pharos 16:46, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

hurricane

Hurricane? Hurricane Katrina? Hurricane Rita?

Or in the Pacific, a Typhoon, Different names for the generic Tropical cyclone. So, what is your question? --hydnjo talk 06:42, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

prairie grass

Why were the plains states grasslands with few trees while other parts of the country was forested? Thanks.

--69.166.8.59 15:09, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

• The Straight Dope discussed this in July. [3].Brian Schlosser42 19:46, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

where can I find information about careers in the Army and RAF?

Which army and air force?

• UK
• www.mod.uk/careers/ has links to career opportunities in all branches of the Ministry of Defence, including the Army, the RAF, and the Royal Navy. Good luck! Proto t c 15:41, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

• Other 'Royal' Air Forces of countries that share the British monarch:
  • The RAAF — Royal Australian Air Force
  • The RNZAF — Royal New Zealand Air Force
  • The RCAF — Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1968 it was amalgamated with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Canadian Army to form initially the Canadian Armed Forces, then the Canadian Forces (CF).
• Other Royal Air Forces of countries that do not share the British monarch
  • The Royal Netherlands Air Force
  • The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAf)
  • The RSAF — Royal Saudi Air Force
  • The Royal Thai Air Force

fake student

Hi. I read an article about a fabricated student who actually graduated and was enrolled to some school again and again. I don't remember the school name, or who this "person" was, do you? Punkmorten 19:17, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

The student was George P. Burdell and he attended the Georgia Institute of Technology -Drdisque 03:29, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

boxing terms: PTS

In boxing terms what doees PTS stand for and what kind of term is that? Heres an example: winky wright vs fernando vargas= W PTS rd 8 of 8(this is not actual info just an example)

Not an expert, but I'd guess PTS is a shorthand for a victory on points (by the decision of the ringside judges), rather than by a knockout (KO), disqualification (DQ) or technical knockout (TKO). The article on boxing has more detail on the significance of the various kinds of victories. ByeByeBaby 22:13, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Hanseatic League, Papal decrees, Fish on fast days

Hi all you history buffs; This is a tough one . When I was in college a few millenium ago, I took a History of Religions course . In this course the professor told us that the Hanseatic trade league had persuaded( Bribed) one of the Popes to decree that on fast days meat was not allowed to be eaten and that fish should be put in its place. Fish was one of the main trading products of the league. We all know that fish are definetley part of the christian faith , ever since the loaves and fishes on the mount and Peters Gig as a Fisherman. My question to you is have their been any Papal or Church Bulls or decrees or treaties specifically made with the Hanseatic Trade League concerning fish trade and have their been any decrees by the Church requiring Christians to eat fish on Fast days? I have been trying to find an answer to this question for years and have only found one reference to Papal decree That christians should eat fish on Fridays and it had no specifific details. Thanks gang Dennis Nigrelli GOOD LUCK on this one:)

Well obviously (since everyone remembers this, right?) Catholics were forbidden to eat meat on Fridays until some time in the 1960s, and ate fish instead. And I think they still do that during Lent. But I don't know which popes decreed what. Michael Hardy 23:16, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Pope Nicholas I (858-867) decreed that abstinence from flesh meat on Fridays was required. [4], but the tradition of abstaining from meat predates this (at least Tertullian) . There was never any requirement to eat fish - that's just urban legend stuff - really more anti-Catholicism than history. And the requirement certainly predated the Hanseatic League. The presently operative document is Pope Paul VI's Paenitemini (the Apostolic Constitution on Penance), published February 17, 1966. The operative Canon Law was Canon 1253: "The Episcopal Conference can determine more particular ways in which fasting and abstinence are to be observed. In place of abstinence or fasting it can substitute, in whole or in part, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.” The effect of this was that the bishops of a country could decide what was required on Friday, and so the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops did....saying that prayer and penance could be substituted for abstention from meat on Fridays (of course, the requirement for a substitute act of piety is often neglected in the rush for the roast beef). Other country's decisions varied. this page is helpful - 00:04, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Latinos on television

Sesame Workshop says: "Emilio Delgado (Luis) can easily claim one of the longest running parts for a Latino actor in a continuing series as "Luis" on Sesame Street, since the show's third season." That put his debut in 1971, or a 32-season role. Can anyone think of a longer running Latino television character in a non-Latin country? For that matter, can anyone think of a character in a Spanish/Mexican/South American-produced series that has appeared that long? -- user:zanimum

boat service from los cabos

can i take a boat or ferry from cabos san lucas mexico to acapulco mexico or other cities in mexico

thanks

La Paz, Baja California Sur, would be a more likely bet, for Topolobampo or Mazatlán. –Hajor 00:43, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Cattle & Irrigation

Is there a good way to keep cattle from breaking off irrigation sprinklers in a pasture?

The only thing I can think of is putting metal cages around the sprinklers and just dealing with the deflection caused by them. Also, an elevated ring around the sprinkler would also work.

Depending on your circumstances of course but it may be that electrical fencing would keep the critters away from easily damaged areas. --hydnjo talk 06:34, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Basketball

Does Shaq play basketball because he chose basketball or because basketball chose him.

• See our Shaquille O'Neal article. He started gaining prominence as a basketball player at the Robert G. Cole Junior-Senior High School. Given that he was big and tall from an early age and skilled at basketball, it probably seemed that he was interested in a career as a basketball career from an early age. Capitalistroadster 01:41, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

What is the meaning of life?

I thought it was obvious enough! But maybe not... reproduce AND HAVE FUN!! That is if your fortunate enough to live in a free country

I looked at the Wikipedia article, but it offered no definitive answers. I want this question resolved before I expend any more energy on my high school education.

42? :)

On a personal opinion, there's no meaning. Why you think there should be one? And in this scenario, since there is no answer to "why?", we could pretty much just focus on finding out how. But that's just me... Kieff | Talk 11:36, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

It depends on what the meaning of 'is' is. Qaz 11:40, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Guess what! You get to choose your own answer. Luckily, it's a multiple choice test and if you are truly blessed you can choose more than one answer. Most grown human beings try to do one or more of the following:

1. acquiring as much as you can of
   1. knowledge
   2. wisdom
   3. wealth
   4. bodily pleasures
   5. power over other people
   6. piety or holiness points
2. redistributing as much as you can of any of the above to other people
3. attempting to contact or stay in contact with God
4. helping as many people as possible to acquire some of the above
5. building loving relationships with a limited number of people
6. avoiding relationships with people and focusing on
   1. your inner life
   2. an imagined world
   3. changing the non-human environment or animals around you
7. killing or injuring those who have offended you
8. feeling sorry for yourself because you haven't been given enough of one of the above
9. whining that "there's nothing to do here"

Of course, you can always toss in your cards and hope for another deal with another consciousness... Make a good choice. alteripse 12:16, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

What? Oh... I've been watching TV. But, I built a computer that could answer the question...

Bussiness proposal

Please help me to draft a business proposal for US based company

Um, you could start by reading our (relatively brief) article at business plan. Have you considered going to a library and borrowing a book on the topic? You might also benefit from some of the material on Wikibooks' School of Business, but I have no idea at what state that project is in.

However, given that you're presumably doing this to, ultimately, make money for yourself, if you want extensive assistance on preparing a business plan you will probably have to pay for that assistance. --Robert Merkel 14:32, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

herstory or history?

I would like to find out about herstory. They dont seem to teach it in schools. Can anyone help me?

Let me introduce you to Rocky and Bullwinkle and their way-back machine. Step in. We will set the dial to 1976. Ignore the bell bottoms, leisure suits, and the upcoming election between Ford and Carter. There is no internet but if you hang around on a college campus and look for the people who use the word womyn, they will be able to teach you some herstory. Once they became the prevailing viewpoint in academia, of course, they reverted to calling it history because the word never did derive from the masculine possessive pronoun and was one more perversion of the language for the sake of political correctness. Do we have an article on herstory? Since it turned blue, you can click and learn more. alteripse 14:43, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Alteripse is being a bit curmudgeonly. If I may put what I think was his main point (aside from his distaste for language-twisting) a little bit more diplomatically: while feminist history is a valuable and (in my opinion) necessary view of our past, *any* one perspective on history is likely to provide an incomplete view. Variety is the spice of life! By the way, women's history and history of feminism may also be of interest to you. --Robert Merkel 14:49, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Me a curmudgeon? I gave a concise accurate answer that included the historical, social, political, and linguistic dimensions in an entertaining, learner-friendly narrative. With a free wiki-link! What more could 'e ask for? alteripse 15:04, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

He could ask to see you "pull a rabbit out of this hat".... Thanks for the image of "Peabody's Improbable Herstory". <g> - Nunh-huh 00:27, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Careful! No sexist pronouns. We don't know that 'es a he, now, do we? I think you need a refresher couse in language sensitivity. alteripse 00:38, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

There are no accidents. - Nunh-huh 02:46, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

what is nymphomax

Do you mean nymphomaniac? --Gareth Hughes 16:09, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

2001 film list

perhaps 2001 in film can help -Drdisque 17:57, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Finertia

I've been to the site itself and all (it's a lifestyle community with an emphasis on healthy living), but still don't know what the name really mean?--221.219.138.61 19:08, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

So why don't you ask them? They would most likely know better than we do. Dismas|^(talk) 20:20, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

What was the population of China in 1880?

This page suggests around 370,000,000 people. Shimgray | talk | 20:28, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

The Five People You meet in Heaven - is this book third person omniscient

Do your own homework. Read the book. Does the narrator say "I", "you", or "he"? Is the narrator fully aware of only himself or everything? — Lomn | Talk / RfC 19:53, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Prime Minister

What is the last name of the prime minister that has ten letters in it.

Don't shout please. Now, your question is vague. What is the last name of the prime minister whose name has 10 letters? what is the last prime minister to have a last name of ten letters? Is it ten or any ten and up? What country's prime minister? Anyway, I'll guess that List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom can help you out. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 19:57, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Interesting trivia: no UK PMs have had exactly ten letters in their last name, though a few have had ten-letter titles. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:04, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

• There have been no holders of the office of Prime Minister of Australia with 10 letters either. As our Prime Minister article shows that nations ranging from Afghanistan to Yemen have Prime Ministers, I would suggest looking at the list for the country you are interested in to refine your search. Capitalistroadster 00:45, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
• How odd. There is also no Prime Minister of Canada with ten letters in his/her last name, though we have six, seven, eight, lots of nines and an eleven. ("St. Laurent" would count if you perversely decided to include the dot but not the space). DJ Clayworth 14:43, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
• Prime Minister of New Zealand, maybe? There was a George Waterhouse in the 19th century. Loganberry (Talk) 16:08, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Pokemon

Who 'invented' the Pokemon franchise? It's... Thelb4! 19:54, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

according to the Pokemon article you linked to, Satoshi Tajiri created the little deamons. Gentgeen 20:26, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

how many miles is it from new haven, connecticut to hartford, connecticut

Why not try mapquest.com or http://maps.google.com/ ? Dismas|^(talk) 21:39, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

It's about 40 miles. -Nunh-huh 00:22, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Music Sample

I've been listening to Sexy by the Black Eyed Peas for a while now, and I just can't place the music they 'borrowed' for it. It's the violin bit at the beginning, which pops up again throughout the song and at the end in reversed violin and guitar. I'd appreciate some help. -Flatluigi 21:33, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

• Flatluigi,

The credits on Allmuisic.com for Elephunkcontains no credits for violin see [5]. However, this VH1 interview [6] from August 2003 states that Sergio Mendes played the piano on the track "Sexy" and the band got an orchestra in for "Where is the Love" so perhaps they got the violinist to play on the track. Sorry I can't help you more. Capitalistroadster 01:01, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Now that I listen to it again, it is possible that it's a saxophone. Would I be breaking any copyright rules if I upload to Wikipedia said sample? -Flatluigi 01:13, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

• If it's just a sample of the violin and if the sample is deleted once your question is answered, I don't think there'd be any law problems. - Mgm|^(talk) 07:55, 28 September 2005 (UTC

Alright. Media:BEP_Sexy_Sample_1.ogg is the section I'm asking about. I'm currently uploading the other section with it. -Flatluigi 01:00, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Media:BEP_Sexy_Sample_2.ogg is the second one. Thanks for your help. -Flatluigi 01:13, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Punctuation

Articles printed in magazines end with a speclized symbol indicating that it is the end of that particular article. What do you call that symbol or puncutation mark?

You're probably referring to printer's dingbats, aka printer's ornaments. - Nunh-huh 00:19, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

See also Bullet (typography). Shantavira 17:30, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Ostrich Meat

About how much calories and fat would about 1 ounce of Ostrich meat contain?

That would be hard to say since the amount of fat per lean meat could vary greatly. Dismas|^(talk) 23:55, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

but it's still possible to say something about it. According to this page: [7], fat content varies from 1-4%, and there are about 110 kcal/100 grams. Taking the fattiest cut, the "oyster", as 4% fat, the content in 100 grams would be 29 grams of protein, 67 grams of moisture, 4 grams of fat, and (29 grams * 4.3 kcal/gram) + (4 grams *9.02 kcal/gram) = 160.8 kcal. The percentage of calories from fat would be 36.1/160.8 = 22%. 100 grams is about 3.5 ounces. So one ounce of ostrich "oyster" meat would contain 8 grams of protein, 19 grams of moisture, 1 gram of fat, and 46 kcals. - Nunh-huh 00:17, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

• Numbers I've found for 1 oz Ostrich Meat, cooked: 32 calories, 0.7g fat. But some sources do seem to vary. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 00:09, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

King Arthur

... is this way, past the toilets and the second on your left. --fvw* 00:09, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

ambiguous comments make it hard to.......just whta the speaker meant

…Understand? I don't know, your question is kind of vague. Garrett Albright 12:36, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Fvw (above) is inviting you to click on his link. Shantavira 17:33, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

what is an axe murderer?

A person who commits Murder using an Axe. Capitalistroadster 01:05, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Or possibly a person who murders axes...

see also, So I Married an Axe Murderer --WhiteDragon 13:43, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Western Movie Theme Songs

• Our List of Western movies and Western (genre) articles may be good places for a search. Capitalistroadster 01:15, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Talking in freefall

I had several questions about skydiving. Is it possible for skydivers to talk during freefall, and can they even breath before the open their parachute?

yes and yes, though each bears a note. Talking would be better stated as shouting during skydiving due to ambient wind noise. Unassisted breathing may not be possible under some HALO/HAHO jumps due to the altitude at jump; however, this is in no way a result of the jump itself. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 02:51, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Dentists

If you clean your teeth real well, is there really a need for Dentists? Why can't regular doctors learn oral surgery?

Cleaning your teeth real well doesn't eliminate dental disease, so yes, there is really a need for dentists. And many oral surgeons are "regular doctors", if by that you mean they have an "M.D." degree. - Nunh-huh 03:57, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Teeth cleaning may reduce frequency of caries but does not prevent all dental problems and their are many other things that can happen to your teeth. The separation of dentistry from surgery and medical practice is partly a matter of historical contingency. In the Middle Ages physicians were distinct from barber-surgeons who also performed surgical and dental procedures. Between 1300 and 1600, haircutting and dentistry became separated from surgery because people tended to specialize in one of the activities. After about 1800, surgery became a part of medical practice. The basic science training of physicians and dentists is similar but has become part of training only in the last century (the split predates it). The other main historical reason is the dentistry is also a craft of manual skills relatively easy to separate from those needed for surgery or medical practice. A lot of dental school is learning the manual craft and it would add a couple of years to medical school to teach physicians to do this. Especially for manual skills like surgery and dentistry, you want someone to do it a lot to be good at it. Finally, as Nunh-hunh says, there are oral surgeons who got there through dental school (DDS) and those who got there through medical school (MD). alteripse 09:19, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Worldwide Cumulative GPA Results

Does anyone know where I can find statistics on average worldwide cumulative GPA results and also by country/area? Thanks for any help with this.

• Such data would probably be largely useless, as educational standards vary greatly from country to country (or even from school to school, at least in the US). android79 04:39, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
• AFAIK, "GPA" is a US concept. Guettarda 04:44, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

GPA is used at University level in New Zealand. I know, I've been at Uni far too long. I suspect it would be pretty trivial to assign a numerical value to a grade and count them up anyway - which is a good thing. It would allow me to compare country X which goes by A, B- etc., and country Y, which goes by "Exellent", "Merit", etc. If I can convert them to numbers, I can run Stats™ on them. Not the most elegant of examples I know, but the point is made.--inks 09:14, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

IB Schools in Asia

Does anyone know who were the first 2 IB schools in Asia? Thanks for this.

• Our International Baccalaureate article doesn't advise of the history of the program in Asia. The International Baccalaureate Organisation does not provide such information either. I would suggest contacting the IBO direct at their Asia-Pacific office listed on the contacts page here see [8]. Capitalistroadster 05:00, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Chad Chunning

What did Chad Chunning do from quitting nirvana until joining his new band?

• Our Chad Channing article states that he was in a band called The Methodists before joining East of the Equator. The Allmusic.com article provides more information on him including additional band membership. Capitalistroadster 05:05, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Bob Jones

Can anyone tell me anything about Bob Jones

• Our Bob Jones article lists a number of people by the name of Bob Jones:
  • For the Christian evangelist who founded Bob Jones University, see Bob Jones, Sr..
  • For Bob Jones, Sr.'s son, and second president of the university, see Bob Jones, Jr..
  • For Bob Jones, Sr.'s grandson, and third president of the university, see Bob Jones III.
  • For the New Zealand property tycoon and former politician, see Bob Jones (New Zealand).
  • For the professional ice hockey player, see Bob Jones (hockey player).

Capitalistroadster 05:33, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

charmane star

what movie did charmane star do a double penetration scene in ? what is the movies title ? what year was the adult movie released and by what adult film company was it distibuted by ? at your website a page on charmane star mentions trivia on her that mentions a double penetration scene but does not name the movie she did it in. --will

Will, you might have better luck posting this question on the article's talk page. You might also like to try perusing her official website (which is linked from our Charmane Star article) to see if it has more details. If that fails, you could even try contacting her representatives through the website to ask. I suspect that they'd be more than happy to sell you a copy. --Robert Merkel 04:43, 29 September 2005 (UTC) (Always happy to help here at the reference desk, no matter how unusual the request.)

How to write a monologue

I was just wondering, what are the basic parts when it comes to writing a monologue. We have to do a radio monologue and it's really annoying me.

I hope you can help. Thanks

is this monologue for english?? i have to do one too!!! i think you go to the same school as me...it's possible... i'm guessing if you are doing the same one as me, you have to present it on a tape, right? well anyhow the one i have to do, (the positioned radio monologue), you have to pick two speakers, and have them say their opinion in their discourse... meaning if you got like a yobbo as one, they must talk like a yobbo and use words a yobbo says... and the other speaker has their discourse too... for example one person talks about going to uni after high school and the other talks about doing an apprentinceship...

Kattus 11:37, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

A monologue is a speech. You have a message and an audience. Your job is to communicate the message in words so that it will understood by the audience and elicit the response you want. Are you having trouble deciding what the message should be, or what response you want from the audience, or are you having trouble with deciding how best to get the message across? alteripse 11:41, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

skydiving

What's the procedure for learning to skydive?

Most people join a sky diving club at the local airport or join the paratroopers. Trial and error is not a recommended method. alteripse 11:41, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Just throw yourself at the ground, and miss. --Douglas Adams 13:31, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Which describes flying, or putting yourself into orbit, not skydiving :) Generally, the club will familiarise you with equipment and procedures, before progressing to tandem, and finally solo jumps. You usually "pack" your own parachute.--inks 20:16, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Skydiving is just flying in a strictly downward fashion. :) — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:26, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

What does the word erradicate mean?

Nothing, but eradicate means to totally remove, literally to rip out by the root. alteripse 11:41, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

how come feburary only has....

how come feburary only has 28 or 29 (leap year) days when every other month has 30 or 31?? why didn't they divide all the months up evenly???

Our article on February has an excellent link to your exact question being answered on The Straight Dope. But answering your second question: because the division of the months was a long, stupid and biased process. I guess we could easily split the months evenly today, but the social inertia that'd require to break would be way too big to consider "convenient". While we're at that, see also: dozenalism Kieff | Talk 12:06, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

• Well, also, 365 isn't an easy number to divide easily. (365 and a quarter is even harder). Let's see, we could have five months of 73 days. Or 73 months of 5 days. Some societies have done it with 12 months of 30 days and then a big party for the remaining 5; there's a lot to be said for that. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 16:14, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
• Personally, I like that last idea. ;) - Mgm|^(talk) 16:46, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

• That would be the French Republican Calendar -- 12 months of 30 days, and either 5 or 6 days' holiday which aren't in any month. Ojw 18:42, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

About this part in Half-Life²...

Before HL2 came out I watched a few videos, one of them depicted this part of the game (... with Barney and some resistence folks, then two striders came in.) The thing is, I got HL2 and finished it a couple of weeks ago and never saw that part of the game.

So I was wondering, did that part get cut off the final version, or was it made just for demonstration, or I just did something wrong while I was playing it? Kieff | Talk 11:55, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

• Probably just got cut from the final version. Lots of stuff that was in HL2 previews got cut due to AI/playability problems (e.g., the famous blue tentacle-thing) or changes in the plot (e.g., the whole icebreaker section). If you read Half-Life: Raising the Bar, you'll see tons of stuff that never made the final game. I suspect at least some of it will appear as expansion packs, etc. -- Bob Mellish 17:47, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

city area of Pyongyang

did you have a question??

We have an article on Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (North Korea). Garrett Albright 12:31, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

bussiness in pusan

We have an article on Busan/Pusan. There are probably many businesses in this large South Korean city. Garrett Albright 12:38, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

hockey

Hello,

Who was the first Swedish born player inducted in the Hockey Hall of fame?

Thanks for the help!

i did a google search with the keywords 'first swedish hockey player hall of fame' and this website seems to tell me that Borje Salming was the first Swedish player inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame... hope this helps you... Kattus 12:25, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

how does a human being have the XXXY chromosome?

my biology teacher told us that it is possible (but rare) to have XXXY as your chromosomes instead of the usual XY or XX... is this true and how is that possible? does the person have any genetic complications because of this and what are they then..because the 'XX' part is female and 'XY' is male so wouldnt they be male and female at the same time???

can someone explain it or give a website that does? thanks! Kattus 12:13, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Please see Chromosome#Chromosomal aberrations, although your teacher was probably talking about Klinefelter's syndrome (which is XXY, not XXXY). -- Rick Block (talk) 14:18, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

How does it happen? We think that at an early stage of zygote development, when chromosomes duplicate and separate into 2 cells, the separation failed to occur, leaving the surviving cells with one or more extra chromosomes. This is called nondisjunction. The reason the effects are so minimal for the people with multiple X (compared with having multiple copies of chromosome 21 or 1, for example), is that the second (and any excess beyond 2) X chromosome in mammals is mostly inactivated (Lyonization) in most cells most of life and therefore causes relatively little trouble. Whether one is male depends (over 99% of the time) on whether one has a functioning Y chromosome. The number of X chromosomes does not matter: both males and females have X chromosomes. You can have 1 X or 5 X chromosomes and you will be female as long as you do not have a functioning Y. See sex differentiation for more details. alteripse 17:58, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Hockey #2

Hello!

Who is the first Team to have won the Stanley cup?

again i googled and wikipedia seems to have an article on the Stanley Cup.... so there you go! go down to 'Early Years', the last sentence on the first paragraph in that section should tell you the first team to win...

Kattus 12:30, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

how do you... wikipedia skills

i would like to know how you make a website link say a keyword so that when i post something up i dont have long website addresses (for example, when i answered the hockey question)... and how do you link the wikipedia articles so that again a keyword is highlight in blue and underline... like everyone else does... could you help? that'd be great thanks! Kattus 12:37, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:How to edit a page for your first question. As for the second question, a link will be blue if a linked article exists, and red if it doesn't exist. For example, we probably have an article for banana, but I doubt we have an article for xczv.nm,weroiu because I typed that by randomly smashing on my keyboard. Please use the Wikipedia:Help Desk for other questions along these lines. (See? I don't bite all newbies…) Garrett Albright 12:46, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

so does it automaticly links to the article?? or do i have to link it myself - but how?? Kattus 12:50, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

[[banana]] comes out as banana. For the most part, the article text stays the same as you wrote it when you press submit (of course it's translated into html when you view an article in the normal way), so you can see exactly how people do things when you edit an article/section. Frencheigh 12:55, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

so for example in the Hockey question above where i wrote 'i did a google search with the keywords 'first swedish hockey player hall of fame' and this website..." how do i make the word 'website' actually be a link to the website that is beside it... id love to know how to do that (if its possible) Kattus 13:00, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

You are looking for piping. To pipe a wikilink, you would use something like [[Banana|test1]], which looks "test1" but links to Banana. URL's (external links) can be piped too, but generally all external links go down the bottom in the "External links" section. Wikipedia:External link has more info, including how to pipe extenral links, which is different to internal wikilinks. (An example might be [http://www.banana.com test 2], which looks like: test 2. --Commander Keane 13:12, 28 September 2005 (UTC

well i know what you're talking bout now cos i read the wikipedia editing help and i figured out the keyword thing..you know how you type [ and then the website and then two spaces and then keyword and then close it with ] but yeah thanks for all your help everyone!! i really appreciate it! Kattus 13:20, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Two sapces? One space works, is two good etiquette or something? --Commander Keane 16:20, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

meh!! thanks anyway! Kattus 22:04, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Re: Wikipedia article: Uniformed services of the United States - more than 7?

Besides the seven services listed, why aren't the many other uniformed services of the United States listed? For example, within the United States Department of the Interior there are uniformed members of the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In the United States Department of Agriculture there are uniformed members of the United States Forest Service (several different types of Park Rangers, for instance). Perhaps other operating units of the DOI and USDA also have uniformed members. Perhaps other U.S. Cabinet-level departments have uniformed members as well. Why are none of these uniformed services of the United States listed? Is it simply because they are not military(naval)-ranked like the NOAA Commissioned Corps or the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps? Is it because they don't operate under military rules? (If so, shouldn't the title "Uniformed services of the United States" be qualified by some statement that indicates this limitation to the definition?) Or is there some other distinction? Courtneymitchell 13:49, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

And don't forget the uniformed service at McDonald's. --Gareth Hughes 14:19, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

The very first sentence in Uniformed services of the United States includes a link to uniformed services, which makes it clear that "uniformed services" does not just mean "any government employee who wears a uniform." What more do you want? Also, for future reference, issues you have with a specific article are usually better handled on the talk page for that article rather than here. Chuck 20:27, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Sorry, that was an overly snide response. Let me rephrase it. The uniformed services article notes, "Uniformed Services refers to bodies of people in the employ of a state that are not employed on standard terms of contract, but have some element of additional discipline, and wear a uniform." (emphasis mine) So it's not just any government agency whose employees wear a uniform. If you think it would be helpful to include this qualification within the Uniformed services of the United States article too, feel free to go ahead and add it there. Chuck 22:31, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

The definition comes direct from U.S. law, specifically Title 10 of the U.S. Code. I will update the article to state this. Isomorphic 06:34, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, I'm new to this process and appreciate the kindness. What a remarkable phenomenon is Wikipedia! I'm still interested in the other U.S. services that use uniforms such as the U. S. Park Service Park Rangers, the United States Park Police, USDA Forest Service rangers, Game Wardens, the United States Border Patrol, etc., their corresponding pay rates and rankings. The seven military services articles were very satisfying in scope and thoroughness. I'm still looking for something comparable for the other uniformed services, some of whom have extensive military training, carry weapons and put their life on the line every day.

Also of interest is the appearance of CIA operatives in Naval uniforms within the popular culture in such movies as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Clear and Present Danger". Is this a real practice and does it come from a reason to protect them against being captured as spies in a similar manner that was given for uniforming a non-military service such as the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (in Wikipedia's ariticle Uniformed services of the United States)? Courtneymitchell 17:15, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

For another example of "agencies whose employees wear uniforms, but are not technically one of the uniformed services," don't forget what may well be the most visible of those: the United States Postal Service. Chuck 18:34, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

how do you cure ringworm?

see Ringworm#Treatment_and_prevention

ROOT FINDING METHODS

Is bisection or newton raphson faster? it's bisection, right? less iterations?

Depends on the situation. When Newton-Raphson works correctly, the convergance is quadratic, so the number of correct digits is roughly doubled each iteration. For bisection, the error is cut in half each iteration (so there's about 3 iterations to a decimal digit). There are cases where Newton's method simply doesn't converge, (a zero on an inflection point can do this, it keeps overshooting back and forth), but the bisection method doesn't suffer from this. Frencheigh 16:14, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

If Newton-Raphson was never faster than the Bisection method then we wouldn't hear about it, why bother with something that is slower and doesn't work sometimes? So, Newton-Raphson is probably faster than bisection most of the time (particularly since it uses extra information, the derivative). I could be wrong, but this is what makes sense to me.--Commander Keane 16:27, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

In practice, it is sometimes a good idea to use both. First use bisection to get a starting point for which Newton-Raphson is likely to converge, then use Newton-Raphson to achieve desired accuracy. If Newton-Raphson fails, improve the bisection estimate further and iterate. Fredrik | talk 17:20, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

It's also worth pointing out that slower algorithms are frequently taught first due to complexity. For example, virtually every Computer Science student is familiar with bubble sort even though merge sort or quick sort is preferable for virtually any large set. Consequently, "I've heard of it; therefore it's useful" isn't an optimum strategy. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:31, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

We have an article on root-finding algorithms. Gdr 21:11, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

New Orleans Levy Funding

What happened to the projects to update the levy system in New Orleans from when Clinton started funding the project to it's breakdown?--66.145.213.254 16:59, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

• See our article Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans.--Pharos 18:10, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

house painting after World War I

Without a question, all I can tell you is that they used paint. — ceejayoz ^★ 14:07, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Chairman, Joint Chiefs

Can the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stay in the military when thier term is over? How is the Chairman Chosen?

Our article at Joint Chiefs of Staff answers this: The chairman is nominated by the President and is at all times a member of the military, though detached from the regular chain of command. Because the Joint Chiefs are the highest-ranking members of their respective branches, they tend to end their terms on the collective council upon retirement. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 02:20, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

amusement rides

What exactly is your question? Bart133 (t) 23:33, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

What do you call the printed brochure at a funeral?

I'm not asking about the eulogy, or the obituary, or an elegy--but about the printed thingy with a poem or prayer, the brief biography of the person, perhaps a photo--etc.

• I've called it and heard it called a program (fortunately, I've not been to many funerals), but I'm not sure if that's the official name for such a thing – there may not be one. Funeral isn't much help. android79 18:26, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

In Britain, it's known as an order of service; programme sounds far too much like something printed for an etertainment or sporting event. --Gareth Hughes 18:31, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Are you talking about the cards that are often printed for funerals with a picture, possibly of Jesus Christ or some depiction of a saint, on the front and the person's name on the back with their date of birth and death? The back also sometimes has a small prayer or biblical passage printed on it. In the United States, I've often heard these being referred to as "prayer cards". I don't know if that's the official name for them though. Dismas|^(talk) 23:26, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

That's unlike the order of service that Gareth mentioned. For a funeral, it generally list the name of the deceased person (so you know you're at the right one), gives the order of the service (listing hymns, readings, communion, etc.). Sometimes it has the words for hymns, and sometimes has a photo or two of the deceased person, details of any post service get together, and perhaps details of a charity to which you're invited to donate. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:34, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

cedent

Hello:

What is a "cedent"? The term is used often in the insurance industry.

Please advise.

Thanks!

David

It is probably a person who cedes something. This is not a good way to use the English language. --Gareth Hughes 18:36, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

I guess they could have called them the cedar. DJ Clayworth 19:57, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Or a seder. User:Zoe|^(talk) 00:52, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Google quickly brings us here, in which we find it means "ceding insurer", at which point I find myself falling asleep. I am wondering why this isn't a good use of English, though I would have been more inclined to coin "cedant". Sharkford 20:00, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Star and Moon Atoll

I have an aerial view of two atoll's or islands next to each other shaped like a star and a crescent moon. There are large boats in the water around them, but I cannot find anywhere on the web where these atolls or islands are located. They look just like the Star and Crescent of the Red Crescent organization. I would like to know where they are located. --SG

I have seen pictures (I believe in Smithsonian Magazine) of manufactured coastal communities (in one or more of the oil-producing Arab states) where soil and sand have been moved in massive ways to form luxury waterfront properties that, when viewed from the air, show images such as you mention. The picture I recall was of such a development in the shape of a palm tree. Courtneymitchell 21:47, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Courtneymitchell, you are correctly referring to the Palm Islands and The World. However, SG, I do not know about an archipelago in the form you described. Could you upload the picture you to some webspace outside Wikipedia (as I carefully presume you do not have the copyright on it) and link to it for reference, please?

--Florian Prischl 16:11, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

2 sticks butter are how much in the metric system?

Hello!

I have a wonderful recipe for even more wonderful "chunky chocolate cookies", which I found in a cookie bakery in New York City. But they gave me a recipe which is aimed more to the U.S. public, because there is no single indication of ingredients made in the metric system.

But that's fine; I don't think that teaspoons look in the U.S. that much different than in Europe and I can calculate how much 350° F are (or 300 when I use the convection oven...), but how much are two sticks (unsalted...) butter (United States) when indicated in a baking recipe?

• Fourteen milliheartattacks. Seriously, though, butter is sold in the US in 1-pound packages of four quarter-pound sticks. One stick is 4 ounces, which is equivalent to a half a US cup. Cup indicates that there is only a 13-mL difference between US and metric cups, so you're probably safe using a metric cup of buttery goodness to make your cookies. android79 19:59, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
  • Whoops. Fluid ounces measure volume, while regular ounces measure weight. A stick of butter is four ounces in weight. To figure out the volume, you would need to know the density, which I don't. Superm401 | Talk 14:08, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
    • By the way, note that Europe doesn't generally use "cups" as a measuring device - I know cooks who've gone to the effort of ordering measuring cups all the way from the US in order to have to stop converting recipies all the time. Shimgray | talk | 15:01, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
• Thanks a lot!! Hmmm, yummy! Dani_skr, 20:05, 28 Sep 2005 (UTC)
  • I thought metric cooks always measured in mass not volume. One stick of butter is 113 g. By the way, a teaspoon is an exact measure, it translates to about 4.9 mL. Rmhermen 14:23, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
• Well, I wonder how those cookies turned out, then... android79 15:05, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
  • • Well, they've been somehow "interesting"..., but thanks anyway! 0015 CEST, 04 Oct dani_skr

methamphetaime/recovery symptoms

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine#Addiction --bodnotbod 21:34, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Good restaurant

What's a good restaurant in midtown, Atlanta, Georgia? Just looking to take some friends to dinner there, less than $20.

for visitors, I frequently recommend the Park Tavern (500 10th St NE, Atlanta, 30309). If you like sushi, Ru San (1529 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, 30324) is very good and has great prices, If you require a place in the hart of midtown, I'd suggest The Vortex (fancy burgers) (878 Peachtree St NE # 4, Atlanta, 30309) or Joe's On Juniper (1049 Juniper St NE, Atlanta, 30309) (most of the waitstaff is pretty gay there if you don't like that sort of thing, but midtown as a whole is rather gay). -Drdisque 04:36, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Penis enlargement

Do any of those penis enlargement pills actually work, or are they all snake oil?

Nope, snake oil. Penn & Teller devoted an episode of their television show Bullshit! to this in fact.

Wikipedia has an article on penis enlargement, though I would add that perspicacious prospective partners are more attracted to a pleasing personality than a pendulous penis. Shantavira 08:16, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Vitamin C

IS it possible to overdose on vitamin C?

It is possible to overdose on any substance. Paracelsus, considered the father of modern toxicology, made a statement that is often paraphrased as "the dose makes the poison." Meaning, any substance is poisonous if you ingest enough of it; conversely, any substance is non-toxic in a sufficiently small amount. This MSDS for ascorbic acid (vitamin C) cites an LD50 of 11900 mg/kg in rats, and 3367 mg/kg in mice. Even if we use the lower number for mice and apply it to humans, it would take a few hundred grams of vitamin C (remember that vitamin C tablets are usually measured in milligrams) to be fatal. Chuck 20:15, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

• There have been cases where people have died from taking too much water which is known as Water intoxication emphasising Chuck's point. Capitalistroadster 08:28, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Six Flags, atlanta, ga

Has anyone ever died at six flags in atlanta?

Searching through RideAccidents.com, which bills itself as "the world's single most comprehensive, detailed, updated, accurate, and complete source of amusement ride accident reports and related news," I found one report of a death: an employee was killed on May 26, 2002, when he was in a restricted area beneath the track of Batman The Ride, and was struck by the leg of a passenger. Chuck 22:10, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Child porn

If you're under 18, and post pictures of yourself online, will you get arrested for chid sexual abuse? I need an answer NOW

• Probably depends on which state you're in. In any case, if you're talking about nude or suggestive pictures, I'd advise against it regardless of the legality of it. On the Internet, everything lasts forever. android79 20:01, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
  • Can you 'abuse' yourself? Dubious legal argument at best. Recently, 2 underage girls in NZ presented themselves at a "gentleman's club", claiming to be over 18, and saw a few "clients" each. IIRC Neither were prosecuted. Having said that, some places still make it illegal for you to kill yourself. I would go with what Android79 suggested.--inks 20:08, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Teen girl charged with posting nude photos on Internet "charged with sexual abuse of children, possession of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography." Frencheigh 23:07, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

American law enforcement just gets wackier all the time. (I am American). How did the case turn out?Nelson Ricardo 00:32, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

• I would recommend against it. I don't want to scare you, but you'd attract all kinds of nutcases who may want more than just watching pictures. - Mgm|^(talk) 07:52, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
• In the hope that more voices expressing the view will be more effective, I strongly adivse against it too. Once the pictures on the Internet you'll have no control on how the pictures are used or distributed. All sorts of creeps could get their hands on them and then may have the intention of getting their hands on you. And how would you feel if the pictures fell into the hands of your neighbours or even family? --bodnotbod 21:48, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

• From the urgency in this post, methinks the deed's already been done... Denni☯ 02:23, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

ME

What are the top 5 mechancal engineering schools in the nation?

That depends a whole lot on your metric. For starters, what nation? Assuming we can get a definitive answer there, do you care about just undergraduate, just graduate, or both? Do you want opportunities for undergraduate research at that campus? If graduate, masters vs doctorate, and what particular area? The list builds. Then we get into things like the realization that you won't (hopefully) spend all your time in class, so what about the campus-wide aspects, distance from home, cost, etc, etc? Point is, there are no definitive rankings, and any rankings that purport themselves definitive (c.f. U.S. News) won't be tailored to your specific goals.

However, to put in my 2 (useful) cents, you will get out of college what you put in. For undergraduate in particular, everybody's curriculum will be comparable. I'd look at things like campus life and industry affiliation (you do want a real job eventually, right?) over whether or not a prof has a Nobel Prize. Also consider things like school and class size: you may get a better education at a small school with generic profs who work regularly with students than at a big name school with lots of research where teaching is delegated to grad students. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:42, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

diet coke

Is aspartame bad for you?

See Aspartame#Health effects controversy. Chuck 21:09, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

toilet bowl cleaner

OK, I've got a crazy idea. You know those toilet bowl tablets? They're bleach tablets, same thing you put in a swimming pool, ie calcium hypochlorite. Can I save some cash and just use the chlorine tablets for my pool in my toilet bowl, or will something go horribly wrong?

yes, but they will possibly overchlorinate your toilet water and make your bathroom smell like a poolhouse. it could also corrode any metal in your toilet, including the handle and flapper assembly.

sanitizing tap water

IF you don't have iodine, can you sanitize water with a couple of drops of bleach?

Apparently you can as a last resort: this page from the CDC contains instructions in the "Water" section. Do keep in mind that too little bleach won't sanitize the water, and too much can cause personal injury. Please see Wikipedia's medical disclaimer. — mendel ☎ 01:18, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

What's a good stock broker

what's a good stock broker that allows otc bb trades and is less than 10 bucks a trade?

White noise

Do noise cancelling headphones actually work?

Yes. active noise cancelling headphones do actually work. But of course, you don't get 100% noise cancellation - monotonous sounds (like car or aircraft engines) get cancelled out quite well, but human speech and music doesn't. My noise cancellation headphones are awesome when flying (as a passenger), and pilots of light aircraft use them too. --inks 20:24, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

It's just about worth noting that noise cancelation uses reversed phase sound waves, and not white noise, which would merely mask the sounds. Sadly my bose headphones a) are sufficiently shielded to resist burbling in time to mobile phone polling signals; and there's some sort of spring mechanism in the headband which has started chattering away as I move my head. And yes, I'm wasting time whinging about it on wikipedia rather than boxing them up and sending them back. Doh. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Apparently they work better on low frequencies (train noise etc) -- Dan's Data has a short article about them here (scroll down to second section). Ojw 21:56, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

They work, but have their drawbacks. They do have an effect on the quality of the audio (if that is what you're using them for)-- The noise-cancelling will actually cancel out a portion of some frequencies that are in the audio. A better solution is a pair of in-ear-canal headphones. Not the cheap kind you get with CD players and the like, but these have soft tips that slide into your ear canal. Properly worn, their sound quality is as good as or better than a similarly-priced full-size set of headphones. Also, by themselves the in-ear ones provide the same (if not better... 25+dB) noise "reduction" (technically "isolation") than the noise-cancelling headphones. They are tiny, which makes them portable. They also don't require a separate battery pack or external power source. And some of them (eg, Etymotic ER-4) are cheaper than the noise-cancelling ones. The downside is some people find them uncomfortable after a long time of listening. More info here. --24.85.216.143 08:06, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

tesla coils

is there a max # of volts the human body can take (not talking about amps, i know we can only take a little bit of amperage) but is there a max voltage the human body can take?

If there are no amps then your body can take any number of volts. You may, in high school, have done the experiment where you stand on something insulated and then touch a Van de Graff generator, and your hair stands on end. That charges you to millions of volts, but because there is no current it isn't dangerous. DJ Clayworth 21:08, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

The ability of the human body to resisr the effects of electric shock varies enormously, and depends on various factors such as general fitness, sweatiness, and type of clothing worn. A recent news item reported someone who was killed while changing a domestic light bulb; on the other hand some people have survived multiple lightning strikes. Shantavira 08:28, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Also, the time of exposure to the current is important. Our article on electric shock gives a better explanation on this subject. ☢ Kieff | Talk 09:45, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

deliverence

Who was the actor who played the banjo boy in deliverence? is he still alive today and if so does he act?

Here is the Internet Movie Database page about Deliverance (1972), which has a complete cast list. If you don't find it there I suggest asking at that site, because they have a much more movie-focussed readership. DJ Clayworth 21:10, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

We have an article on Deliverance as well as Billy Redden, the actor who played "Lonny" the banjo player. Redden is alive and was recently in the movie Big Fish although he is not an actor by profession. Dismas|^(talk) 21:41, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

contact lenses

are the night and day 30 day contacts safe? i know they're fda approved, but leaving something in your eye for 30 days, can't that cause infection?

I would suppose that if you don't care for your eyes then yes, they could cause infection. Although if the FDA approved them, I would think that they believe them to be safe. Please consult a doctor if you have any problems with your eyes, and follow the directions on the packaging of any medical products. Dismas|^(talk) 21:52, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

fish poisoning

how many ppl die from that fish that's poisonous but ppl still eat it?

From the Fugu article: "Some sources claim that about 100 people die each year from fugu poisoning, while others sources say only 10 to 20 per year, and still others state only 1 person dies each year from fugu. This reported variation may be the result of different sequences of years being studied..." Chuck 21:13, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

dividends

HAVE THE STOCK HOLDERS RECIEVED THEIR DIVIDENDS FOR THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2004? OR WAS THERE BACKUP WITHHOLDING?

Which stock? Stocks don't all issue their dividends on the same day. Chuck 20:54, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

do you know the muffin man?

the muffin man? the muffin man?

See Shrek. DJ Clayworth 20:56, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

We have a number of articles on Nursery rhymes but not that particular one it seems. Capitalistroadster 04:49, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Sure, he hangs out on Drury Lane. Shantavira 08:31, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

lord forest

is there a movie with a character called lord forest?

Using IMDB's character name search returned A Royal Demand. Chuck 21:21, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

wireless internet

what's the max distance for a wifi conncetion?

In the Wi-Fi shootout competition at this year's DEF CON, the winning team managed to sustain an 11Mbps connection over a distance of 125 miles, using one 12 foot dish antena and one 10 foot dish. (Slashdot report) Of course, in any normal situation, the range will be far less: our article on WiFi suggests 45-90m (150-300 feet) as typical for access points sold for home use - the actual range is dependent on many variables, for example physical features such as walls absorbing the signal and reducing range. I would say the best way to find out what range you'll get in a specific location with specific kit is to test it. -- AJR 22:29, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

longhorn

when's windows longhorn coming out?

Why not read our article on Windows Longhorn and find that out plus a whole lot more? Dismas|^(talk) 21:00, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Right after Duke Nukem Forever, the end of the gulf war, and the Hades ice rink. Ojw 21:59, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Funny how Windows calls its product "Longhorn", and Mac products are called things like "Panther", or "Tiger". Think there's any relationship to how the product works?Minkimink 11:26, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

tallulah falls, ga

does anyone know if the river there is open to kayaking?

• Our Tallulah Falls, Georgia article doesn't provide any guidance on this issue. However, this website states that Tallulah Gorge which presumably is nearby is one of the most difficult runs in that state and suitable for experts only. This is the website [9]Capitalistroadster 04:51, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

sustainable height

what's the highest distance someone can fall and still live (comatose = alive, for this question)

There are quite a few factors to take into account there. Is the person landing on their feet or their head? What are they falling onto, grass or concrete? etc. Dismas|^(talk) 20:56, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Do they have a parchute? Were they concious at the start of the fall? Thryduulf 21:13, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

In certain circumstances the answer is infinte (in theory) - if they are in free-fall and have apropriate protection from space (e.g. a space-suit or being inside a spacecraft that is also in free-fall) then the whole time they spend in orbit they spend falling.

The longest time in space aboard a single flight is 437-days, 17-hours, 58-minutes, 04 seconds (onboard Mir by Valeri Polyakov). If we assume for simplicity that exactly 437 days of that was spent in orbit, and that mir had a 90-minute orbit (it was 89.1 minutes) and that each orbit was exactly 25,000 miles.

$437\mathrm {days} \times 1440{\frac {\mathrm {minutes} }{\mathrm {day} }}=629280\mathrm {minutes}$

${\frac {629280\mathrm {minutes} }{90{\frac {\mathrm {minutes} }{\mathrm {orbit} }}}}=6992\mathrm {orbits}$

$6992\mathrm {orbits} \times 25000{\frac {\mathrm {miles} }{\mathrm {orbit} }}=174800000\mathrm {miles}$

Our article on Dr Polyakov states he is still alive, meaning he must have survived the fall of over 174 million miles. Thryduulf 21:41, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

If we avoid being extra-terrestrial Free-fall metions some plummeters. MeltBanana 23:15, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Depends entirely what you happen to land on. A number of people have survived a fall from a commercial airliner that broke up at cruising altitude. Our article on accidents and incidents in aviation mentions "a 17-year old girl who survives a fall from 2 miles". Shantavira 08:41, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

The classic example of surviving a high-altitude fall is Vesna Vulović, who fell roughly 33,000 feet. However, she seems to have been inside part of an airliner at the time, which may have provided some protection/stabilisation. The highest fall, otherwise, I'm aware of is a WWII British airman, who bailed out of a bomber and then discovered his parachute didn't work. He landed in a snowy pine forest, which broke his fall enough that he survived. (On checking, Sgt. Nicholas Alkemade. There were also a couple of other allied airmen who fell from the same height and survived, on other occasions - about 20,000 feet.) Shimgray | talk | 14:08, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

The alt.suicide.holiday Methods FAQ states that one needs to fall 6 stories to have a 90% chance of dying, either instantaneously or from one's injuries. moink 23:03, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

most toxic toxin

what's the most toxic poison? ie, smallest dose can kill someone

Oxygen. No dose whatsoever is uniformly fatal to humans. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:45, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

According to the sci.chem FAQ (scroll down to question 10.5), tetanus toxin, botulinum toxin, and Shiga toxin lead the list, each with an LD50 around 1 ng/kg. Wikipedia's own articles give the edge to botulinum toxin and claim that the lethal dose is 300 pg/kg. Chuck 23:06, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

If you include radiation poisoning (q.v.) the fatal dose is minute in terms of the mass of radioactive material required. Shantavira 14:17, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

biggest mosque

which is the biggest mosque of the world

Shah (King) Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan mentioned at List of mosques. the prayer hall alone is 1.19 acres. MeltBanana 21:21, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

food

what is tuna called in hawaii?

Usually "tuna". There are Hawai'ian words that are more specific: Yellowfin Tuna is "'ahi" (the first letter is an okina) and Skipjack Tuna is "aku". - Nunh-huh 04:38, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Referencing Wikipedia

If you had to refer to wikipedia in a bibliography, how would you put it?

See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. Frencheigh 23:09, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

hurricane katrina

how did katrina affect overpopulation in places like dallas and houston

   People who escaped from New Orleans fled to Dallas and Houston. Gesiwuj.

RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video list

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask or even if I'm wasting your time, but I'm looking for a reference list for all the titles released on RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, particularly the "Magic Window" series which were issued in the custom clamshell boxes.

I've looked almost everywhere else I can think of, so I hope you can help!

Thanks, Ian Dickson Brighton UK

You're asking in the right place on Wikipedia. Columbia Pictures became part of Sony some time ago, so you could try contacting Sony in the UK and asking them. Presumably they have a catalogue with everything they've ever released on it. --Robert Merkel 13:23, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Cities populations

I am looking for the most recent populations of the following cities, Baton Rouge,Alexandria, New Orleans,Shreveport,Lake Chareles,Lafayette,Monroe all cities are Louisiana cities.

Be careful with how you ask this one. Most recent before Katrina or most recent as of 23 February 2024 (UTC) (the date of your question)? --hydnjo talk 01:56, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Type the name of each city into the box on the left of the screen. Press Go. That will take you to an article about the city, which will tell you a population figure (probably from a few years ago). DJ Clayworth 17:20, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

myths of authoritarianism

What are the six myths of authoritarianism?

Whatever your textbook or teacher says that they are. DES ^(talk) 01:45, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Our Authoritarianism article is quite detailed but fails to state anything about 6 myths. A Google search on this phrase come up with nothing see [10] suggesting that this phrase is not widely used. I doubt if we can help you with this. Capitalistroadster 02:24, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Grass

Is it possible to grow grass on your scalp?

If you have a good head of loam then, yes. Be sure to water and fertilize but don't shampoo. --hydnjo talk 02:00, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

how much grass did you smoke to want to ask that question? --Ballchef 03:58, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

lactulose

Does lactulose tickle?

It apparently goes great with vodka. - Nunh-huh 03:30, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

lactulose doesn't specify the tickle levels of lactulose, perhaps you should try it out? --Ballchef 03:58, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Chocolate milk

What chocolate-flavored milk product once advertised free Captain Midnight Secret Decoder rings?

Ovaltine. Also see Secret decoder ring. --hydnjo talk 15:44, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Swiftboating

I've noticed the use of the term "swiftboating" several times in the past few months. It is used in the sense of someone being swiftboated,ie, being lied about. Recently it was used in our local newspaper as "he was swiftboated". In that particular case the person had been the subject of a lie.

Is this word going to, or has it, entered our vocabular as a new idiom?

EWB

• I would doubt it. Does the meaning refer to claims by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth about John Kerry or the other way about?Capitalistroadster 05:05, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
  • Yes, the term means that the claims are of a similar character as those by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (i.e. seen as character assasination). The term's actually become not that uncommon in the U.S. media.--Pharos 17:57, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Fact checking

Does anyone check over newly editted pages and fact check the information added? How is one to know that the information one is receiving is true?

Please see Wikipedia:Replies to common objections and Wikipedia:FAQ. Dismas|^(talk) 10:46, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

getting old

how can i get old slower?

exercise, diet, nutrition, low stress, don't smoke or drink or do drugs. amongst other things. --Ballchef 06:20, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Considering how many things which people enjoy are bad for you, you may not live to be 100 if you abstain from all the above, but it'll probably feel like it! -- Arwel 18:48, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Depending of your reasons... how about considering the twin paradox? :) ☢ Kieff | Talk 09:45, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

spiders2

anyone got any tips on keeping away daddy longlegs?

heavily spray the areas they like to congregate in with pesticides. Also, a daddy longlegs is technically not a spider. see Opiliones -Drdisque 06:34, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

i've been told that daddy long legs cant bite humans and only kill other spiders - so we dont kill the daddy long legs (on purpose) but let it kill the other spiders...Kattus 13:11, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

See crane fly for more information. Shantavira 15:23, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I'd urge anyone to think once, or twice, or more than three times before getting out the pesticides for crane flies. An article on [Crane Fly Pests of the Pacific Northwest http://whatcom.wsu.edu/cranefly/] makes the point: Pesticide applications for crane flies are probably unnecessary in many cases. This misuse of pesticides is wasteful, costly and can have detrimental effects to the environment, wildlife and ourselves.. The same site provides a number of well considered treatments [11] and, FWIW, the quicklinks box at the top right seems the easiest way to navigate the site. --Tagishsimon (talk)

of course, from his question topic, he probably isn't talking about crane flies, he/she's probably talking about Opiliones (a Harvestman) or the Daddy Longlegs Spider also known as the Pholcidae for which pesticides will be effective. -Drdisque 00:35, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

laser printer vs inkjet printer

why should i get a (home) laser printer when it costs more than an inkjet and only does black and white? I need a printer that does colour and photos and is cheap, should i go inkjet? --Ballchef 06:10, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

sounds like an inkjet is best for you. Home laser printers are intended for those who print a lot of pages and/or want a printer hardwired onto their network. -Drdisque 06:32, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

thanks!

The advantages of a laser printer are that they can print much more quickly than inkjet printers, and, while their ink cartridges are more expensive, they are also larger and they last longer, so it's a better deal in the long run -- selling ink for inkjet printers is one of the biggest legal rackets of all time. They can also provide sharper grayscale prints than inkjets can. However, while color laser printers exist, they are more expensive and can't offer the quality of a color inkjet. So you kinda answered your own question; for printing photos, stick with inkjet. However, for college students, small businesses and others who need to print out lots of text -- reports, essays, research documents -- lasers can be a sweeter deal in the long run. Garrett Albright 18:16, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I can't remember where I heard it, but apparently inkjet ink is more expensive than Champagne or Rocket fuel

In reality you can be pro-active when selecting an inkjet printer and research the most economical inkjet printer type to purchase. Most printers sell for almost nothing to purchase but the manufacturer makes up the loss with the selling of inkjet cartridges.

There are 2 Manufacturers that make products that have 3rd party inkjet cartridge suppliers. They are Canon and Epson.

Canon has printers that support larger cartridges (The BCI 3 and 6 Series)

The Back holds 30 ml and the Color are 15 ml each.

Epson comes a close second where they have cartridges (T044 Series)

The Back holds 13 ml and the Color are 17 ml each. (IF you purchase a Pinter that also can support the (T0431 cartridge) it holds 30 ml also.)

HP , Dell and Lexmark sell printers that have the Head Mechanics built in and as a result sell only much higher priced replacement cartridges.

Next is to select a reputable 3rd party supplier like Metawatch Inkjet Supplies

They offer free delivery to your door, for any purchase over $50.00 and have the best prices I could find anywhere in Canada.

So Inkjets can be cheap if you take your time and shop around. (Remember its not the purchase price that is the most important thing to remember but the total cost of ownership)

Diameter of a football

That depends first on what type of football (international or American) and on the level of play (World Cup, Super Bowl, Grey Cup, kiddie league, etc). Additionally, for American/Canadian football, you'd have to specify the major vs minor axis. Anyway, the article linked above should clear this up for oyu regardless. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 13:03, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

lwas pertaining to cycle rickshwas in madras

amendments made to The Madras Hackney Carriage Act 1911 and further laws existing in the state?

Death

How exactly does a bullet to the brain or heart kill you?

to the heart, it kills you because the heart cannot attain the pressure required to pump blood to your brain because it has a giant hole in it. In the brain, it severs neuron connections required for the brain to work or the severs blood vessels that keep important parts of the brain alive. -Drdisque 16:18, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

• I didn't ask the original question - just curious, but when a bullet to the brain kills you, is it usually because one of the bits that gets knocked out is the part telling your lungs to breathe? --bodnotbod 22:12, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

oceans vs seas

And you question is...? --hydnjo talk 20:38, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I think they might have been asking what the difference or what the defining point of when a sea is considered an ocean would be. Dismas|^(talk) 20:53, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Oh, sort of like when does a pond become a lake or when does a lane become a street become an avenue. There are no hard and fast rules that I could suggest to the questioner so I bounced the question to get a more specific question. I suspect that Dismas is correct as to the root of the question, I was just hoping to draw it out in a more specific context. --hydnjo talk 23:10, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

I've always heard that seas are described by the land that surrounds them, while land is described by the oceans that surround it. -Tim Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 00:10, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Does This Energy Drink really work?

I was wondering if XS Citrus Blast Energy drink is simply made up of caffeine and some flavors, or does this drink have a makeup of things that really provide energy. Also, would it be best to just buy a can of coke instead?

It depends on how you define energy. By most definitions any drink with any amount of calories can be described as an energy drink. I assume this drink has plenty of sugar. Whether you would be better off with a can of coke depends on the relative costs and your taste preference. A handful of sugar in a glass of water would be even cheaper. alteripse 16:25, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

smallest state in the USA

What is the smallest state in the USA?

That would be the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 16:02, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Rhode Island is the smallest in area. Wyoming is the smallest in population. Chuck 16:01, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Lional train

What is the value of a Lional engine and coal tender, model 736?

try searching for recently sold examples of such an item on ebay -Drdisque 16:15, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

• And try spelling it Lionel. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 21:37, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

baseball

why did they stop selling alochol after the 7th inning.And what year and teams were playing

They stop selling alcohol then to prevent fans from getting as drunk and to give drunk fans time to sober up before they leave (assuming they leave at the end of the game). The second part of your question doesn't make any sense. -Drdisque 18:00, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I think the original poster meant that they wanted to know what year they stopped selling beer after the 7th and what teams were in MLB at the time of the new rule. Although I don't know the answer to that, I think that's what they meant to ask. Dismas|^(talk) 18:55, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

help me please !!!

i have just started a course at college but i need help can somebody tell me what the word demonstrator means in relation to the famous playwright bertolt brecht ??!! thank you lisa-kate 212.126.144.12--212.126.144.12 18:29, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Have you tried reading our article on Bertolt Brecht? --Sherool 18:57, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Demonstrator can have several meanings depending on context. One meaning is "a person who participates in a public protest," especially someone who carries a sign to raise public understanding of the issue. Brecht was more of a political activist than most playwrights. This is a guess. alteripse 10:40, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

VCR

How long do you think it'll be before they stop making VCR's?

Decades, if ever. You can still buy brand new turntables, and digital video recorders are not nearly prevalent enough yet to phase out VCRs. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:01, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Ah, but turntables are used to access a medium that, if preserved properly, lasts nearly forever. Videotape degrades much, much faster. I have tapes today that are 20+ years old, and while still watchable, have decayed significantly. A better analogy than turntables would be 8 Track players. I think that VCRs, (that is, consumer mass-marketed VHS VCRs) will be totally extinct within 10 years. The Studios will stop releasing new titles on tape within a few years, and as DVRs and recordable DVD makes grounds, the market for blank tapes will drop. And the VCR will pass into history, save for a very few hobby/historical uses. Brian Schlosser42 21:42, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

The major electronics store I went to about six months ago no longer sold stand alone VCRs, only combination DVD/VCRs. Cheap enough though, under $100. --hydnjo talk 20:31, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

To summarise, VCRs will be around in small quantities in specialised applications for many years (if for no other purpose than to enable access to historical recordings). However, they will disappear as a mainstream consumer item before too long; the process already has begun. --Robert Merkel 13:18, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Videoape is still used heavily professionally — before the day when VCRs are no longer available we will reach the day when VHS is gone and Betacam is still in use! — mendel ☎ 19:14, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

We haven't really answered the question. I think that a small volume new VCRs will be manufactured at least through the next 8-10 years. I don't think any will still be produced 15 years from now. ike9898 00:01, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

In Britain, VCRs are only now sold through specialist dealers now. VHS is no longer sold in most shops, either.smurrayinchester 09:07, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

That's not true. Unless Argos and Dixons are 'specialist dealers' (which make them sound seedy :) ). And Woolworths, WH Smiths, HMV and Virgin Megastores all still sell VHS cassettes (blanks and pre-recorded).

Sorry, I just remember Currys, Dixons etc claiming they were no longer going to stock them (and the Dead Ringers Joke: Dixons have announced they are dropping VCRs. Explains why they never work when you get them home.) Plus, I probably just haven't been looking out for them! smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 09:36, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Baseball Rules

Is there a rule in baseball that states, that if the game is tied, with bases loaded and it's the bottom of the 9th inning, you can't intentionally get hit with the ball to drive in the winning walk?

In baseball, a batter may not intentionally step into a pitch, or fail to attempt to avoid a pitch (to draw a hit-by-pitch), at any time; he is out if he does so. However, a regular hit-by-pitch may occur at any point. See the official rules, section 6.08[12] — Lomn | Talk / RfC 19:58, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I read somewhere that this sort of thing occurred during, I think it was Walter Johnson's consecutive scoreless innings streak. Johnson hit a batter with the bases loaded, but the umpire called him back, claiming that he didn't try hard enough to avoid getting hit. --Maxamegalon2000 20:59, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

I think it was Don Drysdale's streak, and the game in question was against the Giants (part of the Giants-Dodgers lore).

From the Dodgers web site:

May 31, 1968: Don Drysdale's scoreless-innings streak appears to be over when he hits Dick Dietz with the bases juiced in the ninth inning. But home-plate umpire Harry Wendlestadt rules that Dietz made no effort to avoid being hit and the Dodgers prevail, 3-0, over San Francisco.

Iraqi Dinar

On the contents page under 2.4 ,value of the new dinar, there is an urgent update notice that says the Iraqi Dinar is expected to oeg the week of October 1st 2005. Can you explain why?

Mallary

The notice is badly written, granted, but it basically says that the dinar is expected to be pegged to the US dollar at the beginning of October. This means that its exchange rate with the dollar will not be allowed to fluctuate. --Gareth Hughes 20:37, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

shelters ANDERSON

i have been reseraching material for a book on me during the Blitz of Plymouth. You are incorrect on the number of people for a shelter. Each sheet of metal was multiplied accourding to who were to use it. One adult & 2 children equaled ONLY 2 sheets deep! Two adults or more, 3 sheets.

Father away in the Navy, so the two sheet deep size was our lot! Floor was wood made by grandfather to keep out the damp. A FULL SIZE DOUBLE MATRESS FITTED PERFECTLY ON THE FLOOR. My father cut a naval hammock into two & hooked to the length of the 2 sheets. We swayed as the gun vibrations from antaircraft weapons fired from local park.

I was later to be a Sgt. in the WRAF in 1950's. Meeting many vets from the war era.

Thank you for your suggestion! When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the Edit this page link at the top. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to). The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes — they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. Dismas|^(talk) 22:27, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

baseball hall of fame

How many hall of famers are pitchers,catchers,infielders,outfielders,managers,and umpires?

• See the Hall of Fame web site and look under the "By Category" and "Players by Position" lists. --Metropolitan90 05:02, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Mt. Wikipedia

When website is loading, background has the outline of a mountain, I'm assuming a mountain of knowledge? Ararat? Sinai? Paramount Pictures? Basically--What Mountain?

• Actually, if you look more carefully, it's a picture of an open book. But I do agree, "Mt. Wikipedia" has a nice ring to it. Are there any suitable elevatated spots around Tampa Bay?--Pharos 23:57, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

The highest elevation in Florida is a large Landfill near Miami. -Drdisque 00:28, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

I actually first read this as "Mr. Wikipedia". — JIP | Talk 10:50, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Unicorn Story

Years ago I read a story about Noah's Ark and the Unicorn. In a nutshell, it was about Noah rounding up all the animals and seeing the unicorn in the distance, and every day that went by, he'd round up more animals but the unicorn would never come close. In the end, the "legend" says that the reason why unicorns are no longer around is because he chose to stay in that world than face this one. Noah was never really able to convince the unicorn to come aboard. It's such a cute story, but I can't remember either the title or the author. Has anyone read it? Does anyone know who the author is or what the story is titled? Vanessa

• This is one of a number of stories about Noah and the unicorn in Jewish folklore and the Talmud. See these links: [13] [14] [15].--Pharos 00:38, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Also, there's a song called "The Unicorn" by The Irish Rovers with lyrics by Shel Silverstein that tells a similar story. moink 19:18, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Who?

Hi. Im Hoosay. I have a question about your "Hurricane Rita" website.I'm writing a five paragraph essay about natural disasters in core class and we have to write where we got our information from,the articals title,the webpage,internet address and the author.I could'nt find the Author(s).Would you please send it to me?I don't have an email address so will you please send it to me by mail!

You can get help with this at Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. Joyous (talk) 00:47, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

looks

y r people funny looking

Because we can't all be dolphins. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 04:18, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Refineries

When was the most recent oil refinery built in the United States and where?

according to this article, the last refinery in the US was built in 1976, in Garyville, Louisiana. Gentgeen 03:07, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

http://explanation-guide.info Largest Mobile Companies BIASED!

Why is explanation-guide.info's of the Largest Mobile companies web page biased? It states at the bottom of the page that your web site gives them the info, but all of the US carriers stats are a year and more out of date. They list all of the EU and Asian companies as being the largest, even thought Cingular, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint-Nextel have larger numbers then most of the other EU and Asian related carriers on their web site. And why will they NEVER replay back to my question about this? Can you please help me out?

Cingular 51 Million users Verizon Wireless 47 Million users, and Sprint-Nextel 45 Million Users as of the last quarter in 2005.

How can these other carriers have higher numbers?! Why can't you and your partner web site give credit to the USA?!

Orange (GSM) - 40 million mmO2 (GSM) TIM (GSM)

Thanks, Russell

• Firstly, all the information on Wikipedia is licensed under the GFDL, and may be used by anyone freely as long as the source is credited. As such, explanation-guide.info isn't a "partner" website of ours - we have nothing to do with them (just to make that clear!), and they simply take our information and republish it.
• Secondly, as far as I can tell they're using an old copy of our database, which hasn't been updated since... hmm... examining the history of some articles, they seem to have a copy from around last August or September - so at least a year out of date. If you look at our List of mobile network operators, you'll see it's pretty up to date, and doesn't appear to have any anti-US bias (Cingular is still only the eighth largest in the world; I suspect this is because foreign operators break into the US market easier than US ones break into foreign markets, but couldn't really say).
• Thirdly, the reason they're not replying to your emails... hmm. Many of these sites are basically just there to make some ad money - you'll note they have google ads through their site - from people searching for information, and aren't particularly concerned about anything else. Not to say that this particular one is - I've never heard of them before - but, well, it's a possibility. Shimgray | talk | 02:26, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Micro Economto the marketking ics

Why are consumers the

Well the best answer I can give you is

who was the first 2 million pound player in the uk football leagues

I don't know, but it's made me start an article called British football transfer record. I can't find it on the net, anywhere. Trevor Francis was the first million pound player, in 1979. Man Utd's purchase of Bryan Robson (£1.5m) in 1981 took the record. But the next 'record signing' I could find was Roy Keane (£3.5m) in 1993, and there must have been a £2m player between 1981 and 1993. If anyone knows about football transfer fees, help out with the article I started, for the love of God. Proto t c 11:18, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

• Only a north american could go "do they really get that heavy?" upon first reading this question. Denni☯ 02:37, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

What is mineral wall fire insulation?

Mineral wool is the normal way to spell it. Ojw 21:44, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

• From the Knoll website: "Mineral Wool is a product manufactured by recycling waste from plants burning coal for power. It has similar properties to fiberglass such as tackability and good acoustic dampening while also providing superior flame and smoke test results." Denni☯ 02:42, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Health Psychology

Define & discuss the mind-body split.

155.232.250.51 11:21, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Why not read our article on psychology and its associated articles, read your text book, and then get back to us with a more specific question regarding your homework? Dismas|^(talk) 11:27, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Palooza!!!!

I have got in trouble on this site for teying to get the answer to this question so i really hope someone can help me!!! What DOES the word palooza mean? I have heard it several times recently and it made me curious. If you have any idea please let me know. On my talk page or whatever, thanks. Skooky 13:21, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's derived from Lollapalooza. Although Lollapalooza became well-known as a music festival which started in 1991, the word itself has been around since at least 1904, and originally meant "remarkable or wonderful person or thing." Since Lollapalooza (the music festival) started, I've occasionally heard "-palooza" applied as a suffix to something else to indicate some kind of festival, but I haven't heard "palooza" used as a word on its own. Chuck 20:44, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

• Perhaps it's just appended on any word to confer remarkability and wondrousness on whatever it's added to. Like -tastic gets added to things to express something extreme, like "these cookies are chocatastic!" to suggest a great deal of chocolate is used. So, perhaps you could have chocapolooza. --bodnotbod 22:32, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

The Letter People --

I am trying to find tapes/CD's/DVD's of "The Letter People" series that aired on Public Broadcasting in the 70's. It's my understanding that New Dimensions in Education, Inc. sold the rights in 1990. I am not interested in the badly copied versions that are being sold on Ebay. SR

Russian Companies in US

Where do I find listing of Russian companies doing business in the US? Thanks MB

Univision

Was Univision always in Spanish?

Sí. Mira Univisión por mas datos. Garrett Albright 17:04, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Date: February 10, 1917

I did a Google Search on a lady named Myrta Belle Strong. One of the results I got back was from WIKIPEDIA and listed that on February 10, 1917 she married Carl L. Gregory. I am researching the life and career of Mr. Gregory and while I have seen News reports of His marriage to Ms. Strong, I have never been able to get an exact date, nor have I been able to confirm the marriage. I am looking for the source of your information ot verify the date of this marriage.

Thank you.

Buckey Grimm

Looks like you've found one of the weaknesses of Wikipedia. Although authors are encouraged to cite their sources, so that people with questions like yours can verify the information in the article if they want to, authors are frequently lazy and do not cite their sources. In fact, that is the very first objection listed on Why Wikipedia is not so great. You might have better luck posting your question to the Talk Page for the article where you found the information (I'm assuming it's 1917; that's the only place I was able to find mention of that marriage) where the person who added the information is more likely to see your question. Chuck 17:24, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

• The user who added that information seems to be User:65.93.31.175. You might try asking them where they got the information on their talk page. --Bob Mellish 17:33, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Both Carl L. Gregory and Myrta Strong attended Geneva High School in Geneva, Ohio (he in the Class of 1900, she in the Class of 1902). [16]. He is the correct age to be the same person as Carl L. Gregory, the cinematographer (1882-1951) born in Kansas, died in California, who is listed on IMDB as having married Myrta Belle Strong on 10 February 1917, and as having married Marie Garrison afterwards. [17]. (Meanwhile, if we don't have an article on either Carl or Myrta, why are we listing their marriage on our dates page?). - Nunh-huh 02:19, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Parts of a ship

Why is the control center of a ship called The Bridge?

See Bridge (ship). — mendel ☎ 18:58, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Backstabbers/Revenge

How do I achieve my full potential in life. Also I need to get some revenge on some enemies any tips and also how to deal with backstabbers. the_hidden_master

Simple Use Google Nmak3000

Les Rythmes Digitales

Does anyone know the lyrics (assuming it is sensical) in French? (that is if it is sensical)?

Programming in Fortran

Hello there, Please I will like to get answer for the following questions. I was ask to write programm that solve the question. I was given 30 question which I have been able to answer some but these are giving me probelm. Please will appreciate if i can get answers to the question:

1- write a valid program segment to demonstrate the usage of the following: i- List-directed input-output statements ii- Data statement iii- Equivalence statement iv-named common v- blank common vi- block common

2- company xyz gives no discount on a bill(in dollar) of less than 20,000, 5% discount on a billfrom 20,000 up to a value less than 50,000, 7% discount on bills from 50,000 up to a value less than 100,000, and 10% discount on a bill of 100,000 or more. write a program that can be used by the company to compute and print the discounts on the customers bills.

3- A trader has five store in a state. the store makes sales 7 days a week. the daily sales are in an array called SALES. Write a program i to read the whole array from keyboard into the computer memory ii compute and prints the total slaes for each day iii compute and print the total weekly sales for each store iv compute and print the total weekly sales for all the store.

4 write a program that compute the sum of all prime members between 1 to 1000.

5 write a program that compute the overall resistance of four resistor connected in parallel.65.172.4.250 19:26, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

We don't answer homework questions outright here, but we may be able to give you a few tips. I'm not much of a programmer myself, so I won't try to write specific code for these, but for number 4 you will need a method to find the prime numbers between 1 and 1000 first; one such method is the Sieve of Eratosthenes. For number 5, you will need to know the formula for resistors in parallel, which can be found at resistor#Series and parallel circuits. Chuck 20:12, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

I am a programmer but it has been decades since I programmed in FORTRAN. In general two important ingredients:

• How would I solve some problem manually, on paper without the computer? This is also important when testing the reasonableness of the answer from the computer program.
• Are there some features of the programming language, such as recursive, table lookup that make it easier to solve with this or that programming language than doing it human manually?

AlMac|^(talk) 04:58, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Japanese ppl

Why are Japanese ppl so tiny?

Oh, do you mean like these Sumo wrestlers? --hydnjo talk 20:45, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

God you got served.

However, it is true that the Japanese are, ona average, shorterthan those of other nations, see article human height. It looks like diet is generally important in determining height. The Vietnamese seem particularly dinky. --bodnotbod 22:52, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Wing Clipping

Two weeks ago I bought myself a pet cockatiel... I love my pet but I'm trying to train him and I've read repeatedly in several webpages that the first thing one must do is clip a bird's wings. Although I find this a cruel thing to do, I am thinking of taking him to a vet and having his wings clipped. How often should this be done though? How long before they "grow back"? Also, is it something I can do myself? I think it'd be a good idea to take him to a vet first to have it done professionally, but can I learn to do it myself or is it too risky?

wing clipping, if done correctly doesnt hurt the bird - it is rather like cutting one's own fingernails... you have to make sure that you know where the bird's bone and flesh ends, so as you do not hurt the bird... you can do it yourself, but if you are unsure, then yes go to the vet and they'll probably show you how to do it... in terms of how long before trimming again, well you can tell yourself usually, the birds wings look normal instead of cut straight - and they can fly again....we've been clipping our birds wings for years...hope this helps you ... Kattus 00:46, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

To make it painfully clear: the only thing that is cut when wings are clipped is feathers. And the only part that is clipped is already dead. By all means let a vet show you how to do it rather than try it by yourself the first time. see here - Nunh-huh 02:06, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

See also our article on wing clipping. Samw 12:30, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Searching "POPO" the Clown

Searching for information about "Popo, the Clown". What circus("}, what years, etc. Signed, Gregory D. Harper

• Are you sure you do not mean the famous Oleg Popov? 82.210.117.215 13:45, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

An English royal woman...Need a name!

The information I have is this: She married Thomas, she fell in love with a footman/soldier, Thomas learned this and killed the footman, buried him outside the castle wihout telling her, she died and haunted the castle (grey lady? Louisa?), Thomas moved away to escape her ghost, was then buried in the same cemetary as his victim.

I think this is somewhere in Westminster or Glastonbury.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Thomas (Thynne), 2nd Viscount Weymouth, and his wife Louisa née Carteret. We find the story, a bit mangled, here: "In Southwestern England the 16th century Longleat house stands. A ghost story is told here. Thomas the Second of Viscount, married Louisa Carteret. He was as evil as she was sweet. He suspected her of having an affair with a footman and murdered him with the help of two servants, and hid the body. Louisa died not long after, they claimed, of a broken heart. Thomas started to see her ghost, smell her perfume, and watch as things would move on their own-he fled in fear and never returned. People thought it was just a legend even though her ghost was seen countless times by many. Three centuries later, workmen dug up some flag stones and found a corpse dressed in 18th century attire. The legend was proven to be true. They buried him in a graveyard not far from the house, and from the tomb of Thomas. Murderer and victim together for all eternity. "The Gray Lady of Louisa" as she is now called, still haunts the house to this very day."

Of course, there's no "Second of Viscount", but the husband of Louisa Carteret was 2nd Viscount Weymouth. With this, we can find the tale retold better here, and with less bodice-ripping:

"Longleat, the residence of the Marquess of Bath, has been haunted for many many years. It is said that his ancestor, Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth, had fought a duel in a passage at the top of the house with an unknown man, who was rumoured to be his wife's lover. He killed this man, and had him buried in the cellars of Longleat. The passage where the duel is said to have been fought is now known as 'The Green Lady's walk', and is said to have been haunted by the spirit of Lady Louisa Carteret, wife of this 2nd Viscount Weymouth. When central heating was put into Longleat, during the 5th Marquess's lifetime, the body of a man was found buried in the cellars. He was wearing jackboots, which crumbled away as soon as the body was exposed to the air. Lady Louisa Carteret, Viscountess Weymouth, died aged about twenty-two, after three-and-a-half years of marriage and nine days after the birth of a child. It was rumoured that Viscount Weymouth nearly ruined himself and his two sisters by his extravagance after the death of his wife."

- Nunh-huh 02:00, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

You probably misread Westminster for Warminster. --Gareth Hughes 17:03, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for all the info. I really need to find a picture of her (or portrait). I sa it briefly on TV, but I need it again! Thanks for the help again!

How to ask a Judge to make a jugement on a matter.

1st. October 2005.

can i ask a high court judge to make a legal judgement of a concern of mine, as to the conduct of a Local Council?

i hope you are well, your servant, Br. Michael.

The Hermitage 20, Berwick Road Marlow Buckinghamshire. SL7 3AT. Grande-Bretagne.

Tel - Fax +44 01628 474034. from sunrise to sunset.

Hermits Journal. www.marlowhermitage.net

To get a judge to do it, you need to apply for Judicial Review. The standard for that is very high (meaning a judge is very loathe indeed to overturn anything that a democratically elected council has done). You're rather more likely to get some headway from the local government ombudsman. Even then, democratically elected councils enjoy considerable leeway, so you'll need to show they did something egregiously wrong before you have any chance of changing things. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:57, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Football Double Header

In 1948 or 1949, when I was a young lad, my Dad took me to see the one and only double header football game in Cleveland Ohio. This was a pre-season exhibition trial double header, never to be repeated. The Cleveland Browns were involved, but I can't remember who the other 3 teams or the scores were. I would appreciate it if you could let me know. I am 74 yrs old, and disabled. I have tried in the past to get this info without any success. This would also make a good trivia question for Jeapordy. TNX Norb Walker Sat Oct 1, 2005 <bronreklaw a t hotmail d o t com>

Google is very good at these sort of things. Searching for "cleveland football double header", the third link is to http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=567111. According to Google Answers, it was 1963, with the Giants beating the Lions 24-21 in the first game, followed by the Browns losing to the Colts 21-7. -- Rick Block (talk) 15:07, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

That doesn't seem quite right..that's an almost 15-year difference in the timeframe...could that be mistaken somehow? Tim Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 23:57, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

According to the Cleveland Browns official site, the team only played one preseason game in Cleveland in the 1940s, a 21-21 tie with the 49ers. Every other preseason game they played in the 1940s was either at Akron or Toledo. This page doesn't indicate whether the 49ers game was part of a doubleheader. --Metropolitan90 04:40, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm afraid to tell you that preseason doubleheaders continued in Cleveland into the 1960s. One game would feature the Browns and another game two other teams. According to (link removed), the games were played from 1962-61. In the book The Cleveland Browns: The Official Illustrated History, you can see a picture of a game at the old Stadium in which the Browns weren't playing. It looks like Atlanta vs. Minnesota. Mwalcoff 20:04, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Acronym in different scripts

I would like to write the acronym KIS in different scripts, especially Korean, Japanese, Hebrew, Russian, Greek, Hindi and Tamil. Does anyone know where I can look up this info. Thanks.

There are some links on Transliteration to script-specific pages. Ojw 16:53, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

There are of course different ways to do this. You can take the equivalent letter or symbol in the other langauage and write each one in turn. There may not be an equivalent though. Or you could translate the words that make up the acronym, and then take the first letters of those as your acronym. As for Hindi, if you spelled KIS as a word it would be किस (make sure you have complex text support set up to see that properly), but if you took each letter independently it would be कइस, but that might look a little wierd because as a word it would be transliterated as kais. Periods might help. Basically if this is important, such as for a business logo, you would be better off either just keeping it in Latin script or consulting with a local business person for each language you would want to write it in as conventions for or even use of acronyms at all may be different for each. - Taxman ^Talk 14:53, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Link Request - Nitrous Oxide

Hello there, I was hoping that you might be able to add my shop to your links. I would be able to advertise your site with every purchase made from my shop, and also on the flyer i have produced to deliver to all known petrol garage's in the UK (of which i have nearly compiled a list). The link to my shop is: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Make-your-car-a-supercar-with-Nitro, and although i will not be able to put a link for your site in my shop, the coverage that i will produce via my flyer will be constant and very wide-scale. I eagerly await your response to this email request. Many thanks, Marc Chilton.

PS. My email address should you wish to respond is: (email removed)

Wikipedia is not the place for advertising. Thanks for your suggestion though. Dismas|^(talk) 14:38, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Making Soap Operas On Microsoft Word

How many pages are required in order to make a full soap opera on Microsoft Word?

Write 5000 words. Use the "word count" feature of word to know when you arrive. lots of issues | leave me a message 16:53, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

which is the fastest car in the world

The fastest wheeled land vehicle is the ThrustSSC, the fastest street legal car is generally regarded to be the McLaren F1 -Drdisque 18:45, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

We have a new "World's fastest production car"; the Bugatti Veyron, which has just been released and was timed at 407 km/h. A complete waste of time of a vehicle (on most racetracks I'd back a 911 GT3 against it, let alone the McLaren), but it is mighty fast in a straight line if you're suicidal enough to try. --Robert Merkel 14:38, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

History

History of anything in particular? AlMac|^(talk) 05:01, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

can I see a picture of Aksapada Gautama

In general, Google Image search at http://www.google.com/imghp is good for these sorts of things, but a search for "Aksapada Gautama" doesn't come up with anything. Are there any alternate spellings? User:Zoe|^(talk) 21:35, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Half-Life multiplayer statistics

I seem to recall a website somewhere out there that gathered statistics from a great number of Counter-Strike/Day of Defeat (possibly other Half-Life mods) servers and collected them into a database, and just by searching for your multiplayer user name (e.g. "Sum0") you'd get a list of your total number of kills, deaths, favourite servers, and so on. But for the life of me I can't find it again. The URL possibly had "athletics" or "athlete" in it.

Thanks, Sum0 20:20, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Found it; for the record it's Csports.net. --Sum0 09:46, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Ask-a-question web sites

I know you can ask questions here on Wikipedia but would like to know if there any web sites that let you ask questions and then get answered. I tried searching on Google but it came up with FAQs for different issues. Any help? -- Thorpe ^talk 20:36, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

You could try asking on the Straight Dope forums (or ask Cecil directly). --Sum0 20:53, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

"Goolge Answers" is a service where you pay to have your question answered. I think that Yahoo has a free question answering thingy. ike9898 23:39, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Experts-exchange is a good site for asking IT-related questions. I haven't been there in a long time but it used to be a decent resource. Rhobite 23:51, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

If you don't mind what seems to me like a spectacularly bad signal to noise ratio, you might have a look at Wondir. - RedWordSmith 07:09, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

It's not the Web, but there's always Usenet and mailing lists. — mendel ☎ 21:32, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

• Go to the MadSci Network if your question is scientific or technological in nature. Denni☯ 02:48, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

What do chickens eat?

It's impossible to resist answering "chickenfeed". However, we will generously point out that chickenfeed was traditionally grain (like bird seed). We suspect that some sort of industrial byproducts whose ingredients we really don't want to know have replaced chickenfeed in large poultry factory farms. alteripse 22:48, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

In modern agriculture chicken feed may be made from many ingredients, usually formulated to provide the chicken with the nutrients it needs for rapid growth, a the lowest price. I'm no expert, but I think some common ingredents would be corn grits, soybean flakes, and meat & bone meal. ike9898 23:36, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

According to the tags from the bags of chicken feed that we recently bought, Grain products, processed grain by-products, plant protein products, calcium carbonate, monocalcium phosphate, salt DL-Methionine, choline chloride, and about 20-30 more things that I can't really pronounce. If you want to know more you could find a feed store in your area maybe. Also the companies that sell chicken feed probably have the ingredients on their web sites. Dismas|^(talk) 11:59, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Chickens are omivores, they'll eat pretty much anyting. We keep a few chickens in our garden, and they are not fuzzy eaters. Leftover dinner, week old bread, fallen fruits, weeds and regular grass, insects and worms, they'll gobble it all down. Chickenfeed too naturaly. --Sherool 15:32, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Best season to start a new lawn from seed

What is the best time of year to start a new lawn from seed? (I live outside of Philadelphia, PA). Would it die in the winter if I planted the seeds in the fall? ike9898 23:32, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

I planted a big-ish patch in April, and now it's indistinguishable from the grass surrounding it (after several months of looking like a bad hair transplant). If your ground is at all impacted, it's probably a good idea to give it a good forking first. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:47, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Fall is an excellent time to start a lawn (in the Northeast) because:

1. No weed seeds are trying to establish during the fall season,
2. The ground is warmer than springtime and thus encourages faster germination of the grass seed,
3. Cooler air temperature results in less evaporation (easier to irrigate),
4. Springtime "mud" season is more likely to do damage to seedlings just by walking around.
5. Seed planted by early October will have survivability through winter if it has been "winter "fertilized,
6. The Winter/Spring frost heaving will loosen the soil and promote growth of existing seedlings in springtime,

Having done both Spring and Fall lawn starts, I would definitely recommend a start in early September as optimum. Put down 50% more seed than recommended along with starter fertilizer and granular lime. Good luck is also an important ingredient along with plenty of water for the first few weeks. --hydnjo talk 03:57, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

gis attribute

What exactly would you like to know about GIS attributes? Which software package are you using? What feature(s) are the attributes relating to? etc. Please be as specific as possible in order to help us help you. Thryduulf 21:51, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Miss Vero's Supermela

Anyone know to what this refers? May come from the period 1915 to 1945. Term/phrase appears in recollections, written in 1972, from an aunt born in 1899, deceased in 1992.

Generally, the reference desk struggles a bit with this sort of question. If you can supply some other context - for instance, where your aunt lived, and in what context the reference appears, it may help. --Robert Merkel 14:17, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

N.Y. Times

Who owns the n.y. Times

See [18]--inks 00:47, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

births in the 1950s

(preceding unsigned comment by 68.113.141.22 (talk · contribs) 02:03, 2 October 2005)

If you want a general list of people born in the 1950s, see Category:1950s births. If you're looking for information on general demographic trends, you might read Post-World War II baby boom. It would help if you were to phrase your question as a question so the people who answer it can figure out what exactly you want to know. —Charles P. (Mirv) 02:22, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

You could also try 1950#Births through 1959#Births --Borbrav 02:28, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Drowning

How exactly does drowning kill you? Why can't the body take the oxygen from the water?

If you try to breathe water the water will fill your lungs causing them to explode in a gorey mess. If they could take out the oxygen, what will the lungs do with the hydrogen? Make a bomb? Not likely.

I think a more rational answer is that the concentration of (dissolved) oxygen in the water is too low for our lungs to process. I remember reading years ago that fish die out of water due to a similar problem -- it's not that they can't breathe the air but rather that their gills collapse, leaving them with insufficient tissue surface area to get enough oxygen. Regardless, bombs and hydrogen have nothing to do with the answer. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 06:39, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

There's an article on Liquid-breathing which discusses liquids with dissolved oxygen. Perfluorocarbon is used, rather than water. Ojw 13:46, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

If you're meaning taking out the oxygen from the water in terms of 2H₂O->2H₂+O₂, then the problem is in that it would require large amounts of energy for the organism to perform this reaction, more than what is derived from oxidising food. --Borbrav 22:55, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Chicago Cubs/Chicago White Sox Question

Which mediocre player did the Sox trade to the Cubs who then went on to be a huge success?

• You may be thinking of Sammy Sosa. --Metropolitan90 04:33, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Body swapping

Is it actually possible to swap bodies with someone? By like brain transplant or some magical way? And would anyone be interested in writing a list of all the places this cliched plot point has happened?

We have an article on Whole-body transplants that may be of interest. While there are major technological hurdles to overcome and such an operation is not possible today, it may be possible in the future. One major hurdle to overcome is connecting the brain to the new body (consider the difficulties experience by those with a severed spine - almost always permanent paralysis). Robert J. White once connected the brain of a dog to the body and circulatory system of another dog (see the first external link in that article, and also note what it says about the monkey head transplants). Hope that helps. - RedWordSmith 06:56, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

website of satirical newspaper

This is bugging me soo much!! There's a website for a newspaper (I think it's a real life one) that's basically a satire of old-fashioned turn of the century papers. It had ridiculous patents (for some reason the only one I can remember is a Dead Crow in a Box? or something) and advice, I think? And strange rambling editorial columns from a sailor. It has a really generic name, like the Weekly or something. I lost the URL before, and found it, and now I've lost it again. D'oh!

Please help me, I'm soo frazzled from constant googling :) Thanks!

I'm not completely sure this is the right answer to your question, but you might like the historical issues of The Onion. David Sneek 07:53, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

The obvious guess would be Private Eye, but try some of the listings at Satire and Category:Satirical magazines. Ojw 13:39, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

I think the Framley examiner had some content that wasm made to look as if it was turn of the century. --bodnotbod 23:08, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Gracanica link

Hi,

Not a complaint, just a warning - the page about Serb enclaves in Kosovo links to a page about Gracanica in Bosnia (rather than Gracanica in Kosovo).

Cheers.

Keep up the good work,

Sam

Thanks, I changed it. David Sneek 09:54, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Time changes in Nigeria

Hi,

I'm trying to find out if there has ever been a time change in Nigeria over the last 50years. By time change I mean a change in the local clock setting (not related to day light savings....which nigeria does not have anyway. Would anyone be able to help me please?

Thanks

Dils

According to Nigeria's entry in the "africa" file which is part of the timezone data incorporated into most unix-like operating systems (the most recent version is available from ftp://elsie.nci.nih.gov/pub/tzdata2005m.tar.gz), there have been no changes since September 1919 (when Lagos switched from local mean time to the present UTC+01:00 time zone). —AlanBarrett 16:14, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

How do you get rid of a Bees Hive in your home?

We have a small gap that went un noticed and a colony of bees made a nest. Should i wait for the cold weather to set in before I attempt to exterminate? I was told that they die the next season.68.170.197.142 12:52, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

It'd probably be safest to hire an exterminator. — ceejayoz ^★ 13:52, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

They will come back next year as the queen will hibernate and keep a group or dormant eggs with her. It will be easier to remove in the winter because of decreased activity though. Purpose built bee/wasp removal systems sold at hardware stores do a good job of killing enough bees that you can safely remove the nest without getting stung. Also, make sure that these are indeed bees and not Yellowjackets or Hornets as these will stay alive year-round and just huddle together for warmth. Removing one of these nests is very dangerous. -Drdisque 22:42, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

ranking in the british police

ranking in the british police

• UK police ranks has some useful information. --Commander Keane 14:30, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

indian defence

If you're meaning India's national defence system, try Military of India --Borbrav 22:40, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

operations by indian defence

Describe and evaluate three models of abnormality

Please be more specific. Do you mean the Queen's Indian Defence, the King's Indian Defence, the Nimzo-Indian Defence or perhaps the Bogo-Indian Defence? David Sneek 16:06, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

BBC TV Show

Does anyone now what the latin phrase at the beginning of the 90's childrens show Aquila was? It was repeated in the intro every episode --82.44.216.80 15:29, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

My latin is not too good, but it was something like 'Subat aterum Aquila Volat' or 'Fly with the wings of an eagle'. If anyone can translate that a bit better, please do. smurrayinchester 09:12, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Actually, I also have a question about Aquila. I remember in the finale the boys discovered the battle cruiser in space, and immedietly afterwards, followed an advert for another (third?) series. However, I never saw or heard of this again. Was there ever a third series shown.smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 08:48, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Getting rid of Insects

How do you get rid of Box Elder Bugs?

Acording to this you basicaly have to hunt then down with a vacum cleaner, failing that call a professional exterminator. Aparently the best cause of action is to think prevention. Spray various bug repellants around obvious entryways and seal cracks and such before they enter. Good luck. --Sherool 15:13, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Components of Business Environment

What are the components of business environment?

Environmental Analysis

What is the concept and purpose of environmental analysis? What are the techniques of environmental analysis?

Buffalo, N.Y. - snow/weather?

Does one part of Buffalo, N.Y. get more snow than another area? My daughter is moving to the area and I would like to know which side has the least snow fall. Thanks.

Kat

Due to the Lake effect the western part of the area will see a little more snow than the eastern part, but the entire region recieves LOTS of snow and I do not suggest moving there if she is not comfortable with this. -Drdisque 22:37, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Actually, Buffalo doesn't get as much snow as you would think. I lived south of Syracuse for the better half of 6 yeas before going to school in Alabama, then BACK to Buffalo for the last two years, and it's more artic winds and cold weather than snow. We have our crazy storms (like most of the eastern north states), but on average, about 100-120 inches, with 50-60" of that coming in December and January. The reason why Buffalo get's less than let's say Fabius, New York or Tully, NY (belt way) or even Oswego for that matter, is because we are BETWEEN the lakes vs. right on the edge like Rochester, NY and the other towns I mentioned get the drift snow bands that come over the lakes that carry across the area.

The winds come from a slight SE direction from the Ontraio region across the lakes and the snow travels NORTH and SOUTH of Buffalo, but rarely does it dump directly on the city itself. Buffalo, NY will receive less snow by probably about a third than Amherst, NY (biggest town outside of Buffalo - 20m drive) or towns south of here. Please mind, that sometimes you just can't avoid the snow, and about twice a year we get a 2 day storm that blows 10-14" but the road crews are amazingly good at cleaning the roads, and as they say in Buffalo, "If you don't like the weather, then wait a minute." Excuse the crazy storm that you saw on October 13, 2006. Fluke and has never happened here before like that and so early.

Amateur musican performing for tips.

I am considering setting out on the street corners and byways where I live and playing my guitar and singing songs that I've learned from various mediums and "passing the hat" for tips. Is this legal? I'm not really destitute or anything by any stretch of the imagination nor am I in a needy financial position. But just wondering if anyone out there could offer some insight that could possibly save me some legal greif later on?

Many cities require a street performer's licence. Also the cops may complain if they feel a crowd who have assembled to watch you are causing an obstruction. Some places have formal or informal arrangements for the distribution of busking slots; it's not impossible that someone else will show up and complain that you're in what he feels is his spot. You should probably check the bylaws of the city in which you plan to play, and maybe ask in a local music shop (who may know the ropes). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:13, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Public enterprise in India

What is public enterprise? Discuss the role played by public enterprise for the economic development of India.

Why not start out by reading the articles on public corporation and India and then research your homework questions from there? As stated at the top of the page, we don't do your homework for you. Dismas|^(talk) 21:08, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

See also Economy of India, a recent featured article.--Pharos 16:00, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Indian Economic Planning

What are the features of Indian Economic Planning? What are the objectives of planning in India? What suggestions would you make to have better plans?

See the answer directly above this question. Dismas|^(talk) 21:13, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

• I would start at the Economy of India article and start from there. Capitalistroadster 04:50, 4 October 2005 (UTC)
• You can go on regular google (not the news) and search for Newspapers ... there are lots of sites with lists of newspapers, organized by nation, and topic, so you can get to newspapers and journals in some nation, aimed at a particular audience, in a particular language ... such as the publications for the people in India who do the topic you are researching.
• You might also do a google search for Research places, and be prepared to spend oodles of money. AlMac|^(talk) 21:33, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

nutrition

What are the nutritional values of peppermint tea?

None, in a strict sense. There's zero calories and zero other "nutrients", as such. However, there are trace amounts of various chemicals, such as caffiene, which have some effect on the body. Of course, if you add milk or sugar, they retain their nutritional content when placed in the tea. --Robert Merkel 04:11, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Scanners

is a scanner a input or output device

Input, for more info, please see the article on Image scanners. Dismas|^(talk) 21:16, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

And contrast category:input devices with category:output devices. --bodnotbod 23:14, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Mexico's imports

Try Economy of Mexico --Borbrav 22:37, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

death on your birthday

What is the term for someone who dies on the same date they were born, only different year? Deceased.

Ha! Copying this to BJAODN :)--inks^T 22:41, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

What region Kentucky is in

Is Kentucky in the South or the Midwest?

Yes. It's sometimes classed as Midwestern, and it's sometimes classed as Southern. The culture is more Southern, and I think that's where most people conceptualize it. - Nunh-huh 22:16, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

It had trouble making up its mind in the Civil War too. Most midwesterners think of it as more southern culturally, and I suspect so most kentuckians, but the division is more a cultural gradient than a clear boundary. alteripse 22:34, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Year the late 1980s began

What year did the late 1980s begin?

A phrase like that is used precisely to avoid questions like yours. This is not a snotty answer but an accurate one. If the user of the phrase could have fixed an exact boundary time, he probably wouldn't have chosen this imprecise phrase. To me late 80s suggests 85, 86, or 87, running to 88, 89, or 90 but the edges are fuzzy. I am guessing you either are desperately trying to salvage a losing argument, have Asperger syndrome, or are King Nitpicker. Want to share? alteripse 00:34, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Hey, I sometimes wonder the same thing and I'm not arguing, an aspie or a nitpicker. D: ♥purplefeltangel ^(talk) ♥ ^(contribs) 22:19, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Who sang the song in the movie, itself?

WHO actually sang the song 'Three Coins in the Fountain' in the movie "Three Coins in the Fountain"?

• Frank Sinatra. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 02:58, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

DVD boxes

For what reasons, other than the fact that people might get confused, are DVD cases not the same size and shape of CD cases

They are the same hight and width (but not depth) as a VHS video cassete box, so I have always assumed that it is to enable shops to use their existing shelving, to allow the same cover art to be used, etc. Thryduulf 07:47, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

what is the fastest a man can run in miles per hour

Your question is a bit vague. The fastest average speed for a race (at any distance) recorded is Michael Johnson's 200 metre world record, which he completed in 19.32 seconds. If you do the maths, that works out to a speed of 23.23 mph. However, his peak speed was obviously somewhat higher because he had to accelerate from rest. Over longer distances, of course, the average speed that a human can maintain is considerably reduced. The current world marathon record, at 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 55 seconds for a 42.195 kilometre course, gives an average speed of 12.52 mph. Average people are obviously considerably slower than these world record times. --Robert Merkel 04:06, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Credit Cards

What do Credit Cards companies do to an outstanding balance of a dead individual? Does death need to be proven?

Such a balance would probably be treated like any other debt; i.e., it would be paid out of the estate during probate. Your local law may differ. You should probably ask an estate lawyer; http://lawyers.com may help you find one. —Charles P. (Mirv) 02:48, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

As for proof, I'm fairly suredeath would need to be proven. And i'm even more certain that if you are in debt and write to the company saying "I'm dead" in order to try and get out of it, the strategy will be ineffective. --bodnotbod 23:32, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

What is the word with a lot of meaning?

The word MEANING is completely full from beginning to end with meaning. --hydnjo talk 05:53, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Maybe you mean "set", which supposedly has more meanings than any other English word.--Pharos 06:04, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Consumer Awareness

Hi! I need to know

1. What is consumer awareness? 2. What are the different forms of consumer exploitation? 3. What is the role of producers in consumer awareness?

--61.17.180.28 07:18, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Please read the box at the top of this page. We will not do your homework for you. Thryduulf 07:43, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

The U.S. Deficit Problem

I keep reading about deficit spending in the U.S. and how the recent relief efforts from Hurricaine Katrina and the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are being financed from borrowed money.

With the U.S. compounding nearly a 1/3rd of a trillion dollar debt every year, my question is:...

Why isn't more people in the US, and in the world, voicing more concern over the deficit spending in the United States? It just does not make sense.

Thank you

--155.85.58.253 09:17, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

We are, it's just that no-one is listening :)

No, seriously, just like with any other contentious issue, there are differing points of view about how "bad" excessive deficit spending is. Also, ask a random person on the street about the national deficit, and they'll probably just look at you blankly - it's a somewhat complicated topic, so it's less likely that you will get a strong public response either way, because most people do not understand the full issue (I certainly don't! :)). Plus, it's not something that affects "ordinary" people directly in the way that, say, higher taxes would - so they don't notice and don't care. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 11:08, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Who exactly is lending money to the US, anyway? It's not me, but I imagine whoever is would be the ones who would have the most legitimate complaints. Garrett Albright 14:14, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Japan and China have lent a great deal of this money (by buying US government securities). They're not at all unhappy about that, as these are interest bearing loans. According to this article Japan (I don't know of that means the reserve bank of Japan, or the whole Japanese public and private investment community) owns 700 billion US dollars of government securities, and China another 200 Billion dollars. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 14:29, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

And what happens when Japan and China decide that US is owing them too much already, and refuse to loan more? Dollar plunges? --rdnk 21:57, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Also, consider that any time the government issues Treasury bonds they are in effect getting a loan from the buyers of the bonds. --WhiteDragon 17:05, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

For one expert perspective of the issue, you could have a look through Brad DeLong's blog. He's an economist at Berkeley, and he's posted quite a lot on the topic. Please note that he is a trenchant critic of the Bush administration, but if you're a Bush loyalist just skip past that and look for specifically US debt-related stuff. --Robert Merkel 22:35, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

"Deadline" by Millenium Interactive

I've tried to look for a manual for this anti-terrorist SWAT game from the DOS era, but anything I find refers to a adventure game instead of the simulation I'm playing. I guess that's what happens with overly common names. Has anyone got an idea where to get a manual? It's abandonware... - 131.211.210.17 09:18, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Searching GameFAQs for Deadline returns two PC games [19], but they both seem to be text-based adventure games. Is it possible that this game was published under a different title in different parts of the world a la Resident Evil/Biohazard? Garrett Albright 14:11, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

• Maybe, but if that's the case I'm not aware of it. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:15, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Sex Determination

Is there specific advive/steps to take when seeking for a male child?

Sperm carrying the Y chromosome are very slightly smaller, and some say weaker, than those carrying an X chromosome. With a centrifuge, you can get your chances up to about 80%. There are some suggestions out there [20] regarding timing of intercourse, bathing, etc., to take advantage of the supposed strength and speed difference, but there's not much clinical evidence out there that any of them work. You can also see our not-very-complete article on sex selection. moink 11:24, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

• Generally speaking, adoption is a lot easier. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:54, 3 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Touchè! ☢ Kieff | Talk 14:09, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

And of course the Asian approach is to keep trying while aborting females. I know I will be lambasted for the pejorative generalization but there is some truth unfortunately. alteripse 16:03, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

persons who survive after being shot

Dear Sirs Is there any information on persons who have survived after being shot multiple times? I have a friend who was shot ten times last week and thankfully has survived.

My name is Verona Michael and my e-mail adress in (removed)

I shall be grateful if you will respond.

--205.214.216.87 12:24, 3 October 2005 (UTC)--205.214.216.87 12:24, 3 October 2005 (UTC)Verona Michael

Besides having the nickname "Lucky" for the rest of their lives, I don't know what other information there is. I've removed the e-mail address per the notice at the top of the page. Dismas|^(talk) 12:31, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

• I've seen an article about someone who survived multiple hits by lightening, but other than that I haven't seen anything similar. Unfortunately, people who die are much more likely to get attention. - 131.211.210.14 13:11, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

• He didn't survive the gunshot. Ojw 21:37, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Many people have survived multiple gunshot wounds both at a single time and in separate instances. Pick up any World War II memoir or soldier-level history, for example, and you'll find plenty of cases. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 14:33, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

What is the largest single page on Wikipedia?

• Wikipedia:Featured_pictures_visible probably qualifies as the longest. - 131.211.210.14 13:13, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Sorry. I meant to say, an article; namely, something that's not a category or list, and also doesn't have Wikipedia: in front of it.

A list of the longest entries in the article namespace is available at Special:Longpages. --Allen3 ^talk 13:55, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Those are all lists. For a long time, I'm fairly sure Anarchism was the longest real article. I'm not certain if this is still the case.--Pharos 15:56, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

It would appear that First English Civil War is the longest "real" article. --Maxamegalon2000 20:42, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps worth noting that very long pages often get split into multiple separate pages as we're encouraged to avoid excessively long articles. --bodnotbod 23:36, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Comparison of layout engines (DOM) seems to be the (most bytes) longest article. --hydnjo talk 21:24, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Generally speaking, why do doctors have such bad handwriting?

Finally, a question in a specialist area of mine! There's no single reason. One is that they are very busy (or maintain they are), so will write as quickly as possible, to save time. Another (less frequently mentioned nowadays) is that they don't like their patients actually being able to read what they've been prescribed, and so will make the docket as indecipherable as possible. A third is that doctors, more than any other group of workers, are prone to intellectual elitism (ever see a gang of junior doctors sashaying along with their stethoscopes flung raffishly around their necks? They're all playing the music from Reservoir Dogs in their heads)), and like to have their own private 'code' that only their fellow doctors can decipher. Proto t c 13:35, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Also, many of the terms on a prescription are in latin and will not be understood by the average layman. SeanMack 13:38, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Latin or not, their handwriting is still awful.  ;) I don't know the law regarding this in the US, but it's now against GMC policy in the UK to use all but the most common latin abbrevations on prescriptions. Proto t c 14:21, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

There is a very simple answer. You try handwriting and signing 50-100 documents a day and see what happens to your legibility. alteripse 16:01, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

I think it's also just a general problem; most people don't realize how hard it is for other people to read their handwriting. Take a look at hand-addressed envelopes in the mail. I'm sometimes astounded that the PO ever figures out how to deliver them! Elf | Talk 23:26, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

"Chevrolet Apollo"

If anyone is familiar with Chevrolet brand cars, please see Chevrolet Apollo and Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Chevrolet Apollo. -- Curps 12:49, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Dog Grooming IE: Proper Nail Trimming method

I'm guessing that you're looking for info on how to trim the nails? You can ask your vet or dog groomer to show you how to do it at home. It's fairly easy. Just don't cut into the quick. Dismas|^(talk) 13:29, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Illuminati Diamond

The illuminati diamond is suppose to be an ambigram of the words, Earth, Air, Fire and Water in the shape if a diamond. Does anyone know what this symbol means and where it came from?

September 29,1949

How happened on September 29,1949?

Try looking on the articles for September 29 or 1949. I found "First Plenary Session of the National People's Congress approves design for the Flag of the People's Republic of China.". Also "Mrs. Iva Toguri D'Aquino is found guilty of broadcasting for Japan as "Tokyo Rose" during World War II.".--84.51.149.80 16:56, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Credit debt

Do credit card companies ever "Forgive" a debt?

The word "forgive" doesn't exist in the corporate lexicon. All debts are either recovered, unrecovered, or cancelled for the sake of expedience. 24.19.88.55 11:50, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Hah! Perhaps if the person has no family and dies. ☢ Kieff | Talk 17:55, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Well there is personal bankrupcy. I'm not sure about the spesific requirements and it probably varies from country to country. That's a last resort though as it basicaly involve you selling off everyting you own and pay as much as the debt as possible in exchange for having the rest of it deleted (there are some quarantenes and stuff too I believe). Best approach: Stick to a debit card. --Sherool 19:19, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Creditors can't go after family members unless they co-sign your agreement. If someone with credit card debt dies, the debt gets paid out of the estate. Any excess debt is written off - family members do not have to pay it (although they won't receive any inheritance). The answer to your question is yes, creditors and collection agencies will settle your debt for less than the amount you owe. They won't forgive the entire debt, of course. And it will ruin your credit. Talk to a lawyer or an accountant about this - often it's a better option than filing for bankruptcy. Rhobite 19:31, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

If you're in the UK you can get good advice from Debtline. A credit card company may consider allowing you to "pay off" the debt by accepting a smaller amount than is owed if you pay it off in one go. They may agree to stop charging you interest on the loan if you have suffered a loss of income or other difficult circumstance. --bodnotbod 23:44, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Bananas

Who is the leading Asian producer of bananas?

According to 2004 FAO statistics, the answer is India, by quite a large margin.

• Faostat query for 2004 banana production in Asian countries
• Create your own query

— Pekinensis 19:33, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Ranks in the UN

In the article of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights it talks about ranks of sec-gens. I can see the following, throughout WP: Sec-Gen, Deputy Sec-Gen (actually on the UN website: not on WP), Under Sec-Gen, Assistant Sec-Gen. Are there any more?--84.51.149.80 16:45, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

"Rank" is perhaps an inappropriate term; the United Nations has titles within its beaurocracy, but not a formally defined rank system like a military uses. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 17:27, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

The article does say rank.--84.51.149.80 17:29, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

I don't dispute that; I'm saying they're not fixed titles. You could easily have a Deputy Assistant to the Under SecGen or some such, so there's no real "these are all the possible ranks" answer. Contrast that with the normal usage of rank (military), where (for example, in the U.S. Army) the progression runs, without variance, from Major to Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel, without someone being an Undercolonel or a Deputy Major. See my point? — Lomn | Talk / RfC 20:18, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

What is Insider Trading? What are its types and Regulations?

see the subject----219.64.179.19 17:46, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

See Insider trading. Dismas|^(talk) 18:00, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

what do people yell when they run with the bulls

You mean during the el encierro festival commonly asosiated with Pamplona? Acording to the article it's "aiba! aiba!". Didn't find a translation, but I would guess something like "Get out of the way!" :P

• I'm real curious to hear the answer to this. It appears to be the local dialect (the word shows up a lot in Bilbao contexts); if I were guessing, I'd guess it was a form of arriba. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 20:50, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Yes, my guess would be "Arriba," which means "up" or, in this context, "faster." It's also often used by one Speedy Gonzales. Garrett Albright 16:37, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

2 Windows Xp os'

OK, I'm sure the title could have been a little more descriptive, but... here's my situation:

I have 2 XP's loaded on my hd for some reason, at start-up i get the screen to select which one to boot from, one works, the other doesn't. How to I get rid of the one that will not boot? I want to get it of my hard drive all together, how would I go about doing that?? john

In your C:\ folder (asuming a default install) there is a hidden file called boot.ini. You most likely can't see it because Windows XP will hide hidden files by default (logicaly enough), to show hidden files go to "Tools" and pick "Folder options" in a explorer window. Then pick the "View" tab. Find and uncheck the options to "hide protected OS files" and "hide hidden files" (the names might not match exactly I have a Norwegian version of Windows, but you should be eable to find your way). You might also be eable to just type in "boot.ini" in the open file dialog. Once you have opened boot.ini in Notepad for example you can edit it to remove the extra Windows, they should appear in the order they do on the boot screen. Alternatively try renaming one of them, reboot and see wich one is the one that works, then remove the other one. Just be carefull though, if you mess up that file Windows might not boot at all (make a boot disk first and backup the file before you change anyting). --Sherool 22:02, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Mike Myers and Saturday night live

What did Mike Myers do to get his citizenship revoked, or was that just a joke, as stated on Saturday night Live on October 1?

Joke. What he did was stand by stunned while Kanye West made comments critical of the government during the live television fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Rmhermen 22:22, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

And according to our article on Mike Myers (actor), he is a British citizen, not a U.S. or Canadian one. Rmhermen 22:37, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Um, no. "...Myers has British as well as Canadian citizenship" was added only today but even before that the article said that he was born in Canada; he would thus be a Canadian citizen unless he were to take the rare (and rarely useful) step of renouncing it. There is no indication that he's sought or received U.S. citizenship; I take the revocation comment as being a joke referring to Kanye West, not himself. Sharkford 20:31, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Am I correct in thinking that Brits are subjects, not citizens? User:Zoe|^(talk) 03:15, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Not since 1948, generally. See British citizenship; the status of British subject continued to exist after that date at least for some people, but "British citizen" is a legally recognized status. --Metropolitan90 03:40, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

define sugar alcohol

See Sugar alcohol. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 20:32, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Nose Bridge

I was wondering why east asians have a low nose bridge.

You might better ask why Europeans and West Asians have a more prominent nose bridge. The explanation I heard many years ago was that peoples living in dry climates developed longer noses to better humidify inspired air but larger noses had no advantage in more humid climates. However, note that this is a perfect example of a plausible but unprovable just-so story. alteripse 00:50, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

The Bible is the best selling book of all; which is the second(not rlated to it )

(preceding unsigned comment by 64.237.164.90 (talk · contribs) 02:16, 4 October 2005)

Probably the Qur'an, but is that "related to" the Bible? The Guinness Book of Records is the best-selling copyrighted book; that may be what you were thinking of. Other contenders, according to [21], are Gone with the Wind and Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung. —Charles P. (Mirv) 03:37, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

1. The Bible
2. Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Little Red Book)
3. American Spelling Book, by Noah Webster
4. The Guinness Book of Records
5. The McGuffey Readers, by William Holmes McGuffey
6. A Message to Garcia, by Elbert Hubbard
7. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, by Dr. Benjamin Spock
8. World Almanac
9. The Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann
10. In His Steps: "What Would Jesus Do?", by Rev. Charles Monroe Sheldon

Ash, Russell. 1997. The Top 10 of Everything. New York: DK Publishing. —Wayward 03:44, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

If the McGuffy readers,Guinness and the World Almanac make the list, why not the Yellow Pages? Surely there have been more Yellow Pages printed than Valley of the dolls.Brian Schlosser42 17:23, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

It's a question of whether you coulnt different editions. Each district has its own yellow pages, and they are of course completely different. Should they count as one book? No particular version of YP (i.e. for a particular district and a particular year) would come anywhere near making the list above. DJ Clayworth 18:31, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

That's my point. The Guinness Book of World Records, the World Almanac and ther Mcguffey Readers all are multi-edition works. No one edition of any of those three books would make the list by itself. Brian Schlosser42 14:51, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Yellow Pages in the UK aren't usually sold - they're distributed for free, so would not be bestselling. --bodnotbod 23:49, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

what is VC in a University?

VC stands for Vice-Chancellor in Universities. But some VCs become "Virus Chancellor" like virus in a computer, when they start to create problems for the entire system of academics and administration. Especially when a particular VC is not interested in the standard of academics but interested only in the trading of Degrees and diplomas, there a Virus Chancellor is born. The recent example is the VC of Hidayatullah National Law University at Raipur.Whereever there is money,VC will be there. He wants only percentage. nothing more.

• Our question on Vice-Chancellor answers your question. However, you seem to be making a statement about the Vice-Chancellor of the above university rather than asking or answering a question. If you are answering, please don't forget the instructions about the Reference Desk not being a soapbox.Capitalistroadster 04:23, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Extreme sports

Can boxing and rugby be considered as Extreme sports?

• Not according to our Extreme sport article. It notes in particular that rugby is not considered to be an extreme sport both because of its traditionalist reputation and because it is a Team sport. Capitalistroadster 05:09, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Sale of water

Why don't bottled water companies sell Canned water along with bottled water?

• Because the cans would cause the water to taste funny, which isn't good for sales. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:08, 4 October 2005 (UTC)
  • They do in France, but sales are low. The 330 mL size of a standard can is smaller than the usual bottle sizes (500 mL miniumum), and the packaging is more expensive and heavier (for a product whose main costs are transport and marketing). Physchim62 09:42, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

siria singh kahalsa

i am searching for siria singh, and i have been informed that he is at wikipedia: can you get a message to him? susan sterling63.245.73.22 04:38, 4 October 2005 (UTC) panajachel, guatemala63.245.73.22 04:38, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Unless you know what username he is using, then this is not possible. A quick search suggests he is not using any obvious combination of his names, at least on the English Wikipedia.

If you know what his username is then you can go to the [[user talk:<username>]] page, and leave him a message there. Alternatively if he has entered an email addres in his preferences and accepts email from other users (both of these are optional) then there will be a link called "email this user" in the toolbox to the left of that page that you can use.

Neither of these methods are guaranteed to get a message to him though. Thryduulf 08:14, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

joe budden track

What track did joe budden appear in for the rap artist jin or what track did he place his own verse in of rap artist jin lyric song on a mixtape? If mixtape, what mixtape was it?

• Our Joe Budden article says that he has worked with Jin albeit with little detail. Capitalistroadster 05:14, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

American sports coach salaries

The best paid football (soccer) manager in the world is Jose Mourinho of Chelsea F.C, who is paid £5 million ($8.8 million) a year plus bonuses. How does this compare with the highest paid coaches in American sports?

I believe Larry Brown is the highest-paid coach in the U.S. His 5-year contract is reportedly worth between $50 and $60 million. —Wayward 08:48, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

File Naming Convention for an Office Environment?

I am in search of examples of file naming conventions for an Architectural and Engineering office environment.

More specifically, I currently in the process of implementing a new document storage database to store new and existing electronic files and need to develop a clear and concise file naming system using hierarchical groupings of categories and subcategories. These categories and subcategories are only two of several attributes being used within the database to describe each document and are only intended to create general document classifications for search and retrieval.

Following are a few examples of categories and subcategories to help better understand the type of naming convention I am considering:

Contracts: lump sum, T&M, GMP, change order, change request, etc. Purchasing: work order, purchase requisition, purchase order, invoice, bid, etc. Funding/Budgets: estimate, budget, funding request, etc. Drawing: elevation, floor plan, section, detail, etc.

Any assistance or ideas would be greatly appreciated. --131.215.151.157 05:42, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Look at ISO 9000, which basically specifies that filenames should be as unintelligable as possible (no, seriously). For example, Invoices might be stored in /550/209/100/30.doc. Put a Microsoft Word document in each folder to explain what each numbered item is, instead of using meaningful file names. Ojw 22:19, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

I am a programmer. I have created hundreds of thousands of programs ... each one needs a name, which I assign when I create them. There are several rules of thumb that I use when assigning names:

1. At some point a human being needs to key in identity of some computer object that they need to access ... I want them to be able to key in a few characters, instead of an extremely long string.
2. As we organize objects, we want to have meaningful names.
   1. to satisfy the first 2 points, I very heavily develop a list of abbreviations and acronyms common to the application, that can be strung together, then a person can search directory of computer objects to find all of those which share those common naming ingredients
3. There is a security dimension ... let's suppose PAY is the abbreviation for Payroll ... we can structure the security to limit the people who can access computer objects in which PAY is part of the naming.
   1. For example, I just started creating a bunch of programs that list stuff that have to do with the European manufacturing standard Restriction of Hazardous Materials so I am using ROHS as part of the name of all of those programs. The first program I wrote, I called ROHSVENIT meaning list the items, from what vendors, that we purchase, that need to be ROHS compliant.
      1. This name meets the 3 criteria I identified above ... not much to key in to get the report, is composed of abbreviations familiar to anyone in the enterprise, and works with the security if we want to restrict who may access this information.

AlMac|^(talk) 15:52, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Dasani

In Britain, sales of the bottled water Dasani failed after it turned out to be over-priced carcinogenic tap-water. Is it the same in other countries. If so, do people know and why do they buy it?smurrayinchester 09:16, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Penn & Teller devoted one episode of their television series Bullshit! to bottled water. In it they said that a third of the bottled waters on the market failed to meet the EPA's standards for safe drinking water. The EPA is in charge, in the U.S. of course, of determining if tap water is safe for the public to drink. They also said that there are hundreds of EPA inspectors whose job it is to test tap water. The FDA, whose job is to inspect food (which is the category bottled water falls under), has less than one person to test all the drinking waters that are sold in the U.S. I don't know where they got their info for that though. Dismas|^(talk) 09:34, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

There is the convenience of having it chilled and in a bottle. There are also areas of the world where the ta[ water quality is considerably below Western standards; in that case drinking bottled water can actually make sense. --Robert Merkel 11:52, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

I have no idea where Coca-Cola's Dasani and Pepsi's Aquafina come from, but I see them a lot. That's due to the marketing power of Coke and Pepsi. If Coke has an exclusive contract with a chain of fast-food places, they'll sell Dasani-brand bottled water. A lot of people will wind up with a bottle of Dasani because their sandwich meal deal came with a drink, and they didn't want soda. A Coke vending machine will have Dasani in it, not Brand X bottled water. Dasani and Aquafina also get primo shelf space at the store thanks to Coke and Pepsi. -- Mwalcoff 03:02, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Price of aluminum: historical data

Does anyone know where I can get some data over the last, oh, 10, 20, or 50 years on the price to large manufacturers of aluminum? Preferably, the source would be free, and accesible quickly. Thanks. moink 09:37, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

• I'd suggest Google Answers but you would have to pay. Capitalistroadster 09:53, 4 October 2005 (UTC)
  • The London Metal Exchange will sell you the data for an outrageous price (GBP 40 per year of data), maybe you could try asking the Aluminium Association. Physchim62 10:48, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Wow, they really are pricey! I didn't think this information would be this hard to get, or hoarded. I mean, don't they announce the price of metals on the TV every night (well... maybe not aluminum, but still...). I am not paying thousands of pounds for a class project. moink 11:14, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

I wrote to the aluminium organization's statistical dude. I doubt he'll be helpful though, so I'm still looking for sources if anyone knows of any. moink 11:24, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

You didn't specify what prices in which country you mean... the first hit in a Google search for +"aluminium price" +historical is this web site listing some interesting links. One of these links goes to a USGS page, where you can get the U.S. aluminium prices from 1850 through 1998. Other links from that Google search might also help. Lupo 12:26, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Thank you! That totally rocks! That was exactly what I was looking for. I did some google searches myself, but obviously the wrong ones. moink 12:35, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Yup, it was no typo. :-) Lupo 12:47, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick tutorial on Google! I will try to translate that information into a paragraph for the aluminium article. Aluminium prices over the last thirty to forty years or so shouldn't depend too much on the country, as they are (usually) quoted before transport. Physchim62 15:03, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

What is the best method for trapping houseflies (homemade)?

How to build a house fly trap and what is the best bait for luring house flies into the trap?

See http://www.makeyourown.net/Flypaper.shtml or did you want to keep them alive? Shantavira 15:02, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

This version uses two plastic bottles, one for bait and another for the trap http://www.talcuk.org/free/html/flytrap/flytrap.htm

what is the 1992 eu package holiday directive?

It is the 'EC Directive on Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours', implemented in the UK on 01/01/1993. It lays down regulations controlling the sale and performance of holiday packages sold or offered for sale. Packages are defined as the pre-arranged combination of at least two of; transport, accommodation, or other tourist services not in addition to transport or accommodation and accounts for a significant proportion of the package; when sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price and when the service covers a period of 24 hours or more or includes overnight accommodation:

It sets down information which must be given to the customer before a contract is concluded & terms which must be included in that contract. It also places a strict liability on the organiser/retailer of the package holiday for the proper performance of the obligations under the contract, regardless of whether they are to be provided by the organiser or by another. AllanHainey 09:07, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

fun places to visit

We have articles on many of them, but if you are looking for tourist information, you might want to try Wikitravel. Warofdreams talk 13:58, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikepedia, and the other Wiki projects are fun to explore in their own right, and educational too. Stick around and Enjoy! AlMac|^(talk) 15:59, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

bank cubic metres

Bank cubic metres (bcm) is a term used in the mining industry for the volume of rock, ore, waste material etc moved by trucks, loaders, shovels and the like. I would like to know how the formula is derived and what 1 bcm actually is as a comparative measure. i.e. what is the definition/formula? Is there a website someone can direct me to for further info? I have done numerous searches on the net and come across mining pages with the terms 'bcm' and 'bank cubic metres', but nothing with an actual explanation of the term.

Thanks,Roy --202.7.190.131 14:33, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

"a traditional unit of volume in coal mining. A bank cubic meter represents the contents of a cubic meter of rock in place, before it is drilled and blasted." [22] Shimgray | talk | 15:39, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Bring Back New Orleans Commission

I want to know about the commission for re-building New Orleans. I cannot find it in the articles on New Orleans or the Hurricane. In particular, I want to know who the 17 members are, and their backgrounds. Thank you.

1. Mayor Ray Nagin ?? Is he on the commission?
2. Scott Cowen, president of Tulane University
3. Joseph C. Canizaro (multimillionaire businessman with ties to the White House)
4. Donald T. Bollinger Jr (multimillionaire businessman with ties to the White House)
5. David White (business executive often described as the mayor's closest confidant)
6. Wynton Marsalis, musician
7. Barbara Major, a black activist and executive director of St. Thomas Health Services who will serve as co-chairwoman of the commission
8. Mr. White
9. Daniel F. Packer, chief executive of the New Orleans subsidiary of the Entergy Corporation, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week;
10. Alden J. McDonald Jr., who for 33 years has run the Liberty Bank and Trust Company, which today ranks as one of the country's five largest black-owned banks.
11. Maurice L. Lagarde, a New Orleans native, who runs the Delta region for the hospital giant HCA. The commission's other co-chair.

I can't seem to find any more - anyone got any clues? Thanks!

"Mayor C. Ray Nagin has formed a special commission of business and community leaders to advise city officials on rebuilding. The Bring New Orleans Back Commission members are: Co-Chairs Mel Lagarde and Barbara Major, Boysie Bollinger, Kim Boyle,Cesar Burgos, Joe Canizaro, Doctor Scott Cowen, Archbishop Alfred Hughes, the Rev. Fred Luter, Wynton Marsalis, Alden McDonald, Dan Packer, Anthony Patton, Jimmy Reiss, Gary Solomon, Oliver Thomas and David White." [23] Shimgray | talk | 15:20, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

(If you're wondering, the trick I used was to pick a couple of unusual names in the set you gave and google for them together - there was a good chance that any list of names which included them both would turn out to be the complete list, and lo it did) Shimgray | talk | 15:23, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Thank you! I notice a lot of them don't have articles - is it better to start articles, or do short bios on the Bring Back New Orleans Commission page?

I'd suggest putting short bios for each on the Commission page, and from that it should be reasonably clear which ones deserve an article anyway, in which case you can create it and start on that article... but a one-sentence description of who each is on the main page is a good idea. Shimgray | talk | 15:32, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

OK - have done - the article is starting to shape up...

REQUEST FOR NAMES OF ALL COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD WITH THEIR STATES, DISTRICTS, CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGE

RESPECTED SIR/MADAM

I (SHAJU CHUKKIRIYAN, PROP. OF RESURRECTION LAND)WANT NAMES OF ALL COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE STATES, DISTRICTS,

CITIES IF POSSIBLE TOWNS AND VILLAGES ALSO, FOR MY WEBSITE.

I AM REQUESTING THIS BECAUSE I FAILED TO FIND IT AND IT IS VERY VERY TIME CONSUMING.FOR I AM BUSINESS MAN WITH LOTS OF PROBLEMS.

I WILL BE VERY THANKFUL TO YOU IF YOU CAN HELP ME IN THIS MATTER.

WITH WARM REGARDS. SHAJU CHUKKIRIYAN INDIA

MY USERID IS: shajuic

MY EMAIL ID IS: shajuic@hidden.com

shajuic@hidden.com

List of countries will be a good start. If you click on the countries, most will have a list of sub-divisions, some have towns and villages. I am sorry to hear about your problems, hope this helps!

1. I've obscured your email addresses for you
2. Please don't post in all caps, it's interpreted as rude shouting and it's harder to read
3. You can start at List of countries. However, a complete listing of the entire world, gratis, is likely to remain one of your problems. Perhaps you should purchase a good atlas and hire someone to transcribe it? — Lomn | Talk / RfC 15:19, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

You can see our list of cities, which includes very nearly every country in the world, but does not necessarily include every city in each country. Warofdreams talk 16:28, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

You might also try the CIA world fact book: [24] (or see wikipedia's article about the CIA World Factbook) --WhiteDragon 17:01, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

1. You need to take a class in computer literacy and/or internet navigation. You can also browse book stores for a line of books _____ this or that for Dummies ... now in reality this is not for Dummies, it is for people who want to learn the subject and are starting from scratch. It is evident from what you are asking for, and how you are asking, that you are a beginner in this infrastructure, while to survive in business, you do need to have certain essential skills, that are lacking for you, so getting a proper education is really critical.
2. Visit any public library and ask for help in locating maps and atlases. These are reference materials that have existed for centuries to provide the kind of info you asking about. They are also available on the internet but since you are a busy businessman who has not yet aquired the skills to use the internet effectively, your time can be used more productively by using dead tree (paper) copies of this information.
3. Within individual nations, contact publishers of directories, such as Thomas publishing to get at demographic and census details. If you do not know how to find such publishers, then ask your local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau for help.

AlMac|^(talk) 16:08, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

dengue fever Costa Rica

How do I contact Costa Rica's Minister of Health ... his name ... contact info. Thank you. We are planning a wedding in Nosara on November 24, 2005, but because of the reported epidemic of dengue fever we plan to cancel and will loose all deposits etc. Thank you in advance for help in contacting the correct agengy. Nancy Fromm

Not sure, but are you sure that you want the minister of health? Are you asking whether or not the dengue outbreak poses a large enough threat to cancel your wedding? If so, a travel clinic might be a more appropriate first port of call.

I'll echo the above "Minister of Health is not likely who you need to contact." You could also check the Center for Disease Control's travel bulletins. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 15:25, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

this one deals specifically with this issue.

I Ching

Yo this is "Life". i am from miami i went to famu and learn alot out of school i started to lost focus. i am a rider for the cause now, but anyway here my question how or what type of questions do dead prez ask the I ching as a black male, to help make money or any questions that dead prez might ask the i Ching. i have been using the i ching for atlease 6 months.

Sorry - could you restate the question? I'm not sure I understand.

Dead Prez uses the shi hexagram, "Leading" or "The Army", as part of their logo.

I have the I Ching, but i would like to Know what type of questions dead prez would ask the I Ching? being that they would have more experiance using the oracle.

Two issues: One - which 'dead prez'? A former President? President of what? Two - what makes you think anyone here is qualified to speculate on what questions a dead president may or may not ask the I Ching?

i am sorry my wording is not perfect i was talking about Dead Prez Stic And M-1. They are the nain reason i went out and purchase the I ching so i was just wondering what type of questions they would ask.

Dead Prez appear to be a rap duo. Their article doesn't say anything about the I Ching, and probably the only people that can answer your question are the rappers themselves, unless they've been publicly interviewed about their spiritual beliefs. I would suggest a Google search. android79 16:59, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

They do seem to have something to do with the iching though... the I Ching article says Dead Prez - an activist hip-hop group that refer to the I Ching in several of their songs. To them, the I Ching represents the change they want to bring about through revolution. The symbol in their logo is the seventh hexagram, sze, which represents an army - the "people's army".

midget pygmies

Pygmies are said to be about four feet in height (give or take). Midgets, who, from what I gather, are simply well-proportioned -- head-to-body -- dwarfs, can be as small as three feet tall. My question is whether there are any pygmies who are also midgets. Because if there were they would have to be extremely small. There may be some genetic reason why pygmies never suffer from dwarfism and hence some reason why there are no pygmy midgets. Just a thought.

Eugene Valberg [e-mail address removed]

As a note, remember that to the majority of little people, the word "midget" is considered pejorative. The prefered term is dwarf or little person.Brian Schlosser42 17:37, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

if you look at the articles you link to, you will realize that Eugene is using "midget" for "proportionate shortness" as opposed to "dwarf" for "disproportionate shortness". IANAG (geneticist) but my guess would be that pygmies do not suffer from super-shortness, because they already have what we would call "proportionate shortness" (although from their perspective, we are rather suffering from proportionate tallness). apparently they are at the center of human expansion. But I think it would be wrong to say that humans were midgets 'originally', since homo erectus stood some 180cm tall, and the pygmies could have shrunk again after human phylogenetic separation some 200kya. Since Australopithecus was only about 120cm tall, it appears that we began to grow beyond midget size some 6Mya, with occasional relapses; if the relapse is beneficient under environmental circumstances, it will of course persist, as in the case of Homo floresiensis (100cm), and in to a lesser extent among the Pygmies (150cm) 19:20, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

From a medical perspective:

• Dwarfism is extreme shortness due to abnormalities of bone structure. There are hundreds of types of this; most cause disproportionate shortness. Achondroplasia is the most easily recognized common form. The most publicized treatment that adds several inches is limb-lengthening surgery (Ilizarov procedure).
• Extreme proportional shortness is usually the result of untreated growth hormone deficiency. William Stratton/Tom Thumb had this. Although growth hormone is a single hormone made by the pituitary gland, there many causes of deficiency. Growth hormone treatment can make a several inch difference in height. Midget is no longer used in a medical context (as mentioned above) and we prevent the really extreme degrees of proportional shortness by treating them, but it is probably fair to say that most people considered extreme midgets in the past probably had untreated GH deficiency.
• Pygmies are people with extreme proportional shortness due to a specific genetic variation. Because the gene difference is spread thoughout their population, the short stature is not considered a disease. The biological difference in the largest pygmy population, the Efe, has been reported to be reduced senitivity to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), but this is not consdired conclusively established, as they do have a difference in the principal IGF-1 receptor gene (IGF1R). Other pygmy peoples besides the Efe are known, and may have different genetic differences.
• From a medical perspective, there are many other causes of both proportionate and disproportionate shortness than these 3 categories.

Specific replies to your questions. You make at least 2 unwarranted assumptions. First that other forms of dwarfism do not occur in pygmies. Do you have any evidence of this? As there are hundreds of types of dwarfism and a large share of many types occur due to new mutation, it would imply that the pygmies are somehow resistant to mutation. If true, it would be a discovery that would transcend entirely the issues of height. The second false assumption would be the resultant height on a pygmy who had dwarfism. It is not unusual for more than one type of shortness to occur in a child. The resultant effect is not multiplicative and is usually less than additive, as if some of the result was overlapping or redundant. alteripse 00:15, 5 October 2005 (UTC) alteripse 21:33, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

poison lizard?

are their such things? --130.111.98.16 18:17, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Yes, the Gila monster and the Mexican beaded lizard. —Wayward 18:27, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Don't forget about the Komodo Dragon, a member of the monitor lizard family, which has a strong bite and infects the wound of its prey with some of the 50 different strains of bacteria in their saliva which causes the prey to die after its release so the Komodo Dragon can eat peacefully. - Mgm|^(talk) 22:07, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

It also happens to be the largest lizard in the world, according to our article on it. - Mgm|^(talk) 22:08, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

unknown location

their is a tower and a factory with a sign that says york road --Clownfish 18:35, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

How unknown is this location? Do you know what country, or continent, or hemisphere? —Charles P. (Mirv) 20:28, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

who killed cock robin?

it was a story but who killed cock robin --130.111.98.16 18:44, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

The sparrow. Want to know what he used? —Charles P. (Mirv) 20:10, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Wasn't it with the lead pipe in the library? -- Arwel 20:18, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Or were you thinking of Jean Craighead George's Who Really Killed Cock Robin? In that the culprit was . . . actually, I don't remember. Not the butler, though, nor the first suspect. —Charles P. (Mirv) 20:25, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Which buttons insert shapes,objects, and drawings

Which buttons where? Wikipedia? Microsoft Word? Inkscape? Flash? ☢ Kieff | Talk 22:09, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps Wikipedia:Images is helpful? --bodnotbod 23:56, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I suspect the questioner is using some software application, which needs to be identified, but if it is any good it came with some kind of clickable HELP section, which can be navigated like any decent on-line manual, to find out the process to do inserts. AlMac|^(talk) 16:19, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Capitol one commercials

Who is the man that David Spade always picks on? --169.244.143.115 21:21, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

The actor's name is Nate Torrence. —Wayward 21:54, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Police Officers Per Capita

Where can I find a resource which will give statistics about police per capita? My city has 1,000 police officers. It has been suggested that we increase this force. I am searching for statistics which will help me put the size of our police force in perspective.

Thanks to all.

216.31.117.22 22:08, 4 October 2005 (UTC)J O

• If you are in Australia, the Productivity Commission puts out such statistics yearly as part of a comparison of the efficiency and effectiveness of State and Territory Governments in performing their functions. This report is called the Report on Government Services and is available for download here. [25]. Capitalistroadster 01:22, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

• You seem to be in New Mexico - I'd advise contacting the New Mexico Sheriffs' and Police Association and see if they have any ideas, or can give you someone to speak to. Alternately, look up phone numbers for the police force in cities about the same size as yours in the state (or in nearby states), give them a call and ask how large their force is - that'll give you an idea if you're high or low compared to similar cities. Shimgray | talk | 14:46, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

• The FBI and US Department of Justice publish statistics like this, or have links to them, and I would not be surprised if it is also in the Census since they publish oodles of statistics. There are also various law enforcement associations. I guess one issue would have to do with what is the appropriate ratio vs. the overall population like how many police persons per thousand population, is smart for a community, and what is the size of the community? AlMac|^(talk) 16:22, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

how tall is a hurricane?

no one has ever said how tall a hurricane is. so, in laymens terms, how tall are they usually? 64.12.116.73 22:48, 4 October 2005 (UTC) karen in florida

Oh, about 5 foot seven--Armen Schrikken 00:44, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

From this, I'd say that's about 18 km (11 miles) [26] — Lomn | Talk / RfC 13:03, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

names of hurricanes that we skipped

how come we don't use every letter of the alphabet when we name our hurricanes? or am I missing something? 64.12.116.73 22:54, 4 October 2005 (UTC) karen in florida

See Hurricane - Naming_of_tropical_cyclones and/or Lists of tropical cyclone names. --Tagishsimon (talk)

• Karen,

In fact, our 2005 Atlantic hurricane season shows that every name allocated between Tropical Storm Arlene and Hurricane Stan has been used so far. However, in the case of tropical storms they only received coverage in local broadcasts in contrast with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita which had extensive coverage around the world. Capitalistroadster 01:30, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

• The letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are not used for naming hurricanes because there are too few given names that start with those letters to add to the name lists. --Metropolitan90 07:00, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

We do use most letters of the alphabet, however, some storms die out before they can make it to North America. —MESSEDROCKER (talk) 03:52, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Location of new minister in Edmonton

I am looking for a contact for the Rev.Dave Guzzwell from Newfoundland who recently moved to Edmonton John Waller box 213 Brigus NL A0A 1K0.142.163.9.65 23:47, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

• A Google search came up with noone by that name in Edmonton. However it did appear to show that he was in the United Church. The United Church locator in Canada says that there are 27 churches in Alberta [27]. I would try sending an email or letter to each of these churches saying you are looking for Reverend Guzzwell. I suspect you will soon find him if he is there.Capitalistroadster 01:40, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Vice President

Does a Vice Presidential selection ever need Senate approval?

Assuming you are asking about the situation in the US, the answer to your question is: not normally, but if a Vice President dies or resigns in office the replacement must be approved by both houses of Congress. An explanation is contained contained in the article Vice President of the United States and in more detail in Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. --Robert Merkel 04:57, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Dreamworks

What does "SKG" mean under the Dreamworks logo?

See the DreamWorks article. —Wayward 05:14, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm feeling nice. Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Brian Schlosser42 15:25, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

WP awards

Is there a page where I can see all the various barnstars and such that are bandied about or do you have to just learn them by seeing them on various user pages? Qaz ^(talk) 07:55, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Start with Wikipedia:Barnstar and see if that gives you what you're looking for. Dismas|^(talk) 08:13, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia Reference Desk

Skim reading through this page, a lot of the questions appear to be poorly phrased, meaning less or could be solved simply by reading the article. Just out of curiousity, what percentage of the questions on this page are well enough written to answer properly? (I know I am probably opening a can of worms, here!) smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 09:00, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

• I don't know any exact numbers but I'm afraid the percentage of worthwile questions is too low. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:55, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

On a related note, it appears that the regularly recurring ALLCAPS questions (in spite of clear instructions on top of this page) frequently are asked by South Asians / Indians. Is this some cultural thing? Are ALLCAPS texts common in India, or is this connected with unfamiliarity with the Latin alphabet, which would make capital letters easier to read (because they are learned first)? 130.60.142.65 10:35, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Hindi at least, and I'm assuming any script language does not have a distinction between upper and lower case. To them it's not something they're likely to think much about. As for people asking poorly phrased questions and not reading the instructions, I think that's just the breaks for how the reference desk in a wide open Wiki is going to go. Ask for clarification, provide as much detail as you feel like, and don't sweat it. Otherwise provide as many links to our articles as possible and call it even. - Taxman ^Talk 14:24, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I have never seen a response when clarification to the question is requested. And only once did I spot a thank you to an answered question. Perhaps, ppl post and forget. lots of issues | leave me a message 12:25, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I think there may still be an assumption that the question has to fit entirely in the small title box. I also sense that a lot of people lose their question once they've asked it. Is there a way we can make things easier for unfamiliar users? --bodnotbod 00:03, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Another thing I've noticed is that the Help Desk seems to get more misc questions than the reference desk! I suppose no-one reads the messages about which desk to use, multiple postings, ALLCAPS etc. What might work is if questions could be given sub-pages, with this page becoming a list of question titles. It would help people track their question, and shorten this very long page. It's a pain putting the desk in a watchlist, since everytime anyone changes any question, the watchlist comes up with a new entry. Therefore, it is very rare to find that the flagged change is the one to your question. smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 09:58, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Y"all might also like to visit the Talk page on this (click on discussion very top of this page), and perhaps contribute to some threads there. AlMac|^(talk) 16:27, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Is there a way we can make things easier for unfamiliar users?

One thing I would like to see in the future ... after the person has entered their question, up pops a link that they are invited to cut & paste, or place in favorite places. This is link to THEIR question so they can check back in a few hours, or a day or two to see if anyone has answered it. The accompanying text would say that because of the large number of people posting questions, it can be difficult for you to locate your question, and its answers, so here is a link to make it easy. Hopefully the link would still work (redirect) after the content has been archived. AlMac|^(talk) 16:44, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Canadian terminology

Okay, this is a weird one.

I'm currently writing a good chunk of fairly formal text about Canada, focusing on differences between certain aspects of the provinces and territories. This, sadly, entails writing "provinces and territories" a lot, which gets rather annoying for the reader (not to mention the writer!). Is there a one-word term used to describe these - "regions", say? Several sources seem to used "provinces" as a catch-all, but that seems to be asking for confusion. Shimgray | talk | 11:31, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Not weird at all. Since it is a formal paper, you have an option of defining any terminology you might use for clarity. For the purposes of this paper, the term "regions" or "regions of Canada" will denote both the formal provincial and territorial jurisdictions of Canada. Where necessary, the terms "provinces" and "territories" will be used for further clarity where any distinction between the two is necessary. --216.191.200.1 14:26, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I really only run with it for a couple of paragraphs and then it becomes readable again - it doesn't seem worth defining terms for just those, but I guess I can stick a footnote in (it's formal, yes, but I don't want to make it sound too turgid) - the differences are between individual regions rather than "provinces v. territories". I really just wanted to know if there was a standard term, since it's generally preferable to use that (and you never know when the reader will turn out to speak Canadian!) Shimgray | talk | 14:34, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Most Canadians would, I think, use 'Regions of Canada' to mean groups of provinces, such as Atlantic Canada. You might want to say that you will use provinces to include territories unless otherwise specified. Of course as long as you define your meaning it won't matter. DJ Clayworth 14:45, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm Canadian and I've never encountered a term which refers to "provinces and territories" while growing up. The meaning has always been unambiguous based on the context. --216.191.200.1 14:49, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps you could say, "The term 'provinces' in this document refers to both provinces and territories unless otherwise noted." The US Code sometimes uses a similar trick with the District of Columbia, saying that for the purposes of a particular statute, the term "state" includes DC. -- Mwalcoff 02:57, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

The best example of this definition I've yet run across, incidentally, is the New Jersey legal code:

State. The word "State" extends to and includes any State, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone. (1:1-2)

I can't help but feel they should get around probably to fixing that bit one day... Shimgray | talk | 14:03, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

From the Help desk

Hey everyone. An anonymous user User_talk:164.83.99.83 posted this header at the help desk:

"florida/what is florida's major attractionand landmark"

Maybe you Wikipedians can help out and decipher what question is being asked? Thanks for your help, and have an excellent day! --216.191.200.1 14:17, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

• I'm pretty sure that Florida's most popular tourist attraction is the Walt Disney World Resort. --Metropolitan90 14:23, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Nicknames

Why is William called Bill and Richard called Dick?

William shortens to Will changes to Bill (or -> Willy -> Billy).

Richard is a little more complex; it was originally pronounced with a bit of a k as Ricard (Ric-hard rather than Rich-ard). This shortened to Ric(k) easily, and then to Dick.

Consider also Robert -> Rob -> Bob, for another example of the same thing. Shimgray | talk |

I think the hard part of the question is why the initial consonants changed, since that doesn't happen when most names are converted to diminutives or familiars. I don't know the answer to that. alteripse 15:28, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

William already changed - previously Guilliame ("gwu-" to "wih-"), so it's not that far-fetched. I believe there's a term for this, but IANALinguist. Shimgray | talk | 16:05, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

The Rick -> Dick is just an alveolar approximant becoming a voiced alveolar plosive, so the only difference between the two initial sounds is the manner of articulation. Will -> Bill makes some sense too as /w/ (Labial-velar approximant) and /b/ (Voiced bilabial plosive) are very similar (only slightly different manners of articulation and slightly different places of articulation). — Laura Scudder | Talk 21:36, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

http://www.critchley.ca/Images/Unknown%20Building.jpg

http://www.critchley.ca/Images/Unknown%20Building.jpg what is this

Help

It sure looks like that's the Golden Gate Bridge off to the left, and the scenery in the background sure looks like Marin and Tiburon. So that would suggest it's the state prison at Alcatraz, and indeed it looks to me like the main cell block there. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:35, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

On looking further at some maps, it's not the cellblock. It's a building on the west of the island, which this map seems to say is the "new infirmary building". -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:46, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Trucks killer

the movie with emilio estavez killer trucks what is it? ADD IT TO WIKIPEDIA [[ ]]

what IS IT?

The film is Maximum Overdrive, based on the Stephen King short story Trucks; King also directed the film. android79 16:05, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

fleece gem

on a fleece there is a gem on the zipper like its crystal silver with black anyone know? --169.244.143.115 16:50, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

If you're asking what the "gem" is made of, it's probably polymethyl methacrylate (perspex). Shantavira 18:25, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

PLAYS

IS THERE ANY HISTORICAL BASIS FOR HAMLET

Hamlet might be able to tell you, and if this is for a homework assignment, I suggest you not type it in ALL CAPS. android79 18:58, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

• Our Hamlet (legend) discusses the possible historical origins of the character in depth. Capitalistroadster 04:55, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

COMEDY

WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF THE THREE STOOGES

Larry, Moe, Curly, Shemp... uh, et al. See Three Stooges. Frencheigh 19:21, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

You left off Curly Joe. User:Zoe|^(talk) 05:54, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

leather

We have a pretty good article on Leather. Go read it and come back if you have any question the article doesn't answer. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:01, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Dungeons and dragons

Very interesting that you have knoledge of the whole colection of dungeons and dragons cartoon series... Where could i GET THE WHOLE COLLECTION OF IT ?

Amazon.com? Dismas|^(talk) 20:24, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

how important was america in bringing an end to the first world war

(no question apart from title)
As far as I can determine from the World War I article, the war was primarily a European one. The United States didn't play much of a role in it. The War was ended after the signing of the Armistice and the Treaty of Versailles (the latter was never officially ratified by the US). They're biggest involvement was that they declared war on Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917. So I'd say they added to the war continuing rather than it ending. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:10, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

If nothing else, the US contributed a psychological edge to the Allied Powers simply by virtue of the manpower at hand. Germany decided that continuing the war was fruitless (as opposed to World War II, where it was outright overrun) and this no doubt played *some* role in altering the balance of power. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:40, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

There was the manpower issue. Germany, England and France were pretty much "bled white" - they had lost most of a generation in the trenches and fought one-another to a stand-still. America was able to mobilise huge manpower resources, and even though many of them arrived at the front badly trained and badly equipped, they tipped the balance of power. Once America entered the war it was just a matter of time before Germany surrendered. Guettarda 23:02, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

To be more exact, the U.S. did more than declare war on Austria-Hungary (and they declared war on Germany before that). At the end of the war the U.S. had 2 million soldiers deployed in Europe and had taken 360,300 casualties including 116,516 deaths. Rmhermen 14:05, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

I believe that the supply of material by the US to the other Allies was also significant. DJ Clayworth 15:58, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

music

who are echo and the bunnymen

• see Echo and the Bunnymen. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 21:59, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Food

Are the tops of carrots and parsnips edible?22:15, 5 October 2005 (UTC)~

Yes. They aren't poisonous and they do have some nutritional value, but they don't taste very good either. Parsnip leaves are only edible when they're young, I think. Both can cause extreme sensitivity to sunlight in some people. —Charles P. (Mirv) 22:41, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Mysterious Wicca Wikipedia Connection

When I think Wiki as in the Pedia, I think of Wicca as in witchcraftia. Is there a bizzare twist in linkeage? The founder of the wikiP-society heritage? Like a worship of Mother Nature to a worship of Motherboard--Internet Horde?

(*It may be silly of me to think there's a link, and even more so silly to try to botch my question in a pseudo-poem)

Wiki is a word, Hawaiian I believe. It's been some time since I've read that article. Dismas|^(talk) 22:25, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Uh-oh. This rumored connection is growing in popularity. See WP:RD/L. Superm401 | Talk 22:51, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I promise you that if there were the vaguest whiff of wicca connection here, most of us would be out of here before you could say whatever the inane thing they say is. alteripse 23:00, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

I, for one, am offended at such a response. Why would you possibly say such a thing? User:Zoe|^(talk) 05:56, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Why would I say such a thing? Because I think it is what would happen if such a connection were revealed or formed. What do you think would happen if we found out it was funded or sponsored by the mormon church, the unification church, or some islamic sect? alteripse 06:05, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Wiki, or WikiWiki, is a Hawaiian word, meaning "quick". Wiki software is supposedly quick because of how fast someone can correct things. There are no connections to Wicca. —MESSEDROCKER (talk) 03:57, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I have to agree with the offence against Wicca, The Mormon Church, The Unification Church, some Islamic Sect or otherwise. The only issue of a group/religion that I could possibly hold against is if they believed in human sacrifices as a regular part of their practiced beliefs. I do believe that there are groups that are interested in killing people but for the most part I can not think of any organized group that has a purpose to kill human beings. Not anything in the same general groups as aforementioned. Most groups that are out there to kill another human being are often coming from a political stand point and any religious reference to their cause is commonly not a direct component to the religion. I think it is a sad moment when someone can be so closed minded to other groups that do not force us or other individuals on how their existence in this life is or can be. They have just as much right to exist, live and practice their beliefs and you/I do/can. I am thinking from a current stand point view with out any regard to any historical reference. How we are today I think is an important point of reference. At least when dealing with the reference of whom to support when dealing with a modern issue. Such as which and what web site to be used or support. I do have to admit that I am prejudice against ignorant people.67.183.190.153Mary67.183.190.153

USD100,000 note

Dear sir,

Please can you enlighten me the wordings of the notes, I could not read all the words.front and back.Pls enlarge it.

Many thanks Tin LONDON E-mail :<removed>

Please see the entry on Large denomination bills in U.S. currency. Dismas|^(talk) 23:02, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Hamsterball on Xbox Live Arcade: Multiplayer levels, where to find "secret areas".

I need help finding the "secret areas" used for unlocking multiplayer deathmatch levels in the game Hamsterball. Post the areas you found here, first the level, then where to find it. Please help I'm addicted to this game but I can't find the multiplayer levels, I found one accidentally but can't find any others.

Expert: This happens after the second set of strong fans. You go down a ramp towards the camera, then go down another ramp away from the camera, but before you go down that second ramp, run off the corner with your hamster/hamsterball, in the middle of the two ramps, and you should float on a grey square with a lock on it. Roll over the little grey square and it will turn red, unlocking the multiplayer deathmatch level "Expert".

Note: You must be playing a tournament on normal or frenzied mode to even be able to see the square, if not, you're just waisting your time. ( Then again, everyone that plays this game is sort of just waisting their time. )

A list of Postmasters

I found a site sometime ago about the first Postmaster in Dibble, OK and now I lost it does anyone know where I might look?

Gas Mileage

If i lose weight, will i get better gas mileage on my car?

Yes, you will, but the difference will likely be so small as to be hardly noticeable. Say the typical automobile weighs about 3300 pounds (an SUV will be much heavier, a minicar like a Ford Focus will be somewhat lighter). Now let's say you weigh 180 pounds now and 150 pounds after your weight-loss program. The difference in the mass of the car with you in it will have gone from 3480 to 3450 pounds, a difference of less than 1%. And, of course, the wind resistance of the vehicle is unaffected by your weight loss. Of course, the greater the weight loss, the bigger the difference; if you lost 200 lbs you may well make a noticeable difference to your car's economy.

Some simple ways to improve your car's mileage can be found all over the internet, for instance here. A really easy one that many people simply don't do is check your tires regularly to make sure that they are at the correct pressure.

Note that if you walk or ride a bicycle instead of driving you can help yourself to lose weight *and* save on fuel bills :)--Robert Merkel 03:50, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

London's doubledecker

Why is the doubledecker in London red?

• Our Buses in London is quite detailed but doesn't discuss this. The article on the famous Routemaster doubledecker bus doesn't explain either or our article on Double-decker bus. I will put something on the talk page. Capitalistroadster 05:05, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

I doubt whether there is a specific reason apart from the fact that it's a corporate colour (early London tube trains were also red). In attracting customers, buses work best if they're brightly coloured. Shantavira 08:33, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

It's all for identity. In fact, one of the conditions of getting a London Bus franchise is that at least 80% of the bus must be red. 09:37, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

what is an alter ego?

Alter = "other", ego = "I" (literally "other I", in latin). See alter ego ☢ Kieff | Talk 04:01, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Put Wikipedia Search on my page

How do i put a wikipedia search function on my webpage? I saw some webpage before with forms to type in a search, and pressing the search will take them directly to the corresponding wikipedia page. Thanks in advance

• Here's a code you can use. At Wikipedia:Banners and buttons there's images you can use with it. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:23, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

<form action="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search" id="searchform">
<table style="background-color : #000000; float : right;">
<tr><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org">Wikipedia</a> search:<br /></td></tr>
<tr><td><input accesskey="f"  type="text"   name="search"   id="searchInput" /><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td><input value="Go"     type="submit" name="go"       class="searchButton" />
<input value="Search" type="submit" name="fulltext" class="searchButton" /></td></tr>
</table>
</form>

• Or if you're looking for a "bookmark" try this link. --hydnjo talk 20:56, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Coldest average sea touching the UK

I need to know what sea, that touches the United Kingdom, has the lowest average temperature. I have tried to figure out this question for the past two weeks without any luck.

Thank you!

Nicole

• The North Sea. AllanHainey 08:33, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Cold Temperature

It is possible to Die instantly when it gets down to certain temperature?

I would have thought not. Ittakes time for the heat to leave your body. As the outside temperature get's lower, that time will shorten, but it'll never go to zero. Theresa Knott (a tenth stroke) 04:54, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

If you see process of freezing of human body from the movie "Day after tomorrow", chances are it's grossly over-dramatized. The human body has the average temperature of 36 celcius. Now consider this, if you take a glass of lukewarm water, and put it immedietely in freezer and close it for 3 minutes. Does the water freezes immedietly? No. So same goes to the human body.

But in The Day After Tomorrow, it was far colder than 0°C ... I don't have the DVD to hand to check it, cause I'm in work, but it was something like -150°C, due to atmospheric inversion or somesuch. That would freeze you pretty darn quickly. Proto t c 08:46, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, yes, if it is cold enough, but really, it would have to be very, very cold, far colder than any temperatures you're likely to find outside of a lab or a sci-fi movie.

The lowest temperature you could possibly get is Absolute zero - 273*C (and even this is not actually possible) and surely even that would take time to reach vital organs. Robmods 18:32, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Of course, at such low temps the air would all be liquid and would "boil" as your body temp heated it. This would greatly increase the speed at which your temp was lowered. I would say loss of conciousness would be immediate and death within seconds, as the brain froze. StuRat 10:56, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

However, if the air was boiling, the Leidenfrost effect might reduce the speed of heat transfer. --WhiteDragon 19:31, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I believe this article from another website will be adequate enough to address this issue ONCE AND FOR ALL. http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/dayAft.htm

Yes, you can die if you are not adequately heated (with a fire or coat or anything similar) and it's very cold - we're talking below zero Fahrenheit. See hypothermia. —MESSEDROCKER (talk) 04:01, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Which are the most popular brands wine

I think you'll have to be more specific to get a useful answer. The most popular in which country? (Tastes vary) And do you mean by grape variety or by region? We have several articles on wine so you will might find what you are looking for there. Shantavira 08:51, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

The Great Lakes

Is it possible for ocean-borne freighters to reach ports (such as Chicago) on the Great Lakes? I recall that in colonial times, ships went up a river to reach them or something, but I wouldn't think that was possible with modern super-freighters. So, is there access between the Atlantic and the lakes, or are ships manufactured at the lakes trapped within them forever?

• Our Great Lakes article explains that the Great Lakes became accessible from the ocean once the St Lawrence Seaway started operating in the 19th century. However, some vessels are restricted due to not being able to fit through the locks. Capitalistroadster 06:41, 6 October 2005 (UTC)
• Lake freighter talks about lock sizes and ocean, seaway, and laker dimensions a bit. In short: Most ocean-going freighters are too large for the Seaway, as are some lake freighters, but many lakers are built to Seawaymax size specifically in order to traverse the St. Lawrence. — mendel ☎ 16:29, 6 October 2005 (UTC)
• Indeed they can (here is an example of a regular Great Lakes-Netherlands run). The zebra mussels infesting the Great Lakes came from the bilges of ocean-going ships. Crypticfirefly 23:28, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

12th anniversary

what is the another name for 12th annversary, e.g 75 years is called platinum anniversary?

According to this website it's silk (or possibly agate). Shantavira 08:42, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

paistan's services sector

sir i want to know the numerical information about the services sector of paistan. im not finding the right topic can u plz help me?

I assume you mean Pakistan, you could start there. AllanHainey 12:20, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Our Economy of Pakistan article should provide some information as well. Capitalistroadster 06:48, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Rugby/American Football

Which is more dangerous? American Football has harder tackles, but Rugby has less body armour? smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 09:43, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Not an answer, but some thoughts:

• When you say "dangerous" what precisely do you mean. Risk of "injury"? Risk of "serious" injury for some definition of serious? Risk of death?
• American football has a far greater differentiation between player roles than rugby does; my meagre understanding of American football suggests that punt kickers and quarterbacks are rarely tackled and thus are at comparatively little risk of contact injury. So averages are probably a somewhat misleading comparison.
• There's two forms of rugby, rugby union and rugby league, with significantly different rules.
• Do you mean at elite level, or lower standards of play?
• American football is played at elite level only in the US, Canada and, to a small extent, in a couple of European countries. Rugby is played at an elite level in members of the Commonwealth of Nations (with the notable exception of Canada), France, Argentina, and maybe Italy. I imagine most comparative studies of sports injuries are conducted at a national level - I know there's one annually done in Australia - and so it's going to be difficult to find a study that has information for both American football and rugby.
• Who cares? Everybody knows that, in the words of a famous song around my parts, "when you line them up together, the footy wins hands down." ;-) --Robert Merkel 10:50, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

A bit of a correction. Quarterbacks are actually tackled somewhat often. Any player who holds the ball can expect to be tackled at some point, even punters, theoretically. Kickers and offensive linemen rarely if ever hold the ball and do not get tackled; however, many offensive linemen get injured while blocking defensive linemen and get their legs caught in unnatural positions, and it seems that more and more kickers are pulling muscles these days. Defensive players rarely get tackled either, unless they intercept a pass or recover a fumble; because they make most of the tackles, however, they do suffer from their share of injuries. --Maxamegalon2000 14:08, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Rugby has no body armour apart from the wee rubber head protectors some wear (nothing like a helmet though) so I'd say there is greater risk of injury playing rugby. I'm not sure that American Football necessarily has harder tackles either, although they may need to be harder to knock someone off his feet while encased in all that padding. AllanHainey 12:16, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

I can recall a couple of cases of people dying (through neck/spinal injury) in rugby league. This rarely occurs, and these cases were at the ameteur level. That meets my defintion of dangerous, do people die in American football? --Commander Keane 12:47, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

American football was very dangerous (too many people dying) until Theodore Roosevelt insisted that the universities the game was being played at changed the rules. This led to the creation of the NCAA. Deaths from injuries sustained during gameplay have been pretty much eliminated by now, although this last preseason a member of the San Francisco 49ers died from a heart ailment, and a few years ago, Korey Stringer died from heat stroke, causing a league-wide concern with praticing in high temperatures. I can't even remember any players becoming really seriously paralyzed recently; even that one Detroit Lion stunned everybody by walking up to a podium at a press conference. I'm sure someone can remember more names that I am. --Maxamegalon2000 14:08, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

The Detroit Lions player that was paralyzed was Mike Utley. In the early 90's an LSU football player died from complications of paralyzation a few years after his injury. A handful of other NFL and Collegiate American Football players have also been paralyzed at least temporarily in the alst 10 years. one name I remember is Dennis Byrd who had a movie (Rise and Walk) made about his ordeal. -Drdisque 16:47, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

This article (admittedly from the NFL's own website) says that (American) football is substantially more likely than other youth recreational activities to cause minor injuries but not much more likely to cause serious injuries. I doubt rugby was one of the other activities, since few people in American play rugby. Football, especially played at the professional level, is, a very brutal sport, however. Literally every player on an NFL team (except maybe the placekicker and the emergency quarterback) suffers some degree of injury during the year, and people who play pro football for several years often wind up with big health problems when they retire. -- Mwalcoff 23:48, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

• The other thing is that rugby players (both codes) are on the fields all the time and all rugby players play in both offence and defence. A former school friend died playing rugby league in the early 1980s. Capitalistroadster 04:25, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

ESKIMO X'S

Do eskimos (or to use a more p.c term- inuits) always kiss with their noses??? And if they do, do you think maybe they find this boring. They can't seriously spend a long time kissing in this way or their noses would go sore... Skooky 10:24, 6 October 2005 (UTC) 10:12, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

The eskimo 'kissing' is actually just a greeting (not sure whether it is actually real though or made up) not a courtship activity. AllanHainey 12:19, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Really? So they kiss like we do i guess then... Skooky 13:47, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Inuit greet each other by pressing faces, possibly because gloved hands make handshakes difficult, in arctic conditions, the face is the only exposed body part.

fluffyness

My friends hannah has beautiful curly hair but she thinks it always goes frizzy. does anyone know what she should do with it? is there any products she could use. ps. my friend laura thinks she has boring straight hair but it is also very beautiful. however, she would also like to know what to do with it. any suggestions for a style of cut etc? To make a point to this and actually ask a question- what is better; curly hair or straight hair??? Skooky 10:22, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

That is an awkward question. Hair types are not "better" in any sense besides the opinion of the person judging the hair in question. Some people might like pubic hair for their scalps; can you tell such people which is "better" based on your fashion sense? Perhaps you should ask yourself "What does she prefer?" or find a new shampoo that reduces frizzles in the hair if that bothers her. Remember, however, that curly hair is a genetic trait and although there are cosmetic "remedies", it is her body's follicles that will always generate new hair (made of protein) from cysteine's sulfide bonds. Be very cautious of what you put into your or anyone else's hair, however, because hair can be damaged (hair splitting) from the improper use of hair straighteners or any hair products for that matter. Of particular note is the statement you added, saying that she has "beautiful curly hair". Why change that? People have done this over and over again; the Japanese hair straightening procedure was all the rage a few years ago. Now, people are turning back to curly. Go figure.

Long story short: Don't place your hair type at the whim of some fads or a group of bemused internet wikipedians; be natural and be yourself.--Screwball23 00:32, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

For the curly hair a good thing is john frieda's Frizzease. Put a dollop about a quarter size on wet hair and put through and let dry natural. For the straight hair short cuts are great. Look at Keira Knightley in the movie Dominoe - thats a good cut.

No, King Arthur! THAT's good hair!

I believe the movie in question is spelled Domino. --Maxamegalon2000 21:24, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Forget the movies, just look at Keira... Nightly... She could be wearing a burlap sack and she would still look good. Dismas|^(talk) 22:10, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Have you considered consulting one of the teen magazines, or maybe Cleo, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Vogueor Harper's Bazaar? They tend to be far better informed on this kind of thing than the regulars here. If you still need help, maybe your friend should consult a good hairdresser - it's their job to help people choose a hair style that suits their face, body, and personality. --Robert Merkel 08:04, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

How Many Submersible Water Pumps Are Sold In New York State Every Month?

I am looking for verifiable data on the sales of submersible water pumps sold in New York State every year

thank you

Well, I doubt that there are any collated records of pump sales by state, since many private companies most likely sell these, and probably do not publish their records. You might get some indication by figuring out who the largest retailers of pumps are, and hoping that they are publicly traded, then figuring out their annual turnover in submersible pumps from published records. Frankly, it's going to be difficult. If you wanted to let us know why you want this information, there may be some easier way to get what you need.

Disaster prediction in the USA?

Some people predicted the New Orleans disaster - is there anyone who is doing systematic analysis of the likelihood of different disasters (natural, manmade etc) in the USA by location, probability, probable impact etc? Thanks!

In theory that should probably be FEMA, shouldn't it? DJ Clayworth 15:47, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Yes, although God help us if it is, but I can't find anything on their site about it. I am sure there must be others, but cannot find them... Thanks.

Insurance companies, surely? I bet there is a direct relation between the premiums they charge and their assessment of the likelihood of disaster.--Fangz 16:46, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Probably, but I bet they don't publish the info, also, there are a lot of other factors like cost of property, crime etc.

1. There are many organizations, government, academic, research, profit, non-profits, that do this kind of analysis within the different areas of risk
   1. Weather prediction
      1. I think this is getting to be extremely accurate. They have a storm track, predicting where something will strike the coastline. They may be off by a few miles, and a few hours, but if you evacuate a few days before it hits, you will be Ok. The people in trouble are those who wait until a day or two before it hits, because all of them end up in a humongous traffic jam.
   2. Earthquake prediction
      1. I think the state of art here is that all they can do is show where there is some probability of an earthquake occurring, not really when the next one will strike.
   3. Low risk stuff where risk is not zero, such as Super volcano or giant rock from space hit Planet Earth
   4. Outside threats to National Security
      1. I think the government is slowly managing to do a better job in managing the information, as we can see from current news about the New York City Subway system for example. It came out in the 9/11 investigations, that in the daily intellibence briefings to the President, there was a warning that a terrorist attack by bin Laden's organization was imminent in the USA, directed against the air transportation industry, but somehow no one got around to telling the FAA about this.
   5. New kinds of malware
2. If you get to the references that talk about various disasters such as Hurricane Katrina there are links to some of these places, and they link to each other.

AlMac|^(talk) 16:38, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

game of 11/25/34

Dear Sir or Madame; I have a picture with signatures from 11/25/34 game between the Americans and the Japanese. Its copyright date is 1976 by Flash Back Pictures, Inc. I am wondered how to find out its value, how many were produced, etc. Any information you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Judy

You probably need to see an appraiser. You didn't specify what kind of game, either, which isn't that helpful. If it is copyright 1976, you'd want to ask whether or not it is an original or not, which likely matters a lot in assessing the value of it. You'd have to give us more information if we were to get any information on this -- I have almost no idea what you are describing. --Fastfission 19:30, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

legal requierements

What are the legal requirements to start a business in jamaica.

A good place to start might be the Jamaica Business Development Center [28]

Bank of England 10 Shillings

I have a Bank of England 10 Shillings note. I wanted to know if it can be dated by the serial number.

Thank you,Bobby.

The quickest way to get a rough date is to look at the picture on the front - if it shows Britannia it's 1928-60, if the Queen 1960-70. You can also date to a few years by the signature of the Chief Cashier - Bank of England has a list of the cashiers with their dates - this should be good enough for most purposes. I assume they can be dated by serial number, but don't have any references to hand telling me what the number sequences are - perhaps try a good library for a banknotes-collector book? Shimgray | talk | 16:53, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Good B*rger

What fictional Florida city is "Good B*rger" set in?

This has been asked already in the last week. Please check previous elsewhere on this page or the other Reference desk pages linked at the top of this page. DJ Clayworth 15:32, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

It's not on this page, or any of the other subject pages - any idea where it is? Good B*rger does not say either, nor does the IMD.

It's basically astroturfing. Way too many questions about one movie. Lets do the google association thing and make sure that everywhere it says Good Burger, it also says astroturfing. :) - Taxman ^Talk 17:49, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

OK, but what town is it?

It may not be astroturfing, since like you said, it's 8 years old. Also, the original question was never answered. Perhaps the original asker wasn't quite entirely familiar with the question asking process. Of course, I'm just playing Devil's advocate, but I do think that we could give it the benefit of the doubt. Since google hasn't turned up anything, I would have to guess that perhaps it is not mentioned. I'm not planning to watch the movie to try to find out, but maybe if someone has access to the script they could read it... --WhiteDragon 20:33, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Good B*rger is eight years old? Why would anyone want to astroturf it? Unless a DVD is coming out. If we're going to do the google association, let's associate it to "crappiest movie of all time". Hey, there's a start. DJ Clayworth 17:50, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

I promised to delete this question if it came up again, but since others have responded, I have resorted to bowdlerizing the title. User:Zoe|^(talk) 06:00, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

population census of Middletown, California

Hello:

I'm curious about the number of tourists Middletown, California sees as any given time during the year, particularly during the summer months. I'm also intersted (if you even have these statistics), the number of medical clinics in the Middletown area and the number of doctors that serve the Middletown area.

Would you happen to have this information?

Just in case you are able to answer the above questions, please send your reply to: <deleted>

Thank you,

Ulin Sargeant

My suggestion would be to check with the Middletown town offices or chamber of commerce. They may have the information that you seek. Dismas|^(talk) 20:35, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Fictional Locations in Soap Operas

Can you give me a list of fictional Florida locations in soap operas?

Probably not, I really doubt that anyone has indexed them in this way... List of fictional places and List of soap operas might be good places to start though.

Most soap opera towns don't really belong to any particular state, though there has been a trend to do so lately. But the only place I can think of in Florida that was the setting of a soap opera is Flamingo Road. User:Zoe|^(talk) 06:02, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Two black mute insane sisters

I heard some kind of article on the net a couple of years ago which stuck with me. It was about two black sisters who did not speak to anyone but each other for all of their lives. eventually they went to live in a hospital until one sister died and the other finally started talking to people and wrote a book about her and her sisters experiences. This is not a movie but a real life thing. Do you know anything about it?

The BBC made a docudrama about them, which is much as you describe - except I don't think they were actually insane (just a bit weird). I think the belief was they did talk all the time, but only to one another. I can't really remember their names either, but I can confirm you didn't imagine it. I'm almost certain the two were English. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:07, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

I think this is another instance (they're neither black nor british) but there was a film, Poto and Cabengo, made about twin sisters Ginny (Virginia) and Grace Kennedy, twin sisters who shared an invented language. Just in case it sparks a remembrance. (other terms to search "autonomous languages of twins" - This article claims that 40% of twins have them.) - Nunh-huh 22:55, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

June and Jennifer Gibbons. It truely boggles my gourd but wikipedia does seem to have everything. MeltBanana 23:08, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Name of spider

(no question)

• Which spider? - Mgm|^(talk) 19:53, 6 October 2005 (UTC)
• One spider was named Charlotte. — mendel ☎ 16:26, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
• Incy-Wincy Spider? smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 19:51, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
• Shelob. User:Zoe|^(talk) 06:03, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Please let me know the meaning of these words:

Hi, this is related to business issues but i did find out how i could ask questions there so i put here. maybe you could let know that too. anyway pls let me know the meaning of the following acronyms which are used in a business quotation:(these are related to bank and LC and shipping phrases. this is all the help that i can give)

1. - FCO (Any samples?)
2. - POF (Any samples?)
3. - POP (Is it proof of payment or product or none?)
4. - SBLC

rgds, eve

Many acronyms have several meanings. You may find this link helpful. --hydnjo talk 20:31, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Food in scotland

What do people in scotland have for breakfast lunch and dinner?

Usually food. Other times, haggis. - Nunh-huh 22:17, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Today, for breakfast lunch and dinner I had a pizza. Admittedly, I only got up at two in the afternoon. Yesterday, I had some pasta and then fish and chips. I can't remember the last time I actually ate breakfast. Shimgray | talk | 22:23, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

One would start the day with a deep-fried Mars bar, for lunch one would have an Arbroath Smokie washed down with Irn-Bru, and then one would try to catch sufficient haggis for tea. If a more varied diet is required, see Scottish cuisine. --Gareth Hughes 22:50, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Probably the same as most people in the UK or USA, with a few regional variations, we don't all eat haggis regularly, though I do have porridge for breakfast & drink Irn-Bru. AllanHainey 07:17, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

But don't forget the deep frying! Shimgray | talk | 11:38, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Isn't Scotch whisky considered "food"? --hydnjo talk 16:32, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Of course not - water isn't food! (Beer, now, the beer is food...) Shimgray | talk | 17:03, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

How does the haggis hunt work these days, now that hunting with hounds is banned? -- AJR | Talk 01:44, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Haggis hunting is now permitted only with specially approved haggis nets. As I'm sure you're already aware, however, they're easy enough to catch anyway oweing to the fact they have one leg much shorter than the others, and hence run in circles around the bases of mountains. All you need to do is wait for them to come back round and scoop 'em up. Noodhoog 15:15, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

please help me locate relevant law

Hello,

I have searched your online files and cannot seem to find the specific material I am seeking. I have combed the intellectual property sections and links to it that you have and still need some help. If you can tell me where to look this would be wonderfu.

I am trying to get at two things:

1) non-profit employees' rights to use their own work-products, specifically writing and research.

2) restrictions on directors of non-profits in using what employees write and putting their own names on it as the authors of it.

3) restrictions non-profits put on employees in the conflict of interest area, keeping those employees from speaking and publishing on material that they develop a) outside of that non-profit b) within that non-profit c) both outside and within that non-profit at the same time

In all cases mentioned above, the work of the non-profit is in the social issues area and is publically funded by the state of california.

Thanks, bbbb

I think you're going to need to make a trip to your local law library. They are usually accessible to the public for short bits of research and the reference librarian can help direct you to relevant laws. You'll have to figure out if it is a state issue or a federal one. Other than that you would need to consult a qualified IP attorney. - Taxman ^Talk 13:32, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Everything depends on the exact law and where you are, and I am now a lawyer, but:

1. I expect that non-profit companies function much the same as for-profit companies with regard to ownership. If you did some work, research or programming or writing, as part of your employment then the company owns the products. They can choose whether or not you can use it.
2. Again because you did the work for the company, they can publish your work as their work and not name you as author. Naming a director as author might be more tricky; you'd need a lawyer for that.
3. No opinion.

DJ Clayworth 17:46, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Actually, #1 only applies if the work is actually work for hire. A basic rule might be: did you sign any official contract or agreement before you started working? If you did, look at that first and see what it says. If you didn't, the odds are you aren't legally bound to anything, though you might want to make sure there was no implicit understanding otherwise. More problematic than IP law in this case will be non-profit law -- I don't know if it risks putting the non-profit status of the organization in danger if you use your time on it to develop things that you later use in for-profit enterprise. But I have no idea on that for sure. You might try checking whatever federal or state law gives the particular organization its not-for-profit tax status. --Fastfission 19:15, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Another aspect of # 1 is if you were working and not being paid, like in some volunteer capacity, and you created something of value for that organization, can you then, legally use the same work effort product to help some other similar organization?

Generally if you were paid to do some work, then the work belongs to the person who paid for the work to be done, not to the person who did the work. There may be some exceptions for some professions, but they better have some contract in writing specifically stating that they have ownership rights to their work product that is an exception to the general rule of it being owned by the organization that paid for the work to be done. AlMac|^(talk) 04:35, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

With respect to # 2, there are some professional standards, that may not be formal legislative rules, but rather controlled by the professional associations. Like in academia, if you are caught doing plagarism, you get an educational death sentence, you are now black listed from any further opportunities for more education or employment in higher education, because plagarism is the worst crime there, because it is about the only crime that higher education can punish people for doing.

There are similar standards in the news business ... if a reporter or writer is found to have generated material that was not written by them, but swiped from someone else, or ghost written by someone else, then that person is black listed from that profession for all time.

There have also been law suits alleging theft of intellectual property.

So # 2 is really a civil matter not a criminal matter. The injured party needs to be able to prove that plagarism occurred.

With respect to # 3 this varies greatly by profession, for example suppose you were an engineer, and you invented stuff on your own time outside the employer. The employer can legitimately argue that your work product, even produced using time and resources outside the work place, is the property of the employer, because they are paying you for your intellectual energy, and you are not allowed to have a second job, unless there is some contract with the primary employer to that effect.

AlMac|^(talk) 04:41, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Llamas

What is a pack of Llama called?

I don't believe there's a special collective noun for llamas. Herd and flock are the usual terms for other groups of large domesticated herbivores, though. —Charles P. (Mirv) 01:29, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

"Herd of" seems most popular on Google - 750ish hits verus 200 or so for "flock of" and "pack of". Shimgray | talk | 01:44, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

DVD Box set

Is there any news or information about "Joey" season 1 possibly coming out on DVD?

This just in: Hell freezes over. - Nunh-huh 01:40, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

• It apparently already is on sale in the UK see [29]. According to this article in the DVD Times, it went on sale in the UK in July [30]. Whether hell froze over is unknown at the time of writing. :>). Capitalistroadster 07:21, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

• • It is most assuredly a frigid day in hell. Next: Joey: The Musical - Nunh-huh 23:27, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

What do cows eat?

Do cows eat only grass? Feel free to answer.... Tanx....♥'Hot Flip'

No. Cows eat grass but also are fed grain and silage. Dismas|^(talk) 03:19, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Mad cow disease is spread when cows eat bits of other cows.

Oh, come on. Mad Cow Disease is the most overrated disease ever. Our article states 158 people in the world have contracted the disease. The world population is about six and a half billion people. It's not even worth mentioning. Garrett Albright 16:44, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

In Australia cows used to eat Meat and bone meal, but that is now illegal due to the risk of Mad cow disease, so maybe it is worth mentioning. While I'm here, is it true that in Japan you can scan in the barcode from a peice of beef in the supermarket with a mobile phone and recieve the animal's picture/name? --Commander Keane 17:09, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

What the hell? No… Garrett Albright 01:28, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

wel...♥Hot F.L.I.P. egen....tanx fo ol d anzers....i totally looked it up...n like most of ya'lls anzers wer d same....n for wutever that dude that just sed bout scanning barcodes from a piece of meat n wutever da hell uder stupid tings came after dat.....wut da hell were u tinking riting that stupid S**T down?! u aktually blieve dat iz tru?!!!.....anywayz, if u/sum1 got more interestin info. bout wut cows eat......type away.....

Oh, God. Please write in English. That was horrible. Garrett Albright 15:51, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Like i wanted YOUR opinion about my writing?! but whatever..........."Dad!" Hot F.L.I.P.

• Back to the question, cows will also eat some types of leaves and most fruit. In New Zealand (and no doubt other places) some farmers plant brassica, swedes and turnips for winter feed.Lisiate 02:24, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

• That reminds me that cattle can eat saltbush. Also, I'm not convinced that my comment on mobile phones getting the picture of a cow in the supermarket was incorrect, the Japanese mobile phone culture article says that some Japanese phones can read barcodes, and Australian cows are electronically tagged with the unique info of the cow, so look out for it Garrett. --Commander Keane 09:18, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

It's certainly true that they can read barcodes (or, more specifically, so-called 2D barcodes) and access web sites from addresses stored in those codes, but I've yet to see such a code on meat. And if you think about it, it's not practical in the sense that the meat might come from more than one animal, especially if it's ground beef. I'll keep an eye out, but after six months of going to grocery stores in Japan I've yet to see something like that. Garrett Albright 17:27, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Wow!....You know Commandar Keane?.... I guess "mobile phones getting the picture of a certain cow using barcodes" is really not that impossible. I mean, with all the futuristic technologies that people have created and set forth...who knows?...I might get to buy one of these things at Best Buy in 2010.....♥F.L.I.P...

I agree you couldn't get a photo for ground beef, but I would imagine the supermarket would only fork out for the photo system for high priced cuts of meat, which come from a single animal.--Commander Keane 10:44, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

hmmm... ♥hot f.l.i.p.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and African Americans

• See Franklin D. Roosevelt and African American. Specifically, our article on Roosevelt has an article on Civil Rights which discusses the topic in some depth. Capitalistroadster 07:26, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Brooklyn woman hospital

i need the entire address

I tried a google search but can't find a hospital called "Brooklyn Women's Hospital". Well, I did find a few results for a hospital that was called that back in the 50's and 60's but nothing current. Is that the name? If you have the exact name, a google search would find it for you quicker than coming here and waiting for one of us to tell you. Dismas|^(talk) 13:29, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Guavas

Hello! I wonder if someone can advise me about how to look after about 150 guava seedlings, from 6"-12" tall, and any ideas about what to do with the surplus, there is obviously a slight problem with space for the developing orchard! If I keep potting them on until they are a manageable height, then pinch out the growing tips would that limit their growth? The books say they will fruit within 2-4 years, given that I provide the right temperatures can I hope for fruit? Then, there is the slightly smaller problem, (in that there are only 100 of them)of mystery plants from Cyprus, evergreen leaves, reminiscent of carob trees but the germination rate was too high. My mumblings about a tropical area in the garden with undersoil heating and winter protection fall on deaf ears!! Then there's the morning glory which escaped through the conservatory roof and was last seen heading for the sky at a rate of knots, am I really going to have to wrap the whole of the back of the house in bubble wrap? You probably realise that I'm squeamish about killing things, epecially since I grew and raised them, so the obvious answers such as "Pull them up!" don't apply. Trivial, in the light of the world situation, I know, but it's my little bit of it. Thank you195.93.21.36 11:22, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

wormen's issues in 1955

What were the women's issues in 1955. I would have been six then and need to know for my granddaughters Girl Scout project. Thank you for your time and effort. <e-mail address removed>

Considering I hadn't been born yet I don't know but as a suggestion you can try starting your research at feminism and go from there. Dismas|^(talk) 13:19, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Also, history of feminism might be helpful. However, there are some differences in the issues depending on where you were living in 1955. --Gareth Hughes 16:10, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

It was also depend on what your economic and racial status was. The issues of a poor African American woman would likely be very different from those of an upper class white woman (as is the case now). --Fastfission 19:10, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

WHY?????

Why do grown up men rape and murder innocent children?

Why does anyone rape and murder anyone? There are no easy answers. But generally someone who commits a crime this heinous (that is, to innocent children) has a form of mental illness, or is somehow otherwise able to justify their actions. Garrett Albright 16:39, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Unfortunately the mental illness explanation is simply a tautology, as is evident when stripped to its essentials: "only a mentally ill person would do that, therefore anyone who does that is mentally ill." If you look for other evidence of mental illness besides raping other people (of any sex or age), the majority have none. It is sadly within the repertoire of "normal" human behaviors and is better understood as evil than ill. alteripse 19:58, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Just as some people don't like blaming mental illness on every bad thing as it is often empty of meaning and inaccurate I dislike applying evil to all that is bad. There are frequently understandable reasons for seemingly evil actions although it does not make them less unpleasant. Child sexual abuse is often a continuing problem; if you are abused as a child you may go on to abuse or it is a misguided attempt to recapture a person's own lost youth. The murder is probably an ill-concieved attempt to hide evidence. MeltBanana 23:22, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Following is respectful disagreement. You are free to use another word than evil, though it is the traditional one applied when a human being deliberately chooses to cause this type of harm to another, especially as a direct and personal interaction. I would offer two perspectives that do not support your view. First, around the world today and for most of recorded history, rape and killing of women and children occurs frequently in a setting of ethnic conflict or social enforcement, not as an aberrant and solitary behavior. Obviously in such cases, it is not accurate to say that raping and killing women and children is universally condemned, because groups of people do it and justify it. I contend that such group behavior even more deserves the label of evil than of illness. My second objection to your argument is that it deprives the perpetrator of the assumption of moral agency and responsibility. No matter what word you prefer over evil, one of the principal differences between calling these acts evil and calling them sick is whether you think the perpetrator can be held morally and criminally responsible. How can you possibly advocate simple vengeful punishment for someone who did this from an illness? How many hospitals, physicians, or therapists are claiming to be able to cure this behavior? Do you believe them? Finally, what are the implications of your absolution for our treatment of children who have been sexually abused? Do we then hang a "watch him" sign around his neck? Should we forbid him contact with children when he gets older, or is he, like a dog, allowed one bite? Because if a high proportion of sexually abused children grow up to be abusers, your argument is strong, but it also justifies pre-emptive measures. On the other hand, if only a small proportion of abused children grow up to be abusers and vast majority do not, your argument has poor explanatory power and does not counter the moral agency assumption. Which way do you want it? alteripse 00:01, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Well I was not actually denying the presence of evil; although many people do. I was simply trying to offer reasons as the initial question asks. As there is no evil gene, evil flu or and the devil is not usually available for comment the answer pople do bad things because they are evil is as unhelpfull as they are ill. Athough is does not have the added problem of insulting the mentally ill. MeltBanana 00:14, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Although we may not have hugely different opinions, I think there are at least three advantages to retaining the term and concept of evil in this context. First, as you mention, it reduces the temptation to frame such behavior in illness terms or other justifications. Second, it connects the person contemplating it to the millennia of previous human attempts to understand and deal with this type of behavior. Third, it unequivocally affirms condemnation. Also (I just caught this)-- I did not explain that such acts were done because of evil, which of course is no explanation. Rather, that attempts to explain this behavior were in my opinion the same as attempts to understand evil behavior, not sick behavior. alteripse 00:43, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

OK I will not attribute your long and unfocused answer to evil, just to being involved in a edit war somewhere and being unable to calm down. Why would you ask and how would I answer "How can you possibly advocate simple vengeful punishment for someone who did this from an illness?" you must be evil. I'm not trying to chuck out the term and concept of evil—I don't believe I have the power—I am just trying to suggest that it is often used simply as a four letter word and does not answer anything. Comparing one event to another in the past is instructive but to put it in a category with every bad deed for millenia is far from informative. BTW I hate a lot of Wiki categories as well. MeltBanana 01:13, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

This is an ill-tempered response to a polite, patient, and logically argued disagreement, which was focused precisely on what you said. I was paying you the respect of assuming you could debate an assertion logically and recognize a rhetorical question. My assumption was apparently incorrect and I offended you. Sorry. alteripse 12:22, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

"Why do grown up men rape and murder innocent children?" Answer: See Aggression. WAS 4.250 08:40, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

criminial psychology might help, if we had an article on it.... Trollderella 18:18, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

There's a little bit at Criminal psychology. --Sum0 21:54, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

Ah yes... criminial psychology is something quite different... ;) Trollderella 17:18, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International

does the airport "hartsfield jackson atlanta international"own any other companys

The airport is owned by the City of Atlanta and I believe that is the only airport they own. -Drdisque 17:05, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Non-Ministerial Departments in the UK

Is the list at Departments of the United Kingdom Government complete?--213.18.248.23 12:46, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

No, I should look at the rather longer list at Public bodies and task forces of the UK government... Physchim62 01:20, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

The Public bodies and task forces of the UK government list contains a lot of quangos which aren't really departments. AllanHainey 11:35, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

University Fencing Club Uniforms

I have a photo of three men taken in Bresslau circa 1939. The men are in Fencing Uniforms and I would like to establish where these uniforms were used (also who the men are)

Peter

• Your best bet may be to contact the historical society in Breslau, if they have one-- I believe the city has been renamed Wroclaw. According to the Wroclaw article, there was a "All-German Festival of Sports & Gymnastics" there in 1938, with a link to a website about it. That website or the folks who created it might also be of help. Crypticfirefly 04:02, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Website Templates

I need some templates for my website (i am designing in dreamweaver) I need some that are blogesce but still give you almost complete control over the site Thanks in advance. _Mythicallava_

You are not going to be able to set up a blog with merely a Dreamweaver template. You'll need some sort of weblog software running on the server that you want to host your blog. If you are unfamiliar with this, your best bet might be to go with a service like LiveJournal or Xanga, which will host the blog and do all the technical stuff for you, while also giving you a good deal of options as to the design of your blog. Garrett Albright 16:36, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

sandove? and other things

What is sandove? What animal is the fastest under water? --Sandove89 17:34, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

The otter? --Sandove89 19:19, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Sailfish is possibly the fastest fish at about 93Km/h. Although probably somekind of diving sea-birds maybe quicker at initial contact with water. Gannets apparantly hit the water at 100Km/h although they will obviously slow down very quickly while diving.Majts 02:16, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

OTAK

what is it? --Sandove89 19:32, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

An Architecture firm specializing in transportation, growth management, and urban design? [31] Majts 02:30, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

"otak" is an indonesian word for "brain"

Otaks are little furry creatures in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea book series. — JIP | Talk 11:53, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

OTAR could conceivably be abbreviated to OTAK... Ojw 13:30, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Wars

Can a country Bomb both sides if it doesn't agree with either side of a war?

Who said there are any rules when it comes to war? Dismas|^(talk) 18:46, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

• No doubt a country could do this, but it doesn't make much sense to do so. Usually it would make sense to fight only one at a time, even if it mean temporarily co-operating with an enemy. The War of the Triple Alliance is the closest I can think of this actually happening, though that was rather different. -- Bob Mellish 18:52, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

• Only if they really wanted to personally have war declared against them as well. There have been times though when "peacekeeping" efforts have been used, of course, by, say, the UN, whereby they occupy a location to keep sides from fighting with one another. --Fastfission 19:07, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Very often, war involves a lot of emotions on all involved parties. Thus it is often not easily possible to generally agree or disagree with one or another side of a war. From a standpoint of International law, I would see the situation you are describing as a war of country 3 on both countries 1 and 2, individually. That is, country 3 leads two wars simultaniusly, and those two wars have nothing in common (from the viewpoint of country 3).

The question of "can" is hard - I believe most modern Jurists would say that wars cannot be startet arbitrarily; rather, they should be legitimized by the United Nations. However, a small minority of the world disagrees and holds the believe (as was common until the 20th century), that a sovereign and independet nations has a right to start wars for whatever reason it may deem legitimate.

Greetings,

--Florian Prischl 19:15, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Three-sided wars are rather rare. In the later stages of World War II in Eastern Europe there were several three-sided struggles between Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and some third parties caught in the middle, for example the Polish Armia Krajowa and the anti-communist Russian Liberation Army. In Yugoslavia there was fighting between the Chetniks, Partisans and Nazi Germany (though maybe not at the same time?). In China there was a 3-sided war in the 1940s between the Kuomingtang, the Communist Party of China and the Empire of Japan. Gdr 20:29, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

I recognize that the word terrorist is politically incorrect on Wikipedia, but I not know what other word to use instead. It would appear to me that they are attacking EVERY NATION ON THE PLANET that they can get to.

For example the recent attacks in Bali, which is part of Indonesia which is the largest Muslim nation in the world. AlMac|^(talk) 16:54, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

But the inhabitants of Bali itself are mostly (90%) Hindu and the main target of the bombings is the tourist trade so you can't really characterise it as an attack on an Islamic population.Lisiate 23:19, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

As a side point, inaccuracies in night bombing during WWII ocassionally led to aircraft accidently attacking cities in the wrong country. The most famous 3 sided battle would probably be the battles of the Three Kingdoms--Fangz 18:59, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Tariff codes

Hi,

i am looking for a link for Harmonized System Tariff codes to find out what are the different codes for different prodcuts. Any idea?

eqbal

Our article on the Harmonized System, which will take you to a listing here. –Hajor 20:04, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Locating patents

I have a U.S. patent application number from the 1940s -- "533,378" (applied for on 4/29/1944). How can I tell if it was actually granted and what number it was assigned? The US patent website doesn't seem to go back that far, so I assume there is some other standard reference for this sort of thing. --Fastfission 19:08, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

• You are correct that there is such a reference, it is called the "Official gazette of the United States Patent Office." It is published every Tuesday and lists the patents issued that week with an example claim. You should be able to find the back issue you need at a Federal depository library. Crypticfirefly 05:45, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

corniela guest

There's a stub article about her at Cornelia Guest. --Metropolitan90 02:19, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

black people

why get mean

Do you mean, "Why do black people get mean?" If so, then please continue reading. The reason a person of African heritage would get enraged is the same reason why anyone of any other culture gets angry. The black people you have probably encountered were very defensive, and that's okay. Chances are, they are defensive due to poverty, or previous experience. Don't let that one person give you a view of how an entire race is: race is not a factor in one's behavior. People act differently, and their race has nothing to do with it. See stereotype. —MESSEDROCKER (talk) 04:18, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Arrest warrant

this is NOT complaint, but rather, a complement...i would just like to give a big shout out to the author of this article for using, as his example, the heinous criminal ' Nelson Muntz'...very funny stuff! S, Edina, MN.

• The person in question who added this content is Scott Sanchez. Perhaps you would like to leave a note on his talk page? ♥purplefeltangel ^(talk) ♥ ^(contribs) 23:01, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

Common Pheasant

What is the life span of the common pheasant?

Google seems to think about 18 years, although that sounds like quite a long time to me. Bear in mind that animals live far longer in captivity than they do in the wild.--inks^T 01:34, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Advertising campaigns

Wikipedia has a list of commercial failures, but is there a similar list or article about huge commercial successes, and if not, does anyone know where I can find a similar list online? This is purely out of interest/ curiosity. ♥purplefeltangel ^(talk) ♥ ^(contribs) 21:45, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

FTSE 100 Index? Ojw 11:39, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Hum, no. I'm talking about specific products. ♥purplefeltangel ^(talk) ♥ ^(contribs) 20:16, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

I don't understand

why did you block me? what does this mean? caught doing what?--Archive13 23:24, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

The above message relates to a misunderstanding caused by a vandal. See here for more information. Thanks. --Canderson7 00:08, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

birds

what is the most common bird in england?--84.68.202.84 23:44, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

The number one result from a Google search [32] gives a BBC report compiling the top 20 most commonly sited birds in the UK in 2005 [33] No 1 is Wood Pigeon. Although this is a UK survey I would bet that this result would apply to England as well as it would most likely provide the great majority of the sample. Majts 01:18, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Yes, the wood pigeon recently overtook the chaffinch. Incidentally, the commonest bird in the world is the chicken. Shantavira 11:19, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

e-commerce

Yes, I agree. E-commerce indeed. ♥purplefeltangel ^(talk) ♥ ^(contribs) 01:29, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Roman Empire

What were the classes of Roman society?

See the article Ancient Rome. —Wayward 05:02, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Green Llama

I was wondering who created the green llama, I remember seeing him on albinoblacksheep like a year ago and until recently it seems he is everywhere. Who created it? --Ice Jedi5

Hmm...

What happends if a unstoppable force, say... Juggernaut, the Marvel Comics one ran in to a unmoveable force, like Blob, from Marvel Comics? >_>

Since Juggernaut is unstoppable, he presumably has infinite momentum, which means either mass or velocity must be infinite. Since velocity can never be greater than the speed of light, he must have infinite mass, which would require infinite energy to move (there is not this much energy in the universe!). Since Blob is unmoveable, he must have infinite inertia, and therefore also infinite mass, and thus infinite density. Since neither of these are possible, unfortunately it must remain comic book physics. (Incidently, the article Blob (comics) states that Juggernaut can move Blob even when he increases his weight!) smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 09:34, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

See our article on the irresistible force paradox. Gdr 11:30, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Do trees have souls?

After all, they do contain living cells.-

Depends what you define a soul as it seems very much open to interpretation depending on your belief system. If you believe a soul is a spirit that emerges from organisms that contain living cells then yes. Being a pastafarian I personally believe that there is no such thing as a soul but many will disagree. Majts 07:33, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Many religions associate souls with consciousness or free will. Most people believe non-animals - or even non-humans, to have neither, they do not believe trees to have souls. A large variety of ancient faiths would beg to differ, of course.--Fangz 18:54, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

And do rubber trees have rubber souls ? LOL StuRat 11:31, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

As there is no empirical evidence for the existence of souls in anything, then the answer would have to be that all signs point to no. Despite this, however, many people, cultures, and religious believe in the existence of souls, so I guess it would really come down to individual views. Some think that only humans have souls, as they are somehow special or chosen. Some think that only animas, but not plants, have souls.. and some think that absolutely everything - animals, plants, rocks, the lot - have souls.

Finally, I would have to question Majts above - as a pastafarian if you don't have a soul, how do you get to the beer volcano and stripper factor? ;) Noodhoog 15:27, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

WBC Booster

I know there are drugs that some athletes take to increase their red blood cell count, but are there any drugs that increase your white blood cells to help your body fight a sickness?

Yes. G-CSF and GM-CSF are sometimes used in treatment of immunosuppressed people - such as people who don't have enough white blood cells - for example, when chemotherapy for cancer has reduced their white blood cell count. They are generally not used in infections in people with normal immune function. - Nunh-huh 07:36, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Stock Quote

Does anyone know the stock quote for Roche Pharmaceuticals? (www.rocheusa.com) I cant find it anywhere, I looked on the web site and I even did a search for it by name with yahoo stocks. Thanks

From the Wikipedia article Hoffmann-La Roche it appears that Roche Pharmaceuticals could belong to Roche Holding AG, which is listed in on the SWX Swiss Exchange, ticker ROC.S. --Commander Keane 09:00, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

There are three listings on NASDAQ: ROCHE HLDG AG DIV RT, RHHVF; ROCHE HLDG LTD, RHHBY; ROCHE HLDGS AG BEARE, RHHBF. —Wayward 09:22, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Boosting HP without a turbo/super charger

I was watching this show and they had a 1.8L Acura Integra that had 240HP. They said it didnt have a supercharger or a turbo and without NOS. How did they get so much power out of the engine when the stock HP rating is so much less?

There are many specific ways, but most include raising the Compression ratio along with a larger Intake manifold and Throttle body and more agressive Camshafts. -Drdisque 03:43, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

This kind of modifications push the point at which maximum torque is achieved higher up the rev range, thus increasing maximum power (power is torque times revs). Obviously, increasing the maximum RPM an engine does puts additional strain on the components. So, for such a high-powered small motor, it's quite likely that it's been fitted with moving bits (pistons, camshafts, valves, valve springs, and so on) made out of higher-quality alloys so that the damn thing doesn't fly apart. Engine life is also probably somewhat shorter than a stock one, too.

Honda is, however, noted for getting lots of power out of their motors, even stock. The Honda S2000 gets 240 HP out of a stock 2.0 litre naturally aspirated motor, using variable valve timing to ensure the thing is reasonably tractable at slower engine speeds. --Robert Merkel 03:06, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

CAN COCKROACH USE AS SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR FLASHLIGHT

No. David Sneek 09:20, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Why do men sexually abused as children sexually abuse theirs?

--anon

It's complicated -- typically, victims of abuse follow one of two tracks - the become crusaders against abuse, or they become abusers themselves. See cycle of abuse →Raul654 11:53, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

As noted in the earlier debate on this page; it is far from inevitable that an abused person will become an abuser. Reasons for it could be: belief that it is normal behaviour, attempts to exact revenge or trying to re-live traumatic event. MeltBanana 12:56, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Madness (UK Band)

I would like to know if the band had any success in Australia. Did any singles or Albums chart here as I cannot discover the answer to those questions anywhere.

• Yes, they did. My recollection is that "It Must Be Love", "House of Fun" and "Driving in my Car" all went top 10 in Australia in 1982. Capitalistroadster 04:48, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

HOW LONG DID THE Battle of Fredericksburg LAST ON THE LAST DAY.

They were still fighting at sunset of the 13th, apparently, so "all day"? They stayed around on the 14th, then left on 15th-16th [34] First shots would have been 11 December 1862. [35] Ojw 14:48, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

rooster/chickens

this may sound dumb,but a co-worker said that a rooster`s testis are located under their wing while I disagree.....can you help ? thanks

    Everyone knows a rooster's "testis" are located under their chin, duh.

They are inside the body near the spine. As to whether or not you consider this "under their wings" is up to your own interpretation. Considering a chicken's wings (when drawn in to their body) cover most of their body, it's really a matter of semantics. Dismas|^(talk) 21:51, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

LIFE

ARE THERE ANY CITIES THAT HAVE EXISTED SINCE PRE-HISTORIC TIMES

According to Plato the city of Atlantis was lost 11,000 years ago which certainly qualifies as pre-history. Ignoring myths though, the serious answer is that what we define "pre-history" is the age before writing was recorded. As the very first written records also tend to date at about the same time as the very first cities about 6000 years ago. Many believe that mankind's ability to record written records was the main factor in forming civilisation and cities. Therefore the first cities coincide with the ending of the period that we call pre-history. So the short answer is no. Majts 16:30, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Several cities in the Middle East, e.g. Damascus and Jericho, have been settled since, approximately, the invention of agriculture. I don't think the Neolithic settlements can be counted as cities, but they were there. —Charles P. (Mirv) 16:43, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Damascus is, I believe, thought to be the oldest continually settled location in the world, though much of this is conjecture - historical records only really begin for the site maybe three thousand years back, but it could well have been continually inhabited for about ten to twelve thousand. A lot of cities you'd expect to be remarkably ancient are surprisingly modern - Cairo is younger than London! Shimgray | talk | 00:02, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Existed as a city, as a town, or simply as an inhabited place? Jericho is probably a contender for longest town at the same site, and dates back before historical records. For several large cities, it is likely that the area was inhabited before historical records: this is likely true of Athens, Rome, Paris, London, and many others. In fact any old city without a historical record of its founding meets the definition of being a "pre-historic" settlement before it was a "historic" town. So the short answer, is many. alteripse 17:19, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

what is the name for a code of beliefs or doctrine?

(no question other than the title)

Depends on context but dogma , religion and philosophy could all be perfectly reasonable answers to this question Majts 16:45, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Also ideology. AlMac|^(talk) 17:00, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

or creed or credo. - Nunh-huh 17:37, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

or manifesto? Ojw 19:30, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

or ethos? User:Zoe|^(talk) 06:12, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

or mission statement? Proto t c 13:22, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

WHAT ARE THE TEN GREATEST BOOKS EVER WRITTEN.

You might get better satisfaction visting a public library. Because then you not have to deal with the computer interface challenges that lead you to be repeating the same question over and over and over again. AlMac|^(talk) 17:01, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

• "Great" is in eyes of beholder. I personally believe one of the greatest is the invention of the encyclopaedia. AlMac|^(talk) 17:03, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
• Some documents, strictly speaking, are not books, but I think so great as to be worth mentioning, like a nation's constitution. AlMac|^(talk) 17:04, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

We do have an article called Big Read with details of some national polls for the ten "best loved" books as opposed to great ones. Majts 18:30, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

In case you didn't know those national polls where done in the United Kingdom. Please remember this is an international project, Majts. When you talk about national things please specify which country you're talking about. Still, it's a good suggestion. - Mgm|^(talk) 20:02, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

If you actually read the article those national polls were in the UK, Germany and Hungary which define international in my book Majts 20:15, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

• I think on the "Humanities" question page (or maybe it's this one?) there's a list of the top bestselling books of all time. ♥purplefeltangel ^(talk) ♥ ^(contribs) 20:38, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

The important question here is probably: "According to whom?". However, you might be interested in taking a look at the article Western canon, for a discussion of some influential opinions on the subject. Oh, and turn off your capslock, please. / Alarm 20:54, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

BMW owners

How many people in south Africa own the new 760li BMW. AKA .V12

   2364

NOT DRACULA

BESIDES DRACULA WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF THE BOOKS WRITTEN BY BRAM STOKER.

See Bram Stoker for a list of his works, and turn off your capslock please. —Charles P. (Mirv) 18:35, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

food in atlanta, ga

Anyone know some good food in midtown, Atlanta? $20 or less would be nice.

for visitors, I frequently recommend the Park Tavern (500 10th St NE, Atlanta, 30309). If you like sushi, Ru San (1529 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, 30324) is very good and has great prices, If you require a place in the hart of midtown, I'd suggest The Vortex (fancy burgers) (878 Peachtree St NE # 4, Atlanta, 30309) or Joe's On Juniper (1049 Juniper St NE, Atlanta, 30309) (most of the waitstaff is pretty gay there if you don't like that sort of thing, but midtown as a whole is rather gay). -Drdisque 03:33, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

REMEMBER THE ALAMO

DID THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS BANKROLL THE Texas Revolution.

It was such a low budget operation that it bankrolled itself in the early stages. The US army completed the final stages of separation. The Europeans didn't have much role in this one. alteripse 05:55, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

The United States is not a European nation. We're on a seperate continent. (Yes, I'm picking nits). Dismas|^(talk) 14:56, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

• If Texas had remained independent, would they be the only ones stuck with our incumbent shrub? alteripse 17:05, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
  • No, since the family is from Connecticut. User:Zoe|^(talk) 20:03, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

KILLER

WHAT WAS THE FIRST Sniper rifle

The first modern firearm snipers may have been trained in 16th century Japan as a type of ninja or shinobi. They were supposedly trained to cover retreating armies. The sniper would lay in concealed ambush until an officer of the advancing army came into his firing range. There are several confirmed records of such attempts. Most were unsuccessful; the rifles used were of large caliber, but also of poor accuracy. Despite this, one of Japan's most famous warlords, Takeda Shingen, is reported to have been fatally wounded by a sniper's bullet. Sniper

Miami, Florida

Do you know any fictional Miami, Florida neighborhoods?

You could make one up yourself, see our article on fiction Majts 19:39, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

See Wikipedia's article about Vice City, " a fictional city in the Grand Theft Auto series that is loosely based on Miami, Florida." They have a listing of fictional Miami neighborhoods there. --Kewp (t) 10:06, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

higgins

are the higgins boats from worldwar 2 still in use by the army.

No →Raul654 20:22, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Mountains

What countries inthe caribbean have:-a)Fold mountains b)Volcanic mountains?--72.27.28.49 21:48, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

• Do your own homework, please. ♥purplefeltangel ^(talk) ♥ ^(contribs) 00:57, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
• Wikipedia has quite a nice coverage on mountains. Just drop by articles on different Caribbean countries and see if you can track down the mountains in the area to determine what kind they are. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:11, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

12 O' Clock High staring Robert Lancing - the series

Good Evening:

I am having difficulty locating information, regarding the availability of T.V. series reproductions for purchase, from the 60's T.V. series 12 O' Clock High starring Robert Lansing.I believe there were 78 episodes.

I have contacted TCM Broadcasting and the History Channel, with no results. Some of the segments are still being aired, but mostly in Canada.

Would sincerely appreciate any information that you would be able to provide. I am deeply interested in the historic aspect of the Mighty Eight Air Force, and have been spending much time in researching this topic.

Regards, Paul M. Anderson Ed.D, Ph.D. ( Retired ) Rockledge, Florida

E-bay may be your friend here, there seems to be alot of (unofficial) 12' Clock High tapes & DVDs available for sale there. Link [36]Alternatively post at imdb.com on the 12 O'clock High message boards Link [37] Majts 01:35, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

A bet about storms

I want to bet US$100 that they will run out of names for storms this year and will have to use Greek letters. Where do I go to place this bet?

A strange question - I'd say "find your friendly local bookie and ask them if they'll offer odds", but in the US I don't believe they have such things. Have a look around some of the online betting sites? I vaguely recall there being some that let you post original bets... Shimgray | talk | 23:47, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Bet against one of your nerd friends. ♥purplefeltangel ^(talk) ♥ ^(contribs) 01:09, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

• Since only storms with severe effects like Hurricane Katrina ahve their name retired, there's enough names that can be reused. I don't think making such a bet is a smart idea. Try reading our article on hurricanes and their naming conventions. - Mgm|^(talk) 11:13, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
  • I don't think they meant "have the name retired" - rather, there's an alphabetical list of names every year, one starting with A, the next with B, and so on. (Some letters are skipped, so there's only about 20). If they go through all of these in one year - ie, more than twenty storms - they don't start again at A but rather go on to Tropical Storm Alpha, Hurricane Beta, and so on. Shimgray | talk | 17:13, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

what was the time of sunset in Raymond, Hampshire, on october 17, 2000?

(no further question)

You can get this info from this link [38] if you put the right numbers in. Raymond, NH seems to be roughly longitude E71.2, latitude N43.0, which gives the answer for Tuesday 17 October 2000 as 17:30 Majts 01:22, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

what is the most edited article on Wikipedia?

George W Bush with over 16200 edits. A full ranking can be found at the bottom of link:[39] Majts 02:16, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

As a follow up I just did a quick word count on that article and it weighs in at a pretty impressive 11,700 words or there abouts. Which means that the article has about 1.5 edits for every single word in the article. That's insane. Majts 02:30, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Have you excluded the vandalism and reverts? :) --inks^T 04:51, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

If you exclude the vandalism and reverts, then the George W Bush article has had 3 edits ;) Ojw 13:36, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

If you'd exclude all vandals there wouldn't be a GWB, nor an article on him. :) I sure don't beat about the Bush, do I? DirkvdM 09:53, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Anyone else find it interesting that a user's talk page has more edits that the talk page of the Main Page? :) Dismas|^(talk) 04:07, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Why is it so hard to get a decent man?! (I need one!!!)

hi every 1.....is it just me or are all the nice (of course has 2 b hot also!)guys out in the world dying out...y? y? y?!...also, wile im typing this...do u guyz know any good science fair projects that i can do? it has 2 be a "not stupid" project, like "Which battery will last the longest?" or "can you make an egg flaot?"... ♥Hot F.l.i.p.

At the extreme ends of the scale, "nice" and "hot" are mutally exclusive. Also, what level science fair? And how long have you got to do it? Alphax ^τεχ 02:12, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

For your science fair, measure how many people read the directions (almost no one) and is that fixable.

1. example this page
2. example ... FTC director recent testimony to US Congress about spyware ... a buyer contract included instructions how to claim a $ 1,000.00 reward to first customer to read the contract. 3,000 people downloaded the software before anyone claimed the reward.

AlMac|^(talk) 02:28, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Maybe you can do a project on the etymology of the word "flaot". I've never heard of it before you used it up there in your question. Karmafist 02:37, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Why not combine your two questions into a science fair project. Ask a few hundred 40 year-olds what proportion of guys were "nice" in their day, and then ask a few hundred of your friends what proportion of guys are "nice" today. Ask your stats teacher to help you evaluate the data. Viola! Novel science fair project, and you answer your own question :)--inks^T 04:50, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

The ability to spell and communicate ideas clearly have always been attributes that I've looked for in a significant other. I also think I'm a not unattractive guy who prefers to be nice rather than mean. Dismas|^(talk) 14:38, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

um yeah....these science projects are great...but can u guys like specify the procedures n what things i might need.....and "Alphax"....it has 2 b (8th grade) gifted level...u c, my teacher bugs us about how we/I need to have a really good scaience fair project and a "not too complicated and not too simple" project..."you really have to understand what your doing /tryin to find out"...stupd Byotch!, i'm not really sure on what to do...maybe something that envolves chemical change...like what wiil happen if you heat up baking soda...oh my gosh im so stressed out about this!! pleez help me!!! and hey Dismas i think i know what your tryin to say but...what are you trin to say? ♥Hot F.L.I.P.

Flip, Inkypaws is right. What he is suggesting would be a very good science fair project, if you do it properly (and that means coming up with a proper experimental design and doing the stats correctly). Here's another random suggestion; measure the radon levels in some interesting places (your home, your friend's home, your school) and find out how much risk this poses to people's health. If you want to be provocative, compare the risk to a) the risk of dying from a nuclear plant accident, and b) the risk of dying in a terrorist attack. Good luck with your man-hunting, and here's a tip on behalf of the friends of the reference desk the world over - nerds can be hot too ;) --Robert Merkel 03:23, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Flip, what I meant was that using "u" in place of "you" or "2 b" in place of "to be" is unattractive to me. As well as using the word "like" as you have demonstrated in the first line of your reply. You aren't talking to a group of your teenage peers here. You are talking to a number of people, some possibly younger, many probably older than yourself. You are looking for intelligent replies to your questions. So why not conduct yourself with a little bit more professionalism and maturity. If I put "2 b" or "l8r" or any of that SMS shorthand in an e-mail to my superiors at work I would never be taken seriously and more than likely passed up for promotions, etc. Therefore, any woman that conducted herself like you have would be passed over by me without any thought of a first date. Even if she looked like Jodie Foster or Natalie Portman. Both of which are highly intelligent, lovely, and to my knowledge, very mature women. And the likes of Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson are two of the least attractive women on the planet. One because she has the maturity of a 12 year old and the other because she doesn't know if "Chicken of the Sea" is chicken or tuna. That is what I was saying. I'm lucky though, I've found an excellent woman which can be just as hard or harder as finding a "decent" man from what I'm told.Dismas|^(talk) 04:22, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I volunteer as a nice man for you to get. Provided you're a woman yourself. — JIP | Talk 08:04, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

1. Do you have any idea where nice men hang out?
   1. In Church groups?
   2. In volunteer groups, like Big Brother, the Red Cross
   3. So you join such groups and get both fulfillment doing good work, and build relationships with nice men
2. Do you have any idea where hot men hang out?
3. Are the two lists mutually exclusive?
   1. Do the statistics vary with age? In other words, where should a nice teenage girl go to find a nice or hot guy, but still be safe? Substitute other female ages ... is the answer different at college age, mature age, etc. ?
4. I am now over age 60 ... a co-worker who is about age 20 asked me some questions about relationships, and I loaned him the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus to help him see what it was he was having trouble understanding. Later he thanked me profusely because when he told some potential girlfriends about this book he was reading, he found out it was a turn on for them to find out he had this interest. I told him that was NOT the reason I loaned him the book. There is important stuff in there that you need to understand for a relationship to be long term satisfactory.
5. If your science fair project includes asking hundreds of people of various ages about their experiences locating and keeping desirable significant others, include another question
   1. WHERE did they locate this person ... include this for both the desirable and undesirable that way you can build statistics on each type of location ... the odds of a good match, and the odds of getting burned
6. If you going to ask hundreds of people, you also have to think HOW you going to conduct it so as to get A LOT of different people, a cross-section of community, yet do it in such a way that YOU are safe while you meeting lots of people, many of them strangers
7. you also need to avoid one that could be embarrassing if either teacher or other students ask questions about it, like the opposite sex.
   1. I did a science project once in which my father provided me with some condoms to do it, and it was really interesting to find out that they can leak, which I now suspect my father wanted me to find out on my own before I used one for what they intended for ... but when my teacher (a woman) started asking questions about how did I figure this or that out, I was too embarrassed to communicate effectively

AlMac|^(talk) 10:17, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

If you interested in living dangerously, there are all kinds of dating services like in the newspaper, or check the yellow pages. AlMac|^(talk) 06:36, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

why the sky is blue?

• Raman scattering.Geni 02:49, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
  • No, it's Rayleigh scattering - this is a must-know for quiz bowl -- :) →Raul654 02:52, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Places to live

What is the point of unincorporated villages if the post office doesn't use them for a mailing address?

Often the village has its own zoning board or village council that makes many decisions for the village rather than the county. -Drdisque 03:47, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

You'll have to be more specific. What state/country are you talking about? -- Mwalcoff 04:43, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

BRITSH ROMANTICISM, URGENT!!!

Hello, i need something about british/english romanticism. In wikipedia, you have romanticism, and representatives of british romanticism. Where can i find something about romanticism in G.B.?Please help, it's urgent. croatia

Here are some links that may be helpful. David Sneek 09:58, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

deleting contributions

is it possible for any wiki member to completely remove his contributions such as photos and articles?

No, I'm afraid it isn't. Once you've agreed to licence something under the GFDL, it's licenced that way permanently and irrevocably. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 11:45, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

However, a Crtierion for speedy deletion is "Any page which is requested for deletion by the original author, provided the author reasonably explains that it was created by mistake, and the page was edited only by its author", so you could go through and speedy tag the things you want removed, assuming you are the sole author. --Commander Keane 13:17, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

The key phrase is "by mistake". Unfortunately some people try to invoke this clause when they really mean "someone changed my article in a way I don't like" or "I've decided to leave wikipedia, and I want to erase myself from it", which isn't att all what is meant by "mistake". The standard for what constitutes a "mistake" is (or should be) very high. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 13:30, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

The ECU coin.

I have been searching the internet, via Google for the current price of the Ecu coins, ie. 1 ecu, 5 ecu and 10ecu coins, which I believe are composed of nickel, copper and silver. How much of each metal - I don't know. This was to be the new european money, but was thrown out in favour of the Euro. I cannot find anything on the internet, even coin companies who have websites, there is nothing mentioned about the Ecu, ie. buying and selling prices. Please help me find a suitable website with the above information or a contact number which I can use. Thank you.

• According to our article on the euro, "The European Currency Unit was an accounting unit used by the EU, based on the currencies of the member states; it was not a currency in its own right." So there were no coins or bank notes. It was not a currency that you could use to buy groceries in any country, although bonds were issued in ECU, I believe. They would have paid interest in another currency, however. Ground Zero | t 12:43, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Some countries put out commemorative ecu coins in the years running up to the euro: Ireland, Belgium. See also: pattern coins. Do the ones you've got indicate a country? –Hajor 15:18, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

We do have an article on the European Currency Unit (no "the" in the title). Garrett Albright 15:52, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Overlined p

I'm trying to write a transliteration in Syriac, and one of the traditional characters is a letter p with a line over it, to signify that its sound is softened. Unicode doesn't seem to have a single character for it (if you do find it, please let me know). What would be the combining diacritic? Thanks. --Gareth Hughes 14:11, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

It isn't ideal, but you can sorta hack it in CSS: P -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:05, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Orientation of Earth

How was it determined that the right way to view a map was to have north as the Top? Why don't we view earth the other way, i.e. south side being up.

Historical accident. In Europe, it used to be that maps were drawn with Jerusalem at the centre and East at the top (the T and O maps) - North at the top became established by, oh, the fourteenth century. I suspect, though I don't know, that this was driven by compasses always pointing North, making it the dominant direction. Shimgray | talk | 16:47, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Compasses point South just as much as they point North. DirkvdM 10:03, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The other reason that the dominant direction is north is because Northern Hemisphere ancients would have used the North Star for navigating. If civilisation had started in the Southern Hemisphere I would wager that maps would be the other way up. Check out some Upside Down maps to see how strange they look to us.

But these reasons don't explain why the dominant direction should be at the top. It seems arbitrary and even reflects in our language as "top" is always considered to take precedence over "bottom". Same reason that nearly all writing scripts ever created go from top to bottom, although there have been rare exceptions. I suspect some kind of ancient sub-conscious instinct effects the way our perception orientates abstractions. Majts 17:56, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, when you drop an object, it starts at the "top" and moves toward the "bottom," does it not? Seems rather natural to me. Garrett Albright 17:20, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

But that's 3D space, how does that relate to our 2D representation of it? Wouldn't it be an argument for orientating the other way round as the direction of travel is always towards the "south" or "bottom" ? Majts 17:55, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, I wasn't talking about the maps so much with that as I was about "top" taking precedence over "bottom" linguistically. Garrett Albright 19:48, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

This predates humans. Dominant dogs will stand tall while submissive dogs lie on their backs to make themselves seem small. Thus the "top dog" doesn't see the apparently much smaller dog as a threat, and leaves it alone. In humans, having an elevation advantage in a battle frequently led to victory, hence the "king of the hill" game. It is only natural, then, that Europeans, thinking themselves "superior" put themselves on top of the map. StuRat 21:03, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

If the north-orientation (note that 'orient' means east, by the way) started in the 14th century, then the maps probably didn't include much of Africa yet, so Europe would simply have been at the centre. I'm talking European maps now. Did other cultures make maps? And if so, how were they oriented? DirkvdM 10:03, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The remarkable Kangnido map, made by the Koreans in 1402, is oriented northerly. I believe other maps by the Koreans and Chinese from that time were northern-oriented as well. Garrett Albright 07:34, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

origin of "The earth isn't dying, it's being killed" quote

does anyone know where this origins? "The earth isn't dying - it's being killed. And those that are killing it have names and addresses" It looks a lot like this is something originally said by Utah Phillips but I've also read it as said as far back as by Leo Tolstoy. I don't know in what sense or what work any of them have written it (if Tolstoy has) and it's quite possible "Utah" quoted someone else...

As far as I have seen this quote always attributed to Utah Phillips. Maybe you should contact him or his webmaster to see if they will help. Interestingly this quote is the motto of the radical environmental defense movement Earth First! an organisation that the Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski had several associations with. It looks like he took the quote a little too literally. Majts 20:07, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Shakira's Next CD

Which one of Shakira's songs will be in English?

Why not try asking on the Shakira talk page? The people who watch the article and its talk page would probably know... and care. Dismas|^(talk) 02:23, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

• Her new album is called Oral Fixation 2 and all of the songs will be in English. The first single Don't Bother has just been released and the album will be released in November according to our Shakira article. Given the success of her last English album, I suspect plenty of people care. Capitalistroadster 05:02, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Scientific Name

What is the scientific name of the antifreeze sap present in Pine Trees?

:Their sap contains sugar that have antifreeze protein. It's from these complex sugars that we obtain Pine syrup, although maple syrup from maple sap is more popular. Majts 22:02, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Nitpick. The sugar doesn't contain the protein. The sap contains both. alteripse 23:39, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

That's more than a nitpick, that's a fundamental blunder by me in my understanding of biology. Of course sugar cannot "contain" a protein, so I have struck out my answer. I have always thought that the sugar that was the key ingredient for preventing freezing, but can't find any sources either way to confirm it. Majts 02:06, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I believe you're right about the sugar being the main antifreeze ingredient. If you put a bottle of apple cider in the freezer, the water portion will freeze, leaving a sugary "sap" unfrozen. Be sure to drink a glass of apple cider before this experiment so it won't overflow when it expands due to freezing. StuRat 21:09, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

The freezing point of any solution is decreased by the addition of more solute (osmolar depression); higher concentrations of sugar cause more depression of the freezing point. see [40]. - Nunh-huh 04:04, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The next in line

If first is the worst, second is the best, and third is the terd, what would 4th be?

Oliver North Majts 22:09, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

We always said that "Third is the nerd with the hairy chest" we also said that "fourth goes up north" but that isn't really much of a criticism or compliment. I grew up in Michigan and "up north" generally referred to the northern portion of the Lower Penninsula. -Drdisque 00:01, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

RELIGION

WHAT IS THE OLDEST CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES.

Do you mean oldest church building, oldest denomination or oldest congregation? The answer will probably be a Roman Catholic one in the Spanish South. Rmhermen 23:13, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

If that's what we're after, there's one in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that has a very good claim (oldest structure continuously used as such, since 1610). –Hajor 01:02, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Ooh!! Ooh!! But let's not forget the St. Joan of Arc Chapel, built in France even earlier than that and then shipped to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (I can't be typing this more than 100 yards from it right now.) --Maxamegalon2000 13:55, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Trilobites

What are trilobites and when did they first appear? This has been bugging me all week, do you have an answer? 204.60.216.184 21:07, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, if you are in the US it depends on what kind of school you attend, and what the preferred reference point is for timing that sort of thing: either (A) at the beginning of the Cambrian period about 542 millions years ago, or (B) on the 5th day of creation. See trilobite. alteripse 21:43, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Ravioli, pierogi, and gyoza

What is the generic term for ravioli, pierogi, and gyoza? Also, there is some overlap here, isn't there?

They're all stuffed pasta. As for overlap, it's usually pretty plain based on who's doing the cooking. There are certainly recipes that use gyoza wrappers with, say, traditional or non-traditional Italian fillings. - Nunh-huh 01:13, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

GOD BLESS THE ACLU

ARE THERE ANY BOOKS ABOUT THE ACLU.

• Plenty →Raul654 00:21, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Largest city without a rail station?

I can't decide whether this is technology-related, and therefore Science, or society-related, and therefore Humanities. So it's going here in Miscellaneous! Anyway, question as per the subject line: what is the world's most populous city without at least one railway station providing a passenger service, excluding light rail and metro systems?

Calgary (pop. 1.037m) is the largest city I could find quickly that has no such service (though it does have a light rail network); that must surely have a good claim for being the largest city in the Western world without an intercity train service (though please do tell me if there's a larger one), but what about in other parts of the globe? Loganberry (Talk) 00:35, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

No passenger trains to or from Mexico City since privatization in the late 90s. Nice metro and some very busy bus stations, though. –Hajor 01:19, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Thank you. I must admit that I hadn't even considered that a relatively advanced country like Mexico would have effectively abandoned intercity rail travel, but it just goes to show. And now I come to think of it, Freetown is slightly larger than Calgary, and Sierra Leone doesn't really have a rail network, so that's another very large city with no trains. Loganberry (Talk) 12:36, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Economic development has little to do with it. Several large American cities, including Las Vegas, Columbus and Nashville, lack train service. Several others have only one train a day in each direction, or even less service than that. In North America, governments decided to invest in highways rather than rails, and people usually live too far apart for rail travel to be attractive. Outside of the Northeast, few Americans ever travel by train. Before I went to Europe, the longest train trip I had ever been on was from Baltimore-Washington Airport to Union Station in DC! -- Mwalcoff 02:58, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Distinct lack of poetry in the governmental soul. It came on the heels of a time of massive investment in Mexico's road network, both public and private: gorgeous new toll highways that private motorists largely couldn't afford (and most of those private roads have since been baled out by public funds). With an intensely road-focused transportation policy like that, running the passenger trains into the ground and finally doing away with them must have seemed logical. Going by train was always slower than taking a bus, even before the highway upgrades, but it was significantly cheaper, too: an important consideration for a lot of passengers. –Hajor 17:41, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I had been going to suggest Singapore, but it turns out it's got a single line out connecting it to Kuala Lumpur and thence the world. Hong Kong doesn't seem to have an intercity rail link according to our article, which surprises me - perhaps it's just not mentioned, or one hasn't been built since reunification. Shimgray | talk | 12:46, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

The Columbia Encyclopedia has this to say: "Hong Kong's rail link with the mainland is by the Kowloon-Guangzhou Railway." So it looks as though the Wikipedia article just doesn't mention it. Loganberry (Talk) 00:28, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Six degrees of separation with websites

I'm looking for a website similar to the Oracle of Bacon but that finds paths (and gives the length) between two URLs. Anyone knows of anything of the sort? ☢ Kieff | Talk 01:02, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

This might well be a bit too resource-intensive to be practical. The problem is an instance of the shortest path problem for a directed graph; as noted, Dijkstra's algorithm is the fastest non-heuristic way to solve that. If you assume we have m web pages, and n links between them, the worst-case performance of Dijkstra's algorithm is proportional to $m+n\log n$. Given that m and n are both very large numbers, the standard algorithmic attack may be very expensive. Now, the performance in practice depends on the topology of the graph of the web; and this has been studied fairly extensively; see this summary for an introduction (this might give you an idea about the *average* separation of URL's). I'm not sure how Dijkstra's algorithm performs on this sort of graph; in any case, you could probably use some A* search heuristics to speed the process up. But, in any case, this doesn't look like the sort of thing you can code up in Perl in a spare half hour on any handy internet-connected box. --Robert Merkel 02:07, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I would have thought that nearly all URL's have only 2 degrees of separation with Google's index in the middle? Majts 02:18, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Restrict the question to statically-generated pages, maybe, or specifically exclude search engines? --Robert Merkel 08:01, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

There's always Six degrees of Wikipedia. --Commander Keane 08:37, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, I was expecting that running a webcrawler with a few exclusions would be good enough. Hyperlink networks are far more complex than imdb or Wikipedia, but if search engines can crawl the web they could gather the data for that, I'd suppose, so hence my curiosity. ☢ Kieff | Talk 00:00, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

"What qualities an you bring to this organization?"

This question or its variants, "What can you offer us?", "There's 100 guys applying for this job and smarter, more creative, motivated, etc. what can you offer me?", etc. is a staple of any competitive interview for anything. How does one master this question?

lots of issues | leave me a message 01:07, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

In general, do your homework, get your best idea of what they are really looking for, and use the opportunity to sell those aspects of your personality, experience, and qualifications that make you well suited to the position. That's fairly standard advice.

Now, a little bit of personal opinion. In response to the second variation of the question, I'd be tempted to add a coda, "Given that, if after this interview you conclude that there are 100 other applicants who are better suited to this job than I am, by all means hire them instead of me.". In my view, if they've bothered to interview you, clearly there must have been something in your resume that made them think you were one of the best people for the position. And, personally, I think an employer asking such a question is trying to test whether you have confidence in yourself and your suitability for the position, and so showing a bit of confidence in one's own merits is the appropriate response. But then, maybe I'm just an arrogant SOB. --Robert Merkel 02:33, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I usually hand the interviewer a packet of photos and say "do the other 100 applicants have the negatives for these pictures of you in compromising positions with assorted farm animals ?"

re 16 y/olds

what the hell man if they are comin at you , means they want somthin ,more better you look after them and care for them ,than they get on the street uh?

So what are you talking about? teenagers? assault? Homelessness?adoption? street children? why don't you try asking again.

Worse, linguistic entropy. alteripse 03:01, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Supreme Court cases

How can a current Supreme court justice turn over a case that was already decided, such as Roe V. Wade?

See Precedent WAS 4.250 09:02, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

A justice can't overturn a case, but a majority vote of the Supreme Court can. User:Zoe|^(talk) 03:37, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, no, they cannot just decide to re-visit an old case. A new case (with a similar issue) must be brought before them and accepted. Then they can deal with it in a way that may reverse a previous decision. --Blainster 19:16, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

Hurricanes in Europe

Hurricane Vince is heading towards Europe, How often does Europe get hit with Hurricanes?

According to Wikipedia's article about hurricanes, most so-called "Hurricanes" that hit Europe are in fact extratropical cyclones. "When a tropical cyclone reaches higher latitudes or passes over land, it may merge with weather fronts or develop into a frontal cyclone, also called extratropical cyclone. In the Atlantic ocean, such tropical-derived cyclones of higher latitudes can be violent and may occasionally remain at hurricane-force wind speeds when they reach Europe as a European windstorm." (See European windstorm for a list of notable European windstorms). Sometimes these storms originate as tropical cyclones (hurricanes), sometimes not.--Kewp (t) 05:44, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

bloodclotting

Why would a ten year old girl who just started her menstral 2 months ago have such heavy monthly bleeding and blood clots during her cycle? what is tha a sign of?

Uh... Puberty? ☢ Kieff | Talk 04:01, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

The explanation is likely one of the following four things.

1. Prolonged estrogen and anovulation. The first couple of menstrual periods after menarche are often heavy. Many girls do not ovulate for some of the early cycles. Before menarche the endometrium has had a couple of years of rising estrogen levels to make it thick, and the mechanism of menstrual bleeding is somewhat different in ovulatory and anovulatory cycles. After a few months, the menstrual periods are likely to get lighter, especially after ovulation begins.
2. Perception. A little bit of blood goes a long way. Count the days and count the number of pads used. Your doctor can tell you whether the actual number is unusual.
3. Normal but above average. Some girls have heavier flow than others. This may be normal for her even if heavier than average.
4. Coagulopathy (abnormal blood clotting). A small percentage of girls discover when they start having menses that they have a mild blood clotting disorder like Von Willebrand's disease. This type of problem causes heavy menstrual bleeding, and may cause problems after surgery or a major injury, but might never have come to attention before menarche. Your doctor can order blood tests to check the clotting if this seems likely.

The first possibility is by far the most likely. If the bleeding stops in less than 9 days, and most of those days she uses less than 10 pads I would recommend waiting a couple more months to see if the problem takes care of itself. It probably will. (On the other hand, this is just free advice based on some guesses; if the flow is a lot heavier than that or she is having other symptoms, have your doctor check a CBC to be sure she is not losing too much blood). There are simple things that can be done to stop a period if there is a dangerous amount of blood loss. alteripse 04:08, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Interesting bit on the coagulopathy, though, never heard of such a thing. Can it actually risk the girl on causing severe blood loss? ☢ Kieff | Talk 10:15, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Rarely. If harm is actually caused by heavy periods, it is usually iron deficiency, not exsanguination. alteripse 11:27, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

"OK"

What do the letters in OK (as on "yeah, OK") stand for?

• It is a short form of Okay. Capitalistroadster 05:06, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
  • No, "okay" is probably expansion of "OK", as best as anyone can tell. See the Old Kinderhook and Oll Korrect explanations in Okay. — mendel ☎ 23:38, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

microwaving

I've never been game enough to try, so can someone tell me, what happens when you put a living thing in the microwave (anything, from plants, to bugs, to cats). Any first-hand data? --Ballchef 06:07, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

It would heat up until it dies; microwaves can also damage eyes, apparently. One women was charged with murdering her infant child by putting it in the microwave, though whether the death was from running out of air, or heatstroke, is not clear. Aren't you glad you asked? :/--Robert Merkel 07:58, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Other than killing them, the result is the same thing as happens to nonliving things. The microwaves cause certain parts to heat up, causing thawing, cooking, killing, and sometimes explosions or fire. Micowaving metal can create sparks. Things with a skin surrounding something wet need to be punctured before microwaving so they don't explode. This includes eggs, potatoes, sausage and mice. WAS 4.250 09:12, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

That "mice" bit made me shudder. You never did that experiment, did you? ☢ Kieff | Talk 10:10, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

At the risk of sounding cruel, if have an anecdote to share. During my crazed, insect killing adolescence, I read in The Straight Dope of killing roaches in microwaves. As our riverside home was infested periodically with ghastly american cockroaches (aka 'Waterbugs'), I recreated the experiment. A single adult roach died in less than 5 seconds at high power. At 30 seconds, it's abdomen swelled to nearly the rupturing point, presumably from steam pressure, but by that point the beast was long expired. I have since ceased killing arthropods, by electrical or another means, and frequently escort wandering spiders and beetles out of my apartment to live their nasty little lives in the bucolic splendor of the side yard. Brian Schlosser42 15:24, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I used to use the microwave to kill insects for my bug collection. It worked best if you put a cup of water in, too, or too much heat would concentrate on them and they would scorch. StuRat 17:10, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I think this was covered in the 1998 movie Urban Legend. And Snopes has a few pages (see this or this for a couple of related urban legends). It's a rather grisly way to be killed, don't you think? --Dynamite Eleven 16:58, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Ides of March

Can someone please tell me what Day of the week was ides of March 44 BC (ie. 15th March 44 BC). This was the day on which Julius Ceaser was murdered

To the extent that we can tell, Tuesday. Julius Caesar was actually assassinated on Tuesday 14 March 44 BC in the Julian Calendar (see that article). It's uncertain enough that it would be good not to be too insistent<g>. - Nunh-huh 07:40, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

The Romans still had an eight day week at the time, with a market day every eighth day. They expressed the day of the week as "x days before market day" unless it was a designated holiday or feast. So any attempt to convert the date into our equivalent 7 day week is fairly meaningless. Majts 08:42, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

so, as a follow-up question, how far back can we meaningfully assign weekdays? 09:54, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

writing in all capitals

why do people write their questions in all capitals? it says right at the top of the page that you should not write questions in all capitals. is it some form of rebellion or are they just stupid? — JIP | Talk 08:58, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

• Apparently some languages don't differentiate between regular and capital letters, but I expect most of those questions are a result of people failing to read the instructions to begin with. Hence the homework questions and people not using headers AND text explaining the question's context, etc, etc. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:13, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
  • I vote we shoot down all such questions on sight --Ballchef 09:19, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
    • I disagree since most seem to be legitimate questions. The user probably just doesn't know any better. As to the original question, I don't know. But if you figure it out, there may be a lot of money in it for you from any software company you can think of. :) Dismas|^(talk) 09:41, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

• I would urge tolerance, since this is a method used by people with low vision to make their text more readable (so they can see what they wrote). There are other methods to enlarge the font, but they may be unable to do so. StuRat 17:03, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

In that scenario, do you think they can read the answer? You might want to add something to the up top, that no one reads, that if someone SAYS they have an eyesight problem, the answer COULD be placed on their talk page, using extra large font size. AlMac|^(talk) 21:04, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

True, I have nothing against capital letters, but I don't like the non-sensical stuff, or doing homework for them, or arrogant writing (like what i wrote above). --Ballchef 23:54, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I've heard people use it to disguise their inability to correctly capitalise sentances. More likely, it is an attempt to draw attention to their question amongst the many on this page. Sometimes it may be lack of proficency with the computer - e.g. not knowing how to turn off CAPS LOCK, more of a problem than you might think for new users. This particulaly applies to the young, since older people have capitalisation more ingrained, and so find it more important. Plain laziness is a possibility, and hardware that cannot use lower case, or makes it difficult to change, such as mobile phones or handheld devices. Finally, although this may not apply here, some software requires the use of CAPS LOCK for correct operation. Although it is unlikely for a web browser, using another application with all capitals, particularly if it is a commonly used application, may make you loathe to ever turn off CAPS LOCK or even notice when you are using it inappropriately. For a real world example of the last situation, my wife works all due using pension-related financial software (designed for ye olden days) which requires all entries in upper case. I believe lower case characters simply do not register. So to prevent errors when using this application, she rarely turns off CAPS LOCK, even when using another application such as an email client. That's probably more information than anyone wanted. akaDruid 10:30, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Also note that many industries use caps. Draftsmen have traditionally used all caps in many cases, as they reproduce better when copied. FORTRAN and BASIC programmers traditionally used all caps, too, although this has reduced in recent times. Labels for file folders and signs are frequently all caps, too. Many people may just feel that case is a silly thing to worry about, as the case of a word rarely changes it's meaning. These people are just as likely to use all lowercase:

• I'M GOING TO NEW YORK.

• I'm going to New York.

• i'm going to new york.

StuRat 15:47, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

what is dry gin ?

what is meant when gin or other types of alcohol are referred to as being dry or extra dry ? eg dry gin,dry martini etc. thanks regards, Dr. Manish

Dry refers mainly to alcohol content but is also a component of flavor. "Drier" in a simple sense means less water, more alcohol. alteripse 14:30, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

It also refers to the lack of residual sugar after fermentation. This is particularly important in undistilled drinks (see Sweetness of wine). --Gareth Hughes 15:30, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

For wine, the terms sec, double sec, and triple sec also mean dry, dryer, and dryest. StuRat 16:59, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Apparent movement of the planet Venus

Venus has an almost perfectly circular orbit. It was mentioned by Dan Brown in his book The Da Vinci Code that in an eight year cycle, this planet discribes a perfect five pointed star as observed from the Earth!! I would like confirmation from any astronomical observatory, or a reliable refernce work in the Wikipedia. Thank you very much Tau Paulus

• Our article on Venus doesn't say, but its references may still be helpful for you to find further information. You can also try contacting User:Worldtraveller who appears to be our resident astronomy/space expert. - Mgm|^(talk) 18:45, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Try The Da Vinci Code for a start. There are some comments later in the article. DJ Clayworth 17:58, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Look, this is obviously false, if it's been cited correctly from the novel here (I don't remember that passage offhand).

Imagine yourself on the outer ring of a merry-go-round (carousel) making one rotation every 15 seconds, with an inner ring that rotates faster, rotating every 10 seconds. Ignore the whirling landscape and fix your eyes on the inner ring. What do you see? You see it rotating in a circle every 30 seconds [which is how long it takes to "lap" you -- 1/(1/10-1/15)]. Well, the motion of Venus as seen from the Earth is the same -- we see it complete a circle around the Sun every 1.6 years [the length of time it takes to lap the Earth].

The number 1.6 there is exact, because Earth and Venus are in resonance and 13 Venus years = 8 Earth years. This means Venus laps the Earth 5 times (13-8) in every 8 Earth years, and that's presumably where Brown got the number 5 from, to tie it to the pentacle. But the idea that two circular motions around the same center (and for this purpose both orbits are near enough to circular) could produce a star-shaped result is just silly.

Of course, when I say that the resultant motion of Venus is circular, that's a 3-dimensional view. We actually see it from the Earth as moving in a line at various speeds over the spherical surface of the sky, because of our edge-on perspective to the circle. But that line essentially forms a simple back-and-forth motion if you view the sky as attached to the Sun and rotating with it; and if you don't, it wraps around the Earth every day like a ball of string around a core, just like the path of the Sun itself. It still doesn't form anything like a pentacle.

By the way, I loved the book as entertainment.

--Anonymous, 02:30 UTC, October 12, 2005

I can't picture this well enough, but assuming the orbits of Venus and Earth are not in the same plane (which is very likely), then every time Venus passes the Earth it is at a different inclination until, the 5th time, after 8 years, they've gone 'full circle' and it appears at the same inclination again. Now if you don't take the measurement at the exact right time every passage you could get five points that form a pentagram (or a pentagram if you connect them in a somewhat more complicated way). This is not a very clear explanation, sorry. DirkvdM 13:30, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I assume the last comment meant to say "pentagon (or a pentagram if you connect them in a somewhat more complicated way)." StuRat 16:03, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Yes, of course, sloppy. DirkvdM 13:55, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

A hypothetical question

Let's say a commercial flight is headed from Los Angeles to Sydney. Somewhere in the last five hours of the flight it runs into a storm and disappears without a trace. Air traffic controllers in Sydney (and any Pacific islands in the area like Fiji or New Caledonia) can't contact it.

Now, let's say that the same plane appeared in the skies 24 hours later, exactly where it had disappared - still en route to Australia. Of course, it should have crashed long ago by running out of fuel. Not to mention, where has it been for the last day?

The pilots make contact with Sydney's airport and inform traffic controllers that as they headed into the storm, they lost consciousness, along with everyone else on the plane. Then they reawoke to find that it was the next day, and they were in the exact same spot. They request permission to continue and land at Sydney.

What do the air traffic guys in charge at Sydney airport say?

"Strewth." Proto t c 14:56, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

"Everything happens for a reason." --Maxamegalon2000 15:10, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

"Did you get Lost?" smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 15:32, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

"...but it happened" Brian Schlosser42 15:37, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

The major problem would be that most flights are daily at the same time - so somewhere in the vicinity is the next day's flight, assuming it wasn't cancelled as a result of the disappearance - as both are using the same callsigns, it's possible no-one notices straight away. The pilots blank out briefly, then come around, and unless they deliberately check the date they'll just think there was something weird for a second, since the plane will still be in the same state and outside will apparently be the same conditions.

Leaving this aside, the controllers in Sydney would get the plane down somewhere - possibly diverting it to a nearby island, if they're concerned about fuel issues - and then try and figure out what the hell went on. It's really the only sensible thing to do - if you have a plane that isn't where it should be, where the pilots report occasionally blacking out, and may suddenly do crazy things, you get it on the ground as the first order of business. They'd have some very interesting questions to ask afterwards, mind... Shimgray | talk | 15:33, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

I'd start whistling the theme song from the Twilight Zone, but I'm not an air traffic controller (...be greatful). RJFJR 16:17, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

They think nothing of it since they just crossed the international date line? Dismas|^(talk) 20:37, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Obviously, terrorists have hijacked the plane, killed the passengers, landed it somewhere, refueled it, filled the cabin and cargo with explosives, and intend to crash it into the Sydney Opera House. The air traffic controllers would act concerned and buy some time. Several minutes later, F/A-18s of the RAAF slip into position behind the suspicious aircraft and blow it out of the sky.--inks^T 21:54, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Would they really do that straight away? Wouldn't they order it to land at a military base, and THEN shoot it down if it didn't comply?

I'd imagine the Men in Black would swoop in, deneuralise the crew and passengers, then discover what sent the plane forward in time to use for doomsday weapons and other such tools... smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk), (Recent Contrib)} 14:50, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Don't be such a wiseass, I'm writing a story for my high school English class based on John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos. I did stipulate that it was a hypothetical question...

You should have said that in your question you would have had better answers. If a plane suddenly appeared where it isn't meant to be the Australian authorities would almost certainly treat the incident as if it was a hijack. Assuming the plane had enough fuel and complied with instructions, the Australian Air Force would escort it to a pre-designated emergency airport. If it was the UK it would be Stanstead Airport, but I don't know what Australia's contingency plans are. Obviously if the plane didn't comply then it would have a very good chance of being shot down these days. Majts 05:13, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Name Changes

Throughout history, many folks have changed their names for many different reasons, many different causes, many different religions, etc. Through the legal system of these United States of America, can one get away from certain contracts that hold a person liable for however terms or agreements/?, like a Loophole of quits, a freedom button if you will. Abort/Restart? Sort of the case with Prince Vs. Record Label when changed to that symbol 'The Artist Formerly known as...'(my keyboard doesn't have his symbol on the number pad, maybe the up-to-date keyboards from Minnesota should have the ESC button shift option for Princes symbol:)). ? A sort of ACT OF GOD clause., in that said persons said religion?

v ^ =

P.S. and by the way, Big ups to my Peeps at WikiP for being so patient with the masses., and also I do think this is the next biggest thing since GOOGLE to come from Al Gore's Internet. I think this is a great outlet for Truth., however wherever there is Truth, the enemy lurks., and the enemy will use the edit button to bemuddle the kids. But, "...And the Truth Shall Set You Free...," so we're not scared.

American name changes are governed by state laws. Most if not all, explicitly forbid changing names for fraudulent purposes. In other words, you can't get out a contract by changing your name. Contracts are holy here. alteripse 17:47, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

• Al Gore did NOT invent the internet.
  • The US military did, long before Al Gore was a household name.
• Al Gore promoted its growth in many places where it already existed.
  • and {perhaps) coined some cool phraseology like information superhighway to redefine what it was capable of.
• Basically the Democratic contribution here was to lobby for government funds to make sure that poorer people could get benefits from what had previously been a toy for the upper middle class and rich folks, and that we could try to apply US technology to help make USA more competitive in the world, which kind of backfired because other nations also applied stuff at Internet speed, such as making it possible for off-shore outsourcing of jobs via telecommuting, thus hurting much of the Democratic base. AlMac|^(talk) 21:17, 10 October 2005 (UTC).

• Yes, I agree entirely, by doing so, Al Gore actually created the latest economic ressecion, which is why nothing related to job growth, or the economy is George Bush's fault, I finally understand, thanks for enlightening me--Armen Schrikken 00:42, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia video clip on editing

I was once shown a video clip on how fast users respond to vandalism on a Wikipedia. The clip was about 5-10 minutes, and has a person talking in the background. Does anyone know the link to this video clip?--66.2.141.12 17:19, 10 October 2005 (UTC)Larysa

it's on the heavy metal umlaut article, see here. 17:24, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Attack of the Show's website had a link to a similar video a while back... I think the video involved the edit history of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake article or something like that. Pretty interesting, although I don't know if the video still exists or not. --Dynamite Eleven 01:58, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

the first bank in kerala

I believe it is Nedungadi Bank founded, in the year 1899, by Appu Nedungadi. It merged with the Punjab National Bank two years ago. Appu Nedungadi also authored Kundalatha, one of the earliest novels in Malayalam. Tintin 18:17, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Linspire

I am seriously considering getting Linspire, however I have a question, if I use the Live CD version, would I still be able to use my Windows Xp and also how does the live CD work, and is Linspire any good?

John

Yeah I think that's the point. The Live CD version just boot from the CD-ROM, so if you remove the CD from the drive your computer will boot XP as usual. However I'm not sure Linspire will be eable to access your hard drive if it's using the NTFS file system, so you might need to create a partition that use the Fat32 file system if you want to install any Linux software permanently that's not included on the CD, or if you want to share files between the two OSes. As for how good it is I'm not sure, never tried it. I've read some good things though. It's good for Linux newbies at least because you get support and it's very easy to install and use compared to the more "serious" distributions. Hardcore Linux gurus might consider it too "dumbed down" for theyr tates, but aside from the fact that you have to pay for it it should be good enough for your average desktop usage. You can get free Linux distributions that do most of the stuff Linspire does too though. But you'll have to download the Cd image file, burn the CD's and download and install additional software yourself. --Sherool 20:27, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

From what I learned from it I get the vague idea that Linspire tries to become the microsoft of Linuxworld. I believe you have to keep on buying stuff after you've bought the OS - a typical Windows problem (if you do it legally) that other distro's don't have. About the previous posting. You can use the live cd to try it out, but that will be very slow, so eventually you'll have to install it on a hard disk. The file system (such as ntfs and fat, which are both microsoft systems) is not a property of the hard disk as Sherool appears to suggest, but the way files are accessed on a partition and that is in the case of Windows usually determined by the os. With Linux you can use just about any fs (except ntfs, which is a bit problematic at the moment). For the partition on which you install Linux you need to use a native fs (such as Reiser) and for the data-partitions that wuold also be best. In that case the data will be 'safe' from Windows (viruses!) because it can't access it. But if you want both os's to access that data fat is the usual choice. Or ntfs, but accessing that with Linux is still problematic, as I said. The free distros need what Sheroo says, but if you pay for them you get an enormous amount of software with it, which can be installed directly, saving you a lot of work - and that for a fractio of the price that, in the case of Windows, you'd have to pay for just the OS. DirkvdM 13:54, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

What is credit risk?

(header only by questioner)

There are probably different kinds of credit risks.

• A rule of thumb ... Banks love to loan you money, unless you really need it.
  • The bank wants some assurance that they will get the money back, with interest, so they need proof that you have assets or income to cover the loan.
    • No such evidence, then no such loan.

AlMac|^(talk) 21:24, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

DVD Recorders

What kind of features should i be looking for when i buy a DVD recorder?

The biggest feature differential is whether it has a hard disk built in, making it a personal video recorder. With a PVR, you can do all sorts of cool things - most notably, record continuously while you watch so that if you miss something, you can replay it. Beyond that, you might like to read the DVD recorder article to get some ideas.

Frankly, if you have the cash, and are at all technically adept (or know somebody who is), I'd build a system using an appropriate PC and MythTV; it's a hell of a lot more powerful than anything the consumer electronics companies are prepared to sell you. --Robert Merkel 00:49, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

You forgot to mention whether you want a 'standalone' machine (just for films I believe) or one for the computer. The latter is a lot cheaper and more versatile (can store any data), but requires more work. DirkvdM 13:59, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

CONSTRUCTION

How long would it take to build a bridge from long island to mexico.

Do you mind

1. Post your question ONCE only?
2. If you make a keying error, such as not capitalizing the name of a country like Mexico, FIX it where you originally posted the question, instead of reposting with that correction.
3. Use a subject title that is a bit more descriptive of your question.

Now as for your specific question, the answer is that if you are talking Long Island New York then it will NEVER get built, because there is no incentive for anyone to finance such a project.

Take a look at a map of North America.

AlMac|^(talk) 21:28, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Considering there is already a land route between those two places, there is no need for such a bridge to be built (since it would have to cross a large portion of the continental US anyway). Google Local says that it would take approx 39 hours to drive from Levittown, NY (a city on long island) to Laredo, TX (the closest major city on the US-MEX border I could think of) -Drdisque 16:19, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• I believe this person is trying, and failing I might add, to be funny, and is probably cracking a joke, about the number of improverished hispanic communities in certian parts of LI--Armen Schrikken 00:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
  • To clarify my statement further, despite the common belief that LI is populated by 99% spoiled upper middle class WASPS, there are actually many low income areas, where the residents can't actually afford to move anywhere else, and essentially stay in perminant endentured servitude to their land lords, until such time as they can pay off their debts, a bit like the post civil war, deep south, not that I'm drawing any comparisons--Armen Schrikken 00:36, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

sports

WHAT IS THE WORLDS MOST DANGEROUS SPORT.

I've heard (but have no corroborating evidence) that it is Aussie_rules football.--inks^T 21:58, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Extreme ironing :)

You might like to check our articles on Category:Extreme sports ☢ Kieff | Talk 22:24, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

• Checking out Extreme sports would help you find a list of the likely candidates. BASE jumping] would be a likely candidate in my view. Capitalistroadster 02:10, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Hmmm. I think it's debatable whether BASE jumping is a sport or a hobby, just as we don't generally class skydiving or Scuba diving as sports. How do you keep score for BASE jumping - number of jumps completed thus far, weighted for altitude, perhaps? :) --inks^T 02:21, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
• Our Extreme sport classifies both skydiving and Base jumping as sport. According to our sport article which defines sport as "A sport consists of a physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. A sport has physical activity, side by side competition, and a scoring system." Our BASE jumping states that BASE jumpers aim to achieve at least one jump from a Building, Antennae or tower, Span or bridge and Earth (a cliff normally). Skydiving has regular world championships using style and accuracy as criteria for judgement. As well, Auto racing and Boxing are possible contenders Capitalistroadster 04:53, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
• I've heard that skiing is the most dangerous sport, probably in terms of the sheer number of injuries caused. It probably scores over BASE jumping because of the number of participents. I've no evidence tho :) akaDruid 10:00, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
• I'm told that more casualties result from fishing than any other sport. Which really illustrates an important principle, that you have have consider the number of people participating when you figure out how dangerous a sport is. DJ Clayworth 20:51, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
• I would expect it to be Cave diving, although people who actually do that disagree. Ojw 19:14, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I venture that motorcycle racing kills more competitors than any other sport.--Eye 20:34, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

BAD BOOKS VERY BADD

What are the ten worst selling books of all time.

I'd suspect that a few thousand books get published but don't sell any copy at all, especially if these are by unknown of first time authors. The best way to answer your question, I suppose, would be to use the amount of money invested on printing, publishing and marketing, which are data I have no clue how to find. ☢ Kieff | Talk 22:17, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Even worse are the ones that get published by vanity presses but don't sell any copies at all, because they're funded by the author and not the publisher. Receiving no royalties is one thing, but losing significant money on your own book is another thing entirely! I suspect there are thousands of such books. — mendel ☎ 23:27, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

Actually, despite the bad press they get (groan) self publishing is an appropriate avenue to get some types of books out there, especially niche market books that would not be cost effective for a major publisher. Family histories, local reciepes, local history etc are all types of books for which self publishing can be a good avenue. Trollderella 16:14, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

In 2001 these were the 10 worst selling titles on Amazon.com:

1. "Mastering Management: Your Single-Source Guide to Becoming a Master of Management," various authors.

2. "Side Trip," Katie King. (Audio book).

3. "The Winthrop Papers," Vol. VII of papers of Massachusetts governor John Winthrop, published by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

4. "Michael the Magnificent," Phyliss Simpson, children's book published in 1967.

5. "Principal's Handbook: Current Issues in School Law," by William E. Camp, Julie K. Underwood and Mary Jane Connelly.

6. "Review, Latin American Literature and Arts, 41: Contemporary Latin American Literature/Photography."

7. "Fort Pulaski, National Monument, Georgia (National Park Service Handbook No. 18)."

8. "Introduction to 20th Century Architecture," by Polly Powell and Lucy Peel.

9. "2000 NCAA Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations," compiled by Paul J. Duffy.

10. "Cream of Wheat Advertising Art," by Dave Stivers.

lots of issues | leave me a message 23:54, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

By golly, I've been looking for a book on cream of wheat advertising art! And I've always wanted to master my management so I could become a master of management, too! Garrett Albright 19:42, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

DVD sales in New Jersey

How many DVDs are sold in the state of New Jersey each year? -- unsigned

• That's really an absurd question, I mean, seriously, what are the parameters of this experiment? Do, for instance, street vendors selling bootleg DVDs count as sales? If so, you're never going to find your answer, street vendors keep terrible records, also, they take forever to cash a personal check, even after you give them your social security number, pin number, and account number, I'm still waiting for that damn check to clear, oh well, luckily I gave him my home address and date of birth, in case he needs to contact me to give me my money--Armen Schrikken 00:29, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

This would be rather hard to track down to say the least. If you could track down sales data from all the movie distributors then you could maybe figure out a rough figure. Although I doubt they break it down by state. Also, please turn your caps lock off. Dismas|^(talk) 02:40, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

OSHA offices

~~How many Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offices are there in the U.S? Thanks alot68.197.6.37

Their website lists number of inspectors, not offices. It might be faster and more accurate to just call your local office and ask?--inks^T 01:22, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Tomboy/Gay

If a Boyish girl is called a Tomboy, why is a girlish boy called gay? - (unsigned)

"Sissy" is a more specific word for an "effeminate" male. "Gay" has other more specific meanings. Generally, calling a boy girlish, sissy, or gay would be considered an attack, impolite, and not particularly admirable. People who use epithets like that have a somewhat more constricted view of sex roles than does the rest of modern society. So the answer to your question is "a girlish boy is called gay by someone who wants to hurt him". - Nunh-huh 02:08, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

"Boysish" girls can be called less charitable things, like "butch" or "dyke" or "lesbian". Also note that there is a change with the age of the person in question. Boys are expected to be rather "girlish" until puberty, with no body hair, high voices, undeveloped muscles, tendency to cry, etc. StuRat 17:58, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

May be a British term, but the closest male equivalent to "tomboy" for a "girlish boy" I can think of is "nancy-boy". Canley 06:55, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The Rock early stage names

Hi, Just wanna know why The Rock (entertainer) used Pidlaoan Rock as one of his stage names? Thanks.

Our article on Dwayne Johnson is silent on this issue other than noting he used the name. He has an autobiography The Rock Says published in 2000. I will crosspost this question on his discussion page. Capitalistroadster 03:10, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Relationship trouble

How do you get out of the "Just Friends" Rut? I can't gamble with this relationship though she's one of my best friends.

Aaah, the eternal question of "nice guys" everywhere. Don't worry, there's approximately one million theories about what to do in this situation. You can find some of them by searching for '"just friends" rut" on Google like this. --Robert Merkel 04:04, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I believe Dan Savage answered a question like this at some point. I can't find it now, but I'm sure the gist of it was that there's no risk-free way to try to break out of the rut. If it turns out she's not interested, there's no way to make everything go back to the way it was, but if you do it in a mature, honest, non-creepy way, then you can at least pare down the subsequent really awkward period. That's my executive summary; you'd do better to find more extensive advice. — Laura Scudder | Talk 16:30, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Ask the girl in question exactly what you asked us without saying it is her and not saying it is not her. Note that her reaction immediately may be one thing and her behavior after a day or so of reflection may be another thing. You get what you want more often when people know what you want. WAS 4.250 11:40, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

What volume of air does a person use up?

If you have an Air tight house that's about 1500 square feet, how long would it take before all the air ran out, assuming someone didn't leave and breathed normally.

You need to know the volume of the house, not just it's area, i.e. how high the ceilings are. Secondly the air will not run out, nor will the oxygen, but what you will die of is carbon dioxide poisoning, from all the air that you breath out. This was what nearly killed the crew of Apollo 13 on their return to Earth. Here is all the information you need from Google Answers to work out your answer. Majts 04:35, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Leather boot lining problem

I have a pair of leather boots that have a sticky lining and would like to know if there is anything I can do to solve this problem?Please help me with this problem.Bannava 04:29, 11 October 2005 (UTC)anon

Talcum powder or Baby powder should fix it. If the boots are stinky, you may want to get some powder specially made to make footwear not stinky. In the US, I know Dr. Scholl's sells such a powder. -Drdisque 16:16, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Scarlett

Scarlett, Margaret Mitchell's sequel to Gone with the wind, seems to be missing from the Wikipedia list of new books for the year 1991

• Our 1991 in literature article does now. Thanks for the tip. Capitalistroadster 04:58, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Better Degree

under current economics condiions, is it better to read for a bachelors degree in information technology or economics and management

• Depends on which country you are from. Different economies are in different states. In Australia, the economy is quite strong while in Germany, the economy is in deep depression. Capitalistroadster 06:01, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Germany's economy may be growing rather slowly (0.7% expected this year, 1.1% forecast for 2006 [41]), but it's not in a deep depression. David Sneek 07:40, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

However, in general, employment conditions in the IT industry are a lot better than people believe, if not as good as they were in those hazy crazy days of the late 1990's. However, in the English-speaking world at least, the really hot jobs at the moment include things like nursing (in fact, any medicine-related field), and mining engineering. But by the time you finish your degree who knows what the situation will be? --Robert Merkel 22:52, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Hurricane Katrina

What was the final death toll of Hurricane Katrina?

Please remember to search first. -- Ec5618 16:46, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

From Hurricane Katrina: "The official death toll now stands at 1,242" ☢ Kieff | Talk 08:43, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• That article also has an entire section devoted to the death toll. Hurricane_Katrina#Death_toll_.28summary.29 - Mgm|^(talk) 08:49, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Plagarism?

I've recently been accused of plagarism on a paper i wrote, one which where I used wikipedia as my main source. Considering I used much of this website I cited wikipedia as a whole. Is there anyway I can search this website for a specific idea or something which i could have unknowingly plagerized? Accused passage is....

"This situation seems to be most accurately described as a culture clash. Regardless of similarities, it seems that these three strange bedfellows, native Americans, Africans and Europeans have an overwhelming propensity towards violence, hatred and malice."

If this looks slightly similar to any other page you happen to know of i would appreciate your imput. Im sorry if this isnt the best place to ask this kind of question, i couldnt really find anywhere better

--fred

Please see the post below. I got myself all flummoxed!

• See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia on how to reference the particular article you used. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:46, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I hope we can let you off the plagiarism hook here because I hope that wasn't a direct quote from one of our history articles. It is so bad in so many ways (outdated racist views, bad history, bad social science, factually wrong, mangled metaphor, revolting writing style...) that it shouldn't have been allowed to stand as written in any imaginable encyclopedia article. I will go so far as to doubt that anyone who could write such a sentence would have anything worthwhile to offer wikipedia. alteripse 17:51, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

No big deal: we ALL plagerized, that is from the original creator of all things. Does anyone has a name for that Creator? I believed it is all left uncopyrighted since....165.21.154.116 01:08, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

Deciphering substitution codes

I was wondering if anybody could help me decipher what I believe to be a substitution code? This is the information I have:-

Ciphertext: UGEFXYPWMB

The key word could be either dennis, zebra, doug or yak. There is a strong possibilty that it may be something different but I'm not sure.

If anyone can help me out, I'd be very grateful!

Thanks!

86.131.122.31 14:49, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• I'll have a crack at it. In the mean time, try reading this page, to get an idea on how to solve it. - Mgm|^(talk) 16:59, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• The usual way of doing a keyword-based substitution cypher is to put the keyword followed by the remaining alphabet:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
ZEBRACDFGHIJKLMNOPQSTUVWXY

then map letters between the two lines (either up or down, you have a choice). However, "DENNIS" can't be a keyword (can't have repeated letters). Using this method, either way, neither "DENIS", "ZEBRA", "DOUG", or "YAK" produce anything intelligible with your cyphertext. Any other keywords you could try, or other methods that might be used? --Bob Mellish 17:47, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• Substituting 2 letters at a time with the 5x5 grid from the above link doesn't produce anything legible either. - Mgm|^(talk) 18:03, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

---

What is being described above is a traditional caesar cypher. I wrote a quick python script to do the caeser decyphering for some given keyword and cyphertext:

>>> def transform (txt, word):
    start = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f", "g", "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", "m", "n", "o", "p", "q", "r", "s", "t", "u", "v", "w", "x", "y", "z"]
    for a in range (0, len(word)):
        start.remove(word[a])

    trans = list (word)
    while (len(start)>0):
        trans.append(start[0])
        del start [0]

    start = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f", "g", "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", "m", "n", "o", "p", "q", "r", "s", "t", "u", "v", "w", "x", "y", "z"]    
    ret = ""
    lst = list (txt) 
    
    while (len(lst) > 0):
        ret += trans[start.index(lst[0])]
        del lst[0]
    return ret

>>> q = "UGEFXYPWMB".swapcase()
>>> q
'ugefxypwmb'
>>> transform(q, "zebra")
>>> transform(q, "doug")
'tcabxynwko'
>>> transform(q, "yak")
'tecdwxovla'

Clearly, it is not a caeser cypher using those three words. →Raul654 05:35, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Just a terminology nitpick, but a Caesar cipher uses a cyclically-shifted alphabet. The above is a general monoalphabetic simple substitution cipher using an alphabet derived from a keyword. ;-) But assuming that none of the keywords work in the well-known scheme described above, it's probably not possible to decipher the ciphertext using a general approach to solving, simply because there's so many plausible plaintexts (see Unicity distance). — Matt Crypto 13:08, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

Hey you guys, is there any way to show the code (above) without the "leading space" which causes the irritating wide page. <pre> and <nowiki> doesn't seem to do it. --hydnjo talk 02:04, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

bubba crosby and chef

are they okay after last nights collision? 216.220.231.226 15:37, 11 October 2005 (UTC) Bubba and chef collided against the wall and at first it looked like bubba got the worst when his head got crushed against the wall but chef went down hard and stayed down. bubba got up and grabbed the ball. 216.220.231.226 15:44, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

It helps to provide a little more context (say, New York Yankees or Major League Baseball), but from the box score[42], both stayed in the game, so I'd expect no injuries of importance. The lack of articles specifically covering the collision would seem to indicate the same. Also, Gary Sheffield's name is more correctly abbreviated Sheff. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 16:11, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

10 Types of Internet Abuse Such as "Pirating, Copyright infrengment"

What are 10 types of technology abuses? thanks in advance, I need this ASAP. Lordned 16:21, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Do your own homework. android79 16:26, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Homework! o_O.... This isnt homework. I can ask a question to learn things without it being called homework?? Lordned 16:33, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

You wouldn't need exactly 10 things, and need them ASAP, if this weren't part of a homework assignment. android79 16:36, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I just need to know what some are. That way I can research them. I just want to know. Not have to know.Lordned 16:39, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I tend to agree with Android -- this has all the hallmarks -- but you might start with the copyright infringement of software and see where that leads. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 16:56, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

You might not want to include Piracy in your list though, unless there's some connection between plundering ships and copying software that you'd like to tell us about... Ojw 20:03, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I was going to make a joke about barratry here, but on reading that article I find it has a non-admiralty meaning - "the act or practice of bringing repeated legal actions solely to harass", which perfectly sums up an abuse common on the internet! Shimgray | talk | 20:20, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Before I found this place,

if there was some topic I was rather ignorant about, and whated to research for free, I would usually start with Teoma.

if I think I know something about the topic already, such as how to spell it, and want to know more, Google is usually helpful.

Your examples are of bad stuff that typical users of the Internet might do. There's also bad stuff done by people who everyone thinks are criminals except them, and people who are not criminals just incompetent, like in business or web site design.

AlMac|^(talk) 02:19, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• Piracy. It's becoming a big problem with wooden legs, eye patches, and parrots all over the place. Arr matey!
• Hax0rz. They jack into the matrix and upload virus coeds to steal your megahurtz!
• Truth. The interweb is so widespread the gubmint can no longer hide the truth about the secret psychic illuminati dolphin moonbase project

But by far the worst offence, the one that'll really have the FBI kicking in your door at 6 AM....

• People trying to get Wikipedians to do their homework for them

-- Noodhoog 15:11, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Question my brother has posed me!

My brother has posed me the following question which I don't even understand. It is this - '3 targets, 617.17/05/43. Can anybody help with this?

Many thanks.

17/05/43 looks like a date to me - May 17, 1943. What happened then? From 1943:

• May 17 - World War II: Surviving RAF Dam Busters return.
• May 17 - The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School to develop the ENIAC.

The key there is the first one - the "Dam Busters" were a popular name for a single set of attacks on German dams carried out by the RAF. (You may recall the film). The unit involved was No. 617 Squadron RAF, the attacks were codenamed Operation Chastise - and they were carried out on three major dams, in the early morning of May 17th. (Because some aircraft were diverted to secondary targets, four dams were actually attacked, but the plan targeted three). This looks rather like an answer to your brother's question... three targets, by 617, on 17/05/43. Shimgray | talk | 16:47, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Good one ! Tintin 22:34, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Blimey, that was impressive Shimgray! --Noodhoog 15:16, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Looking for a specific word

What is the word for a contraption used in the olden days to hold a single person, usually somebody rich and powerful? It's got handles a the ends or corners, and servants hold them; it's big enough so that the person inside can lay down. It's also usually identified with the Middle East. --Merovingian (t) (c) 17:30, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Sedan chair ? StuRat 17:39, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Thank you very much! The article refers to litter, which was exactly what I needed. --Merovingian (t) (c) 17:55, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

You're quite welcome. StuRat 23:37, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Or (IMO better) palanquin, which refers to a rather more general class of lacky-portable peoplemover. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:39, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Badger mines is Ontario

• Badgers are not mined -- they are hunted. Would you care to clarify your question? Ground Zero | t 19:23, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
  • hum, badger mines, that sounds like a rather cartoonish way to deal with badgers, I think someone's been watching a bit too much Cadyshack, or perhaps we're thinking of the wrong type of mine, maybe Badger Mines, are really mines, where badgers are extracted from the earth, then refined for their presous metals--Armen Schrikken 00:13, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
• Lots of ignorant people in the world who name their places after some local scenery that won't be around forever, instead of based on what the place does, or the people who do it, such as
  • [Badger Mine http://www.shullsburg.com/mine/mine.htm in Wisconsin] which mined lead.
  • Badger Mine in Missouri which mined lead
  • and lots more such mines around the USA
  • Hmm, perhaps in historical times Badger (which we know today as an animal) was another name for Lead (as in the metal)?
• Here is info on the Badger Mine in Ontario & it looks like what it mined was silver. So what was the question again?

AlMac|^(talk) 19:19, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

House of leaves: A movie?

How come they have not made the novel House of Leaves into a movie? Its perfect for a blair witchy kind of film and it was on the bestseller list. Any ideas?

• Either no one with connections suggested it to a film studio or there's no one with a screenplay yet. If those are covered, it's likely a problem with finding funding for the project. Getting something made into a movie is quite complicated and can take a very long time. For example: Anthony Horowitz sold the rights to film Alex Rider way back, but only now the 6th book is out have they started filming. - Mgm|^(talk) 18:26, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
  • In the case of House of Leaves, certain other potential problems could prevent a film version -- such as the difficulty of translating the novel's techniques of varying fonts,

footnotes,

unusual typography, etc. into filmic terms. --Metropolitan90 06:47, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

Bank vs Banc

What's the deal with BofA's "Bank of America" and then "Banc of America Securities"?

I don't know about BoA, but I used to work at a bank called Great Southern Bank. The bank was owned by a corporation called Great Southern Bancorp. I don't know why the name was different, except to perhaps distinguish it for purposes of SEC filings, etc.--WhiteDragon 21:23, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

It may be that Banc of America Securities is a securities company, not a bank. Similarly, Great Southern Bancorp is a holding company, not a bank. The SEC may prohibit a company that is not a bank from using that word in its name. How about "I Can't Believe It's Not a Banc, Inc."? Ground Zero | t 21:26, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I think you are exactly correct. There are specific rules about what kinds of business may or may not use "Bank", "Savings Bank", "Savings and Loan", "Credit Union" etc. so probably by calling it Banc they avoid that limitation while still seeming close to their brand name. --WhiteDragon 21:36, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

And see Banc for what may be a POV description of the use of the term. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 00:35, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Film Formats

Instead of TV programming moving to widescreen, why wouldn't the film industry move to normal size film?

I'm not in either industry but just a guess would be that a wider screen would have the psychological effect of bringing you into the presentation. You can be "wrapped" in the action. Just a guess though. Dismas|^(talk) 21:17, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Back in the pre-tv days, films (for the most part) were in what we would think of today as "TV Format", that is, an aspect ratio of around 1.33:1. With the invention of TV the movie studios, who were seeing falling sales for the first time, were eager to find something different to offer audiences to lure them back to the theatres. Thus, wide screen was popularized as something audiences could not see in their homes. Now, with the growing popularity of widescreen, hi-def TVs and home theatres, the studios are desperate to find another gimmick to keep the public's butts in $9 a pop seats and out of living rooms. Changing back to a narrower aspect ratio is unlikely to be an option. Brian Schlosser42 17:37, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

If you watch Chicken Little in selected theaters, it will be bright and clear 3D. The film industry is trying hard to create experiences not enjoyable at home by P2P users.

Back to the bad old days in my country, magazines used to be small in their sizes. Many monthly magazines were only a little larger than a typical paperback novel published in the U.S. However, someone in the even worse old days broke the balance by publishing bigger and more colorful magazines. Now all magazines are as large as a barn door in lilliput. What a waste of natural resources!

Hey! The Wall Street Journal is now using colors! Not to mention your formerly beige and boxy computers are now anything but ... never mind ... I hate iMacs. Think of a format change! -- Toytoy 11:39, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

The novel "The Crib"

There was a horror novel by that name that concerned this crib made of the wood where jesus was crucified and was killing little children. It was a fascinating fiction horror. I cant find it anywhere and cant even find it in out of print. Am I dreaming about this book or is it real?

KENT, PAUL The Crib (Bantam 0-553-26650-0, Apr ’87 [Mar ’87], $3.50, 218pp, pb) Horror novel.

On Amazon

 216.43.124.150 16:46, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Three movies that I cant get out of mind.

I used to watch the saturday afternoon movie show and they had these hooror movies that were great. I am looking for three.

One-Dont know the title but remember there was huge mushroom cloud in the beginning and then sometime later there is a woman who hears a churchbell only to find out its a skeleton hanging on the pulley. The last thing I remember is she has a baby who dies.

Two-A girl goes to find her father on a bus in the forest which is attacked by creatures. She gets to the house and it seems like there is vampires there. at the end she is in a hayloft with a guy and bites him on the neck.

Three- All I remember about this movie is that it had zombies with dark circles for eyes. One of them gets run over and stands up and some normal people put one in some sort of tank and examine it.

Help me find these movies!

Movies two and three don't sound familiar, but the first movie sounds a bit like Threads, a British moc-doc about a nuclear war, with the mushroom cloud and the stillborn baby. Have you tried the one of the general discussion groups at IMDb? Brian Schlosser42 17:47, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

The first one is not Threads as it was made in 1985 and I saw this when I was young and it couldnt be later than 1980 but it seemed to be in black and white so it may have been earlier than the 70's.

EUROPES OLDEST CITIES

What are the ten oldest cities in Europe.

That depends on whether you want places that are still occupied, and how big a place has to be to be a city. --Gareth Hughes 20:34, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• I suspect that most of the candidates would be in Italy and Greece. Corinth for example was founded about 6000 BC. Capitalistroadster 01:04, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• The problem with dating the foundings of cities in the "Old World" is that their dates of settlement are vague and not easily verifiable, often pre-dating reliable record-keeping. For example, the "traditional" (mythical) date of the founding of Rome was, as every schoolboy knows, 753 B.C. However, archealogical evidence has shown that the site of Rome has been settled since around about 1000 B.C. I hope that helps.Shelburne Kismaayo 23:54, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

NORTH AMERICAN CITIES

What is the oldest city in THE UNITED STATES.

See Gareth's request for clarification above, please. While Jamestown, Virginia is the oldest successful colony in the present-day United States, it may not meet city criteria. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:17, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Jamestown's the oldest English-settled colony: St. Augustine, Florida, predates it and Santa Fe, New Mexico, matches it. It all depends on the asker's definition of "city", of course, but I'm rooting for Acoma Pueblo. –Hajor 21:54, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Excellent point, I knew I was forgetting something. :)

Remember that most of the territory that is now the USA, was conquered by the Spanish long before the English colonists overran the area perhaps 200 years later, so the Spanish probably started some settlements which have evolved into cities today, like Los Angeles perhaps.

"Most"? "Conquered"? Plus, don't count places in California. The first Spanish settlement in California was San Diego, and it wasn't settled till 1776. User:Zoe|^(talk) 03:52, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Your title is NORTH AMERICAN while the question is USA ... If you include non-USA in North America, perhaps there was a Vikings settlement which grew into a modern city.

I think most American Indians were nomadic tribes without fixed villages, but I wonder if any exceptions might have made sufficient peace with the palefaces, that any of their villages grew into modern day communities.

AlMac|^(talk) 02:26, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• One of the oldest cities in North America would be Mexico City which was Tenochtitlan under the Aztecs and was believed to be one of the largest cities in the world when the Spanish conquered the Aztecs. It was founded in 1325. Cempoala was settled 1,500 years before the Spanish arrived and is eight kilometres from Veracruz, Veracruz so Veracruz might be a contender. I suspect that the oldest city in North America is somewhere in Central America. I doubt if any of the Viking settlements became cities. The only Viking settlement to be found in Vinland was at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Capitalistroadster 04:55, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• The oldest European-founded city in the western hemisphere is Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The oldest English settlement that eventually grew into a large "city" is definately Boston, Massachusetts (founded in 1620). Shelburne Kismaayo 23:47, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Cardinal players

My father, Robert N. Samel, played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1940's. I am trying to find any info or stats on him and I don't know where to start. Can you help?--68.119.254.190 20:55, 11 October 2005 (UTC)pam benson

One place would be [43] but going through the 1940s, I don't see anyone of that name playing for the Cardinals. And a Player Search for "Robert Samel" doesn't find him. You might want to check the spelling/team. Perhaps he played for a Cardinal's associated minor league team? (The site doesn't include rookies or minor leaguers). For $5 you could have him looked up in the minor league data base. - Nunh-huh 21:59, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

You do mean the Baseball St. Louis Cardinals, right? The Arizona Cardinals of the NFL played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987. During the 1940's the franchise was located in Chicago.

THE OLDEST COUNTRY

What is the world's oldest country?

Depends entirely how you define "country". In many ways you can argue no modern country is older than about four centuries; however, as a unified nation, a good bet would perhaps be China. Shimgray | talk | 22:48, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Assyria was there before Egypt. Before Assyria, the nation-states of Babylon and Samuria were in existence. I believe Ur is thought to be the first nation-state, but it was more of a city. --Screwball23 02:29, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

Would Egypt be older than China, or does it not count if the people of the area not have a continuous same kind of government since the days of the Pyramids? AlMac|^(talk) 02:31, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• China hasn't had the same kind of Government being ruled by Mongols, indigenous dynasties of Emperors, the Nationalists and the Communists over the millenia. China and Egypt are the most likely contenders. Capitalistroadster 04:57, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm going to have to go with China, Egypt's borders move around too much, think WWII, OTE, Greek and Roman empires just to name a few, oh and Byzantium, Egypt kept getting swallowed up by larger countires, where as China's pretty much always been China, give or take a few miles--Armen Schrikken 00:09, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• If by "oldest country", you mean "first unified state large enough to be impressive on a map", it's definitely Egypt. Egypt is just much older as a unified state than China (since 3100 BC). China has had more continuity of governance over the centuries, and been less subject to "foreign" rule (but it depends on how you define that), but Egypt even under non-native rule has never stopped existing as a distinct organizational and cultural enitity.--Pharos 10:58, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

SMALL PLACES

What are the ten smallest countries in the world.

• Answer here:[44]--inks^T 21:44, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• Or at microstates. Ojw

LOTR

I hear the lord of the rings is an anagory to worldwars one and two what proof do historians have to support this.

I assume you're meanining "allegory". In literature (or anything other than math) there is no way of proving anything. The most common way LOTR is compared to WWII is something like:

• Sauron (Mordor) is Germany
• Saruman (Isengard) is the USSR
• Gondor, Rohan, etc. are the western powers (i.e. the U.S., Britain, etc.)
• The Ring of Power one of the advanced weapons of war, possibly a nuclear bomb.

However, it should be noted that "Tolkien did repeatedly insist that his works were not an allegory of any kind". This topic is brought up in LOTR#The_books. --Borbrav 22:57, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

In fact, Tolkien loathed allegory as a literary device. For more on the inspiration for LoTR and Tolkien's other works, I highly recommend JRR Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey. android79 00:33, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Notably, if LotR were a strict allegory and we go with the ring is a superweapon (the most logical conclusion), then Boromir would have won out and used it. The Allies didn't exactly spare military measures at any point. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 05:42, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Meanwhile Saruman would have originally sided with Sauron, then changed sides when Sauron attacked him, 'liberated' many people from Sauron's rule and ruled over them himself with nearly equal harshness. DJ Clayworth 19:34, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

THE HURRICANE KATRINA OF EUROPE...

Has a hurricane ever hit a city in Europe like Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans?

No. For various reasons, Europe isn't exposed to hurricanes - which tend to form off Africa and travel westwards - in the same way as America. However, there have been natural disasters resulting in flooding and major loss of life; see for example the North Sea flood of 1953, the Bristol Channel floods, 1607, the Vajont Dam disaster, the Santorini eruption, or the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Shimgray | talk | 22:41, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• Specifically, Europe doesn't get tropical cyclones. But see that article for "extratropical cyclones". Nowhere near as strong as Katrina. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 00:33, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Hurricane Vince made landfall in Spain this very week while still a tropical storm. This seems to be unprecedented, at least since proper records began to be kept: our article on Vince says that "Vince is the first tropical cyclone on record to have made landfall on the Iberian Peninsula". As also mentioned in the article, it was also noteworthy for forming over seas considerably cooler than would be expected for tropical storm formation. Loganberry (Talk) 22:33, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Also, they're not called hurricanes in that particular hemisphere, also, India pretty much gets hammered by some of the most severe tropical cyclones around, year after year, same region too, unfortuantly quite far below sea level, or course that's more Eur-asia, than European, per se--Armen Schrikken 00:04, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Hurricanes in the Eastern Hemisphere spin in exactly the same direction as in the Western Hemisphere; the Greenwich Meridian is an arbitrary division and weather pays it no heed. What matters is which side of the Equator they're on - so that the rare South Atlantic tropical cyclones do indeed spin in the opposite direction. Since Europe (like India, in fact) is in the Northern Hemisphere, a hurricane hitting that continent (as Vince did) spins the same way as any other North Atlantic hurricane. (NB: It's per se, not "per say".) 81.159.56.103 00:39, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• See also Hurricane Faith which hit the Faroe Islands in 1966. --Metropolitan90 06:17, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

georgia

What is georgias main source of income for any year

Georgia as in the U.S. state or Georgia as in the country? Dismas|^(talk) 23:25, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

USA USA USA

What are the ten greatest ANTI-WAR MOVIES of all time.

Best one I know is Johnny Got His Gun from the novel by Dalton Trumbo. What others, fellow editors? alteripse 23:42, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

• Let's see. Paths of Glory. All Quiet on the Western Front. Grand Illusion. Dr. Strangelove. On the Beach. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 00:26, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

I found this list - though I've only seen, er, two of them and I wouldn't have called one anti-war. The other is Dr. Strangelove, which for some reason I'm loath to call anti-war - it's strongly anti-MAD, yes, but it doesn't address war so much as it specifically addresses the Cold War, if that makes sense. Shimgray | talk | 00:26, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Full metal jacket of course. --Ballchef 01:25, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Easy Rider and (believe it or not) Patton (Patton is unique in that it was billed both as an anti-war and a pro-war movie). →Raul654 01:30, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

M_A_S_H & Catch-22 are worth a mention Majts 01:49, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Platoon surely — mendel ☎ 18:11, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Strangelove will probably go down in history as the greatest anti-war-war movie, you might also want to try Duck Soup, especially if you're a fan of MASH, a few of the jokes may seem farmiliar--Armen Schrikken 00:01, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

A-T-L-A-N-T-A

What is the main source of income for both Georgia the state and Georgia the country?

If you follow the link to Georgia (country) you'll see a section on the economy with a link to another article by the name of Economy of Georgia. That should help you on your research. Dismas|^(talk) 00:51, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, after they fell into the ocean, it was a little hard for everyone to find work, all that sea water and all, so they pretty much sold exclusive rights to their story to Homer, who went around telling everyone about them for a margianal fee, more recently, as a loophole has been found in acint greek copyright law, the rights have been picked up by the scifichannel, they plan to pay the Atlanains millions for the right to tell their story, oh and something about aliens and a flying city, of course those might have been raelians, not aliens, you never know with these cable channels--Armen Schrikken 23:58, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

wikipedia

• See Wikipedia. Capitalistroadster 01:15, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

See Eureka which literally translates to "I am in a state of having found it" Majts 01:22, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Skydiving jerks

Guys, I've got a question about slang.

One of my friends is a skydiver, and I was recently asking him and a couple of his friends a question about what they do, and one of them jokingly called me a wuffo. What's a wuffo guys? Do I need to go punch this guy in the face?

urbandictionary.com is great at this sort of slang question; see this page. Basically, it's somebody who doesn't understand skydiving. They may be venturing into jerk territory using deliberately obscure slang in front of you, but it wasn't a violent insult. --Robert Merkel 02:53, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

giraffes

How do giraffes sleep - standing up or lying down? --Helen harty 02:02, 12 October 2005 (UTC)Helen Harty

They lie down to sun themselves, so it seems reasonable they might sleep that way as well. - Nunh-huh 02:06, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm not so sure, at Taronga Zoo their quarters are very tall, I always thought this was so they could sleep with out getting stiff necks. Plus, don't a lot of other four legged animals sleep standing? --Ballchef 06:26, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

They never sleep, like sharks they swim around in the ocean all night with smaller fish latching onto them for food--Armen Schrikken 23:54, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• I remember someone telling me they sleep standing and lie their necks down on the ground as far as they can. I can't vouch for the validity of that information, though. - 131.211.51.34 08:24, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Order of British Empire medals

are the medals made of pure gold and silver or are they only plated in gold and silver ? R. Eaton

• I don't think our article on the Order of the British Empire article addresses that issue. I will place your question on the talk page. On the Royal Family page on the OBE a gilt medal is shown but that is an historical medal for the period 1917-37 see [45]. Capitalistroadster 05:12, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Given the high price of gold, the number of medals given out each year & the fact that there hasn't been any outcry in the press in the UK about the cost of OBE's (though there has been about other issues related to them) then I'd say that they would have to be gold & silver plated. AllanHainey 07:29, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Accounting

What is the history of FASB Statement No. 87 which was issued in 1987

HYDROGIN AS A FUEL SOURCE??

You can put stuff other than gas in your cars, or only certain cars?

Well Hydrogen is 2/3 of water, so, like, cars that hve engines that are 1/3 water mixed in like air and gasoline. Cause like human are 80% water so we use hydrogen and not gasoline, and most cars are like 8%, but if the car is 20% or more water then it can run on hydrogen?

Is thish true if so what for boats?? THis is what my friend told me in chimistry

Is it all al/l like this for baots?

• You're over simplifying, while hydrogen is 2/3s of the atoms in water, it's hardly that signifigant a percentage by mass ~ 2:18, in favor of oxygen by mass, and one presumes that whilest dealing with combustion of fuel sources, one would use molar quantaties, thus, it is not 2/3 of water--Armen Schrikken 23:52, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Hydrogen is only partially useful as a fuel source -- you have to spend more energy in separating the hydrogen from water than you get out of burning it. It can be used as a vehicle fuel but you can't run an economy on it. Haikupoet 03:49, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

There are two kinds of energy sources, either a ready source of energy (such as fossil fuels, solar, tidal, wind, geothermal, and nuclear power) or a temporary way to store energy (like a battery or flywheel). Hydrogen is not a ready source of energy, since we don't find large quantities of it readily available as we do with petroleum. However, it can be used as a temporary way to store energy, similar to batteries. Note that other temporary energy storage methods also require more energy to go in than we get out. They also tend to lose energy over time. Hydrogen may have advantages over batteries (which contain materials toxic to the environment) and flywheels (which can't hold much energy). Hydrogen can be "burnt" either in a traditional internal combustion engine (modified for the purpose) or in a fuel cell engine which produces electricity to drive an electric vehicle. StuRat 15:55, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

I think the question was whether hydrogen could be used in a normal, gasoline-burning car. The simple answer is no, you need special technology, like a hydrogen fuel cell for the car to operate off of hydrogen. --Borbrav 05:34, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

It's not super-difficult to modify a conventional engine to run on hydrogen; a great example is this hydrogen powered postie bike. The big question is whether it makes any economic or environmental sense to do so; with present technology the answer is probably "no". --Robert Merkel 00:29, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikimedia Ownership

Iss Wikpedia a private property of James Wales? Or is it a partnership or corporation? I was thinking if it is a corporation can we buy shares (publicy traded?) If it is, I have been tihnking about me, Maoririder and Pumpie (and maybe SuperDude115) pooling our cappital and buying Mr. Wales controlling shares in Wikipedia and then we will basically own the thing and run it how we want has anyone else though of it? Thank you Obrigaao.Wiki brah 04:04, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia is owned by the Wikimedia Foundation, which is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. So this plan is a non-starter. —Charles P. (Mirv) 04:20, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Define "Wikipedia" please. The name Wikipedia is trademarked, and belongs to the Wikimedia foundation (a chartered, non-profit, federal and state registered 501(c)(3). The servers that host Wikipedia also belong to the foundation. The copyright for the text (and most of the media files) hosted thereon is retained by each individual contributor, each of whom agree to license their contributions under the GFDL when they click "save this page". →Raul654 04:41, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• Last time I check Wikipedia had not only servers in Florida but also squids in Amsterdam, France and Asia. I doubt you'd even have enough money to buy all servers that need to be running to to keep up and active. - 131.211.51.34 08:28, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia Liability

If Wikipedia is privately owned by Mr. Wales does it have liability limits if it gets sued for something? Is Mr. Wales risking his other assets in the event of a lawshuit? If it is a partnership or corporation does it havea stated liability limit? Does it have insurance? Who is the insurer? Does anyone know?? With all the talk of "legal threats" on here we should find out dont you thinnk?Wiki brah 04:04, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• As stated above it is owned by the Wikimedia Foundation, founded as non-profit corporation. I am sure that the links of the bottom of the page would provide more information. Capitalistroadster 05:36, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• Considering $4000 of the Wikimedia foundation's 2005 budget is allocated to "Legal expenses & Insurance", I think its safe to say that they do have liability insurance. -Drdisque 16:08, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia Assets

Does Wikimedia make money? Does it own anything else under the Wikipeida umbrella? If so, how much momney is it worth? Does it have liabilities? How does it make money? I know a lot of it is in grants, but who gives the grants? And how much? Do you think one day Mr. Wales will sell advert space on Wikipedia to make money? How much will that cost? Will he charge by the article or charge more for "popular" articles? And if he does open it up as a revenue-producer, will he change the policies of wikipeida to makke it more "advertiser friendly"? has anyone thougght of this thank you??Wiki brah 04:04, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikimedia:Budget and m:Category:Wikimedia finances should answer most of your questions. Regarding profit-making measures like ads: they are not going to happen unless the entire Board of Trustees goes completely insane. Even if that were to happen, it would almost certainly cause a fork which would take most of the active contributors with it. —Charles P. (Mirv) 04:38, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

An old essay [[46]] by Jimmy W. states that ads were considered, and may still be, as long they are tasteful and not influential on the content. --Ballchef 06:32, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

It might be useful to put that into context. The mere consideration of ads (even back then) caused a massive outcry from the contributors, and the spanish wikipedia went so far as to fork entirely (which is why they are prepetually the biggest laggard in the articles/native speakers metric) →Raul654 06:39, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

So today are ads totally out of the question? surely wikipedia can't live off donations forever, can it? --Ballchef 01:39, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Why couldn't it? I'm surprised how many people haven't heard of Wikipedia yet (here in the Netherlands, which is one of the most active countries in Wikipedia). If it survives now and the number of people will grow, there will be more potential contributors, both to content and financially, with the two probably growing hand in hand because the bigger Wikipedia gets, the more interresting it will become to more and more people. Of course the required hardware will also increase with usage, but there's probably still room for efficiency with growth (what's that called again?). Suppose that in the end 100 million people will use Wikipedia (10% of the western world - a very conservative estimate), who on average donate a euro per year. That would make for quite a budget, wouldn't it? Over a hundredfold the present budget. That's the beauty of information in the information age. Once you have it, distribution is almost free of cost (realtively speaking). Compare Google answers. There you have to pay 2,5 dollar per answer. If there are enough people who are willing to pay that, then surely this should work too. DirkvdM 17:05, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Would you reccommend buying this guitar?

I would like to learn guitar,and was wondering if anyone had any ideas about a guitar that's cheep and good for a begginner. I found this one http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002F79YS/qid=1129091132/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-7498656-1924927?v=glance&n=507846

I was wondering if anyone thinks that's ok for a begginner... And anything else i need to know about guitars for begginners (maybe a place to but a good set of lessons) Lordned 04:34, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• Lordned,

Perhaps Guitar for Dummies might be a good place to start see [47]. Capitalistroadster 05:38, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

If you're looking for an electric guitar, Ibanez guitars are excellent for beginners. If you are looking for a cheap acoustic guitar, then it really doesn't matter which brand you buy, all the cheap ones are pretty much the same. The brand only makes a difference if you're spending a little more. As a beginner, though, you may want to consider making sure the guitar neck has the dots on it (to make it easier to locate the correct fret). Look in your local telephone directory, or contact your local college for guitar lessons. Your local college may be able to put you in touch with a private tutor. Proto t c 13:00, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Local College? I dont think we have one. I'm looking for a acustic guitar, and if i get it from amazon how do i see the spots on the neck/

• From the reviews, this one doesn't look half bad -- the reviewers provide comparisons with other low-end starter guitars, and this one comes out well. One thing to consider, though, is the size of the instrument. Dreadnaught guitars (like this one) are the largest, and smaller hands will have problems with them. The same company makes this little one, more suited for smaller players. Cheap guitars are WAY better than they were a couple decades ago; cheap no longer necessarily means lousy; back then, you get a low-end Mexican guitar and you're lucky if it sounds better than a wind-up kid's toy; but now there's a trend toward real quality among the Chinese guitar makers. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 16:20, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Would it be sutible for a 5'1" kid with normal sized hands? Tnx. Lordned

That one has dots on the neck. It's perhaps a bit big, but you'll grow into it. For that price it's probably pretty bad, but a better guitar will not make you a better guitarist, so who cares. As to learning:

• You're already doing the smart thing getting an acoustic first. An acoustic will help you build strong fingers and good ears.
• You're fingers are going to blister (although ignore Ted Nugent - when they bleed it's time to stop), but stick with it and soon you'll have calluses.
• Get someone (a real live human being, not a record or a website) to teach you how to tune the thing. This is the #1 reason beginners give up - they let the guitar go out of tune (which happens all by itself) and they fail to properly retune it - so everything sounds horrible and they think they're crap and quit. If this is the only guitar lesson you can afford to pay for (although any guitarist can teach you this, ideally for free) then it's worth the money.
• Buy an E tuning fork. That way your guitar is in tune with the music you're going to be playing to.
• Play every day, for at least 30 minutes. Play something different every other day too.
• Find some music you like, that sounds easy, and search for the chords for it on google. If it looks easy (only a few chords, and one with simple sounding names) look the chords up on the internet (millions of places have chordbooks online for free). Learn them, and try to play along with a recording.
• Later, learn a major scale, a minor scale, and the blues scale. You'll soon figure out that almost everything is written in one of these; once you figure out which (and what the "tonic" is) you'll be able to play along to almost anything.
• An important part of being a musician is listening to, and playing, far more stuff than "normal" people do. Listen to everything; blues, heavy-metal, rock, flamenco, classical, folks, pop, african, polka, country, mexican, arabic. Try to copy everything
• Stick with it, but don't work so hard that it's no fun any more. If it's not fun, you're not learning anything.

-- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:05, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

I found a tunning for at school, and havent a clue how to tell what type it is. Any way to tell...? Thanks for the advise... Would you reccomend a eletric tunner later on? And ummm (what was it i was going to say??) Grr i cant think of it... Lordned 23:37, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• Go here for an excellent tuning helper. Click in the string name at the top and make your guitar sound like that. Be careful that you're not an octave away like the difference between the E on the left and the E on the right. Good luck and try puttin' your hurtin' fingers in cold (ice) water for a while to make them feel better. And do start with an acoustic guitar otherwise you're cheating. --hydnjo talk 00:47, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• A tuning fork will generally have a letter (C, E,A♭, etc.) written on it. If it doesn't, it's not much use to anyone. If you had a bit more musical knowledge you could tune the guitar to any tuning fork, but for now an E is the easiest one. Once you've learned to tune the guitar from a fork won't need (and probably won't trust) an electric tuner. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 12:22, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

I haven't read the other answers, but the most important thing for a beginner is to have a guitar that can be tuned well. You'd be surprised how many impure guitars there are. Every individual guitar is different. If all the guitars in a series are good then a specific one will also be, but lacking such info you'd better not buy without having someone knowledgeable with a good hearing (those are also spread thin) test it. DirkvdM 17:16, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

school

What website can I visit to sign up for the SAT's for a high school?

I don't know much about US education, but out SAT article point us to http://www.collegeboard.com/testing/. Have fun! --Gareth Hughes 11:46, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Most schools in the US will sign high school students up for one of the two college entrance exams used there, either the SAT or ACT. StuRat 15:30, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Open Systems IT- Information Technology

Hello to All, First i want to thank Wikipedia website for alowing me to post the question this is my first time i'm posting a question if there were any mistakes.. No Hard feelings..

1) What is a open systems with regards to Information Technology(IT) ? 2) If I have been given a training on Open systems will there be a good prospects ? 3) what is scope of open systems in next 5 years in India and Abroad countries ? 4) what are all the areas i should be knowing to be well versed in Open systems ?

Regards, Bhasker C.

• Our Open system (computing) article is a good place for a definition and to search for more information. Capitalistroadster 05:58, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• A philosophical question you have to ask yourself is to reconcile:
  • 99% of computer systems (hardware and software) aquisition seems to be driven by seeking the lowest purchase price, even when this is harmful to operating cost.
  • Open Systems purchase pricing is microscopic compared to Commercial and Proprietory Systems.
  • Open Systems have been around, under one name or another for decades.
  • 99% of the enterprises in the world are on commercial or proprietory systems.
• So, if aquisition decisions are made on basis of low cost, and open is lowest cost, how come its market share is so low? I think this is a combination of:
  • Commercial and Proprietory have the capital to do more effective marketing.
  • A lot of people are scared of the operating overhead for Open Systems.

AlMac|^(talk) 19:24, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Ruffle, Co. Durham

Where is or was, a village called Ruffle in County Durham, UK?

No, I can't find any mention. There's a Rufford in Lancashire, and a Rufforth in York. --Gareth Hughes 14:10, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Armed police in the UK

Apart from PSNI, would it be possible for a UK police service to move towards arming all of its officers under current law, or is there a statutory restriction on the numbers of armed officers? --Gareth Hughes 14:54, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

See the article British police under "Use of firearms" for more information. The issue has been put to the vote by the Police Federation of England and Wales several times, and their members have categorically voted against routine arming. It is possible as I don't think there is a statutory reason or restriction, and the Nottingham Police did introduce routine firearms for patrolling officers in 2001. -- Canley 06:43, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Freeway / Highway Overpass

Where and when was the first one built?

According to this article "Boston's subway (underground) was the first in the United States". I'm still working to get above ground. --hydnjo talk 00:25, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, that doesn't quite qualify as a highway overpass :) . Considering that the first highways were built in Germany under Hitler and that it is unlikely that they let them cut through the contryside without a means to get across the first Overpasses will probably have been built there too. DirkvdM 17:21, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

SMS.ac

All help on their site focusses on members, but does anyone know how one can stop unwanted messages from them when you're not a member? I don't feel like encouraging my sister to reply to the messages. She might end up having to pay for them otherwise. Is anyone around here knowledgeable about this "service"? - Mgm|^(talk) 16:01, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

If you go to their website, hit terms, enter your country, and after the tarrif they show a number you can text STOP ALL to, which they say stops you getting messages. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:22, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

They say. Yeah right. I don't know about this site, but I assume you mean you recieve spam. Never ever react to spam. I'm only troubled by one spamming company (liquidtreat - on spam per week on average), probably because I always adhered to that rule. Once you react they know your address is real and you'll never get rid of them. DirkvdM 17:24, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

where do gorillas live?

(no question)

• According to our Gorilla article, "the forests of central Africa". Oh, and zoos too I guess.--Commander Keane 17:01, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• Gorillas, being fairly large, spend most of their time on the ground. They could climb low branches of large trees, but can't go onto smaller branches high in the tree canopy like smaller primates. StuRat 20:51, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• you should also point out, that among the smaller primates, bonobos and chimps, while looking almost identical, have totally different habitation preferences --Armen Schrikken 23:44, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• In general, larger primates, like gorillas, humans, and apes, live on the ground, while smaller primates, like monkeys and lemurs, live in the tree canopy, but there are exceptions. StuRat 04:55, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• Do you sometimes wonder if the questioner ever comes back for an answer to the question. I do but I don't care. Answering is still fun! --hydnjo talk 00:15, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• Yea, I do. A thanks would be nice so we know they got, and are satisfied with, the answer. StuRat 04:55, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

What? No "wherever they want"? - Nunh-huh 05:03, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Naruto

You say that there are "currently" about 154 episodes of the anime Naruto. So that means that it is still continuing over in Japan and has not ended? You also say that the manga is still "currently" at volume something. Is the manga still continuing over in Japan?

216.125.152.244 16:33, 12 October 2005 (UTC)Kitsune Hi

Talk:Naruto would probably be the best place to ask, but from what I've heard, Naruto is still being serialized in manga, and that the animated version is indeed still in production. Great, another jillion-episode anime series that goes on for hundreds of episodes after it jumps the shark. That's what the world needs. Garrett Albright 19:23, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Time in the UK

What UK government department is responsible for time? As in, who decides what day we change to British Summer Time?--TheDoctor10 (talk|email) 16:45, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

According to that article, it was Parliament through various acts, but now governed by the Summer Time Order 2002, which essentially means it's declared by the Crown. Shimgray | talk | 17:14, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Parliament would have to decide if we changed the date of British Summertime (I believe someone raised a Private Members Bill on this last year sometime but it never got off the ground. AllanHainey 07:57, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Parliament is just a rubber stamp here. Directive 2000/84/EC of the European Parliament set the dates of summertime; the Summer Time Order 2002 only implemented it. Power to implement so-called "Double summertime" (putting the clocks two hours forward instead of one) was also abolished by the 2002 Order. --Tony Sidaway^Talk 08:23, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Number 10 can of tomatoes

What is the weight of a number 10 can of tomatoes? Specifically, how much does the tomato content weigh in a number 10 can of tomatoes?

• Usually such a weight is mentioned as a netto weight on the can itself. The can itself is never included in that number. Alternatively, you could buy one and empty it's contents and weigh them. - Mgm|^(talk) 21:51, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

A number 10 (#10) can of anything (including tomatoes) usually contains about 3 quarts according to this. This is a volume measure so the weight would differ from one product to another. I don't think that the designation is intended to specify the weight but rather the volume of the product contained. --hydnjo talk 23:40, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Is this a commonly used, industry-standard system? Clearly we need an article on U.S. grocery can sizes. –Hajor 12:49, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

THE HURRICANE KATRINA OF NEW YORK

Could a hurricane hit NEW YORK like HURRICANE KATRINA hit NEW ORLEANS

Please don't post in all capital letters, it's considered shouting and rude. Anyway, it's very unlikely that a major hurricane (category 3+) would reach New York or new England at that strength; however, hurricanes are known to move that far north. This happens most frequently as they become extratropical, though an 1893 hurricane went directly over Manhattan Island. See hurricane and its associated articles for more details. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:34, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

The likelihood of such an event is very minimal. Strong hurricanes (category 3 and above) require very warm water to maintain their strength and the water that far north, even during a warm summer isn't warm enough. However, Category 1 and 2 Hurricanes can and have hit locations that far north and caused significant problems. See the article on Hurricanes for mor information. Also, New York is not built below sea level so it could never flood like New Orleans did. -Drdisque 21:34, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

• How about that 1938 hurricane that hit NYC in 1938? also, please restate your question, for some odd reason it looks like you're asking a hurricane to hit NY, that's not very polite, please don't use all UPPER CASE LETTERS while addressing a hurricane on the internet, Hurricanes have feelings too you know?--Armen Schrikken 23:49, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Look at 1821 Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane. It seems like it was a category 3, although evidence is lacking due to weather equipment of the early 1800s. Also, note that 1821 was a strange year for weather (there was a large volcano erruption) and that most of NYC is above sea-level -- making the flooding of New Orleans virtually impossible in the city. --Quasipalm 19:43, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

There has been some talk about this recently in the city. If a large hurricane (like a 3, which seems to be the largest reasonable size) were to hit New York City, Lower Manhattan, Coney Island, the Rockaways, and much of Staten Island could all face severe flooding, and there are plans for a potential evacuation of these areas.--Pharos 09:39, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Children's Myths

How do children wish upon a star ?

Generally, children look at a star, close their eyes, and make a wish of some sort. Frequent wishes are either material possessions like ponies or unexpectedly deep requests such as an end to world hunger. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:40, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

This one comes with music! --hydnjo talk 23:34, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

I've no idea where it comes from (quite possibly a Disney movie, or similar), but I remember hearing a rhyme to be said to the first star you see at dusk that goes something like:

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I hope you may, I hope you might, grant this wish I wish tonight"

--Noodhoog 00:37, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• Our Pinocchio (1940 movie) article states that the song referred to was "When You Wish Upon A Star" credited to Jiminy Cricket and sung by Cliff Edwards. It won an Academy Award for Best Song. Capitalistroadster 02:02, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Unanswered point

In the game of basketball, what is an unanswered point?207.215.38.5

If when a team scores "X unanswered points" it simply means they've scored X points in a row without the other team scoring. -Drdisque 22:34, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

This is not unique to basketball, by the way. The same phrase is commonly used in American football and is rendered as unanswered runs in baseball, among others. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 03:27, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

So there is no such thing as an unanswered point because there is always more than one of them. DirkvdM 17:46, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

So there is no such thing as an unanswered point because there is always more than one of them. DirkvdM 17:46, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

So there is no such thing as an unanswered point because there is always more than one of them. DirkvdM 17:46, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

And that's a hattrick. :) DirkvdM 17:46, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

the greatest writers who ever lived.

did any magazine produce a list of the ten greatest authors who ever lived.if so who was on the list.

Do you mean any magazine ever? --hydnjo talk 23:30, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, there's probably such a list. But my vote goes to Edgar Allan Poe. ☢ Kieff | Talk 01:08, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

For all ten? --hydnjo talk 01:43, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

.... And why the hell not? ;) ☢ Kieff | Talk 04:47, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Woodpeckers

How long does it take a woodpecker to make a hole in a tree?

Well, the're not really trying to make a hole in the tree. If that happens, it's a side-effect of the reasons described in the Woodpecker article. --hydnjo talk 23:26, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Woodpecker: George Washington's less publicized prosthesis.

Madrid train Bombing

Where can I get the names of the victims of the Madrid train bombings

If you go here (Cadena Ser) and hover your mouse over each of the black ribbons, you will get the names of 180 of the victims.-- Arwel 00:58, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

That is so excellent. Each ribbon... well, each ribbon. --hydnjo talk 01:41, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

indictment

Perhaps your answer is at Indictment!--hydnjo talk 01:46, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

see indictment. --Ballchef 01:50, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

the Human Stain

see The Human Stain (spoiler warning also). --Ballchef 01:50, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The Game (A book)

see The Game (book). zing! --Ballchef 01:50, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act

This article has information about the act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin_True_Patriot_Act . What im looking for is an article about what the congress did with the bill, it has a brief statment about this at the top but not an article, would be greatly appriciated if someone could find me the source of that statement. Thanks

• According to Thomas, this Bill has been referred to Committee and not re-emerged [48]. I doubt if it will currently. BTW, do US bills not passed by the next Congressional election lapse. Capitalistroadster 02:07, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
  • A close reading of our Bill (proposed law) article suggests that the Bill either never made it out of Committee or was dropped. Capitalistroadster 02:44, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Chinese Food Containers?

like the ones that soup come in, are they microwavable?--Talk to the yam 02:25, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• You could have answered the question you know--Talk to the yam 02:41, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The paperboard ones are microwaveable, the styrofoam ones warp if you leave them in too long, so keep an eye on them. Please be a bit more patient than 18 minutes, remember, questions are answered by real volunteer people. -Drdisque 03:17, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Chinese food containers are sometimes held together with metal, which is not microwaveable, so check for that. I hope your soup didn't get too cold ! StuRat 03:24, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Imagine the future of internet-enabled household appliances... you could just hold up an item to your microwave, it would automatically take an image, post it to wikipedia's reference desk with a question asking how long it takes to cook and what type of wine to drink with it... Ojw 17:50, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Orb Weaver

I have a spider in my house it looks like an Orb weaver with a fluer de lis on his back, his abdomen is a bright red color the fleur de lis is a tan color his legs are brown and red striped if you could let me know the name of this spider it would be helpful. THANK YOU

It sounds like an orb weaver to me. Does it look like this one ?

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/images/ospide4.jpg

StuRat 04:08, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Or like the ones at Orb-weaver spider. DirkvdM 17:52, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Buying DVD's

Is there a standard period time between when a Movie is Released and when it's available to buy it as Previously Viewed instead of new?

No. Popular movies will have more of a delay, as long as they can keep theatres full. Unpopular movies may go to DVD quickly, in some cases even skipping the theatres entirely (the notrious "straight to video" movies). StuRat 03:27, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

However, 3 months is typical. There is an experiment currently underway to offer simultaneous movie and DVD releases for select shows. The theory is that the amount this saves by advertising both at once will be more than it costs in lost movie sales. StuRat 13:50, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

I think this person means to ask, "What is the average time from when a movie is released to DVD and when one might find that DVD in the "Previously Viewed" sale bin at the video store?" No idea how to answer, just my interpretation of the intent. :) BrianSmithson 19:54, 21 October 2005 (UTC)

YUM YUM YUM

What is a refried bean? Why do they have to fry it twice?

They don't. Refried beans are fried once. - Nunh-huh 03:55, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

It's a kind of bean paste common in Mexican cooking. StuRat 03:58, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Our article on Refried beans or frijoles refitos explains: "The re- in refrito doesn't mean "again", as in the beans being fried again and again, as is a common misconception. Instead, re- is a kind of intensifier, meaning the beans are fried strongly or very well." Capitalistroadster 05:09, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Roman Numerals

How do you write 0 in Roman Numerals!?

see Roman numerals. You don't. There's no symbol for zero. You use the word "nullae" if you have need of the concept of zero. - Nunh-huh 03:40, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The concept of zero as an actual number came along after the Roman Empire. It still isn't universally accepted today. Imagine asking how many years old a baby is and getting the answer "zero". StuRat 03:55, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Of course, Roman numerals were used long after there was no Roman Empire. The use of this system of notation was an impediment to the very useful notion of zero as a number. - Nunh-huh 03:58, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The concept of a zero isn't even 'universally' accepted in Wikipedia. See [[49]]. DirkvdM 12:42, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Feet

Is there a special name for teh tops of your feet?

I call mine "George" and "Mabel". The top of one foot is its "dorsum"; more than one dorsum are "dorsa". - Nunh-huh 03:49, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

GOOD QUESTION

Why do we say "a pair of pants" when there is only one article of clothing involved?

see here. Also note that when medieval folk dressed, they would indeed don a pair of pants (the legs were separate, and were held up by being attached to an undergarment). So when the expression originated, it was accurate. - Nunh-huh 03:44, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• Our Pants article states it is a plurale tantum and gives an explanation of the word's origin. Capitalistroadster 05:22, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Incidentally, "pants" (along with "scissors" and similar words) are torturous for many English as a second language learners. Garrett Albright 07:25, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

What is up with this recurring question-asker who uses non sequitur all-caps subject lines and questions which are valid but totally unrelated to each other? Silly question I suppose. --Sum0 23:07, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

teflon TIME

If nothing ever sticks to TEFLON, how do they make TEFLON stick to the pan?

Things do stick to teflon. Food just sticks to it a bit less than other materials. StuRat 03:50, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

see here for particulars. - Nunh-huh 03:53, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Our Teflon article states "PTFE has the lowest coefficient of friction of any known solid material. It is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware." Capitalistroadster 06:02, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The rock.

If God can do anything, can he make a rock so big he can't lift it?

Yes. - Nunh-huh 03:47, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I've heard this question before. If he can make the rock, then he is not all-powerful because he can't lift it, but if he can make it and can't lift it, then he is also not all-powerful, thus damaging the image of (I'm assuming the christian god) god. If you were not religious, you could argue that this proves god is a false idol, but if I were religious I would say that God could do it, he just doesn't want to. --Ballchef 03:51, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm assuming that if he could make it that he could also make a long enough lever and a place to stand. -Drdisque 04:48, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The relevant article is Omnipotence paradox. --cesarb 04:56, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I have heard one response to this question that goes as follows: of course God can make a rock too massive for him to move it. It's just that he's not that stupid! Qaz ^(talk) 05:24, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Actually, I never saw this as a paradox. The way I interpret it, if he did created a rock he couldn't lift, he'd obviously be giving up his omnipotence, which is, of course, perfectly within his powers. ☢ Kieff | Talk 08:23, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

You could call that the Superman II option. Majts 09:21, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

There's a wee bit in the Bible that goes like this: "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength" (I Corinthians 1.25 if you want to check up on it). In fact, I beleive, this suggests an answer to the omnipotence paradox — God has created the immovable rock, and that is human free will. In fact I would say that the Bible teaches that God chooses to lay aside omnipotence in favour of love repeatedly. The creation (I am no creationist) is an example of God limiting self omnipotence, and the creation of humanity in God's image even more so. Ultimately, as a Christian, I see the cross of Christ as the ultimate divine choice for vulnerable love above complete omnipotence. Tune in next week for the sermon on human depravity and the fires of hell! --Gareth Hughes 12:15, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Lots of answers, but here is a different one. This is an example of a semantic paradox. It is created by a linguistic operation but does not reflect a real world operation or situation. All of the resolutions involve intellectual manipulations of definitions. Sometimes pondering such a paradox gives you insight into other problems, but essentially there is no right answer that can be confirmed by reality testing. It is in the same class of conundra on which the scholastic philosophers expended so much effort, now often caricatured as debates over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin (since angels take up no physical space but the point has not space either. See Ludwig Wittgenstein. alteripse 16:04, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The following can be found in Hank Hanegraaff's 'The Bible Answer Book' #50, Page 176:

This question is a classic straw man that has most Christians looking like the proverbial deer in the headlights. At best, it challenges God's omnipotence. At worst, it undermines his existence.

First there is a problem with the premise of the question. While it is true that God can do anything that is consistent with His nature, it is absurd to suggest that he can do everything. God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18); he cannot be tempted (James 1;13); and he cannot cease to exist (psalm 102:25-27)

Furthermore, just as it is impossible to make a one-sided triangle, so it is impossible to make a rock too heavy to be moved. What an all-powerful God can create he can obviously move. Put another way, God can do everything that is logically possible.

basically, the point is that one must first decide the validity of a given question before answering, and not just assume that it is valid.

kenmore dryer

Can you show me the wiring diagram for a kenmore dryer?205.188.116.131 03:42, 13 October 2005 (UTC) Email removed

which model number ? StuRat 03:48, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• Emily,

I have removed your e-mail so that you don't get spam and because no emails will be sent anyway. The answer will hopefully be provided here.

Capitalistroadster 05:34, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Can Anyone Explain This Strange Effect?

You first have to try this.Point your index finger at your forehead.Move the finger very close to it towards the center right above your nose,but stop just short of touching your forehead.Do not move your finger for a while keeping it as steady as you can.You begin to get a strange sensation of pain or weight or a tingling sensation.Can anyone explain this strange effect?This effect continues to last even if we shut our eyes. Are we interfering with the brain waves or something?

By Asim.

Well, Asim, I'm not sure what you did exactly, but if you are trying too hard to focus on something out of range at the far edge of your range of view, you are trying to use your peripheral vision. Now, if you were to were to try hard and really focus on something in detail out there with your peripheral vision, you might be straining your eyes because that type of vision is actually very weak.--Screwball23 00:43, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

• yu hu, or, it could be that your eyes are trying to focus on the finger you're holding 3 inches from your face, and you're just giving yourself a migrane, I think your brain waves are safe from fingering--152.163.100.73 04:51, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I want you to do this. Close your eyes and think about spiders. Think about them crawling all over your body. If you're the type that will get freaked out about this sort of thing, you'll probably feel real sensations of tingling or itchyness or the like. This is similar to your finger experiment and it's completely normal. You might call it "anticipated touch," which as far as our brain is concerned is very close to the real thing. I'm not sure where on Wikipedia this may be talked about, but if I have time I'll look. You might try asking at Talk:Neuroscience. However, i'm certain it has nothing to do with "brain wave interference" or any other such nonsense. --Quasipalm 19:34, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Get somebody else to do the same thing to you - put their finger right near your forehead but not touching it.

Close your eyes, and have them either do it, or not do it several times, without telling you whether they are doing it or not - they must behave in exactly the same way each time (this is very important). Do you still feel the sensation when the finger is there? What about when it isn't?

What you will find is that you lose all correlation between the finger being present and the odd sensation. Instead it turns out the sensation is present only when you THINK the finger is there, regardless of whether it actually is or not. It's a fun experiment to try sometime --Noodhoog 03:33, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Computers and Investment Analysts

Does anyone know what particular computer skills an investment analyst/advisor needs to know... what sort of program knowledge is considered essential education?

It depends what you plan on doing, but Microsoft Excel programming skills would be the bare minimum and knowledge of Eviews and/or SAS would be very beneficial. - Drdisque 06:32, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

You need to know any application in addition to the application software, because there is so much fraud and incompetence out there. If you do not know the application, then you can fall victim to technology abuse that does not do the application properly. This applies to any computer usage.

People who work the investment analyst/advisor profession would probably know what skills best enhance it, such as rapid access to SEC and stock market specifics, research tools for analysing the financial reports of publically traded companies. That is to say great internet and data mining skills. AlMac|^(talk) 19:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I would think the ability to use a spreadsheet and a word processing program would be critical. StuRat 13:58, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Investigating officers in Scotland

I need to know who could be referred to as an "investigating officer" in the Scottish legal system. I assume the police investigators, but am not sure. There may be another legal position that I cannot find out about. --AShaw

Initially the police officers do the investigation then their information is passed to the Procurator Fiscal to decide whether to prosecute or not, they also continue the investigation if they decide to prosecute & direct the police in what to look into. They are, very roughly, analagous to the USA District Attorney. AllanHainey 08:13, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

triangle sea

I want know,where is the triangle sea? is in atlantic?or pacibic?

I think you want the Bermuda Triangle, which is in the Atlantic (and overlaps the Sargasso Sea) — Lomn | Talk / RfC 14:16, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Porn stars

Have female porn stars usually had breast implants? — JIP | Talk 14:45, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Depends on your definition of "usually", I would think. Quite a few of the ones who work though the bigger porn film companies like Vivid Video do have them. Although many of the "amateur" porn stars don't. One example I can think of is Melissa Ashley. The amatuers seem to target the fans of "natural" women. Dismas|^(talk) 15:39, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

That's what I thought. A man who has only seen naked women on porn sites but not in real life might get a wrong impression of women. — JIP | Talk 16:06, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you were looking for by asking but I suppose but a man can also see women, clothed of course, in public and realize that not all women have breast implants, have long legs, have blond hair, or whatever other mainstream idea of beauty would have him believe. If that's what you were getting at. If a man were to step back from the porn sites and look at things, including the women around him at work/school/the grocery store/etc., then he'd most likely realize that women come in all shapes and sizes. The ones that he may see on the internet are not exactly some definition of "all women" or even "most women". Then the same man could look at the numbers. The number of women in the porn industry, including the women who are considered "amateurs" just taking pictures of themselves or having voyeuristic husbands take them, would probably only number in the thousands. While the population of just one large city is at least one million. Taking half that number, the other half males, then he'd see the women he sees on porn sites is a miniscule fraction of the total number of women in that city alone, not to mention the whole world. In the end, as my father used to say, "it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round." Dismas|^(talk) 16:20, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

A woman who has only seen naked men on porn sites but not in real life might get a wrong impression of men. Anyway, who doesn't see men (or women) in real life? Hermits? Garrett Albright 07:20, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

RTS\MMORPG addicts might forget what they look like. ☢ Kieff | Talk 07:30, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

incredible but true

according to your wonderful article about animal farm the western nations sent soliders to overthrow the communists how could this happen when most of them were involved in world-war-one. (preceding unsigned comment by 68.160.198.39 (talk · contribs) 15:40, 13 October 2005)

See Russian Civil War. Several Western powers intervened on the side of the White forces, a fact which is (according to James Loewen in Lies My Teacher Told Me) not often taught in the average American high school history class. —Charles P. (Mirv) 15:52, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I believe that the British Expeditionary Forces played a part, as well. Hmm, we could use an article there. StuRat 14:15, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Medical journals

I have to do a report on penguins. I need 10 medical journals as references. But since medical journals usually give me diseases or sicknesses, is there a good online medical journal site you would recommend? (preceding unsigned comment by 68.197.6.37 (talk · contribs) 15:40, 13 October 2005)

You have to cite ten medical journals in a report about penguins? That strikes me as bizarre. But anwway, if you are a college/university student, your school library should have extensive online access to medical journals. For example my school library offers this: http://gateway.lib.uiowa.edu/refsubject-results.asp?subj=26 (but you need to be a student here to use most of it). If you are a junior high / high school student, you will probably have to go to your nearest college or university library. Taco Deposit | Talk-o to Taco 16:04, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Ovid is a good online database of medical journals if you have access to a good university library. If not, you can try http://www.freemedicaljournals.com/ or the Public Library of Science journals. The web sites of medical libraries (McGill's and Harvard's for example) often have lists of journals, but again access is generally not free. —Charles P. (Mirv) 16:06, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Or perhaps you want pepsins?? Shantavira 18:44, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I thought he must mistaken so I ran "penguin" in pubmed, and got hundreds of hits. In the first couple of pages there were all these cool reports about attaching wing cameras to penguins, microphones to record their sound environment, and limb accelerometers to analyze diving angles. If I were a penguin I would feel left out if some scientist didn't fit me up with my own gadget. alteripse 21:21, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Animal ethics

It is said that a spirit/soul is only inhabited in beings. Does "beings" refer to humans or to living beings in general such as animals... as we all know, humans are mammals which refers to animals too. I've also heard that animals don't have a spirit/soul. How come religion says humans have spirit/soul being biologically animals and animals such as dogs, cats, fishes and all others don't?

I don't know that you can make the blanket statement that "religion says" that humans have souls and animals don't. I know that Mormonism, the religion in which I was raised, teaches that animals have spirits. Taco Deposit | Talk-o to Taco 16:27, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

You're asking for a very objective answer to a very subjective question. You may as well ask if an all powerful god exists. Each religion is going to have its own view on this. Some people may even say that there is no such thing as a soul. Dismas|^(talk) 19:07, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Different religions (and different religious people) will have different ideas about the "souls" of animals. For example, some versions of reincarnation not only believe that animals have souls, but that all of our souls come from the souls of animals. However, if you're looking for a scientific answer, you might look at Self-awareness, Sentience#Animal rights, and Consciousness#Functions of consciousness, which says ""We generally agree that our fellow human beings are conscious and that lower life forms such as bacteria are not. Many of us attribute consciousness to higher-order animals such as dolphins and primates; academic research is investigating which rather than whether animals are conscious." Here's a link to an advocacy group: http://www.animalsentience.com/ Good luck. --Quasipalm 19:15, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

You may also be interested in the answers to a similar question on whether trees have souls --Noodhoog 03:37, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

I need a name please

I am trying to remember the name of a person I met that was an assistant to the Secreatry of Education either in the early 90's or in maybe 1989. I beleive his name was either Michael Alexander or Micahel Williams, can you clarify this? THanks

It would help to know what country you are talking about here. DJ Clayworth 17:08, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Actually, even more specific than that. Political entities well below the national level have Secretaries of Education. So, exactly which SecEd? Exactly what type of assistant (a secretary, aide, Assistant Secretary of Education)? And, unless it's an ASE, be prepared for an utter lack of records as to who interned for a Secretary over 15 years ago. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 17:11, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

searching

what are the three most popular search engines.

• Number one, by far, is Google. It has become synonymous with a search engine. As for the other two, I don't know specifically, but Yahoo!, MSN search and Altavista must rank pretty high. — JIP | Talk 17:04, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• According to Nielsen: Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Details here. — mendel ☎ 17:18, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

ulitimate fighting for women.

iam (I am) sure you have heard of the ulitimate fighting championships(.) what (What) i (I) would like to know is (if) are there any ulitimate fighting championships for women(?).

Looking over Ultimate Fighting Championship it appears there is not. You may ask this question on Talk:Ultimate Fighting Championship and see if you get a response. --Quasipalm 20:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

• This site claims that REMIX Women's World Fighting Championship is equivalent. [50] As yet, we do not have an article on that event. I will place a message on the talk page of the Ultimate Fighting Championships to check that it is. Capitalistroadster 02:47, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

the dracula orchid

is the dracula orchid named for the ficitional vampire.

Dracula (orchid) says "The strange name "Dracula" is derived from the Latin : little dragon, referring to the strange aspect of the two long spurs of the sepals." Since Dracula is the genus name, and such names are usually (but not always) Latin, it's probably right. —Charles P. (Mirv) 20:16, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

[51], [52], and [53] confirm this—though the last one reminds me that -ula is a feminine diminutive, while the word draco is masculine. . .so maybe whoever named it did have the vampire in mind. (That, or he just didn't know, or else knew but didn't care.) —Charles P. (Mirv) 21:01, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

And actually, the Latin name of tarragon is Artemisia dracunculus, which also means little dragon, and furthermore matches the diminutive form of other masculine nouns ending in o, e.g. leo (leunculus) and homo (homunculus). Curious. . .

unknown animals

Birds [54] [55] [56] [57] Animals [58]--Bluejays2006 17:49, 13 October 2005 (UTC) Fruits [59] [60] [61] Maine [62]

Cleaned up layout -- Garrett Albright 07:16, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Drug seeking behavior

I would like a simple definition of "drug seeking" please respond to [personal email] Thank you for your consideration

[63] says: "Drug-seeking behavior" is a widely used, although poorly defined term that refers to a patient's manipulative, demanding behavior to obtain medication. The patient may imply that the only possible solution to a medical problem is a prescription of a controlled (addictive) medication." ...

I've removed your email address since you probably don't want to get a ton of spam, and have also removed your second, redundant request. --Quasipalm 19:07, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The aafp link above is an excellent synopsis. I am curious as whether this is a recognized phenomenon in other countries with different drug laws, or this just an American problem? Also see [64] for an hilarious dramatization of one type of drug seeking behavior. alteripse 01:00, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Well, Australia's laws are only a little more tolerant than the US, but "doctor-shopping" is a well-known practice in Australia. --Robert Merkel 05:36, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

• We have an article on Doctor shopping even though it is currently no more than a dictionary definition. I will see if can put Request for expansion tag on it. Capitalistroadster 07:21, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Slavery

Were slaves in ancient Rome trated better and given more citizen rights than slaves in the early United States and other European colonies, or is that just a myth? — JIP | Talk 19:22, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

I think it'd be hard to do an empirical analysis given the vast time difference and the lack of clear records of slavery 2000 years ago. But see Ancient Rome and Slavery in the ancient Mediterranean#Slavery in Rome. And here are a few links that might help you:

• http://www.crystalinks.com/romeslavery.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/slavery_01.shtml
• http://members.aol.com/TeacherNet/AncientRome.html#Slavery

If you find some great information out there -- please consider adding it to Wikipedia. --Quasipalm 20:29, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

It's hard to say. Slaves in Rome had the same rights as slaves in the U.S.—none—and were sometimes subject to even harsher laws: slaves in the U.S. often couldn't give evidence in court at all, while Roman slaves could, but always under torture; if an American slave killed his owner, he might not even get a trial, but if a Roman slave killed his owner, every other slave in the household was executed. (This also indicates how greatly the Romans feared slave rebellions.) However, many slaves in ancient Rome had valuable skills (e.g. as doctors, teachers, scribes, etc.), and so had a better lot than the average field or mine slave—while in the U.S., house slaves certainly existed, but literacy and education for slaves was actively discouraged. Romans did tend to free their slaves more often than slaveowners in the U.S.; a freed slave had fewer legal rights, but his children were full and equal citizens, and his descendants could and did rise to equestrian or even senatorial rank.

One particularly nasty feature of slavery in the U.S. and other European colonies that was absent from the Roman system was the systematic and pervasive racism that survives even today, though slavery itself is long-gone. See Noble savage for an explanation of this. The Romans needed no justification beyond the fact that someone had been captured in war, or sold by his parents, or accumulated debts that he could not repay; Romans could be enslaved just like anyone else. Freedmen had fewer legal rights, and their children might be looked down on by the descendants of older Roman families, but there was never anything like the Black Codes or the Jim Crow laws. —Charles P. (Mirv) 22:06, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

COUNTIES IN THE UNITED STATES

WHERE CAN I FIND A LIST OF COUNTIES BY REGION IN EACH STATE IN THE UNITED STATES?

Category:Lists of U.S. counties would be a good place to start. Also try the Census Bureau, which has both lists and maps. —Charles P. (Mirv) 20:21, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

origin and definition of "falcon" and sport of "falconing"

Please tell me the origin and definition of "falcon" and sport of "falconing."

Have you read falcon and falconry? — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:17, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Filming Soap Operas In Fictional Locations

I want to film a soap opera called "Guilty Of Love" in the fictional city of Pine Valley Shores, Florida. How would I do that?

Hire a