Revision as of 02:13, 13 January 2006

Reference Desk

January 4

Business Phone numbers

How can i find out what business in Omaha Nebraska has 402-938-1100 for a phone number, other than calling it?

• According to several White Page sites, it's Teleport Communications Group. Sputnikcccp 01:52, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
  • According to reversephonedirectory.com, that's the number's carrier. Whoever's on the other end of the line, I can't find. Probably a telemarketer. android79 01:59, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

It can't be a telemarketer, because my cell phone bill said i call it.

• Oh, you're calling them? Then I'd guess it's a cell phone. Just a guess, though. Only one way to find out for sure... android79 02:02, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

As a general tip for future reference, Google is often a useful way to find which business has a known phone number. It doesn't help this time, though: there are no hits on a search for 402-938-1100. --Anonymous, 06:56 UTC, January 4

Key phone # into Google, or another search engine, just the #s, no other text, and you will find where that # has shown up various places on the Internet (like here), in some phone directory some place, and while this might include who has the # now, it also include who had # some time in the past, because you know when a # goes out of service, it gets reassigned to future people needing #s.

Also, it is only a matter of time before the viruses get into cell phones to make phone calls for the purpose of you being billed for money to go to the virus writers, like those 1-900 scams. User:AlMac| 10:53, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Dummies books, Idiots guides, K.I.S.S. books

For a lay person who knows virtually nothing about a given topic, are these series generally considered to be better than other introductory books? I see ever-increasing topics covered in all three series, and the ones I've read seem pretty good at explaining the basics and are long enough to satisfy one's curiosity. Of course, nothing beats Misplaced Pages

• It depends on the subject matter, I would guess, but from personal experience, the "...For Dummies" series isn't terrible. The one on golf was actually very good, IMO, as was the one on HTML. They really are designed for someone who knows absolutely nothing or nearly nothing about the subject; I picked up the one on American football and there was nearly nothing new to learn from it. If you're looking for a free alternative to these sorts of books, you might try Wikibooks... ;-) android79 01:54, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• These books are terrific, not because they go back to the very beginning and assume you know nothing, but because they are written simply and clearly, with communication being their first priority, not maintaining the elitism that language can automatically provide for an "in" group. If textbooks were all written like this, more people would actually learn something in school. I can't vouch for the K*I*S*S books, but I will say the the Dummies series and the Complte Idiots series are quite terrific. Mitchell k dwyer 02:34, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• I've always found the For Dummies books very good, mostly I've seen ones on computing but others on non-tecchy subjects have been good too. On computing again, SAMS guides seem very good. However, I'd strongly recommend that before buying any individual book checking the feedback at Amazon and/or visiting some websites on the subject and seeing if they review the book. --bodnotbod 00:17, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Closing a business

Where do I look to find out how to close a business without getting sued by the employees? Any help would be greatful.

Tami

What country is your business in? That may help people give you an idea of where you should be looking. Although, no matter what country, consulting a lawyer would probably be everyone's first suggestion. Dismas| 06:51, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Sued? Just fire them and close down. Surely, they cannot expect employment in perpetuity. --Nelson Ricardo 07:30, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• They can expect to get paid for as long as the contract says they are employed. If you were to fire them, they could sue you for breech of contract no matter what. However, offering a few months extra pay may convince some to leave of their own free will. Still, the lawyer suggestion is the best, though. Asking complete strangers for legal advice is not really a good idea. - 131.211.210.11 09:34, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

You need to have a lawyer, or legal expert check the law in your geography. Many states in the USA, for example, require that you give 3 months notice, or some similar time period, before closing your doors, because it is going to have a major impact on the taxes collected, and money to budget to pay unemployment compensation to your former employees. User:AlMac| 10:58, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Why would you worry about getting sued? If they think the business is worth continuing enough to sue you for it then sell it to them at a fair price and walk away. Still get a good lawyer to make sure all the odds and ends are handled right. - Taxman 15:26, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

NFL History

The website http://www.packers.com/team/coaches/lambeau_earl/ states in 1938 the Green Bay Packers played one game that wasn't an official NFL game. Who would they have played, and could this happen today?

If I'm reading correctly, the site actually states that one game in 1938 was played at a neutral site. Except for the Super Bowl and the preseason Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, games are never scheduled for neutral sites anymore, although I think some get moved occassionally to escape various natural disasters. As for playing games that are not official NFL games, this would never ever happen today, probably for various contract reasons. --Maxamegalon2000 06:19, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

If I had to venture a guess, I'd say they probably played the Chicago Bears. The cities are close enough to each other that they could easily have met for a scimage match. Dismas| 06:49, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

The neutral-site game was a Sept. 29, 1938 contest against the Chicago Cardinals in Buffalo. Oddly, the teams had met four days earlier in Milwaukee. It's no surprise they moved a Cardinals game, since the Cards got poor attendance in Chicago. Perhaps they scheduled the game that way so the teams could save money by traveling together. -- Mwalcoff 01:42, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

exploration

IS there any land unexlored or any region where humans are still living in ancient old age condition with isolated comunity?

Antarctica is mostly unmapped, and various extensive cave systems are yet to be fully explored. There are a few isolated communities of native americans living in the Amazon rainforest in their traditional manner, as well as traditionalist Bedouins and the Amish (if you consider their way of life "ancient old age"), among others. GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 09:23, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

The Pirahã people of the Amazon are pretty isolated, and also really trippy. The Pirahã language is one of the strangest in the world. I would love to go live with the Pirahã for a few months. —Keenan Pepper 09:30, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• No doubt there's still tribes living traditionally around Borneo, Cambodia and other Asian countries. Also, there's several such tribes in Africa. - 131.211.210.11 09:35, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I suppose you mean unexplored by Westerners (if there are people there then the region is by definition explored :) ). Depends on how isolated you mean. In Borneo the Dayaks are well accustomed to western stuff, although they don't always adopt it (good on 'm). However, the Penan are traditionally hunters/gatherers and although they are receiving incentives to settle down, some will still be living traditionally (don't know how many, though). But they all know about Western culture and few still dress in bark loincloths. As for peoples who have never contacted Western culture, your only chances will probably be in Amazonia. But then, how would we know about them? :) DirkvdM 11:08, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

You could say that the bottom of the oceans are yet to be explored. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk)

Another candidate for most isolated and primitive people is the Tasaday; our article is excellent. Scratch the Amish from your list: their culture is a mixture of 17th to 20th century customs and tools but doesnt belong in a discussion with primitive peoples of the undeveloped regions. alteripse 13:07, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I recall articles after the tsunami about a isolated peoples, I think it was some island(s?) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Indian government went to special lengths not to contact them too much in an effort to preserve their aboriginal culture. - Taxman 15:23, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

On this note, I can't remember what it's called, but I think it was somewhere in Africa, a language only spoken by one person. There are also some Aboriginal Australian languages spoken by less than 10 people. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 01:12, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

• There's an isolated community referred to in Guns, Germs and Steel but I forget which. Whether it remains isolated is another matter. I think it may have been Papua New Guinea. In the book it was used to illustrate a society that had not advanced very much since antiquity. Somewhere on the web (at an American public broadcasting site of some description?) there is a transcript of a documentary series based on the book which is where I get my hazily remembered info from, so if you feel suitably motivated you could seek it out. --bodnotbod 00:21, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

health

I am single 25 yr 66 kg (male).What should be my frequency of masterbate?

About 40 strokes a minute. - Nunh-huh 09:32, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Some would say the ideal frequency is never, some would say as much as you want. See Masturbation#Health and psychological effects. —Keenan Pepper 09:34, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I am trying to ask the frquency means, how many times with in a particular period?

Yes. I think Nunh-huh was attempting humor. —Keenan Pepper 09:52, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Why do you mention your weight? Without your size (body size I mean :) ) that doesn't say a lot. And even being fat or skinny doesn't seem relevant. Apart from that, Keenan already gave the answer I wanted to give. DirkvdM 11:15, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

The average for a person your sex and age is a couple of times a week. If these sorts of topics are frequently on your mind, you might want to read this overview of sex in America. --George 16:44, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• Two times a week? Blimey. I'm glad we're much less Christian here in the United Kingdom. I'd be left with an awful lot of spare time on my hands. As it stands (parp!) I'm left with something else on them.... --bodnotbod 00:24, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like a Science Desk question. Loveline is probably even better, but you can never get through on the phones from what I understand. Now, while I won't say I'm a seasoned expert on this subject (though I do my fair share as any healthy young male like myself should -- HA!), I will say that perhaps the way to know how often is too often is to determine whether or not it's interfering with your life mentally, physically, or socially. In theory, if a man produces new sperm every fifteen minutes, you could do it 4x hourly, which means that you could stroke it 96 times in a 24 hour period. This, of course, is not something I'd recommend, but if you're daring, you could try. Once in the morning and once in the evening seems to do it for me, though I have been known to "alter" this schedule should the "need" "arise." Cernen 09:33, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

E-Mail

Is anyone a member of those contact a celebrity websites? I really want Trish Stratus's e-mail.Does anyone know it? Or any sites which will give it away for free?

I'll give it to you for $500. --Optichan 15:43, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• You never know if such contact details are current. I wouldn't take out my cash for any such sites. I would recommend trying to find a official website for this person, or track down their management or employer. - Mgm| 19:16, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Her official website is at trishstratus.com. According to the contact page, fan mail can be sent to:

Stratus Enterprises, Inc.
5468 Dundas Street West
Suite #579
Toronto, ON
M9B 6E3
CANADA

I hope that helps. Because I don't actually have her e-mail address. --Optichan 20:38, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

'Giveaway sites' only have addresses if they are contracted to distribute the details by the person/company or their representative. (Privacy laws, I think.) So, if you want her address...then just follow Optichan's advice. --JB Adder | Talk 22:43, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Pound to currency conversions

My sister created an article, Pound to Currency Conversions. It seems to have been deleted. Does anyone know an archived record of the discussion, or if it even has been deleted?My sisters anonymous, by the way--Young XenoNeon (converse) 09:37, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages:Articles for deletion/Pound to currency conversions. —Keenan Pepper 09:50, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

That doesn't give the deleted article. I've come across this problem too (can't remember which article). Is such an article physically deleted? If not, it might be accessible through the list of contributions. Under what address did your sister do the edit(s)? If it is physically deleted then Misplaced Pages is not a good place to keep prove of having come up with something for the first time. This will probably turn out to be historically insignificant, but I put my alternative for the Big Bang theory on my user page so that in case someone else comes up with this I can say "Ah, but I was first". :) This is probably aminor thing (only the future can tell), but more in general this is an interresting thing. How secure is info on Misplaced Pages? I read that drive space is not a premium and terefore assumed that nothing (especially when it's only text of a few KB) will ever get removed. I mean physically, so it is always accessible through the history. DirkvdM 11:32, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Deleted article text is preserved in the Misplaced Pages database. It is accessible to administrators and can be undeleted following a mistaken deletion or a discussion at Misplaced Pages:Deletion review. Gdr 11:37, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Additionally, I offer to email the deleted text to anyone. Morwen - Talk 14:06, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• You don't really need the article text. Google will give a more up-to-date conversion rate. - Mgm| 19:20, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

"Thank God for Hurricane Katrina" extremist group

A while ago, I saw an article on a religious extremist group that are involved in protesting gay marriage, abortions, etc etc. They were in the news for displaying signs that said "Thank God for Hurricane Katrina". Can anyone remind me of the name of this group? If I recall correctly, there weren't many members and they lived in a compound of some variety.

That would be the work of the Westboro Baptist Church. And the link you seek is here. Dismas| 13:38, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

"Everything I haven't heard of is crap."

My sister genuinely believes that anything she hasn't heard of is crap (her own words). This includes things like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Citizen Kane, Abbey Road, Norway, the Super Nintendo, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Buddhism. What can I tell her to illustrate how ridiculous this view is? Is there a word for this sort of person?

• Egocentrism, perhaps, though the phrasing I'd use is "self-centered moron"

I am quite surprised she can get through doors with a head that size. Tell her that if she hasn't heard of such things, it is due to ignorance, not some sort of omniscience of what is not "crap". Grumpy Troll 15:00, 4 January 2006 (UTC).

Actually more than doing something to convince her, you should probably just record her saying that so you have proof later when she reallizes she is wrong. Her view is basically an immature response to insecurity about their being so much out there that she doesn't know. It's not a terribly contructive stance, but it's not terribly destructive either, as it's not likely to effect more than her. - Taxman 15:15, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

How old is she? Maybe it is just a phase.--Ali K 15:28, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I would be genuinely interested in knowing how old she is, as I find it amazing anyone would not have heard of every one of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Citizen Kane, Abbey Road, Norway, the Super Nintendo, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Buddhism, let alone not have heard of any of them. Has she been outside her home town in her entire life? — JIP | Talk 18:08, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I didn't know who Pierre-Auguste Renoir was. Probably because I know nothing about culture. --Optichan 18:27, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Maybe if you heard his name spoken it would sound more familiary: Ren-wah. --Fastfission 21:46, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Not caring about something and not having heard of it are completely different things. I have heard of all the above but don't care about all of them.

• I know Pierre-Auguste Renoir was some French painter. After looking at the article, I remembered he did some city landscapes. Not interesting enough.
• I know Citizen Kane was Orson Welles's breakthrough movie and considered one of the best movies ever. I have seen it and frankly don't like it very much at all. His later movie, The Touch of Evil, was much better.
• Norway is a really cool place, even though it's really expensive, and all the Norwegians speak Swedish in a funny way. =)
• The Super Nintendo is really great. I finally own one (after fifteen years) but I can't get the sound working. If someone offered to swap it for a GameCube I wouldn't do it.
• I saw A Midsummer Night's Dream in a Finnish summer theatre many years ago. It was rather entertaining but not specially great.
• Buddhism is a really cool thing. Myself, I don't subscribe to any religion, but I find the principles of Buddhism interesting. — JIP | Talk 22:09, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

On the other hand, maybe she's brilliant, in a weird way, depending on what she means by "crap." Once you cite an example of something she hasn't heard of that isn't crap, she can say, "Well, now I've heard of it, so it isn't crap." If Citizen Kane is not something significant enough for her to be made aware of it, perhaps it is "crap." I know I'm not articulating this well, but there's something strangely intriguing -- beyond the obvious maddening egocentrism -- going on here. Mitchell k dwyer 15:35, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Tell her that what she's just said is a Paradox, and there are plenty of paradoxes she has yet to hear of. -- Halidecyphon 18:54, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I agree. If you needs support, use the debate of what she had heard of when she was younger, compared to what she's heard of now. --JB Adder | Talk 22:53, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

If we assume she at one point knew nothing, then that means that everything must be crap. Or, if we assume her "taste" is only now evolved, it means that she is simply saying that she does not believe that she will ever experience anything meaningful again. Pity her, until she grows out of this silliness, for she has decided to go the way of the close-minded. --Fastfission 21:49, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Tell her that she shouldn't be such a dick, and that the two of you need to have a nice cup of tea and a sit down. Cernen 09:42, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Avoid self references ;) Scott 01:50, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

can castilla be promoted if real madrid get relegated?

can castilla be promoted if real madrid get relegated?

I think La Liga rules say that the B-team can not be higher than the A-team. So if Real Madrid fell to the Segunda división, Castilla would go to Segunda B. And even if that happen, I think that they would just move Castilla's players to Real Madrid and Real Madrid's to Castilla. If they don't release them all, of course. Luigi30 (Ταλκ) 17:52, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Oh, so we're talking about soccer here? --Optichan 18:22, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I believe the correct term is football :) Natgoo 20:10, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I was trying to differentiate between football and football to confuse the least people. --Optichan 17:52, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Lutz Remediation

I heard the phrase "Lutz Remediation" and can not find any info on it. I may have heard the word "Lutz" wrong, but it is associated with cleaning up an environmental problem. Any info?

Can you give some more context, such as where you did hear that phrase? Assuming you got the "Lutz" part right, it might be either related to some remediation project at Lutz, Florida, or have something to do with the following papers:

• Lutz, E.J. Jr.; Lee, M.D. ; Bartlett, C.L.; Buchanan, R.J.; Ellis, D.E.; Harkness, M.R.; DeWeerd, K.A.: Accelerated Anaerobic Bioremediation Pilot Study Final Report - Dover Air Force Base. Remediation Technology Development Forum Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents Work Group document; Dover AFB, May 22, 2000.
• Ellis, D.E.; Lutz, E.J. Jr.; Odom, J.M.; Buchanan, R.J. Jr.; Bartlett, C.L.; Lee, M.D.; Harkness, M.R.; DeWeerd, K.A.: Bioaugmentation for Accelerated In Situ Anaerobic Bioremediation; Env. Sci. and Tech. 34(11), pp. 2254 – 2260. 2000.

HTH. Lupo 08:15, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I found out it is Lust Property. Thanks.

Anatomy&Physiology

Please can you give me an article on the actions of the BRACHIO-RADIALIS (muscle) Thank-you P Thomas

No problem. Brachioradialis. Took me one Google search to find that. -- Ec5618 17:38, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

The heights of the Bushes

Exactly how tall is George W. Bush in comparison with his father, George H. W. Bush (not in metric)?

Thank you in advance. Mothperson cocoon 19:01, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

See List of U.S. Presidents by height order. User:Zoe| 20:31, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

We have a list about that? --cesarb 20:38, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Haven't had such a good laugh in a long time! DirkvdM 07:57, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Apparently Misplaced Pages has a lot of lists about the US presidents. --Optichan 20:50, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Just be grateful nobody's created Category:Taller-than-average U.S. presidents. JamesMLane 02:31, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

What do you have against metric? Anyway, I decided one day to take the trouble of memorising the full names of all eleven Finnish presidents in chronological order. I've now managed to do it well enough that you can pick any number from 1 to 11 and within less than a minute I'll tell you which president that was, and hopefully some general info about him/her. (You don't have any "her" in the United States Presidents, do you?) — JIP | Talk 21:38, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

We are all extremely sick. I have nothing against metric. I just can't visualize well. So tell me about number - 4! The clock is ticking. Mothperson cocoon 22:07, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Try Kyösti Kallio. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 02:13, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, you wrote your answer at a time when I was already sleeping at night. CambridgeBayWeather already answered your question. — JIP | Talk 06:13, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

aircraft

What General avation air craft is considered the cadillac of airplanes?

Depends on what you consider a GA aircraft. From our General Aviation article, GA includes all non-airline flights, in which case the Saudi Royal Family's private Boeing 747 would probably take the cake. If you take a more modest definition of a plane that the owner flies himself (or herself), then IMO a King Air 350 is the nicest GA plane I've seen. Mind you this is just opinion, and I knew a guy who flew his own Citation IISP which some might consider nicer. -User:Lommer | 23:45, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Personally, I would prefer the Porsche of GA aircraft (if it ever gets off the ground...) - ATG Javelin. Anybody got a spare 3-4 million USD (got to have some money for fuel and maintenance...) --Robert Merkel 23:03, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

sheep's testicles

Is there another term for sheep's testicles? The French call them wiktionary:rognons blancs (white kidneys). Do we have sth poetic too? Wonderfool --Fooled...err..1 19:09, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Bull testicles are called Rocky Mountain oysters... —Keenan Pepper 19:45, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

But only when cooked. User:Zoe| 21:32, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I had goat's testicles in Africa, but I don't know what they were called. DirkvdM 07:59, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Some Australians call them "lambs fry", but most others reserve that term for the lamb's liver. JackofOz 00:53, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Bo Peep's Meatballs. Cernen 09:47, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

DVD-R

can these be used in a computer--84.51.149.80 19:09, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• Perhaps Misplaced Pages:Reference desk/Miscellaneous#DVD-RAM is helpful. - Mgm| 19:28, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
  • But more compatible. --Optichan 20:56, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Where else would you stick 'm? It's a computer medium. Yes, you can use them in stand-alone machines too, but those are just dedicated computers (not general purpose, like a pc), despite what the manual may tell you. The problem is the other way around. The standalone machines can only read a few formats. A pc could in principle read anything, but laws may prevent software vendors to give functionality for certain formats, meaning you'd have to find an illegal solution (or pay if that is an option). I'd say everyone stick to mpeg and that problem is solved. Or is there a reason not to use mpeg? DirkvdM 08:06, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

It's not working on mine.--84.51.149.80 17:01, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Just to make sure; you don't happen to stick it in a CD or 'DVD RAM' drive? (Sorry if I offended you, but I can't know your level of expertise.) If not, at the bottom of the DVD+RW Alliance article it says that both 'plus' and 'minus' disks should work in the vast majority of DVD players. Maybe you have one of the few that can't handle the 'minus' disks. Don't know off hand where you could check that. DirkvdM 07:42, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

hover cars

how far off are we from making 'hover cars'?

I don't know about hover cars, but the Moller Skycar may go into production at some point. A "hover car" that floats above the ground using fans or jets is probably unlikely, because it would take too much energy to keep the car hovering. Rhobite 20:18, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

The Moller Skycar has been "about to go into production" for decades. As far as something that actually worked goes, there was the Williams X-Jet, which actually flew back in the 1980's. In any case, the FAA and public liability laws nearly killed off conventional private planes 20 years ago, and the airlines are already beginning to complain about the safety risks the VLJ will pose to airliners. The professionals like having the air to themselves as much as possible.--Robert Merkel 22:47, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Personal flying vehicles for all may never happen, since the risks would be so great. A car that stalls and won't restart usually just blocks traffic, while a plane that stalls and won't restart often gets people killed. A hovercraft which is only a foot above the ground poses less of a risk, but still more than a car. The strong wind blowing out from around the skirt also would be quite annoying to pedestrians and would effect other hovercrafts nearby, and steering is not as precise in a hovercraft, necessitating wider lanes to prevent collisions. The noise level would also be unacceptable. So, I also doubt if we will ever have hovercrafts for everyone. Electric cars for everyone does seem like a possibility, once the technology is improved. StuRat 00:04, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Moving cars also have a tendency to kill people (close to 30 million by now I believe - that's world war scale) and that hasn't caused any major uproar yet, as far as I know (alas). If you mean futuristic hovercars, well, they're as yet futuristic :) . But a hovercraft is also a hovercar. It happens to be used on water, but can also be used on land (or any other relatively flat surface). Just see the opening scenes of Die another day. StuRat already beat me to mentioning the disadvantages of land use for the general public. And similar disadvantages go for hovering with a (different sort of) jet stream.

Another option might be an adaption of magnetic rail. But that would require a complete change of infrastructure, so it's not likely to get used for anything but public transport over much used routes. The photo at Aérotrain, however, looks suspiciously like a car. And futuristic (does it use jet propulsion?).

Or did you have a specific technology in mind? DirkvdM 08:41, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

According to Back to the Future II, we'll have them in nine years, in 2015,and according to Lost in Space we had them 8 years ago. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 01:27, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm not an engineer but... Given the poor record of the Sinclair C5, the Segway and the current hoo-hah about oil supplies running out I think hover cars will remain firmly in the realm of The Jetsons and Futurama. --bodnotbod 00:45, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Phrase

What does the phrase Link title (broken arrow and a bottle of wine) mean and where did it come from?

TV show

I am looking for a TV series that

• took place in the late 90's that
• ran in Nashville area about a man
• Who lived in a luxury apartment
• And also a box inside the apartment.
• And lived a life of crime.
• It is baffling everyone.
• Main character's name was probably Johnny.

Main character plotted to murder someone every episode. Everyone is puzzled as to what show this is might have run on FOX or local cable TV in Nashville.

Thank you,
Rod O'Connor

• I've formatted the question a little bit. Unfortunately, I don't know the answer. - Mgm| 09:47, 5 January 2006 (UTC)
  • I don't know the answer either, but do you know about how many episodes the series ran, and do you happen to know what night it ran on? That information could also help narrow it down some. TomStar81 00:47, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
• Try TVTome.com. They might have what you're looking for. --JB Adder | Talk 23:00, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

January 5

Citing Sources

How does one cite a comic book? (MLA format) Do you have to bother with pencilers, inkers, and letterers? Or perhaps just the writer and the colorist? DuctapeDaredevil 00:52, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I think it might depend on what you were referencing - the artwork or the storyline - and decide what's appropriate to leave out. This site has some suggestions and examples, and the standard citation they give is to list the writer (w), penciller (p) and inker (i) like this: Fox, Gardner F. (w), Mike Sekowsky (p), and Bernard Sachs (i). "The Wheel of Misfortune." Justice League of America #6 (Aug.-Sep. 1961), National Comics Publications . --Canley 01:33, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Thannnnkkkk Yooooouuuuu! (And I was refrencing a quote.) DuctapeDaredevil 03:00, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Human Meat

Does anyone here know or can make a scientificly accurate estimate as to what human meat would taste like medium cooked and unseasoned of a average weight, build, cholesterol etc. man/woman, taken from standard muscle tissue, and then a comparison to more dense muscle tissue?

I would presume that there would be an internal bodily system to discourage the taste or thought of eating human meat.

PLease use as much detail as possible texture, taste, smell etc. (7121989 01:24, 5 January 2006 (UTC))

• Try it yourself: hufu - http://www.eathufu.com/

Try Cannibalism check out the see also and this guy Armin Meiwes has some information on what sauteéd penis tastes like. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 02:22, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Tastes like chicken of course. --hydnjo talk 03:54, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Shouldn't be very different from other meats. And I don't think there's any "an internal bodily system to discourage the taste or thought of eating human meat." I guess it's a matter of culture. I have the same repulsion and disgust for eating any kind of meat. deeptrivia (talk) 05:09, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Why would there be an 'internal bodily system' to discourage eating human meat? One reason would be that the closer the animal you eat is to you, the greater the chances that any disease it has will be contagious to you. And that would especially go for human meat. Indeed, there is a disease one can only get from eating human brains (some Papuas still get that disease occasionally, I've heard....). But that should then discourage us eating any meat that is close to us, like pigs or monkeys. I tried a monkey once and my travelling companion pointed out to me that that was probably the closest we'd ever get to eating human meat. Tasted ok, though (a bit stringy). But eating human flesh can also be a life saver. In mankind's history, we've mostly been hunters/gatherers, living in small bands. When such a group was going through a difficult period food-wise, I suppose they ate each other (first the dead and then the weak?). And it seems to me that that option is a stronger advantage than the disadvantage of the risk of infection. There might be some built-in mechanism to prevent us eating meat that shows signs of disease, though. Oh, but I believe meat eaters don't eat meat eaters. We're omnivores, though. DirkvdM 08:52, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

There are often bodily systems put in place as 7121989 stated which prevent humans harming each other out of cause. This was put in place long ago through evolution to ensure no self-harm to a species, so that it be preserved. This is evident in many animals and a human example is the 'wrongness' of murder and the human guilt that can occur after murder eg. macbeth syndrome etc. Serial killers suffer from a distinct lack of this sympathy and there is also a reverse an urge for murder in cold blood.

• How something tastest is entirely subjective, so even if you do get an answer, you may not agree with it (assuming you ever tasted to compare). - Mgm| 09:49, 5 January 2006 (UTC)1

Allow me to point you in the direction of ManBeef.com. That's an archive link, as it's sadly died, so don't go there now, as it's just advertising. Take a look on google for information about it (sadly, it turned out to be a hoax) Proto t c 14:41, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Allen, Gary. 1999. What is the Flavor of Human Flesh? Presented at the Symposium Cultural and Historical Aspects of Foods Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR --George 14:46, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Grant Hill

What happened to Grant Hill?

Grant Hill who? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 02:16, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Could this be OCD?

I have a "need" to exert pressure on my hands and feet, especially in the evening before I go to sleep. I usually put my hand into a fist and squeeze it between the bed and wall, or between the mattresses. I also tend to push my feet between couch cushions or under the body of my partner. This is a behavior I have had since childhood. Is there a name for this?

This does not fit the diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder. It does remind me of a similar and fairly widespread phenomenon: that of hugging or squeezing or immobilizing for comfort or calming. See hug machine for a more extreme example of this. alteripse 03:22, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I vaguely remember once hearing that such squeezing reminds one of being in the womb.

The following is a bit off-topic, but could still be helpful. At Rainbow Gatherings there is a custom to hug one another, which is quite a nice feeling once you give into it. You may have to break some psychological barrier and maybe that itself gives the liberating sensation. But my guess it has indeed to do with bodily contact. The squeeze is quite important. I've seen a couple hug tightly for a few minutes and break out in tears. It can be quite powerful. There's even a 'hug police' that looks around for people who feel glum, upon which they hug them to cheer them up. And I once heard of someone breaking up a fight by hugging one of the fighters. Of course that person was thus immobilised and the other may have felt ashamed to take advantage of the situation. Or maybe they were so flabbergasted they forgot about the fight. :) DirkvdM 09:07, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

You could have Restless legs syndrome. It's a horrible thing that robs you of your sleep. I have a milder version, but it was only discovered when I went to a sleep clinic. You need some good drugs from a specialist, which really work. --Zeizmic 13:53, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

To clear confusion, there is something called Hypnic jerk which is very normal and always drives the slower sleeping partner nuts. You will also notice this if your dog likes to sleep on you. --Zeizmic 21:25, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Trees of Oklahoma

Bold text

So it is! (?) And this is in italics. Know any more? DirkvdM 08:59, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

AND THIS IS IN ALL CAPS. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 01:44, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

strikethrough and underline! And ALL TOGETHER NOW!! DirkvdM 08:26, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Small text. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 14:17, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

large text Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 14:23, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Headline text

I need more information on the Trees of Oklahoma, what link can i find this information?

Sincerely, Janice Johnson <removed email address>

seems like a good place to start. Take a look at the Flora project. GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 03:56, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Please don't post your email address here. Spammers love that sort of thing. User:Zoe| 16:33, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

France

What is Franc's main export?

From the Economy of France artice:

Principal French exports to the United States are aircraft and engines, beverages, electrical equipment, chemicals, cosmetics, and luxury products. France is the ninth-largest trading partner of the U.S. СПУТНИК 02:50, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

You're aware that not all exports end up in the US, right? In fact it's close to only 6% of their exported goods. In general, machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, iron and steel products; agricultural products, textiles and clothing are the principal exports of France, mostly to other EU members. GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 03:49, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Searching college graduates (quebec)

Is there a place online where I am able to check if a certain person is a college graduate (documents available from 80's). This is for people in Quebec. If not, what would I have to do to search up a person to see their education?

Search for the person's name in Google! You won't be able to prove the person isn't a college graduate, but their name should appear somewhere online if they are and you might be able to glean some educational information from the search results. --Canley 04:12, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Good lord! It's a huge assumption to think that every uni graduate is going to be mentioned online in a way that confirms their education. Can you contact the university the person says they graduated from and ask? Also ask to see their degree/s and academic transcript. Natgoo 11:09, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Absoultely, it's a big assumption. Obviously Google isn't a definitive college record! However, many graduates (and I did say should) appear online if they have written a paper which is stored somewhere on the web, or if their graduation record is stored online. Very unlikely for the 80s of course, but it's the best chance this person has (apart from the obvious - actually asking the person to provide proof). -Canley 17:45, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

hair locks

why the hair gets locked for some people? What is the scientific reaction behind this phenominon ? Nirmala

Do you mean like dreadlocks? That's just a matter of not combing one's hair. Your question suggests that doesn't happen for all hair types. Which ones? Stiff curly hair maybe? DirkvdM 09:14, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Goggle

IS there any goggle made which can visiualise beyond someone's wearing?Is it possible to see through wall of bricks by using it?Any technical base for that?

Kind off; special thermal imaging cameras have been used to that effect; see X-ray vision and X-Ray Specs (novelty). Great artist's impression on there! smurrayinchester 07:56, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Something similar exists for viewing through walls. However, with this, you only see heat transmitted by the bodies. If you want to see in 'normal light', that light would have to reflect off the body and then pass through the clothes. But then you wouldn't need special goggles or whatever. Of course, there's also that picture of Diana in a see-through dress, but that requires special clothing on the part of the 'victim' (also, it was just a silhouette). And that is one of the prerequisites. The other is the light being strong enough. In other words, this can't be done secretly. Or is there a wavelength that would pass through clothes but get reflected off skin? The result would be black and white, though (or whatever monochromatic colour you want to give it).

There's a much simpler solution, though. Break into a girl's shower room (at a sports stadium) and install a camera with a radio transmitter. Or isn't that what you were thinking of? :) DirkvdM 09:25, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Some airports security have this box you walk into. You are fully clothed but the security guards see you naked, and what's in all the pockets of your clothes. If you not want them to see you like this, then either not go through those airports, or see if they will let you wear a Scots Sporran. User:AlMac| 09:53, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

How does that work then? Or what is that called? DirkvdM 10:49, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Backscatter X-ray machine. Basically, while a normal X-ray machine measures the X-rays which can get through, Backscatter measures those which can't get through. These are reflected back into the machine, which can then generate a 3D image of every layer of the subject. smurrayinchester 18:58, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Wouldn't that require much (much much) stronger radiation than a 'normal' (silhouette) x-ray image? And wouldn't that be a health hazard? I wouldn't mind people seeing me 'naked', but I do value my health. Shouldn't (by law - whose law?) a warning be given whenever a journey involves going through such a box? And where are they in use? DirkvdM 08:34, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

It actually requires weaker x-rays; normal x-rays need to be so strong that they can pass right through your muscle and fatty tissue, while backscatter needs weaker x-rays; the x-rays are bounced back harmlessly off the skin. smurrayinchester 17:08, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Any way to "break" the password of a RAR file?

Is there any way to extract files from a passworded RAR file (in this case, various .r01, r.02 files, etc) without the password?

It's rather difficult. As our article on RAR notes, strong encryption is used, so the only feasible attack is a dictionary attack (essentially, getting a computer to guess the password). If a good password has been chosen, you won't be able to read the files. Elcomsoft sells software for this purpose; it wouldn't be hard to write an open source version but it'll be much easier to just pay the money to buy the software (though they do have a free 30-day trial). --Robert Merkel 09:56, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Many uploaders include the password in the .nfo file posted with the rars. Make sure you read the .nfo file before assuming you don't have the password - you may need to download a viewer (such as DAMN NFO viewer) to read. Natgoo 10:59, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Notepad will usually open up an .nfo file easily enough. Proto t c 16:15, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Heh I didn't know that. Makes total sense, though, being a text file and all. Duh. Thanks :) Natgoo 18:58, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Photoshop assistance...

Could someone with photoshop cut the main figure out of this photograph, and paste him onto a white background?

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9578/gcthelegendofzeldatwilightprin.jpg

Thanks a lot. :)

Again? Why can't you do it yourself? Lupo 12:29, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Wow, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise I'd already put it on... Sorry!

HTML

In HTML script, I just can't figure out how to make multiple web pages for your site(in addition to your home page, you know, a scroll along the side). You know, a trivia section of your website etc. Its tearing me apart! My website was perfect!--Young XenoNeon (converse) 12:18, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Try looking at the HTML source of this page. Taiq 13:50, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

This is good: I already knew how to provide links to URLs. How do you create the subpage URLs that you link to?--Young XenoNeon (converse) 16:36, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I assume you're talking about anchors. Here's a page that has some.

So to make the first one, I would start with

<a href="#jormun">Jormungand</a>

That makes the link. Then I would put:

<a name="jormun">Jormungand</a>

to get the header, and the place to link to. See how the name defined in the second part is the thing linked to? You can also link directly to an anchor on a diffrent page by typing out the web address, then adding a hash mark (#) and the anchor name. 64.198.97.66 20:54, 5 January 2006 (UTC) Or maybe it's the creation of the subpages themselves, in which case it depends on your webhosting provider. But most of them have a little link in your file manager that says 'create new file'. -Del

Owen Jackson

Who is owen jackson

A Google search shows that Owen Jackson is currently the Director of Procurement and E-Commerce for the Jamaica Business Resource Center. Did you mean Gwyneth Owen-Jackson? Taiq 13:52, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

long haul flights

I'm about to fly from England and Australia and wondered how pilots on long haul flights stay awake? Is there really enough work to keep the crew fully occupied? Or do they just sit there and drink coffee? --Shantavira 14:20, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I would imagine the co-pilot takes over while the pilot naps, but that's just a guess. Taiq 14:21, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

On long haul flights, there is more than one set of crew, and they rotate. There'd be up to 3 co-pilots. There is only one captain / pilot, who must be at the stick for take-off and landing, and so for a lot of the cruising at altitude, two of the co-pilots wil be flying the plane. Proto t c 14:36, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Ok, but wouldn't they just fly on auto-pilot? --Shantavira 14:52, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but they still have to be there, in case anything goes wrong. Proto t c 14:57, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

So my original questions stand. --Shantavira 16:02, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

As does my answer - the autopilot handles the flying once the plane has reached cruising altitude, but at all times there needs to be two people capable of piloting the plane in the cockpit, on duty. On a long haul flight, there are more than two on the plane, and they rotate. There is always plenty to keep the flight crew occupied, even when autopilot is engaged; autopilots are not that clever, and will only keep the plane moving in a straight line at a set height - any and all course changes must be carried out by the flight crew. And those changes take place a lot, due to weather conditions, turbulence, etc. They have to remain in contact with various air traffic controls, watch out for other planes, monitor the status of the plane itself, and so on. Proto t c 16:13, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Proto, that is reassuring. --Shantavira 16:34, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I imagine you're asking partially because you feel horribly lethargic and distracted after even a medium-haul flight, and you can't imagine doing something important like flying an aircraft. Pilots don't, really, feel any worse than you'd feel after a long day at the office. One reason is, as you say, that they have stuff to do. But another reason is that they're getting oxygen-enriched air; although the air pressure in the cockpit is the same as in the rest of the aircraft (which is around 80% of stp) the partial pressure of oxygen is about the same as at stp. So while you're back in cattle class with mild oxygen deprivation, they're fine up at the pointy end. How, you might ask, do the cabin staff cope, particularly given that they're doing aerobic exercise while you're just sitting there like a pudding? Partially they're used to it (which I guess means that they've got more red blood cells than they would do otherwise), partially they can get a little shot of oxygen from a mask in the galley, and partially they don't - I've been on several flights (well, two, I think) where a member of cabinstaff has fainted. Proto's sleeping-and-turn-taking answer works fine for commercial aircraft, but it's harder to do for long-haul military aircraft such as the B-2 Spirit - for that they still try to sleep, but eventually they break out the Dextroamphetamine. Read the side-effects section of that article and think how you feel about someone armed with a theromonuclear bomb taking some. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:33, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

That might explain why Slim Pickens was so excitable at the end of Dr Strangelove. Perhaps he had been helping himself to the emergency rations. --Heron 12:43, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages's "date and time" preference.

When I set my preferences in Misplaced Pages, I set the time offset to 11 hours -- it shows the correct time in the "Local time" box... but whenever I sign a post, it still shows up as the server time (14:21), when it should say 01:23. What's wrong? Taiq 14:23, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

You'd want all signatures to use the same time zone, so that when reading a conversation you can know the order of things. Notinasnaid 16:20, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

The obvious follow-up to that one, is, of course, "Then why can't that common timezone be my timezone?". The answer, is, of course, that the WP database format really isn't made for that (remember, you aren't the only WP user). After signing with your signature (~~~~), they are immediately exchanged with the current date and time, and are stored in the database at pure ASCII text. Fixing old signatures basically is impossible. What would be feasible though, is to make future time stamps dynamically recomputed to match the timezone of choice of the user. I don't suppose this is high on the developers' to-do-list, though, and it would probably eat some server performance as well. TERdON 22:25, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

It's not server time — the servers are mostly in St Petersburg, Florida — but UTC, as it says in parentheses on every signature! Gdr 22:17, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

• Note that the date/time stamp in your signature adds "(UTC)" indicating that the date/times have been converted to a common time zone. The notation of your post in the Page history however, should reflect the time zone of your preference. --hydnjo talk 22:23, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Words to describe a person

Hello,

what I am looking for is how could I find different words to describe a person? Because someone once asked me describe your husband in one word.

I need help trying to find the perfect word for my husband!!!!! HELP!!!

A thesaurus is a great reference for this sort of thing. As a specific word, though, I suggest ineffable (definition #1). — Lomn | Talk / RfC 16:10, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Nobody can really be summed up in one word, and English is very rich in adjectives. Try describing you husband in several words to start with, and see if a theme emerges. If he resembles somebody (or something) famous, that name might provide a useful shortcut. --Shantavira 16:11, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Assuming this is a national emergency, I suggest you rip out all the pages from your dictionary and start throwing darts. Cernen 06:57, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Weight of Planet Earth

Does the burning of fossil fuels and forest fires have any significant effect on the weight of the Earth and will it have adverse effects in the future in relation to gravity, axis, rotation etc; Bearing in mind that the Earth year, we are told, was once about 400 days?

Burning merely changes the matter from one form into another. See Law of conservation of matter. --Shantavira 16:15, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

In conjunction with the above, the matter remains (for all practical intents and purposes) as part of the closed Earth system. Smoke does not appreciably escape into interplanetary space. Tides, however, do effect a slowing of the Earth's rotation. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 16:20, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

The only way a chemical reaction could change the mass of the Earth is if a light gas, like hydrogen or helium gas, was produced. Such gases move to the upper atmosphere, where the force of gravity is less, then get blown into space by the solar wind or their own thermal energy. Nuclear reactions, on the other hand, directly reduce the mass of the elements undergoing fusion or fission, by changing some of that mass into energy. However, the amount of mass converted to energy is insignificant as compared with the total mass of Earth. StuRat 21:05, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

That last point is about a mistaken assumption I've often heard people make in various reasonings. Earth's radius is roughly 6000 km. Earth's atmosphere is a few hundred km thick if you stretch the term. But only 100 km up is already almost vacuum. And 50% of the mass of the atmosphere is located in the bottom 5 km. That's just 1/1000 of Earth's radius. But this is linear and the Earth is three dimensional, so this has to be raised to the power 3, so that's one billionth of the volume (times two, because we're talking about 50% of the atmosphere, but that's nitpicking, relatively speaking). Add to that that the atmosphere is gas and the Earth is solid mass and you have to conclude that the atmosphere is a flimsy, almost negligible, layer from Earth's perspective (if the Earth would have a perspective :) ). DirkvdM 09:12, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Days are getting longer by about 1.5 microseconds per year, but this is due to the Moon (see tidal acceleration). This might explain why there are now fewer days in a year than there used to be. The "400 days" comes from palaeontological observations (explained here). To go from 400 days to 365 days at 1.5 us per year would take 2 trillion years, which is much longer than the age of the Earth. Therefore the rate of slowing must have been much greater in the planet's youth, probably because the Moon was closer to the Earth. None of this has anything to do with the burning of fossil fuels. Mankind doesn't yet have the power to ruin the solar system (but we're working on it). --Heron 12:34, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

The Earth actualy keep getting heavier. Every day about 100 tons of Space dust fall on the Earth. --Sherool (talk) 01:02, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• What about house dust (ie, human skin)? Does that add to the weight too? --bodnotbod 01:24, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• Nope house dust is just matter moving from one form to another. Dead skin cells, sweat and other -- waste products your body discard have at one point been added to your body as food or drink. It gets broken down and re-shaped by various chemical and biological processes, but the sum of it all would still weight the same (if you take into acount the gasses that are created too). --Sherool (talk) 04:47, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Dinosaurs

Which dinosaur was the biggest?

• Try this search on the website for the Guiness World Records book. - Mgm| 19:25, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Very interesting: they actually spell it Guinness, but the URL works with either guinessrecords.com or guinnessrecords.com. They're obviously used to people getting it wrong! --Anonymous, 06:12 UTC, January 7, 2006

Qantas had the same problem, so they list themselves under Quantas in lots of places. JackofOz 00:59, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

• • Or, read Largest organism. -- Rick Block (talk) 01:23, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

number and names of US trade corporate book publishers as of 1/2006

PSP Locationfree player help

Hi, I was wondering what the base player is, for example, have a Sony Network Media Reciver (PCNA-MR10A) and was wondering if i could connect this to the PSP as the base player, and if so how?

How many different book publishing contracts with major publishing houses and their imprints are available as of 1/2006

Q: How many different book publishing contracts with major publishing houses and their imprints are available to a writer or a literary agent submitting an original work of fiction or of nonfiction, adult or children, for publication in English in the US?

"...ten years ago today,there were a lot more ...large-ish publishers for agents and packagers to sell to in all markets than there are now ...The biggest publishers have been buying companies a level or two down from them and reducing the combined title output as well as reducing the types of deals that writers and their agents are able to make." --www.idealog.com E.g., One contract boilerplate for Random House, Inc., owned by Bertelsmann AG., which is home to: Ballantine Books Ballantine Reader's Circle Del Rey Del Rey/LucasBooks Fawcett Ivy One World Wellspring Bantam Hardcover Bantam Mass Market Bantam Trade Paperbacks Crimeline Delacorte Press Dell Delta Domain DTP Fanfare Island Spectra The Dial Press Bell Tower Clarkson Potter Crown Business Crown Publishers Inc. Harmony Books Prima Shaye Areheart Books Three Rivers Press Broadway Books Currency Doubleday Doubleday Image Doubleday Religious Publishing Main Street Books Nan A. Talese Harlem Moon Alfred A. Knopf Anchor Everyman's Library Pantheon Books Schocken Books Vintage Random House Audio Publishing Group Villard Books The Modern Library RH Trade Paperbacks Striver's Row Books Random House Children's Books: Alfred A. Knopf, Bantam, Crown, David Fickling Books, Delacorte Press, Dell Dragonfly, Dell Laurel-Leaf, Dell Yearling Books, Doubleday, Wendy Lamb Books

1. 1. end##

Business Enquiry

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a business Man who deals with NAT OIL and am just searching for companies or factories that deals with that type of products and I am fortunate to come across your site. Can you please help me with companies or indusries that deals with such products. If you dont have any knowledge about any company dealing with NAT OIL then I will like if possible you help me with SOAP OIL COMPANIES IN EUROPE OR ASIA.

NB:I would like to put my email address for any one who want to help me with such companies(email removed)

I shall be very grateful if my request is giving a cosideration.

Thanks Lamin Dampha

Aphasia

Where can I find out when a person has aphasia although they can't talk coherently can they think straight?````

From his neurologist, if it's a question about a specific person. If it's a general question, many people with aphasia have no trouble thinking. But there are all kinds of aphasias (expressive, fluent aphasia, etc.) depending on the location of the brain lesion causing it. People with expressive aphasias in particular usually have no problem with comprehension or thinking. - Nunh-huh 21:23, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I periodically suffer from the effects of aphasia during Transient ischemic attack. Typically for me the aphasia is nounal, that is, I cannot communicate clearly, but I can sometimes use articles and verbs, and express a certain amount of anxiety at my condition (typically by cursing). I'm not sure what your question is, though. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, either on here on my user page. Bethefawn 10:14, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Trouble's my middle name?

How many people have been unfortunate enough to actually have 'danger' or 'trouble' or whatever as their middle name? --Fangz 21:56, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Austin Danger Powers is one of them. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 01:50, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

• You know, I rather think Fangz was asking about real people. For myself, I can't think of any. --Anonymous, 06:00 UTC, January 7

Not a middle name, but a first name from history: Dangereuse de l'Isle Bouchard, wife of Aimery I de Rochefoucauld, Vicomte de Chatellerhault. - Nunh-huh 03:10, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Should we have an article about her, or her husband? —Keenan Pepper 08:01, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Both would be nice, though I don't know enough to write them.

Aumary I de Rochefoucauld (b. 1077 (l'Isle-Bouchard, France), d. 7 November 1151 at L'Abbaye de Notre Dame de Noyers-sur-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France), son of Boso II de Chastellerault (-1092) and his wife Eleanor de Thouars. He married in 1109 Dangereuse de l'Isle-Bouchard (also known as Dangerose and as Dangerosa), b. about 1079 Isle Bouchard, France, d. after 1119), daughter of Barthollomew de l'Isle-Bouchard and his wife Gerberga. Dangereuse either had a sister named Mauberge, or Maubergeonne or Maubergeron, or herself used the name Maubergeonne, as a woman by that name was also married to Aumary I de Rochefoucauld. One of them (Dangereuse or Maubergeonne) or Dangereuse/Maubergeonne, if she was one woman and not two, was also mistress of Duke William "the Troubadour" of Potou. Through their daughter Eleonore, who married Duke William X of Aquitaine, Count of Poitou 1126-1137, Dangereuse and Aumary were ancestors of King George I of Great Britain, Lady Diana, Prime Minister Chruchill, George Washingtion, and Louis XVII. - 08:41, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

my 9/11 videogame

hi iam an aspiring videogame designer i have an idea for a videogame about the september 11 th terriost attacks the premise of the game is to be told the mission from none other than bin laden himself and then you will choose which one of the 9/11 hijackers you want to be.what i want to know is are you disguted with my videogame idea or not if you are i won`t go through with it.

Yes, I am disgusted with it, as would be many others. I suspect legal and extralegal actions might be taken against you if you make such a game. In the US, for example, there is a law against profitting from a criminal act, which this seems to be. You could also be sued by the families of individual victims, who would argue that you are profiting from the deaths of their loved ones, without their permission, and thus owe them money. StuRat 22:36, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

IANAL, but profiting from a criminal act isn't federal law but state law and where it is, it applies only to the person(s) convicted of the crime. And I doubt very much you'd get any money in a civil case. Do I have to pay the Kennedys if I write a book on the JFK assassination? I think not. It doesn't change the fact that it's a highly insensitive and stupid thing to do. But stupidity isn't illegal - Freedom of speech is more important than hurt feelings. Anyway.. the author should perhaps also think less about his 'storyline' and concern himself more about what makes a good game. The background story had little to do with it, last I played something. --BluePlatypus 01:12, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Indeed, a company recently announced a game where the player plays Oswald and has to perfectly reproduce the fatal shots . I don't know what came of it, but its website could be read to now say that it was a joke announcement. It certainly garnered a huge, and entirely unfavourable, response. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:47, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

You're kidding, right? There's no way in the world any commercial distributor would fund or sell a game like that in the Western world. In fact, *any* game where the human player plays a terrorist is likely to get you into trouble. Think up something a little less politically contentious (set your game in the future or the more distant past, for a start). --Robert Merkel 22:59, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Unlike StuRat, I don't see any good legal basis on which you could be sued, unless there's a specific statute that's been passed regarding 9/11. If you do make the game, though, you should certainly talk to a lawyer about it. Regardless of the legalities, I doubt it would sell very well. It's a sensitive topic. (But to answer your question: No, I'm not disgusted. "At ev'ry Trifle scorn to take Offense, / That always shows Great Pride, or Little Sense") --George 23:47, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Even if they lose, having to defend yourself against multiple lawsuits could still be rather unpleasant and expensive. As far as extralegal methods, you might find your company, or any company associated with the sale of such a game, is the target of a boycott. You might also be threatened physically by angry family members of victims. If you want to make a 9-11 video game, make it based on stopping the terrorists. You could be an air marshall on one of the planes, for example. This would still upset many people, but not to the extent of taking the side of the terrorists would. If you set it in the future, and maybe call it Air Marshall, then you might have a good seller that doesn't anger people so much. StuRat 03:19, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

You could reverse the concept and be a fireman or a cop or a civillian and save people. -Del

You will probably face lawsuits and media blacklisting. (If anyone notices.) But the idea in itself is probably protected under free speech rights. In the end, it probably depends on how you treat the case. Will you be sensitive? Will you glorify or trivialise the attacks? What choices will the player have? What rewards? There have been plenty of fictional works focusing on crimes from the viewpoint of the perpetrators. e.g. , , so there is nothing intrinsically wrong with it. --Fangz 00:25, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Something else you may want to consider as well: The USA PATRIOT ACT could be used against you to investigate your personal/profesional history, along the money trail that such a game may or may not bring in. If the United States Government deems the game to be terrorist supportive they may make a preemptive move to sieze the game before you have a chance to do anything with it. Additionally, the ESRB will rate your game according to several criteria, if you end up with a game rating of Mature (M) or Adult Only (AO) the number of stores that will consider carrying your product will nosedive faster than a speeding bullet. Those still interested in your game at that point would probably be required to show ID when they go to buy or rent it. Just throwing that out their. (And for the record, I am very distugusted with the concept). TomStar81 00:59, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Also, the US Congress would likely ban pro-terrorist video games by passing laws. I doubt if the now quite conservative US Supreme Court would overturn such laws in the current climate. StuRat 01:40, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

And at the end of it all, you'll surely become famous. deeptrivia (talk) 06:07, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

All of the above responses seem to be about the US. In other countries 1) law suits aren't nearly as common as in the US (it seems half the world's lawyers live in the US) and 2) there isn't quite as strong a sentiment about the attacks and there are probably loads of people who would want to play such a game. After all there are loads of people who hate the US sufficiently for this. So you may be out of luck in the US, but the rest of the world is still quite a considerable market, to put it mildly :) . That's the power of information; distribution is so cheap the world is your oyster. Having said that, I like neither video games nor violence (nor oysters, for that matter :) ). That's violence of any kind, real, fake, terrorist or 'official' military. So I'll certainly not be a customer.

By the way, can the US supreme court overrule government laws? Isn't that in violation of the trias politica, supposedly one of the cornerstones of modern western societies? Then again, I recently realised that in the Netherlands executive power and legislative power overlap. What's next? DirkvdM 08:38, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, the supreme court can do that. For congress to get around that little road block they can add an ammendment to the US Constitution; since the Constitution is the supreme law of the United States it can not be overuled without an ammendment to that effect. A really good example of this is the 18th ammendment, which could only be overuled by adding the 21st ammendment. TomStar81

Acclaim Entertainment tried to sell their games using publicity stunts. They went bust. Gdr 16:20, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

It's a good thing the Supreme Court can do that, or Bush would do even more damage than he already does. (unless of course his appointees make the court a reflection of him). Your game doesn't disgust me, but I won't be a customer, I love video games (even violent ones, though I'm not a fan of actual violence) but that one doesn't sound like it's down my alley. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 21:52, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

So it's even worse, the Supreme Court can even amend the constitution! I suppose this makes sense where there is just one person in power. But not from a perspective of the Netherlands, where a parliament off 225 people have to agree to a change in the constitution over two consecutive terms of government. DirkvdM 08:25, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

An amendment requires the approval of two-thirds of each house in Congress and three-quarters of state legislatures (I think those are the right numbers). The Supreme Court doesn't decide that, they can only declare laws unconstitutional according to how the Constitution already is. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 00:00, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Exactly. The supreme court is bound by the US constitution, they can not overule the constitution because they are sworn to defend it. This goes back to the checks and balances: Congressional laws can be overturned by the US Supreme Court; however Congress’ check against the supreme court is the ability to ammend th US Constitution to reflect the laws they wish the United States to uphold. The supreme court is powerless to stop such a process, and when a law becomes an ammendment the supreme court must uphold that ammendment. TomStar81 01:15, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Several years ago I played Operation Olympic (game) which was the secret code name for the Allies plan to invade Japan at the end of WW II, when development of Nuclear weapons was even more so a top secret. If you played the game, and the result was that 1 million GI's got killed, then the result was considered consistent with historical expectations. If less than 1 million GI's got killed, then the American side had won, because the American player had done a better job than the historical plan expected. If more than 1 million GI's got killed, then the Japanese side had won. It was a foregone conclusion that Japan would be defeated. The point of the game was to maximize or minimuze Allied casualties.

Now such a game is playable and marketable, when the pain of memories of the time has sufficiently faded from the consiousness of the people who lived through the reality, and that of their descendents. I dare say a game about the Holocaust would not yet fly, because that pain was so great that it will be felt for many generations to come. Games about what went on in the Korean War might fly, but I think the Vietnam War was too recent. You have to weigh how great the pain and upheaval of an event was in history, and how long ago, before it is grist for some game design. I think with 9/11 we need to wait 200 years before it is a safe topic for a game.

User:AlMac| 01:30, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

There've been many Vietnam games already, some of which were published while the war was still going on. The problem with a 9/11 game isn't the recency, but that so many people would consider it to be in very bad taste. The First Amendment doesn't protect against economic censorship. As others have noted, you couldn't find investors, distributors, etc. You might move a few copies as shareware to the kind of people who, immediately after 9/11, participated in betting pools about what the final casualty total would be. If you're moved to do a game about a surprise attack, though, try something like Washington's crossing of the Delaware. If you want the subject to be an attack on civilians, consider Wounded Knee Massacre. As for the Holocaust, again I don't think it's the recency, but rather the idea of having a player in the role of committing genocide. You could certainly do a game in which the player leads a team of commandos trying to liberate the inmates of a concentration camp. JamesMLane 03:14, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I would like to see you make this game just to see what would happen. Bethefawn 02:50, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Georgia history

Which region of Georgia had the fastest population growth rate after WWII?

Which Georgia? The US state or the former Soviet republic (it could even be the town of Georgia, Vermont)? — Lomn | Talk / RfC 22:52, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Most efficient gear?

I have only had my driver's license for three-four months now, and only had my own car for about two. When driving uphill at approx. 60 km/h (~40 mph) which gear is the most efficient (as in fuel consumption) and which induces the least wear on the engine of 3rd and 4th, where the engine's RPM is at about 2500 and 1500 respectively?

The reason I'm wondering is that I want to be an efficient driver, using the least amounts of fuel possible when driving, but I don't know which uses more fuel. You would immediately think that having a lower RPM would use less fuel, as the engine has to do fewer rounds, where each round uses fuel, but on the other hand, when the RPM is higher, the engine doesn't have to put in as much fuel per round to keep the car moving, and my car has electronic fuel injection, so when it has no resistance (as when taking the foot off the throttle during downhill travel) it uses very little fuel at all. It's also interesting to know which causes the most wear on the engine, as, although it's not too important, avoiding unnecessary wear is also a good thing.

DarkPhoenix 23:51, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

In practice, in a normal car, you'd either be in third or fourth - third for a steeper hill, fourth for a gentle one. You really shouldn't worry one iota about engine wear, as it is highly unlikely you will ever wear out an engine - really the only dramatic thing that ever happens to most car's engines during a normal lifespan is the timing belt snapping, and only a preventative replacement will make any difference to that. Basing gear selection on efficiency or engine-wear is a bad idea - use the safest gear which gives you the control you need for those circumstances. If you want to be efficient, accelerate moderately, don't drive too fast, and keep your car well maintained and the suspension and tires in good condition. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:14, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

OK, so I know about the accelerate moderately, drive at sensible speeds and keeping my car maintained is the best way. However, disregard that for a second, and just answer the first part of the question with no regard to my reasoning in the second paragraph. I'm not even sure why I added that, as it really doesn't help any. DarkPhoenix 00:38, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

If you want to stay cool by driving with windows open, that air drag contributes to more fuel consumption. Are you better off using the car's air conditioner? Well if your # 1 priority is lowest fuel consumption, then drive with air conditioner off, and windows closed. Me, I drive with windows open in stop and go driving, and airconditioner on when I drive the limited access highways, because my personal comfort is more important to me than preserving fuel consumption.

You also need to keep the vehicle in good running condition. The owner's mannual may suggest an oil change every 7 or 8 thousand miles. But if you do this every 2 or 3 thousand miles, it is a lot better for the long life of the engine. Check into tips like that. What can you do to care for the car that will also translate into long life and low maintenance costs. My personal car has 300,000 miles on it and is 25 years old, and still running fine, because I take good care of it, better than what the owner's manual calls for. My previous personal car went past the ceiling on the odometer (back to zero) several times ... I lost count how many times. User:AlMac| 01:38, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

In general, running at lower rpms will have lower fuel consumption. -User:Lommer | 05:14, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

January 6

Weight Loss and Breast Size

My girlfriend recently started a diet and I was wondering: will her breasts get smaller as she loses weight?

Yes, losing weight is likely to reduce breast size. StuRat 03:14, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Homepage Traffic

My homepage is already listed on major search engines, but how can i get more people to visit it?

Offer pornography. On a more serious note, you could ask your friends who have web sites to place a link to your page on their pages. Then "repay" them by placing a link for their site on yours. Or if this is a business you could go to message boards for people with an interest in what you are selling and let them know about your site. Or if you have the money for it, advertising. Dismas| 03:02, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

I was hoping to get a more seriious answer than pornography.

And I gave you one. Ah, yet another person my humor is lost on... Dismas| 09:31, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I get more people to visit my Misplaced Pages userpage by putting a link to it on my TV.com profile and in my signature on the IMDB and GameFAQs message boards, and on IMDB I add,"Click here for free porn." (btw there isn't any) So you could do something similar, maybe that will help (you can leave out the porn bit if you want). Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 14:33, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

If you are offering a genuine service of some sort you may consider placing a link to it from Misplaced Pages pages dealing with the subject; however, external links are checked often here, and those found to be of little or no use are deleted. TomStar81 01:04, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Are you just interrested in more traffic? Don't you just want the people who might be interrested to drop by? Just go to internet discussions about the subject of your site and 'drop your name' (ie URL). Unless it's a commercial site, that is. DirkvdM 08:43, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Anyone know any good exercises for a twelve yoear old girl to strengthen knee muscles? And make thighs larger?

Hi my daughter is twelve and she has a weak knee problem. And her thighs need to be harder and more in shape. Anyone have any exercise suggestians? She is 5 foot 3. Thanks!

If you've consulted a doctor who diagnosed this problem then the best person to ask would be the doctor. Dismas| 03:09, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Deep knee bends come to mind. She can start with one a day and work her way up from there. StuRat 03:09, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Depending on how weak her legs are, I suggest swimming, starting with floatation assistance, so if she not doing anything, in the water, she not sinkng. I think swimming is a great form of exercise, that not put great strain on us, learn different kinds of swimming that put different stresses on various limbs. Over time, on a regular schedule of using a swimming pool, try to do more laps than on prior visits. User:AlMac| 06:53, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Need boobs larger!

This sounds stupid but i want to make by boobs larger and stuff. I am 12 to 13 years old. Is there any method or food or thing that will make my boobs larger. Without getting implants please. Excersise, food? maybe? Yah so help me please. Oh yeah and no crap like wait till they mature!

Well, waiting is the obvious answer. Stuffing your bra works, too. If you can afford them, there are decent push-up bras like the Wonder Bra and falsies that can look very convincing. As far as food goes, breasts are mostly fat, so putting on a lot of weight will increase your breast size, but also your butt, thighs, etc. StuRat 03:06, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

More than this, some help with the right clothes, hairstyle, and cosmetics can completely transform how you look, to a degree that will amaze you and freak out your parents. And you'll discover, when you get older, that the body shapes that boys find attractive vary greatly from boy to boy. Some famous women nearly starve themselves to achieve the "waif look" - that is, be thin with small breasts! It illustrates, however, that women never seem to be happy with the bodies they have. Eat healthily, exercise, and take care of yourself, and your body will thank you now and into the future. --Robert Merkel 03:40, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Weightlessness causes the body's fluid to redistribute itself and makes breasts fuller and perkier (hmm, maybe the article should mention this). So, study your math and science so you can become an astronaut. —Keenan Pepper 03:46, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

That reminds me of an episode of the Daily Show with a bit about plans for a Girls Gone Wild video made in orbit (the owner said,"We're going to see tits in space!" and the Daily Show correspondent said in a voiceover,"One small step for man, one giant leap backward for mankind.") Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 14:43, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

But anyway that isn't stupid, but Robert Merkel is right, a lot of guys like small boobs, or don't care about the size. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 14:43, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

So do a lot of girls. Bethefawn 03:01, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

There are also different kinds of shirt/dress styles that can accentuate the positive. Try things with the waistband right below your breasts, or low v-necks. -Del

If you can learn to walk on high heels, it causes your behind to sway in a way that excites males. User:AlMac| 06:56, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

But not selectively. Which is to say, the ones it excites may not be the ones you want to excite. -- Jmabel | Talk 09:10, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Huh I've never really noticed that they do that. I wonder how much difference it really makes? Yeltensic42.618 don't panic 17:18, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

APO addresses

Who is elegible for APO addresses?

See Military mail. Dismas| 13:57, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Address of Sago Baptist Church

I'm trying to find the address of Sago Baptist Church (the one near the mining disaster) but I'm having no luck online. Can anyone help out? Thanks. Rampart 04:05, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Which group deposited fake CDs on store shelves?

What is the program where people were purposely bringing fake CDs into music stores and leaving them on the shelves with a note? I ran into this about 2 or 3 years ago, it was a political protest of some type. People were making their own CDs, perhaps live recordings, and then dropping them on the shelves of stores so people would pick them up by mistake. They figured the clerk would see it had no tag and give it away. Was it copies of DeCSS or something similar? Were they just trying to promote a specific free music recording? Anyone remember? I really didn't know how/where to ask this question so I'm asking here. Thanks in advance. J. Straub 04:10, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

• I don't know what group was behind the specific incident, but in general this is a tactic of culture jamming; planting free stuff in a place of commerce is supposed to be a subversion of consumerism.--Pharos 04:53, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Reverse Phone Look Up

How Do I Do A Reverse Phone Look Up?

Google seems to be able to find at least listed phone numbers (just enter the number). -- Rick Block (talk) 05:53, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Whitepages.com can also do that, although they have a few pop up ads to get past if you don't have a blocker. Dismas| 13:52, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

You didn't specify what country you are in. In Hungary for example, you can do it online from a webpage , by phone calling 198, and probably also with the CD phonebook. – b_jonas 16:36, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

wellcome

hi thanks for help but how could i find any soccer club in western samoan and american samoa??

• For the Independent State of Samoa (no longer commonly known as Western Samoa), see the Soccer Samoa web site for contact information. The American Samoa Football Association doesn't have a web site, but they can be contacted by e-mail; the address can be found on their page on the FIFA web site. --Metropolitan90 02:31, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Transmission gears revisited - Variomatic / CVT

The question above about the most efficient gear made me think about the variomatic. Being Dutch, I first learned about the variomatic. Only later I learned about other automatic gears and in comparison I thought the idea was really silly; to have a sort of handgear that shifts automatically. Isn't a variomatic much more logical and efficient? You're always in precisely the right gear. So why did it disappear? Apparently they were banned from formula 1 racing because they gave an 'unfair advantage'. What the fuck? And in the backward racing contests that were held in the Netherlands a while back they were in their own class because the gears work in reverse as well (another 'unfair advantage'). I now read in the article that a new version is continuously variable transmission but that is in use in just a handful of cars (given the total amount of different car brands and makes). Why don't all cars have this? The only real disadvantage that is mentioned in the article is that it can only be used in lighter cars. But it's also used in Rovers and Volvo's, not really light cars. The other, perceived, disadvantage is actually an advantage (smoother operation). So isn't this a much more efficient transmission? And how does it perform when going up hill (considering the torque problem)? DirkvdM 09:41, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

1. Yes
2. There're a fair few examples of better technology losing out to another product that just appeared more appealing to the publi perception, Betamax being the classic example. In this case, it's for the same reason that the figures on speedometers go beyond what the car is capable of performing - people want to feel like they have a powerful car. The old variomatic system didnt provide the jerks people associated with more powerful cars.
3. They were likely banned for the same reason most automatic systems were banned in formula one. People want to watch humans racing, not computers, and the FIA complied.
4. Car manufacturers are wary of stepping out of line to change industry standards to a system most people haven't heard of and a large number wouldn't care for, for fear of profit-loss (aside from Japanese manufacturers, most companies don't turn out large profits).
5. Yes, it is.
6. The system performs fairly well on gentler slopes, but it does struggle with the larger gradients. The drive-belt also wears out a lot faster.

Hope that helps GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 13:32, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Now I wish I had numbered my questions :) . But if it's a more efficient gear then won't it save fuel and wouldn't that be a strong sales argument? Maybe not so much in the US, but in Europe fuel costs 3 to 4 times as much (don't know about elsewhere). Then again, in Europe handgears are much more popular than automatic gears, probably for the same reason as answer 2. I suppose the market tools (ie taxes) don't work here because of the status symbolism of cars. Maybe tougher laws would be in order. But then many wouldn't vote for a party that promotes that. Market doesn't work, democracy doesn't work. Is there a third option? DirkvdM 08:55, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

seniority

what are the streghts, weaknesses and oppurtunities in seniority?

You need to provide some sort of context. Seniority can mean being older or superior in station. for the former, see Ageing. For the latter, Seniority. GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 13:16, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Modern chariot racing

Isn't there a modern sport where jockeys drive horses from tiny chariot-like vehicles behind the animals? I can't for the life of me think of the name of the sport. Thanks! — BrianSmithson 14:51, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Is Harness racing perhaps what you're thinking of? --BluePlatypus 15:43, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

That's the one; thanks. — BrianSmithson 16:18, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Production of Coke Cans

How are coke cans produced? T

'Tis explained in the article Aluminium can. --Canley 17:49, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

word trouble

What's the word for when you want to honor a god but you don't practice their religion? Or when you do practice their religion? Like a goddess at a spring? -Del

Tribute? Of course, if the people around who do practice the religion know that you don't the word may be 'mockery' or 'blasphemy'.Brian Schlosser42 18:00, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

But like, if you respect other's religions and you want to show honor by offering something, and you do it the same as the people who do... Thank you for 'tribute'. DuctapeDaredevil 18:20, 6 January 2006 (UTC)(Just realized that the block on logins is off...)

I think Deitism is the honor of a God without formal religious practice. And when you do...well, you answered your own question there. --JB Adder | Talk 23:19, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Decimal clock

Where can I buy a clock with a decimal clockface, like the one on the right? Ebay doesn't have it. deeptrivia (talk) 17:27, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

It shouldn't be too hard to make. The mechanism is the same, right? Just get a 12-hour clock and paint the decimal markings on the face. —Keenan Pepper 17:59, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

It can't be the same mechanism, can it? The decimal clock had 10 hours with 100 minutes per hour and 100 seconds per minute, right? So the hour hand made 1 revolution per day, the minute hand makes 10, and the second hand makes 1000 as opposed to a 12 hour clock where the hour hand makes 2 revolutions, the minute hand 24, and the second hand makes 1440. That would require a whole different set of gears, wouldn't it? Brian Schlosser42 18:13, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Right... Don't know what I was thinking. =P —Keenan Pepper 18:15, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

I've seen decimal clocks that use just one hand. -Tim Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 01:53, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Which is probably simply Keenan's method. DirkvdM 08:58, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Except it has to run at half the speed. (1 revolution = 1 day.) deeptrivia (talk) 01:20, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Right, so what I said really made no sense at all. Brain fart. —Keenan Pepper 03:28, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Here and there are two, but they're already sold :-) Or maybe you were looking for something like this? Or you could build one yourself... Finally, here's the one from Metropolis. Lupo 20:58, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Wow..the cafepress one is cool..i also have coupons to use! Thanks!! deeptrivia (talk) 22:50, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Why are Left-wingers pro-Palestine and Right-wingers pro-Israel?

Thank you,

--anon 17:34, 6 January 2006 (UTC).

I think that that's kind of a broad generalization. Speaking as a left-wing American Democrat, I support both the state of Isreal and a potential Palestinian state. Brian Schlosser42 18:05, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

That is also a broad generalization, since most people in the pro-Palestinian camp also recognize Israel. --BluePlatypus 19:10, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Because Israel is strong and Palestine is weak. Left-wingers support the underdog, right-wingers support the top-dog. Back in the 60s and 70s, when it was Israel v. the Arab states rather than Israel v. Palestinians, left-wing support for Israel (being the underdog) was much stronger. Mark 19:26, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

There's also some cold war history - Israel was an ally in the cold war, while there were socialist groups on the Palestinian side, and remains a military ally of the US. Also there's the religion-politics issue - some Christian groups believe that the rebuilding of the temple and reestablisment of the state of Israel are requirements for the Rapture, so supporting Israel may hasten the endtimes. These groups also tend to support right-wing politicians. Guettarda 19:33, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Left-wingers tend to be idealists, thinking all people should be treated equally, including terrorists. They view them as poor, confused vicitms of society, who are not to blame for their actions. Right-wingers, on the other hand, see them as evil bastards who all should be killed. Hence left-wingers tend to support whichever side is using terrorists and right-wingers support the other side. StuRat 19:36, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

StuRat, are you trying to start a flamewar? Anyway, I'm one leftwinger who sympathizes with neither side. It's nice that Israel is a democracy, but it should be treated as an embarrassment to American Jews the way it is now. They're all elbows, and while I don't want Israel to be wiped out I don't think the US should be as gung-ho to support them as they are. If anything the Palestinians living on Israeli soil should be offered full Israeli citizenship. I don't support the Palestinians either though -- I don't support terrorism. Haikupoet 19:57, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

I think Isreal is doing the best they can with building a wall and unilaterally withdrawing from Gaza. They can't negotiate with the Palestinians, since any Palestinian who negotiates is seen as "week". A sizable portion of Palestinians want all Isrealis dead, and you can't negotiate with that, anyway. StuRat 20:30, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

More oversimplified (and flamebait) nonsense. What about the Israeli terrorists such as Irgun and Lehi? Viewing one side as "terrorists" is not an informed and balanced viewpoint of the conflict. Besides which, it isn't a left-vs-right issue anyway: It's the American right-wing which is strongly pro-Israel. The right-wing parties in the rest of the democratic world are not much bigger supporters of Israel than the left-wing ones. Nor was right-or-left wing US policy pro-Israel the way it is today until the last 30 years. (post 6-day war.) --BluePlatypus 22:25, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

When one side has overwhelmingly more terrorists than the other, including state support for suicide bombers, the right-wingers take the side with the fewer terrorists, while the left-wingers point to one or two counterexamples and say the two are "morally equivalent". Using such logic, the US may be judged to be morally equivalent to al Queada, since the US has had some domestic terrorists, such as in the Oklahoma City bombing. StuRat 01:07, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

One or two counterexamples? Let's talk totals. Since Sept 2000, 123 Israeli and 704 Palestinian children have ben killed. There are overwhelmingly more Palestinian civilian casualties (not only among children). I don't believe in eye-for-an-eye mentality. Both sides share in the blame. But the fact that you apparently aren't prepared to accept that Israel has at least equal blame here either means that you are uninformed or devoid of basic compassion. Or are you really prepared to make the argument that Israeli children are "more innocent" than Palestinian ones? --BluePlatypus 01:39, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

The Palestinian children are more stupid perhaps, as when they throw stones at tanks, intermixed with armed gunmen firing at the tanks, instead of taking cover. Confronting armed troops instead of doing what they say results in most of those casualties, not suicide bombers against Palestinians. And yes, I think somebody throwing a stone is more guilty of inciting violence than somebody eating pizza at a restaurant. StuRat 01:44, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

An interesting article: --Fangz 00:12, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

This is indeed an interesting question. As other comments have pointed out, it is not as simple as left vs. right. In the U.S., few people in the political mainstream are anti-Israel to the extent that many people in Europe are. But even within countries, there is a clear right-left division on the Israel issue. In America, publications like The Progressive and The Nation are pro-Palestinian, while much of the Christian Right is more Zionist than the Israelis themselves. In Norway, the conservative Progress Party is pro-Israel, while the Socialist Left is anti-Israel. You can see the same trends in Canada (Stockwell Day vs. Svend Robinson) or Britain (David Cameron vs. George Galloway).

I think Mark1 puts it pretty well. The Palestinians have successfully marketed themselves as the underdog. In the 1940s, when the fighting was seen as the Jews against the Arabs and the British Empire, the Left was very much in favor of Zionism. The recasting of the fight as Israelis vs. Palestinians switches David and Goliath. Now to some people, it's big, bad Israel against a poor, oppressed group. Of course, in actuality, the actors are still the same; only the names have changed.

StuRat also has a point about the way leftists see the world. There's a conservative taunt that when a liberal sees a mugging victim lying on the ground bleeding, the liberal says, "Whoever did this must need help!" There's a tendency among the Left to believe that if someone is resorting to crime or terror, he must be a victim of persecution. Thus, when a leftist sees an act of terrorism, he or she is likely to seek the so-called root causes and sympathize with the terrorists' people, if not the act of terrorism itself.

A corollary to this is the tendency of the Western Left to always side against the West in any skirmish between it and other peoples. Leftists cannot go back in time and stop their own country's offenses against the indigenous peoples of the world (African slavery, Indian wars, etc.), so they take out their frustration on American foreign policy and on Israel. The latter country can be perceived as an old-fashioned European colony carved out of land that should belong to a non-European people. Of course, the situation is far more complicated than that -- most Israeli Jews trace at least part of their immediate ancestry to the Muslim world, not to Europe, and they were more likely to come to Israel as refugees than as colonizers. But the Left doesn't have a real European colony (like the Belgian Congo) in existence nowadays to kick around instead.

The colonialism issue, real or imagined, is probably why leftists will focus on the human rights record of Israel rather than on the far worse records of countries like China, Russia, Burma and just about all of the Arab world.

I don't want to launch a flame war here, but I have to say that the Left's antipathy toward Israel does make for some strange bedfellows. I mean, Israel might not be the world's most progressive country on issues like women's rights or gay rights. But if I were someone like Svend Robinson -- an irreligious, gay social liberal -- I would think I'd feel much more at home in Tel-Aviv than in Ramallah. -- 70.27.57.22 03:32, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Another point to consider that "pro-Israel" and "pro-Palestinian" are like "anti-American" as highly misleading terms. Just because one might oppose the actions of the present Israeli government doesn't make you "anti-Israel" any more than disliking the current US President makes you anti-American. Calling somebody "anti country X" is a useful debating tactic but hardly realistic when often there are large minorities in the country concerned who feel the same way. --Robert Merkel 06:32, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

I would think you can often distinquish between the two cases, such as protesters yelling "Down with Bush !" versus "Death to America !". StuRat 07:37, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Also, anti-Israel doesn't necessarily mean pro-Palestine.

As someone who on average leans towards the left (though I'm certainly not leftwing out of principle), let me give my view, which, according to above reasoning, is more right-wing. At first, Israel was a bad thing because it robbed Palestinians of their land. Now, however, most Israelis are born in Israel and have as much right to live there as the Palestinians had (notice the past tense). The solution used to be simple, now I don't see one anymore and side with anyone who doesn't use violence (ie neither) or is the victim (ie both).

Also, note that, apart from the title, Mark1 and me, no-one speaks of Palestine, but in stead of Palestinians. Which can be seen a political statement in itself. DirkvdM 09:25, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Actually, come to think of it, when I was clearly anti-Israel I was pretty right-wing (I voted VVD then). I now blame that on teenage ignorance. :) But I've always remained a liberal in both the leftwing and rightwing sense of the word. DirkvdM 11:34, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

The Right is usually concerned with dealing with direct symptoms of social problems. When the worker complains of labour conditions, you fire him. When oil starts to run out, you put up prices, or make deals with dodgy people. When crime puts your country above others, you build more jails. When the continuing conflict claims more casualties, you escalate it.

The Left is opposed to Israel's policies in the conflict, not to Israel itself. It's opposed, because the left percieves the actions has a continuous disregard of the lessons of history and which cannot create a stable and long term situation in the area. The left believes that it is possible to understand actions without justifying it. And the left believes that this can be done as well as fighting the symptoms, not 'instead' as some people think. The left does not believe that a conflict can be divided into two obvious sides, and that you need to support one, or the other.

And the left are the only people tackling and campaigning against human rights abuses in anywhere near a fair way. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch etc are all leftist organisations. Who's actually doing the deals with China these days? Are they the leftists?--Fangz 15:01, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

The only policy Israel could have which might stop suicide bombers would be if they all left Israel and gave the country to the Palestinians. I don't think they see that as much of an option. StuRat 16:51, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Also, left wingers are typically more optimistic about humanity, and the eventual triumph of reason etc.--Fangz 19:38, 8 January 2006 (UTC) +

I agree with what DirkvdM said up there about Israel and the Palestinians. Also, I think what's incredibly stupid and dangerous about both sides is using religion to justify that they should live there, especially when the land they're fighting over has no other real purpose. It would make a lot more sense for one side to just have their state somewhere else in the Middle East, it's not as if Israel is the only country there. Yeltensic42.618 ambition makes you look pretty ugly 22:38, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Religion is rarely the real reason for wars. It's a war between peoples whose can most easily be distinguished through religion. And religion is also a way to get people to do weird stuff (with the promise of a reward in the afterlife). Likewise, in Ireland it is/was not about catholics and protestants but about Irish and English. And I believe even the crusades were not about religion but about encroaching eastern culture. DirkvdM 08:34, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

An interesting presentation about what exactly "kills" Palestinian children: deeptrivia (talk) 09:08, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Pressure treated wood.

I plan to make several picnic tables using Pressure Treated Wood. Are there any special precautions I need to take in painting this wood? Thanks, WSC

Pressure treated wood contains low levels of toxic materials, including arsenic. In general, that shouldn't be a problem, but if you're planning on making tables that people will be eating off of, the arsenic could leach into the food and the utensils. User:Zoe| 21:46, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Take a look at this article and be sure that you don't use CCA treated lumber for your table. --hydnjo talk 02:12, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

No pressure-treated wood is toxic these days. However, I would always seal the wood to prevent splinters. A very bad thing for picnic tables. --Zeizmic 15:11, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Pressure-treated wood is wet. It needs to dry and/or be sealed before paining. See . Also note that you need to use stainless steel or zinc coated nails, bolts and screws when building with pressure treated wood to prevent oxidation reactions (chemical rusting). Rmhermen 17:43, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

"Love is a many-splendored thing...or, in the case of Pinocchio, a many-splintered thing." StuRat 16:44, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Aerial Dumping

Do or have airplanes ever dumped wastes directly from the lavatory? There most be holding tanks, but do they ever dump them while in-flight?

Yes, but not intentionally. I don't think they have a remote control opening device which would allow them to do so, even if they wanted to. However, the drain which is normally used to empty the tanks when on the ground sometimes leaks, and at least one person found a "blue ice" meteor smashed thru their roof. The "blue ice" is the frozen disinfectant fluid used on airplanes.StuRat 19:26, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Blue ice was once the cause of death in a episode of one of the CSI series. _ Mgm| 11:36, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

So the sucking noise is not the poo being sucked out of the airplane and that hole some planes have in the rear isn't a poophole? One is never to young to learn :) . DirkvdM 09:32, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

My favourite was the old British trains, and the sign "Do not flush while at a station". When you flushed you were staring at the tracks! --Zeizmic 13:38, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

That's pretty gross, alright, but at least it wasn't falling on anybody's head (except maybe a worm between the tracks). I sure would hate to have to do track maintenance on those tracks, though. StuRat 16:42, 7 January 2006 (UTC) +

Scottish comedian Billy Connolly has a famous joke wherein he postulates the "jobbie wheecher", a catapult-like device which is used for ejecting toilet material from aircraft. Futher, he warns of the danger of hapless passengers becoming entangled with this device and themselves being "wheeched" out of the plane. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 16:47, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

sport

question from school. what do the letters S.A.F. stand for?

Try our article SAF; there are many possibilities. Unfortunately, none has much at all to do with sport. BrianSmithson 21:33, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Here's a wild guess: Standard Athletic Field or maybe Sports/Athletic Field. StuRat 22:12, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

South Asian Federation (SAF) Games? DirkvdM 09:35, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

While I'm much too lazy to find the answer for you, I can offer - they have yet to fail me in my time of need. Cernen 06:38, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Can phone numbers be sold?

I have heard of cases where companies have bought a phone number from a private party because they wanted the number. Their company's name could be spelled out with the numbers or some such thing. This was in the U.S. I don't know about the legality or possibility of it in other countries. Dismas| 20:40, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

In Japan it's possible, and in fact is very common among the ex-pat population. Just ask NTT. Givnan 08:28, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

dodge neon 1998

What is the size of the mounting nut for the driver side spindle on a 1998 dodge neon?

You might be better off asking this question in one of the internet forums specifically dedicated to the Neon. Do a google search for "dodge neon forum" and you'll find plenty of places where Neon enthusiasts discuss their car. Alternatively, you could purchase a service manual like this one and give it a try. --Robert Merkel 06:22, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

What is the phone number

{formatting of this question needs fixing & User:AlMac| trying to do so)

- + - what is the phone number of the jagex guy andrew gower?--67.135.148.79 22:21, 6 January 2006 (UTC)nebyou + - *It's quite uncommon to be able to contact the biggest boss of a company by phone directly. However, Jagex's official site does list multiple email address you can use to contact them, depending on the issue. - Mgm| 11:58, 8 January 2006 (UTC) + - +

January 7

{formatting of this question needs fixing & User:AlMac| trying to do so)

- +

What are some of the stranger looking animals?

Things like aarvarks, tanuki, owls, etc... Could anyone inform me of strange-looking animals, particularly mammals?

Platypus and kangaroo - Akamad 00:55, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Star-nosed Mole Flea110 01:00, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Hey! Platypuses look completely normal. From the platypus-perspective of course. It's the rest who look funny. --BluePlatypus 01:59, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, there was a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where the aliens referred to humans as "ugly bags of mostly water". StuRat 02:29, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Naked Mole Rat -83.129.21.36 02:49, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Puffer fish, sloth, Anglerfish, Frill-necked Lizard, Kiwi. And then there's a fish named somehing like caelocanthus (what is that again?). And a little night creature with huge eyes and a long thin finger. And that mouse with an ear on its back. And ehm, these two? And of course giraffes look pretty funny, but we're too used to them. DirkvdM 09:57, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Coelacanth. And it isn't that weird. DuctapeDaredevil 01:32, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

The Elephant Nose fish is a strange looking fish (Gnathonemus Petersi) Dematthew 12:05, 7 January 2006

Some of these mammals are rather odd looking. --George 02:43, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

The ocean, especially deep down, is full of strange looking creatures (like this, this, or these), not to forget these or these. As for strange looking mammals, other than the ones already mentioned, these are pretty strange looking, as are these, these (or these), these, (these are more cute than strange), and let's not forget these. What about these or these? Other strange non-mammals include these, these, and of course, this. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg; there are the invertebrates, which in my opinion are much stranger in many was than mammals. I mean, how about this, this/this, or this? Or this? What about this or this? And there are hundreds more of unusual and beautiful creatures like these. The motto is, we are blessed to live on an earth so diverse, mysterious, and often majestic. СПУТНИК 03:41, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

DirkvdM is on the right path, any animal can look odd or not. Barring human intervention, animals tend to adapt to their environment, so really they only look odd because you are seeing them out of place. To a certain extent it can be said that humans are odd looking based on the body modifications and clothing that we choose. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 07:07, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

here's one vote for the okapi, a relative of the giraffe and a mammal I have a fondness for. They seem like such peaceful, singular animals. Mitchell k dwyer 08:06, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Silly me, I forgot about my own photographs. Especially that big bee (a few cm long!) and the next one, with the flag-legs that did sort of leg-stretch exercises, probably to attract members of the opposite sex.

And, along the lines of the giraffe, we're used to elephants, but an elephant's trunk is pretty weird isn't it? Suppose we knew of no elephants and someone would tell us about this animal that is huge and round with a nose that is 2 meters long, which the animal uses as a hand to bring food to it's mouth and suck up water to use as a shower and which they use when walking in line by holding the other's puny tail. Yeah right! You told us about the platypus and that was weird, but how can you expect anyone to believe this? DirkvdM 09:03, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• It all depends on your perception of odd. But I think manatees count... - Mgm| 12:00, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Regarding storyline in snes game "Secret of Mana"

formatting of this question needs fixing & User:AlMac| trying to do so) I'm wondering if when you enter "gaias navel" the scene where the girl doesn't want to go in and ditches the guy there, does that have to happen? or is there a different path that you're supposed to go on? I made a bet with some one about this but I can't seem to find the necessary information on walkthroughs of the game and other such documents. Flea110 01:21, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Does this answer your question? Gdr 16:05, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

I tried your link, but it appeared to be broken somehow. I actually managed to find out the answer on my own. It would seem that I need to try to do more research on my own before asking here (because I tend to find the answers on my own shortly after asking). Thanks for replying though. Flea110 04:54, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it seems GameFAQs don't like people reading their FAQs without seeing the ads... Gdr 15:06, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

pandas

i am douing a panda report and i need help i need to find out.... what is the pandas physical appearance?

Giant Panda gives a good description and it even has a picture. --Ali K 04:13, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Also, there are other pandas, like the red panda. StuRat 11:13, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

information about UEFA Cup

I am writing to ask that how many goals Maradona had made for Napoli in the Tournament of UEFA Cup of 1988-89, as the runner-up finally?

Cargo and Courier Services

Overall which is shipping service is best: UPS DHL Fedex (all services)

I really want to know the truth about this issue.

How do you define "best" ? Cheapest ? Most locations ? Highest on-time delivery rate ? Friendliest ? StuRat 11:28, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

unreported U.S. military deaths in Iraq

What are the total US military deaths in Iraq that includes not only killed in action but those who died after being evacuated? And also non-combatant deaths.

These two sources (http://icasualties.org/oif/ and http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/) give it as 2193 (with 2189 confirmed by DoD). I imagine this includes non-combatants and those killed after being evacuated because both of those sites appear to be anti-war, so I imagine they would want to make the numbers look as bad as possible. - Akamad 14:14, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

How much is that Bishy in the window?

CVG question, project members and Zelda fans encouraged to answer, people who think Zelda is a ripoff of Secret of Mana need not apply. (And you're wholly wrong, because Zelda came out BEFORE SoM. HA!)

Zelda = Sheik. This much I know. And, having read the section on "Alternate Egos of Princess Zelda," I have discovered (besides the fact that I have enough pictures of this sexy man/womanbeast to fill a sperm bank full of bishounen-style pictures of a fake male) that Sheik wears a form fitting blue suit of sorts.

K. Here's the question. What the hell is it called, and any speculation as to what material it might be? See, thing is, I wouldn't be nearly so curious if it weren't for the fact that Sheik is really quite the looker. Also, recently I bought a gamecube, and with it, SSB Melee, and discovered that all of the bishounen characters are anatomically correct. (Doubters, please perform Ganondorf's pose move, and as he turns to face the camera, examine his crotch. Thank you.)

So...yeah. What's the name for the kind of outfit Sheik is wearing, and what kind of material do you think it might be. Cernen 12:11, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

I reckon it's made of 100% genuine polygons. Gdr 16:02, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Ha ha ha...this is a serious question, though. I'm writing a short story. This almost puzzles me as much as why, when tunics are generally something a woman wears, Link has three in various colors. (Feel free to answer that one if you want, too...) Cernen 10:03, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

In ancient times men wore tunics, togas, etc., too. Pants were a later invention, as they require individual tailoring, while tunics are one-size-fits-all.. StuRat 11:21, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Ah. That's fallen out of use since then, I suppose? Cernen 06:34, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

What's fallen out of use ? Tunics for men ? Sure. Pants really are better, especially when one has curious dogs at ones feet or "jack frost nipping at your, um, nose". And since automated production methods have been adopted, they can be mass produced cheaply enough for everyone to afford them. StuRat 11:09, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Another thing, related to Jack Frost, one geographical variation in ancient times was that tunics and togas were popular in southern Europe and pants were popular in northern Europe. Yeltensic42.618 don't panic 17:25, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Easter in the UK

(section title added by Smurrayinchester)

how do british celebrate easter?

We celebrate Easter in a similar way to America, with Easter eggs (although generally not the Easter bunny). Some people go to church to celebrate, some don't. The only difference is that at the start of Lent, on Shrove Tuesday, us Brits tend to eat pancakes instead of normal food (see Pancake Day). smurrayinchester 14:08, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

And we have a four day holiday, usually a good time for house cleaning and painting. Easter Sunday is the only day of the year when most shops are legally required to be closed. -- Arwel (talk) 15:30, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

See also Simnel cake and Paschal Lamb (which sadly redirects to some theological thing rather than talking about a nice roast leg of lamb. adamsan 16:22, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Post Office Promotional Materials

I saw a San Marino post office promtional package today at a friend's home. It contains a photograph of two postage stamps and a four-language brouchure for that set of stamps and a large official envelope. These promtional materials were sent to stamp collectors and dealers in the 1980s. How do I call these promtional packages? How do I find these things? Do post offices all over the world publish such materials today? -- Toytoy 13:17, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Most do, these days - I get them from Iceland, Norway, Denmark, the Faeroes, and Liechtenstein, and used to get them from Ireland and the UK too. I just call them brochures or flyers. Basically you just have to open an account with the country's Philatelic Bureau, and these sort of things will flood through your mailbox. -- Arwel (talk) 15:27, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Do they have a name? Do they have an article? Do they have a market? Do they have a catalog? Is there a site on the Internet that displays these flyers? -- Toytoy 23:05, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

CE

I find the use of CE (common era) offensive as it is what it is...AD Why must you be "religiously neutral". Everyone for all these centuries has called it what it is. I will refer to it as 'common error" if I ever use your encyclopedia again. Thank you.

Does this really belong in the Reference Desk? Please see Misplaced Pages:Neutral point of view. Elle vécut heureusement _{toujours dorénavant} (Be eudaimonic!) 14:06, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Personally, I find that CE pisses me off. If you have a problem with thhe date system being based on the birth of a holy man, why not...i don't know...use a DIFFERENT one? It's the same thing with a different name! And it looks ugly! --Phroziac _. o º 14:07, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

See Common Era for arguments both ways. Personally, I feel that if the entire world, not just the Christian world, is going to use a system, it might as well be secular, but it doesn't matter. After all, Jesus was most probably not born in year 1 AD/CE, but somewhere around 5-3 BC/BCE. Of course, if you really hate it, it can also mean "Christian Era". smurrayinchester 14:14, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

It's not secular if it's just a renamed religous system. I'm all for a secular system. But not Common Era. --Phroziac _. o º 14:56, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

The most important thing is that everyone use the same system, so we don't need to find some way to convert dates between systems. What someone chooses to call the system really doesn't much matter. If you want to call it AD, please continue to do so. If a non-Christian is offended by that and wants to call it CE, let them have their way, too. I would actually prefer that it be based on some nuetral secular event, say the largest eruption of Krakatoa, but this would require worldwide agreement and lots of conversion at this point, so let's just stick with what we have. StuRat 16:30, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Then what does a PC BC stand for? --Zeizmic 19:18, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

The PC term is BCE (Before Common Era) deeptrivia (talk)

I fully agree with Phroziac. It's the same thing by a different name. So if we continue using the same thing why give it a differnt name? That's just confusing. It's like the recent change in the Dutch language that exchanges one illogical set of rules for another one. But this is worse, because it's the same rule (which is as (il)logical as any other would be). And the Common Era article starts by pointing out that it can also be read as Christian Era. So we're back where we started. Before I encountered this here (I've never seen it used aywhere else) I never thought about what 'AD' stood for (although I was aware of it). Now I'm irritated everytime I see a date (well, that's an exaggeration).

A rule I often follow is that if you want to change something, the more traditional it is, the stronger your arguments have to be. Well, tradition is long and strong here and I don't see a single argument for the change. All that is achieved is that people get confused. I still do, even though I know about it (which most people won't). A change that would make sense would be to introduce a year zero, in accordance with all other measurements. Or make time measurement decimal (10 hours per day, 100 minutes per hour, that sort of thing). But that's a different story. DirkvdM 09:26, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I do like the idea of going to decimal time, which has been tried occasionally, such as after the French Revolution, but never really caught on. I would also like to stop the silly use of time zones and daylight savings time and have everyone go to Universal Coordinated Time. It really is the same time everywhere, as measured from the Big Bang or creation of the universe by your favorite diety, but we pretend it is different times to make the Sun rise at approximately the same time all over the world (plus or minus about 3 hours, which hardly seems worth the effort !). StuRat 09:50, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Apparently you don't do much reading, DirkdvdM. The terms "CE" and "BCE" have been in general use for about 20 years and have achieved wide acceptance throughout the English-speaking world. That doesn't happen overnight. JackofOz 09:34, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• Well, Dirk's not the only one. I never came across it before it cropped up at Misplaced Pages either. What really ticks me off about the issue is how it pretty much still refers to the same year and event. I can't see how calling it something different makes it any more neutral in that regard. - Mgm| 12:04, 8 January 2006 (UTC)
  • Dirk and mgm don't live in the English-speaking world, it might be that it isn't commonly used in the Netherlands. Yeltensic42.618 don't panic 17:35, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

It's like the diff between "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays", if you know you're addressing a Christian, then "Merry Christmas" is OK, but to be safe around people you aren't sure of, stick with "Happy Holidays". Of course, if one encounters a Grinch like me, one may well find a candy cane inserted in a most inconvenient location, regardless of the seasonal greeting used. StuRat 11:03, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Another point: my (rather extensive) English-Dutch dictionary does not list CE or BCE. And actually, I do do a lot of reading, and often in English (my reasoning being that I already know Dutch, so if I get my info from English texts I learn that language better in the process). And if I come across something new I look it up, of course. But if the dictionary doesn't list it I'll assume it's not important. So maybe I have come across it once or twice and decided it wasn't worth remembering. DirkvdM 09:30, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

When I studied History at school, my textbooks used BC and AD, despite the fact that Indian textbooks are known for their PC-ness. Maybe now they use BCE and CE. deeptrivia (talk) 04:05, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

That PC again. Do you mean a computer? What does that have to do with it? DirkvdM 09:51, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

It's political correctness. Yeltensic42.618 don't panic 15:13, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Wine longevity

How long will a good wine last when kept at room temperature?

In an unopened bottle, probably years, though the wine may suffer. In a glass, nasty by tomorrow. An unsealed bottle will suffer by tomorrow, though a robust red may be drinkable for a few days. In a resealed bottle, could keep a few days, depends on the temperature of your room, and the wine: some are more forgiving than others. My kitchen, at around 8 degrees centigrade in winter, is a good place to stand wine. Houses at 28 degrees will cook it quickly. Several techniques exist for stretching a resealed bottle to a couple of weeks. Sweet wines keep better, and fortified ones keep excellently. Notinasnaid 17:59, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Your kitchen is 8 degrees C ? I guess you have a blue chef to go along with the bleu cheese. StuRat 18:18, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

argonaut

The Argonauts were in search of the golden fleece in Greek Mythology,,Is the word "Argonaut" also used to describe 49er's of California Gold Rush times? Gary Day Rocklin California

I've never heard it used that way. StuRat 18:15, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, most definitely. Check out this Google search. User:Zoe| 19:51, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

currency question

I have two 20,000 peso bills from 1988 (one is serie CS and the other is serie DA). I also have three 2,000 peso bills from 1987 (one is serie CW, another is serie DB and the third one is serie DA). Can anyone tell me the value of these bills and where I could exchange them into US dollars if I ever choose to?

The peso is the unit of currency in many countries, which one do you mean ? StuRat 18:13, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Two very simple answers: (1) The value fluxuates. If they are collector's items, you need to ask an appraiser who specializes in that sort of thing, or go hunting for currency collector's websites or things like this. (2) Most banks and international airports (they have currency exchange stands, international ones do). Cernen 10:07, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I have a question about sanctifying the temple ground.

I'm trying to find the link between the red cow and the sanctification of the ground that the temple is to be built on. Is it the blood that santifies the ground. Also is it the ashes and water that washes away sin? It is Judaism. And I'm in the (USA)

It would be helpful if you said what country you live in, what religion you're talking about, and so on. —Keenan Pepper 22:37, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

I think the questioner is referring to the red heifer in Judaism.--Pharos 23:46, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

mass media

Is cellphone a mass media?

No. Cellular phones are a means of personal communication, not a way to send the same message to a large audience. —Keenan Pepper 00:20, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I think some do have the option to send a phone or text message to multiple recipients. Still, this is far short of "mass media", which typically involves the ability to send messages to thousands or millions of people at once. StuRat 01:58, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

They can be used as a mass medium though; Berlusconi's government once sent an SMS to every mobile phone in Italy, reminding people to vote. David Sneek 08:08, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• That's just mean to the Italian youth. A lot of phones are sold to young people who aren't yet allowed to vote. Isn't that similar to spamming? - Mgm| 12:06, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

January 8

Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Could you please tell me what 45% alcohol by volume means? Is this product safe for children or people who should not drink alcohol? Could this product produce intoxication, or cause a person to smell as if they have been drinking (alcohol/liquor)? Thank You, DB

Alcohol by volume is a measure of what proportion of the total volume of the beverage is composed of alcohol. (It is also the proof divided by two.) So 45% ABV means that just shy of half the liquid in Angostura bitters is alcohol.

As to whether it's safe, that depends on your standards. Bitters are typically used in very small quantities - one or two drops at a time - so the amount of alcohol you'll get from an average serving is tiny, far too little to get even a child drunk. However, some people who abstain as part of their treatment for alcoholism will not even drink that little bit. --George 00:54, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Note that many cold remedies for children also contain alcohol. The same logic applies, they just don't drink enough to get intoxicated. StuRat 01:55, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

For clarification: one could also measure the alcohol content by weight. Since alcohol is much lighter than water (the main other constituent of just about any drink), that percentage would be lower. Why volume is used in stead of weight, I don't know, but I suppose it was just a matter of flipping a coin, so to say. DirkvdM 09:39, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• I suppose it makes things easier when determining how much alcohol someone is allowed to have in their system. Blood alcohol levels are also easily determined in percentages. - Mgm| 12:08, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• (After edit conflict) Well, manufacturers could manipulate alcohol by weight measures by using more or less dense mixers. The good thing about alcohol by volume is that given a vessel or serving of known volume, it doesn't take any further tools to work out the amount of alcohol in that vessel. (In the UK, the size of spirit serving must by law be displayed). The responsible drinker than therefore plan their intake. The irresponsible drinker too, if they can still do arithmetic. To the original poster: 45% by volume is about as much alchohol as whisky has in it, but it would be harder to drink bitters to excess (for most people). Notinasnaid 12:15, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

need information about claude hollingsworth murder on mt lemon, approx. november 18-20, 1999

need info about claude hollingsworth murder on mt lemon from tucson newspaper.What info is available?

You could do a google search for any newspapers that are published in Tucson. Then search the newspaper's archives which are normally available on their web sites. A small fee is sometimes charged to get the whole article. This would probably be easier and less time consuming for you considering you'd have to wait for someone here to perform the same searches that you're able to do yourself. Dismas| 05:04, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Trying to find out something about my family

I would like to trace back my family history and rule in or out affiliation (if there is any) with James Craggs the Elder.

well, the key is in tracing back from you rather than forward from him (or from his ancestors).

Can you .... let me how a title becomes extinct, relating to the Viscount Clare peerage, which seems to be related to the 1st Earl Nugent, Robert Craggs-Nugent?

The Viscountcy of Clare, created for Robert Craggs-Nugent on 19 January 1767 in the Peerage of Ireland, became extinct on his death, because he had no male heirs. The Barony of Nugent of Carlanstown also became extinct on his death, for the same reason (it was recreated for the 1st Earl's daughter, the wife of the 2nd Earl, with a special remainder to her son George, but that also became extinct when George died without children). The title of Earl Nugent didn't become extinct on the 1st Earl's death, because it was created with a special remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his son-in-law, George Grenville, who became the 2nd Earl. The Earldom became extinct on the death of the second earl's great-grandson, the last heir male of his body, in 1889. - Nunh-huh 04:16, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

asociation of relexologist in the uk e-mail address

Try Association of Reflexologists. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 10:42, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Which spot do you need to stimulate to improve the spelling and capitalization skills of the patient ? StuRat 11:16, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

A swift kick in the ass. Cernen 06:44, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Les Elephants

Nicknamed Les Elephants, this team's greatest achievement until 2005 was winning an inter-continental trophy in 1992. it will make its debut on its sport's greatest stage in 2006. which team?

• Are you genuinely interested in knowing the answer or are you trying to quiz us? — JIP | Talk 10:38, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Try soccer. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 10:41, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Given that the question is quoted almost verbatim from the intro to our article on the Ivorian national football team, I'm assuming that they're quizzing us. ByeByeBaby 21:27, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

PC Assembly Guide

Hello.

I am interested in building my own computer, but I have not done anything like this before. I was hoping that someone could provide me with information as to where I can find guides and such for building a machine, where to buy parts from, what sort of parts I should get, and how to store those components (if a special storage method is necessary.)

I currently use a Dell XPS with a 3.60 GHz processor, and 1022 RAM, but I don't necessarily need all that for my first machine, it really depends on how much it will cost and how difficult it will be to make.

Thanks in advance, Demonesque 11:20, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

This isn't an answer, but just an observation: if you want to do this to save money, you will be disappointed. It will almost certainly cost more to buy the parts than to buy an assembled computer. (That's not a reason not to do it, it's interesting and educational, but you need a realistic view.) In addition, if you want to run Windows, it costs *much* more to buy a copy of Microsoft Windows at retail than it does for your PC manufacturer (who buys OEM copies in bulk at a huge discount); transferring Windows from another machine is not generally a legal solution because it will probably be OEM (and untransferable, even if sending the machine to landfill). This doesn't apply if you want to run Linux. Notinasnaid 11:41, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Shuttle Computers aren't bad for starting off, they're small-factor computers and you buy the case with the motherboard already in. You then buy all the other components and fit them in yourself. See http://www.shuttle.com 87.80.210.29 15:16, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• Building a computer is a bit like a puzzle; if you're a logical thinker, and you're good at them, it shouldn't be too hard to assemble them, provided you follow the instructions.
• It'll cost more to build your own, but there will be more of a "wow, I did it" feeling once you're finished. (Which also means you'll cry when it dies.)
• Store components in an anti-static bag. They're not necessarily rare, but they can be pricey from what I understand. I used to get mine from work; we had a general excess of them.

As long as you keep the amount of stuff you buy to a minimum (buy your video card and memory last; it'll be cheaper when you're done), take your time, buy an anti-static wrist strap, and follow all directions, you should be fine. Oh, and don't use Windows. Use Linux. Cernen 06:50, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

In my experience, physically putting together a computer is easier than installing all the software. With msWindows that is, because you have to install everything yourself. Linux distros often come with a humungous amount of software that you can install along with the OS, which even installs more easily than msWindows these days. The only problem is when you want to install other software, because getting the dependencies fulfilled (or how do you say that) can be hell. But Debian seem to have cracked that.

But back to the hardware. Last time I put a computer together I didn't have a proper manual for what goes where and the architecture was new to me, but everything went well because you simply can't stick something in the wrong place - it just won't fit. The only exception was with some minor connectors (builtin beepspeaker and such), but the coding gave that away (with some educated guessing). DirkvdM 09:49, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Sorry for bolding, but isn't there anyone that has noticed that there is a complete Wikibook on the topic in question??? TERdON 11:20, 9 January 2006 (UTC) http://en.wikibooks.org/How_To_Build_A_Computer

iraq

is us invasation on iraq is right? did they found any weapens of mass destraction.

They didn't find any Weapons of Mass Destruction, but whether its right or not depends on your opinion. smurrayinchester 15:57, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

There is an entire article on the invasion including extensive discussion of the reasons for it, please see 2003 Invasion of Iraq. -- Rick Block (talk) 19:02, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Please keep in mind that Saddam was the biggest Weapon of Mass Destruction of them all.

Interresting typo. The best way to avert attention from domestic problems is to create a common enemy. Thatcher used the Falklands for that (from the article: a wave of patriotic sentiment swept through the United Kingdom, bolstering the government of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.). And Bush used Iraq for that purpose, so to him that invasion was a "Weapon of Mass Distraction". :) DirkvdM 09:55, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I don't think that was quite it in either case. Bush wanted to avenge the assassination attempt on his father by Iraq and Thatcher was reacting to the insult on British pride at having their islands captured by a nation with a third-rate military. StuRat 10:55, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Oops, I got that the wrong way around. It was actually Argentina that used this to avert attention from domestic problems. Although it happened to help Thatcher too (maybe they made a deal? - another one for the conspiracy freaks :) ). If that assassination attempt at old Bush was the reason the reaction came a little late, didn't it? DirkvdM 09:59, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

français: jeux de scène

Hello, I am currently doing some homework for my french class about Fables de la Fontaine and we have to chose one and say how we would make it into a play. There is just one phrase that I cannot understand, it is "Jeux de scène" and i was wondering if anyone would please help me finding a pretty much exact definition for it so that i can understand the question. Could you please post you answers before the 9th of January 2006 G.M.T.+1 Thank you in advance, Daniel.

Bonjour, je suis couramment entrain de faire un devoir pour mon professeur de français sur les Fables de la Fontaine, on doit en choisir une et puis dire comment on le mettrais en théâtre. Il y a just une chose que je ne comprends pas, c'est "Jeux de scène" et je me demandai si quelqu'un aurait le gentilesse de m'aider trouver un définition pour que je puisse comprendre la question. Veillez répondre avant le 9 Janvier 2006 en heure française. Merci d'avance, Daniel.

Might you consider showing us the context in which it is used?

Veuillez nous montrer la phrase dans laquelle elle est utilisée.

En anglais, ça veux dire "stage business", unpredictable or incidental activities performed by actors on the stage for dramatic effect. deeptrivia (talk) 05:03, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Searchable index of pages.

I have little knowledge of things like PHP, MySQL, etc etc. In fact, I can barely write HTML. Despite this, I'd like to make a small searchable database (I believe this is the correct term) for personal use. I would have a page for each item -- in this case, each item is an episode of a TV series I own. For example, I'd have a list of TV shows - I'd click Frasier, then Season 1, and it would show all 24 episodes, then I'd click one and it would bring up a page about it, with guest stars, trivia, what disc it's on in my DVD cabinet, what special features it has, and more importantly, keywords I've entered for it. I'd be able to search the database for a keyword to find things.

What would I need in order to actually make this? It is basically just using a search-box to find keywords I've attached to a .HTML page. It would only need to search in the "keywords" section, if it makes it easier. Thank you. ----Alice Barron, January 9 2006

• The problem is that search box has to correspond with not only searching code but a database chock full of information. There is no terribly simple way to create a custom database, unfortunately. An easier solution than trying to create on with a web interface (because even simple ones require a lot of learning in terms of PHP and MySQL) is to try a dedicated database creation program. Most of these cost money — FileMaker and Microsoft Access are two of the most popular ones. The only one I know of that doesn't cost money is OpenOffice.org Base, though my brief playing with it had not made feel that it is very easy to use (its interface is modeled on Access, which is not the most intuitive program). It would be very easy for someone with some minimal database-creation experience to make what you would want, but it would be a lot of investment for someone without any experience to make such a thing if they didn't plan on doing anything else with the knowledge. My suggestion is to poke around online for someone who would be willing to create such a thing for you, or else commit to learning how to use one of the above solutions. --Fastfission 17:11, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I've been using Advanced File Organizer for years, and find it suits my needs. It does all that you've listed above. Natgoo 18:25, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Quotation marks

When should I use single quotation marks over double? eg. 'Death of a salesman' OR "Death of a salesman"?

There is no universal agreement. Most people in North America use double quotes as the primary type and reserve single quotes for quotations within quotations. This is sometimes done in Britain, but the opposite style is more commonly seen there. (There are also a few people who vary between single and double quotes depending on exactly what they are using the quotation marks for, but that's definitely nonstandard.) The quotation marks article mentions this, but probably should go into it in a bit more depth.

The specific example was a title. For titles, it is often recommended that quotation marks should be reserved for shorter works such as short stories; titles of books, plays, and movies go in italics (or they are underlined if italics are not available). So rather than either 'Death of a Salesman' or "Death of a Salesman", the preferred choice is Death of a Salesman.

--Anonymous, 17:40 UTC, January 8, 2006

If you are referring to how to use quotes specifically for Misplaced Pages articles, it's given in the manual of style. - Akamad 19:15, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Funny, I was just told off by gidonb on the Netherlands talk page (last posting) for using single quotes in phrases like "The English plural 'Netherlands' is a remnant from ...". Note the double quotes around the whole phrase (because it is a quote) and the single quotes around 'Netherlands' to mark it as a word that is not part of the sentence but the subject of it. Gidonb changed that to double quotes. I've always believed that my method was standard (and I've been altering it all over Misplaced Pages), but now I've started to doubt. The manual of style does not address this, only the use of quotation marks for quotes. DirkvdM 10:25, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you

How can I view older versions of Misplaced Pages pages?

I'd like to read the article on the Deep Throat informant and Watergate as it read prior to May, 2005. Is it possible to read older versions?

• Yes. Click on "history" at the top bar and select the date of the revision you want. — JIP | Talk 17:04, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Prime Minister Sharon

Which of the 12 original tribes does Prime Minister Sharon belong to? E-mail address removed

The Jews are said to descend from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The other 10 tribes (the Ten Lost Tribes) "disappeared" after the fall of the Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BCE. It is, of course, quite possible that over the past 3,000 years, Sharon's ancestors intermarried with people of various ethnicities. -- Mwalcoff 21:18, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

single phase and three phase compressors

can you convert a three phase compressor to a single phase? Or what size compressor would you need to run a cooler that is 17 x 11 feet?

Most expensive movie

i can't find this anywhere i looked on imdb but it wasn't clear, what is the highest budget film, and therefore the most expensive film to date?

List of most expensive films. MeltBanana 20:44, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Incredible how many lousy films (Titanic and such) and films I never heard of are on that list. And not one of the Lord of the Rings films on it. Those guys really knew how to use a budget! DirkvdM 10:07, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you

That lousy film Titanic that won best picture? The great budgeting of the Lord of the Rings movies, by the same people who made King Kong, the film that tops that list? User:Zoe| 22:44, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Right! Haven't seen King Kong yet, but I should. If only to see what those guys can do with such a huge budget :) . Whose best picture did that Titanic movie win? :) DirkvdM 07:50, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

#

There is no article on this, at least i don't think so, what is it called, and what is it used for other than something to do with number, also what are its origins? (7121989 20:00, 8 January 2006 (UTC))

Yes there is, see Number sign. It has lots of names... Lupo 20:21, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I know it as hash, but I haven't yet tried to smoke it. :) DirkvdM 10:29, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Smoking that kind of #=<+ results. ~ next time I feel witty, WAvegetarian (email) 07:40, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Less than plus results? DirkvdM 10:08, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you

Lease contract

Hello. I bought a truck. Truck is on my name but a company is using that truck. At present time they are paying monthly payments to the bank. They wrote me letter: lease agreement for 60 month and that they agree to pay my loan for truck. But it's just letter. I understand I need some legal contract. May be I could find online the car lease form? And have I notarise it or not? Thank You, Natalia.

Misplaced Pages does not give legal advice. You should talk to a lawyer or a financial advisor. --Canley 22:16, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Music download

What kind of music is safe to download in the US using a P2P software? How can I figure out whether a particular file is legal to download? I am especially talking about music made outside the US, and possibly having (or not having) copyrights in other countries. deeptrivia (talk) 22:53, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

• You should generally be very wary of anything you download using P2P. Some independent bands (and occasionally major ones) will release their music via the Internet and permit free distribution. Some of these are even "sponsored bands" who work directly with some of the peer-to-peer programs to get their music out. A simple, general rule is that if you could buy the music somewhere, it's probably illegal to download it - but this of course does not constitute legal advice. (ESkog) 23:54, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! One clarification: Does "somewhere" mean somewhere in the US, or anywhere in the world? deeptrivia (talk) 23:59, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Almost anywhere. See Berne Convention. —Keenan Pepper 00:13, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• You may be interested in "etree" see Free music. helohe (talk) 22:23, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Music in Ocean's Twelve

Hello, There is a song that plays in the background, where the other theift, François Toulour (played by Vincent Cassel), is stealing the replica Fabergé egg. It is a dance song with a Arabian tone to it. I would very much appreatiate if anyone knew the name. Also, I looked at the sound track and it wasn't on it. Thank you --(Aytakin) | Talk 23:13, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

The song is called "Thé à la Menthe" and is performed by La Caution ☢ Ҡieff⌇↯ 04:16, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Russia

Hi, I need your guys help relating to the country Russia. Russia is a country in Asia. But we dont call them Asians like the other countries (China, Japan, Korea etc...)thier is a certain word that people use to call Russian's, Siberian's, etc... I saw when I was about to take a test, and you have to bubble in what nationality you are, so I saw it said Russia and other countries listed. Then thier was a bracket to combine all those countries, and a word next to it that tells you what nationality they really are or what you would call them. I need to know this word, I think it starts when an "S" but i'm not a 100% sure. please help, thanks.

The word (and article) you are looking for might be Slavic. --Canley 23:55, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

It's worth pointing out here that Russia is a country of very many ethnicities, so you have to distinguish between Russian nationality (as in someone born in Russia) and Russian ethnicity. Ethnic Russians are Slavs, not Asians. But native peoples of east-Siberia such as Buryats are Asians, not Slavs. But they still have a Russian nationality. See the article Demographics of Russia, which has a quite impressive list of ethnical groups. --BluePlatypus 00:18, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

A big chunk of Russia is in Europe. --Nelson Ricardo 00:44, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Not the biggest chunk in size (it's the part west of the Ural), but certainly the most populous part. And that's where the Russian Slavs live. Actually, all Slavs are Europeans. And most Russians. DirkvdM 10:36, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

The ruling class has always been of European ancestry and culture, starting with Vikings, I believe. This is why it's considered a European country even though most of it is in Asia. In a reverse example, Turkey could perhaps be considered an Asian country, even though part of it is in Europe, since it's people are primarily of Asian descent. StuRat 10:45, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

The word you may be looking for is Eurasian MeltBanana 19:33, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Right, the distinction is pretty arbitrary, geographically speaking. But this is more about cultural differences. And it's that which dominates the discussion about entry of Turkey into the EU for many people. DirkvdM 10:11, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

incest

I know a man whose mother passed away and his step father remarried...he was having an affair with his step dads new wife...would you consider this incest?

• Well, have a look at incest. In the introduction, it says that some cultures only consider incest to be sexual relations among blood relatives, while others include marriage and adoption as taboos. (ESkog) 23:51, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

January 9

Ohio River Travel Times

What is the travel time by boat from Cincinnati, OH to Pittsburhg, PA?

What kind of boat are you talking about? There are two slow steamboat cruises run by Delta Queen which take either four or five nights to travel between the cities you mention. --Canley 02:02, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Moustache and glasses

Is there any specific name for the type of oft-caricatured "disguise" that consists of glasses attached to a fake nose, attached to a fake moustache? --JianLi 02:06, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Hey, File:Grouchomarxpromophoto.jpg do you think this is easy? --hydnjo talk 03:54, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

do plastic give off Dioxons when frozen?

The amount of dioxin in plastics is so little as to be arguably clinically meaningless. Plastics are continuously off gassing, so I would assume some would be released while it was frozen. See dioxin for more information. WAvegetarian (email) 04:32, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

This is an urban myth]. --BluePlatypus 04:46, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Nigeria Olympic Team

>What sports will the Nigeria Winter Olympic Team compete in? Who will compete?

I'm not sure that Nigeria has a delegate to the 2006 Winter Games in Torino. WAvegetarian (email) 07:52, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I think they actually do, and I think he's a skier. You might need to clarify that one. --JB Adder | Talk 23:24, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

how invinted the passport

See Passport. --Canley 05:11, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Friends DVD's

Is there a way i can tell if my Friend copied my DVD without letting me knowing, beside's asking him?

Even if there is, I guess it would be prohibitingly expensive. I can't think of any way they might be able to do it. deeptrivia (talk) 05:09, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

No, there isn't, unless you happen to find the copy. --cesarb 05:20, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• I haven't tried copying one, but aren't those protected from copying? - Mgm| 08:30, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

You're probably thinking of movies on DVD's. It's the movies that are protected, not the DVD format. And even the movies aren't always protected. DirkvdM 10:43, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Okay aren't commercial films on a DVD protected against illegal copying? (Is that better phrased, Dirk?)

They are but the protection (CSS) was cracked some years ago. So Copying is about as easy as pressing the copy button. helohe (talk) 22:17, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I suppose there might be some single bit errors which would then be replicated on the copy. If you had such an original and a possible copy, the presence of the same single bit errors would indicate a copy, or possibly that both were copied from a common source. If your copy is perfect, however, I don't see how you could tell. And if, as I suspect, you have no access to the potential copy, then there is no way to know. StuRat 10:37, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Untrue, because the strong Error Correcting Code used by DVDs fixes all single-bit errors. --cesarb 14:27, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

To see if anyone else had opened it you could dust the DVD or its case for fingerprints. Or with a little advance planning you could seal the case with a small piece of tape so that you could see if it has been opened. Or place a tiny scrap of paper in the case which will fall out if the case is opened in your absence. --Shantavira 16:58, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

You could just accuse your friend of copying your DVD and see how he reacts.  ;-) hydnjo talk 20:48, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Or if you wanted you could install monitoring software on your computer. Then the logs would tell you if they were making copies plus everything else they did. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:00, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

If it's just a film (and therefore nothing personal), what does it matter? DirkvdM 10:16, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Jews in Saudi Arabia

Is it true that no Jews are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia? What's the reason? deeptrivia (talk) 05:46, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Due to Arab-Israeli conflict, holders of Israeli passport are not allowed entry into Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Saudi Arabian immigration authorities may not issue visas to people they suspect to be linked with Israel. As a peripheral piece of information, many Saudi banks (through Letter of Credit terms) insist ocean vessels to issue certificates that they are not of Israeli origin nor have they called on Israeli ports on that voyage. --Tachs 07:17, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Right, so it's not about Jews (which would have been odd since they're all Semites) but about Israel. This sort of thing is not uncommon. Eg, you can't enter the US with a Cuban stamp in your passport (which is why your passport doesn't get stamped when entering Cuba). There are more examples, but I can't think of any now. DirkvdM 10:48, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Does the Cuban example apply to everyone, or only to Americans? For example, I'm British and can visit Cuba freely - if I flew from Britain to Cuba, then from there to (say) Canada, would I be prevented from crossing the Canada/US border? Loganberry (Talk) 12:23, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I know dozens of Canadians who have been to Cuba, and not one has ever been prevented from entering the US. DJ Clayworth 21:26, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I read on the Passport article that Jews, irrespective of nationality, are not allowed in Saudi Arabia! deeptrivia (talk) 14:02, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

It is true that Jews (in addition to those who hold Israeli passports or passports with Israeli stamps, people who are inappropriately dressed, and people who are visibly drunk ) are not allowed into the country. I don't know how strictly this rule is enforced; it's not always easy to tell if someone is Jewish. —Charles P. (Mirv) 15:02, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! Would they ask your religion before they let you enter? I know that several Islamic countries do not allow Israelis. Do some of them also similarly ban all Jews? deeptrivia (talk) 15:11, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I doubt anyone bans Jews in practice. How exactly would they determine your faith? (Impossible) Or would they go by who has a jewish-sounding surname? (error-prone) Or do a genealogy of every visitor? (Too labor-intensive) This page (for Syria) says they'll stop you if you have an Israeli passport, visa or stamp. For fairness sake, it's worth mentioning it's not easy to get into Israel with a Syrian or Egyptian passport either. --BluePlatypus 22:10, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• According to this, the ban on Jews was put on their home-page last year, together with bans on "those who don't abide by the Saudi traditions concerning appearance and behaviours" and "those under the influence of alcohol". After protests, this page has been removed. None of these bans appear to be particularily practical to enforce at the border, and I have no idea if they're being enforced in practice right now. But there's no doubt they'll throw you out of the country if you're drunk in public, wearing a bikini or preaching Christianity or Judaism. But that's not really news either. --BluePlatypus 22:24, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• I personally know a Jew who was banned from engineering work in Saudi Arabia (this was in the 1960s or 70s) simply on the basis of ethnicity. It is possible that this was not offical law but a "sensitive" company policy; I don't know enough to say for sure. Thomas Friedman has of course visited Saudia Arabia many times in recent years (then again, he is a very public figure).--Pharos 00:46, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Loganberry, about not being alowed to visit Cuba, you're right, that only applies to US citizens. Still, the immigration might give you a hard time just to piss you off (any excuse will do for those bastards). But the visa is a loose leaflet, so just take it out of the passport. By the way, it's not stricly true that US'ers aren't allowed to visit Cuba. They're just not allowed to spend any money there. Right!  :)

And about the Jew-thing. Sounds unlikely it applies in either case, but the word can mean two completely different things; religion and ancestry/ethnicity (what is the right word here?). And both would be extremely hard to check (if not impossible, unless the person says it). And anyway, as I already suggested, why would the Arabs mind? It's Israel they have problems with. DirkvdM 10:32, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Why would anyone "mind" if someone of the "wrong" ethnicity comes into their country? Bigotry; it exists in Arab countries unfortunately as it exists in other parts of the world.--Pharos 23:42, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Do you have any examples? Being a traveller, I'd really like to know. DirkvdM 07:52, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Car

Why?

Why not? (if you'd like a more thorough answer, you'll have to supply a more thorough question) Dismas| 11:16, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Such as "as opposed to what?" DirkvdM 11:38, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Since everyone wanted to get everywhere, horses and carriages weren't useful any more. Necessity is the mother of invention. Kid Apathy 15:37, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Well there were also trains, but those needed a separate infrastructure, which wasn't quite as extensive yet as roads were. By the way, I don't think everyone wanted to get everywhere (talking about the 18th century now). The vast majority of people could't afford a car (couldn't afford a ford :) ) (or even a decent meal for many). Only about half a century ago were cars cheap enough and wages high enough for many people to be able to buy a car. So it might as well be that the invention createed the sense of necessity (the rich have it, we wants it too, our prrrrecious). And for another by the way, even now not quite everyone has a car (in the Netherlands it's one car per 3 people and that's a wealthy country). And cars as they are now can never be for everyone. Just think of toddlers and demented people. And many people who are allowed to drive cars shouldn't. The result is a death toll of 25 million (25 million!).

So why cars indeed? (good question after all :) )DirkvdM 10:44, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Cdr. – b_jonas 21:33, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Pele the Brazilian

I have noticed that Pele the soccer player is described as a forward. Does this mean that he was a striker or an attacking midfielder? A jersey number alone does not determine a players position on the field so please consider this before you give me an answer.

Pelé was known for his beautiful goals, which is a dead give-away. And forward indeed means attacker. By the way, the game is called 'football'. Or association football if you wish. Abbreviating that to 'soccer' is like calling american football 'merrer'. If you think that sounds ugly, well that's how most of the world feels about the term 'soccer'. So don't let me catch you using that name again. :) DirkvdM 11:00, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Soccer was called that in the UK for a while to distinguish it from Rugby football, soccer obviously being short for association football. Since America already had a game we just called football, the term soccer never fell out of usage. So it's perfectly valid. :) Luigi30 (Ταλκ) 15:19, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

That's stupid. They don't even use their feet most of the time! And before you say rugby players don't either, no-one calls it rugby football any more. Just one of the many things I have an opinion on. Kid Apathy 15:33, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

So you're saying the Rugby Football League doesn't really exist? User:Zoe| 22:49, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

The US already had a game called football? Football was played in Europe centuries before the US even came into existence! Well, the rules changed over time and there were ultimately two versions, the other being rugby. And American football is much more like rugby, so why isn't it called 'American rugby'? Or 'merrer', like I said. If you insist on 'soccer' you have to be a good sport and accept that name too. Would you? And if you wouldn't, then can you accept why we won't accept 'soccer'? DirkvdM 10:51, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Don't complain, DirkvdM. The English invented the word "soccer." It's a very British word. If Americans were to come up with a short form of "Association football," they would call it "soc-ball" (pronounced "soash-ball") or something.

It's interesting, actually. I looked through the headlines in the New York Times archives and found the semantic discrepancy between (American) "football" and "soccer" did not really come up until the early 1900s, when colleges were looking for a substitute for the American game (American-football players of the period had the nasty habit of getting killed during games). Between the introduction of organized "football" (closer to rugby) in the US in the 1870s and the 1900s, there was only one popular autumn game: "football," which gradually became a specifically American game over those decades. By the time of the great controversy (around 1905), advocates of "English rugby," "Association football" and even Canadian football pleaded their case for their games to replace American football as the big autumn sport. Of those sports, soccer made the greatest progress, but lost most of its inroads after reforms made American football safer. The point is, by the time organized FA-rules "soccer" hit American shores, the word "football" in the US had already been reserved for a game that had branched off from rugby.

Oh, and see football (word) -- Mwalcoff 01:18, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I know the English invented the abbreviation soccer, but that was kids. Adults hardly ever use it, do they? The BBC don't and their word is gospel to me. :)

I always thought that merrer players were a bunch of sissie with their helmets and shoulder padding, but if people got killed playing it, that explains a lot. Does any of this happen in Aussie rules? Seems a lot tougher, and they don't use any protection. Or rugby, for that matter (for which the knocked out teeth are an indication). DirkvdM 08:02, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

federal penalties for having a mtn bike in wilderness

Would anyone out there know what the federal penalty (fines and/or prison term) for riding a mountain bike in a federally designated wilderness area.

Thanks in advance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.34.12.102 (talk • contribs)

What country? Yeltensic42.618 don't panic 17:50, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

His or her ISP seems to be located in South Dakota. --Optichan 18:54, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

• Hmm, I tried googling on this, and turned up a curious result: Apparently the banning of mountain bikes is a mistake, but it's still prohibited by forest service regs. Penalties seem to also be a matter of forest service regs and it's about several hundred dollars for various degrees of violations. Haven't seen any reference to prison time though. Night Gyr 23:45, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

How do you find the location of the ISP? DirkvdM 10:52, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

DirkvdM, you can use an IP lookup tool, sometimes called WHOIS for some reason. For example I use the "WHOIS Lookup" box (left column) here. It gave me South Dakota for the questioner above, and worked out my location corrrectly, so it's one of the better IP lookups out there.--Commander Keane 11:54, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Looks like a very handy set of tools. I've bookmarked the page. Thanks. DirkvdM 08:06, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Grooming

Is it recommended that you wash your hair everyday?

Generally, yes. But it also depends on some factors, such as age (eg yes if you're 15 like me, not necessarily if you're 8). Yeltensic42.618 don't panic 17:49, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Depends on your quality of hair (thin/thick, oily/dry, etc), the quality of the skin of your scalp, and so on. You can damage your hair by washing it too much. If you work out a lot and usually shower or bathe twice a day, you might not want to shampoo your hair both times. Although some people have no problems with this. If you have long hair, you might want to wash it less often than once a day. But if you have an oily scalp, you might want to wash more often. --BluePlatypus 22:34, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

As indirectly indicated above, a distinction should be made between washing with water and with water and soap (ie shampoo). I wash my hair daily, but I haven't used shampoo for 15 years now (except occasionally when I'm really dirty for some reason) and that stopped my hair from falling out (else I would have gotten as bald as my brother). A midway solution might be to use baby shampoo. DirkvdM 10:59, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Victorian era

Who were the leaders in the Victorian Era? What were the politics like? And who were Queen Victoria's friends?

You don't mention if you have read the Victorian era article or not so it makes your question difficult to answer. hydnjo talk 20:41, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

The leaders of what? The United Kingdom? For Victoria's friends, see 'Early reign' in Victoria of the United Kingdom. See also John Brown (servant). For leaders and politics, search for "Prime Minister" and follow the links. --Canley 23:44, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

One leader of the victorian era is a bit obvious: queen Victoria. DirkvdM 11:00, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Help

I am trying to locate vital records of Warren County in the early to mid-1800's. Where can I find such records?

A key question is "Warren county, where?" Anyway, I'd start by checking for records at a local library (or consulting with their reference desk for where local records are stored). — Lomn | Talk / RfC 21:53, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

When you visit the Warren county public library, be sure to ask at their reference desk if there is any kind of historical society for the region. User:AlMac| 23:18, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

shape shifting device

Is it possible for scientists to make a device that allows the user to change into any biological form (excluding single-celled organisms and plantlife) using the creatures DNA?

Neat science fiction scenario; I saw it in Tank Girl! I think someday you will be able to grow extra limbs, but you could never map them into your brain. We will just have to be happy with Doc Oc exo-suits. --Zeizmic 21:15, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't be so sure. If/when we perfect nanotechnology, amazing things may become possible. Pure speculation right now though. —Keenan Pepper 01:26, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Two things would need to be considered, even if it was possible:

• Conservation of mass. An object, even a living one, can't just increase or decrease in mass spontaneously. It could change density, and therefore volume, however.

• Speed of change. There are organisms that undergo amazing changes now, like a caterpillar into a butterfly. However, such changes don't occur instantly, but take quite a long time for a transition period.

StuRat 06:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks!

If you conceptually trust the concept of Star Trek beaming yourself into a computer system of some kind, e-mailing yourself to a different computer system, then rematerializing at the destination, the computer systems could perhaps analyse you so as to reconstitute you in a smaller mass, that retains the memories, and adds some motor functions to help you cope. Like if you were a biped and are now an octopus you might need help maneuvering the extra limbs. User:AlMac| 23:22, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

"Is it possible?" is a vague sort of question. There is no technology today that gives any prospect of doing this sort of thing or being extended in the foreseeable future to do it. However, there is no physical law that keeps the matter of a living thing's body from being rearranged, as StuRat's example of the caterpillar shows. Imagine a primitive man looking at a bird and remembering how he once made a weapon out of a sharpened stick, and asking "Is it possible that someone will make a thing that will let fly through the air and carry people at 20 times that speed?" Is the answer yes or no? Depends on what you mean by "possible", right? Well, this is like that. --Anonymous, 05:54 UTC, Jan. 11, 2006

California drought in '70s or '80s

I heard sometime in the 70's or 80's that there was a drought in Southern California that lasted 5 years. It was said that when it finally rained schools were called off because the young children living in the area had never seen rain fall from the sky. I would like to have this story verified.

As far as I know that story is false. It sounds like an urban legend. You might try looking at Snopes.com. WAvegetarian (email) 21:51, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

hmm... I remember reading that alot of rainstorms were happening there around that time, so, a district court judge ordered the rain to stop, and it did for 5 years, after which the judge overturned his decision. it rained the day after.

His name was Samuel King. The citation for where I heard it was "Lawyer's Wit and Wisdom", Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo/Kathryn Zullo. Running Press: Philadelphia, 1994. Page 34. LoC number 94-73880, ISBN 1 56138 650 2.

???

I have google earth(c) on my computer, and in the Washington D.C. area, where Massachusetts Ave. connects with Observatory Rd., there is a circular area where the resolution is extremely low, while everything else on the earth in the program is Hi-Res. That area seems to have been manipulated. so, does anybody know what that area is?

Disclaimer: google(c) earth(c) belongs to Google(c)

It's the US Naval Observatory. (not to be confused with Navel-gazing.) --BluePlatypus 22:46, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Who somewhat ironically have a more detailed aerial shot here. --BluePlatypus 22:48, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanx, but I still wonder why it was manipulated... Oh well, Thanx! :D

Do you really??? It's a security issue. The Naval observatory is a major military location not to mention the site of the VPs home. Not the sort of thing the US government wants made available. Look up other major military sites and you'll see the same thing.

I have, but they are all in Hi-Res.

The Vice President lives at an observatory? Dismas| 11:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Well sure. I mean, it's gotta have a nice view, right? WAvegetarian (email) 12:39, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

They've manipulated a fair few images; the White House has its roof covered in red to hide whatever is actually on the roof (rocket launchers and such and such). smurrayinchester 21:34, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I always thought he lived in a hole in the ground and, should he appear during Election Season, would mean that there would be six more months of War. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:17, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

January 10

Eye black - how does it work?

After reading the Misplaced Pages article and linked pages I'm still puzzled. The region below the eyes will reflect light, but unless the athlete is wearing goggles or glasses, I don't see how it reduces glare, since there is no surface for the reflected light to strike.

Black does not reflect. It absorbs all light. --Nelson Ricardo 00:30, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

In the Light pollution article there is a description of glare. In this case, glare is caused by the sun hitting the skin on your face and bouncing into your eyes. Eye black absorbs that light. You may be thinking of glare on your car window, for example. In that case, glare is caused by the sun hitting the window and bouncing into your eyes.--Commander Keane 04:56, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Neopets: The Darkest Faerie

Hello, I am having trouble finding out how to get through the endless staircase in Act II. I was wondering if someone could help me with that. Thanks!! Zach 02:26, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

If you search google for Neopets: The Darkest Faerie walkthrough, the first page links to this, which is a walkthrough for the entire game. It is done chronologically as the game progresses so don't scroll down past where you are or it will spoil the next part of the game for you. WAvegetarian (email) 07:31, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

You can't link directly to the walkthroughs. You have to go through GameFAQs or GameSpot to get there. --Optichan 15:39, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunitly, the walkthrough only goes up until the part right before i need it. Oh well. Zach 22:08, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

While this isn't helpful advice at all, I'll give you the same advice I give my mother, who insists on playing Super Smash Bros. Melee with me, when she can't figure out how to do something. "It just takes practice." All the walkthroughs in the world won't make up for lack of skill. (I learned that the hard way too many times.) Skill can only be gained by wasting your life. So, waste away! Grab a case of Bawls and some Pringles and get crackin'! Cernen Xanthine Katrena 22:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC) (P.S.: GameFAQs are helpful, but some are better written than others. Look at all the walkthroughs available, esp. the ones with the largest file size.)

Yea, thats some good advice alright!! :) I will use it wisely Thanks!! Zach 01:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

world health organisation

please provide me with the answers of the following questions related to the world health day. i am curious to find out more about it.

1. which countries are the members of this organisation?
2. what is the world health day?
3. why is the world health day important?

As stated at the top of the page, we do not answer homework questions. You might start your research at World Health Day and WHO. --WAvegetarian (email) 07:24, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

It might also be useful for you to know that the World Health Organization is an organization within the United Nations. Generally, every nation that is a member of the UN is also a member of each of its organizations. Their individual level of involvement may vary however. User:AlMac| 10:37, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Authenticity of Misplaced Pages

How is wikipedia different , authentic than other encyclopedia's that are present on net ?

Misplaced Pages is different in that it is the largest encyclopedia in the world, on the net or otherwise. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "authentic." You can find out more about Misplaced Pages by clicking on the link in this sentence. That article includes links to further reading if you can't find what you're looking for. You might also look at Misplaced Pages:Misplaced Pages Signpost/2005-10-31/Guardian rates articles and Misplaced Pages:Misplaced Pages Signpost/2005-12-19/Nature study. WAvegetarian (email) 07:21, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages is written by n00bs, which makes it better than other encyclopedias. --Optichan 15:37, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Damn right.--Fangz 19:54, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

who first said "the first time is an outlier, second is coincidence, third a trend"

I'd like to know who first said the phrase (or most similar to): "the first time is an outlier, second is coincidence, third a trend"

I've found some information below but I can't find the definitive first source, ie. person, page number, book type reference. Thanks in advance! "Once is an accident; twice is a coincidence; three times....a conspiracy" - A.C. Clarke "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is enemy action." Old soldier¹s adage. ... work with the old adage: “Once is an accident,twice is a coincidence and three times is proof.” ...living more by the adage, "One is an isolated incident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern." I am reminded of the words of General Baya; "Once is an incident, twice is a coincidence and three times an enemy action." ...reminded of the adage “Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern” ...based on the old adage that "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but three times makes it true." There's an adage that goes, "once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, thrice is a trend, four times is a fact, and five times is a conspiracy."

http://c2.com/w4/ploptory/wiki.cgi?AcceptanceCriteriaSummary Jerry Weinberg: "Once is an event; twice is a coincidence; three times is a pattern." "Proving it really is a pattern A pattern description should contain at least three known uses, preferably from different unrelated projects. This is considered important, since otherwise a pattern cannot be distinguished from a clever design which has yet to be proved to be a recurring pattern. Consider Jerry Weinberg: "Once is an event; twice is a coincidence; three times is a pattern.""

Many thanks. drcraig --202.161.14.23 10:05, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, third time is enemy action" is a line in the James Bond book Goldfinger, by Ian Fleming. I seem to remember that Auric Goldfinger says it to Bond, describing it as a saying used in Chicago by the famous gangster Al Capone. It's also on the inside front page of the book. I'm not sure if the line is used in the movie of the same name. Proto t c 15:14, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Xvid DVD player help

I bought a divx-certified DVD player that says it supports mp4 + xvid, but when i try to play any of my videos, they get really jittery and pixellated -- at some points it runs at about 1/1000th speed and the screen consists of 10 big coloured pixels. I burnt them onto high-quality (Magmedia, Verbatim) DVD+Rs at 2x. They are unscratched, and play fine on my PC; but they had similar errors on the other XviD player I tried.

What can I do to make them watchable?

Role-play PW

What does PW stand for in computer role-play game parlance? -- SGBailey 11:57, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

It means "Persistent world". --Canley 13:39, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I suppose the general computer meaning, PassWord, could also apply here. StuRat 06:52, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

measurement in teaching/definition of standardised achievement test

Do you mean SAT? See that article. СПУТНИК 13:25, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Earliest colour film?

What was the earliest colour film made? (7121989 13:29, 10 January 2006 (UTC))

See the article Color photography. Unless you meant the first colour movie, in which case see Film. --Canley 13:44, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you

• I can't remember a specific title, but somewhere in the back of my mind I seem to remember the year 1926 which appears to fit with the Film article's description of the introduction of color in films. - Mgm| 21:23, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• Methinks not. A search of imdb comes up with 234 color films made between 1890 and 1920. Go to http://www.imdb.com/search, click on "power search" on the left, in Section 2 under "Color" choose "Color", under "Year" choose "1890" - "1920". I can find seventeen between 1890 and 1900. Now, I know some of those were probably hand-tinted ... User:Zoe| 22:56, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• Looks like all but two of those 1890s films were hand-painted, the two not listed as such are French - Jules Moy and Mariette Sully. User:Zoe| 22:59, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I think the The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) might be one of the earliest major movies with real color, although there were certainly smaller films with color far before that. As for photography, their was a Russian photographer, Prokudin-Gorskii who took 3 pictures of each scene, with different color filters on each, in Tsarist Russia. In recent times those sets of images were each reassambled into a single high quality color photograph. StuRat 06:40, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Is there a technical term for the event horizon of a sneeze?

And if there isn't, can we invent one? Kid Apathy 15:01, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I have one! Sternuofinitor! Kid Apathy 15:10, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I would think it would just be called the range. This is an important thing to know if you want to avoid catching the flu this winter. StuRat 06:30, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Good point. I once read that the range isn't too great. If you're sitting opposite someone in a train that distance should be safe. But I now realise that someone who sneezes flexes forward (is that good English?). And this may very well be the reason for that (from the flu's point of view, that is).

By the way, the event horizon of a sneeze would be where nothing escapes it anymore. It would make more sense to speak of the event horizon of taking a deep breath. :) DirkvdM 08:17, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I've heard the range is quite long, say 20 feet, since light droplets of snot and saliva can stay aloft for quite a while. It's a good idea to avoid this "sneeze zone" for a few minutes until everything settles down. You could still touch a saliva drop on a surface, but that's less likely to infect you than inhaling it. StuRat 10:44, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

No, I mean like the point where you can't stop a sneeze coming. I can never reach that point, even when I have a cold. It's super irritating. (this is Kid, btw) 81.77.50.85 11:06, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Hmm, "point of no return", "tipping point", or "critical mass" might be better terms for that. I wonder if you have other weak involuntary responses, like the vomit response. On the plus side, I'll bet you don't get hiccups, which is a malfunction of this involuntary response system. StuRat 11:49, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Oh, that's annoying. A good sneeze is as good as an orgasm (well, close, anyway). We've already had two threads about a trick to get a sneeze going. Looking up into the sun or even a lightbulb can help. For me, after a while, just looking up sufficed. And now I only need to think about it. It's psychosomatic or something, I suppose. See also Photic sneeze reflex. DirkvdM 09:23, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Problem with PSP

i have a psp and i was exiting the game star wars battlefront II after it crashed, so i pressed 'home' and then 'yes' to exit to the 'home' but now it just says 'please wait' with a grey screen i can't switch it off either what can do?

Aren't PSPs notorious for breaking? Just like Xbox 360s. Stupid screwy breaking things. Kid Apathy 15:31, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

That really isn't an answer to a question, Kid Apathy. Perhaps you could find another area of Misplaced Pages where you would be able to be more constructive. Try pulling the battery out and putting it back in. If it's still broken, you may have damaged the flash memory, so you may want to call the Technical Support line listed in the documentation for your country, and cross your fingers that your PSP is still under warranty. Proto t c 15:35, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

No real need to jump down my neck like that. Kid Apathy 15:37, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Sigh. See your talk page. Proto t c 15:55, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you

I think being told that a product is prone to breakdown would be useful info. This makes it more likely that it is broken beyond repair and needs to be replaced, which is one possible legitimate answer. And I don't mind going a bit off subject on occasion myself, like "what's with those PSP ads that say 'It's like portable cheese you can listen to'. How many video games do you have to play for this type of ad to make sense to you ?" StuRat 06:25, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

We had a PSP in the Netherlands too, but they went green and left. DirkvdM 08:19, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

New York City block -- average size

What are the dimensions (in feet) of an average New York City block?

Uhm... if I knew the number of blocks in NY, then I could figure it out. But I can't find that out anywhere. It's pretty difficult to define a "block", if NYC is anything like London. There are 26537.216828478964401294498381877 people per square mile in NYC, though. I think. (This is my attempt at a useful answer.) Kid Apathy 16:52, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I Googled "new york city block length" and found: 20 uptown/downtown blocks and 10 crosstown blocks equal approximately one mile. That puts the average downtown Manhattan block at about 530 ft by 260 ft. Also, Kid, please respect WP:POINT. Population density to 30 significant figures is patently useless. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 19:59, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

The streets are about 250 ft apart and the avenues vary but are about 2 to 3 times further apart than the streets. hydnjo talk 20:08, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

That given population density is off by several orders of magnitudes. Keep in mind NYC has millions of residents while its total area is measured in square miles in the single digits. --Cyde Weys _vote 05:25, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Our article puts it at 309 square miles, with a pop of 8.2 million, which is how Kid Apathy got his correct, if excessively accurate, answer. StuRat 06:11, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Kid Apathy, check Significant figures deeptrivia (talk) 05:51, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

My fav sig digits joke:

Kid: "Hey mister, how old is that dinosaur skeleton ?"

Security guard: "200,000,007 years old"

Kid: "How do you know so exactly ?"

Security guard: "Well, it was 200,000,000 years old when I started working here 7 years ago, so..."

My fav significant digits usage: I've seen products in the store, with expiration dates several months away, which specify not only the year, month, and day, but also the hour and minute the product expires. I am contemplating writing them a letter criticizing their negligence at failing to include seconds, LOL. StuRat 06:16, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

(I was writing this simultaneously and had an edit conflict. I'll post it anyway; apologies for the partial duplication.)

According to New York City, the city's population is 8.2 million and the area is 309 square miles (which is not in single digits). But these aren't exact numbers; the population is probably being rounded to the nearest 0.1 million and the area to the nearest square mile. There is no point in giving the population density to any greater accuracy: all you can say is that it's about 26,500, and the "5" is questionable. (There are more precise ways to express the uncertainty, of course.)

And then it's even worse than that. I was suspicious about that 309 square miles because it converts to exactly 800 km²; I wondered if someone had started with a metric figure to the nearest 100 km² and converted it with spurious accuracy. So I did some web searching and found that Misplaced Pages's New York metropolitan area article, as well as the Encarta and Information Please web sites, agree on an area of 303 square miles for the city. (Encarta gives areas of individual boroughs to one decimal place in some cases, too, and the five areas as given total 303.3 square miles.) But the city's official web site gives the area as 321 square miles, and some other sites show that number too. So we can say at least that the 309 is not necessarily accurate to the nearest square mile.

When people say "New York City", sometimes they mean the Borough of Manhattan alone. The original poster's reference to blocks suggests that that was the intended meaning. Likewise for the answers by Lomn and Hydnjo. Blocks in the other boroughs are a good deal more varied. Manhattan has an area of only 23 square miles (still not single digits, but getting there) and a population of over 1.5 million; its population density is around 70,000 per square mile.

--Anonymous, 06:30 UTC, January 11, 2006.

• cries* I was trying to help. Kid Apathy 11:10, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

asking how old is a site in NE Ohio

I have found a site in ohio that has untouched fossil remains of plants and small living items of long ago. I plan a site draft soon. Now my question is how do i find out how old this this region in north east Ohio is? Is there a site I can go to.

Thank you for any and all help Mike from Ohio

Here is a start: geological maps of Ohio . I am assuming you know how to match up geological era with typical fossils. alteripse 17:58, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• If you think the site is potentially of any scientific interest, I strongly suggest you contact Ohio State University and tell them about your find. An uninformed amateur excavation could seriously damage the paleontological record and deprive from human understanding rare remains that have been preserved for millions of years. If they do find anything interesting there, by the way, you'll be first in line to have a species named after you.--Pharos 00:05, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• You'd better hope they don't name a parasitic worm that lives in the human rectum after you. StuRat 10:39, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I think you should revise your question to "how old is this site at a depth of ...". You could mean the surface, or a depth of zero, or some other depth. Typically, but not always, the deeper you go, the older you go. StuRat 06:05, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

ISO CONTAINER USED FOR HOUSING

LOOKING FOR IDEAS ON CONVERTING ISO CONTAINERS INTO A SECOND HOME. THINKING OF USING 4-6 CONTAINERS.WILL NEED ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME , AND BE WEATHERTIGHT , AND BE ABLE TO HANDLE SNOW LOADS IN NORTHERN N.E. WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THE FACTS ABOUT LOAD ON THE CONTAINERS AND HOW SOMEONE ELSE HAS INSTALLED WINDOWS AND DOORS . WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE LARGEST OPEN SPAN COULD BE IN THE SIDE , AND HOW FAR THE CONTAINER COULD BE SPANNED OVER OTHER CONTAINERS WITH LARGE OPENINGS IN THE SIDES. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.198.133.72 (talk • contribs)

Why do you want to live in a freight container? --Optichan 18:30, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

From the top of this page:Be courteous - questions are answered by humans, not computers. This is not a search engine. Leaving a quick "Thank you" note if you found an answer useful would be polite. Don't write in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

As for your question, take a look at Containerization and Shipping Container Architecture. Also, this and that for external links. hydnjo talk 19:12, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

I believe temperature control will be a problem. They are not well insulated, so tend to get very cold at night in winter and very hot during the days in the summer. Perhaps there are insulated shipping containers, but those might be harder to obtain. Some type of spray-on foam insulation might be the easiest way to improve the situation, but certainly won't look very appealing. You could put some sheet rock up to give it a nice homey look inside, I suppose, maybe along with a suspended ceiling and linoleum floor. The outside will tend to rust over time, but it will be many years before the rust perforates to the interior. Still, it could look quite hideous with rust stains on the sides. A nice brick wall around the shipping container would improve the looks immensely and also help the insulation. StuRat 06:56, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I didn't read the question because I abhor shouting.

Might this reply be made into a template? DirkvdM 08:22, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Done, Dirk. {{User:Cernen/Template:nocapsplz|~~~~}} generates: Please do not write your questions in all caps text. It is much harder to read than normal questions and frustrates reference desk personnel. Your question may be deleted if you see this notice; you should reformat it to prevent this from happening. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:57, 11 January 2006 (UTC) . Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:43, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. That's quite a bit stronger than what I wrote. Actually, I wonder if we're allowed to do this. Of course we could just post the message and not actually delete, but I don't like making loose threats. Let's see what happens. :) DirkvdM 09:36, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Looking for celebrated birth anniversary date of Guru Nanak in the year 1970.

I've been looking for calendars of the year 1970 to check on which date in that year Guru Nanak's birthday anniversary was celebrated. Please let me know if such calendars or references exist.

Thanks for the help.

Neelu P.

If you check 1970 you see that it was a Common year starting on Thursday. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 21:10, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

It falls on the full moon day of the Kaartika month. Maybe this information will help someone find it for you. deeptrivia (talk) 05:49, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Taxes and social security number

I am an employer who has several general contractors. I recently was told that one of my contractors gave me the wrong social security number for his form 1099. Does he have to pay income for his mistake or can he get away with not reporting the 1099 back? Is there any negative effect on me for reporting the wrong ss# on his form?

While I can't answer your question directly I would suggest that you be upfront with your tax department about what happened. At the same time notify the contractor that you are going to advise the tax people. If you don't inform the tax department and then they find out they might wonder what else you have been doing, even if it's all above board. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 21:30, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

If this was a Form 1099 for the year 2005, and you know the correct social security number for the payee, the Form 1099 instructions explain how to correct the error. If you don't know the person's actual SSN, things will be more complicated; contact an attorney. This is not intended as legal advice. You should make an effort to correct the error, particularly if the SSN belongs to somebody else; if the error is not corrected, the IRS will treat the actual holder of that SSN as having received the income and tax them accordingly. --Metropolitan90 02:30, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages Servers

What's the address of the (Florida) building that contains the Misplaced Pages servers? I'd like to find it on Google Earth, but I can't find the address. smurrayinchester 21:28, 10 January 2006 (UTC) Laser-painting the building of the Misplaced Pages servers for an airstrike is not allowed. But, if you need the address...well, it's a secret the Cabal doesn't want you to know about. (The building, however, is in Tampa; perhaps a cursory search of the phone book will give you what you're looking for?) Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:40, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Curses! My plan is ruined! Digruntled Britannica Employee 15:07, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I've found it anyway. There seem to be two, a couple of miles apart, here and here. smurrayinchester 15:14, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Aren't the servers themselves in a colocation centre? —Charles P. (Mirv) 15:18, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

(answering myself) Yes they are, and to the best of my knowledge it is somewhere near here: —Charles P. (Mirv) 16:11, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Huh, I thought they were in St. Petersburg, on the opposite shore of Tampa Bay (that's cool if they are in Tampa though, I happen to have been born in Tampa and would be honored to hail from the same city as Misplaced Pages). Yeltensic42.618 don't panic 23:38, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Neopets.com

How do you give somebody neopoints on neopets? I was told there was a way...

Try Neopets. O_o Cernen Xanthine Katrena 22:32, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

As far as I know, no way to give actual Neopoints. I've been looking for months. However, check the Help guides on the site. (In all honesty, hat was the first place you should've looked!) --JB Adder | Talk 23:30, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

There's no way to do it that I can think of without exchanging items as well. For instance, you could buy something from that person's shop. You could also theoretically do it through the trading post. Have that person put an item up for trade, and offer to trade him/her a junk item and np. Hbackman 01:11, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Drum Magazine

What exactly is a drum magazine for the smg (submachine gun)?

A drum magazine is a magazine that looks like a drum.  :-P I don't know if any modern guns use one but the old "Tommy guns" used them. It was as if you took a very long magazine and started rolling it up like a blanket so that it had a round appearance. And for some reason, we don't have an article on them... A google image search turned up this picture and this picture. Dismas| 22:52, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Historical World Population

If we look at the world population since the first human being existed until actual times, are there more people dead (that have died since the first human being until now) or alive today (the 6.7+ Billion people that exists today).

In other words... Which is true?: Population Alive Today > Population that have died since the first human being that existed. Or the contrary?

Thanks, Raul Dominican Republic

• It's usually estimated that there have been (very roughly) 100 billion members of Homo sapiens over the course of the species' approx. 100,000-year history. Of course, for the vast majority of that long epoch, the population was much smaller than it is today; it is their endurance that gives the prehistoric population its census advantage.--Pharos 23:47, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

*Are humans (alive today) > (total dead)? Is this your question (please respond in some way). hydnjo talk 03:21, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

So, roughly 7 percent as many people are alive now as are dead. For people who believe in ghosts, this would mean the Earth would be clogged with them. And, if they stay where they lived or died, ancient cities with large historic populations, like Rome and Baghdad, would be even more crowded, so crowded you couldn't take a step without walking through one. Only places never much inhabited, like Antarctica, would be sparsely populated with ghosts. StuRat 04:20, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, since this is obviously the silly season: those who believe in ghosts are quite likely to also believe in reincarnation. It is said a spirit is reincarnated many, many times into different bodies. So there are probably far, far fewer ghosts than c. 93 billion. Possibly only about 1 billion (but that's as scientific a guess as I can manage today, sorry). JackofOz 07:14, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

All of the reincarnation beliefs that I am familiar with are at odds with the existence of ghosts. After a being has successfully passed through the highest level of reincarnation, said being either starts over again or dissolves into the universal spirit. WAvegetarian (email) 08:32, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

That's cruel. After a few billion years you've finally worked your way up from microbe to enlightenment and then you have to start all over again? Or can microbes also be enlightened? DirkvdM 08:37, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

January 11

Picture help

During the 1991 Gulf War the battleship USS Wisconsin launched an RQ-2 Pioneer Unmanned aerial vehicle over Faylaka Island. The Iraqi troops heard the drones aproach and surrendered to it, choosing to be POWs over KIAs. Given that the event was widely reported I would have expected to find a picture online, but I haven't found anything. Anyone out there have any ideas on where else I might be able to find such a photo? TomStar81 00:19, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Capri Sun info

hello my name is maile all and i was just wondering how i can contact Capri Sun. you can contact me at (email removed) thank you for your time, maile Try eight hundred dash two two seven dash seven four seven eight. thank you for your time, maile

Please don't post your e-mail address, as it can be grabbed by spammers. According to their website, you can contact Capri Sun here. --George 03:27, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Future reference: if someone posts their e-mail, strip it out; the spamgrabbers are getting smarter these days. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:21, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Most Educated Person

Who, living or dead, has received the most master's/doctorate degrees? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.255.16.50 (talk • contribs)

Do you mean to include honorary degrees granted to esteemed personalities or only those earned (by scholarship) degrees? hydnjo talk 03:31, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I mean only those earned.

I only asked that question to stall for time and I'm still stumped :-( --hydnjo talk 21:18, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm guessing Francis Nigel Lee, but be warned, googling suggests that all those with more than five or six doctorates have earned most of them in religion-oriented subjects. I will refrain from comments about the relative ease with which one can earn degrees in fairy tales. —James S. 22:41, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Nice use of paralipsis! —Keenan Pepper 01:57, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I can't refrain from adding this : "His wife Nellie is in Fulltime Christian Service as a godly Homemaker." Aw, bless. Natgoo 23:10, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Erasmus is sometimes credited as the last man to know everything. After that the sphere of human knowledge became too large. He obviously didn't have the internut. MeltBanana 02:38, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

linseed oil

is linseed oil hazardous to animals also linseed oil mixed with motor oil and turpentine. is this mixture hazardous to animals helen

I don't know about pure linseed oil, but that mixture would certainly be harmful if they consumed it. StuRat 04:14, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Linseed oil isn't toxic by ingestion, although I for one wouldn't drink it. (I suspect it may give you diarrhea, as can any oil in enough quantity). Motor oil isn't terribly toxic either, but again, I wouldn't drink it. Turpentine is toxic and dangerous to ingest, to inhale and in skin contact. So the mixture would be dangerous. An additional warning: Linseed oil oxidizes in air, and rags soaked in it are known to self-ignite and start a fire, especially if they're put in a confined space where the heat of oxidation cannot escape. Wash them with water before disposing of them. --BluePlatypus 05:17, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

A distinction should be made between new motor oil, which should be safe except for some additives which might be toxic, and used motor oil, which is likely to contain a soup of toxic chemicals. StuRat 05:44, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

earth

why does the earth rotate? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.214.168.155 (talk • contribs)

And you're convinced that the earth rotates because? hydnjo talk 04:14, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Aristotle told me so. --BluePlatypus 05:39, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Did he? I doubt that! Greeks hardly knew a thing about it. deeptrivia (talk) 05:45, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Not knowing anything about it never stopped the ancient Greeks! --BluePlatypus 22:33, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Because of the Foucault pendulum. Chuck 20:10, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

The Earth roates now because it has since it was formed and "an object in motion (rotational, in this case) stays in motion unless another force acts upon it". It formed from a rotating cloud due to the solar system's rotation. The solar system's rotation is due to the Milky Way galaxy's rotation, which is due to an uneven distribution of mass following the Big Bang. Now, what caused that, we don't know. StuRat 05:48, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Most planets rotate in the direction in which they evolve around the Sun. You'd think that if the initial rotating disk was faster at the centre that at the rim that would be the other way around. But I recently heard (if I remember correctly) that galaxies rotate faster at the rim. Which is counterintuitive, although I can't really say why. Maybe I'm used to the driving force of a rotating disk being at the centre (as in human engineering) and there being friction at the rim. But that doesn't apply here. Still, I see no reason why it is the way it is. DirkvdM 08:47, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Yea. galaxies are weird. They don't seem to behave the way one would expect. This is an argument for hidden matter and forces. StuRat 10:34, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

What is that droning sound one hears when one is surrounded by complete silence?

That high-pitched sound you can hear when you're at home and everything is completely silent.--Fito 04:35, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• I know exactly what you mean. Composer John Cage had a similar experience. Cage went to a soundproof room, but heard two drones. An engineer told him the high drone was his nervous system operating, while the low one was his blood flowing. Sadly, the engineer probably wasn't right. (See 4'33" for the rest of the fascinating story.) I don't think anyone's sure, though it may be a mild case of tinnitus. Deltabeignet 04:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• Like in Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence? Nah, I know what you mean, I hear it too sometimes. It's not high-pitched (for me) but more like an ocean's wave roar. I thought I was the only one! hydnjo talk 04:57, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

• Tinnitus? --BluePlatypus 05:19, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

For what it's worth when I am in complete silence I am actually in complete silence, and I suspect it is this way for at least some other people out there too. Sad to say, your hearing is probably defective; most likely it is tinnitus. --Cyde Weys _vote 05:23, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I hear it too. I think there may be "background noises", like mild breezes rustling dust around, that are below the level of perception normally, but become audible when everyday sounds are removed. StuRat 05:37, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Tinnitus may be part of the answer. But even for people with no tinnitus, when in complete external silence (which assumes the person is at complete rest) they can still hear some of their own internal processes such as heart beat, blood flow through the ears, etc. To that degree, there probably is no such thing, for a sentient being with hearing, as "complete silence". JackofOz 05:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Probably not what you meant, but I sometimes hear a very high pitch (at the very top of my hearing range) that suddenly sets in and then dies away in a few seconds. I've always assumed that that is my hearing deteriorating (as is normal as one gets older) by a hair cell dying on me. DirkvdM 08:53, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

No, that's a nerve dying, just as you thought, and you can hear those even at normal noise levels. It is odd that it's always a high pitched one, why don't bass nerves die like that ? StuRat 10:20, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

If you only hear it at home it could be the cooling fans present inside so many electrical appliances. Or other electrical effects (e.g. some kinds of lighting may make a noise). Boy is it quiet here when there is a power cut. Notinasnaid 10:03, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I had an interesting silence related experience once....I was doing the laundry, had both the washer and dryer going, and the A/C and also had the TV and several lights on, then I found a pill bug/rolly-polly/armadillo bug on the wall. I flushed it down the toilet, and right as it disappeared the house went dark and silent. Before I figure out it was the fuse I thought, "oh damn, that bug must have been God, and now I've gone and destroyed the universe." StuRat 10:27, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Possibly the "complete silence" you are hearing is not really silence at all. You may be hearing stuff that you normally tune out. Also silence in your house is louder than silence when you are 100 miles away from any other person out on the tundra. To actually do that is to really "hear silence". CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 21:16, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I would think that there's some wind on the tundra. For the best example of places to go to "hear" absolute silence, I'd suggest a cave. Deepest you can find. No wind and any noise from the outside world would be dampened to nothing by the surrounding dirt/rock. Dismas| 21:23, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I did mean on a calm day. It's a very strange experience. I just thought that possibly the house sound may be releated to the sound you hear when you put a seashell to your ear and would not a cave have the same effect? It may well be that the only place you could find a complete absence of noise is in a specially designed room. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 12:08, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Some cathode ray tubes can emit a high pitched sound, probably a sub-resonance of the horizontal scan rate (the actual scan rate is well above our hearing range.) You might find it goes away if you turn off all televisions and computer monitors in your house. Hearing decays with age; I used to be able to hear a television a room away, but no longer. Sdedeo (tips) 23:59, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Car Restoration

Hi, can you help me locate article regarding car retoration tips ? Iam a amateaur or new in car restoration that needs help. I will be glad to recieve any article on the said topics. topics like rust prevention or convertion , best way to remove rust , how to clean metals , etc. thanks210.213.163.179 04:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

You must decide what type of restoration you want to do. Some don't care a bit about the "historic" value of the car, and just want to tear out all the old junk and get a decent car out of the deal. Others are so extreme about keeping everything "original" that they keep unsafe features (like a lack of seat belts) and unsightly features (like oxidized, ugly old paint). Most restorers are somewhere in-between on this continuum. StuRat 05:40, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Cooking oil

Why does boiling oil pop? -Tim Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 08:26, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Pure oil doesn't. The "pop" is from water boiling in the oil. When the water turns to steam it rushes to the top pushing oil along with it. It can be sudden and explosive giving the audible "pop".WAvegetarian (email) 08:41, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

relationship bitween ships price and tonnage

hi please send me any kind information about relationship bitween ships price and tonnage like as text, graph,news etc. thanks

What do you mean by "ship's price"? Construction cost positively correlates strongly with tonnage. Shipping costs would tend to have a weak positive correlation, though there's generally little direct competition between very large and very small cargo ships. Passage costs would have no correlation to tonnage. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 14:35, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Could you read through tonnage and say if you mean the amount of cargo it can hold or the actual size of a ship. A ship of the type used in the America's Cup or an executive vessel as used by the stereotypical Greek shipping magnate is going to be very expensive for it's size. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 15:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Lawsuits against Misplaced Pages

Hi, I was just wondering if there have been any lawsuits against Misplaced Pages for any reason. So, have there been? 68.143.166.174 14:18, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

There have been innumerable threats to sue Misplaced Pages, its editors, and the Wikimedia Foundation. None of them, as far as I know, have ever made it to court. Someday one will. Libel (think Seigenthaler) and copyright infringement seem the most likely grounds. —Charles P. (Mirv) 15:13, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

This is why we have No legal threats. smurrayinchester 15:15, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

And demand that editers cite sources TomStar81 17:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

And' ask that our editors not be dicks. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 20:00, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Before reading above links, my first reaction is "we don't sell anything". It's all for free, for you to use. If you don't like it, don't use it. Your decision, not ours. As for the copyrights, this is not a book. It's a place where people can dump their knowledge. If that is copyrighted info, then who would you sue? The owners of the hardware (whoever they are)? They just provide a service, not the info. If I transmit copyrighted info over the internet, could my ISP be sued for that? This is entirely new ground that laws have not been devised for and I don't know a solution either. Well, I do, but it's rather radical. People would start calling me a communist. (oh dear....). DirkvdM 19:28, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

The is this site: http://www.wikipediaclassaction.org/ - Akamad 19:45, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Have you read this site? It does not read like it was written by someone who knows what he or she is doing. Here's a sentence from the introductory paragraph: "The system is full of problems and these are intentional in design and purposeful in their intent; to cause harm, to permit and encourage a system of anonymous libel and we submit, the result of Wales' deep-seated upset with ridicule he suffered the result of his porn business; something like the way that Richard Desmond acts because he has never quite been accepted into 'society' because of his King of Porn history. Similarly, Wales uses Misplaced Pages to libel and 'get back' of those he doesn't like..."

"his...upset with ridicule?" "he suffered the result of his porn buisness?" "something like the way that?" "uses Misplaced Pages to 'get back" of those he doesn't like?" Who the heck wrote this thing, my nine-year-old nephew? Mitchell k dwyer 19:53, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Followup. I ran a WHOIS on the site and then googled the registrant. Turns out I'm not the first person to do so--this thing's all over the web. The registrant, Jennifer Monroe, is also the registrant of QuakeAID's website. It's kind of an amusing saga. Mitchell k dwyer 20:22, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

LOL. If anyone is guilty of libel and copyright infringement it's them, though I doubt if this is really meant seriously. :)

I find it wonderfully ironic that they accuse of Misplaced Pages being sourceless, inaccurate and hateful how? By being sourceless, inaccurate and hateful. smurrayinchester 16:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Still, I wonder who can be said to be the owners. Misplaced Pages runs on gifts and the ones who use that money to buy hardware simply provide a service. They don't own the stuff. To stress this point, could they at one point say, ok this is a nice set of hardware. Let's sell it and retire. If they could not legally do that, they're not the owners, are they? So neither the info nor the hardware is owned by anyone. DirkvdM 19:54, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Don't forget Jeff Merkey. Anyone who dares edit his article seems to get threated with legal action and ends up on his hate page.

• That site is completely nonsensical. I stopped reading after finding the sentence you cited. "The system is full of problems and these are intentional in design and purposeful in their intent; to cause harm, to permit and encourage a system of anonymous libel". We encourage citation of sources and work to remove any libel we are told about and we also encourage friendly discussion and concensus building. Nothing is designed to cause harm, so they clearly have some issues. - Mgm| 10:12, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

dumb blonde jokes

What is the origin of dumb blonde jokes? When did they originate? Where? By whom?

The origin is most likely linked to the stereotype of the dumb blonde. And as with any stereotype, jokes get made about it. Every race and ethnicity and etc. has a stereotype which seems to have a joke about it, so why not blondes? Dismas| 19:30, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

In that case, why aren't there any brunette jokes? --Shantavira 19:44, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Okay, "Most every race, ethnicity, etc...." Dismas| 19:52, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

The Blond article says that "Caucasian babies are generally born with the slightest wisp of fair hair". In the next section it goes on to say "Some research suggests that fair hair, being characteristic of young children, evokes parent-like feelings of affection and protection in others. This association with children may also be the cause of the common Western stereotype of blonde women as being unintelligent..." In other words we associate blond hair with child like behaviour. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 21:06, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Any blonde joke can be told as a brunette joke. For instance: Why are blonde jokes usually short? So brunettes can remember them. --WAvegetarian (email) 22:11, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I have one. It's about blondes too, though.

• Why did God create blondes?
• The sheep couldn't fetch beer in the fridge!
• Then, why did God create brunettes?
• Neither could the blondes...

TERdON

My guess is that there was a fad for women to dye their hair blonde at some point in the 20th Century (most likely the 1940s or 1950s). Combine that with a single hugely popular example of the stereotypical "ditzy blonde" (think Marilyn Monroe or any of a number of early 1950s tv stars), and the emergence of the jokes became almost inevitable. --Aaron 22:17, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

17-pack of chewing gum?

Why does gum come in 17-packs? Most items come in 6- or 10- or 12-packs, and 17 seems like such an arbitrary number. I searched the recent archives for this (obvious) question already, but couldn't find a place where it was asked. Tigger89 18:43, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it makes the pack up to a particular weight, or particular dimension, that is popular with retailers: standard sizes make shelf stacking easier. Notinasnaid 18:47, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Or it could be that this was the largest that the particular machinery in use at the factories when this size was introduced could handle. (I have a 17-pack here and I note that the dimension through the 17 sticks is exactly 4 cm. Coincidence? Could be.) Another reason odd sizes happen is that the makers start with a round-number size, then decide to manipulate the market by enlarging or reducing it a bit. They might start with a 20-pack, then decide to raise the price by keeping the price the same and reducing it to 18, then 17 sticks. Or conversely they might start with 15, then say "now 2 extra sticks" to produce a temporary price reduction, then later raise the price to match. This sort of thing goes on all the time with all sorts of products, although I'm not aware of any earlier size of 17-packs of gum. --Anonymous, 21:25 UTC, January 11.

This is pure conjecture on my part, but these days most manufacturers engage in a lot of research to determine just what size/amount of a given product at a given price will result in maximum profits for the company. For example (and I'm just making these numbers up for the sake of argument), if you sell a bottle of Coca-Cola for 99 cents, it may prove to be more beneficial for Coke to make that bottle contain 20 oz. of liquid instead of 16 oz., because otherwise consumers may think they're not getting their money's worth. A million variables can go into this sort of thing; here in the U.S., Coke is sold in 8 oz. bottles and cans, 12 oz. cans, 16 oz. glass bottles, 16.9 oz. plastic bottles, 20 oz. bottles, 1 liter bottles, 2 liter bottles ... and probably several other sizes I'm not aware of. In each case, Coke spends a huge amount of time researching precisely how to price each size to maximize sales. So what does this have to do with gum? Perhaps the 17-pack was a very early example of such research; it's possible Wrigley Gum experimented with an 18-pack and discovered it didn't increase sales, and that a 16-pack did cause a decrease in sales, thus the 17-pack was decided upon as the most profitable size for the price. --Aaron 21:51, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

This is also pure speculation on my part, but sometimes these sizes are dictated by the manufacturing or packaging process. For example, perhaps the strips of paper that make the individual wrappers for the sticks of gum divide easily in such a way that you can get seventeen wrappers from one unit of paper, or perhaps the gum itself dictates a convenient seventeen-stick unit, perhaps as a quarter of a pound, or one rotation of the machinery that processes the sticks. Mitchell k dwyer 03:11, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Making Money

How can I make a lot of money with the least amount of work? I don't want to do anything illegal, and I don't want to work too hard because I am lazy. I also have no money to start with so I can't have other people do the work for me. Is there a get rich scheme that really works? Is there anyone with a little money to spare that may feel sorry for me? Also, does anyone know the contact info for Donald Trump or Bill Gates? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Alright, I'll point out the obvious. What do you think someone who knew would do with that knowledge? Tell you? DirkvdM 19:22, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Get rich schemes are scams that only work for the people who take money from you. Find something you feel really enthusiatic about, preferably in a growth industry. That will at least snap you out of your laziness. --Shantavira 19:48, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, strictly speaking there's one exception. Marry a rich person. That takes only a little work, but a lot of luck :) --Ornil 22:27, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

All you need is a dollar and a dream. --Aaron 21:40, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Sales jobs can earn you a lot of money with very little work. The trick is, you need to have a certain personality type to do it. You need to treat everyone like your best friend then rip these "friends" off at the first opportunity. If this is you, then go into sales. StuRat 03:15, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Gift economy. ;-) Elle _{vécu heureuse} (Be eudaimonic!) 03:23, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Have you considered prostitution? User:Zoe| 00:09, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Or Pornography, which is safer - I understand that they make hundreds of dollars (US) an hour. -- Pakaran 00:13, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

iTunes problem

i have a problem with iTunes right now...it won't play my music. the bar doesn't even move when i hit 'play'; it just starts at 0:00 and won't continue. i don't have any sound throughout the rest of my computer either, but my speakers are in. but when i go to the control panel, it says it doesn't detect an audio device. is this why iTunes won't work? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marak24 (talk • contribs)

Mac or Windows? --Aaron 22:18, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Probably Windows if they say Control Panel rather than System Preferences. A few more questions: can you get any other sounds out of your computer or is it just iTunes? Apple released a new version of iTunes yesterday, have you or have you not updated? --Canley 01:39, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

nope. still won't work as well as any other sound on the computer. windows media player will play video, but no audio. iTunes is still unresponsive... --Marak24

Have you checked the volume controls screen? See if anything is turned all the way down, or if anything is checked not to play sounds. User:Zoe| 00:10, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Bike Tube

I was switching out the tube to my bike tire and then realized that I have a presta rim and only a shrader tube. I don't really want to bore out the presta to a shrader on the rim, so any suggestions of how I could ghetto rig a patch for my old presta tube with materials found in an ordinary dorm room? It's just a small hole. Thanks!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.107.192.24 (talk • contribs)

Ha ha, good joke. Next question! --Zeizmic 23:33, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

And this question is a joke because? hydnjo talk 23:43, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, answer it then! --Zeizmic 00:13, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

No, I (we) don't understand, so from before, "this is a joke because?"hydnjo talk 02:28, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I suppose you don't have any old tube lying around, or else you'd probably just use a piece of that, right? If you've got latex gloves (you know, the kind you use for housecleaning), you might try that with some rubber cement. I'm assuming you've patched holes before, but in case you haven't, get a nail file from somewhere and some rubber cement. Find the hole, rough up the surface with the nail file, cut out a small circle of rubber from an old tube, rough that up, apply rubber cement to both surfaces, then press together. This is probably not a long-term fix, but it'll get you to the bike shop. If you have no use for the Schroeder tube, which it sounds like you don't with the rims you've got, just use a piece of that. Mitchell k dwyer 03:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Now that makes sense. I didn't understand the prior frivolous response as it didn't seem to get anything done. Thanks Mitchell k dwyer for your thoughtful reply, I'm sure it will be helpful to 64.107.192.24 (if he checks back). hydnjo talk 05:08, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

January 12

What famous people were Scorpios?

—The preceding unsigned header was added by 69.123.160.45 (talk • contribs) .

We're not going to list them here. Just do a Google search for "famous scorpios". --Canley 00:38, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages is incredibly thorough on many things, but listing people by their star signs is not one of them. Sorry! — QuantumEleven | (talk) 13:04, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Although, come to think of it, such a listing would be of a lot more interest/use than some of the stuff we do have. JackofOz 13:30, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Many of the articles about Japanese people of note do in fact include their star signs. It seems to be of some importance there. Dismas| 16:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Sherlock Holmes' Dr. Watson played by Ian Fleming

I have two Sherlock Holmes movies from the 1930's staring Arthur Wontner in the title role where Ian Fleming is credited as playing Dr. Watson. I have found no documentation that the James Bond author did any acting. Is this some other "Ian Fleming"?

Movies: "The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes" (1934) and "Murder at the Baskervilles" (1937)

William Johnston

According to the Internet Movie Database, the Ian Fleming in those movies isn't the same one as the Ian Fleming of Bond fame. Although the latter seems to have had a cameo in "River Rivals" from 1967. (Never heard of it). --BluePlatypus 01:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

It is indeed a different Ian Fleming. See the Internet Movie Database - he was an Australian-born British actor. He played Watson in two other Sherlock Holmes films: "The Missing Rembrandt" (1932) and "Silver Blaze" (1937). --Canley 01:09, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

As to "River Rivals", I'd be inclined to suspect an error in the IMDB. Like Misplaced Pages, they rely largely on user-submitted data and therefore can be unreliable, particularly for less-well-known movies. Perhaps someone just picked the wrong Ian Fleming and the manager in charge of cast lists didn't notice. It seems particularly likely in view of the fact that Fleming the author died in 1964. --Anonymous, 07:10 UTC, January 12.

That's why it must've been an effective cameo! ;) Or it was the Dr Watson-Fleming. Either that or I suppose one must postulate the existance of yet another Ian Fleming. --BluePlatypus 13:45, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Hello, I had a few questions about The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I was wondering who the demons were that posesed her and how significant they are.Thanks a million!! Zach 01:08, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

According to our article on Anneliese Michel (whose exorcism was the inspiration for the movie), she claimed to have been possessed by Lucifer, Cain, Judas Iscariot, Nero, Legion and Belial. Hitler dropped by too sometimes. David Sneek 08:28, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! And what are the words that emily speeks when she says "I am the devil that dewlls within"? --Zach 20:18, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

song lyrics

Does anyone know a song that kinda has these lyrics?:

"I dont get no sleep, deep down inside. Buddha. That Funky Buddha."

then it goes to repeating the words:

"music music music music music music music music...."

for about 30 seconds.

The song is sung using a computer's voice, kind of like the Microsoft Sam voice. The song is a dance song. thanks--172.128.246.248 02:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

A quick search of AllMusic suggests that it could be Funky Buddha by Reel Two Real, available on the 1997 compilation House Mix, Vol. 1 (on Spg Records). --George 02:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Food service

As a supervisor in a restaurant,why is it important to keep colleagues infromed about your work and other issues that may affact them?

• So they can help you answer test questions like this one. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 03:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)
  • Ba-dum ching! He'll be here all night. WAvegetarian (email) 08:46, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Buying/downloading episodes of radio show "Loveline"

I very much enjoy this show, but it was taken off the radio station that I used to listen to it on. Where can I check to see if it is available on any radio station in my area? Is there anywhere where I can legally buy or download episodes of it? I know that there are a few episodes available on filesharing programs, but the selection is extremely limited. Flea110 06:52, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• You can get some old best-of clips here. It seems you want the current shows, though, so that's not what you want. (But then again, with Adam Carolla gone, the show's no longer worth listening to, so maybe you should stick to the old stuff. :p) At any rate, some radio stations stream their content online, so I'd check the various stations that still do carry Loveline in other cities. Zafiroblue05 08:15, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

PS2 + Videogme release dates

Is there somewhere that has a list of the PS2, DS, etc games coming out in the next month or less, with their exact dates listed? I know places like IGN have dates, but I just need a list of everything coming out within the next month.

Try asking your local video games store, I'm sure they would be happy to assist. Proto t c 09:30, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

How did General John Pershing get the name Black Jack?

This is discussed in the article on General John Pershing. David Sneek 10:55, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Food service

please help me this question. As a supervisor in a restaurant,why is it important to keep colleagues infromed about my work and other issues that may affact them?

We can give you a common sense answer, but presumably your course materials discuss this question. The examiner almost certainly wants the answer in the textbook. --Robert Merkel 08:51, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Excellent suggestion. You could also do this: Imagine you are one of your colleagues. Why would you want to know what your supervisor is up to? Why might it be helpful to you as someone following a leader, or just as someone following orders (no pun intended)? Mitchell k dwyer 09:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Please don't double post. DirkvdM 09:57, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Imagine working at a place where the employees are supposed to know important stuff by telepathy because no one ever tells them though any official channels. Further suppose that none of the employees can actually do telepathy, because the hiring department neglected to test for that skill, because the people who run the hiring department lack the telepathy to know that is a requirement of people being hired there. You'd be surprised how many work places the above is true for. Now imagine what could possibly go wrong as a result of this break down in communications and hiring practices.

• Customers could get poisoned for example.
• The store can run out of essential ingredients.
• There can be mistakes made with the money.
• Customers do not show up because the signage outside looks like the place is closed.
• The place is left unlocked overnite, and some miscreant walks off with a lot of stuff they not entitled to.

Can you add to this list? User:AlMac| 10:49, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Reporting Fraudulent and Unethical practices from ISP's.

What agency would I use to report an ISP for charging me for services I never agreed to or signed up for. I cancelled my membership in June of 2005 and my bank account is still being drafted around $50.00 per month. I have all the documentation to prove their illegal actions, but I'm not sure which agency is the one that can help me. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreacited. I've tried to get the ISP to stop these charges and refund my money, but every time I contact them it's like talking to a zombie. I know there are lawsuits pending against them and for exactly the same complaints I have. I just need to know who to contact. Thank You, T. L. Smith

It does help if you tell where you are from. If you're from Sweden, try Swedish National Board for Consumer Complaints. TERdON 15:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, somewhere with dollars I guess. Have you asked your bank to block the draft? I know in Australia it's recommended that when you have a direct debit/standing order that you cancel it with the provider and your bank as well. Doesn't help with the refund though. If you are in Australia, there is a Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman who probably would deal with this sort of matter. --Canley 22:31, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

t-shirts

How much money would it cost for 20 million t-shirts?

in those quantities, you're talking case-to-case deals, but it would be no more than the bulk price per t-shirt times 20 million. You'd also have to specify at what stage you're getting the t-shirts (immediately after manufacture or after printing). — Lomn Talk 16:12, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I would think it would also depend on the quality of the shirt. Are you talking some thin cotton shirt that will last for a couple washings before only being suitable for washing your car or are you thinking of a heavier cotton that will take plenty of abuse and plenty of washings? I don't have an answer for you either way but with the question as stated, the answer could vary wildly. Dismas| 17:57, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Also depends strongly on where you buy them. deeptrivia (talk) 20:57, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Note: it would probably be considerably cheaper to buy a factory capable of producing the shirts, as such an order would amount to the same thing. Bethefawn 02:13, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Military Shops in foreign countries

What is the shop called where American troops stationed abroad can buy american goods?

the PX is a general-purpose store for military personnel on army bases stateside; I imagine terminology is unchanged elsewhere. — Lomn Talk 16:10, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

PX goes to a disambig page. The letters stand for Post Exchange. Army "bases" are usually called "posts" by Army personnel that's why it's Post Exchange instead of Base Exchange. Dismas| 18:02, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Air Force installations are called "bases" and some Air Force people refer to their exchanges as BXes, for "Base Exchange."

economics

(no question)

What about economics? Dismas| 18:03, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Poem that was turned into a song

(no question)

Could you be more specific? Most songs are generally thought of as a form of poetry set to music. Dismas| 18:06, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

see also poem and song — Lomn Talk 18:06, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

snakes

can a snake, specifically a king cobra bite 3 people in a row with enough venom to kill all three? if so, what size would the snake need to be, or does that not really effect anything?

Well King Cobra says that the venom is weaker than other snakes. But it injects a large amount .2 fluid ounces (7 ml) and that can kill 20-30 people. So if you can find a site that indicates how much it carries at any one time then you would know if it could kill 3 people in a row. Also as long as it does not inject more than 2 ml a person then yes it could kill 3 in a row. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 22:43, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

whiptail lizzards

is it true that they reproduce without the need of a partner? I read in www.livescience.com that they basicly clone themselves...I find this really weird, is it true?--Cosmic girl 20:14, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

See Teiidae it would appear they are parthenogenic, external links confirm here and

The Ring Two

I was wondering what happened to the physiatrist that was talking to aiden in the hospital. Did she die? What did she inject in her neck? --Zach 20:22, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Russian word

what is a russian word translated into english that begins with yo?

appendix

why do humans have appendix

See Vermiform appendix CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 21:56, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Ice block

Hi!
Exploring random article I came across something where this effect:

• File:MG 9944.jpg
• File:MG 9941.jpg

was significant. Unfortunately I forget what it was, but I'm sure that there is a name for what these photos show --Fir0002 23:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Ice spike MeltBanana 01:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

January 13

$108.28

There are many references in the Federal tax code to incomes of at least $108.28 for members of the clergy. This is a very strange number, and I wonder where it came from. Does anyone know?

--68.239.164.43 00:49, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Which country, as many have a federal government. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:57, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I think I remember seeing it in the context of US taxes. No idea where it came from, though... —Keenan Pepper 02:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

That is a seriously weird number. shows its use. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 02:06, 13 January 2006 (UTC)