Revision as of 16:22, 24 December 2006

Reference Desk

December 16

BORAT THE NEXT DR.STRANGELOVE

What are the chances that borat will do for the war on terrioism what dr.strangelove did for the cold war.

If you mean this movie, in my opinion, the war on terrorism isn't quite as MAD as the Cold War was. Borat is probably just another pebble being thrown at the lake of opinion about modern politics. 64.90.198.6 00:27, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure I see the analogy. The influence of the character Dr. Strangelove was to become a stock symbol for the (il)logic of nuclear strategy. I'm not sure what Borat is supposed to be taken as a symbol of — the success of the character is less in its own portrayal than the reactions it gets from others, and I'm not sure that has much to do with the war on terrorism as a whole. --24.147.86.187 00:38, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Borat is a symptom of changing attitudes in the West, not a cause of it. Vranak 00:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Lord of the Rings

I was wondering if anyone knows of a website where I can find out if Lord of the Rings is going to be playing again. I see that it's on tonight, but I would like to tape all of them, but I can't find a website that would say that. I've tried Yahoo, and T.V. Guide, but they don't seem to help me, any suggestions.

Are you talking about in the US? Go to the movie's page on imdb, and click on the "on television" link on the left, it will show you when a movie is showing on TV. For example, the "on television" page for "The Fellowship of the Ring" is at http://imdb.com/title/tt0120737/tvschedule. User:Zoe|(talk) 04:10, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Many Movies,Many Screams

What do you are some of the scariest movies of all time.

I liked Videodrome, Night of the Living Dead and The Shining, myself, to name a few... 惑乱 分からん 02:41, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Again, there are numerous lists. On a personal note, I have an extremely high tolerance for scary movies, and I'm picky. The only scary/horror movie I've seen in the last few years that I thought was good, although I wasn't scared, was The Ring. I thought Se7en was boring, I thought Saw was OK, but the only horror movie that ever kept me awake at night, even though I saw it as an adult, was It. I swear balloons gave me a start for about 2 years after seeing that movie, and if I happened to think of the movie at bed-time, I slept with the light on. No fooling. Anchoress 02:47, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I thought The Ring was creepy as hell -- but Aliens was the scariest (and most thrilling) overall. Vranak 03:10, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I thought the movie with Freddy Kruger was scary as shit, granted I was not particular old when I saw it but still its one of the only movies that ever scared the shit out of me. Joneleth 05:32, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

That's A Nightmare on Elm Street, that and the original Alien were indeed good. (Didn't care much for the 2nd Aliens, just felt like a regular action to me...) 惑乱 分からん 17:12, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The movie that really scared me was the remake of The Thing with Kurt Russell. I couldn't sleep after seeing that one. --Shuttlebug 17:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

An Inconvenient Truth does it for me. Compared to it, made-up horror pales to insignificance.

Atlant 18:59, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

When The Wind Blows; depsite being just a PG, the deceptively childish animation and simple yet brutal concept (old couple survive World War II, underestimate power of atom bomb, survive World War III, die slowly and painfully). Laïka 21:12, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The Premature Burial (1962). JackofOz 04:15, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Recently The Descent scared the living daylights out of me. Sandman30s 13:16, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

As a Child I found Stephen King's It extremly scary. A murderous clown? Now that is a badass villian. Aetherfukz 23:57, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Also there's the scary as in "OMG I cannot stand the horror of it" as opposed to "OMG that guy just jumped through the window and killed that other guy with a chainsaw", and for the first I'd also have to cite Grave of the Fireflies. Seeing it as a 13 year old boy on television, I was scared to hell, couldn't sleep the whole night, because, ya'know - it really happened. Just as scary as it is sad. Aetherfukz 00:01, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Geez, I almost forgot about one of the best horror movies I've ever seen, seriously, Frailty. Whoof, awesome, sooooo creepy. Anchoress 23:24, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Anti-obesity

Does anyone know a site with a good video that talks about the negatives and risks about obesity in children? Jamesino 01:43, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Well I don't know whether it's any good or not, but THIS SITE has a host of educational videos, including those about childhood obesity, and you can preview them (so you can decide for yourself if they're good). I found the site with THIS GOOGLE SEARCH. Anchoress 02:49, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Being fat or grossly overweight

Whose fault is it?--Light current 01:46, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

What I really meant to ask was: Is it true that some people cannot lose weight however hard they try? The article doesnt seem to come down on one side or the other.--Light current 18:19, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Certainly not the fault of a child who is fed lots of empty calories (via soft drinks and junk food, for example) and encouraged not to exercise. Marco polo 02:57, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Blame the original robber-barons, and guys like Henry Ford -- I think that it's an echo-effect of industrialization. You can make cars in a factory -- why not food? Vranak 03:11, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Its peoples own fault, while they may have gotten fat while they were children then theres no excuse for why they are still fat when they are adults. Joneleth 05:29, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually I believe, for various biological reasons, it is incredibly hard to avoid being a fat adult if you were a fat child. Skittle 13:38, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

LC, have you read our article on obesity? I'd have expected an experienced Wikipedian like you to know about our convenient search feature, over in the tool panel on the left side of your browser window. Cheers! TenOfAllTrades(talk) 06:21, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Blame the bastard Evolu Sean. It's winter and scare ressources that turned us into fatbags. The absence of predators helps. Keria 11:36, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

There are rare individuals with mutations in genes encoding, for example, Proopiomelanocortin and the melanocortin and MCH receptors, that result in a disregulation in the appetite pathway. These unfortunate indivduals can become morbidly obese because their body tells their brain that they are hungry, so they eat continuously, even when they are full. In extreme cases, individual will go to extraordinary lengths to eat. It is very difficult indeed for these individuals to lose weight unassisted, though clinical intervention can help. Rare mutations in the gene encoding leptin have a similar phenotype. In such cases leptin replacement can help . It should be noted that such dramatic genetic effects are very rare. While there are very likely complex genetic predisposition in a lot of obese people, the environmental effects (such as doing not exercise and eating high calorific diets) are majorly responsible. Thus for most people, "blaming ones genes" is not a particularly constructive, nor accurate, interpretation of their obese condition. Rockpocket 02:38, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

THere is one guy on British TV who used to be a boxer (so not overweight). Hes now a comedian. He says when he stopped boxing, his weight ballooned and there is nothing he can do to get it off even going on a very strict diet. He therefore thinks its wrong to discriminate agaist fat people becuase some of them (like him ) cant help it. Do we believe him?--Light current 13:52, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

You got to see very few fat people after a while in Nazi concentration camps, Soviet Gulags or Ethiopian famines. I suspect this proves something about the possibility of losing weight if one has no choice in certain matters affecting food intake and energy expenditure.....

Other knowledge:

• The body responds to significant reduction in food, by change of metabolism, effectively going into survival mode and preparation for famine. So fat can be stored if the diet isn't well chosen. BUT
• Ultimately (energy out) minus (energy in) = (energy taken from fat, and other body tissues). That's the equation, and that's how it works.

You might also find the article on Metabolic typing useful for some ideas, in examining how diet and weight loss work together. too. FT2 06:40, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages Strengths and Weaknesses

If you had two choose two wikipedia articles to demonstrate Misplaced Pages at its best. And two articles that showcase the weaknesses and disadvantages of the wikipedia format... which would they be?

Just out of curiousity Wedgeoli 02:50, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Thats an extremely subjective question, theres no definitive answer to that and thus any answer you will give is a direct opinion of the person answering. Joneleth 05:27, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I personally like the series on Bait (dogs) -- especially the Monkey vs Dog article.

The worst? -- anything written in esoteric (specialized) language. If it's worth explaining, it's worth explaining in straightforward, comprehensible layman's terms. Vranak

Yes, many of the science and math articles fall into that category. Others suffer from repeated vandalism or constant edit wars over controversial issues, like terrorism. Then, we still have articles which simply lack sufficient content and/or lack sources. Misplaced Pages might do best on certain obscure, but uncontroversial issues. One example is the SR-71 Blackbird, a discontinued US spy plane. A paper dictionary would likely have no mention of the plane, or perhaps a paragraph on it, while we have a rather extensive article. StuRat 05:41, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The SR-71 obscure?? What are you, a non-geek or something? --Anon, December 16, 05:55 (UTC).

Tee hee, anon :). Wedgeoli, you may find Why Misplaced Pages is so great and Why Misplaced Pages is not so great interesting reading (assuming you haven't already read them!) — QuantumEleven 10:26, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The following answer is a subjective answer to a subjective question. It consist entirely of my own opinions. Although it does not meet WP:V, please do not delete it. For Wilipedia at its best, try Project Excelsior for interest and detail (I have to confess bias as I originated that article), and global warming as an example of a great objective and balanced article on a controversial topic. Not so good stuff - well, there are lots of rather sad stubs like The Fighting Temeraire (a random example) that deserve more care and attention. And well-meaning but poorly written articles like this one (another random example) do not show us at our best. Gandalf61 12:38, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I suspect editors will have favorite pages and metapedians will have hated pages. I can think of pages, like List of U.S. state legislatures that I like, but not really any that I don't... The REAL bad ones are generally so bad that the most superficial fix (EG. Blanking) is the best course and so don't survive vary long. Also, edit warrers and noxious editors will probably have favorite pages. 68.39.174.238 06:44, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Two bad articles: First category: Those about utterly non-notable things: example CHCH-51 Television Tower. Someone took a database and made a stub article out of every entry. Stubby articles about non-notable 2 lane state highways, bus routes, random schools and churches, grocery stores, post offices, and city streets. Second category: Things in the news, or people with their 15 minutes of fame: James Kim, who got lost driving through the mountains and died of hypothermia while wandering around. There are thousands of news stories for a few days, the they fade off the radar screen. Baby Jessica falling in the well, and blond girls who disappear are in this category. Misplaced Pages is not Wikinews, and phenomena of transient importance do not make articles of long-term value, although they sell newspapes and acquire a following of editors who watch breathlessly for each installment in the search. Somehow hundreds of thousands of people who also die in accidents or disappear but aren't as mediagenic do not get the articles. Edison 16:10, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I think you might be confusing things which are notable with those which should be notable. While I agree that Baby Jessica shouldn't be any more notable than any other baby who faces life threatening conditions, the fact remains that she is notable. When you said her name I instantly recalled the story, as do millions of others, some of whom may come to Misplaced Pages looking for details, like where the well was and how long she was down there, for years to come. StuRat 19:09, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

how do I destroy my profile on Facebook?

I don't see a question typed out, so I'm assuming the heading is the question. After clicking "My Account" from the left side of the screen, scroll all the way down to "Deactivate Account," and you can follow the steps from there. Mike H. I did "That's hot" first! 08:09, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Incorrect spelling of surname in title

Hi!

Title for WILLIAM DUFRIS has incorrect spelling (Dufries). There should be NO letter 'E' in the surname.

Hi, thanks for posting. The correct place for your comment would be either the Help Desk, or the talk page of the article in question. If there is reliable evidence that the title is incorrect, the article can be moved. Anchoress 03:00, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

"What links here"

When we look at the "what links here" page of a Misplaced Pages article, the articles are arranged in some order. They're not alphabetical, so what is going on there? -GTBacchus 06:58, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I think it's chronological based on the date of creation of the articles shown. — BrianSmithson 07:14, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The "what links here" articles are kept in a database record. When you click "what links here" the database record is retrieved and I believe the referencing articles are listed in the order they appear in this database record. New references are added on the end, so the sort is chronological by date of creation of the reference (not creation of the article). These database records are also sometimes rebuilt (for example for some software updates), in which case they seem to end up alphabetical. So, in general, there's an alphabetical list of "old" references followed by a chronological list of "new" references. I think the bottom line is you can't really count on any particular ordering. -- Rick Block (talk) 18:13, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

how can i join you?

hello.

first of all whoever is reading this mail.or rather request,i want to thank him/her for spending your valuable time on it.

as you have requested for some monitory help for this noble mission to spread free knowledge. i realize i shuld make myself useful to this organization.i'm a student of B-Tech final year, so i dont have any money to help your mission.

but still i want to help you. may be you have thousands of employee,working on this project.so you dont need another one but i want to join your project.

now my problem is how will i be able to do that? as you know my qualification.what i have to do to join your company/project?

now again thank you for your time.I'll wait for your sugession.

Sandeep Laik — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.91.176.178 (talk)

(email removed, to prevent spam).

I think you have the wrong idea. We don't have employees, everyone is a volunteer here. I suggest signing up for an account, and/or simply start editing! I've left a message with useful things on your talk page. --Wooty Woot? contribs 07:17, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

If you have particular areas of expertise (like computers), you could either add to articles in that area or answer Ref Desk questions in that area (at the Computer Ref Desk, for example). While it's not required to sign up to do most edits here, it is encouraged. StuRat 07:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

thnx man............ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.91.176.178 (talk)

State colleges without the state name

Hey there Misplaced Pages, there are apparently two state colleges which do not reference the name of the state they're in in their title. One of them is Rutgers; what is the other one? Thanks a bunch! 71.128.115.247 07:45, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Wayne State ? StuRat 07:50, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

There are many state colleges in the US that do not contain the name of the state. Just in Pennsylvania, I can think of about half a dozen (including one which bears the name of another state!). alteripse 13:36, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually, Rutgers doesn't even fit this. Its proper name is Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. — Michael J 14:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

If you're referring to the State of Camden and Amboy, check Rowan. 68.39.174.238 06:37, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

If you mean the official state college (as in University of ____), I suppose "SUNY" would fit, but SUNY means "State University of New York," so it is quite stated. Every other state has either a "University of ____" or "____ University." But you and other people are correct, New York and New Jersey are the only states that do not have explicit "University of New York" and "University of New Jersey" names, although there is a New York University, which is not public. Mike H. I did "That's hot" first! 08:05, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

The University of Memphis is a state college which doesn't mention the state name. So are Boise State University and Weber State College. User:Zoe|(talk) 00:32, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

In California there is San Jose State University, which was formed before the UC/CSU system but is now a part of it. -sthomson06 (Talk) 23:22, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Wichita State University 70.249.230.221 06:05, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Portland State University. -GTBacchus 06:16, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Evergreen State College—WAvegetarian•(talk) 06:51, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

These all strike me as very poor examples, as they are all as far as I know state university system schools, and the name of the state is implied in the word "state." If our only criteria is that it be public and not have the name of the state in the title, there must be hundreds of schools that fit our definition.--Beaker342 06:54, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

They all fit the original critera, which was "state colleges which do not reference the name of the state they're in in their title." I agree that there are hundreds of them. -sthomson06 (Talk) 19:33, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Serial killers in the news

A few weeks ago in Atlantic City, police found the body of four women, most of them prostitutes, in a drainage ditch. There was some coverage in the newspapers/TV, in the region, but that's about it. Now in England, five women were found dead, and it's a huge story not just all over Britain, but even in parts of the rest of the world. (It's on the Misplaced Pages front page, for example.) I'm just wonder, how does stuff like this work out? One more body surely didn't change the "newsworthiness" of the story much... So why is one story huge and another not so much? Is it merely random chance? zafiroblue05 | Talk 08:03, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

How sympathetic the public is to the victims is of critical importance. Here are some factors that make people more sympathetic:

• Living near the victim.
• Age of the victim, with children and elderly getting more sympathy.
• Gender of the victim, with females getting more sympathy.
• Rarity of the event.
• Heinous nature of the crime.
• Morality of the victim.
• Similarity with the victim in race, ethnicity, etc.
• Attractiveness of the victim and availability of photos/video.

So, a young, female, attractive, morally pure victim of a rare and heinous crime with a major collection of available photos and videos gets major media attention, like JonBenet Ramsey, while an ugly, middle-aged male criminal who is shot during a drug deal gone bad may not make the news at all. Of these, I suspect the rarity of the event is the diff here, as Atlantic City has a higher murder rate than England, making each murder less significant. StuRat 08:20, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I think it's also to do with the timeliness of the findings - the women whose bodies were found on Tuesday only went missing last week, so the killer is still active and still a threat, and women are continuing to work despite it. Too little is known about the Atlantic City killings yet for there to be the same sense of imminent danger. Most of the coverage in the UK has centred on three themes - the safety of streetwalking in general, the impetus of heroin addiction and 'there but for the grace of God go I' - these were (generally) middle-class girls gone bad. Coverage such as that of the interview with one of the victims last week stating she was well aware of the danger but was compelled to work to feed her habit highlights the sadness of the case, and feeds public sympathy. Natgoo 09:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Missing white woman syndrome may provide interesting reading for you. — QuantumEleven 10:23, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I was also struck by the disparity of coverage, especially right here on wikipedia. Despite StuRat's and Natgoo's erroneous assumptions, the two stories are nearly identical. The local papers in Philadelphia have covered the AC story in some detail. For example, AC has a fairly low murder rate (as opposed to, say, Philly, which just logged its 400th or 500th for the year-- I forget which). The overwhelming majority of US big city murders are young black men shooting each other over drugs or disrespect and that sad story is too common to be newsworthy. But the road to prostitution and the kind of people who get there seem to be very similar in Ipswich or New Jersey. You will have to come up with some other distinctions than the kind of victims or the local murder frequency. And this is the antithesis of the "MWW syndrome"-- no one even noticed these white women were missing until the bodies were found. alteripse 13:31, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The murder rate is, indeed, significantly higher in the US. Here are the relevant rates in murders per 100,000 people :

United States:     5.7   England and Wales: 1.61
Atlantic City, NJ: 3.3   Ipswich, England:  2.16

StuRat 14:34, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

But notice less than a 50% difference between Ip & AC. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 159.14.138.203 (talk) 14:40, 16 December 2006 (UTC).

That's still significant. The 350% plus increase in the overall US murder rate relative to the England and Wales rate is even more significant in the perception of US murders as not newsworthy, relative to England and Wales murders being perceived as newsworthy, however. StuRat 15:00, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Looking at the murder rates and population, I see that Ipswich has 2.5 murders a year average while Atlantic City only has 1.3! Rmhermen 16:58, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

That's why the stats are always equalized by population. Otherwise, even the most dangerous little towns would look safe, because there aren't many people there to kill. StuRat 17:11, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Plus, prostitution in the United Kingdom is legal (although most activities surrounding it are illegal). Therefore, there's much less of a "who cares - they were criminals!" attitude surrounding them, and far more of a "who on earth would do this to five flawed but essentially innocent girls?" Laïka 19:22, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The level of coverage given to any news story also depends on what other stories are around at the time. --Auximines 10:02, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

That's right, with stories which affect the future of all humanity, like Monica Lewinski displacing trivial stories like Osama bin Laden. StuRat 14:29, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Other factors:

• Great rarity of high speed killing sprees in the UK, of this kind
• Rarity of kill sprees in the UK, of any kind
• Newsworthiness of killing sprees of this kind in UK (not "Ipswich"; the wide reporting was for the benefit of the UK etc, not the local population)
• Size of UK which places Ipswich as being within 200 miles of most of the population.
• Size of US, closeness iof Atlantic City to "most people" in US, kill spree frequency of reporting in US, social attitude differences to crime and victims
• Perception internationally in 3rd party countries about what is "exceptionally newsworthy" or "of interest to readers" in different countries (news about crimes and homicides has to really be out of the norm to get significant international reporting).....

I think those cover a lot of it. FT2 06:29, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Tanning inner arms

Hi there. I just spent a week out in "the bush", being outside a lot of the time with my shirt off. I've come back from my holiday with a nice tan everywhere except on the inside of my arms. The contrast is quite bad: I'm completely pale in that area, but very tanned everywhere else. I figure I now need to do some form of corrective tanning. What are the best ways to tan one's inner arms? Any specific positions or techniques? Any help appreciated. 196.25.255.250 07:06, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

It's difficult to answer this without stating the obvious - assume a position in which the inner arm are exposed to light and get into some sun. Arms outstretched in a gesture of openness seems like one possibilty. Alternativelt arm over the head lying on the side is an other. Maybe you could get a t shirt and put slits down the side..87.102.4.180 13:37, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Just get some fake tan in a bottle. It's very cheap. Wash your hands after using it, as tanned palms look weird.--Shantavira 13:51, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

What about going somplace sunny, and "pointing" your armpits at the sun? | AndonicO 16:36, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

This would also be my recommendation. If you live above the Tropic of Cancer, you'll have to wait until May to do this of course. :) Vranak 20:41, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

More like June. --Proficient 19:08, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Cost of life near Stockholm

Hi, I tried searching for some info at the Invest in Sweden Agency and sweden.se, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. What would be the rough cost of life in Stockholm, within commuting distance from Danderyd Municipality? I read there needs to be a deposit of around 3-to-6 months' rent, but how much rent would you pay for one month's lodgings for one person, or two? I don't need precise numbers at the moment, so rough numbers would do nicely.

Much thanks in advance, --Kjoonlee 15:01, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

This article has a great graph table to put it in comparison to a few US cities, and as such it appears very expensive (more so than San Francisco!). Also, keep in mind that Sweden is a socialist nation with fairly high taxation, a burden all its own. Droud 15:11, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. :) Um, that's actually a relief, because Seoul (where my brother lives) is number 2 on that list. ;) Yep, I need to keep the tax on my mind. Can anyone give me some pointers about the costs of food, coffee, clothes, housing, and entertainment (CDs), please? --Kjoonlee 15:35, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I live in Stockholm. What do you need to know? Rent is generally quite high, reaching thousands of Swedish Krona/SEK each month (That's a couple of hundreds of Euro or US$), I think commuting is about 600 SEK a month, a CD is about 150-200 SEK, depending on where you buy it, and how popular it is. A movie is between 50 and 100 SEK. I think overall, Stockholm is quite expensive, say, compared to Berlin... 惑乱 分からん 17:17, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Uniross charging times

I recently bought some 250mAh AAA rechargeables and realised that I lost the instructions with the charging times.

I have a really old Uniross charger that is no longer manfactured by Uniross, so they have no documentation on charging times. So I'm afraid I may blow the batteries.

What is the charging time for the batteries?!

The only useful info that I have is that it charges 800mAh AA batteries in 7 hours.

Ikrizalllid 16:30, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Some chargers scale the charging current with battery size while others just run the same current no matter what the size; for this later type, you could just scale the charging time with the battery capacity. I don't suppose your charger knows enough to stop when it's done, no matter what the size?

Atlant 19:06, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately it has absolutely no features - just a light to tell you when it is plugged into the mains.

Ikrizalllid 21:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

In that case you are taking a risk, but I recommend the following: Your charger seems to be a relatively simple model, so I doubt it does anything fancy like scale current with battery capacity, or automatically detect the end of a charging cycle. From "charge 800mAh in seven hours" indicates that your charger charges at around 115mA. For a 250mAh battery, that adds up to just over two hours of charging time. Something to watch out for - NiMH batteries heat up fast when they are full and still being charged, so keep an eye on your batteries when you charge them the first time, if you notice them heating up (or if two hours have passed), remove them! If you have a voltmeter, check their voltage when fully charged (it should be around 1.25V), if it's below 1.2V your batteries are probably not fully charged (depends on how new they are, NiMH need several charge-discharge cycles to attain their full capacity). Good luck, and if you are planning on using many rechargeable batteries, I recommend you do some research and invest in a good charger which regulates currents and automatically ends the charging cycle when the batteries are full. It will save you a lot of pain in the long run. — QuantumEleven 11:26, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

(Just FYI) A few otherwise-very-primitive chargers still do manage to scale charging current with the battery size: as you fit different-sized batteries, you move one of the contact points back-and-forth and that selects different series resistors, setting the charging current. I've seen simple ones that just bend the contact back when a (say) "AA" is fitted instead of a "AAA", eventually touching a second contact and thereby shorting out some of the resistance. I've also seen more-complex designs that slide the moving contact across an array of contact points, accommodating a variety of sizes from (say) "AA" all the way to "D".

Atlant 16:39, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Religious publication

I listened to an interview on a radio program sometime ago. I don't remember the the name of the person being interviewed or the person doing the interview. The person being interviewed was the editor of a magizine of religious satire. The name of the magizine was the Guttenburg(or berg) Door. I remember the editor saying that they had misspelled the name but did not realize it until after the first edition was out, so they kept the spelling. I can't find anything on the publication. I want to subscribe. 64.81.114.117 16:33, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I can't find anything on it. You don't mean Project Gutenberg do you ? That's an attempt to put as many books online as possible. StuRat 17:23, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps you mean The Door (satirical Christian magazine), also see http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/ -- Rick Block (talk) 17:59, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

That must be it, under it's other name, The Wittenburg Door. StuRat 19:35, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

It is the Wittenburg Door. Thank you!64.81.114.117 19:42, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

And so the intended reference was to Wittenberg. English-speakers typically confuse the German endings -berg (mountain) and -burg (castle, etc.), because we typically pronounce them both the same way. --Anon, December 17, 03:44 (UTC).

Perhaps we need to ask a burgermeister to explain the diff to us. :-) StuRat 14:15, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Business Sale Price

I have an existing retail business which I will put up for sale. Sale price of anything is generally determined by cost with a profit margin. Putting a price tag on a business is however not that simple as we need to look at certain considerations such as startup cost, current sales, sales potential, location, goodwill, etc. In my case, it's a fairly recently established retail store of somewhat high end characteristics and I have been approached by an interested buyer who will be dealing in different but similar line. Concerns about sales and growth potential thus become irrelevant for this prospective buyer as his decision will seem to be influenced by non-financial factors, most probably the outlook and location. So what would be the best way for me to make an assessment to arrive at the reasonable selling price of my retail store? Thanks. --61.6.206.104 19:02, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Determining what it's worth to him should be relatively straightforward, just look at the prices for similar properties in that area. Determining the worth to you should be done by looking at the amount of profit it generates per year, multiplied by some factor, say 5, to arrive at it's value to you. Now, if it's worth more to him than you, there is a basis for a sale somewhere in that range (where in that range depends on haggling). If, however, the business is worth more to you than the facility is worth to him, then there's no basis for a sale. Also, if you have valuable equipment that can be sold, that could be considered, as well. StuRat 19:41, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Ask a firm of accountants who have expertise in valuation. The value of a business depends on many things, it's not easy to give a quick forumula. As others have said, most of all it depends upon what the buyer wants and what he's prepared to pay... or what others would pay. As a business sale can easily go up or down by a lot depending, it'd be worth getting proper professional advice 1st, if the buyer is serious. FT2 06:23, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Forgotten joke

Im trying to remember a rather good joke about an elderly lady who has trouble with her sense of smell and hearing who goes to the doctor. If it is allowed by such an erudite community, would anyone be able to remind me of the joke?--Light current 19:20, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The one I remember goes something like this. I'm just going through the generals:

The lady goes to the doctor, claiming:
-You know, doctor. I have a problem of constantly passing gas, but at least there's an advantage.
They don't sound anything, and completely lack odor.
Believe it or not, I actually have let four of them out, since I came.
-Well, lady, first things first.
First of all, we need to check up your complete lack of smell, and second to that, we should check up on your bad 
hearing.

(I read the joke in Norwegian a long time, ago, and am too lazy to bother with a good translation...) 惑乱 分からん 19:28, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

http://www.leisurecambodia.com/Leisure_Cambodia/No.13/overheard.htm but it isn't told very well, also http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061205/NEWS01/612050361 Um by the way I searched for these, I would not want you to think I have them bookmarked. meltBanana 19:28, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Yup thats the one! Thanks. 8-))--Light current 19:35, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I heard it about 30 years ago as "Here is a prescription for a decongestant, and this is the address of a hearing aid company."Edison 21:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I think I saw that posted to talk:Cold fusion by a SPAMmer not that long ago... 68.39.174.238 06:34, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

how to prepare for wcg?

ppl,

i wanna know........

1.how to prepare for world cyber games?

2.what type of systems they use for play?

3.wheather in india there were any sponcers for this game?

4.is there any team from india?

5.how can i join a team for wcg?

thnx in advance for you'r time. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Iamsandeep (talk • contribs) 19:22, 16 December 2006 (UTC).

Have you read World Cyber Games and their official website, here? Joenn 20:21, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

thnx for your info but i have checked both of them out but none can give my answers perticulerly..........

so i'm still waiting.........for answers.

Cost of weapon production

Does anyone know how much it costs for the military to produce bullets and kinetic energy penetrators? Any info would be helpful. --DebateKid 19:35, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Normal bullets are proably relatively cheap. The A-10 Thunderbolt II spends hundreds of dollars per minute, if not thousands. That's why they only use short bursts. | AndonicO 12:42, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Any exact amount of money?

I need an exact amount of money, please, because an opposing team in debate won't take "probably"; they'll want evidence. DebateKid 18:13, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

You could look at the price for similar ammunition at a sporting goods store; the government pays much less I'm sure but it will give you an upper limit. -anonymous6494 20:49, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

What about kinetic energy penetrators or anti-tank rounds? And has anyone heard of amorphous tungsten alloy?] 15:52, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I'd have thought that the military would pay the normal civilian price minus tax and around a further 40% for buying in truly HUGE bulk. As for "kinetic Energy Penetrators" and anti-tank rounds thats a totally differant kettle of fish, I would have thought you'd need to ask somebody who works for one of the armed forces. It will most likely be very hard to find out on "civvy street". Just out of curiosity, what is the title of your debate/argument "exactly how much do the armed forces spend on ammunition?" or some such? as think it will be very hard to get an exact figure, possibly you'll get it accurate to a couple of thousand. I'll try to check back regularly but it is christmass.AMX 19:41, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Christmas-themed Simpsons episodes.

Does anyone know the names of each Christmas-themed Simpson episode? The ones I can recall are Miracle on Evergreen Terrace, Simpsons Christmas Stories, and Marge Be Not Proud -- but I know there are half a dozen more. I'd appreciate it if anyone could mention some. Joenn 20:08, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Google found Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, Grift of the Magi, She of Little Faith, Homer vs. Dignity, Skinner's Sense of Snow, Dude, Where's My Ranch?, and 'Tis the Fifteenth Season. –mysid☎ 20:27, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

This year's Christmas episode will be called Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2. Laïka 21:15, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Medical procedure

Could any one remind me of the name of the procedure to look at the coronary arteries by feeding a camera or something up an artery in the groin?--Light current 20:24, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Coronary angiography? –mysid☎ 20:31, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes thats it ! Thanks--Light current 21:56, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Cats at night

I have a freind who says that all that noise you hear miowing and screetching at night , is actually 2 cats (1 m, 1f) having sex. She says the screaming is because the males penis is fitted with spikes thay do not allow it to come out for over 15 mins. and causes a lot of pain to the female cat when finally withdrawn. Is that true?

The spike part is true, but I don't think the 15 mins part is true. The spike actually stimulates (painfully) the female to ovulate. Cats don't ovulate on a regular basis like human females. I don't know why a painful spike is required to stimulate ovulation, versus the stimulus of intercourse alone being sufficient, however. StuRat 22:21, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The 15 minutes of fame may be a reference to the bulbus glandis in dogs which can produce long term commitment for as long as an hour. meltBanana 03:41, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

However, the yowling you hear at night is mostly cats proclaiming their territory and having stand-offs with each other. (This seems to be missing from our cat communication article.) They do sex fairly quietly, with little more than a sharp miaow to conclude.--Shantavira 10:07, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Hey well thats more committment than some women can get with some men! 8-)--Light current 23:13, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I remember times that when I was working late at night, I had to close all windows because the cats were simply taking over. I was always wondering.... could it be a combination of sex and fighting... I mean : do male cats often rape female cats??! At some times I tried to intervene... to no avail of course.Evilbu 12:34, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

No, I don't believe male cats often rape female cats. The males aren't much bigger, so it would be difficult for them to rape the females. StuRat 12:57, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Quite how one animal can "rape" another is not quite clear to me. The human concept of non-consensual sex doesn't really apply to animals, for which (in most cases) the purpose is solely reproductual. Rockpocket 22:56, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

All animals can give or withhold consent, humans included. Also, some other animals use sex for social purposes, like humans. Bonobos are one example. However, whether sex is purely for reproductive purposes in a species makes no difference in whether that species can given or withhold consent. StuRat 04:18, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Bonobos excepted (which was why i said "in most cases"), how does one, for example, determine whether a female mouse is "witholding consent"? There are biological assays for female receptivity (lordosis, for example) and fertility, but this isn't the female giving "consent" - there is no "choice" involved - its simply inherent biological programming in response to male cues (usually pheromone based). Thus the concept of "consent" outside human (and perhaps primate) societies, is moot. Rockpocket 19:57, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, this will get a bit crude here...you can tell if a female "gives consent" based on if she "presents". That is, she holds her backside up in the air, ready for action. StuRat 02:25, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

See Animal sexuality and if anything's missing or needing adding, add it to that article's talk page. (The same article, under section: sex for pleasure", contains current study summary information on the question of choice and effect). Felines in general (most felines, including some big cats), have barbs (not "spikes") on the male genital. Sex is fairly quiet, but these animals do learn to leap back after sex since the female's 1st post-withdrawal reaction is often to swipe a fistful of claws at them :) But most of the yowling isn't sex, its (I believe) females soliciting mates. FT2 06:17, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Temporary disqualification or barring

Whats the term for Temporary disqualification or barring from a game of contest? (similar to blocking on WP)--Light current 23:22, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Clar: During a game--Light current 23:46, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

That's typically called a "penalty", at least in hockey. StuRat 23:26, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Or a suspension, depending on the context. -- Mwalcoff 23:30, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

In some contests its referred to as "being sent to the sin bin" Rockpocket 02:17, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

It can also just be "being barred". In bridge a player can be "barred from the auction" (although the official term is something like "required to pass for the remainder of the auction"). Different games would likely have different terminology. --Anonymous, December 17, 03:51 (UTC)Z

In Monopoly, you do not pass Go and go directly to Jail. --Justanother 06:22, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

In sports like football (soccer) and volleyball a red card, or being red-carded, means you're sent off for the game. In many types of motor racing, such as Formula One, a black flag, or being black-flagged, means a disqualification. You might also like to check out Ejection (sports). --jjron 13:18, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

December 17

Oil Pumps

I can't seem to find out what the oil pumps that have a swinging boom arm are called any ideas??? Thanks Myth... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.177.169.127 (talk) 00:21, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

Do you mean an oil derrick ? Here's a pic: . StuRat 00:22, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Pumpjack (aka "nodding donkey"). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:23, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks guys!! I appreciate it! -Myth

"Golden ticket" scam

A lot of magazines in the UK contain lottery-type promotions by various companies. These normally consist of a scratchcard or similar which offers fantastic prizes (carribean holidays, £25,000 etc.) if you find the three matching symbols. The thing is: every ticket seems to win. And unless I am freakishly lucky (which I'm not), it's a scam. The commonest method seems to be asking people to send text messages to a premium rate number. However, this rarely costs more than £10, when the prize (guaranteed according to the ticket) is worth at least 10x that. It doesn't appear to be a Lottery scam; the tickets give the address, phone number etc. of the company which issued the ticket, as well as a customer service number, and it seems therefore relatively simple to get a refund under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. So where's the catch? How can the companies make money by giving everybody a prize? Laïka 00:54, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't know about the holiday things you describe, but some mail order "prizes" say you've won "a car, a big-screen tv, or a portable music player", and of course you've always won the player, and it's worth about three quid. And you have to pay 4.99 shipping and handling. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:58, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't know (First thought was advance fee fraud), but I'd suggest seeing if the ASA knows anything about them. 68.39.174.238 06:31, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

They vary. Always read the (extremely) small print. (Sometimes this is hidden on the inside of the envelope.) This has the complete list of prizes, most of which are not worth the £10 phone call. In one I read recently, your call only bought you "entry into a draw" to win the star prizes. Yes, it is a scam really, but the promoters know the rules and usually manage to stay the right side of the law.--Shantavira 10:15, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Anything which appears too good to be true usually is. Even if they did have that money to give away, and the tickets really "won" it, they wouldn't last long so there'd be little chance of collecting. --24.147.86.187 19:23, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

One very common way they do it is, there is indeed a draw. The catch is, when. Your ticket will be put into a draw in 2015, or some future date.... they only have to hand out one "big prize" and they collect tickets for 1, 2, 3, 5 years first.... its legitimate if underhand. FT2 06:13, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Most popular selling item online

To whom it may concern:

I was wondering...what is the #1 most popular selling item or product sold on the internet today?

I'm looking for several responses to see if there is any concensus.

Thanks.

Rich C.

Great question. I can't find any reference to a single product - and the nature of Internet commerce would probably mean accurate sales figures would be almost impossible to obtain. However, in 1998 Forrester Research calculated that "PCs, porn, CDs—things the consultancy calls “boy-toys”—and gift items such as flowers made up a little over half of all online consumer revenues ." Zoom forward to last year and Forrester reports "The most popular categories were travel (at $62 billion), followed by computer hardware and software ($14 billion), autos and auto parts ($13 billion), apparel ($11 billion) and home furnishings ($8 billion)." . Forrester has a prediction for 2006, but will cost you $279 to access it. . Rockpocket 01:34, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

books, porn, technical parts and gadgets -- and ISP services and advertising/banner mentions -- might be some candidates. But this is pure guesswork. Don;t forget there's a huge amount of B2B sales too, I guess though you mean consumer items. FT2 06:11, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Weight loss

To whom it may concern:

Q. What is the most reliable and successful weight loss product on the market today?

Rich C.

Reducing your calorific intake and exercising more. Rockpocket 01:34, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Exercise. Anchoress 01:35, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Reducing calorie intake (esp fats)--Light current 01:36, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I heard sugar intake was just as important to reduce. If you don't use all the energy sugar gives you directly, it would be stored as fat or something... 惑乱 分からん 03:17, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Sucrose has a high food energy content (4 kilocalories per gram) and is used widely to sweeten foods, thus is a major contributor to the Western, hypercalorific diet. Cutting down on sugar is a good start towards cutting calories. Rockpocket 03:43, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I can tell you what worked for me: eliminating all meat and poultry from my diet (and replacing it with fish, shellfish, crustaceans, eggs, and cheese), avoiding anything that contains or may contain hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oil, and avoiding any foodstuff that contains preservatives, other than harmless stuff like salt, citric acid, and so on. Vranak 03:30, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

First of all, exercise, eat little, and stay away from sweets.

This is the most grevious mistake ever. A diet has to be indefinitely sustainable. If you aren't eating yourself to satiation on a regular basis, it will not be sustainable. Vranak 16:27, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Hiring a trainer can make you lose a pound a week sometimes. | AndonicO 12:46, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

• In short, weight loss products are usually unreliable if you don't alter your life style to match. Exercise and adjusting what you eat will have more effect (without yo-yoing). 0- Mgm| 20:05, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Ah I forgot! most important: cut down on alcohol- its fattening.--Light current 21:14, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Get a high-energy job. I've heard that running a preschool or daycare is especially good -- running around after a gaggle of three-year-olds will burn off pounds like you wouldn't believe. --Carnildo 00:35, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Q. What is the most reliable and successful weight loss product on the market today?

A. The Army.

220.239.110.225 10:28, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Look up the article on Metabolic typing as well. Point is, there may not be any one "best" for everybody, otherwise we'd all use it. Most diets work for some, not others. A good diet is one that works with your body, reducess hunger and snack pangs, and is combined with exercise. FT2 06:07, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Introduction services

Are there any legitimate mail order bride or marrage introduction services and how would I obtain a list? When you search online for one they come up by the hunreds but I am hesitant to try one. Thank you. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rider Jay (talk • contribs) 01:39, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

I looked at some of these agencies a while back and this one, Elena's, seemed the most legit to me based on the way they conduct their business. There are others too that seem pretty legit; don't know about any list though --Justanother 02:41, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Our article on Mail-order bride provides some sources of information. See for example here Rockpocket 02:59, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Snack bars

I have a large supply of organic muesli. Is there a simple way of making this into nice tasting snack bars for taking out with me? I prefer solutions without baking.--Light current 01:44, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Clarification: The muesli contains nuts (of various sorts), oats and fruit.--Light current 14:09, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

If you're a bird, you could try mixing it with lard. Vitriol 01:47, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you having a lark?--Light current 01:52, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Dry muesli can be rather hard to swallow. StuRat 14:45, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Microwave some marshmallows to soften them up, then mix them with the muesli and form into bars. Allow to cool and harden. StuRat 02:26, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Oooooh, that's a really good idea! Anchoress 02:34, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Have you actually tried that?--Light current 02:31, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Not personally, no. StuRat 12:53, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like Rice Krispie treats. Dismas| 13:25, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Mix it with little bits of unsalted butter, and brown sugar, and cinnamon, spread it on a baking sheet, and bake it until it smells nice! At least, that works with just oats. Should work with muesli too. Vranak 03:28, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Add some nuts, honey, and all of the above. You're going to have too many recepies. ;-) | AndonicO 12:49, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I was looking for something simple like: mix with honey for sweetness and roll out on kitchen table. Then cut into slices. Would that work- or would it need heating?--Light current 14:12, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

They wouldn't be very hard, but would remain limp. Baking is one way to remove the moisture. Adding something to harden it is another idea. I believe marshmallows already contain thickeners (probably gum arabic or something similar), so that's why I suggested them. StuRat 15:15, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah but the muesli is very dry as it comes already. I need something to moisten it and bind it.--Light current 16:04, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Honey+Muesli = luxury Flapjack am I right? This shouldn't need baking - but it would be hard work to mix the honey and muesli intimately - I've tried this (plus milk powder) and it sticks together (sort of) A press might help if you don't want to cook it87.102.13.235 16:23, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Ah now thats more like it! I agree mixing may be a problem. Maybe you need to let the honey soak in over night? then squeeze out any xs. Could be messy--Light current 17:56, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

In practice - it absorbs a lot of honey - and it's very slow to absorb (honey isn't all that runny). I'd suggest a christmas pudding type preparation - make the mixture at least weeks before you want to use it.. (You'd probably need more honey than muesli by volume).83.100.132.121 18:09, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Bring 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 4 tablespoons peanut butter to a rigorous boil for 2 minutes. Pull off the heat and stir in 3 cups of the muesli. Pour into a shallow pan to set. You can use honey or molasses instead of sugar and milk and you don't have to use the cocoa powder if you want it to be more healthy. I think your idea would work if you soften the honey a bit over heat before you mix in the muesli. -sthomson 21:45, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Aha An actual recipe! Great Thanks. But Qs:

1. Could I use mergerine instead of butter?
2. And must I use peanut butter- its very fattening?

--Light current 22:33, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

1. Yes.
2. Only if you find a substitute.

Try looking about your cupboard, I'm sure you'll find something. | AndonicO 01:09, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Scam

How can you tell if any investment or financial scheme is a scam? Are there any telltale signs? TQ. --61.6.206.104 04:47, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Have you read MLM, Ponzi scheme, HYIP, Pyramid scheme, scam, fraud? Anchoress 04:53, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

And to summarise, there are a few telltale signs, although more info would be good. One, if you are expected to get other people to participate it's usually a scam. Two, if you 'win' something but must pay something in order to claim your winnings, it's almost always a scam. Three, if you are asked to give personal information like banking info, credit card info, etc, it's almost always a scam. Four, if it's explained to you, but you just really can't figure out how everyone's supposed to make money. Things that aren't always dangerous but are warning signs: You're asked to keep it a secret; it's related to someone you don't know - a 'friend of a friend', someone offshore, etc; it's supposedly to help someone out of a jam, but somehow you're going to strike it rich at the same time; it's a great, sure thing investment that happens to be the best-kept secret in the investment world. Anchoress 05:05, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

To give you more info, I find the scheme well orchestrated as it has stark similarities with the multilevel marketing (MLM) concept in which the lead member would solicit for more members to form a network of member under the lead member, hence multilevel. The scope of multilevel marketing scheme as we know it is usually limited to consumer products such as health and beauty, appliances, etc. and it is indeed a legitimate marketing scheme. The one which I came across is that deals with money or cash between the members. Unlike most financial investment, membership under this scheme only requires as little as $20 and the return is deposited into the member's online account on daily basis. What's more, the principal or invested sum can be withdrawn on demand and to top it off, one may draw on the whole investment after after 100 days or so. I also understand that upon withdrawal, the payment is made through the lead member who may make use of his/her networks of members across the organisation to gather sufficient funds in case of any shortfall anywhere in the system. Does this sound like a scam? That's what I call literally money makes money. --61.6.206.104 06:51, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like a ponzi scheme, which is the pure cash version of MLM. The question you should be asking yourself is, how is the money making money? In ponzi schemes, the early investors typically win big, but later investors make nothing and some lose their principal. In a closed system (100 investors each investing $20), if anyone walks out of the project with more than they invested, then someone else will leave with less. Unless the money is coming from somewhere else? Is that the case? Anchoress 07:00, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree with you and that's exactly what I told my friend about the inner workings of this scheme. It seems enticing and the early birds may benefit while those come later may lose their investment completely. I warned him against it but he wouldn't listen as it's not much of a loss for just $20 anyway. But we never know when human desire meets temptation. Thanks. --61.6.206.104 07:24, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, it may very well be illegal. StuRat 12:50, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

How can you tell if something's a scam? There's a simple rule I like - "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." Sort of cuts right to the point. --jjron 13:02, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I generally agree, but every once in a while something "too good to be true" really takes off, like Google or Youtube. So, be skeptical, but don't completely reject anything in that category, out of hand. StuRat 15:09, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Google was never really "too good to be true", though. It was just a very odd business strategy (building up enough name recognition through free services that one could easily branch into pay services), one which only could work in the information age (and had a very high chance of failure). And in any case, exceptions often only prove the rule — the one or two dotcom successes are only really remarkable when compared to the sea of failures. --24.147.86.187 19:26, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Sure. And most things like Google, Youtube, etc don't hound people to join up and give them money with huge promises of riches in any case. Also don't overlook the "probably" in the aphorism, which I think is really the point StuRat is making anyway. --jjron 07:00, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Sites with intelligence training

I am trying to find websites that have intelligence training. Ideally, ones that have free access or at least free trials. 05:52, 17 December 2006 (UTC)211.30.5.124

Do you mean improving your intellect? Or espionage? Anchoress 06:15, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I mean improving my intellect. You know, the sort of thing that is claimed to keep you intelligent, alert, etc despite aging211.30.5.124 06:37, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Try doing a 5* Sudoku puzzle every day. It's my personal anti-Alzheimer's strategy! --G N Frykman 09:51, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I may be biased, but think that reading Misplaced Pages articles, or Ref Desk questions, and contributing to them, is an excellent way to keep your brain active. StuRat 12:47, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

No, you're not biased; it's true. | AndonicO 12:50, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and similar games are very good; so is studying anything you're interested in. Exercising your memory is also beneficial - going back over things you've memorized in the past for example, or trying to recall details about places you've been familiar with (childhood homes, etc). Playing music and dancing also engage the brain in healthy ways, and I suspect visual arts like drawing and painting are similary beneficial. Finally, a good diet can help tremendously; I believe vitamins B and C are supposed to be good for brain function. -GTBacchus 06:29, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

info on a movie

Can you give me any info on a movie that aired once, it was called Amerika. Any information will be appreciated. thank you, shirley. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.40.83.112 (talk) 05:58, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

Amerika (TV miniseries) may be what you're looking for. It came up using the search box to the left; maybe give that a try next time, as it will save you some time. Cheers! Tony Fox (arf!) 06:10, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Rape

There's always been talk about woman raping guys. how is it possible. don't men have enoguh muscle power to prevent this from happening? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.88.164.105 (talk • contribs)

That's a stereotype. Not all women are weaker than all men, just as not all men are the same strength as one another. As well, women with training in the martial arts, or a weapon, can overpower men stronger than them. There's always psychological weakness and age differences too. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 06:50, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, a predatory woman might take advantage of the fact that lots of men don't want to hurt a woman. Anchoress 09:53, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

But even still? What does it mean when a woman rapes a man, I never got this. Do they mean that the woman managed to force the man to have sex with her (because she's older or because she's beating him up or whatever)? Because - due to male and female anatomy- I don't understand how a woman can force herself onto a man?Evilbu 12:31, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

There are two quite different defs of "rape". The older and universally accepted meaning is to force somebody into sex against their will. The newer def is much broader, and includes cases where "consent can't legally be given", such as consensual sex with somebody below the age of consent. Other people deemed unable to give consent might include those who are intoxicated, mentally retarded, unconscious, in a subservient social role, etc. Now, as for women raping men, that could use either term. A woman with a gun could certainly force a man to do sexual things he did not want to do, possibly including intercourse (men sometimes get erections even when in fear). The term could also be applied to a woman who has sex with an underage boy, even if he is a willing participant. In a truly bizarre legal definition of rape, two underage kids who have sex can also both be charged with raping each other, in some jurisdictions (these laws aren't enforced, however).StuRat 12:43, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also want to distinguish between "rape" and "sexual assault"; in English law, for example, a woman can never commit "rape", because the legal definition of "rape" requires the insertion of the penis of a human male by the perpetrator. As women don't posess these, they cannot commit "rape". --Mnemeson 12:57, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe the law has been changed now to define rape to include insertion of any object into any orifice. (except the ears)--Light current 14:16, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Hmm. Not sure about the nostrils either. THat might just be picking a fight, or possibly GBN (Greivous bodily nosepicking. 8-|--Light current 19:09, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Where?martianlostinspace 15:38, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, it is important to remember that drugs may be involved. While it is unlikely that a small-framed woman could drag a larger man back to some alley, it may be likely that an already inebriated man could be drugged up a bit more so he 'wouldn't care.' 209.247.21.179 16:41, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 defined "rape" to require 'penile penetration', and also created the offense of "assault by penetration" (as a distinct crime from rape, this can be perpetrated by women). Our article on that act does say that rape has since been redefined, apparently to basically make the definition for 'rape' the same as was for 'assault by penetration', but that comment is unsourced, and I'm not familiar with an act that did this, I may have missed it, but I believe(d) the 2003 act and definition remains in effect. --Mnemeson 16:46, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Hm, doesn't English law have the principle that someone who participates in the crime is equally guilty? So wouldn't, say, Karla Homolka be considered a rapist in the UK? --Trovatore 18:42, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, woman-on-man rape does exist and has occured.

I remember learning in Gender Psychology, back in 2002, that a Western researcher encountered a peculiar occurence on one of the islands (or group of islands) in the South Pacific, many many decades ago, perhaps even in the 19th century.

Apparently, a group of young women would pin down and rape a lone young male (taking turns of course), and after they were finished, defecate and urinate on him. I do not recall enough particulars of this observation, to provide something cite-able, but I am neither making it up, nor did I dream it. Remember though, this was decades if not centuries ago. Vranak 20:24, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Amendment -- I also recalled this morning, that this was an inter-tribal phenomenon, so the young girls did not take advantage of and humilate young boys within their own community. It was a tribal-warfare thing. Vranak 16:24, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

TMI! Really!--Light current 20:32, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

There was a notorious case of an ex-beauty queen obsessed with a Mormon missionary. She got a male friend to help kidnap the victim. Clarityfiend 22:54, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't remember the exact date or even year, but this would have been around 1976-79 I suppose, some UK mens magazine published a 4 or 5 page article interviewing women who gang-raped men "for entertainment". The description - both psychological and physical - was quite adequately detailed to be plausible. The rough description of the physical "how do they do it" side was roughly - a victim was chosen in advance (not off the streets) and enticed to visit a predetermined location by one of the women. Not hard as most guys will be relatively easy to entice to a location if a woman wishes it. A number of the women would appear and roughly surround or approach the victim. The man was described as being roughly "puzzled and unsure but not violent or fearful" at that point, and would not anticipate needing to act in respect of his own safety. he could then be seized and held en masse or "if powerful or struggling" secured to a frame or other fixture - "is a must". The description thereafter can be summarized as saying that although one usually thinks of men as desiring to engage in sexual acts, acts under such duress are every part as much rape as any act on a woman, and can change their life and feelings and emotions too. FT2 05:56, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Having experienced a bit of minor sexual harassment in the workplace myself, I can say that like all things, it goes both ways. Vranak 21:30, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

/

How does gang rape of a male work? What about the Refractory period? And after only a few orgasms it's impossible to retain an erection --froth 07:59, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I know this is a totaly wierd thing to say but then so is most of the above part of this question, BUT... in theory at least a man could be drugged with a cocktail of drugs including viagra, this would maintain an errection for quite a while I think, though I have noidea how long.AMX 19:50, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

There are a variety of drugs that can cause a man to have an errection for a long period of time and at the same time be unable to orgasm. I hear the results are quite painful and posibly perminently dammaging though, so they are not used recriationaly often.

Question

I am a blogger at the popular website, www.steeplemedia.com (actually the "in-training" webmaster) and I was wanted to know a few things. 1) Would I be able to have an article on Misplaced Pages about it? 2) If so, I couldnt figure out which topic i should put it under (on the Request Articles page). and 3) I would create the article my self but I would never have the time to sit and figure out how to format it correctly.

If anyone could help that would be awesome!!

Thanks --Zach 07:02, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Please see WP:WEB. Unless you've been covered in newspapers or other reliable sources, you shouldn't create an article, and even then, creating one of a website you're involved in is a bad idea. --Wooty Woot? contribs 09:56, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes I recommend not doing so, If someone a senior editor spots it they will most likely AFD it and It will be deleted. — Seadog 16:38, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Ok, Thanks for your help!! --Zach 17:11, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Newtonmas

Why is Newtonmas deleted and protected on Misplaced Pages? Is it because it's secular? I can't see why really. Newtonmas and Misplaced Pages are similar in many ways, on Newtonmas people are ment to share gifts of knowledge such as books, and Misplaced Pages is even saying "You can give the gift of knowledge by donating to the Wikimedia Foundation!". Or has this place been infultrated by radical Evangelical nutcases? Thanks. 84.70.132.226 15:33, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for signing your name - not all newcomers do. You might like to ask : s/he's the dude who deleted it.martianlostinspace 15:36, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

It is not because "it's secular"—Misplaced Pages has articles on all sorts of topics from all sorts of points of view. Take a look at the deletion debate about it. It seems to have been deleted because it did not satisfy Misplaced Pages's notability and verifiability policies. --24.147.86.187 15:47, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. 84.69.184.101 19:53, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

SACD Players

I found your discussion of SACD very interesting and exciting. I could not determine exactly what is needed electronically, Hi Fi wise, to get the system to work. Do I need two preamps and two amplifiers? I am a loyal dynaco fan, but I have more than two amps and two preamps, is this sufficient or do I need something more, or is this multichannel something else entirely. In other words is it possible to take, say, 4 channels from the SACD player as two sets of two, or three sets of two and amplify separately? I hope you understand my confusion. Do I need three preamps and three amps? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.244.30.237 (talk) 15:38, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

SACD is at the minimum two channel - so you'd need a 'set up' capable of reproducing stereo at the very least. I'd guess that most (or at least some) players can downmix multichannel to stereo as well.

Multichannel eg 5.1 is 5 normal channels (front(center), left, right, rear left, rear right) plus a separate low frequency channel. To reproduce this fully you'd need 5 amps+speaker and a special subwoofer amp and speaker.

Modern multichannel recievers/decoders can downmix multichannel to stereo as well - if you don't want to buy all those extra amps and speakers.

A SACD doesn't have to be multichannel - it may just be stereo (of a higher quality than CD), the ouput depends on the disc you are playing.

SACD multichannel goes up to 6 channels - so you could need up to 6 amp/speaker.

The SACD disc will say (somewhere) on it exactly how many channels are used - I'm not sure what is normal for such a disc.

As for taking 4 outputs as two sets of two - i guess you mean join left rear and left to make one channel and right rear and right to make one channel - something like that - yes this is possible to do if you want to - though I wouldn't suggest just 'joining them together via a stereo to mono plug. - You could end up shorting out the op-amps - if you want to do this I recommend a special mixer - eg like a mixing desk to do it, but you will have lost the multichannel effects..(Please ask more questions if I didn't 'get it')83.100.132.121 18:25, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

What does this mean?

Hi, could someone please tell me what "His flower-like hands embraced the thorn" means? Thanks. Itsjusthel 17:31, 17 December 2006 (UTC) X

Yes, it is a simile hugging a metaphor. Can't tell you more without a lot more context. --Justanother 18:38, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for answering. I dont know the context either, someone asked me and I thought of 'Misplaced Pages. Itsjusthel 22:02, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

It sounds dirty to me, but perhaps that says more about me than the quote. :-) StuRat 00:49, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Googling 'embraced the thorn' returns several Christian sites, but none with exactly that quote. Anchoress 16:31, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

It sounds religious, but not neccisarily Christian. Or it could be dirty :-) Of course, some Christian metaphors do sound dirty. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.234.249.203 (talk) 21:11, 24 December 2006 (UTC).

Do my lifetime achievements matter in the great scheme of things?

Serious question - nothing sinister underlying it. I am male, happily married (second-time - first time a disaster), 59, British, University Graduate, ex-Civil Servant, Retired, Children, Grand-Children, Solvent, no Criminal Record (not even a parking ticket), saw the Beatles and the Stones performing live on stage, "straight", politically middle-of-the-road, never published a book, or wrote a piece of music, or gave a lecture, or won an award from The Queen: have no entry in Who's Who; not an alumni, got lots of friends and ex-friends all over the world, don't care about religion or race or supremacist faiths, think the world is a beautiful place to be, wish everyone else thought the same. I suppose there must be millions like me, very content with my life overall and looking forward to years more to come - not desperate to change anything significant. But - I am increasingly conscious in a big way of how much I do not know about the world I live in, and even more conscious of how little (if anything) I have done to improve the world I will one day leave behind. Don't want a monument or memorial service in St Paul's Cathedral but would like to face my Maker and be able to say, "But for me.......................". Any suggestions?

Sure, find a group that is doing work that you believe in and support them. It would be great if you are in a position to work full-time for a group you believe in. Get politically active too, if you are not already. Point is, join with like-minded; you can do a lot more that way. Also, your entire comment reminds me a lot of Saving Private Ryan; the scene where old Ryan is asking "Have I lived a good life?". Always chokes me up. So have you? That is not really the question though; the fact that you ask this question tells me that you know you should be doing more. Good for you! --Justanother 18:35, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

You can of course immortalize yourself by writing a featured article; it will be read by wikipedia users and plagiarized by students forever. More seriously, is it really necessary to achieve something great and monumental to influence the world? Can't you live on in, say, a joke or an idea you shared with your friends or the way you helped shape how your children look at the world? As Pessoa said, everyone who ever lived is still alive somewhere. Skarioffszky 19:03, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

The "great scheme of things" is not fully known to humans, although many groups and traditions will gladly tell you they know the answers. A number of traditions comment that the answer varies depending what level you look at it:

• In earthly life, your achievements live on in the lives of all they touch

all the way through to:

• There is no "one" to "achieve anything, it is illusion in the eye of .

Probably you didn't think Misplaced Pages would have an answer for you. But it does. Check out our article on Meaning of life. Also look up nondual, mysticism, as articles whose subjects quite directly address the same field, and may contain thought-provoking ideas if the question is a real one for you.

Outside Misplaced Pages, three books I can immediately think of which you might also enjoy are: "Only love is real" (Dr Brian Weiss), "The Invitation" (Oriah Mountain Dreamer note this is the book, not the poem of the same name), and "The Bridge Across Forever" (Richard Bach), all touching on the same isssues from different perspectives.

Ultimately most traditions seem to split into two - the ones that regard life as something one does to "get" something (praise, recognition, remembered, heaven) ... and those that view life as only mattering now, each moment, where what you personally do only matters as you live it. The question for you is, does it matter what the future thinks. if you develop your own view on what a good life should be, the standards it should embody, and then live that way, you surely will not be doing too much wrong. There is an old jewish commentary that states you will be asked by God, why you didn't enjoy the (permissible) enjoyable things in life as well, and alsoone that says we are not expected to complete the work of creation, but neither are we free to ignore it and do nothing. In other words, a balanced and honest caring life, and let God (or whatever is out there) worry about the judging. You are a part of existence, and as such you matter in the same way the number "3" does to mathematics... its one number equal to all others, but also it is by nature irreplacable, needed, and unique.

Happy existence and new year! FT2 19:17, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

It depends on how you define "in the great scheme of things". Reading articles like ultimate fate of the universe (especially the heat death option, which seems most probable at the moment) can make one feel like nothing that anyone does on this planet will ever amount to a hill of beans "in the great scheme of things". But helping a child live and learn can make one feel like every little thing can matter "in the great scheme of things". It depends where you set your sights and your scope. Most of the people who have had major effects on the entire world have been monsters. A rare few have helped for the better. It's not necessarily an enviable position. Remember Candide's conclusion: start by "tending your own garden," taking care of the things closest to you. If you can do that, you'll be better off than most of us, and the results will be more or less immediate. That's my philosophy, anyway. --24.147.86.187 19:31, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I do not want to sound mean, but the very asking of this question reveals doubt. Vranak 20:17, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

You realize, of course, that your question is classic mid-life crisis. That does not make less of the question just points out that many have faced it and there is lots of helpful info and support to be found. --Justanother 20:26, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I had my mid-life crisis at around age 16. Vranak 03:39, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

You need to answer this question yourself - society's opinion of you means nothing. Only you can judge yourself. (That's the direction I'm coming from.) Or to be more to the point - given what you've told us - No. they don't. It's pathetic. You really are a non-entity. Sorry!83.100.132.121 20:34, 17 December 2006 (UTC) By the way you clearly don't seem to know the difference between 'me' and 'society' - you've painted a picture of a non-individual - take a look at mid-life crisis, or better still Individuation, or any of these Cultural identity, Identity, Individualism, Person, Self (philosophy), Self (sociology), Self (psychology). Now I can return to my miserable existence. Thank you.83.100.132.121 20:42, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Alternatively - Pull your socks up and make a contribution to the world instead of just filling your belly and your pockets! how does that sound.83.100.132.121 21:13, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I really do want to say thank you to all the above respondents who took the time and the trouble to take an active interest in my life - and its meaning and worth. I regard all the comments as valuable to me, without exception, especially the last one from the psychiatric hospital matron who advises me to 'pull my socks up'. A few of the comments have focused too closely on the literal interpretation of my OP question without considering the context of my expansion, but no worry, I still appreciate their contributions. But I especially thank Justanother for his/her input - I had already thought of mid-life-crisis but thought that too trite for someone like me who as well as having seen the Beatles and the Stones performing live, had also had Diana Ross sit on my knee on my 21st birthday, and sing, "Baby Love", in my left ear. Justanother is absolutely correct, I still have much to do and starting tomorrow, I am going to follow the advice given by Skarrioffszky. Thanks to all - immensely. And I intend to once again, skinny dip in the Meditteranean and the Pacific, minus my watch that can withstand mega sub-terranean atmospheres.

You are very welcome. Though I think a "psychiatric hospital matron" would be more interested in giving you your medication than telling you to "Pull your socks up". That sort of stuff usually comes from your dad (laff). Or maybe your best friend (mine tells me to "count your blessings" when I am feeling down). --Justanother 00:08, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank yoy for calling me 'matron' - a merry christmas to you.83.100.250.252 09:46, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Well the "typical" solution is to get religion. You might not be interested but religious people do seem to get the most satisfaction out of life --froth 08:03, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

japanese seapost to USA

In the 30th seapost was sent to USA by HIYE Maru, HEIAN MARU, TATSUTA MARU, ASAMA MARU, HIKAWA MARU, SHIZUOKA MARU; YOKOHAMA MARU Who knows anything about the boat class, schedule or duration of its journeys redjul

Maru is not a class of ships, but a word attached to many Japanese merchant vessels: Japanese_ship_naming_conventions#Maru. Tatsuta Maru, Shizuoka Maru, Asama Maru, and Yokohama Maru were operated by Nippon Yasen Kaisha (Japan Mail Steamship Company). Shizuoka and Yokohama were both some four thousand tons and built in 1912. Asama and Tatsuta may have been sister ships constructed at the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard circa 1927. Shizuoka was lost April of 1933 when she ran aground on a reef off the northern tip of Yap, there is an account of the incident in Bodley, R.V.C. (1933). A Japanese Omelette: A British Writer's Impressions of the Japanese Empire. Tokyo: Hokuseido Press. pp. 193–206. OCLC 4423561. A letter to Prince Konoye dispatched from San Francisco March 22 and carried aboard Tatsuta Maru arrived in Japan April 11. I'm finding a few other random facts about the ships, for instance the HMS Liverpool intercepted Asama Maru January 21, 1940 outside Yokohama and removed twenty-one Nazi officials who we enroute from the U.S., if you are interested.EricR 23:05, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Article title or suggestion please

I'm unsure where to post this request. Could someone suggest the appropriate article covering government misrepresentation, censorship or mediation, in science? (ie, the correct subject title for the practice whereby scientific research and findings can be slanted to suit political agendas.)

Censorship doesn't seem quite right, there probably is some better page but I can't think what. It's an important subject not covered in censorship, and I'd like to see what is said about it in other articles if any, or what title such an article might be given (if written).

. FT2 19:00, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Scientific censorship? Here is a google of that. Also suppression of infomation; spin; sanitizing. --Justanother 19:10, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't think there's a specific term for specifically government misrepresentation of specifically scientific information. If you want to emphasize the government aspect, you call it "spin". If you want to emphasize the scientific aspect, you call it "bias" or "misrepresentation" or "censorship" or "scientific misconduct" or whatever. I'm not sure there's a catchall that emphasizes both at the same time. --24.147.86.187 19:50, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

If you are desirous of creating an article on that based on the USEPA global warming report issue and other issues related to perhaps stem-cell research or right-to-life issue then I think entitling the article "Scientific censorship" or similar would be fine. --Justanother 20:11, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

The words fraud and quackery spring to mind, whether or not there's government involvement. Tending toward government involvement, there's hegemony and social engineering. American authors Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky have written much on this sort of thing. Vranak 20:13, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Looking for information on PH Mourey 1840 - 1910

I have very little information on the Sculpture Phillipe H Mourey (1840-1910), I know he worked for Japy Freres & Cie the clockmakers Beaucourt France in around 1870. I'm most interested to find out about his life story and if any photographs exist of him. How many other clocks did he design and what other work did he do apart from the clock designs. Thanks --Michael Fitzpatrick 19:27, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Seasonal question

When did the old pagan mid winter festival get taken over by the Christians and become Christmas?--Light current 20:30, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure it was at the time that Christianity was starting to become popular throughout the world. Didn't they do it to make the tansitition from Paganism to Christianity easier? Cbrown1023 20:35, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

According to Christmas#History, "It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 became associated with Jesus' birth." However, the article does give a fair bit of background on earlier festivals around the winter solstice and the gradual transition to celebrating Christmas around that time of year. — QuantumEleven 22:24, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Exactly when the early Christians first started to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December cannot be determined with any precision, though it was a well-established practice by the middle of the fourth century. But why they chose December 25 is a question that is far easier to answer: it was a date closely associated with an important mid-winter holiday and several religious festivals throughout the ancient world. It simply made good sense to transfer popular celebrations from one form of religious practice to another. Saturnalia, the festival of Saturn, had been celebrated by the Romans for generations in late December, the high point of which was 25 December, the winter solstice. In the third century the Emperor Aurelian gave the day an even greater sacred focus by bringing the cult of Sol Invictus-the all conquering sun-from the east. The birthday of Sol Invictus was celebrated on 25 December. The day is also associated with the worship of Mithras, Osiris and Dionysus, uniting Persian, Egyptian and Greek traditions. As the Bible itself makes no mention of the date of Jesus' birth, and it was celebrated by different Christian groups on various dates, from January right through to May, it made better political sense, especially as the number of converts began to grow, to centre the event on a day that people were already familiar with. Incidentally, the whole question of Christ's birth, and the celebration of Christmas, became a matter of some contention after the Reformation. Stricter Protestant sects dismissed the festival as a pagan practice devoid of scriptural authority; and it was finally banned outright in the seventeenth century by the Commonwealth of England. This hostility towards Christmas continued amongst some groups right into the late Victorian age, as those of you familiar with Edmund Gosse's memoir, Father and Son, may recall. Clio the Muse 23:45, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I thought the winter solstice was 21 or 22 Dec. But thanks anyway. 8-)--Light current 12:40, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

It was 25 December on the Julian calendar. Clio the Muse 20:33, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you sure about that, Clio? The Gregorian Calendar was introduced in 1582, and it advanced the dates by 10 days. Thus, 4 October 1582 was immediately followed by 15 October 1582 (in those countries that adopted it at that time). 21/22 December (Gregorian) was 11/12 December Julian. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Britain, 1752, the lag had become 12 days. Immediately before that time, when the rest of the Gregorian-using world was noting the solstice on 21/22 December, Britain was calling those days 9/10 December. I can't see how the solstice could ever have occurred on 25 December under any calendar. JackofOz 03:46, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Have a look on the Saturnalia page, Jack, under Saturnalia's Relation to Christmas. I imagine there was considerable slippage over time on the original date, but I am not an expert on calendars, I must confess. Clio the Muse 12:14, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Neither am I, although I've studied it a lot over the years. I think the salient point is that the Gregorian calendar did not retrospectively change any dates prior to 15 October 1582. The Julian Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar are discontinuous. The proleptic Gregorian calendar is a tool that manipulates pre-1582 dates for scientific purposes, but has no relevance to the actual dating of events that occurred prior to 15 October 1582 (Gregorian). The date of the winter solstice may well have varied back in Roman times, but whether it did or not, that had nothing whatsoever to do with the Gregorian calendar introduced almost 600 years later. JackofOz 00:25, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Didn't it say in the The Da Vinci Code that it was because the Romans wanted to overshadow the pagan festivals that took place on the solstice? So they said Jesus was born on the 25th? Of course, the book is fiction, but idk...it sounded possible to me. FruitMart07 00:42, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Willy On Wheels

Everywhere on Misplaced Pages there is something about Willy On Wheels. Who the heck was Willy On Wheels? I heard that he was some sort of vandal but I've looked everywhere and nothing says what he did. Was he like the "devil" in a sense? Thanks. Ilikefood 21:21, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Page move vandal. Best to google it as it is a disallowed article here. --Justanother 21:24, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

See Misplaced Pages:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2006 November 23#Willy On Wheels.  --Lambiam 21:52, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I've tried to write something up on him, see User:68.39.174.238/Newgatery. Basically, he was one of the early vandals. 68.39.174.238 22:04, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

See also WP:DENY. We have removed most discussions of him. User:Zoe|(talk) 23:46, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Holy crud, User:68.39.174.238! How did he change the Misplaced Pages Logo like that? Thats crazy! Just how did he manage to do that without people noticing for a few minutes? Ilikefood 22:19, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Uhuh, see WP:BEANS. User:Zoe|(talk) 23:48, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Basically he found out that that image was hosted on Commons and he overwrote it. I don't remember what image name it was, or if it even still exists, but after that it was protected indefinately. I know similar things have happened elsewhere. 68.39.174.238 12:55, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

What would happen if, say, some user who had never vandalized before suddenly claimed that they were WoW and then still didn't vandalize? Would you think that they were doing it for atention or would you ask an admin to block him/her? Ilikefood 00:21, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

It has happened a few times before, but I don't recall the users. There was one user (a full name with a female first name beginning with R) whose name I do not fully recall, who claimed to be WoW who had reformed, and she was blocked, but of course the whole thing was suspicious. I also think there were a few users who created accounts with "on Wheels" or something similar, not realizing the immense faux pas, and were immediately blocked. I used to know more about the matter. --Philosophus 10:00, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

The user User:Jesus On Wheels is legitimate, so is User:Wheels. 68.39.174.238 08:58, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

timewasting questions

Im quite disturbed by all the timewasting questions being asked on wikipedia reference desks lately. Dont you have a method to find and silence the perpretators for Gods sake? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.74.96.197 (talk) 23:39, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

Yes, we ask you to please stop. Please stop. Thank you. --Justanother 23:47, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

<sarcasm>Well, we could block all people in the world from editing Misplaced Pages and then throw the server into the atlantic ocean after filling it with jell-o, or we could launch the server into the sun, or hire an assassin to kill everyone who ever used Misplaced Pages, but aside from that I just can't figure out anything else... </sarcasm>Ilikefood 00:08, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

MMgghhh! I see you are intelligent woman. we also have intelligent woman in my country. We like your fightiness Justanother. So just to keep peace between our two countries, I say we equal OK?

o yes I forget. My freind Igor (my servant) say he like you very much and can he meet you sometime, someplace?

In my experience, 'waste' is highly under-rated. And time is highly over-rated. Vranak 03:37, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

The following answer assumes that the questioner is asking in good faith and tries to seriously address the question for the benefit of the questioner and other RD readers. Please do not delete this answer or this thread. A few serious points. First, the borderline between time wasting questions and useful questions is not clear cut. But, for the sake of argument, let's assume someone repeatedly posts questions here that everyone agrees are time wasting or trolling. If they are an anonymous contributor there is very little we can do, beyond deleting the questions - if they repeatedly post from the same IP, then I believe an IP block is available, but that is a blunt instrument which could block other innocent bystanders too. If they are a signed-in editor then there are a range of sanctions, escalating from asking them politely to remove the question, up to a block or total ban for repeat offenders (and there is a big ongoing debate over when and how these sanctions should be applied, and whether we need guidelines to discourage abuse of these sanctions). This is pretty much like the situation with vandalism of Wiki articles (see WP:VAND) except that Wiki articles can be protected or semi-protected. Well, we could semi-protect the RDs so that only signed-in editors could post here, but that would defeat the purpose of the RDs as a resource for the "general public". FWIW, my view is that the best and simplest approach is to just ignore questions that we think are not worth answering. Gandalf61 09:15, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Since this discussion is about the ref desks, it should probably be on the talk page, no? Anchoress 09:30, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I posted this previously and somebody deletd it, which is very, very rude: How about you just ignore them instead of making a big deal? --Nelson Ricardo 02:22, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't assume that it was deleted maliciously; we had a lot of problems yesterday with posts disappearing due to database lag. I checked the edit history and as far as I can tell, your post disappeared between when you posted it and when Gandalf61 posted his comment, somehow deleted during an unrelated post. This is typical of what was happening yesterday. Anchoress 19:58, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

HERE is where your post got deleted, along with a lot of other stuff it seems. I don't think it was malicious; that kind of thing was happening all day yesterday. Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by database error. :-) Anchoress 20:05, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I can understand being upset but this was a glitch, see Misplaced Pages talk:Reference desk/Miscellaneous#Disappearing stuff --Justanother 20:11, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

"So just to keep peace between our two countries, I say we equal OK?" In Soviet Russia, peace keeps YOU!! 64.90.198.6 23:19, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

WP:TROLL | AndonicO 11:06, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

December 18

Garlic Salt/Powder

What is the major difference between Garlic Salt and Garlic Powder?

Garlic powder is powdered garlic; garlic salt is garlic-flavored salt. Rmhermen 02:42, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

How did you manage to remove two questions at once? Accidently, or deliberately? At least one of them was serious! I feel slighted and rejected! Vitriol 02:46, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, these got erased. ...I'll shut up now. Vitriol 03:01, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Powered Garlic and Garlic Flavored Salt still doesn't make sense. What's the difference between the Salt and the Powder? Is it just the sixe of the granules?

Salt - the regular table spice. Rmhermen 03:25, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, garlic powder doesn't have any table salt in it, but garlic salt does. StuRat 03:59, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

To be as clear as possible: I believe garlic powder is made by drying garlic and grinding it into a powder. Garlic salt is made by taking ordinary salt, as in 'salt and pepper', and flavouring it to taste like garlic. The simplest way would be by leaving a few peeled cloves in a tub of salt, but I don't know how it is done industrially. Skittle 12:58, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Often it is done simply by mixing garlic powder and table salt. FreplySpang 14:29, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

DVD Thin Pack

Is this a stripped down version, without the extras/outtakes/documentaries? The set I'm considering buying comes in two versions, with the Thin Pack half the price of the other. Clarityfiend 03:01, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

A Thin Pack is just an extra-thin DVD case, so it doesn't really seem to tell anything about the content per se (looks like two DVD's can also fit in a thin pack). –mysid☎ 07:08, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

With some shows such as red dwarf they have released episode-only verisons of the DVDs that are much cheaper than the extra scenes/commentary/bonus material features they originally released. Potentially a thin-pack could be much the same. I wouldn't expect the type of box the dvd comes in to hugely change the price (unless it was a special edition - but then that would normally cost more to buy). I would check from the people you are buying from, they'll normally be pretty forthcoming about the features included on the disc. Alternatively name the show/film/dvd and people might be able to say from experience. ny156uk 17:23, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Genuine CDs ?

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have ordered music albums for a very cheap price from an Ebay seller and have received them in a less than two weeks. Considering they were from Moscow, Russia; this was quite amazing. I have noticed that the CDs come with their respective boxes and booklets. The problem is that I doubt their genuineness considering the very cheap price. (8.10C$ (6.99$) / each + shipping) I don't know if I am being paranoid or not, but the CDs even have their "music label graved signature" in the inner CD circle) and barcodes. I have noticed the "For sale in Russia / CIS only" but that is not my current concern. Is there anything to check if a music album is genuine or not ? TAU Analyser says that the audio files are uncompressed CD quality files at least. Matt714 00:56, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

See grey market or bootleg. They could be either. It is really not your job to worry. eBay has a program called VeRO that rights owners are supposed to use to prevent sale of counterfeit items. If they are not obvious copies, i.e. they look legit to you, and they sound fine to you then you can probably be happy with your purchase. If they were obviously copies I would report the seller to eBay and to the rights owner but grey market is just that, a grey (gray) area. --Justanother 01:06, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Well the CDs look certainly legal, they have: 1) jewel case and actual cd with all the usual art of a music album 2) complete booklet 3) barcodes + laser signature on inner circle of CD

If they are copies, people are getting bloody good. :/

That is the actual seller if that helps: http://myworld.ebay.com/nitro_music/

Their fournisor is supposedly www.nuclearhell.com

Matt714 02:37, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I suspect that they are themselves legit, but are only intended for the Russian market, and are sold at a reduced rate (since people there wouldn't buy them at full price). So, it's not legit for the seller to sell them outside Russia, and he could possibly get in trouble if he is selling them in sufficient quantity. There is a similar situation with meds sold for much less in Canada than in the US, which, of course, leads to Americans buying their meds from Canada, legally or not. StuRat 03:53, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Of course they could also be legit but stolen. –mysid☎ 07:03, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Percent of vandalism edits by IPs and by Userids

Are there any stats for what percent of the edits to Misplaced Pages by IP addresses are vandalism, and the percent of edits by Userids? It seems like a full time task to revert vandalism by IP address users to one's watchlist of articles. Edison 04:34, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not aware of any stats compiled, but I started to do it once. I noticed, however, that there is considerable variation by time of day and week. During hours when kids are in school in North America, vandalism by IPs spikes. We need a lot of RC patrol during this time. We get more user ID vandalism during local evening hours than during local weekday daytime hours (and the vandalism itself tends to be worse, i.e. more trolling and troublemaking). Once when I did a couple of large samples during the evening, one out of 9 IP edits was clear vandalism. I'm going to hazard a guess that when kids are in school in North America it may be one out of three. Then again--this was about a year ago, and I have a feeling it may have gotten a bit worse since then. Antandrus (talk) 06:13, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Stats like that would also be a lot easier to keep track of if edits, as Antandrus said, were "clear vandalism." Sometimes articles are reverted to more easily replace erroneous information, or in closer cases are inappropriately labeled "vandalism" (see my talk page for an example of that). First we'd need to find all of the edits that qualify as vandalism, then determine whether they are IP users or registered. I'm sure someone could write a program that could do that. Strangely enough, there seems to be a discrepancy between WP:VAND and what people subjectively interpret to be vandalism; hopefully this will be reconciled in the future. 64.90.198.6 23:37, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

toothpicks

How are toothpicks made? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.207.138.233 (talk) 04:42, 18 December 2006 (UTC).

I know that when people cut down Giant Sequoias in California a couple centuries ago, it turned out that the wood wasn't useful for making anything much bigger than a toothpick. Vranak 06:04, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Not true. Redwood decking and fencing still remains popular. We even have a section on uses of redwood. Rmhermen 14:42, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Presumably, it was the old-growth sequoias that made little more than toothpicks. Or, when the old-growth sequioas were cut down, mankind lacked the ability to turn the wood into anything useful, larger than a toothpick that is. Which are very useful if you ask me. Vranak 16:18, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Reminds me of some cartoon I've seen as a kid. They had these massive logs coming in a factory, and each one was used to make a single coffee stirrer. I'm pretty sure it was a Toxic Revenger bit in Tiny Toon Adventures ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 14:00, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Go to www.google.com and type in something like how are toothpicks made. Here is a video: . Weregerbil 11:46, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Oh no. I saw that on TV a while ago, but I can't remember. :-( | AndonicO 11:09, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Diane Sawyer "total fag"?

There's a sound file available on the internet at various places (xttp://fruitymcgaygay.ytmnd.com is an example -- change x to h, because wikipedia has ytmnd blacklisted) of Diane Sawyer saying the phrases "total fag", "queer bitch", and "fruity mcgaygay". I have looked on google, Encyclopedia Dramatica, and even on Misplaced Pages itself for the source of this sound clip, and I can't find a thing. Does anyone know where this is from? A link to the original video (i assume its from some newscast) would be great, but any comment on the context would be welcome TastemyHouse Breathe, Breathe in the air 05:36, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Maybe a synthesizer was used. --Proficient 06:46, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

If you listen to the sound file, it is obviously genuine. 192.136.22.4 08:31, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

It was used in a report about gay/lesbian harassment. --Wooty Woot? contribs 08:39, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I figured as much. Any knowledge as to the date of airing or the name of the report or anything like that? Thanks! TastemyHouse Breathe, Breathe in the air 15:51, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

According to the site profile for that ytmnd (also accessible by clicking on the ytmnd logo in the upper left corner), it was on Primetime Live on 9/15/2006. --Lph 21:40, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Crawling through a thin tunnel

What is the most efficient method of crawling through a tunnel that is not much wider than the diameter of a human body? Obviously you will have to lie flat and "worm" your way along, but what is the best way to do it? I am assuming a cave tunnel with an uneven, rough and muddy floor. In the interest of safety and sanitation I would like to avoid cutting myself up. Specifically

1. How do you position your arms so that you maximize speed and traction?
2. How do you orient your body? Face down? Sideways? On your back?

I would hate to get stuck! Sifaka 06:53, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

May I have the contact information for your local newspaper and television news departments? I've always wanted to get credited as the first submitter of a story at the Darwin Awards. Durova 07:37, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

roffle! — Deon555_desk 08:27, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Commando crawl. I did this with a mate of mine a few years ago, crawling up a rainwater pipe just for the hell of it. If the cave floor is rough then I'd advise wearing thick clothing to protect your arms and legs. The best thing you could do to try and maximise speed and traction is just try it out on your living room floor and see what works. Battle Ape 09:08, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

1) Don't do this, it sounds dangerous.

2) Make sure a friend is on hand, outside the tunnel, to call the paramedics when you ignore 1 and get stuck.

3) When you ignore 1, be sure to back into the tunnel, with arms up over your head, so you have some possibility of getting out on your own, and can easily talk with the rescue crew, in any case. Also, having your hands free will prevent the rats from eating your face, and they will instead need to concentrate on eating your legs and genitals. StuRat 14:14, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

When you say 'not much wider' than the body? How much wider do you mean? Is it a horizontal tunnel? If it was only an inch wider than your hips, then you are going to need your arms up and push yourself along with your feet. I think it may be slightly more comfortable on your back. But we need a potholer or caver to answer this Q properly.--Light current 14:24, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Ey, I can't find anything on Misplaced Pages OR the web about how to properly execute the "commando crawl." What the heck! 64.90.198.6 00:01, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Just get down on your stomach and propel yourself with your arms. Jeez, it's not that hard. And ignore the various mothers of the Reference Desk who'll instruct you to not do this, and suggest that you instead sit inside a small room, wrapped in cotton wool, with a loaded shotgun pointed at the door. Battle Ape 04:28, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

See "Leopard crawl" in article Gait (human), and this picture. The crawler's head can be flat on the ground. --Seejyb 07:19, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Battle Ape, if I'm one of the people you refer to as mothers of the Reference Desk then be aware that I'm a war veteran. I've stared down wild bears, gone canoeing in alligator infested waters, captured live rattlesnakes, and survived being struck by lightning. Two Hells Angels once mistook me for a man (moments later the three of us had a good laugh over that). I have, singlehandedly, saved three different people's lives. Call it chance or the luck of the draw, but aside from pledging to serve my country I didn't actually look for that much excitement. And unless there's some higher purpose to be served by the act of shimmying through a small space in the wilderness where a person might get stuck and hurt, I don't advocate that risk. Durova 08:08, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

It's called the Leopard crawl?? I've never heard of that... I say someone should start the Army crawl article. The picture was very useful, too! ^_^ 64.90.198.6 21:25, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I was only kidding Durova, sorry if I caused offence. But seriously, if people were discouraged from doing stupid things then we never would have clibmed Mt. Everest or landed on the moon or built the Eiffel Tower. Battle Ape 04:58, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

NP. I just hope this OP editor checks in to let us know he's all right. (Why do I presume this type of question comes from a male)? Durova 07:32, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

As a cautionary note, read how Floyd Collins became an international celebrity in 1925, by getting stuck while crawling in in a small passage in a cave, and spent weeks trapped, getting interviewed on the radio and being on the front page of national newspapers until he died, still stuck. A forerunner of people who get stuck on a mountain while mountain climbing. Edison 20:32, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

It sounds like maybe Sifaka is already in the tunnel, or maybe nearby and on the wrong side of it. If that's the case, maybe we should get a checkuser and an IP trace so we know where to send help. NeonMerlin 16:26, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like a plan — Deon555_desk 03:45, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Age limit to register a business in Victoria, Australia?

Hi. I was wondering if someone could tell me (and hopefully link me to) the age limit to register a business in Victoria, Australia. According to when "Business Name Registration Application" is clicked, there doesn't appear to be any age restrictions. I entered my details (I'm in my mid teens), and it didn't stop me, although I didn't click Process.. just in case. The only limitations I can see are:

Is this right that I can register a business under my name? — Deon555_desk 08:19, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

We can't give legal advice, but I would suspect that simply registering a name carries with it no legal responsibilities which is why they let anyone do it. The other stuff, such as owning or managing the business, hiring employees, paying tax and insurance, opening a business bank account etc, is rather different and you will invariably be spat out once they see your date of birth.--Shantavira 13:15, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

There's no age limit to register a business name - there is even a box to tick on the form to indicate you are under 18. There is also no age limit to register an ABN. There is also no age limit to work in a family business, and far fewer restrictions if you're over 15 - see here. If you want to start a company, however, you must be 18 to be named as director. Natgoo 21:55, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm trying to apply for something that (it's all legal.. don't worry :)) is only available to businesses. By registering the name and obtaining an ABN, I can safely sign up as a business yes? — Deon555_desk 23:28, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Origin Of A Saying

I would like to know where the saying 'keep you're friends close and you're enemies even closer' came from -who said it -when -where and any other details you feel are relevant. i have heard it in the x-files and the simpsons already thats why i asked.60.240.157.126 13:36, 18 December 2006 (UTC)M.D.Morton

Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 13:52, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Or perhaps Machievelli ? StuRat 14:09, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Hmm dont think so ]. Sorry! 8-(--Light current 14:42, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Here is one link confirming Sun Tzu - google for more. --Justanother 14:47, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Is it just me, or is all of Sun's wisdom of a rather weak and ineffectual kind? He seems to make great quotes, yes, but I don't think many of them can be put to good use. Could just be beause the age of swords and spears is over, of course. Vranak 16:21, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, the Art of War is a great dissapointment - I've often wondered if in the original chinese it has a more poetical quality - maybe it just isn't translated very well.83.100.250.252 17:52, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

It's a sort of silly criticism to complain that Sun Tzu's words can't be put to good use. Why should you expect the battle-specific advice of a Chinese general centuries ago to have any real meaningful correlation to your role in your life at this current time on this planet? I hate all those damn business majors who read Sun Tzu to gain some meaningless sort of understanding about how to win in a competitive world. Some of what Sun Tzu says about surprise, stealth, attacking where your enemy's weak etc can possibly be seen as somewhat important (mostly in the military, not business, world), but nowadays, most of that stuff has become so imbued in our culture that it's considered common sense, and the rest of his advice - stuff about weather, and mountains, and when to use fire arrows - is absolutely useless today. But why in god's name should you expect otherwise? Sashafklein 23:29, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, Machiavelli's The Discourses is not entirely inapplicable to today's world, though it was also written in, and concerned with, an antique age of warfare. And of course the wisdom of the samurai is as potent as ever. Vranak 00:15, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Warning I find absolutely no proof that this quote is much older than The Godfather Part II, it may be a one sentence summary of the ideas in Machiavelli but (allowing for translation differences) I can not find anything that looks like this, either his or Sun Tzu's works. I would be happy to be proved wrong. Also "To know your enemy, you must become your enemy" also seems bogus. Sun Tzu and Machiavelli gave both in-depth strategies and practical advice not vague holistic aphorisms that look good on calenders. Quotation collections in the internet are full of misattributions and nonsense and usually no reference at all. People don't like to ascribe the knowledge to a film they saw recently and are much keener on the suggestion that they spend their time poring over ancient strategy manuscripts. Just to prove I researched this and didn't just come to rant, here are some quotes with similar ideas: meltBanana 01:16, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

God defend me from my friends; from my enemies I can defend myself.

15th Century proverb Everyman dictionary of quotations and proverbs

I am going to destroy them. I am going to make them my friends.

Attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Unverified Respectfully Quoted

We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends.

Cosimo de Medici, quoted by Francis Bacon Apophthegms (1625) no. 206

Stand in for Mary Pickford

Family member Helen Larsen (Norwegian)moved early 1900 from Boston to Hollywood (1910 -1920)and became an film actress under the artistname of June Caprere. I`m told that she was a stand in for Mary Pickford. She later married a Hollywood director Harry Millard. I`m searching for my roots and would apreciate information about where to go to get information about her carier, her life, picture and descendants.217.208.67.246 17:57, 18 December 2006 (UTC)jaco217.208.67.246 17:57, 18 December 2006 (UTC)≈§≈±§≠≈

Found her on IMDB! Here's her filmography under the name June Caprice. Also, here's her bio that lists her birth name as Helen Elizabeth Lawson and says she married Harry F. Millarde and had a daughter. So although the names aren't quite what you're looking for, this certainly looks to be your person. --Maelwys 18:06, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Better yet, I also just found her bio right here on Misplaced Pages, with a lot more information than the IMDB one. --Maelwys 18:07, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

English-to-English Translation, please

I'm an American student applying to British schools through ucas.com. I've gotten to the essay, and, not knowing what to write, clicked on the "help" link. They gave a very long outline, which I'll paste below. The trouble is, I'm unsure as to what certain words - "course", "subject" etc mean. I thought course was the English equivalent of the American "major", but then what might "subject" mean? At any rate, I'm going to paste some of that outline here in the hope that someone British who knows the American equivalents or the other way around could help by translating the words that might be different from what they'd mean in the US into American English. I'm posting all this because I think that in some of these cases context determines meaning:

•Why you have chosen the courses you have listed. Remember that, although each university or college that you have applied to cannot see your other choices, they will all see the personal statement.

•What interests you about your chosen subject. Include details of what you have read about the subject.

•What career plans you have for when you complete your course.

•Any job, work experience, placement or voluntary work you have done, particularly if it is relevant to your subject. You may want to give the skills and experience you have from these activities.

Thanks so much. Sashafklein 18:11, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

The following answer is based partly on the answerer's personal experience. It is a direct and relevant answer to the question, but it may not meet Misplaced Pages's usual standards of verifiability. Our UCAS article describes the UK university application process, although it does not say much about the personal statement. For more help on writing a personal statement, try here, or Google "UCAS personal statement" - I get nearly 20,000 hits. To answer your specific questions:

• "Subject" is the area that you want to study - your subject could be "engineering" or "medicine" or "modern languages", for example.
• "Course" (or "degree course") is a set of lectures, tutorials, exams etc. offered by a particular university or college in a particular subject, with a degree awarded for successful completion of the course. A course usually lasts three or four years. For example, Brunel University offers a 3 year full-time degree course in Computer Science, which has course code G402.

So when you submit a UCAS application you are applying to multiple courses (up to 6) at different universities, but usually all in the same subject (or at least in closely related subjects). Gandalf61 18:46, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Or, if you like, the coures is the exact subject. For example, commercial law is a different course to just law. If a degree has 2 subjects, and one is 2/3, the 2/3 part is the major, the 1/3 is the minor. Both of us appear to have experience in this. Drop me a message on my talk if I can help any more.martianlostinspace 19:57, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

So am i correct in reading into all of this that the UCAS personal statement is much less personality based and more academic than its American counterparts? Would you all suggest I have a nice intro etc but essentially keep it dry of humor, anecdote etc? That's the impression I get. If I'm applying as an English major and consider myself a good writer, should I spend time getting the statement to showcase whatever writing talent I have, or should I just stick to answering the questions simply and in a straightforward fashion? Please don't refreain from answering this for fear of giving bad advice. I just am not really sure what this is supposed to sound like. Thanks, Sashafklein 20:14, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Seriously, google is your friend here. Take a look at some of the many guides and examples for tips. Natgoo 20:57, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Follow the application forms -- and remember that historically, British ogranizations are much less into hype and egoist resumes (CVs) than US ones, which often (to British eyes) seem to require a candidate to inflate their alliegance to near-religious levels in order to justify being considered for the position. British applications aren't that extreme. You don't usually have to put in a "why I really really want this position" section unless actually asked, for example. If you are, then just say why, and what it will enable you to achieve, what its place in your life is, and show you have a genuine reason to care and value it. Be factual but well spoken, don't minimize what you've done or affect false modesty, but don't make it sound like "hot air" unless you can support it that way. Put yourself in the best light you can, make sure anything checkable will stack up well, and as it says above, "google is your friend".

What you might also find useful is to simply phone the admissions department for the places you're interested in, and ask their advice, what they (or UCAS) like. or ask a parent or friend to do it for you, if you want to be anonymous, "I'm asking on behalf of a friend of mine who wants to apply for (whatever) but isn't sure about the approach favored in the UK university system, would it be okay to walk through the forms and double check my understanding?" You can do that several times to more than one college if needed. Most will be a lot more friendly and open to such queries than their US educational counterparts, and allow you more time than the US colleges might, especially when they understand its for an overseas application where cultural differences might cause undue problems otherwise. As for your personal work, your application if well written is usually good. Feel free to either attach samples or state "Samples of my work are available upon reuqest", but check first what if any their requirements or preferences are in this area, before assuming either way. Hope this helps. FT2 05:09, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Don't dare include any humour - that won't do anything for your application. You are trying to sell yourself to the university. Make them want to give you an (un)conditional offer. Any experience (maybe not necessarily related to the subject), qualifications, skills, etc. Proof is handy as well eg. "I work hard" will only go backwards. You need to prove it. Also try to keep choices vaguely coherent. You can't do an application for both law and marine biology, but law and history would do. Why? The statement for each subject would look impossibly different for law/marine biology. But broadly the same skills are needed for law and history.martianlostinspace 16:17, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

You will also find the Students' Union very helpful90.0.134.8 16:52, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

preferred stock series a, b, c, d

when discussing preferred stock with a venture capitalist, what is ment by series a or series b etc...? What are the series? is it as simple as saying step one and step 2 of negotiaitons? thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.240.129.46 (talk • contribs)

From Preferred stock:

A single company may issue several classes of preferred stock. For example, a company may undergo several rounds of financing, with each round receiving separate rights and having a separate class of preferred stock; such a company might have "Series A Preferred", "Series B Preferred", "Series C Preferred" and common stock.

dpotter 22:06, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Jimmy Dean = James Dean?

Did the creator of the breakfast sausage Jimmy Dean name it after the actor James Dean? (since "Jimmy" is the slang term of "James")

User:Blueflashlight07 11:24, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I would suppose that he named his compnay, Jimmy Dean (brand) after himself, Jimmy Dean. --Justanother 18:50, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

unlike the Jimmy Dean of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.  --Lambiam 20:41, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Please Help With Media Contact Info in Dallas, TX area (To whom it may concern)

My name is Stella Gonzales and I am sending you this e-mail due to the fact that I am needing to find out where I can send my e-mail to about the trouble I am having I lost my daughter Ashley Nicole Hernandez of 18yrs she was killed in a drive shooting and they still haven't gotten the person who did it they now how he is but, unable to find any one to talk ,that were there the boy's parents are from Mexico and can't speak in english and I am thinking the ohter children mothers are also, I need some air time to speak to them and let them now my brokeness and heart ache the mother of the boy how shoot my daughter will be able to see him but, I will never see her again please, send my e-mail to the right person who would care how has a heart the only person that I've found that has a heart Is Tom Crespo from channel 33 (ed. note: this is in Dallas, TX, USA) THEy give me a few minutes of air time....Thank you very much for your time God Bless Respectfully <removed>—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.47.124.6 (talk) 19:52, 18 December 2006

I think that you aready spoke to Crespo but Here is Tom Crespo's page. You can click the link at the bottom to send him an email. Good luck! --Justanother 20:44, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

The asker seems to be asking if we know of any other reporters or venues in the Dallas area that might publicize her story, especially Spanish-language venues. Any ideas? --Justanother 20:52, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

What a sad story. Here are the Spanish-language stations in Dallas with local news:

KUVN -- (972) 485-2323

KXTX -- (214) 521-3900

You might also want to try Mexican media. Of course, the media are no substitute for law enforcement. -- Mwalcoff 23:42, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

The National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children might be able to help you. (They are headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, but have a chapter in Dallas/Ft Worth.) - Nunh-huh 00:50, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Sunglasses worn by Samuel L. Jackson in movie Shaft.....

What brand/style sunglasses did Jackson wear in the movie Shaft (2000)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bmwkappa98 (talk • contribs) 20:48, 18 December 2006 (UTC).

doordarshan

Name the first and very popular Hindi news caster of Doordarshan? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.173.228.59 (talk) 21:43, 18 December 2006 (UTC).

It was a lady named Salma Sultana sumal 12:24, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

Goldfishes in transit...

I'm planning on buying a comet goldfish for my fish-owning friend, for Christmas, and am assuming it will be coming in a plastic bag with water. The thing is, it won't be making it to my friend's tank for at least four hours after I've bought it, so I'm wondering how long the goldfish is likely to be alright in the closed bag? I could transfer it into some sort of makeshift bowl in my house, but I don't have an actual gold-fish bowl - what would a good substitute be? A...jug? 81.102.34.92 22:25, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

If you are buying it at a pet store, the store may have a small round bowl suitable for transporting, about 15cm in diameter maybe. It would be nice to give the fish to your friend in the small bowl, because the small bowl can later be used for temporary housing of the fish when the main tank gets cleaned. — Michael J 22:28, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll investigate. 81.102.34.92 22:46, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

As one datapoint, I've several times transported individual, smallish (say 2"/5cm) comets in a 2-Litre soda bottle almost full of water. In one case, the transport lasted about 10 hours and in the other, about 3 hours. As I recall, for the longer trip, we opened up the bottle once or twice and blew fresh air into the limited airspace of the bottle, but I think this was probably unnecessary, although it made us feel better about the fish's situation.

Atlant 01:50, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

The first time I bought a fish, we kept him in the bag overnight! It lasted for a few months before dying, so I think it's fine. Of course, it wasn't a goldfish, but you can always ask at the petstore. Also, leave the bag unopened and floating in the water, that way the fish's temperature doesn't have a sharp drop when you put it in the water. | AndonicO 11:14, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

The pet store would normally flush the plastic bag with oxygen before sealing it. As long as the bag does not leak it would be fine for a day or longer. Protect from overheat or cold and tumbling the creature around in the bag. Nice idea. --Seejyb 18:14, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Why are eating chips so addictive?

Hi all. So I'm eating one dorito chip, and I decide to have another. And then I start eating two at a time, and within a few minutes, I'm cramming my face full of them. I'm not overweight (underweight actually), and I rarely eat chips anymore, but when I do, this always happens. After I put the chips away, this goes down very quickly. So I was wondering if there's anything in particular that causes this? Much help appreciated ! Xhin 22:29, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, Doritos are pretty tasty. You sound like an advertisment for Doritos chips! --Nevhood 23:41, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree. I've probably eaten a hundred thousand Doritos in my life. They're OK for a time, but eventually there's two ingredients that will ruin you: hydrogenated vegetable oil, and MSG.

The interesting (and insidious) thing is, Frito-Lay removed all hydrogenated oils from Doritos last year, and proudly advertised that fact on the front of the package. But last I checked, they've gone back to hydrogenation.

The skeptic in me says it's because they're evil and want to turn us all into grotesque hogs, but the truth is probably even worse: it's because the majority of us North Americans actually prefer the taste of trans fats. :( Vranak 00:09, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

It's all Darwin's fault. We're all predisposed to want as much fat, sugar and salt as we can get. Between Doritos and donuts, we're all doomed. Clarityfiend 00:31, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I think it's simply a matter of choosing the most healthy option available. As Doritos are non-perishable, cheap as borscht, and available everywhere, it's a reasonable choice, despite the fact that they are not as healthful as say, fresh sushi. Vranak 02:31, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Is borscht cheap ? I've never checked out the price (because the thought of it just leaves me cold). StuRat 12:56, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Is borscht cheap? Heck, its price can't be beet! Atlant 13:30, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I think you red too much into my reply. :-) StuRat 01:54, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Gerbils

I recently owned two gerbils that came from the same family (they're brothers). They were happy with each other, but last week i found one of them dead! i gave the living one to the pet store cause the family didn't want him back. He's now living with alot more gerbils there, and I'm wondering if he will be okay with unknown gerbils and be happy. Also, do pet stores feed gerbils to snakes? -thanks —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.187.78.108 (talk) 23:21, 18 December 2006 (UTC).

I think he'll be fine, my experience is that gerbils make friends quite easily. And no, I doubt that pet stores feed gerbils to snakes, because mice are so much cheaper and more plentiful. Anchoress 23:25, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I like how your answer goes bounding forward cheerfully, then dives straight down a nihilistic chasm: what about the poor mice? :) Vranak 00:04, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Do they really feed mice to snakes? Apparently there's no Purina Snake Chow. Clarityfiend 00:26, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

OH YEAH BABY!! Since you asked, muahahaha... Anchoress 00:32, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I think I've read (but don't have a reference handy) that a strange male will be accepted into an existing group better than will a strange female. I can't speak for introducing males, but in our experience, introducing new females to an existing group is difficult or impossible. We once separated out a female (and her pups) after she gave birth and we never succeeded at reintroducing her to her clan.

Atlant 01:54, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

thanks! that makes me feel better. :) although, when I recently went to the pet store to get a hamster, i looked into the cage that they had put him in and he wasn't there! I hope that he found a good home...

MySpace Music Player

Is there a free service to upload your mp3s to play on your myspace profile? Could you sign up as an artist and upload the music that way? --Nevhood 23:45, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Technically, yes; I believe artists are allowed four or five songs on their page; (possibly more with some kind of membership?) legally speaking, however, this implies ownership of the copyright of the songs (essentially stating "I made this!") and I have seen people's accounts deleted because of this. 64.90.198.6 00:10, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't own the copyright of the songs I want to upload. I've seen other myspace profiles with their own 3rd-party players, is there a site that provides a free music player for your page? --Nevhood 00:18, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

A Google search yielded this. 64.90.198.6 00:25, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Total # of College students By Country....

I am trying to use Misplaced Pages to build a list of the # of college students per country. Is there an easy way using this site to build the following list?

Country -- # of Students USA -- 400,000 UK -- 300,000 Brazil -- 100,000

And so on?

Thanks,

It depends on how you define "student". If you are interested in teriary education, this table from UNESCO might be what you want. They also have plenty of other statistics here. Otherwise your best bet is to Google: "number of students in XXX". A search for the UK, for example, gives 2,480,145 in 2004/05. Rockpocket 02:53, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

It also depends on how you define "college". In much of the world, that's the equivalent of North America's "high school". If you replace "college" with "university" then you'll also effectively include many people that US and Canada residents would call "graduate students" because the distinction between undergraduate and graduate education is peculiar to this region. Durova 07:59, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

December 19

email

how do you get the email sent into the folder as soon as they are sent. ie the sender sent it directly into a specific folder without going through the inbox (Yahoo) Dragonfire 734 03:15, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

You have to use a filter. Go to Options, then Filters. Add a new filter so that Yahoo will recognise the email, i.e. something in the From header (the sender's name) or the subject line or whatever. Define your filter so that mail that meets this rule will get delivered to a specific folder. By the way, the computing reference desk is the best place for this sort of query. --Richardrj 05:42, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Other computers

Why is it that whenever I'm at school and read the ref desks, about 25% of the questions / responses that have been posted don't appear. When I get home and read them, there they are, in between 2 other questions that I did read at school for example, so I know that they had already been asked but weren't appearing for some reason. Sorry if this would be better at the help or computer desk. Xcfrommars 04:06, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Most web pages aren't updated nearly as often as this type of page is, so browsers often cache a copy of any page they load and then just show you that copy when you return to the page within a certain time. If that's it, you just need to find out how to force your browser to reload the page. --Anonymous, December 19, 06:25 (UTC).

As above. The two ways you can try are but pressing "Ctrl F5" in your browser software (I'm assuming non-Mac) and/or appending "?action=purge" to the end of the Misplaced Pages URI and then selecting "OK". 68.39.174.238 07:41, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

By the way, this would have been an excellent question for the computer Ref Desk. StuRat 12:50, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

you dont need to press ctrl, simply pressing f5 makes it update the website. Joneleth 22:14, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Further to the above, there is also caching at the Misplaced Pages end. The "?action=purge" method avoids that. --Anon, Dec. 22, 18:38 (UTC)

Lighthouse

what was the first lighthouse to use lectricity? thank you for helping out! –213.42.21.81 04:59, 19 December 2006 (UTC)nina

• Seems to be the South Foreland Lighthouse; odd that the article doesn't mention it, though the National Trust website about it does. --jpgordon 05:10, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

• The Statue of Liberty. While it is not a typical lighthouse, and it isn't very useful, it was the first beacon to be lit by electricity at night. 69.249.67.213 21:29, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

The Misplaced Pages article on lighthouses doesn't have much history on this. Incandescent lights were not powerful enough for lighthouse use in the early days of electric lighting. Early arc lights were bright, but required frequent adjustment of the gap between the carbons as they burned, and before steam powered generators, the batteries used to power them would have made the cost extremely high. Like other 19th century electrical inventions, people probably tried arc lights as an illuminant in lighthouses before they were economic or reliable. Sources for some early claims found on Google require payment to see what they say. "Lard oil" was used in the U.S. in the 1860's then kerosene, before generator powered arc lights. says .."arc lights were used in a Paris opera house in 1846 and a lighthouse application designed by Michael Faraday in 1862" but there are no details on implementation or success. says "The first application of a magneto generator (one with a permanent magnet) to power an arc light was a lighthouse illuminating the Straits of Dover in 1862.." One source says an arc light designed by Frederick Holmes was placed in service "January 1871 in the new lighthouse at Souter Point near South Shields, where it created one of the most powerful lights in the world, visible 20 miles out at sea. The equipment served reliably until 1900." gives more info in fractured English and lacking dates about the Faraday/Holmes electric light at South Foreland. Then there is the Statue of Liberty as mentioned earlier, in 1886. Edison 20:17, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Many Movies,Many Quotes

What do you think are some of the greatest movie quotes of all time from any movie.

See Wikiquote. Dismas| 05:36, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" from Gone with the Wind, for starters. --Richardrj 05:39, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Here's the American Film Institute's top 100 of all time. That's a good collection. Tony Fox (arf!) 05:50, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

"Here's looking at you, kid", 'cause "this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." --Nelson Ricardo 11:31, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

There's always (Despite the fact I've never seen it) "Play it again..." 68.39.174.238 13:52, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

As often as not, it's in the delivery: "You built a time machine ... out of a De Lorean?" Back to the Future and "Today I quit my job, and then I told my boss to go f**k himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus." American Beauty Wolfgangus 14:53, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

From Speed:

Keanu: You're crazy.

Dennis: Crazy? Poor people are crazy -- I'm eccentric. Vranak

You're gonna need a bigger boat. Anchoress 17:03, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

We need guns. Lots .. of guns

Those giraffes you sold me, they won't mate. They just walk around eating, and not mating. You sold me queer giraffes! Vranak

Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead. Aetherfukz 23:37, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Bring out the gimp | Gimp's sleeping | Then WAKE HIM UP! Vranak

What's Up Doc ? petitmichel86.219.167.120 15:32, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

"Im not leaving without Jack!... Nevermind lets go." from Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Joneleth 22:12, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. - Gladiator -- Aetherfukz 00:32, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Ah, how I love it when browsing through wikipedia, you find old favourables of yours that you haven't thought of for some long time... Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. Aetherfukz 02:46, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (film)

Moved to WP:RD/P - Mgm| 09:22, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

paints

What is the difference between paints, emulsion and distempers?

That one is new to me. Apparently distemper is a egg-based paint (bedsides being an animal disease.) Rmhermen 15:28, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Distemper is made with gel or size, as opposed to the oil of tempera. Aren't they both emulsions? And f course they're both paints. --jpgordon 15:57, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Many paints are emulsions - typically the paint used on interior walls is emulsion paint - it's an emulsion of a polymer in water plus pigment. Emulsions are not necessarily paints - for instance mayonnaise is an emulsion.

Some paints are not emulsions - for instane an oil paint may be a solution of binder in oil plus a pigment suspension.

Most paints are emulsions though.

It seems 'distemper' is a type of emulsion with specific ingrediants. It seems similar to a water based glue such as gloy plus a pigment.

Take a look at emulsion and of course paint for a little more info.83.100.158.248 16:13, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

If anyone wants to write an article on distemper (paint) we currently only have this at the disambiguation page: "A mixture, used by artists, of paint usually with parts of an egg". StuRat 12:43, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

ringtone

hey guyz?can someone show me a site i can get free motorola i melody ringtones.i have a motorolla c 168.its not a polyphonic but has i melody tunes.i have searched n searched n probably gettin a link wunt hurt.or if possible someone can even hook me with the notes for promiscous gal by nelly furtado,i compose on my phone.thanks

I don't know where to get free ringtones but with some ear training you can learn to figure out and compose any song you want on your phone. It's easiest if you listen to the original song, hit "pause" often, and try to figure out one note at a time. --Lph 14:17, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I, myself, actually just transfer .mp3s, midi, and normal ringtones from my computer to my cell phone through a normal digital camera USB cable. I also have a Motorola. If you want to do this, you should download a program called Mobiledit. OTHERWISE, 'thefreesite' has a lot of great links, found here:
http://www.thefreesite.com/Mobile_Phone_Freebies/ --Codell 22:59, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Aging of paper

Hi, I am trying to make a drawn map look rather old. Are there any chemicals or ways I can make the paper appear aged, perhaps a few hundred years? Solutions are very much appreciated. :) 88.91.136.80 14:47, 19 December 2006 (UTC

I once read you can use soak cigarettes in water and then use the water to stain paper to make it look aged. If you don't mind the map getting wrinkled, and if the ink isn't likely to get blurred, this might be worth testing. --Kjoonlee 14:53, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Please test the procedure above on something you can throw away; I can't guarantee if it will work or be safe. --Kjoonlee 14:55, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

You can find some simple and cheap ways here. Or do a Google search on 'aging of paper' or 'fake aging of paper' to find more ideas. --jjron 14:59, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Try heating up a knife or something and scorch the edges of the paper. My friend once did that and it looked awesome. edit: sorry, my bad. I made a mistake. He burned the edges in a fireplace.

Sprinkle with lemon juice, and warm it gently --Mnemeson 16:34, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Amélie Poulain recommends tea.

Atlant 17:47, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I did something like this myself; it only took a few tries before I came up with a very workable method. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake one layer of paper for about fifteen minutes. Depending on the thickness and quality of the paper, you might try up to 425 degrees, or adjust the time. I used paper made from the pulp of wildflowers (no kidding), and it filled my house with a very aromatic burning smell. Kind of weird. Be sure to use paper that won't stink if you bake it. ^_^ 64.90.198.6 21:40, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Singed edges are just so stereotypical and unreal. Why would something old immediatley have singed edges? Try using the white sap from dandelions to stain it slightly. You could also just wet the paper, scrunch it up, and then flatten it...but that might really smudge it up. --Codell 22:53, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Ive seen coffee granules soaked in water the brushed onto the paper to make it look old. Smells nice too! 8-)--Light current 23:40, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Soaking in coffee works pretty well. 67.169.118.149 01:03, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I once saw how they did that with a kid's chemistry set, but I can't remember the exact chemicals used. It made the ink look cracked, and almost fooled the police. Try the Vinland map too. | AndonicO 11:21, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Leaving paper in the Sun allows it to yellow much more rapidly than when properly stored, but it still may take weeks to yellow significantly. Another option is to buy special paper made to look old. Stationary stores or departments often sell such paper to be used for calligraphy. StuRat 12:39, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

mountains

I need to know the second highest mountain in the world. the name of the mountain, where it is located and how high it is. thank you

K2 is the name of the mountain, the rest of the info. is found in the article K2.

83.100.158.248 16:06, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Depends how you define mountain. The second highest point on Earth is, of course, on Mount Everest, right next to the summit. The reason this answer is unsatisfactory is because that point has a vanishing topographic prominence. K2 is the highest mountain with a significant prominence (about half its height), but the mountain with the second highest prominence is Aconcagua, the highest point in the Americas. See List of highest mountains and List of peaks by prominence. —Keenan Pepper 16:50, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I can't find anything on it this second, but I thought the tallest mountain in the world was actually in the ocean? Like, one of the Hawaiian islands, or Easter Island or something? Anchoress 23:45, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Mountain#Heights discusses this, the answer being Mauna Kea on Hawaii, the peak of which is over 9,000 m above its base on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. --Tagishsimon (talk)

OK, found a bunch of info. Check out this site. Anchoress 23:49, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Since we're entertaining competing criteria for the tallest mountains, perhaps a brief plug for "the tallest free-standing mountain rise in the world" (Mount Kilimanjaro), which that page doesn't mention. (This might be styled a more severe definition of prominence.) Wareh 04:09, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I think mountains should be measured from base to peak, not by altitude. This means Everest wouldn't be the tallest, and (IMHO) is over-rated. | AndonicO 11:23, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Nobody's mentioned Denali? —Keenan Pepper 18:05, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

puzzle

what if a little will hurt you but if alot will kill you. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.49.84.102 (talk • contribs).

That can't be the whole riddle. Most harmful things satisfy this condition. —Keenan Pepper 16:37, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

He originally had "what is it that a little of it hurts you and too much of it will kill you?" which is better worded but is also not much of a riddle for the above reason. --Justanother 16:41, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

The most obvious answer, on account of it not being obvious, is cold. Vranak 17:53, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

'Potatoes' isn't obvious, but that doesn't mean it's definitely right. Or does it?! Vitriol 19:51, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Ha! -- well that's it then isn't it? -- cold potatoes! Vranak

(shudder) I think even a little of that would kill me. 64.90.198.6 21:52, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Polonium?--Codell 23:01, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Ooh! ooh! I know!!!1 Death! 64.90.198.6 00:21, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Is it possible to be just a little bit dead? JackofOz 00:45, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, mostly dead -- 17:47, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

WP:TROLL? | AndonicO 11:25, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

what is the tax rate on savings in the USA?

Hi,

can anyone please answer the question above?

Thanks, Asaf

taxes charged on USD currency I belive was and still is at 0.08% ( $1 = 8 cents tax) I'm not sure if this is what you ment or wanted to know about but its a tax imposed every day Maverick423 16:59, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks 4 the answer. I'll sharpen my question. Once u deposit money in the bank, u get interest. how much tax to u have to pay on that interest?

(To a first-order approximation) Ordinary interest ("bank interest") is added to your ordinary income, so it's taxed by the Federal Government the same as your ordinary income. Also see marginal tax rate. The individual states may have different formulas, of course.

Atlant 17:51, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

You only have to pay taxes if your savings account's interest is greater than 10.00USD. Mine's not.  :( Instead, I use mutual funds for savings because .08% is überpathetic.  :) Coolsnak3 23:47, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, theoretically, you have to pay income tax on "any' interest income, but your bank won't report your interest income to the IRS (on a 1099-INT) unless it exceeds some threshold amount (and $10.00 sounds about right).

Atlant 23:23, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Hi,

Once you deposit money in the bank, you get interest. how much tax to you have to pay on that interest? (what is the tax rate?)

Thanks, Asaf

(To a first-order approximation, for US Federal income taxes...) Ordinary interest ("bank interest") is added to your ordinary income, so it's taxed by the Federal Government the same as your ordinary income. Also see marginal tax rate.

The individual states may have different formulas, of course. For example, in Massachusetts, it's complex: the rate is 12% for out-of-state interest, 5.3% for certain in-state interest, and some amount of in-state interest is exempt from any taxes.

Atlant 17:51, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

To clarify Atlant's answer (which is quite correct), the Federal tax rate depends on your total income. In the United States, different incomes are taxed at different rates. See marginal tax rate. Marco polo 20:04, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

(Thanks for those kind words, but I over-simplified the Mass situation; I've added a bit more info now. -- Atlant 23:58, 19 December 2006 (UTC))

Thank u all very much :-) Asaf

Financial Industrial Fund

While going through some of my grandmothers paperwork, we came across some documents. We are having trouble finding information about what happened with this company/investment. The certificate says it is the Financial Industrial Fund Inc. $3,000.00 systematic investment plan. It mentions The First National Bank of Denver as registrar. It also mentions Jersey City, NJ. If anyone has or can find any information on this Financial Industrial Fund Inc. I would appreciate it. Thanks,12.217.83.112 17:10, 19 December 2006 (UTC) Matt

Karrer See (translation; Lake Karrer) located somewhere in Germany

My family name is Karrer and I have a large framed photo of a mountain lake named "Karrer See" that I got from my parents who immigrated to the US from Germany in 1929. Can you tell me where the lake is located and if it still exists under that name?--Flugmeister 18:19, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I find several references to a Karrersee, also known as Karersee and Lago di Carezza, near Carezza, South Tyrol, Italy. Google Maps  --Lambiam 19:04, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Old Stock Prices

How do I find a specific cost of a particular share of stock over five years ago?

One way would be to go to a large public library and consult either the online archives of a newspaper that reports stock prices (such as the Wall Street Journal), if online archives are available and the library subscribes to them, or check film copies of the newspaper on microfilm, if the library has those. Alternatively, you can often access information from the online archives of newspapers by paying a small fee (typically 25 cents to $1 (US)), though I am not sure that the Wall Street Journal offers this kind of access. (But the New York Times does). Marco polo 20:15, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Yahoo Finance offers this for free. Look up the ticker symbol, then click on the link for "historical prices" (look in the column on the left). You can then type in the date range you want to look at. Dave6 21:37, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Opening a non-resident bank account in France

Does anyone know how I would open a non-resident bank account in France? I live in the US, I will be visiting France, and I want to earn interest on euros. What documents would I need to open an account? Which banks offer them? What is the minimum deposit? Thank you. Marco polo 20:11, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

On first check it seems unlikely that an account can be opened unless you have a (semi-permanent) address in France. Then it is no problem.But a "high street bank" is not equipped. Off-shore accounts (Isle of Man, etc) are OK, but minimum deposit is usually GBP 5,000 (or equivalent). However you manage to come, have a great time. France is a wonderful country.petitmichel86.219.167.120 15:41, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Millage tax

The Boxing Week article uses the term "millage tax". Is this same as a Mill levy? Is a mill levy the tax, like "property tax", or is the level of taxation, like "property tax rate"? Does a millage tax have a connotation of being on things other than real estate, or is it just a synonym? -- Beland 22:00, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Looks like a hole in Misplaced Pages: millage, millage tax, millage rate. Anyone able to fill in the blanks. Rmhermen 03:54, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

In the US, at least my part of the US (Michigan), a "millage tax" is on property only (land and houses), and the tax rate is called the "millage rate". A vote to change the "millage rate" is often simply called a "millage", as in "How do you intend to vote on the millage ?". We don't use the term "millage levy". StuRat 12:28, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

OK, I redirected all those to property tax and added a consolidated explanation there. Thanks! -- Beland 23:07, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Holiday Questions

I have some holiday-related questions:

1)In Australia, do they sing Christmas carols such as "Let it snow", "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas", "Jingle Bells", "Sleigh Bells" and other songs that are generally winter-related? (Because they have summer in the southern hemisphere)

2)Why do people dream of a white Christmas? Snow seems to be a great nuissance, I mean: 1)It brings cold tempuratures, which one must dress for 2)It must be shoveled off the driveway and sidewalks 3)You have to brush it off your car's windsheild 4)You can slip in the ice it brings 5)general coldness and other reasons

3)When Santa Claus is portrayed in Australia (or when people dress up like him) does he wear his winter suit, or does he wear red shorts and a shirt, or something? --Codell 22:41, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

For me, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas just like the ones I used to know - where the tree tops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh-bells in the snow. The song is all about being able to experience Christmas the way a child does - not having to worry about adult things like shoveling snow to get your car free or slipping and injuring oneself. That's one of the things I love about Christmas, it reminds me to try to experience life the way a child does, with innocence. It really helps to find the bright side of things, the silver lining to those snow-clouds. (Edit: forgot the sig) 64.90.198.6 23:21, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

3) This BBC article (or, the pictures with it), indicate bronzed bodies on the beach in a santa hat are the way to go... --Mnemeson 23:15, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

There's a story behind White Christmas - check out the Misplaced Pages article on it. --Shuttlebug 23:50, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

i saw someone slip and fall on ice once. it was awesome...pow! right on her head. looked painful tho. Coolsnak3 23:56, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Where I live in Australia,we sing Jingle Bells,but I've rarely heard the other Christmas songs you mentioned.We generally dress up in the traditional Santa suit.People do wear 'summer Santa' sort of clothes sometimes,but it's not that widespread.Serenaacw 00:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Now for a different Australian experience: walk into any supermarket around Xmas time and you'll hear the whole gamut - "Winter Wonderland", "Frosty the Snowman", et al - which provide an almost welcome relief from "Tie a Yellow Ribon Round the Old Oak Tree" which is played to death the rest of the year. When it comes to singing carols, people tend to avoid the snow-related ones, but they get a look-in at Carols by Candlelight. "White Christmas" is exceedingly famous, but we don't sing it much, simply because it's absurd to dream of something that's almost never going to happen (although snow on Christmas Day on Mt Wellington overlooking Hobart, and other places in Australia, has been recorded). It features on the predictable TV fare of old movies like "Holiday Inn". JackofOz 00:43, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree that one's perspective on winter has a lot to do with one's age and attitude. There are some real negatives to snow and ice, but they can also be stunningly beautiful. We sometimes get freezing rain, causing ice to form on everything. Trees turn into wonderful ice sculptures, reflecting and refracting the Sun's rays like the whole world was made of diamonds. However, with the wrong attitude, this can be a horrid experience, requiring you to scrape ice off the car before you can drive anywhere, only to risk sliding off the road when you do. StuRat 12:20, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Pickle Vinegar

Is it safe to drink the liquid that pickles (in a jar) come in? I believe it's vinegar. I know that vinegar is safe, of coarse, but what if I drink a litre of the pickle-juice? --Codell 23:08, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

No. How bad that quantity of vinegar is for a person is outside my experience, but pickle brine is also very high in salt, and that would be very bad for you. The only good thing about it is that I doubt you'd be able to keep that much of it down; salt is an emetic. Anchoress 23:17, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Ever taken the salt challenge? Eat a tablespoon of salt, and nothing else, within a minute. ECHH. 64.90.198.6 23:29, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Euch. On another note, for what reason I don't understand, but a lot of alternative health afficionados (I don't say practitioners because it's only amateurs I've met who've espoused this) recommend taking a tablespoon of salt for stomach problems. I've had two different people recommend this to two different friends, and in both cases it was a disaster. One friend ended up with such bad constipation she had to get a prescription laxative, and the other ended up in the hospital. Anchoress 23:57, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps these alternativo's confused sodium chloride with the sodium bicarbonate their mothers gave them as an antacid. Well, at least it was not sodium chlorite.  --Lambiam 01:02, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Nice. Yeah, I don't think I'm ever going to do that again. I still gag a tiny bit every time I think about it (three years later). LOL! Your experience gives new meaning to the term "alternative health" - i.e., offering you an alternative to health. 64.90.198.6 00:15, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

LOL yeah, gives new meaning to the term 'intestinal fortitude'. If I want to test myself I'll just carry an iron pot full of red hot coals with my forearms like Kung Fu. Anchoress 00:24, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Yea, those Shaolin priests could seriously use a good set of pot holders, it's so much easier to carry a pot that way. :-) StuRat 00:38, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

All questions of this nature can be answered as follows:

1. Take a sniff. If it smells ok, proceed.
2. Taste a bit -- dip your finger in. If it tastes ok, proceed.
3. Take a little swag. A teaspoon will do. If it tastes ok...
4. Continue as long as it tastes good and you don't get cramps or nausea.

This is only for food products -- if you try this with gasoline, you're on your own. —Vranak 03:35, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

It's a very bad idea for unknown food products as well. It's a foolish urban legend that poisonous food always tastes bad or has an immediate effect. Google "E.coli" and "botulism" for two examples. Also, severe allergic reactions can take up to 30 minutes to develop. And then you have things like excessive salt, that can taste unpleasant but six hours later... --Charlene 20:58, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

You're probably right. This sort of thing works for me, but I'm very sensitive to the slightest bit of contamination. I occasionally drink out of ponds and creeks, where the water hasn't been loaded with chlorine for ostentiable safety concerns. Vranak 23:02, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

The original question referred only to pickles, and I assume that is vinegar pickles, and pickling vinegar was used. That is 7-10% acetic acid. According to the MSDS sheet on acetic acid, about 3 to 4 g/kg is lethal to 50% of rats or mice so poisoned. The lethal dose for man is unreported (= UNR-MAN on that page), but extrapolating from the mice one gets about 4 liters of 10% acetic acid. One assumes then that 1 liter would still be safe. From reports on poisoning with high strength solution (glacial acetic acid) it seems to affect stomach and kidneys. According to this article vinegar drinks are catching on, but I have heard dentists warn about demineralising teeth when one drinks vinegar. I have no scientific reference, but a good brush and rinse should reduce that risk. So vinegar seems to be safe in small amounts - a deduction made from the fact that there is no warning about it. But remember that the risk for your specific pickling mixture is unknown. --Seejyb 23:38, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

It's reassuring to hear that vinegar seems to be safe in small amounts, because I sometimes put small amounts of vinegar procured from town in the salad dressing.  --Lambiam 02:08, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

bowling shoes

What's so special about bowling shoes? Why can't one where one's own shoes while bowling? I wonder if anyone can explain the difference/significance. Thanks. Duomillia 23:43, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

The shoes you normally wear have dirt on the soles that may foul up the oiled bowling lane. The bowling place requires you to wear their shoes because they don't want the carefully lubricated bowling lane to get dirty, because if it gets dirty the ball won't roll as well. Ilikefood 23:50, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Kinda like organ shoes, huh? No dirt on the pedals, please n thank you. Coolsnak3 23:56, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, if you buy professional bowling shoes, the toe of the shoe will have a little felty spot so you can slide, and the heel of the shoe will have a rubbery spot so you can stick and push off. This is really important for many people's approach. Some bowlers will wear one bowling shoe and one sneaker (so they can get a lot more power off the toe of that foot). Of course, they let professional bowlers wear sneakers onto the lanes because they pro bowlers keep a special clean bowling sneaker. By the way, buying professional shoes can be a great deal, if you don't want to pay $2.50 every time you go bowling. I bought a pair for $20, which paid for themselves after 8 games! If you rent shoes from the alley, you'll notice the sole of the shoe is different. The soles of those shoes are much less likely to scuff up the lane, which can cause people to skid and fall. It's like how sometimes we aren't allowed to wear sneakers in gym class, or on sail boats, because the particular type of soft rubber sole will scuff up the gym floor or the boat. -sthomson 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Bowling shoes are as smooth as a baby's bottom, which I find to be advantageous: you can slide along the wood flooring when releasing the ball. Vranak 03:33, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

It does also however mean that if you accidently foul, and step onto the already heavily waxed alley by mistake, you fall straight on your backside. It's very painful, especially if the ball falls on you! Laïka 10:52, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

High quality landscape photos

Is there anywhere on the Net I can find free, high quality landscape photos to use as desktop wallpapers? I've already exhausted Misplaced Pages' supply over at http://en.wikipedia.org/Category:Wikipedia_featured_desktop_backgrounds. Battle Ape 04:51, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Webshots --Mnemeson 11:40, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

{http://www.flickr.com Flickr] is a world of online photographs. You can view images at 'larger sizes' and search by tags to help you find what you want. Blatent plugging but my page searched by landscape tags is...(http://www.flickr.com/photos/ny156uk/tags/landscape/). I think there is another site called photobucket or something that is similar. Also you could try searching google-images or go to something like the National Geographic website. ny156uk 13:12, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Try Corbis, though their images usually have watermarks on them. User:Zoe|(talk) 17:48, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

If you haven't looked there alread, Commons has a collection as well. --Carnildo 20:02, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Gundam model kit boxtops?

Hi - I'm wondering if anyone knows of a site where I might be able to see higher resolution scans / photos of Gundam model kit boxtops? Thanks! --Keira Vaughn 06:28, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but our Gundam article may have links to what you seek. StuRat 12:09, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately not - thanks though! --Keira Vaughn 14:09, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

business stock ownership or dividends

I know there is a stock structure in which only management and labor, i.e., the employees can own the stock in the company they work for and that this model of ownership has proven itself to be highly successful but is there also a model in which customers (periodic, regular or steady and maybe even first time) are included in the model and which is equally successful? Adaptron 09:15, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

When external parties like customers buy into a company, they are then called investors. There can be institutional and individual investors. Investors buy stocks of any type of companies including public listed and private companies. This model has been in existence since the advent of financial markets and is indeed successful. --Intellek 10:26, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

This does sound somewhat like a cooperative coop company, check the article out for more deail. They are businesses owned by their members/society and some share their profits with the members each year. I am not sure of the details that seperate this exactly from listed firms but the second option you mention sounds a little more like a public-listed firm (though you don't have to be a customer to purchase shares in a publicly listed firm). Look at the various articles linked to shares, they should enlighten you on business ownership structures more than we can summarise here.

I have heard of cases where this model is used to get around certain laws. Specifically you sell a small portion of your farm to your customers and then they can "get" milk from you (as co-owners) without it having to be pasturized before you "sell" it. Rmhermen 14:55, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Hypothermia

Can you actually die from hypothermia or is there an antidote which can prevent death? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.49.40.223 (talk • contribs)

You can easily die from hypothermia. Heat can be an antidote, though equally you can be too late with this, or do damage as you apply it. Equally, sometimes you can survive in comfort beyond any reasonable expectations. --Tagishsimon (talk)

So by applying heat to them. How long does it usually take to recover? And how do you know if they have rocovered?

Many of the Titanic fatalities were from hypothermia. Sandman30s 12:38, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Star Wars Episode III

In the credits, I noticed a reference to "Javva the Hutt". (Also reflected in IMDB - (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121766/fullcredits)). Is this a character or a joke? --Dweller 10:29, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Probably a typo. There's nothing at The Wookieepedia about any "Javva the Hutt". Dismas| 11:20, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for trying, but I think it's more likely an injoke, as it's listed with the crew, not the cast. And while Star Wars films are notorious for characters appearing inconspicuously, Jabba the Hutt is difficult to hide in the busiest of scenes... and isn't in the film. --Dweller 11:24, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Notice that it doesn't appear with the cast in that listing, but with the crew. My guess is that he's the guy who brought coffee.

That guess is correct: .  --Lambiam 14:41, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Aaaahh, a pun on java and hut... 惑乱 分からん 14:53, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

At least it's not as bad as 'Pizza the Hutt'. I'm not even gonna provide a link to that movie... I'm trying to forget it exists. Vranak 17:32, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I assume you mean Spaceballs? ;-) --Maelwys 18:46, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

*shuddering* y-yes Vranak

You don't have to worry about him - he ate himself to death while locked inside his limo. Robovski 00:31, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Lambiam. --Dweller 10:08, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

December 20

Paul Martin buys CSL Group Inc.? HOW

One month later, in July, 1981 Power Corporation announced it was selling its subsidiary Canada_Steamship_Lines_Inc. for $195 million (CAD). CSL Group at this time included the shipping company, shipyards, engineering firms, and a bus service (Voyageur, previously known as Provincial Transport). The following month in August, 1981, Paul Martin and his friend Lawrence Pathy secured financing and announced their intention to purchase CSL Group Incorporated for the price advertised by Power Corporation.

How did they secure the financing for 195 Million Dollars? --Jones2 15:50, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I can't answer the specific, but in general it sounds like a Management buyout, and that article has some brief discussion of the finance problem given that management will not normally have sufficient access to funds. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Your question is still extant on the Humanities desk; please don't cross-post. Anchoress 18:49, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank You Tagishsimon, you are the first one to give a response to my question, and I must say I never knew that article Management buyout existed and its quite interesting. To Anchoress, I had to post here no responded there for days. Take a look now its about to be archived with out any response there. --Jones2 22:25, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Removed from Humanities Desk. --Jones2 02:13, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Help with the TI 83+ SE wanted

My TI 83+ SE seems to be running out of juice, though I haven't gotten the "Your batteries are low..." message yet. I was wondering... will archived programs and pictures survive a battery change where the backup battery (the CR 1620 lithium cell right above the AAA batteries) is out of juice? 72.197.202.36 16:28, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Of course not, if the small lithium ion battery is dead then there's no way to store programs without the AAA cells being in, of course if the li ion battery is almost dead, as opposed to totally dead, then you're probably ok, hard to say--74.66.242.190 18:50, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Programs on the calc will survive a battery swap if its only the AAA ones, if the internal Battery is dead, then your calc is wiped out. →Gunthar 04:46, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

FIFA World Player of the Year award.

I heard that in the 90's(if i am not wrong in 1994) one coach had given his vote for "FIFA's World Player or Coach of the Year award" to the player/coach who was not active in football at that time.If this is true who was the coach who did this and to whom was his vote given?

Paypal money gifting program

To whom it may concern:

I've been looking at quite a few forums and message boards online touting how you can make money with a Paypal account and $5.00. Is there any truth or legitimacy to this program? Has anyone out there actually tried it and made any money with this program?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.154.54.8 (talk • contribs)

Sounds like a scam to me. Durova 18:02, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

More specifically, it sounds like it's probably a Pyramid scheme, where you send $5 to somebody over Paypal, on the promise that a bunch of other people will each send you $5 when you do, netting you hundreds of dollars. Of course, they obviously don't work, see the article for more details why not. --Maelwys 18:44, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Marriage: Do we marry the person we really wanted to be with? Or not?

I was wondering if anyone can comment on whether it is true or not that in some cases a person seeking a marriage partner does not end up marrying the husband or wife they originally wanted or intended to be with? Do we sometimes marry our 2nd or 3rd choice candidates? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.154.54.8 (talk • contribs)

This isn't really the place for opinions or general chit-chat, but we do have an encylopedia article on marriage that you may find useful. Friday (talk) 18:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

But the short answer, clearly, is yes. In all things, some people settle for the good because they cannot get the best. The follow-up question is "what is the incidence", and the answer to that will be variable as our spouses and our desirable others bob up & down the desirability scale. --Tagishsimon (talk)

There's a mathematical problem named after this (although it's applicable to other situations): Stable marriage problem. —Keenan Pepper 18:10, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

What percentage of married people ended up marrying their 'true love'

is a better way to ask this Q.--Light current 18:20, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I read something addressing this issue in the Weekly Telegraph some years ago. Some researcher looked into it, and found that husbands and wives who had admiration for one another were still 'in love' into their elder years. Vranak 18:30, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I suspect that a philosopher or some other such academically motivated respondent will answer this query in a well-intentioned but totally impracticable way; whilst someone like myself who has been married twice (once disastrously and the second time delightfully), will answer along the lines that it all depends where your hormonal, educational, geographic, financial, social and personal/family aspirational instincts lie at the time you make your decision. Remember, marry in haste - repent at leisure - how true that statement is. The presiding marriage official should be obliged to shout out before the ceremony commences that getting out of a bad marriage painlessly is as easy as getting out of a cauldron of boiling tar unaided.

"If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." Crosby, Stills, and Nash - StuRat 01:47, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

How to survive a lion attack?

Does anybody know what would be the best way to survive an attack my a single lion? I am planning on going on a walking safari in Africa and would like to minimize risk of being eaten. I know that it is wise not to run since a lion's instinct is to chase but if a lion charges a human are there any techniques that one can implement to survive? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.137.21 (talk • contribs) 18:49, 20 December 2006

I suggest sticking with your guide, and doing whatever he says. A professional African safari guide is likely to be more experienced in this area than the general public. Friday (talk) 18:59, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Just one suggestion: wild animals will, I think, understand a gleaming blade better than a loaded gun. I'd feel a lot safer walking around the veldt with a very sharp machete or a wakizashi. But, like Friday says, stick with (and obey) your guide. Those guys have been living with the lions forever. Vranak

Also remember... you don't have to outrun the lion, just the slowest member of your group. ;-) --Maelwys 19:04, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I did a walking safari in Tanzania. They generally will not take you near where lions are active. If lions do approach, the guides have ways of frightening them away with loud noises and such. Also, African countries require guides who take tourists on foot through lion habitat to carry loaded guns and to do target practice, so as a last resort, the guide can shoot. Lions are also much less likely to attack a group than an individual. In sum, there is very little chance that you will see a lion, much less face an attack from one. That said, these guidelines on how to face a mountain lion are probably not too far off for African lions. Before traveling to Africa, I found a source (which I cannot remember) that offered similar advice in the event of an encounter with an African lion. Marco polo 19:06, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Wear a liberal dose of David Beckham's newly launched aftershave lotion. Any living thing stupid enough to come within niffing range of that is hell bent on suicide.

I once read you should fight back, make loud noises, and not look afraid, but I'm not sure if this is true. Also, big cats (tigers at least) would rather attack prey that isn't looking at them, so perhaps wear a backwards facing mask (read that somewhere too). | AndonicO 21:59, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

They use that in India against tigers, who won't attack until your back is turned. StuRat 01:42, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Try playing dead. If you can mess your pants, even better, that makes you pretty unappetizing (you may not need much encouragement). StuRat 01:42, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

It's an ambiguous expression, but if you mean what I think you mean, "mess your pants" is a lousy idea. Most dangerous predators are excited by the odour of live prey defecating. --Dweller 10:13, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

For predators that only eat live prey (those who don't have livers capable of handling decayed meat), a foul odor is a real turn-off, as they associate that smell with decay. This method doesn't work on pedator/scavengers, however, like hyenas. StuRat 23:52, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

This page says to play dead if a bear attacks you, but fight back agressively against a mountain lion. I guess the difference is you are not prey for the bear, so it will only attack if it thinks you are a threat, whereas you are potential prey for the lion, if you don't put up a fight. Gandalf61 09:16, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Mountain lions aren't nearly as big as real lions, so, in the case of a mountain lion, you have some hope of defending yourself with your bare hands, and even a better chance with a makeshift weapon, like car keys, a flashlight, or bicycle pump. Thus, a mountain lion would be reluctant to attack an adult human who acts aggressively, for fear of being injured. With a real lion, on the other hand, you have no chance of defeating it bare-handed, and they know it, so acting aggressively wouldn't work. StuRat 11:48, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Why endanger the lion? Don't give your guide any reason to shoot the lion. Don't be a stupid foreigner, just stay in your environment (your 4x4 or truck) and the lion will stay in his. Sandman30s 12:46, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

How do I get to Albany?

I got an invitation to Eliot Spitzer's inaguration in Albany on January 1. How can I get to Albany under $50 from NYC? I did some research and Greyhound and Amtrak are too expensive and the Chinatown bus won't leave until after 2PM when the ceremony is at noon. --Blue387 19:11, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I used to hitchhike from Long Island to Lake Placid, past Albany. Don't know if that is still legal. --Justanother 19:23, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Do you really want to be hitchhiking in New York state at the end of December/beginning of January? User:Zoe|(talk) 16:59, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Sure. Dress warm. I used to hitch up there to go skiing. --Justanother 17:02, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

If you do hitchhike, take MetroNorth to a stop near I-87 before hitting the road. Based on experience, I can attest that you are more likely to get a ride once you are past the sketchy parts of the Bronx. Also try to avoid wealthy suburbs. People there tend to avoid riffraff on the road. Your best bet is to look at a map, and aim for a working class suburb where a busy road converges with I-87 and stand at the foot of the entrance ramp. If this doesn't work, you might head up the entrance ramp to the thruway, although this is illegal and state cops will hassle you if they see you there. Marco polo 19:55, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

If you do hitchhike, I'd wear a toe tag with your name and address, as that will be a much quicker way to identify your body than resorting to dental records. :-) StuRat 01:39, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Jeez, StuRat, again with the pessimistic discouragement? Battle Ape 04:39, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Is there such a thing as optimistic discouragement ? "I'm absolutely positive you will succeed in getting yourself killed !". StuRat 11:28, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Find somebody else that's going, and Carpool? --Maelwys 19:25, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

You might try Rideboard.com. Marco polo 19:35, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

What does a car rental cost? Are there any Holiday specials that apply?

Atlant 20:21, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

A gotobus.com search (compare ebusticket.com) says you can do the round trip by bus (Dragon Coach) for $50. Wareh 22:39, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Not likely helpful, but Metro-North will get you halfway there (as far as Poughkeepsie) for $25.50 round trip (a bit less if you buy the ticket through their web site). It's conceivable that there might be a way to complete the trip at a reasonable price. --Anonymous, December 21, 08:38 (UTC)

Miniature wargames

Are there any stand-alone rule sets for fantasy miniature wargames that use store-bought figures but don't depend on a specific brand or series? NeonMerlin 21:22, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, at least there used to be. I'm a old-time gamer, and once upon a time there weren't official lines of miniatures to go with thr rules people had. Chainmail (game) has an article on a very early ruleset, even earlier is Little Wars. I'm ceratin there are more recent examples that more current gamers can provide. Robovski 00:15, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Theres always planet wars or something, there used to be a site on it. it required random miniatures and some mutual agreenment on how strong each one could be, like adding total points up to 200, dispursed however you choose→Gunthar 04:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

genesis the pop group

hi can antone tell me the first genesis top ten uk single please

According to Genesis discography, a song called "Follow You Follow Me/Ballad Of Big" hit #7 in the UK in 1978. Friday (talk) 22:12, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

December 21

It's not a question about what Penguins taste like - but whether they drink fresh water?

We just went to see 'Happy Feet', and enjoyed it immensely. But we asked afterwards whether penguins drink fresh water - and if so, how? And if not, how do they remain hydrated? But then we also asked if they give each other pebbles? And if so, why? And do they really have a personalised, 'Heartsong' so they can identify each other? And - Oh Ok then, what do penguins taste like? Please don't tell me "Chicken".

Many birds have elaborate mating ceremonies, and giving a nice stone to "seal the deal" is common among homo sapiens sapiens, as well. StuRat 02:14, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I imagine they swallow a bit of snow to get fresh water. StuRat 01:34, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

"Pen-gu-ins is practically chickens." - Bugs Bunny - StuRat 01:34, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Many animals digest pebbles as a way of improving their digestion — the rocks are known as gastroliths when used in this fashion. Now I don't know if penguins specifically engage in that sort of behavior but many large birds do, I think. --24.147.86.187 01:54, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

What do penguins taste like? A serious answer, And a humorous one. Anchoress 02:28, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Water: Penguins do not need fresh water. Indeed it is doubtful whether they drink water at all. A salt load in their food is simply excreted via the nasal salt organs (no article on that, see Seabird), which leaves the bird in fluid and osmotic equilibrium. Sounds: Calls are individualised (as human voices are different). The problem is: how is it recognised in the cacophony of a penguin colony? See Finding a parent in a king penguin colony: the acoustic system of individual recognition (pdf file) for a scientific study on this. Pebbles: I am not aware of observations of stone sharing as a ritual, but penguins do steal stones for lining their own nests from surrounding nests, when pebbles are not abundant. One can imagine that a good rock-thief may make a valued mate, but that is speculation. The function of gastroliths, whether for digestion of for control of buoyancy (or both) is uncertain. --Seejyb 10:56, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Many Movies,Many Musicals

what do you think re some of the greatest movie musicals of all time.

Geez... I thought you'd run out of movie genres with that last one. Anyway -- South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut contained a couple memorable songs. Namely, I'm Super Thanks for Asking, and the venerable Uncle F*****. ←Vranak

The Blues Brothers, it is a musical, go and watch it, they break out into song a couple of timeGunthar 04:43, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

What thousands are thinking, and ... boy, do I feel old. Musical to movie: Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, The King and I, The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, Cabaret (film), A Chorus Line (film), West Side Story (film), Oliver! (film). Movie only (or first): Yentl, Victor/Victoria, The Prince of Egypt, White Christmas (film), Meet Me in St. Louis, All That Jazz. Anchoress 13:07, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Rated PG?

I was watching Looney Tunes: Back in Action and after that, I was checking the MPAA ratings and it said rated PG for mild language and innuendo. Where is the proof that there was mild language and innuendo in it?

Here is a christian site which goes into incredible depth on what is wrong with individual films and how they differ from the bible. Its got "violent, nihilistic and sexual programming" I must go and watch it.meltBanana 01:14, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, we don't want kids seeing sex and violence, they should read the Bible instead, there's Lot's daughters, Cain and Abel, etc., all sorts of healthy role models there. :-) StuRat 01:31, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

"There were no uses of the three/four letter word vocabulary except for a muffled use of one and no uses of God's name in vain noted." I'd say if Bible-belt central over there—who seems to think that tame burlesque will ruin children—couldn't find any "mild language" then it probably isn't really in there, or less they have a different idea of "mild language" than you and I. --24.147.86.187 01:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I think Yosemite Sam does most of the mild language. -- Dagnabbit! --Zeizmic 02:02, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

What is a "bad" three letter word? And what movie has more murder, wars of aggression, adultery, torture, pedophilia, and child sacrifice than the Bible?Edison 06:04, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Let me assuage your fears, I will assemble an assault on this assignment and assess the answer: I assume an assay of the assignation of 3-letter words associated with obscenity is quite low. StuRat 09:05, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't see it - the "bad" word is "arse" (and that ranks with "bum" for naughtyness here). The three letter word denotes an animal. 203.22.236.14 12:37, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

It's only "arse" in UK-English, much to the dismay of Arsenio Hall. StuRat 18:53, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Read through the ratings on the above-mentioned site. There are a few movies that take their best shot at it. --Carnildo 08:44, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

movie nude

Can a 16 years-old boy can direct a movie where he can tell a 16 years old girl to be naked in a scene? Is is legal?

I believe that depends on what country you're in, different countries have different ages of consent. --Maelwys 01:07, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

If you are implying that 16 is below the age of consent to have sex in a given country, the answer is most certainly still no. Directing a film of someone is not the same thing, legally or any other way, as having sex with them. The legality of it would not be judged by a different standard if the director was young, especially if one was trying to distribute it later. --24.147.86.187 01:45, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I interpreted it as the age of consent to appear nude in a film, which is a serious issue in a lot of the world and has its own age of consent. For instance, as far as I know in the US and Canada, the age of consent for sex varies by jurisdiction, but the age of consent to appear nude is 18. Anchoress 01:49, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

According to our article on Child pornography, in the US nudity in and of itself does not constitute obscenity. Anchoress, do you have a source for the age of consent for nude appearances?  --Lambiam 01:58, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

No, it's the impression I've gleaned from various sources; for instance, I've read of several instances of teenagers being threatened with child pornography charges for photos and videos of themselves and/or under-18 friends. Also, there's a current news item about the Girls Gone Wild producers being liable for $1.6MM for filming two 17 year old girls revealing their breasts. Also, the people I know in various areas of the sex trade have to comply with US laws requiring them to provide proof that any nude pictures they make available for viewing or sale are of models who are 18 and over. Also, apparently the parents of actress Thora Birch had to jump through a lot of hoops to give consent for her to appear nude in American Beauty. Anchoress 02:13, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, Thora wasn't totally nude, she was topless. Christian Slater was 15 when he filmed The Name of the Rose but there was no frontal nudity from him in that. User:Zoe|(talk) 17:03, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

LOL you remember it better than I do; I don't recall what she looked like, I only recall that there was a big fuss over whether or not she would be allowed to do it, and IIRC even if her parents were empowered to give permission. Anchoress 00:47, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

This is something from Canada. I would suspect it's fairly universal. Defining as illegal: (d) persons who are or who appear to be under the age of 14 involved in sexually suggestive scenes, whether or not they appear nude or partially nude; (e) persons who are or appear to be under the age of 18 involved in explicit sexual scenes; --Zeizmic 01:59, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Kiera Knightley revealed her breasts in The Hole (2001 film) and she was only 16. It was brief and not suggestive. I don't remember any jumping through hoops either. Vespine 03:46, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

That movie was made in the United Kingdom which has different laws than in the US. Our Cinema of the United Kingdom and Cinema of the United States pages state that Europe normally allows more nudity but less violence and the US is the opposite. Cbrown1023 03:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

• A lot of the time, nudity is cleverly suggested, but not actually existent. Case in point: Birth (movie). What is sexually suggestive is open to interpretation depending on how strict your beliefs are. That's why there's a body governing such things in each country. - Mgm| 11:37, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

A recent Savage Love column dealt with just this issue, see here. The long and the short of it is no, underage content is illegal regardless of the age of the producer. --Beaker342 05:52, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Lump in neck

Is there normally a small, relatively firm lump under the skin in the gap just above the voicebox? I know Misplaced Pages can't dispense medical advice yadda yadda, but it seems to be pretty much exactly above the 'box so it might just be a feature. Just grasp above the voicebox horizontally with your thumb and forefinger or something. Maybe with the middle finger too if you're not sure what you're looking for yet, it brings you closer to the position. Maybe. Vitriol 01:32, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Adam's apple? --Justanother 01:58, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Is it the hyoid bone or rings of cartilage above or below the Adam's apple? By all means ask your physician at your next visit if you're concerned, or if you've noted changes in the size or shape of any feature. Remember, you only have one neck. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:00, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

No, it's pretty small and above all that. Like, under the eves of the chin. Quite a bit smaller than the fingerprint I'm feeling with. It feels pretty loose, too. Vitriol 02:02, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Try stretching your neck out really far. It sticks out a little. Vitriol 02:04, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

A discreet lump separate from the larynx, above the thyroid cartilage (feel for that notch at the top - bottom drawing - that is the top of the thyroid cartilage) and in the mid line is not normal or average anatomy: Misplaced Pages has articles on dermoid cyst, Thyroglossal cyst, and lymphadenitis, and it could even be ectopic but normal thyroid tissue. Most of these lumps are not cancers, but some are, so the secret is for a doctor to examine you and discuss a safe approach to management. Once you have determined the likely cause(s), you can discuss whether you want to leave alone for a while, or whatever. --Seejyb 20:09, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

It's going away. Vitriol 22:05, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Logically Defending Beliefs

Since its beginning, Christianity has gone through a lot of criticism and skepticism. Many people, especially secular evolutionary atheists, criticized and scoffed at Christianity and its holy book, the Bible; saying that it is false, unscientific, superstitious, illogical, fake, or impossible to be true, etc. They claim that there is no evidence for Christianity to be true, and they use things like evolution and the fact that nobody has ever seen God to argue that Christianity is false.

Because of that, Christians have started and tried to logically defend their religious beliefs, ideas, teachings, and claims, etc. This includes:

1. Giving arguments and evidences that they are true, logical, or scientific.

2. Refuting, disputing, and arguing against any arguments or evidences against them; refuting, answering, responding to, and arguing against any criticism, skepticism, or objections towards them.

3. Refuting, criticizing, and arguing against any religions, philosophies, or ideologies that contradict them.

In fact, they have written entire books and set up entire websites on this subject.

But what about people such as "witches", "sorcerers", fortune-tellers, astrologers, psychics, parapsychologists, pagans, pantheists, nature worshippers, believers in paranormal phenomena, and believers of New Age religions, etc? Have they also logically defended their beliefs, ideas, teachings, and claims? (Or have they at least tried to defend their beliefs logically?) Don't tell me whether their attempts to defend their beliefs are successful or not (or more or less successful than attempts to defend Christianity). Just tell me if they have, and if so, what those attempts are.

If they have been trying to logically defend their beliefs, then are there any books, Internet websites, sections of websites, or articles, etc, that contain or are about their (any of the people I've mentioned up there) statements and arguments to logically defend their faith and their responses to the criticisms of their beliefs?

Unfortunately, in our modern materialistic society, the definition of reason has been shrunk down to mean the same as "supported by science" or perhaps "supported by logic". Those are both human inventions that seek to explain the wonderous world that surrounds us. Equally unfortunately, in trying to capture that wonder in the "science box" or the "logic box" that selfsame magic is often lost and man is diminished thereby. Some things simply ARE or one chooses to belief that they ARE and acts accordingly. I address this subject on my user page as it applies to editing wikipedia and reference the Pope's recent lecture on the subject. --Justanother 03:52, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Present in your query seems to be a little assumption that only by using logical arguments can any position be adequetely defended. Is this correct?

"Logic, logic, logic. Logic is the beginning of wisdom, Valeris, not the end." - Spock

←Vranak→

This has already been asked here before. Let me save you some time. The argument went along the lines of: you can't logically defend a system based on belief, like religion, the two are mutually exclusive. End of story. Trying to logically define any God is by very definition impossible. Vespine 03:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

"Witches", "sorcerers", fortune-tellers, astrologers, psychics, parapsychologists, pagans, pantheists, nature worshippers, believers in paranormal phenomena, and believers of New Age religions, etc don't invade countries in the name of God and try to convert everybody they meet. --Nelson Ricardo 04:09, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Awesome false induction there, Nelson. I appreciate the irony. --Haizum μολὼν λαβέ 05:34, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Not sure what you mean, but them again I can never figure you out. --Nelson Ricardo 20:27, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Nricardo, then how about the Jehovah's Witnesses. They always knock on peoples doors trying to convert them... Catholics don't knock on people doors instantly trying to convert people. Anyways, I think I'm getting a little off topic here. FellowWikipedian 17:21, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians, so I;m not sure where you;re going with that except to prove my point. Catholics may lie low these days, but what about the Crusades and colonialist missionaries? --Nelson Ricardo 20:27, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Nelson, you whipped up a fat false induction. I'm very sorry you don't seem to know what that is, and how it is ironic when used in this section. --Haizum μολὼν λαβέ 22:30, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Oh my God! Not a false induction! How will I ever face the folks at work after inducing falsely? --Nelson Ricardo 00:34, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

You answer to your fellow editors, not the people at work. --Haizum μολὼν λαβέ 00:45, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Circulation Specialist

What does a circulation executive of a publishing company do? Thanks. --61.6.254.4 03:35, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I would imagine he would be a marketing director as circulation likely refers to magazines and other periodicals that the firm publishes. --Justanother 15:44, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout

I have a "mini" project to do, and I'm Stuck. I need 15 items that pertain to the Character in the novel named "scout". I have come up with a couple, but I am stuck. The items need to be something that symbolizes her or has something to do with her in the book. If I could get a couple of suggestions, it would be helpful. Thanks

Just curious - have you read the book yet? --Justanother 04:29, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah I have, I'm just drawing a blank on household or printable items that relate to her

Check the external links at the To Kill A Mockingbird page. Anchoress 04:38, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

You don't understand, i have read the book, but I need creative ideas on Specific items that would relate or represent her in some way

Were you replying to me? If so, I already understand that you've read the book, and I'm suggesting you check the external links on the article page. Anchoress 08:46, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

A paper maché ham. A cigar box of childish junk. A tire (to roll in). Edison 06:09, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

A medal, a watermelon, a chiffarobe, a glass of water, some white trash, a table cloth covered with maple syrup, sam hill, lynch mob, a finch. Pair of pants blasted by rock salt, and then patched. A cemented-up knothole. Picture of Al Pacino shouting "ATTICA, ATTICA!" (Atticas, get it?) Gabbyhayes 18:47, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

"some white trash" - I like that. You could just crumple up some paper and when the teacher asks "what's that?" you reply, nonchalantly, "white trash". --Justanother 18:57, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

HMAS Darwin, Melbourne to Brisbane

How long would it take the HMAS Darwin (travelling at roughly 20 knots) to travel from Melbourne to Brisbane? Battle Ape 04:30, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

The sea distance between Melbourne and Brisbane is about 1020 nautical miles. If the ship travels at a steady 20 knots, it will take 51 hours (2 days and 3 hours) to make this passage. Marco polo 15:28, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. I suck at maths. Battle Ape 04:22, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

What, exactly, do those people who receive a "Special Thanks" in the credits do?

I'e seen video games that have, at the end of the credits, "Special Thanks to:". What did those people do that made them so "Special"? Thanks. --Ķĩřβȳ♥ŤįɱéØ 06:44, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

It could be anything, just something they don't want to say. For example, if somebody picked up the director's dry cleaning, so he could stay at work longer and finish editing, that would look pretty silly on the credits, wouldn't it ? StuRat 08:47, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

It's often people who have provided moral support or inspiration to the creative forces of a project (the director and writer usually). It can also be family members who provided funding, mentors, people or organisations who gave the project or its principals a break here or there. Anchoress 08:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

• Or it could be people who allowed the crew to film at their home or on their land. _ Mgm| 11:24, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I've heard that bring bacon sandwiches to the actors/director is a dead cert for getting a special mention.87.102.22.58 11:48, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm... Depends on who it is. :-))) Anchoress 11:55, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes ok. (I did base what I said on an interview I heard - can't remeber who unfortunately - clearly these ones would require some sort of bagel - do I still get a mention in the credits - you film actors are so fussy.)</offtopic>87.102.22.58 12:19, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

LOL ok, I picked them cuz they're all vegetarians, but Jewish works too I guess. Anchoress 12:22, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Album status - platinum, gold, etc

Does anyone know how best to determine if a certain album has platinum status in the UK? Google totally messes up here. Its result mention platinum recordings of other musical groups mentioned on the same web page. - Mgm| 11:23, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Which Misplaced Pages page has the longest title?

I thought the Borat movie was a good contender until I stumbled across Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds while searching for something unrelated. Is there any way to tell which Misplaced Pages article has the longest title of all?

It'd be hard to top that one. Last time I checked the longest one listed was Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others — Kieff 15:33, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

This one is pretty long: How Hedley Hopkins Did a Dare, robbed a grave, made a new friend who might not have really been there at all, and while he was at it committed a terrible sin which everyone was doing even though he didn't know it. It would be really easy for someone with SQL access to the Misplaced Pages database to figure out which one was the longest using the LEN function.--24.147.86.187 15:48, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe the maximum length of a title is 255 characters, and that there are several articles whose "proper" title has been truncated to accommodate that limit. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 17:30, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

What about on Wikimedia: http://meta.wikimedia.org/Association_of_Wikipedians_Who_Dislike_Making_Broad_Judgements_About_the_Worthiness_of_a_General_Category_of_Article%2C_and_Who_Are_in_Favor_of_the_Deletion_of_Some_Particularly_Bad_Articles%2C_but_That_Doesn%27t_Mean_They_Are_Deletionist | AndonicO 22:22, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Some of the articles on german words like Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft and Rinderkennzeichnungs- und Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz have rather long names!! ɪŋglɪʃnɜː(r)d(Suggestion?|wanna chat?) 22:11, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Clerks: The Animated Series episode five? --Maxamegalon2000 22:46, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

New York City Subway

How do I get from LaGuardia Airport to Yonkers, without driving, and using buses/taxis as little as possible? --Samuel 69105 13:39, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Looking at you can catch the Q33 bus to Roosevelt Avenue-Jackson Heights or 74th Street and Broadway in Jackson Heights Queens. If you get off the bus at 74th Street, you can catch the #7 train heading into Manhattan. The 7 stops in Grand Central Station, where you can take a Metro-North train to yonkers. Hipocrite - «Talk» 13:57, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

No, no, no, you want to take the M60 bus from LGA to Park & 125th ST where you can get Metro-North to Yonkers. It will take about 25 minutes to get to the train and you won't have to take the subway plus you get a great view of the city from the Triborough Bridge and don't have to mess with the confusion that is Grand Central. Make sure you have $2.00 in bills or change for the bus plus bills or a credit card for the Metro-North ticket which will be $7.50 max each way peak fare if you buy it in the station and not on the train, where it costs about $3.00 more. And take the Hudson line train, more than one stops on the same track. Ask the people on the platform if it's going to Yonkers or Connecticut. -THB 20:59, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Insect enigma

Where do flies hide the moment you pick up a fly swatter? Where do mosquitoes hide when you put the light on? Where do freakin ventriloquist crickets hide - period? Sandman30s 14:16, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

These are examples of Confirmation bias. Hipocrite - «Talk» 14:18, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Crickets tend to know enough to not move, and we tend not to see things that are holding still unless we perform a very careful, area-by-area investigation. Plus, crickets like to hide in cracks and crevices so they are often just plain not visible. Each autumn, I can usually count on several crickets moving into my garage and chirping away, saying in their tiny cricket voices what I think translates to "there can be only one". Then, as the autumn goes on, I find little cricket carcasses with various bits of their anatomy ripped off until, I suppose, there is only one cricket left. But I usually only find the carcasses and not the living cricket warriors, even if they're chirping away.

Atlant 17:16, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Flies and mosquitoes do, however, have eyes that can see in many directions at once and are very good at detecting movement. Their brains are very simple, but one thing evolution has optimized them for is noticing imminent threats, like an approaching object or the slower motion of something trying to sneak up on them. After all, nature is full of things that would like to swat or catch flies and mosquitoes. So the moment you pick up a fly swatter, it's quite possible that the flies do notice the odd change in your movements and, just to be on the safe side, scatter. The things flies do and don't react to can sometimes be puzzling to humans, but the continued existence of flies — and the demonstrable difficulty of swatting them — make it clear that whatever rules they use, they work pretty well even if we don't always understand them. As for the sound of mosquitoes and crickets, I would simply suggest that, in a quiet environment, they are much easier to hear than to see. If you look hard enough, you will find that annoying mosquito — but even if it sounds like it must be right next to your ear, it may actually be in some dark corner meters away. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 17:26, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Get one of these (or cheap equivalent) It's fun to hear them explode! :) --Zeizmic 17:58, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Wow thanks I've ordered one *evil laugh* - and thanks for the replies, they are certainly thought provoking Sandman30s 08:44, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Road numbering

hello,

In the UK the road lettering is M for Motorway, Pri A & Sec A and B roads. And in other countries, France for example there are N and A etc. Can anyone help fill in this table of as much countries, inc the UK, with the road lettering with eachothers eqivilant. Ive started it off. Thanks, --81.79.10.11 15:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

See Numbered highways in the United States and you should be able to finish the US part yourself. I should have sent you there first instead of filling it out for you. Oh well. Anyway, good luck! --Justanother 16:08, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Great_Britain_road_numbering_scheme is a good start for the Uk, also the way you have done your table is a little odd. You should have the road-types going across and the nations going down, so it should go something like this (not knowing how to do graphs...) ||Highest Volume Road||Middle Volume Road||Low Volume Road||Rural Road||Other|| with the nations underneath. That way the equivilent to motorway (for example) can be seen by country quite quickly and will ensure some organisation to the order that the road-types are put in. Just a suggestion but that's what I would do. ny156uk 17:17, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

What the hay, here's my attempt at reorganising it:

ny156uk 17:22, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

The road numbering system doesn't work in quite the same way in the United States as it does in the UK. For example, people do not always preface interstate route numbers with "I", and they preface US route numbers with "US" even less often. (US routes are generally known just as "Route X", and many people are not aware that they are any different from state highways.) Also, some of the highest-volume roads in the US are state highways, not (federal) interstate highways. Examples include many of the parkways around New York (which carry no route number but are known by name) and many of the freeways around Los Angeles. Marco polo 17:31, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, the state highways (which make up the vast majority of numbered highways in the United States) do not have any letter prefix. They are known simply as "Route X" or "Highway X" (the usage may vary regionally). There is no distinction between the highest-volume numbered state highways, which would be considered motorways in the UK, and the lowest-volume numbered state highways, which include unsealed (dirt) roads that may carry only a few vehicles per day. Marco polo 18:23, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Beg to differ Marco but the official name of the road usually does include the letters. It is just in casual conversation that we leave out the letters; i.e. we say "take 95 north" when we mean I-95 and "where it intersects the 101" when we mean State Road 101 or SR101 (may also be the state like MA101 for Mass. State Road). Also see State highway#United States. You are right that designated roads can vary in their size and state of maintenance. --Justanother 18:35, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure what Justanother means by "official name" of the road, but the official web site of the Massachusetts Department of Highways, while it does use a hyphenated 'I-' prefix before interstate route numbers, does not use a 'US' prefix before US route numbers mentioned on the page. On this page within the official website describing routes to Boston's airport, US Route 1 is referred to simply as "Route 1". State Routes 1A and 16 are referred to simply as Route 1A and Route 16. No 'US', no 'SR', no 'MA'. None of the signage on these highways includes any of these prefixes. Instead, there is just the highway number. It is the same in other US states where I have traveled. The only thing to distinguish the different categories of highway is the shape of the sign. I say 'categories' of highway because, unlike in the UK and Europe, the different numbering systems in the US are not for different types of road. Instead, the numbering systems differ depending on which governmental body has jurisdiction over the road. However, letter prefixes (apart from sometimes "I" and very occasionally "US") are not used. Marco polo 19:14, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I picked MA at random. But for MA it looks like state roads are named Route XXX. A good clue as to the "official name" of a road is to look at what it is called in more official documents like contracts. In this list of public hearings you can see the naming by Route XXX. See also State highway#United States which has a good example of how naming the "same" road varies by state. My point simply being that calling a road by just its number is casual, even if common, and that bare numbers is not the official naming schema. --Justanother 20:01, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

To add to the variety, Michigan's state highways are not refered to as "Routes" but simply by their M-nn designations. Where M stands for Michigan, not motorway and includes roads from eight lanes to one which allows non-motorized vehicles only. Rmhermen 19:43, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

California calls them "Routes," "State Routes" or "State highway routes" in the Streets & Highways Code. From a strictly legal perspective, all the highways in the state are State highways that are owned and operated by the State of California. So the route commonly known as U.S. Route 101 is actually referred to as plain "Route 101" in the Streets & Highways Code. The same goes for Interstates; thus, "Interstate 80" is actually legally defined as "Route 80." The only substantial difference between routes is that some routes are federal-aid highways where some funding came/comes from the federal government. This is reflected in their signage but not in their statutory designation.

The really confusing part, of course, is that most Californians use "Highway" as the prefix in casual speech for state highway numbers rather than "Route" or "State Route." But Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol do consistently use "State Route" in their documents nearly all the time. --Coolcaesar 22:37, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

To follow up on what Marco Polo said, you can't really make a comparison between the US and the heirarchical British M/A/B/C system. Many freeways are state routes; a few are even just county highways. There's no clear difference between a "US" route and a "state" route -- the former just happen to keep the same designation between states. In some states, you can separate roads heirarchically into state-maintained ones (interstates, US and state highways), county-maintained ones and locally maintained ones. But some states don't have county roads -- or have nothing but county and state roads in some areas. -- Mwalcoff 01:44, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Above question continued

I cant seem to find the name for the motorway equivalents for Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Iceland. Can anyone help?

Iceland doesn't have any - the closest is Route 1 (Iceland). Belgium, see List_of_motorways_in_Belgium. Try the categories, e.g.Category: Transport in Norway, substituting the name of the country you're interested in for the others. --Mnemeson 18:47, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Denmark: According to the Danish Wiki article on motorways in Denmark, the Danish use either their (unprefixed) national highways numbers or the ‘E’ prefix for the international E-road network for highways that are part of that network.

Norway: The same seems to be true for Norwegian motorways per this Norwegian Wiki list of motorways

Belgium and Netherlands: Per the Dutch Wiki article on motorways the prefix ‘A’ is used in Belgium and the Netherlands, along with the ‘E’ prefix where it pertains.

Iceland: There is no article on motorways in the Icelandic Misplaced Pages. A quick look at Google Earth revealed only two very short stretches of road, on the major highways into Reykjavik from the north and south, that might be considered motorway. According to the maps on Multimap, these roads (like those in Norway and Denmark that are not part of the E-road network) do not carry prefixes, but are numbered as part of the national highway numbering system that encompasses all roads.

Marco polo 18:56, 21 December 2006 (UTC):

U.S. elections (Update)

I asked this question months ago. It requires an update. HR member Keith Ellison (D-MN) is the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress. -- Toytoy 17:51, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

How many current/former U.S. governors and congress members are Buddhists or Muslims? -- Toytoy 14:44, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

It seems there has never been a Muslim member of Congress. Probably no governors either. --Cam 18:04, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Is Jerry Brown a Buddhist? I know he had some kind of association with Buddhism, but it may have been just a flirtation. Misplaced Pages categorizes him as a Catholic. Bhumiya (said/done) 01:05, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

No muslin members of congress, however their was once zoastarian, their is also a Roman Catholic, who was raised hindue (both of indian origin).

Are any Reps or Senators from Hawaii Buddhists ? Some are of Japanese ancestry, so it seems like a possibility. StuRat 18:57, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Keith Ellison, a newly-elected U.S. Congressman is the very first Muslim elected to U.S. national office; he's been in the news recently as one yahoo congressman (Virgil Goode from Virginia) has been trying to tell us this is the end of the world .

Atlant 14:54, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Literary fingerprinting?

What is the term for the technique of guessing a document's author based on the writing style? Does it have an article on Misplaced Pages? NeonMerlin 17:58, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

• Graphology? It should be noted the operative word is guessing. Forensic scientists prefer questioned document examination. - Mgm| 19:10, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

That's for handwriting. I think he/she might mean some sort of philological investigation where you try to figure out the author by means of the literary style (not the handwriting). --24.147.86.187 23:31, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

In a criminology context, the field of forensic linguistics includes techniques for using the style of anonymous documents to identify their authors. In an academic context, higher criticism or "historical criticism" attempts to establish the authorship of historical documents, especially religious texts. Gandalf61 12:39, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Some kinda comparative writing has been applied to texts. By means of statistical tools only, you can tell that one Corneille tragedy was surely written by Racine (or the opposite). -- DLL 19:07, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Stylometry. Wareh 20:12, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Island

This has been torturing me all day! There is an island, that I think belonged to the UK, and now, I think it is still theirs, but the US uses it as its base. I think it's somewhere in the Indian Ocean or around right handside of Arica, as you can see I am not 100%. And I can't remember what it is called! Does anyone know what I am talking about? Recenlty it has been in the news, because the inhabitants that used to live there, had to move out, when UK gave the island to US navy or army, but now the supreme court of UK has allowed them to come back, but then again something happen that prevented them, and so on and so on. So, I just can't remember what it was called, but from the photos I saw on the web, it looked beautiful!!

thanks,

Svetlana Miljkovic 19:56, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps you are referring to Diego Garcia? Marco polo 20:26, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Well if im not wrong the US is allowed to use all british isles as military bases from the "Destroyers for bases" act in 1942 I think. Its most likely Diego Garcia but it could also be The Seychelles or Mauritius. Joneleth 00:28, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

yup it was Diego Garcia! thank you!

Svetlana Miljkovic 09:37, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Seychelles and Mauritius are independent, not owned by the UK or anyone. The story of Diego Garcia is one of the saddest stories of the Indian Ocean (which is full of terrible stories). The UK decided they needed the whole island, so they simply got rid of the native peoples. While people had lived fairly well on Diego Garcia, most of the natives could not find a way to make a living, even on a subsistence level, in the Maldives, where they eventually ended up. Now they are often homeless beggars. This issue was taken up in a British court, which ordered the Admiralty to make reparations, but these were never made. This is all discussed at length in the wikipedia entry on Diego Garcia, which I often slip up and call Diego Rivera.Gabbyhayes 18:39, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Did Jack "the Nonpareil" Randall win a Lightweight title.

Jack Randall ("the Nonpareil") reputedly won a lightweight prizefighting title in 1817 by defeating either West Country Dick on 3rd April or Joe Parish on 27 November. Can anyone confirm that he did indeed win a lightweight title and, if so, who it was against. Thanks. --Adscm 20:55, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Update: Have I posted this question to the correct Misplaced Pages page?? :-) --Adscm 21:15, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Yep, this is a good place to go. The International Boxing Hall of Fame bio on Jack Randall (hey, we have an article!) has no indication of him winning a lightweight title at any time, nor does it mention either of the fighters you've asked about. I suspect that the only place that information might be available would be in paper archives. Tony Fox (arf!) 21:25, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Tony (that was a quick reply!!!). Anyway, I've read Randall's biog in the IBHOF - it's fairly brief! I've also checked other boxing websites without luck. Does anyone know the Nonpareil's ring record; someone with an old bareknuckle prizefighting book perhaps? --Adscm 21:37, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Found a source calling him a "lightweight champion" (no mention of any opponents) but stating that he was more famous for the bar he owned, The Hole in the Wall than his boxing career. See also: Hazlitt, W. (1822) "The Fight". EricR 21:42, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Yonder individual, who strolls about with his hands behind him, supporting his brown coat lappets, undersized, and who looks anything but what he is, is the king of the light-weights, so-called ---Randall! The terrible Randall, who has Irish blood in his veins; not the better for that, nor the worse; and not far from him is his last antagonist, Ned Turner, who, though beaten by him, still thinks himself as good a man, in which he is, perhaps, right, for it was a near thing. Doyle, Arthur Conan (1907) Through the Magic Door

EricR 22:10, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Was there an official lightweight title back in 1817 amongst the bareknuckle breed? Or was it merely that public opinion at the time considered him the best of the small pugilists? --Adscm 13:14, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Medical Words

Is there a description for the way that medical terms seem to be combinations of smaller words put together (e.g. dyspepsia being dys (hard) and pepsia (digestion)). I think -itis is a popular one at the end of words and -noma too. I know they are suffixes but wondered if there was a term for the way medical/other terms are 'built' from existing words. ny156uk 22:35, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

The Agglutination page calls it 'derivational Latin agglutination'; in essence a collection of morphemes Wolfgangus 23:32, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

It's a bit funny to call it "Latin" when all components are actually Greek.  --Lambiam 12:35, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, useful links. ny156uk 00:40, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

requesting extra info?

Hi, I was wondering on how to request extra info be put into an artical or for a certain artical to be written? Im really new here and dont know how to do much! any help would be appreciated. thanks

Add a message to the talk pages of the wiki-entry you are interested in (located at the top of any page). Alternatively be-bold and add in the extra information yourself/create the page yourself. The main-page will direct you to the appropriate place for finding out how to create a new article (before you do you should do a check to make sure a similar article doesn't exist to save wasting your own time/having your page deleted by another wikipedian). Remember any additions should be 'non point of view', trying to be concise and accurate (referencing where possible) will help improve the quality of wikipedia's articles. ny156uk 23:01, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

If you wish to request a creation of an article, go to Misplaced Pages:Requested articles and read the instructions at the top of that page. To request expansion of an existing article visit Misplaced Pages:Requests for expansion and if you feel that some article needs cleanup, go to Misplaced Pages:Cleanup. (cleanup had backlog of ~19000 articles in October. Now its probably larger.) Be aware that it might be some time untill your request is fulfilled. Shinhan 17:46, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Many Movies,Many Movie Scores

What do you think are the greatest movie scores of all time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shakesphere17 (talk • contribs)

This is not really a factual question. But you could always look at Academy Award for Original Music Score in order to get a general feel of the answers. — Kieff 23:27, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Many Movies, Many Questions

With all due respect I think you may be stretching your proverbial quota of questions for the week. Assuming this recurring Many Movies theme is all by the same person. Cheers. →Vranak←

I like anything by Ennio Morricone. Sashafklein

Puzzle

The code is : 3 - 4 - 88 - 22 - 8 - 7

Hint: The answer is on the table. Hint #2: .ic table

It is a puzzle my friend made, so I do not know the answer. Thank you. Jamesino 23:19, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I could be one of those stupid riddles where the first part is meaningless; the answer is literally "on the table". Laïka 23:33, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Look at the Periodic Table. Using an obvious rule, I come up with a valid english word. Dunno the connection with anything else, however. Bunthorne 23:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

By the way, is your friend into politics? Bunthorne 00:11, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I like it, good puzzle pity the BELOW SPOILS IT! ;) Vespine 03:05, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Bunthorne was right. The answer is Li-Be-Ra-Ti-O-N. The numbers represents the atomic number of the elements on the Periodic Table. Thanks guys. Jamesino 02:09, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

December 22

Size of Category:Dungeons & Dragons

How many articles are in Category:Dungeons & Dragons and its subcategories, excluding duplicates, redirects (if any) and non-main-namespace pages? Of these, how many are stubs? And how does this compare to Category:Chess? NeonMerlin 01:09, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't know if we have an easier way to answer than just counting them, and you could do that as well as us. StuRat 01:24, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

A SubUser Page

Hi there,

I wanted to ask could you open more than one user page for only one account? Also, how is talk archive created?

-- The Geography Expert--Glad to serve you • Chat or discuss something with me • What I give *This signature prooves that this discussion/article/section is official! 01:23, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you asking about subpages? If you are, then yes. Also see WP:UP. Tennis DyNamiTe 01:38, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

For archiving, WP:Archive explains it pretty well. Tennis DyNamiTe 03:36, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Any websites for serious political thinkers

—The preceding unsigned comment was added but froth was too lazy to look up whodunnit.

Well wikipedia for one of course :) --froth 08:06, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

How serious do you mean? If you mean academics, I don't know. If you mean interested amateurs, depending on your country and stripe, Canadian, left-wing (their bulletin board), Canadian, right-wing, USian, right-wing, USian, left-wing. Speaking from personal experience, rabble.ca operates at a very high level of discourse, and a lot of the content is international. Anchoress 10:59, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Wikimedia Stocks

Is Wikimedia ever going to go public? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.84.57.89 (talk • contribs).

Highly doubtful. Wikimedia is a non-profit organization, see Wikimedia Foundation. -- Rick Block (talk) 06:14, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Though its impossible to know for sure, it would appear unlikely. The Wikimedia Foundation, the parent organization of the Misplaced Pages, is a not-for-profit corporation. A not-for-profit is always organized as a non-stock corporation. Therefore unless there is a dramatic change in the philosophy of the project, it cannot go public. Rockpocket 06:09, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Well wikipedia's probably going to become self-aware at some point, and then launch battle robots and stuff and probably be the last thing in existence before heat death so I'd say that's pretty public. </offtopic>. --froth 08:05, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Wikia is a for-profit company founded by Jimbo Wales, although it has no connection to Wikimedia. User:Zoe|(talk) 23:53, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

David Jenkins

I am writing from Australia, and need to contact David Jenkins a friend of my late brother. Last known area was he lived in or near Windsor. He would be about 64 years of age and possibly now retired. Would you have access to Electoral Rolls in that area so that I could contact him. Many thanks, Hazel Astley

192.com might be what you are looking for. There is a DAVID J JENKINS (cohabiting with a BARBARA A JENKINS) on the current electoral rolls for Windsor. However, you will need to register and buy credits to see the details. Rockpocket 05:54, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I should point out that there are many places named Windsor (some 36 in our list). To me, that means Windsor, Ontario, but probably not to you. StuRat 10:57, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

of which 4 are in Australia and OP said he's from Australia. And of those 2 are suburbs (so he's probably not thinking of them) and 4th is redlinked (so probably small) which leaves Windsor, New South Wales. Shinhan 17:56, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Ah yes, good point. The Windsor I was referring to was, of course, the original one. Perhaps the questioner could alaborate. Rockpocket 19:45, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Price of Petrol in middle east

Hi,
I've heard that the price of petrol (stuff you put in the cars not oil) in the Middle East is so cheap that all the arab sheiks and stuff just leave their cars running all day with the air conditioner on - is there any truth in this and what is the approx price of petrol per litre? --Fir0002 05:54, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Many Middle Eastern states limit the price of petrol for consumers (as a benefit of being a citizen of a producing country). Here is a list of petrol prices per country (in $US per gallon), it seems to confirm petrol is remarkably cheap in the Gulf States (at least compared to in Europe, where petrol is heavily taxed). Rockpocket 06:03, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

And for completeness, I imagine that the arab sheiks / air conditioning allegation is nothing more than a caricature. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Gasoline (petrol) smuggling ?

template added for demonstration purposes only. StuRat 18:37, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

The above question and chart makes me wonder if gasoline smuggling is a problem. After all, if it's $0.12 in Venezuela, and substantially more in adjacent countries, this represents quite a profit margin for smugglers. The simplest method, and very difficult to detect, would just be to fill up the tank in Venezuela and siphon the gas back out when you cross the border, then repeat the process. StuRat 10:51, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

You'd have to be going back and forth a lot to make it worthwhile though...I would imagine that petrol is smuggled from country to country. In the UK a thing called red diesel is used 'illegally' because it is much much cheaper than the equivilent. I remember watching a show where they tried to track a person using it. It was also possible for people to run their car's on chip-fat and when the petrol-blockade happened a few years back it made the tv. I think mostly these only work with diesel engine cars but either way the policy was all about not paying the VAT/Tax on the petrol because in the UK that is what makes up the vast majority of the floorcourt price. ny156uk 15:02, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Red diesel is identical to normal diesel except the red dye indicates that road-usage taxes have not been assessed on that fuel and it is only legal for use in off-road or stationary applications. --Justanother 21:05, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

While Serbia and Montenegro was under sanctions there was a lot of smuggling from neighbouring countries. I think smugglers used to add a container below the car for additional gasoline. Others went across border on smaller roads where it was easier to bribe customs officials. At the time gasoline was very scarce (due to above mentioned sanctions) and with rising demand, ways of fullfiling that demand opened up (namely smugglers). Shinhan 18:00, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I just swallowed some Listerine

I just swallowed some Listerine, like half a mouthful. Am I going to die? The bottle says to contact the Poison Control Center. How do I do that? --131.215.159.11 09:25, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

From the top of the page: If requesting medical or legal advice ask a doctor or lawyer instead. I think you're likely fine, but as a random internet person you shouldn't take my word for it.

As for the Poison Control Center, if in the U.S. (guessing so by the label / IP address), the website says to call 1-800-222-1222. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 09:35, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

You probably will be fine, from seeing others in the same situation as you. --Proficient 10:01, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe most phone books have an "emergency numbers" section, look for that. If you can't find that, call the emergency services number (911 in the US). StuRat 10:42, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

The worst thing for you in Listerine is the alcohol (methanol). How much did you swallow? --Filll 12:19, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Listerine contains ethanol - not methanol which would be very dangerous at those levels (26%). Rmhermen 14:46, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Google of "Listerine + MSDS" gives us the MSDS which says

Ingestion of large quantities may cause may cause (sic) headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and symptoms of drunkenness. See 'Statements of hazard' and/or 'Other potential health effects' in this section.

We cannot say whether you ingested "large quantities" or whether you should call poison control. That would be inappropriate to advise on. Feel free to review the MSDS and make your own informed decision. --Justanother 16:34, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

To answer your question--yes, you are going to die, but probably not from Listerine ingestion. You will probably die from heart disease or cancer, but even if these are the basic, underlying cause of death, it will be something else that actually snuffs you out. Congestive Heart Failure will cause your lungs to fill with fluid, for example, and you will drown in your own fluids. Cancer often causes the breakdown in cells in a particular place, resulting in mixtures of fatal humours in your body (the intestines will leak feces into your body cavity, for example, resulting in general peritonitis). So the cancer isn't actually killing you, but you are, in a sense, dying of cancer. Some life insurance companies are talking people into dropping life insurance in favor of cancer insurance. Naive people figure that the statistics on death from cancer suggest that they will probably die from cancer, not realizing that cancer itself is rarely fatal--it only causes weaknesses that lead to fatality from some other cause, and in that case, of course, the insurance doesn't pay off. If you drink listerine to get high (or other sources of alcohol--Everclear, Sterno, shoe polish, for example) your risk of cancer of the esophagus skyrockets. You can also develop varicose veins of the esophagus. These can rupture, resulting in massive internal bleeding. Because of its location at the top of the digestive system, the blood will head south and be digested by the gut as if you were eating raw meat. You could easily bleed to death before anyone even knows you are sick. And treating this kind of bleeding situation is very difficult. You'd almost have to experience it on the operating table in order to survive. So try not to drink Listerine for pleasure. The active ingredients include menthol, thymol, methyl salicylate, and eucalyptol (Listerine). Menthol, thymol, and eucalyptol are mainly flavorants. They are used to flavor cigarette tobacco. Methyl salicylate, also known as oil of wintergreen (because it's found in certain plants called wintergreens) is the main ingredient in Ben Gay and other muscle liniments. It's a little bit toxic to the liver. But if it's liver toxicity you want, you can hardly do better than alcohol, which (with water) constitutes most of Listerine. Gabbyhayes 18:18, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I seriously doubt that Johnson and Johnson would leave itself open to lawsuits marketing a product that could be so easily ingested if it was that dangerous. Don't winos drink this stuff if they can't afford anything better? Clarityfiend 18:43, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

In the poorer parts of this city, you can often see listerine bottles scattered about, and it's certainly well known that the poor/homeless abuse it. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 01:56, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

We've gotten at least 2 questions like yours, 131.215.159.11, a short while back. Those two people swallowed something that wasn't meant to be put in the mouth, and neither of them died. --Bowlhover 16:42, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Dogs barking

When dogs bark, do they ever get sore throats? --Filll 12:15, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Apparently yes. Weregerbil 14:30, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Possibly so, because their voice sounds rough after a while. Edison 08:27, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Why are skis no longer made from wood?

Why are skis no longer made from wood?I was wondering what are all the adventages that modern carbon fibre skis hold over their wooden counterparts? (Also it would be greatly appreciated if you could explain the physics behind an answer) Thanks

• Carbon fibre is much stronger than wood. I'm sure it has more advantages, but I don't ski, so I don't know the specifics. - Mgm| 13:53, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Please don't post a given question in one more than one Reference Desk. I've answered you over on the Science desk.

Atlant 15:02, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

about indian cricket histroy

Which Indian cricketer played a test match without shoes

"Which Indian Cricketer got his nick name since he used to wear Langoti and not underwears?"

External Link Deletion

Why does my link (shown below)keep getting removed from the external link category?

• Integrated Close Combat Forum...an informative exchange forum that covers all aspects of personal combat.

You have other, similar sites and forums that remain, is it something I am doing?

Thank you for the assist,

Ken Day

Administrator Integrated Close Combat Forum http://kilogulf59.proboards80.com/index.cgi

(Kilogulf59)

It would be helpful to know what article you're trying to add the link to. But in general, links are only added if they contain reliable information that for some reason can't be added into the article itself. Forum's are notoriously unreliable (since anybody can post anything) so are generally avoided. --Maelwys 15:19, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Because it is linkspam. You've put this same link on tens of pages. We support links only to sites which have a narrow relevance to the article. A forum for combat nuts is not a welcome addition to every page we have on combat related subjects. Bottom line is you're trying to use wikipedia to promote your site, and wikipedia will tend to reject that sort of thing. I tend to hope that each and every one of your links (except perhaps a link on a page dedicated to combat nut fora) is removed from the site. Feel free to point to examples of other fora, and we'll look at removing them too. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Perhaps you should investigate the "linkspam" prior to labeling it thus. The reason for my linking under those particular topics is because ICCF is relevant to them

BTW...under several, there are "other" forums listed openly.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you here however, I feel if you investigate the forum you'd welcome the link.

It's your call though and thanks for the rapid reply.

Ken

Incase you didn't see it, Tag has also added to your talk page a much more detailed reasoning why this link is inappropriate. --Maelwys 16:18, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Ok, I can see that this is pointless.

You resort to name calling (combat nut), favoritism, and censorship but that's acceptable in your eyes.

I'm out....

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kilogulf59 (talk • contribs).

If you think your forum is relevant to every concievable article that has to do with war, weapons or combat then theres not much to discuss with you. Joneleth 04:58, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

1960's play on words fad called "Oliver Twisties"

In the 1960's (I think the mid 60's) there was a word fad, much like the Sudoku fad today, called "Oliver Twisties." It had to do with clever twists on words. I am trying to locate the rules of Oliver Twisties, and perhaps some examples. I think the papers may have had a daily or weekly twistie, but am not sure. Thank you. Carol --128.231.88.4 15:24, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Are you thinking of Tom Swifties? They were puns made between the subject of a quotation and the adverb that would modify the verb. "When did you realize you were gay?" asked Tom querilously. The writers who generated the Tom Swift books must have been under instruction to fit an adverb into the "he said" or "he asked" part of a line of dialog, because it happened very frequently. These are discussed briefly in the "Modern influence and references" section in the Tom Swift wikipedia article. And, wouldn't you know it, there is an article about Tom Swifties as well.

You're right! Thank you so much; it's been driving me batty!

Strangely, I have never seen one in a Tom Swift book. In the Tom Swifties article none are cited to one of the books. I think they may have been invented in the 1960's when I first read about them, and thus may be a total hoax. "Tom Swift and his Wireless Message" is on Project Gutenberg, and has nothing remotely like '"Is he buried near here?" Tom asked gravely.' Edison 08:26, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

FIFA World Player of the Year award.

I heard that in the 90's(if i am not wrong in 1994) one coach had given his vote for "FIFA's World Player or Coach of the Year award" to the player/coach who was not active in football at that time.If this is true who was the coach who did this and to whom was his vote given?

You seem to be stuck here. I suggest:

1. Post your question on the FIFA World Player of the Year discussion page.
2. Go to the FIFA World Player of the Year, click on the History tab at the top, and then look through the names of editors to find those that appear to be regular contributors - unfortunately, the list seems to be dominated by unknown IP addresses...
   1. Asking those identifiable editors at their talk pages (click on the name and open the discussion tab) is probably your best bet of finding an answer on Misplaced Pages.
   2. It would make a difference if you had a user name and signed your posts. That way you would be notified when someone has information for you. Else you would have to check all the places you asked at, every day.

--Seejyb 07:19, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Alcohol and oral bacteria

Since the main component of mouthwash seems to be ethyl alcohol, is it fair to assume that it is the alcohol that kills any dental bacteria? If so, are heavy drinkers likely to have less plaque, cavities etc?--Light current 16:41, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

If you swish with vodka and spit, yes. Most alcoholic beverages contain sugar, however, where mouthwash does not. So if you swish with creme de menthe and swallow or spit, once the saliva washes the alcohol from your mouth, the bacteria that survived will quickly replace the dead ones and they'll have a nice feast on the sugar clinging to your teeth.

The Listerine article says no, but that seems to want a reference. One would have to research all the ingredients noted at the NLM-NIH database entry on Listerine Fresh Burst Antiseptic Mouthwash. The amounts, except for ethanol, are exceedingly small, so they are probably concentrated in plaque (if it works), and at bacteriostatic levels. --Seejyb 17:56, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

how do you create a disambiguation page?

how do you create a disambiguation page?

• See Misplaced Pages:Disambiguation. - Mgm| 17:55, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

The way I normally create pages is to follow a link and, if there is no such page, there is a link on the 404 page that says "click here to create an article." I assume that I would begin disambuating by creating a page. But the only way I know of creating a page is by following a deadend link to the 404 page. So I should probably wait until I follow a deadend link and hope I remember the rules for creating an disambiguation page when I find it.

But all kidding aside, there's probably a way to just start creating a page, right? Like a command or a button or a link or something?Gabbyhayes 19:07, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Questions about how to use/edit Misplaced Pages should be posted at Misplaced Pages:Help desk. Please read Misplaced Pages:Contributing to Misplaced Pages and Help:Starting a new page. I usually type the name in the search box and hit Go. Then I click the red link "create this page".  --Lambiam 20:14, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Iceberg lettuce - a titanic mistake?

How did this particular type of lettuce become so popular? Isn't it one of the least nutritious, least tasty varieties? Was it just convenient for big food companies? Clarityfiend 18:00, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Not everything we eat is loaded with nutrition, and food serves many purposes. While I can't speak to the specific vitamins in Crisphead as compared to other lettuces, it _is_ roughage that folks might otherwise not have in their diets. The popularity is probably because it is the least bitter member of the lettuce family. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 18:14, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Tastes in food have changed over the generations. While we now value nutrition and earthy, rich flavors, our grandparents and great grandparents often valued delicacy and refinement, which the pale and crispy iceberg leaves may have embodied for them. Marco polo 18:56, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

The crunchiness also helps for popularity. Chewiness and crunchiness is valued now in Western food appreciation, unlike just two generations ago.  --Lambiam 20:41, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Iceberg lettuce has been around before branded fresh foods. A nice slice of iceberg with dressing is a classic salad. -THB 21:22, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Thousand island dressing is the classic version. User:Zoe|(talk) 23:59, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I lke it for its crunchiness and mild flavor . (try and twist that!)--Light current 21:41, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

... he said blandly. --Zeizmic 23:35, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I say everything blandly. Ideorts Editors add their own condiments 8-)--Light current 00:16, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Taste matters aside, a popular feature of iceberg lettuce among cooks is the ease with which it can be cored. With no tool other than your own two hands, grasp the lettuce head on either side, core oriented downward, and smash it decisively onto the countertop. The cone-shaped core then twists neatly out. -- Deborahjay 04:18, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

According to this , iceberg lettuce is a relative newcomer, first rearing its blandly demonic head around 1922. But this claims it is "somewhat difficult to grow". So I'm really interested (ok, maybe slightly interested) in knowing who was responsible for popularizing it. Clarityfiend 06:35, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Font

Ayone care to help identify this font? I'd really appreciate it. --Daniel Olsen 21:49, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

That abomination is known as Jokerman. --24.147.86.187 22:07, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Is this enough weed?

Hi, I am a 16 year old student with a weight of 170 lbs. I am healthy and have no previous history of drug, alcohol or tobacco use. If I smoke the weed (via pipe) in the attached pictures, by your best estimation, is it enough for me to get "high"? Note: all 3 pictures display te same weed. The multiple pictures are to give better angle.

Photo #1 Photo #2 Photo #3

Thanks. Hustle 23:52, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

First, are you kidding? Reference Desk, not Drug Chat Forum. Second -- if you 'got high', you wouldn't have to ask people if you did in fact, get high. It's a matter of personal experience. Some people can drink beer like water and not feel particularly light-headed, others get woozy off a few sips. Same goes for marijuana, I'm sure. →Vranak←

In any case that is not very much marijuana. I doubt it would have much effect on you. --24.147.86.187 00:30, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

I am not sure. If you had no previous history, you will probably throw-up or get sick no matter what you smoked/drank for the first time. --Proficient 01:54, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Looks like a bit of pocket lint. Is that a penny bag, as compared to a dime bag? Edison

Most people who smoke pot for the first time do not really get very high (probably because they don't inhale correctly). That would not be enough pot to have almost any effect on your system -- it is barely enough to sustain a flame, much less give off enough smoke. It would have to be some pretty powerful stuff, which I doubt it is, to effect anyone much. You'd have to really know what you were doing to get the maximum amount of sensation out of that, and even then I doubt it would be much of anything. Smoking pot is more than just injecting THC into your system. --24.147.86.187 16:26, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

<drug-chat>Depend on how strong it is - but probably you'll get high/a bit dizzy for a bit - but then be left with a pussy mouth wanting more..</drug-chat> Seriously look at the article on hashish - a few flower heads - no matter how badly genetically modified (eg skunk) isn't going to get anyone high - you will be smoking - but not much more - a large cigar will make you feel as high (but different) and twice as sick - why not try that at least it's probably legal.87.102.4.34 11:01, 23 December 2006 (UTC) We also have articles cannabis and cannabis smoking - if you haven't smoked (cigarettes) before you'll feel really really dizzy.87.102.4.34 11:22, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Tsk. Tsk. Drugs are bad for you and stunt your growth. That looks like what is commonly know in the drug sub-culture as "pretty good shit" and it looks to be a nice little bud. Does it actually have crystals on it? It would get a casual user quite intoxicated. -THB 19:00, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

That's a small quantity of very high quality product. Yes, it should be enough. But as for getting you high, there are other significant factors. Many users don't report getting high their first time at all. For some, it takes a few times. Nonsmokers may find it difficult to inhale and hold the smoke. But, we're really an encyclopedia here, so our resourced may be of limited usefulness at best. If you really want opinion, there are forums better suited to giving it to you. If you want to trade pictures of weed, I bet there are places for that too. Ned Wilbury 19:05, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Definitions

Are definitions for names and other things from a book that is still in the making allowed since it does not technically exist yet? Or does it count as advertising? Thank you very much in advance!

Ich liebe Wiki 23:52, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

They would not be appropriate unless they have already come into common usage and you can provide verifiable evidence (and not just places where people are using the word, but places where people - reliable people such as journalists - are dicsussing the use of the word). User:Zoe|(talk) 00:03, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Picture puzzles

These picture are meant to represent a UK number one single, but I can't work it out. Any idea? AnonHelp 00:39, 23 December 2006 (UTC) PICTURE LINK

Is it Working 9 to 3, a UK version of Working 9 To 5, by Dolly Parton ? (Lazy Brits !) :-) StuRat 18:12, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Could be 3am Eternal for the KLF or Rock Around the Clock.Do the woman and crowds have anything to do with the pic? Lemon martini 13:12, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Finding an Old Naval buddy to wish him a merry CHRISTMAS

trying to find Richard Studt.E4 year 1971,Rota.SPAIN my nAME IS HARLAN e BROWN jr.E3 we met in Spain My address is <remove personal> if you can fid him please forward our information Sincerly Mr.Harlan Broen Jr

Is this the guy? . I mean, does it look like the same guy except now he's older? -THB 19:54, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

That fellow is British and studied classical music in Britain. Doubt he would have been in the US armed forces. --Justanother 20:02, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

December 23

Requests

I was searching for an article that is not in your data base (information on Marie Leveaux). Is there a way that I can find out if anyone knows enough or has resources to create a page on a subject that is not here? 24.196.2.198 07:06, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Start by looking at the following pages:

• Marie Laveau
• Marie Laveau (1977), a novel by Francine Prose

If these aren't pertinent, perhaps you can provide some more details on the subject you seek. --

Furthermore, if this is the correct spelling, you'll find information by searching Google on "Marie Laveau" ... -- HTH, Deborahjay 12:55, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

pharrell's ethnicity

what is Pharrell Williams' ethnicity?

Hmmm... it doesn't seem to be on the article. --Proficient 08:45, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Just guessing but isn't he truly hispanic/amerindian? isn't that mestizo - apologies in advance when I'm shown to be wrong...87.102.4.34 11:03, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

His parents' family names Williams and Hoggard clearly sounds anglo-saxon, anyway. Are you certain he just isn't Afro-American (i.e. black, possibly mixed)? 惑乱 分からん 13:30, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

He has an article in Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 47. It gives his ethnicity as "African American."--67.165.216.16 13:32, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Current Biography (2004--via the Biographies Plus Illustrated database), gives his ethnicity as simply "African-American," as well.--67.165.216.16 14:01, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

• As long as he's doing a good job at his music, I really don't care about his ethnicity. It doesn't have a bearing on any of the important bits of life. - Mgm| 22:43, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Limited entries for word

I looked up 'Branch', and the entry was limited to trees. Yesterday it included many other subject areas using the same word. Today it doesn't and I can't see any way of expanding the focus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/Branch_%28disambiguation%29

Try clicking on the disambiguation link at the top of the page. --Proficient 08:44, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Wedding Reception Schedule.

I can find plenty of advice on the web about different cultures and customs at weddings, but none about the order of play, and wondered could someone advise what happens and when during a UK after-church, wedding reception? I am thinking of Toasts, eating a plated meal, the Bride's Father's speech, the Best Man's speech, the Groom's speech, perhaps the Minister's speech if he chooses to attend the reception, the formal dances, and any other considerations. Quite simply, what is the correct order of events? Needless to say, competing family views are beginning to emerge with 6 months to go before the wedding, and I would like to set matters straight in early course with some reliable advice before trenches start to be dug. Thanks.

Try some of the links in this google search. Looking at several of the top results, they seem to address your question (albeit not in a completely straightforward, 'Here's the list of when,' type of way), but the absence of multiple examples of strict rules indicates to me that it is somewhat flexible. Do you have a wedding planner? If so, s/he can undoubtedly advise you; possibly the booking agent for your reception venue can also help. But do check some of the links I provided; they seem very helpful. Anchoress 16:22, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

This link is also very useful. Warning: it's the cached version of a BBC article that seems to be gone now; it took FOREVER to load, so be patient. Anchoress 16:43, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

In Great Britain and in my experiance the speaches are generally done whilst the meal is cooking and toasts aren done as the food is being served just before people start to eat. The top table will of course be served first. Then once the meal is eaten it is popular but not customary for the Bride's father to tell people about what is going to happen next I.E. "We are now going to cut the cake" or "Please feel free to enjoy the bar." although the cake is sometimes cut before seating and not many people need encouragement to enjoy a bar at a wedding. Photos, if you have a pro photographer, if not done at the church will be done before everybody sits down. I don't think that there is any 'set in stone' order of happenings, it vearies so much family to family, area to area. Its what the happy couple want, its their day so its best to follow their wishes.AMX 20:27, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm amazed at AMX's comments! Speeches and toasts are after the meal, nobody wants to listen to speeches on an empty stomach, let alone champagne toasts! this link covers the traditional schedule succintly. Having said this, it's more trendy these days to do your own thing - decide with your fiance(e) what you want to do, then present your decision to the families as a fait accompli! --Auximines 22:48, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Crossover kard set

When I was young,me and my bro went shopping in Target once.In the games section,I saw a box that had a picture of Tai and Greymon from Digimon and Ash with Charizard from Pokemon.I did'nt know exactly what this meant because the cover was Japanese and the only English words I saw was "A great CROSS of the battling kard fighting with the Pocket and Digital monster serie!Holy Zone of the Monster Battle!!"Exactly what the hell is this?Thanks,Ken

I don't know exactly what this means either. Have you tried the Double Dutch wiki? --Auximines 22:51, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Fundamentals of Marketing

Are the fundamentals used in the marketing of services the same as the fundamentals used in the marketing of goods? Explain your answer please. Thanks, Amanda.

Hi, Amanda. This is a very broad question, and you will probably not find too many Misplaced Pages editors willing to tackle it in its present form. Why don't you read up on marketing and the relevant articles in the 'see also' and 'external links' sections (edit: plus the navigating box to the right of the article text), and come back with more specific questions? Good luck. Anchoress 17:56, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

You will also find the following articles useful:

• • List of marketing topics
  • Sales techniques

--Anchoress 17:59, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Let's take a specific example: Would you consider the marketing for a product, say, your finished homework, to be the same as a service, say, doing your homework for you ? StuRat 18:07, 23 December 2006 (UTC) Bear in mind that what one is marketing is always a consumer benefit. Product or service - it is what that p or s will do, whether its promise is worth its price.petitmichel86.211.239.238 14:53, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

How to write elements

Moved to Science Reference Desk see link at top of page. -THB 19:37, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Or, follow this link: Misplaced Pages:Reference_desk/Science#How_to_write_elements. StuRat 20:23, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Harrassment

It is clear that a user is harrassing me because I am writing an article on a touchy historical subject -- a bloody siege in 1948 -- that a certain racist school of thought believes should be forgotten. Most comments don't even like the name of the article and use a term that I regard, in this context, as racist.

While his messages are not obscene, they are quite annoying, accusatory, and unctuous. Just today, he accused me of removing comments from the comment page. I did not. (Possibly there was an overlap in the edit window -- two people commenting at the same time. My comments also disappeared.)

I am now thinking that this individual is colluding with those writing hostile comments. I believe his goal is to prevent this article from being written by nitpicking me, and formulating various accusations.

Frankly, I would like him to leave me alone and not send me any messages. If he wants to contribute to the article, fine, but by the tone of the comments, I don't think he wants the article written.

What can I do? I don't want to talk to him any more. And I don't want him to talk to me. 20:01, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

You can request that he not leave comments on your talk page and you can do the same. There has been a problem in the last few days with messed up edits, which can show up as deletions by users who've had edits at about the same time. This could easily be mistaken for vandalism on your part, so try to understand his POV. If you do decide to talk with him, you might want to refer him to these discussions, which will prove that similar things have been happening to others, myself included: , . StuRat 20:13, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Japanese games

why arent all Japnese videogames made into English ones?Thanks.

It costs money to do such a thing, so only the games deemed most likely to succeed will be ported. Also, Japanese gamers have a different sensibilities & aesthetics, so not everything that is popular in Japan will be popular in North America, and vice versa. ←Vranak—

~ You can always do like me, learn japanese and buy them over the internet. Joneleth 04:44, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages's lettering

Why isn't Misplaced Pages in it's normal lettering for everything written as of now? Heegoop, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

I've had that happen on my Firefox browser. It's not Misplaced Pages, it's the browser, you need to shut it down and restart at a minimum, and quite possible reboot, to boot. BTW, this would have been an excellent question for the Computer Ref Desk. StuRat 22:02, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

But only if Heegop had known it was a browser thing... Skarioffszky 22:05, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

If it was a Misplaced Pages question it should've gone on the help desk. - Mgm| 22:39, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

In any case it is probably a stylesheet problem. Clear your cache, close the browser, try it again. --24.147.86.187 15:05, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

CoroCoro Comics

Will CoroCoro Comic issues ever come to North America?Like Shonen Jump?

Your best bet would be to email the firm who make the magazine/comic. If they feel there is a big enough market for distribution the US they will (i'm sure) sell the comic there. I would be surprised if in the whole of the US there isn't somewhere that imports this (unless it is a very small-time comic). I am guessing that the comic doesn't contain anything that is illegal in the US which would prohibit its selling. Try looking for a specialist comic book store and see if they will import copies for you. In borders the store in my city there are many many magazines that are imported from various nations so I wouldn't rule out the possibility that a similar store may have what you want. ny156uk 23:18, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

December 24

More Mysterious Movie Mechanics

K, follow up question. I watched "Cinta Pertama" with a couple friends, and there were no letters on the screen, as such, they can't be cigarette burns or tracking devices. As such, they must be a part of the subtitling process. As i said earlier: "I am currently in Indonesia on an exchange program, and Western would mean American, French, English, and Australian. The letters are in the middle vertically, and placed parallel. I'd say about 1/8 of the way out from the left and right edges, similar to the spacing of the red bars on the Canadian flag. They are always the same colour as the subtitles. Oh, and does this happen in many countries where films are subtitled? I never watched a subtitled film in theatres in Canada, (although I meant to see Hero)." Any new ideas why that would be part of the subtitling process? Crisco 1492 00:59, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Try that question on the new Entertainment reference desk. NeonMerlin 04:12, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

I figured this one is better because this doesn't refer specifically to content, but the way in which movies and whatnot are made and shown. Crisco 1492 04:51, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Many Movies,Many Movies

What do you think are some of the greatest movies of all time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shakesphere17 (talk • contribs)

Please, stop with the non-factual movie questions in the Reference Desk. Take these to the Internet Movie Database forums, where a lot of people will gladly discuss whatever movie-related topic you want. Thanks. — Kieff

Didn't we have enough of the "Many X, Many Y" questions in the last days and weeks, Shakesphere17? Also, please sign your posts with 4 tildes like this ~~~~ -- Aetherfukz 01:26, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Arizona

What is the 4 corners?

See Four Corners (United States). It's the point on the map where the four corners of the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico come together. User:Zoe|(talk) 03:46, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Kee-ristmas!

What is the significance of the interjection "Kee-ristmas!", when used in months other than December (e.g. )? NeonMerlin 04:10, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

That'd be a minced oath, like saying "darn" instead of "damn". I don't imagine there's any significance to the specific choice of word substituted for "Christ". --Anonymous, Kee-ristmas Eve, 2006, 09:30 (UTC).

Playstation 3 Console

How do I change the screen background? Яussiaп F 04:33, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Refer to computer ref desk.martianlostinspace 12:50, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Escalator

Where is the world's largest escalator located, and how large is it? Crisco 1492 05:01, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

See Escalator#Longest escalators and systems --Justanother 05:03, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Article and Edit are different?

In the Article "Gun Safety" theres a link to a close combat forum but when I go into edit its gone, at first I thought I was viewing an older edit but after going around it I didnt seem like it, why is it different? Joneleth 05:11, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Nevermind I fixed it by simply saving the edit without editing anything and it went away, was wierd though. Joneleth 05:29, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

countries having port

I need the list of countries which contain port and have ship building technology.

See world's busiest port, List of seaports, ports, ship building and shipyard. These should be a good start. There are thousands of ports and places that build ships but these links should show you the major ports across the globe. As an aside there is a book The box (book) which is about the development of the shipping container and how it changed the world. Worthy of a read. ny156uk 12:04, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Driving through Colorado...

...I saw these 1ft squared yellowish balls hanging on the electric wires in some places. Does anybody know what these are for? Thanks, Sashafklein 11:35, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

To prevent birds flying into the wires. The places where you saw them were probably near wetlands or water. Skarioffszky 12:46, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

They're aircraft warning spheres. You can order one for yourself here: --Zeizmic 13:45, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

beyblade manga wiki

on wikipedia when i typed in Beyblade,it said something about the manga and what happens in the chapters.Is that stuff even true because nothing it says happened in the anime.thankz

conversion

Is there a website where you can change your Gregorian calender birthday into other calender like the islamic calender or Persian calender?

Some examples: islamicfinder (Islamic/Gregorian), Iranian Calendar Converter (Persian/Gregorian/Islamic), The Shepherd's Page (Jewish/Gregorian/Julian), thelalis (various Zorastrian/Gregorian). I found these by clicking on the calendars featured on Misplaced Pages's List of calendars, and looking for converters in the external links sections of the corresponding articles. ---Sluzzelin 15:17, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

mixed martial arts event SUPERBRAWL in Hawaii

doubt very much whether anyone will be able to answer this one but its worth a go. there is a popular mixed martial arts (also referred to as cage fighting, ultimate fighting, vale tudo amongst other terms), event held in hawaii called Icon Sports. originally these evnts were called Superbrawl. if you you use the events archive available on Sherdog.com the results are available under Icon Sports. i want to know why there is no result for Superbrawl 6. i would like to know if perhaps it was a cancelled event, if so what was the original fightcard.

note. enter Superbrawl in the Misplaced Pages search and it comes up with the wrestling event also called Superbrawl. (far more popular for sure). the Hawaiin event was created after the success of a small local fighting tournament called Futurebrawl.

i wish all this was available when i was at school! cheers and happy christmas.

johnson8882.21.82.184 16:00, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Magazine circulation figure needed

I'm starting up an article on COINage magazine, and can't find their circulation figure. The only sites I've seen have lists for the Top 100 magazines, but COINage isn't in the Top 100. Any help would be appreciated. --cholmes75 16:05, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Since it is a private company millermags.com, my guess is that you will have to ask them but then that becomes WP:NOR. Good luck. --Justanother 16:16, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Survey in the UK about dependence on faith

The results of a recent poll in the UK revealed that a vast mojority believe religion to be a dividing force. The sheer impatience for desires and easy accessibility to the amenities of life have dampened the importance of faith. Faith is essential to fight impatience and to reduce the differences of mind. The western countries like the UK cant accept the multicultural diversity and find great difficulties to co-exist with other communities. The divide between the haves and the have-nots is widening. Racist attitudes to the eastern community is not the solution to end this. The east is rising with faster pace and the advent of globalisation is meant to bridge the gaps between the communities. Being spiritual is the key. 16:22, 24 December 2006 (UTC)~

• Misplaced Pages Reference Desk archive