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Reference Desk

January 8

Angostura Aromatic Bitters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trying to find out something about my family

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

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

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

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

asociation of relexologist in the uk e-mail address

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

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

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

Les Elephants

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

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

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

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

PC Assembly Guide

Hello.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

iraq

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well, Clinton was in office at the time, so did nothing. Bush Jr. invaded Iraq as quickly as he could, having to first get elected and invade Afghanistan, since that was where al-Queada actually was, before getting around to pretending they were hiding in Iraq so he could invade there. StuRat 04:25, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

français: jeux de scène

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

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

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

Veuillez nous montrer la phrase dans laquelle elle est utilisée.

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

Thank you, for your answer. Merci pour votre réponse. daniel 14:49, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Searchable index of pages.

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

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

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

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

I don't know what else to say but this: why hasn't anyone suggested she get herself a wiki? It doesn't take much effort to set up if you follow the instructions they provide at Meta. I have my own wiki and love it to death, use it for all sorts of things. They come with built-in search, and if you've ever used Misplaced Pages, then you'd already have an idea of how to get it running. That's my suggestion. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 08:29, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Quotation marks

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you

How can I view older versions of Misplaced Pages pages?

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

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

Prime Minister Sharon

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

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

single phase and three phase compressors

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

Most expensive movie

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

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

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

Thank you

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

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

#

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you

Less than positive, but yeah. I've found that, generally, you don't get great results from smoking printer paper covered in #s. WAvegetarian (email) 08:48, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Nay! The results are doubleplusgood! That is, if you fill the paper with real hash...then you get that good ol' hashhash effect going...mmmmyeah... Cernen Xanthine Katrena 20:47, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Lease contract

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

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

Music download

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

• You should generally be very wary of anything you download using P2P. Some independent bands (and occasionally major ones) will release their music via the Internet and permit free distribution. Some of these are even "sponsored bands" who work directly with some of the peer-to-peer programs to get their music out. A simple, general rule is that if you could buy the music somewhere, it's probably illegal to download it - but this of course does not constitute legal advice. (ESkog) 23:54, 8 January 2006 (UTC)
  • Note: that last rule is note necessarily true. For example, Amazon has a fairly large collection of free and legal downloads, many of which one would have to pay a dollar for on iTunes. Zafiroblue05 22:26, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

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

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

But it may soon be legal in france and sweeden (?) as they try to make a change in copyright law .

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

Music in Ocean's Twelve

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

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

Russia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

incest

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

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

January 9

Ohio River Travel Times

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

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

Moustache and glasses

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

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

do plastic give off Dioxons when frozen?

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

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

Nigeria Olympic Team

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

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

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

how invinted the passport

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

Friends DVD's

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jews in Saudi Arabia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Car

Why?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pele the Brazilian

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

federal penalties for having a mtn bike in wilderness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grooming

Is it recommended that you wash your hair everyday?

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

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

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

Victorian era

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

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

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

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

Help

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

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

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

Just about every LDS Steak Center will have a Family History Center that you can visit and look up records in. There's also the big huge one in Salt Lake, but it gets hot during the summer, so dress light. Heh. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 11:17, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

shape shifting device

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

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

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

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

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

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

StuRat 06:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks!

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

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

California drought in '70s or '80s

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

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

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

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

???

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 10

Eye black - how does it work?

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

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

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

Neopets: The Darkest Faerie

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

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

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

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

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

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

world health organisation

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

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

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

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

Authenticity of Misplaced Pages

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

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

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

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

The Wik is different because here, information is written by people, and checked by people, who know stuff about other stuff. It's not like Encyclopedia Brittanica where you have information that may be useful but not entertaining and/or particularly interesting. Exploding whale is a good example of an entertaining article you won't find in THEIR encyclopedia. Also, how many published works do you know of that have articles on koopa troopas, goombas, Sonic the Hedgehog, and a list of every pricing game on The Price Is Right? We're better because we're not stuffy librarians holed up in some cubicle. We're better because we're actual people who know actual stuff about actual topics. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 11:11, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Xvid DVD player help

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

What can I do to make them watchable?

Role-play PW

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

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

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

measurement in teaching/definition of standardised achievement test

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

Earliest colour film?

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

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

Thank you

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Problem with PSP

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you

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

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

You probobly could call Sony's technical support line and ask them, yourself, it's probobly still under waranty. Deathawk 15:36, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

New York City block -- average size

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My fav sig digits joke:

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

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

Kid: "How do you know so exactly ?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

asking how old is a site in NE Ohio

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

Thank you for any and all help Mike from Ohio

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

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

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

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

ISO CONTAINER USED FOR HOUSING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for the help.

Neelu P.

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

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

Taxes and social security number

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

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

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

Yes he has to report the income correctly and pay any tax due. There's not likely any liability to you for the initial error, but there could be if you don't fix it now that you've found out. - Taxman 16:58, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages Servers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well, this says Tampa. But it does say in large letters "Do not rely on any information on this page being up-to-date or correct". style="color:#00AA77">inchester 14:39, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Apparently, 412 East Madison Street Suite 1100 Tampa, Florida 33602, according to . Night Gyr 09:34, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Neopets.com

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

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

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

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

Drum Magazine

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

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

Actually, there are some modern refinements and derivatives, the Beta-C Mag is one. It's a double drum that fits standard NATO .223, 7.62x51 or 9mm mag slots. Drum mags aren't very common these days because of the added complexity and weight compared to using a straight mag or a belt feed in a bag. They're harder to load and harder to tuck away in a convienent pocket. Night Gyr 09:25, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Historical World Population

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

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

Thanks, Raul Dominican Republic

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 11

Picture help

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

Capri Sun info

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

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

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

Most Educated Person

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

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

I mean only those earned.

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

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

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

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

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

linseed oil

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

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

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

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

Rather surprisingly, Misplaced Pages has an article on Linseed oil, where it is pointed out that what is sold as boiled linseed oil is inedible. That means it is hazardous to animals. Words like "kidney failure" in the article on turpentine also indicates that it can be hazardous to animals. Chris the speller 04:24, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

earth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Car Restoration

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

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

Cooking oil

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

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

relationship bitween ships price and tonnage

hi please send me any kind information about relationship bitween ships price and tonnage like as text, graph,news etc. thanks

What do you mean by "ship's price"? Construction cost positively correlates strongly with tonnage. Shipping costs would tend to have a weak positive correlation, though there's generally little direct competition between very large and very small cargo ships. Passage costs would have no correlation to tonnage. — Lomn | Talk / RfC 14:35, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Could you read through tonnage and say if you mean the amount of cargo it can hold or the actual size of a ship. A ship of the type used in the America's Cup or an executive vessel as used by the stereotypical Greek shipping magnate is going to be very expensive for it's size. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 15:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Lawsuits against Misplaced Pages

Hi, I was just wondering if there have been any lawsuits against Misplaced Pages for any reason. So, have there been? 68.143.166.174 14:18, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

There have been innumerable threats to sue Misplaced Pages, its editors, and the Wikimedia Foundation. None of them, as far as I know, have ever made it to court. Someday one will. Libel (think Seigenthaler) and copyright infringement seem the most likely grounds. —Charles P. (Mirv) 15:13, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

This is why we have No legal threats. smurrayinchester 15:15, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

And demand that editers cite sources TomStar81 17:55, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

And' ask that our editors not be dicks. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 20:00, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Before reading above links, my first reaction is "we don't sell anything". It's all for free, for you to use. If you don't like it, don't use it. Your decision, not ours. As for the copyrights, this is not a book. It's a place where people can dump their knowledge. If that is copyrighted info, then who would you sue? The owners of the hardware (whoever they are)? They just provide a service, not the info. If I transmit copyrighted info over the internet, could my ISP be sued for that? This is entirely new ground that laws have not been devised for and I don't know a solution either. Well, I do, but it's rather radical. People would start calling me a communist. (oh dear....). DirkvdM 19:28, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

It's not that new. Misplaced Pages is subject to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which outlines ways for demanding the takedown of copyrighted material online. The owners of the hardware are the Wikimedia Foundation, who are also the owners of Misplaced Pages. --Fastfission 15:31, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

The is this site: http://www.wikipediaclassaction.org/ - Akamad 19:45, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Have you read this site? It does not read like it was written by someone who knows what he or she is doing. Here's a sentence from the introductory paragraph: "The system is full of problems and these are intentional in design and purposeful in their intent; to cause harm, to permit and encourage a system of anonymous libel and we submit, the result of Wales' deep-seated upset with ridicule he suffered the result of his porn business; something like the way that Richard Desmond acts because he has never quite been accepted into 'society' because of his King of Porn history. Similarly, Wales uses Misplaced Pages to libel and 'get back' of those he doesn't like..."

"his...upset with ridicule?" "he suffered the result of his porn buisness?" "something like the way that?" "uses Misplaced Pages to 'get back" of those he doesn't like?" Who the heck wrote this thing, my nine-year-old nephew? Mitchell k dwyer 19:53, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Followup. I ran a WHOIS on the site and then googled the registrant. Turns out I'm not the first person to do so--this thing's all over the web. The registrant, Jennifer Monroe, is also the registrant of QuakeAID's website. It's kind of an amusing saga. Mitchell k dwyer 20:22, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

LOL. If anyone is guilty of libel and copyright infringement it's them, though I doubt if this is really meant seriously. :)

I find it wonderfully ironic that they accuse of Misplaced Pages being sourceless, inaccurate and hateful how? By being sourceless, inaccurate and hateful. smurrayinchester 16:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Still, I wonder who can be said to be the owners. Misplaced Pages runs on gifts and the ones who use that money to buy hardware simply provide a service. They don't own the stuff. To stress this point, could they at one point say, ok this is a nice set of hardware. Let's sell it and retire. If they could not legally do that, they're not the owners, are they? So neither the info nor the hardware is owned by anyone. DirkvdM 19:54, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Don't forget Jeff Merkey. Anyone who dares edit his article seems to get threated with legal action and ends up on his hate page.

• That site is completely nonsensical. I stopped reading after finding the sentence you cited. "The system is full of problems and these are intentional in design and purposeful in their intent; to cause harm, to permit and encourage a system of anonymous libel". We encourage citation of sources and work to remove any libel we are told about and we also encourage friendly discussion and concensus building. Nothing is designed to cause harm, so they clearly have some issues. - Mgm| 10:12, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Time to update: see Tron (hacker) aka Boris Floricic. Elle _{vécut heureuse} (Be eudaimonic!) 20:54, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

dumb blonde jokes

What is the origin of dumb blonde jokes? When did they originate? Where? By whom?

The origin is most likely linked to the stereotype of the dumb blonde. And as with any stereotype, jokes get made about it. Every race and ethnicity and etc. has a stereotype which seems to have a joke about it, so why not blondes? Dismas| 19:30, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

In that case, why aren't there any brunette jokes? --Shantavira 19:44, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Okay, "Most every race, ethnicity, etc...." Dismas| 19:52, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

The Blond article says that "Caucasian babies are generally born with the slightest wisp of fair hair". In the next section it goes on to say "Some research suggests that fair hair, being characteristic of young children, evokes parent-like feelings of affection and protection in others. This association with children may also be the cause of the common Western stereotype of blonde women as being unintelligent..." In other words we associate blond hair with child like behaviour. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 21:06, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Any blonde joke can be told as a brunette joke. For instance: Why are blonde jokes usually short? So brunettes can remember them. --WAvegetarian (email) 22:11, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I have one. It's about blondes too, though.

• Why did God create blondes?
• The sheep couldn't fetch beer in the fridge!
• Then, why did God create brunettes?
• Neither could the blondes...

TERdON

My guess is that there was a fad for women to dye their hair blonde at some point in the 20th Century (most likely the 1940s or 1950s). Combine that with a single hugely popular example of the stereotypical "ditzy blonde" (think Marilyn Monroe or any of a number of early 1950s tv stars), and the emergence of the jokes became almost inevitable. --Aaron 22:17, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

17-pack of chewing gum?

Why does gum come in 17-packs? Most items come in 6- or 10- or 12-packs, and 17 seems like such an arbitrary number. I searched the recent archives for this (obvious) question already, but couldn't find a place where it was asked. Tigger89 18:43, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it makes the pack up to a particular weight, or particular dimension, that is popular with retailers: standard sizes make shelf stacking easier. Notinasnaid 18:47, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Or it could be that this was the largest that the particular machinery in use at the factories when this size was introduced could handle. (I have a 17-pack here and I note that the dimension through the 17 sticks is exactly 4 cm. Coincidence? Could be.) Another reason odd sizes happen is that the makers start with a round-number size, then decide to manipulate the market by enlarging or reducing it a bit. They might start with a 20-pack, then decide to raise the price by keeping the price the same and reducing it to 18, then 17 sticks. Or conversely they might start with 15, then say "now 2 extra sticks" to produce a temporary price reduction, then later raise the price to match. This sort of thing goes on all the time with all sorts of products, although I'm not aware of any earlier size of 17-packs of gum. --Anonymous, 21:25 UTC, January 11.

This is pure conjecture on my part, but these days most manufacturers engage in a lot of research to determine just what size/amount of a given product at a given price will result in maximum profits for the company. For example (and I'm just making these numbers up for the sake of argument), if you sell a bottle of Coca-Cola for 99 cents, it may prove to be more beneficial for Coke to make that bottle contain 20 oz. of liquid instead of 16 oz., because otherwise consumers may think they're not getting their money's worth. A million variables can go into this sort of thing; here in the U.S., Coke is sold in 8 oz. bottles and cans, 12 oz. cans, 16 oz. glass bottles, 16.9 oz. plastic bottles, 20 oz. bottles, 1 liter bottles, 2 liter bottles ... and probably several other sizes I'm not aware of. In each case, Coke spends a huge amount of time researching precisely how to price each size to maximize sales. So what does this have to do with gum? Perhaps the 17-pack was a very early example of such research; it's possible Wrigley Gum experimented with an 18-pack and discovered it didn't increase sales, and that a 16-pack did cause a decrease in sales, thus the 17-pack was decided upon as the most profitable size for the price. --Aaron 21:51, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

This is also pure speculation on my part, but sometimes these sizes are dictated by the manufacturing or packaging process. For example, perhaps the strips of paper that make the individual wrappers for the sticks of gum divide easily in such a way that you can get seventeen wrappers from one unit of paper, or perhaps the gum itself dictates a convenient seventeen-stick unit, perhaps as a quarter of a pound, or one rotation of the machinery that processes the sticks. Mitchell k dwyer 03:11, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Making Money

How can I make a lot of money with the least amount of work? I don't want to do anything illegal, and I don't want to work too hard because I am lazy. I also have no money to start with so I can't have other people do the work for me. Is there a get rich scheme that really works? Is there anyone with a little money to spare that may feel sorry for me? Also, does anyone know the contact info for Donald Trump or Bill Gates? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Alright, I'll point out the obvious. What do you think someone who knew would do with that knowledge? Tell you? DirkvdM 19:22, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Get rich schemes are scams that only work for the people who take money from you. Find something you feel really enthusiatic about, preferably in a growth industry. That will at least snap you out of your laziness. --Shantavira 19:48, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, strictly speaking there's one exception. Marry a rich person. That takes only a little work, but a lot of luck :) --Ornil 22:27, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

All you need is a dollar and a dream. --Aaron 21:40, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Sales jobs can earn you a lot of money with very little work. The trick is, you need to have a certain personality type to do it. You need to treat everyone like your best friend then rip these "friends" off at the first opportunity. If this is you, then go into sales. StuRat 03:15, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Gift economy. ;-) Elle _{vécu heureuse} (Be eudaimonic!) 03:23, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Have you considered prostitution? User:Zoe| 00:09, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Or Pornography, which is safer - I understand that they make hundreds of dollars (US) an hour. -- Pakaran 00:13, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Women make more than men in the pornography trade. Men usually make maybe $100 where as the women can make several times that. Dismas| 02:27, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, but that would be because they can't keep at it 8 hours a day. Well, at least the men (physically speaking, that is). Which is why also prostitutes and taxis are so expensive - they sit around doing nothing most of the time. And sports professionals, in a different way - they're 'used up' after a decade or two. Which makes me think. You could try darts. Maybe you're a natural. Practise for a few months and become a professional. If you can reach the world top there's good money to be made. And you can keep this up longer than most sports. And you can do the practising at home. It's hardly work. Drinking on the job helps. All you need to do is concentrate, for which you need to empty your mind. Sounds like your sort of thing. :) And mine, for that matter, but my mind isn't stable enough for it - I keep on distracting myself (believe me, I've tried and tried). DirkvdM 11:03, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

iTunes problem

i have a problem with iTunes right now...it won't play my music. the bar doesn't even move when i hit 'play'; it just starts at 0:00 and won't continue. i don't have any sound throughout the rest of my computer either, but my speakers are in. but when i go to the control panel, it says it doesn't detect an audio device. is this why iTunes won't work? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marak24 (talk • contribs)

Mac or Windows? --Aaron 22:18, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Probably Windows if they say Control Panel rather than System Preferences. A few more questions: can you get any other sounds out of your computer or is it just iTunes? Apple released a new version of iTunes yesterday, have you or have you not updated? --Canley 01:39, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

nope. still won't work as well as any other sound on the computer. windows media player will play video, but no audio. iTunes is still unresponsive... --Marak24

Have you checked the volume controls screen? See if anything is turned all the way down, or if anything is checked not to play sounds. User:Zoe| 00:10, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

The volume controls are normal; it doesn't have anything to do with that it think. it's probably by speakers or sound card. Marak24

Mmmm...most interesting. iTunes generally doesn't just not work. If you took music from a friend's computer, stuff that he bought, and try to use it on yours, it won't play at all; I had this problem when I signed up for .mac and had to get two ITMS accounts to work on one computer (a royal pain in the ass, mind you). That's probably why iTunes won't play. As for your "audio device" problem, that could mean a number of things. Your sound card could be shot for whatever reason, and depending on how old your computer is, finding a replacement might be difficult unless you try eBay. Windows might not have any drivers for it, and if that's the case, it's as simple as installing the drivers; of course, you'll have to either find out the manufacturer of your sound card, or find the disks that came with your computer. The best solution, however, is probably to reinstall Windows. (Be careful how you go about that, though; if you do it the wrong way, Windows will be generous enough to format your whole hard drive.) Cernen Xanthine Katrena 08:44, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

thanks, i'll try your advice! Marak24

Bike Tube

I was switching out the tube to my bike tire and then realized that I have a presta rim and only a shrader tube. I don't really want to bore out the presta to a shrader on the rim, so any suggestions of how I could ghetto rig a patch for my old presta tube with materials found in an ordinary dorm room? It's just a small hole. Thanks!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.107.192.24 (talk • contribs)

Ha ha, good joke. Next question! --Zeizmic 23:33, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

And this question is a joke because? hydnjo talk 23:43, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, answer it then! --Zeizmic 00:13, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

No, I (we) don't understand, so from before, "this is a joke because?"hydnjo talk 02:28, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I suppose you don't have any old tube lying around, or else you'd probably just use a piece of that, right? If you've got latex gloves (you know, the kind you use for housecleaning), you might try that with some rubber cement. I'm assuming you've patched holes before, but in case you haven't, get a nail file from somewhere and some rubber cement. Find the hole, rough up the surface with the nail file, cut out a small circle of rubber from an old tube, rough that up, apply rubber cement to both surfaces, then press together. This is probably not a long-term fix, but it'll get you to the bike shop. If you have no use for the Schroeder tube, which it sounds like you don't with the rims you've got, just use a piece of that. Mitchell k dwyer 03:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Now that makes sense. I didn't understand the prior frivolous response as it didn't seem to get anything done. Thanks Mitchell k dwyer for your thoughtful reply, I'm sure it will be helpful to 64.107.192.24 (if he checks back). hydnjo talk 05:08, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

January 12

What famous people were Scorpios?

—The preceding unsigned header was added by 69.123.160.45 (talk • contribs) .

We're not going to list them here. Just do a Google search for "famous scorpios". --Canley 00:38, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages is incredibly thorough on many things, but listing people by their star signs is not one of them. Sorry! — QuantumEleven | (talk) 13:04, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Although, come to think of it, such a listing would be of a lot more interest/use than some of the stuff we do have. JackofOz 13:30, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Many of the articles about Japanese people of note do in fact include their star signs. It seems to be of some importance there. Dismas| 16:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Actually, we had such listings but they were deleted because they'd be enormous categories and redundant with looking up births by month. Night Gyr 08:50, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, it would be a long list. Around 8-9% of all famous people are scorpios. Notinasnaid 12:34, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Sherlock Holmes' Dr. Watson played by Ian Fleming

I have two Sherlock Holmes movies from the 1930's staring Arthur Wontner in the title role where Ian Fleming is credited as playing Dr. Watson. I have found no documentation that the James Bond author did any acting. Is this some other "Ian Fleming"?

Movies: "The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes" (1934) and "Murder at the Baskervilles" (1937)

William Johnston

According to the Internet Movie Database, the Ian Fleming in those movies isn't the same one as the Ian Fleming of Bond fame. Although the latter seems to have had a cameo in "River Rivals" from 1967. (Never heard of it). --BluePlatypus 01:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

It is indeed a different Ian Fleming. See the Internet Movie Database - he was an Australian-born British actor. He played Watson in two other Sherlock Holmes films: "The Missing Rembrandt" (1932) and "Silver Blaze" (1937). --Canley 01:09, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

As to "River Rivals", I'd be inclined to suspect an error in the IMDB. Like Misplaced Pages, they rely largely on user-submitted data and therefore can be unreliable, particularly for less-well-known movies. Perhaps someone just picked the wrong Ian Fleming and the manager in charge of cast lists didn't notice. It seems particularly likely in view of the fact that Fleming the author died in 1964. --Anonymous, 07:10 UTC, January 12.

That's why it must've been an effective cameo! ;) Or it was the Dr Watson-Fleming. Either that or I suppose one must postulate the existance of yet another Ian Fleming. --BluePlatypus 13:45, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Hello, I had a few questions about The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I was wondering who the demons were that posesed her and how significant they are.Thanks a million!! Zach 01:08, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

According to our article on Anneliese Michel (whose exorcism was the inspiration for the movie), she claimed to have been possessed by Lucifer, Cain, Judas Iscariot, Nero, Legion and Belial. Hitler dropped by too sometimes. David Sneek 08:28, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! And what are the words that emily speeks when she says "I am the devil that dewlls within"? --Zach 20:18, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

song lyrics

Does anyone know a song that kinda has these lyrics?:

"I dont get no sleep, deep down inside. Buddha. That Funky Buddha."

then it goes to repeating the words:

"music music music music music music music music...."

for about 30 seconds.

The song is sung using a computer's voice, kind of like the Microsoft Sam voice. The song is a dance song. thanks--172.128.246.248 02:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

A quick search of AllMusic suggests that it could be Funky Buddha by Reel Two Real, available on the 1997 compilation House Mix, Vol. 1 (on Spg Records). --George 02:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Food service

As a supervisor in a restaurant,why is it important to keep colleagues infromed about your work and other issues that may affact them?

• So they can help you answer test questions like this one. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 03:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)
  • Ba-dum ching! He'll be here all night. WAvegetarian (email) 08:46, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Buying/downloading episodes of radio show "Loveline"

I very much enjoy this show, but it was taken off the radio station that I used to listen to it on. Where can I check to see if it is available on any radio station in my area? Is there anywhere where I can legally buy or download episodes of it? I know that there are a few episodes available on filesharing programs, but the selection is extremely limited. Flea110 06:52, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• You can get some old best-of clips here. It seems you want the current shows, though, so that's not what you want. (But then again, with Adam Carolla gone, the show's no longer worth listening to, so maybe you should stick to the old stuff. :p) At any rate, some radio stations stream their content online, so I'd check the various stations that still do carry Loveline in other cities. Zafiroblue05 08:15, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

PS2 + Videogme release dates

Is there somewhere that has a list of the PS2, DS, etc games coming out in the next month or less, with their exact dates listed? I know places like IGN have dates, but I just need a list of everything coming out within the next month.

Try asking your local video games store, I'm sure they would be happy to assist. Proto t c 09:30, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• Try EBGames.com click on your platform of choice and check under "coming soon". Deathawk 01:52, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

How did General John Pershing get the name Black Jack?

This is discussed in the article on General John Pershing. David Sneek 10:55, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Food service

please help me this question. As a supervisor in a restaurant,why is it important to keep colleagues infromed about my work and other issues that may affact them?

We can give you a common sense answer, but presumably your course materials discuss this question. The examiner almost certainly wants the answer in the textbook. --Robert Merkel 08:51, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Excellent suggestion. You could also do this: Imagine you are one of your colleagues. Why would you want to know what your supervisor is up to? Why might it be helpful to you as someone following a leader, or just as someone following orders (no pun intended)? Mitchell k dwyer 09:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Please don't double post. DirkvdM 09:57, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

DirkvdM! I believe it is time for another useless Reference Desk template!

Please do not post your questions more than once. We may not know the answer to your question, are still figuring it out, or are refusing to answer for one of the reasons stated at the top of this page. Asking us a second time will not likely get you your answer either, and almost guarantees you we will be ignoring you in the future. Your question may be deleted if you see this notice; you should reformat it to prevent this from happening.

Imagine working at a place where the employees are supposed to know important stuff by telepathy because no one ever tells them though any official channels. Further suppose that none of the employees can actually do telepathy, because the hiring department neglected to test for that skill, because the people who run the hiring department lack the telepathy to know that is a requirement of people being hired there. You'd be surprised how many work places the above is true for. Now imagine what could possibly go wrong as a result of this break down in communications and hiring practices.

• Customers could get poisoned for example.
• The store can run out of essential ingredients.
• There can be mistakes made with the money.
• Customers do not show up because the signage outside looks like the place is closed.
• The place is left unlocked overnite, and some miscreant walks off with a lot of stuff they not entitled to.

Can you add to this list? User:AlMac| 10:49, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Reporting Fraudulent and Unethical practices from ISP's.

What agency would I use to report an ISP for charging me for services I never agreed to or signed up for. I cancelled my membership in June of 2005 and my bank account is still being drafted around $50.00 per month. I have all the documentation to prove their illegal actions, but I'm not sure which agency is the one that can help me. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreacited. I've tried to get the ISP to stop these charges and refund my money, but every time I contact them it's like talking to a zombie. I know there are lawsuits pending against them and for exactly the same complaints I have. I just need to know who to contact. Thank You, T. L. Smith

It does help if you tell where you are from. If you're from Sweden, try Swedish National Board for Consumer Complaints. TERdON 15:07, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, somewhere with dollars I guess. Have you asked your bank to block the draft? I know in Australia it's recommended that when you have a direct debit/standing order that you cancel it with the provider and your bank as well. Doesn't help with the refund though. If you are in Australia, there is a Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman who probably would deal with this sort of matter. --Canley 22:31, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

t-shirts

How much money would it cost for 20 million t-shirts?

in those quantities, you're talking case-to-case deals, but it would be no more than the bulk price per t-shirt times 20 million. You'd also have to specify at what stage you're getting the t-shirts (immediately after manufacture or after printing). — Lomn Talk 16:12, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I would think it would also depend on the quality of the shirt. Are you talking some thin cotton shirt that will last for a couple washings before only being suitable for washing your car or are you thinking of a heavier cotton that will take plenty of abuse and plenty of washings? I don't have an answer for you either way but with the question as stated, the answer could vary wildly. Dismas| 17:57, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Also depends strongly on where you buy them. deeptrivia (talk) 20:57, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Note: it would probably be considerably cheaper to buy a factory capable of producing the shirts, as such an order would amount to the same thing. Bethefawn 02:13, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

The only organizations that I could think of who would order T-shirts in such quantities are retail chains like Wal-Mart. But in any case you could get an upper bound on the cost by having a poke around on this site. It looks like plain T-shirts are available for about 1.45 USD; in the quantities you're talking about I'd reckon you could get them for under a dollar. --Robert Merkel 04:59, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Military Shops in foreign countries

What is the shop called where American troops stationed abroad can buy american goods?

the PX is a general-purpose store for military personnel on army bases stateside; I imagine terminology is unchanged elsewhere. — Lomn Talk 16:10, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

PX goes to a disambig page. The letters stand for Post Exchange. Army "bases" are usually called "posts" by Army personnel that's why it's Post Exchange instead of Base Exchange. Dismas| 18:02, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Air Force installations are called "bases" and some Air Force people refer to their exchanges as BXes, for "Base Exchange."

economics

(no question)

What about economics? Dismas| 18:03, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Poem that was turned into a song

(no question)

Could you be more specific? Most songs are generally thought of as a form of poetry set to music. Dismas| 18:06, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

see also poem and song — Lomn Talk 18:06, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

• You may be interested to know that "All I Wanna Do", which was a hit single for Sheryl Crow, was based on a poem titled "Fun" by Wyn Cooper. --Metropolitan90 05:52, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

snakes

can a snake, specifically a king cobra bite 3 people in a row with enough venom to kill all three? if so, what size would the snake need to be, or does that not really effect anything?

Well King Cobra says that the venom is weaker than other snakes. But it injects a large amount .2 fluid ounces (7 ml) and that can kill 20-30 people. So if you can find a site that indicates how much it carries at any one time then you would know if it could kill 3 people in a row. Also as long as it does not inject more than 2 ml a person then yes it could kill 3 in a row. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 22:43, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

whiptail lizzards

is it true that they reproduce without the need of a partner? I read in www.livescience.com that they basicly clone themselves...I find this really weird, is it true?--Cosmic girl 20:14, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

See Teiidae it would appear they are parthenogenic, external links confirm here and here. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 22:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

The Ring Two

I was wondering what happened to the physiatrist that was talking to aiden in the hospital. Did she die? What did she inject in her neck? --Zach 20:22, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

She was supposed to have died from injecting air bubbles into her carotid artery. I was wondering why the pediatrics unit would leave syringes with needles in areas plainly accessible to young children. This is a really blatant safety violation. StuRat 10:49, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Russian word

what is a russian word translated into english that begins with yo?

Um. All words which start with yo in English have a Russian translation. Each such translation is therefore a Russian word translated into English that begins with yo. --Ornil 04:08, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Don't worry, I think I know what you wanted. One example is "yolka", a transliteration of the Russian word for "fir tree". JackofOz 04:24, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Yo!

Does that mean yodel and yoga are Russian? DirkvdM 11:09, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

They are Russian words translated into English. --Optichan 19:01, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

You forgot the smiley. :) You are joking, aren't you? DirkvdM 08:28, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm joking. I'm also assuming Ornil was joking. --Optichan 21:05, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

appendix

why do humans have appendix

See Vermiform appendix CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 21:56, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Ice block

Hi!
Exploring random article I came across something where this effect:

• File:MG 9944.jpg
• File:MG 9941.jpg

was significant. Unfortunately I forget what it was, but I'm sure that there is a name for what these photos show --Fir0002 23:25, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

Ice spike MeltBanana 01:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Better answer than my idea, which was to ask the person that uploaded the pictures. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 16:22, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

January 13

$108.28

There are many references in the Federal tax code to incomes of at least $108.28 for members of the clergy. This is a very strange number, and I wonder where it came from. Does anyone know?

--68.239.164.43 00:49, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Which country, as many have a federal government. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:57, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I think I remember seeing it in the context of US taxes. No idea where it came from, though... —Keenan Pepper 02:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

That is a seriously weird number. shows its use. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 02:06, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps it was previously $100 or some other round number, and then was adjusted for inflation. I know there are lots of similarly "weird" numbers in Canadian taxes for that reason. --Anonymous, 06:45 UTC, January 13, 2006

That seems to be the reason. See the Social Security Handbook, 1136.4. Calculating back using the U.S. inflation rates given here, it appears that it's inflation-adjusted from 2003. Lupo 09:03, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

That's boring and anticlimactic. —Keenan Pepper 13:18, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

For a concise definition of "church employee income" (to which this figure applies) see 2005 Instructions for Schedule SE (Form 1040) (2005): it does not apply to clergy in general. Lupo 09:08, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

U.S. Presidential Line of Succession

Why wasn't the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Included in the Presidential Line of Succession? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.117.16.64 (talk • contribs) 21:48, January 12, 2006.

It's a Separation of powers issue. The Judicial branch is meant to interpret the law; if the Chief Justice were to be suddenly thrust into the presidency, he's suddenly be part of making it. There's also the matter of experience; even the lowest-ranking people on the Presidential line of succession list have extensive experience working at the highest levels of the Executive branch; the Chief Justice usually has none at all, and if he does, it tends to have been many years in the past. --Aaron 03:21, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

In fact, there's some degree of concern with having members of the Legislative branch in the line of succession. Suppose that the government is obliterated to the point that the Secretary of the Interior becomes acting President. At that point, Congressional remnants could elect a new Speaker of the House, conceivably of a different party, who would then have precedence and supplant the acting President. — Lomn Talk 05:20, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

cigarette smoking

Does anybody know what those long, wooden, hollow shafts that people would smoke a cigarette with are called. Rose uses one in Titanic when she's having lunch on the first day and her mom scolds her for smoking. It's basically a long, probably wooden, shaft. One puts the cigarette in one end and smokes through the other. They're typically seen with high-class women. Cruella De Ville uses one in the animated version of 101 Dalmations. If anybody knows what these things are called, it would help me a lot!!

They are rather non-imaginitively called cigarette holders. Dismas| 03:21, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Body Movement

Is it possible to dislocate your skull?

• No, dislocation usually only happens with joints. If you were to dislocate your skull you'd break an important part of your skeleton, probably severing your spinal nerves. - 131.211.210.17 09:19, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Note that the bones of the skull do have "joints" or articulations, but they're not designed to allow movement at all, so "dislocation" doesn't really apply. —Keenan Pepper 13:17, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

If you count the mandible as part of the skull, it is possible to dislocate it. Mirv 13:55, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Of course it is possible. Any bone connected to another bone by ligaments or muscles can be "dislocated" in the sense of the spatial relationship between the two bones being shifted to a physical force producing an abnormal configuration with stretching or tearing of the ligaments or muscles. The skull is articulated with the topmost vertebral body (C1). Dislocation of the skull with respect to C1 can occur with hanging or other traumatic injuries. If the spinal cord is injured as the bones shift, death can occur. alteripse 16:48, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

what happened the day i was born, september 27th 1990?

The Board of Visitors of Old Dominion University met in regular session on Thursday, September 27, 1990, at 1:00 PM at the Virginia Beach Graduate Center. Present were:

George Dragas, Jr., Rector Gene R. Carter, Sr. James K. Hall Gabriel Kavadias Beverley R. Lawler Arnold B. McKinnon Hugo A. Owens Jackson K. Parker J. Michael Pitchford H. B. Price III Sybil M. Walker Robert E. Washington William C. Wiley Brenda T. Williams

If you want a more useful answer, go to your local research library and ask the librarians about how to retrieve the contents of a newspaper from that date. We don't have anything specific listed on 1990, nor September 27. --Robert Merkel 04:49, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

You would do better to ask for newspapers from September 28, 1990, if you want to know what happened on September 27 -- although you might find both dates on the same reel of microfilm anyway. As well as public libraries, there are online resources such as the Toronto Star's Pages of the Past, too, but as far as I know they all cost money.

You might also want to try selecting the same two dates in Google Groups (using the "Return messages posted between" field in their advanced groups search form) to see what people were talking about in different Usenet newsgroups then. However, with many thousands of messages available in different newsgroups, you might have to search a while to find any related to anything of interest to you. Despite the word "newsgroups", most discussion on Usenet is not about current events, and it never has been.

Side comment: as someone old enough to have first encountered Usenet after I was a university graduate, I find it slightly mind-boggling to be suggesting to someone that they search for their own date of birth! In fact the Google Groups archive has postings going back to 1981, long before Google itself existed.

--Anonymous, 07:05 UTC, January 13.

• The Chicago White Sox tried to claim Deion Sanders off waivers
• A University of California, Berkeley student shot up a campus bar, killing one student and wounding seven others, and kept 33 people hostage for seven hours.
• The exiled emir of Kuwait addressed the United Nations.
• The United States pledged to defend Israel from any Iraqi attack.
• Jury selection was completed in the Robert Mapplethorpe obscenity trial.
• Neil Bush denied wrongdoing in the savings and loan scandal.
• The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed President George H.W. Bush's Supreme Court nominee David Souter.
• The United Kingdom announced it was reestablishing diplomatic relations with Iran. The UK had severed relations due to the fatwa against Salmon Rushdie.
• The National Hockey League suspended Grant Fuhr for using illegal drugs.

This all comes from the New York Times archive -- 70.27.57.22 23:31, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Mobile Ringtones

Where can i get a free normal ringing ringtone? I prefer a traditional normal sounding tone.

There isn't a plain ringtone built into your phone? —Keenan Pepper 05:11, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

There should be an inbuilt one, as Keenan said but if you have accidently deleted this then you can create your own. Your phone's manual should tell you how to go about this.--Ali K 07:06, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Depends on what (s)he means by traditional. Pre-mobile, perhaps. Maybe one of those really old ones that were so loud it's surprising they didn't fly off the wall. Imagine that going off accidentally in a concert hall. DirkvdM 11:17, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Most read articles

Are there any records of the number of hits each of the wikipedia articles gets? deeptrivia (talk) 05:22, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

There's This page, but it's horrendously inaccurate, and out of date to boot. GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 08:12, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

MediaWiki can provide a hit counter in the footer of each and every page. The feature was long ago turned off on Misplaced Pages due to server load (as I recall), but you can still see it on other sites using the software. I suppose there are still records, but you'd need access to the server logs to see them. —Charles P. (Mirv) 13:49, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Anecdotal evidence (source: me) indicates that my user page is wildly popular among the better sort of Misplaced Pages contributer. This is doubtless because of my invaluable contributinos to the Reference Desk and Wildean wit. --George 18:59, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Blank pages at the end of a book

Why do many books have a series of blank pages at the end? --Tothebarricades 09:08, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

See Intentionally blank page for a pretty detailed summary. GeeJo 09:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

To add to that: since the blank pages result from printing processes that typically make page counts a multiple of some number like 16, 24 or 32, there would be many more blank pages if it were not for a number of techniques. Techniques for avoiding blank pages at the end include

• varying the printing process so that a multiple of a different number has less waste
• cutting out blank pages
• using layout (e.g. extra publisher's pages at the front, bigger or smaller fonts)
• adding adverts or other material
• printing "NOTES" on the top of the pages so it looks like you are being generous
• above all, ruthless editing: popular fiction especially tends to be produced to fit a particular page count, and editors just cut stuff (or even write padding) until it fits, frequently with no involvement from the author.

Notinasnaid 09:57, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Quake 4

The interior of every building is green. What's wrong?

Saint Patrick's Day comes early? GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 10:37, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Don't be stupid. I think there is something wrong with the gamma correction.

Being stupid can be fun. StuRat 11:43, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Though not helpful. I had this problem too: I think it's because of having an older graphics card. The solution for me was to right-click the shortcut, go on Properties, then add +seta r_renderer "ARB" to the Target, so you get C:\Program Files\id Software\Quake 4\Quake4.exe" +seta r_renderer "ARB". --Sum0 23:43, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Kong question

In the new movie king kong in the island of kong, all animals are giants, but the dinosaurs are at the normal size. This is wrong or the dinosaurs are very small dinosaurs that are at giants size??

The scientific reference for this is the 1933 movie. I can confirm that Skull Island does indeed have large apes with normal dinosaurs. --Zeizmic 13:11, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Zeismic is being having a joke with you (sorry to be a spoilsport, Zeismic, but presumably the question was asked seriously). What Zeismic is saying in a roundabout sort of way is that King Kong is a piece of entertainment and is not intended to be scientifically accurate, any more than Godzilla, Star Wars, or Peter Jackson's last project Lord of the Rings. --Robert Merkel 14:06, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

According to Foster's rule on the isolated island both the dinosaurs and the apes should probably have become smaller over evolutionary time. David Sneek 16:24, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

It's possible that Kong wasn't born on Skull Island but came over from some other unknown island, where he's the runt of the bunch. User:Zoe| 19:57, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I (the person that made the question) am not questioning if this is scientifically accurate, my question was only that if all animals are at giant size, the dinosaurs need to be at giant size too(so this is a error of the film or the dinosaurs are very small dinosaurs at giant size)??

I don't think it is ever implied anywhere that all of the animals on Skull Island are meant to be at giant size. As far as I know, the dinosaurs are at their correct sizes. --Maxamegalon2000 21:09, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Our article explains this. See King_Kong_(2005_film)#Bestiary. Night Gyr 08:23, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, dinosaurs are giant size, aren't they? There is a limit to the size of animals. Firstly, there is the problem of supporting ones own weight. Dinosaurs pretty much reached the limit of that, I believe (for land animals, that is). Mammals can also be quite big, and have been in the past, just not as big as King Kong, afaik. There is, however, a problem with the insects at the bottom of the crevice. At least some of them looked like insects, like those weta-like animals (it being a New Zealand film I imagine it was modeled after this insect). Insects use trachea for breathing, and from the article: " Insects do not carry oxygen in their blood, as do vertebrates; this may limit their size." The trachea need air circulation and as insects get bigger, their volume increases with a power 3 where the surface of the trachea increases with a power 2. Flying insects can probably get biggest because of their fast movement and wing flapping, causing more air current, but I'm guessing now. DirkvdM 08:43, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Maybe the island is an an area where the oxygen is more powerful, and deposits of cavorite mean that larger animals can evolve. Notinasnaid 14:54, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Movie or Radio Quote in "Sorry Louie" by Eazy-E

Hi, this question has been asked before, so sorry for the redundancy, but it wasn't answered, and I've been trawling all over the 'net for the answer. Does anyone know where the introductory quote, "Hi! Claude again! Remember how I told you about my cousin when I was fifteen? Well, the year after that, I killed this kid, Louie. Bashed his head in with my Louisville Slugger! Ha ha ha . . .I got away with it! But, I gotta apologize to Louie . . .I'm sorry, Louie." came from? It's on Eazy-E's Str8 Off Tha Streetz Of Muthaphukkin Compton album.

This is just a guess, since I haven't heard the song, but does it sound like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca? --Mitchell k dwyer 19:43, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

That's not a line from Casablanca. User:Zoe| 19:58, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

No, it's definitely not a line from Casablanca, however, it really sounds like an old-ish movie. The guy talking sounds like a psycho white guy. Perhaps a little bit "camp". I really want to find out, so I can watch the movie, OR, if it was a radio story, listen to it.

"test-tree"

I found "test-tree", apparently referring to a particular species of tree, in a 1912 translation of Old Irish crand fir. For all I can tell, the literal meaning of crand fir is "true tree", and "test-tree" would seem to be an actual English name. Can anybody tell me what tree is being referred to here? Is the name still in use? dab (ᛏ) 12:52, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

It's probably a local name. The only mention in the OED equates it with the tree of knowledge of good and evil: "1883 G. M. Hopkins Let. 25 Oct. (1956) 323 This was the sin of Adam and Eve, who, both in different ways, eat of the ‘Test-tree’." --Shantavira 14:09, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

It says Aspen in your link AllanHainey 16:25, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Gas station storage tanks

I am trying to determine at what time in the 1900's did gas stations, within the United States, begin to bury their storage tanks?--LLaPoint

That's a very interesting question!

If I may hazard a guess, one of the requirements to store fuel underground would have been the supply of mains power, so if the location you're concerned about was remote, in the early 20th century there probably wasn't a suitable power source to pump the tanks.

Aside from my standard response of "go ask at a research library", perhaps the people in the best position to help you might be the oil companies themselves; many of them have direct corporate lineage to Standard Oil and might have internal company documents on the topic. One useful piece of evidence might be pictures of old gas stations. One other source of potentially useful information might be safety standards documents; if you find standards for underground fuel storage tanks, presumably they must have been in use by that date (or soon afterward).

Hopefully somebody can give you a more direct answer. --Robert Merkel 14:02, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

"Mains power" just means electric service. I don't know when but they certainly are a lot of them. From the EPA website: "EPA estimates that over 95 percent of the nation's two million underground storage tanks hold petroleum products. Of all tanks in use, an estimated 80 percent are unprotected bare-steel tanks, which are most likely to corrode and leak;..." Rmhermen 14:24, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

This is a good question. I went into my research mode and looked things up. A great reference is here It seems that above-ground tanks were common until the 60's, but they kept blowing up and killing people. To stop this, they put the tanks underground. A bare steel tank can only last about 20-30 years, so the original tanks are all gone now, with major pollution problems. New underground tanks have onerous conditions, so there may be a swing back to above-ground tanks. --Zeizmic 15:05, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Your reference seems a bit biased though and I doubt above-ground tanks will return. It's easier to make an underground tank leak-proof than keep an above-ground tank safe from fire and accidents. The main problem in the USA has been lax regulation on the environmental requirements for underground tanks. Europe has had far less problems in this respect. Still, leaks are less of a problem today, since 1) Tanks installed today are either fiberglass-reinforced-plastic or steel with FRP as corrosion protection. 2) Tighter regulations on underground tanks. Today, leaks can be cleaned up more efficiently too (although that's no excuse!), since there are now mobile plants to treat contaminated soil. Groundwater contamination is a major problem in the US due to the sins of the past though, also due to the increased use of the water-soluble gasoline additive MTBE. --BluePlatypus 16:55, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that reference was from an above-ground tank maker, but it had the history (which was the question), and it's the only one I found (with history). They are using new above-ground tanks at the cottage marina. It's just a matter of economics, and I think that soon underground tanks will have to be double-walled, with leak detection (ie. very expensive) --Zeizmic 18:01, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Crypto machine maker: Ottico Meccanica Italiana

I've been trying to find out more about the Ottico Meccanica Italiana company, which I believe was operating in Rome in the sixties, and produced the OMI cryptograph. I'd like to try and find out more about the machine, and the obvious starting point is to find out more about the company. However, I've Googled on the topic, and there's mostly only Italian-language references to the company (which I don't speak too well). I don't suppose anyone knows anything about this company, specifically, are they still operating? If so, do they have a contact address/email? Thanks for any help! — Matt Crypto 14:37, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps if I used the correct spelling it would help! I've corrected "Ottica"->"Ottico". — Matt Crypto 14:43, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

hospitality industry

'i would like to know any related news/an articles about hospitality industries...'--210.186.246.39 14:43, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

• Your question is very broad, and it is unlikely that you will get a useful repsonse. I think that you would be better off using the search feature ont he left of your screen to search Misplaced Pages. You can also try starting at hospitality industry. Ground Zero | t 14:47, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it's better posed on Language, but what's the deal with the term "Hospitality Industry" anyway? When did they start calling it that? Makes me associate to a manufacturing plant for guest-greeting robots. --BluePlatypus 16:24, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Yea, it sounds like prostitution to me. But then, I suppose that all depends on what comes with the room. StuRat 04:07, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

DON'T SHOUT DirkvdM 08:48, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

A good place to start would be the List of lodging types article from thier you can narow your research down to what you want to know about but that should get you started. Deathawk 23:10, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Hapkido

Who knows, which variants of Hapkido exist and where are the differences?-- Rhingdrache 17:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

where does the name wikipedia come from

It's a Portmanteau of "Wiki" and "encyclopedia". --BluePlatypus 18:28, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Or you could also read the Misplaced Pages article. Dismas| 23:28, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Looking for an old game.

I use to play this old game i loved 'Rage of Mages 2: Necromancer' and around 6 months ago i felt like playing it again so i started trying to look for it everywhere (internet/stores) but couldn't it anywhere, does anyone have a clue where i can buy or download it?

You can buy it from a number of stores. Rage of Mages 2 at Froogle.

german wirehair pointers

(no question posted)

CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 19:58, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Gay CEOs

Are there any openly gay men or women CEOs in the Fortune 500? If so, who?

This site thought (in 1998) not. hydnjo talk 20:10, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

metal genre

at wikipedia we can find a very large numbers of mental genre and sub-genres, there is some that is metal with rap, metal with hardcore rock... So, my question is exist a genre or sub-genre of metal that is metal with eletronic music??

There are quite a few bands that integrate synthesizers and samplers, the key elements of most electronic music, with metal guitars. Most Industrial Rock or Industrial Metal bands would fall into this area. Night Gyr 07:57, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

A lot of progressive metal and symphonic metal is heavy on keys and synths, but I'm not sure you'd call most of it "electronic" music. --Mitchell k dwyer 08:13, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

engineering department

Hi!

We are having problem to define the role of a engineering department, in automotive parts manufacturing company.Can you give me any description, definition, or example?

Thanks

How about designing, testing, and setting up manufacturing methods for said parts ? StuRat 07:24, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Ooh! Ooh! I know! Engineering. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:04, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Nick and Lou Saban. Related?

Is Nick Saban, current Miami Dolphins coach, the son of Lou Saban, who coached the Buffalo Bills in the 1960s?

If you go here and scroll down to "Miscellaneous Ramblings" there is some information. The history here says it's his son. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 18:57, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Prison

Is the a quiz on the internet that determins how long you could be in prison for all the wrong doings you have done? I know there is as people have told me but I don't know the website

Sounds like a good scam. You list your criminal history then they blackmail you. I wish I'd thought of that, LOL. StuRat 04:01, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

• It would depend a lot on the country you reside in. - 82.172.14.108 13:17, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

News Articles On People Who Walked Across The USA.

Who was the person who was disabled ( had one artificial leg ) who walked across the US and only ate snickers bars as his food throughout the journey? Where can I get a summary article on his walk or about him? This may have been in the 90s or the 80s !

Thank you!

--68.164.246.151 23:04, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean Peter Jenkins or this guy? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 01:08, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Can't get images to load in Firefox!

...as the title says, what gives? The images load fine if I use IE, but nothing shows up with Firefox. If I go to the image description page and then click on the filename, I can view the image, but how do I fix this so that I can view them normally? 71.65.54.92 23:42, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

How about tools\options\web features and then check the load images box. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 01:04, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Many (most) of the complaints along similar lines turn out to be due to overzealous adblocking software. Note that images are served from a different domain than webpages, and that some images reside in directories with "ad" in their name ; both of these are common heuristics used by various adblockers. I suggest turning off all your adblocking firefox extensions and restarting; if that fixes things, you can turn them back on and try to set an option in the relevant one which will exempt wikipedia.org and wikimedia.org. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:12, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

There was a problem yesterday with Misplaced Pages's image server. Are you still having problems? User:Zoe| 21:55, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

To expand a bit on Finlay's comment, a very common reason for images not loading in Firefox is that the popular Adblock extension by default blocks any URL with "ad" in it, which also blocks Misplaced Pages's images since they are retrieved from upload.wikimedia.org. If you have Adblock installed, check for an entry "ad*" at the beginning of its list of blocked sites and change that to "http://ad*" - I had the same problem when I first installed adblock and was quite happy when I found the solution :) -- Ferkelparade π 00:14, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

It worked! All I had to do was "allow" upload.wikimedia.org to load images. Thanks everyone! 71.65.54.92 16:35, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

January 14

longest article in wikipedia

What is the longest article in terms of text on Misplaced Pages?

See Special:Longpages Rmhermen 01:54, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride

I stumbled across this article. Is this the longest one-word article title on Misplaced Pages? --Nelson Ricardo 03:31, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

My bet is on Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, Twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbun, Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu, Gorsafawddacha'idraigodanheddogleddollônpenrhynareurdraethceredigion, Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, or Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. See others at longest word. --Quasipalm 03:46, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Lengths of page titles are limited because of technical reasons. If they had not been, one of the longest titles would probably have been Methionylglutaminyl...serine. There are some more candidates at Longest word in the English language, but all the longer chemical compounds mentioned have shorter names as well. TERdON

Well, if it wasn't abbreviated to Titin, I think s:Methionylthreonylthreonyl...isoleucine would have a pretty decent go at it, being too long (at 189,819 letters, nearly 100 times as large as Methionylglutaminyl...serine) to even appear in it's own article. GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 12:42, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks guys. Some scientists must have waaaaay too much on their hands. --Nelson Ricardo 15:01, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Eye Care

Yes, of course. Very important. Don't do any boxing, for example. And don't do this either: " Newton slid a darning needle around the side of his eye until he could poke at its rear side, dispassionately noting "white, darke & coloured circles" so long as he kept stirring with "ye bodkin." DirkvdM 09:07, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Shaving

1. Shaving lather is used to soften the hairs. Which has to soak for a few minutes. But if you do the same with just water, that works too; I shave after showering and just wetting my face (water only) has the same effect. So what is the use of the lather? And what are those irritating sticky strips on 'modern' razors for? They feel yuck and getting modern razors without them is by now almost impossible.
2. It is advised to shave with the grain. I, however, find it more effective to go against the grain (still talking about shaving :) ).
3. What is the use of after shave? The practical use I thought it had (never used the stuff myself) is to close and disinfect any cuts. But to do that with alcohol...? But now read in the shaving article that it doesn't by itself close cuts, so just a piece of toilet paper will do (that's what I use - if ever). My guess is perfume manufacturers realised they didn't sell to half of mankind and then came up with the idea to change the presentation a bit and associate it with something masculine like shaving. And hey presto, their sales doubled. Of course, perfume for men is much older, but that was to do away with the stench. Since 'we westerners' don't 'stink' anymore, what is the point?
4. And now for the most important one. Why were those 'modern razors' such a success? Half a year ago I was out of blades and decided to try my father's old razor (what are those things called - I mean with a loose blade). The first time I made a bloody mess, but buy the third time I had figured it out; use less presure. Now I always use it because it shaves faster and smoother. Especially when I haven't shaven for a few days. Shaving that with a modern blade (double as it may be) is a lot of work. With an oldfashioned loose-blade razor there is no difference. Even a two week beard comes all off straight away. with the first stroke.
5. Have electric razors improved in the last decades? I have an old Philips razor from around 1980 and found it wasn't nearly as good as wet shaving (even with a 'modern' razors). Then I heard they had improved and I bought a Braun but found it was no better than my father's old Braun. Then I heard that Philips electric razors are better than Brauns, but I'm not going to put money in something I won't use again. DirkvdM 09:51, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I think the progression from the straight razor (the big knife) to the safety razor with disposable razor blades to the disposable safety razor to the electric razor is a steady move from more dangerous and more effective razors to safer and less effective razors. While a straight razor (the old fashioned one) can do an excellent job, you could also possibly kill yourself if you don't know what you're doing. A safety razor can't kill you, but you could still manage to cut yourself. With an electric razor, it's almost impossible to cut yourself or to get a smooth shave. Note that travelling with a straight razor may be troublesome, as it could be considered a weapon. Razor blades could also be considered a weapon. Those "lubrication strips" on some disposable safety razors are supposed to soften up the hair. I prefer Bic disposable razors, which don't have those strips.

One recent annoyance is the "more is better" trend in safety razors. Two blades was questionable, as the claim that "the first blade lifts and the second cuts close" seems suspect, but now they are up to four blades, which is absurd. You are just going to get 4 times the cuts and abrasions from 4 blades, not 4 times a closer cut. I wonder if we will be up to 10 blades on a safety razor (that looks more like a cheese grater) in a few generations. LOL. StuRat 10:26, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Hint. Just let it grow. You get a great beard and don't have to spend any money on razors, lotions, lathers, blood coagulants (styptic pencils), bandages, etc. Plus then people will make all kinds of amusing religious/ethnic assumptions about you. Rmhermen 14:50, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I second that. As a college student, I can use the money. Plus, going to school in rural Ohio, people think I'm Amish. WAvegetarian (email) 17:33, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

arctic foxes

How do zoos keep arctic foxes white the whole year? --KeeganB--

White out. Seriously, I don't think that they do. You can read more about them in our article on Arctic Foxes. -WAvegetarian (email) 17:28, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I've been thinking about this. You would need to know why arctic foxes and hares change colour in the summer. If they do it due to the days getting longer or due to the snow melting. Either way it's possible that the zoo could provide a fake winter environment that stopped the foxes from changing. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 18:47, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Or just keep 'em near the polar bears; that will scare them white. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 23:43, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Signals for winter and summer, ie. sunlight, (as discussed in chronobiology) must some how affect hormone levels, which then affect pigment production. So I would think (if the zoo wanted to), was to just inject them with hormones. Of course, summer coats may be caused by the presence of a hormone, but I would think there would be a way to neutralise that hormone in itself. Elle _{vécut heureuse} (Be eudaimonic!) 13:50, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Wouldn't the environmentalist groups, besides protesting the animals being caged up, protest the use of hormones to change the lifecycle of the animals? I would think it would be a big item for them. Dismas| 15:24, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

It may not be sunlight that affects them but some other signal. I have a cat which likes to be outdoors when the temperature is warmer than -20C. I assumed that she was basing her outdoor life on the amount of sunlight due to the fact that in the Arctic it's more noticeable than in southern areas. However, a couple of months ago the temperature rose from -30C to -10C and the cat went crazy trying to get out and spent up to 30 minutes outside at a time. So it was, for this one cat, something other than the sunlight that affected her. Thus for foxes and hares it may be the lack of snow cover that causes the change from white to gray/brown. In which case all the zoo would have to do is provide a white background/enclosure for the animals. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 15:48, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

EPDM rubber compatability

Hoover dam

Is Hoover Dam actually located in Las Vegas?

The Hoover Dam article gives its location. It is 48km/30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. - Akamad 13:43, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

philosopher

hi, is there any place online where I can ask for the advice of an expert in philosophy?--Cosmic girl 15:42, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure there are quite a few Wikipedians who are professional philosophers: put "philosopher" in the search box but click on search instead of go, then scroll down to the bottom and check off the User box and uncheck the others, then search again. You could also ask your question at Google Answers, although that costs money. WAvegetarian (email) 15:58, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Hmm, that Misplaced Pages search results in a lot of user pages without the word 'philosopher' in them. I wonder why that is, but then what does an amateur philosopher know. Speaking of which, I don't appear in that list because on my page I use the word 'philosophy' (for the study I've done). Alas, using that term doesn't help in finding me either on the first page :( . Luckily, there is not a whole bunch of people who use phrases like "my philosophy is..." in a sense that has nothing to do with philosophy. If you Google that term you're even bothered with loads of companies that think they 'have a philosophy' when they've come up with a marketing scheme.

As for 'expert in philosophy'. That can roughly mean two things; people who have read loads of thick books by long dead people with long beards or people who like to take a step back and think reality over for themselves. The latter are the philosophers themselves. DirkvdM 07:55, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Not to be a spoilsport, but having read loads of thick books by long dead people means that you don't waste time having brilliant insights that, say, Plato refuted a couple of thousand years ago. There's no point reinventing the philosophical wheel...--Robert Merkel 21:54, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

amount of water used in a shower

no question

This depends on how long you spend in the shower and the flow rate of the shower head you are using. Some will use as much as 8 gallons per minute while others use as little as 2.5 gallons per minute. You can read more here. WAvegetarian (email) 17:23, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

As a general rule, a normal shower uses less water than a bath, while a power shower uses more water. smurrayinchester 17:29, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

"Slo-Mo"...

What antidepressant is most often reffered to by snide shrinks as "Slo Mo"? I can't figure it out... I'm not a drug-expert. Thanks in advance.

Your answer could be many things. It could be Valium, a drug used for depression, but also pain killing and other fun things; Lithium carbonate, a drug that takes two weeks to fully establish itself in your system; Wellbutrin XR, an extended-release form of Bupropion...better to ask this question either at the Science desk, or at your locak psychiatry office. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 04:50, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

The Kate Shelley streamliner between Clinton, IA and Chicago, IL

When was the last run of the Kate Shelley streamliner (train) from Clinton, IA to Chicago? My guess is the late '60s. Thank you to whomever might be able to come up with this useless bit of trivia that will settle a long discussion over last night's dinner. Bill Bangs

Try Chicago and North Western Railway and if not then try here. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 18:35, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Want a picture? The 2 at the bottom left are the train, the bottom right is the Kate Shelly museum and the rest are the Kate Shelly bridge. OK, my question is who is why is there no Kate Shelly article? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 18:41, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

ANOTHER HOLIDAY FOR ANOTHER FAMOUS AMERICAN

do you think there should be another holiday for another famous american if so who in your opinon do you think it should be. just for the record iam not doing my homework.

Bah, be grateful for getting 10 Federal holidays per year (not to mention all the other Holidays of the United States.) Over here in the UK we only get 8. GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 22:14, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, but how much paid vacation time to UK workers get? Germans seem to have it the best, anyway. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 23:40, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Also, only government workers get all of those holidays off. Few others get Columbus Day off, and most people have to work on Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day and Veterans Day. Many retail stores close only on Christmas and New Year's. -- Mwalcoff 01:20, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Yeah! The more the merrier! deeptrivia (talk) 05:54, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Religion-Friendly ISPs

wasn't there an internet service provider available that was operated by a group of religious leaders, one of which was creflow dollar; with no offensive activity; still exist?

(Question niftily reformatted by the resident refdesk whore Cernen Xanthine Katrena at 11:05, 15 January 2006 (UTC))

Greek naming conventions

Attempting to settle something amidst a roleplaying group. In modern-day Greece...

Are patronymics used (as in Russian)? Or is it more like Western middle names? --Penta 20:43, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

While I am too lazy to answer your question directly (mostly 'cuz I don't know the answer) I can direct you to Greece, Greek Orthodoxy, Patronymics. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:59, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, Greeks used to use patronymics. For instance: "Stephanopoulos", "Constantinopoulos" = Son of Stephen, Constantine. --BluePlatypus 11:19, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, but the question wasn't "did they previously?", it was "do they now?" --Penta 14:37, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Ok, well that wasn't clear (Russian doesn't use them nowadays). Anyway: No, I don't think think the Greeks use them now (which is why I wrote 'used to'). The only culture I know of which still uses patronymics as the norm is Iceland. The rest of Scandinavia (which probably had the most widespread use) having dropped them in the mid-19th century. (and are thus the latest to have dropped them, AFAIK) --BluePlatypus 17:19, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Just to clarify: By "use" them I of course mean that they don't form new patronymic names. People are of course still using the old ones that they've inherited. --BluePlatypus 17:24, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Simpsons Botanical Joke

One episode of the Simpons (Moe Baby Blues) features a botantical garden with the slogan "Our Stamens are a Pistil. I know what a stamen and a pistil is, but I don't get the joke (which Lisa does). I know having a joke explained is meant to stop it being funny, but it's really bugging me... smurrayinchester 21:03, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

It's a pun on the word pistol, used metaphorically to mean someone who "goes off" easily, I think... —Keenan Pepper 23:35, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I believe "he's a pistol" is an old expression for a funny person, something like "he's a riot". StuRat 02:30, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

James Bond

After "Casino Royale", will there be a "James Bond 22" and what would be the appropriate title be for the 22nd adventure of James Bond?

As long as they continue to make money there is no reason for them to stop making films. As to the title, well some of the films made are not from any of the original books and were turned into books after the movie. So the title could be really anything. See James Bond. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:19, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Considering they just went through considerable trouble finding the next James Bond and gave him a three film contract, I would almost guarantee there being a JB 22. Dismas| 15:19, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

January 15

Private Investigator

How may I contact a Private Investigator the province/state of Karbardino - Balkariya in Southern Russia ? signed --4.232.63.37 02:39, 15 January 2006 (UTC).

Aren't they listed in the local phone book ? StuRat 02:48, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Seriously, assuming you don't speak Russian you will almost certainly need to find somebody who does just to arrange to hire one. That said, the backblocks of Russia are (by all reports) the kind of place where a foriegner looking for trouble hard enough could certainly find it. Make sure you know what you're getting into. --Robert Merkel 06:30, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Geneaology Abbv.

Does GES when used in the context of a birth date mean anything in a geneaological sense? DuctapeDaredevil 03:17, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Where did you see it? The only thing I could find was some sort of degree awarded to (I think) German botanists. As a guess I came up with "Graveyard EStimate" or "GuESs". In other words, a gravestone says "Died Month, Day, Year, Aged XX" and the birthday is worked out from that. If you could provide a bit more context, such as country, etc, it might help. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:23, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Births

Y'know, that's a really good question. I was born once. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:16, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Oil Prices

How much effect will the Emir of Kuwait's death have on Oil prices?

Short answer - who knows, and if you could predict it accurately you could make a pile of money for yourself. Slightly longer answer - according to this BBC report the country has effectively been run by the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister, who is the brother of the Crown Prince, for a while now. If you need more accurate advice than that, consult a professional. --Robert Merkel 06:36, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

--template removed by CXK; I was being a dick and just realized it--

Excuse me, but this is no homework question, I am not even in school. I am a concerned American, and just remember when the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia died and the Oil Prices went up.

When was this? The only rises in oil prices I've seen were the recent ones of note. --removed homework template; apologizes profusely-- Cernen Xanthine Katrena 04:33, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Forgive me, I said Crowned Prince. King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia Died August 1, 2005. Oil Prices shot up shortly after he died.

animated series identification

Okay, I've already done some research on my own and I've gotten nowhere. When I was young I used to rent videos from the kids section. When I was 5 or 6 I rented a video that had a few episodes of some 70's series. It was about a middle-aged man with an overactive imagination. He also had a talking dog as a friend. In one of the episodes he imagines himself as a London detective on the trail of an evil milkman. He is too late to stop the milkman from giving a family poisoned milk that makes their ears grow to a large size. The family likes their new ears. It had a theme song that went "sunflower, sunflower, sunflower" in one part. Does anybody know the name of this series? --KeeganB--

Please list the location and nail down the time frame tighter than the 1970's. StuRat 07:27, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Aw shit, it's a lost cause. KeeganB 1:34 AM sunday morning

I daresay this sounds a lot like Wallace and Gromit mixed with LSD. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:08, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

I was thinking the exact same thing. WereRabbit meets Wrong Trousers meets acid trip. WAvegetarian (email) 10:25, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

This is bizarre, and intriguing, especially the theme tune. Was it a UK or US series? Was it animated or live action? Could you have dreamed it? Have you looked through the list at at Children's television series? --Shantavira 10:25, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

• I guess it's a UK series. Why else would he imagine being a london detective? - 82.172.14.108 13:26, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

• • Here are a bunch of links to look at 1969 in television, 1970 in television, Kids TV 1960's, Kids TV 1970's, Memorable TV Kids (all 3 contain UK and other countries) and British TV history. If you find it come back and tell us what it was. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:48, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

How can i...

I was banned from a posting forum,is there any way to trick it into comimg back,since it recognize my IP and wont let me even re-register....I downloaded some kind of "ip hider",but it only changes my "proxt"(whatever that is),but it aint changin my IP hider... Can you please help me... Thank you...

Read the article proxy.

While I'm not generally one to aid in the perpetration of such acts...you could always post from a different computer. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 10:10, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

• Try apologizing to whoever runs it and to not do whatever got you banned in the first place. - 82.172.14.108 13:27, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Animated TV series

(I'm not the same poster as the fellow above, but his post reminded me to make this one.) In the early to mid 90s, I rented a series of videotapes for my daughter that I'd like to find the name of. They were animated kid's shows, featuring a girl with animals (not real ones, maybe magic kinds) in her hair. I can't remember much else...

What is the most-visited website?

I'd think either Misplaced Pages, Google or IMDb. What are the few most visited sites?

Check out the alexa rankings. WAvegetarian (email) 10:21, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

My connection fails whenever I try to load that page, or even alexa.com.

1. Yahoo!

www.yahoo.com

2. Microsoft Network (MSN)

www.msn.com

3. Google

www.google.com

4. EBay

www.ebay.com

5. Passport.net

www.passport.net

6. Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

7. Myspace

www.myspace.com

8. Microsoft Corporation

www.microsoft.com

9. Google UK

www.google.co.uk

10. AOL

www.aol.com

Grumpy Troll 10:43, 15 January 2006 (UTC).

That list only English language websites, though. The global top 10 contains 5 non-English sites. Fredrik Johansson - talk - contribs 10:50, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Island in San Francisco

What is the island in San Francisco?

Thanking you,

Grumpy Troll 11:01, 15 January 2006 (UTC).

Treasure Island, California -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 11:10, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Angel Island. Alcatraz. Although none of them is in San Francisco. User:Zoe| 00:18, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

The photo GrumpyTroll linked certainly shows Treasure Island. In the legal sense of "in" it, and indeed Alcatraz and Yerba Buena, are inside SF. Angel isn't (it's in Marin). The only (non trivial) island I can find that's in the real people sense of "in" is Strawberry Hill in Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. Google. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:49, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Chicago Bears Gayle Sayers

no question

Chicago Bears • Gayle Sayers. That help? GeeJo _{(t) (c)} • 14:53, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Towns Name

Who is the town of Garrett named after?

What country is it in? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 14:38, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Probably, my most educated useless guess: some guy named Garret who did something useful. Kind of like how the town of Roy, WA was named after a guy named Roy, Seattle was named after Chief Seattle... Cernen Xanthine Katrena 20:43, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Maybe the questioner means Garrett, Indiana? Rmhermen 20:48, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

i want names of Defence Minister

Hello to everybody of wikipedia, and i really appreciate of the work of the wikipedia.com supporters, i have problem , hope tht u will solve it, the problem is that i had a interview some days before sorry to say this i was failed to pass that interview, coz they asked from me abt the defence ministers of different countries, that's why i wanna ur site to give me the names of defence ministers of Whole world, whole countries, plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I m in great trouble, try to give me names of defence minister as soon as possible...

Sam

See Defence minister for a start. Dismas| 15:41, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Sam, for major countries, each country article is likely to have links to a list of cabinet members for that country. With a little a bit of effort, you will be able to find this information for yourself. Ground Zero | t 15:44, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

I know it isn't like me to disparage other people's questions ( -insert someone rolling their eyes here- ) but does this not sound suspicious to anyone? Who asks that sort of question in a job interview? Cernen Xanthine Katrena 04:42, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

What is the first analog video gaming input device?

N64 controller? or the atari 5200 controller? I read the entry "analog joystick" but i think back in the atrai 5200 time, analog is useless?(I think the 5200's controller was not analog, all it did have was the "stick")

203.186.238.160 18:05, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

I wonder, was the Spacewar joystick analog or digital? I'd guess digital. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 18:32, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Higinbotham's tennis probably used a simple rotary potentiometer. Later games, such as Pong, also used rotary pots. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:40, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Incidentally the 2600 had a digital joystick (which you used for most things) and an optional analog rotary pot (which you used for tennis type games). There's nothing terribly hard or novel about an analog controller - all it is is one or more potentiometers linked to analog-to-digital converter circuits. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:47, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Rules to last pocket eight ball

Can you clarify your question? Here are rules for 8 ball: . If "last pocket 8 ball" is a specific variation, I could not find it online nor in the print edition of the official rules for pocket billiards from the BCA. alteripse 18:47, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Rules to last pocket eight ball

If you call a side shot but the eight ball is in the corner that you can not get out. DO you spot it? Signed LLH

I am sorry, I have access to standard 8 ball rules and will try to help, but I do not understand your question at all. Could you please specify whether you are referring to standard 8 ball or a variant game, and rephrase your question? alteripse 20:35, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Mm. I believe he's referring to just straight 8. In which case, no. You can't spot the eight ball in eight ball. That's a mortal sin. There are only two times you can win in eight-ball if you sink it: one is on the break (an automatic win), and the other is when you call the shot ("eight ball, side pocket") and all your balls (stripes/solids) are off the table. If you pocket the eight-ball at any other time, it's an automatic loss. At least, that's how I was taught to play. Cernen Xanthine Katrena 04:39, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

CHINESE NEW YEAR

What animal is represented in the Chinese New year 1956??

NHF

Chinese astrology#Table of the Lunar Calendar and Zodiac says "goat". -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 19:09, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

From Jan 24 1955 to Feb 11 1956 was the year of the Goat, and from Feb 12 1956 to Jan 30 1957 was the year of the monkey. See Chinese astrology. СПУТНИК 19:14, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Recipe Fat and Calorie Content

Where can i find out how much fat and Calories are in This recipe on this website: http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blpasta50.htm?terms=italian+marinara+recipe+sauce

If you google fat content you will find a lot of sites with fat and calorie charts and tables. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 20:30, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

I want to know how much is in this particular recipe.

For us to give you an answer we would have to know how much fat there is in the cheeses you are using. This varies widely depending on where and when it was produced. Without that information, there is no way we could answer correctly. You can look up the nutrition data of individual ingredients at http://www.nutritiondata.com/. Just add to get the total for the recipe. --WAvegetarian (email) 22:06, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Audible Silence

At Stanford University (and probably elsewhere), there are fire alarm panels in some of the buildings which have some interesting things on them. One is the mode for the alarm. An operator can set it to either "alarm" or "audible silence." What is audible silence and does it really work as an alarm? (Yes, I was inspired by the earlier question about silence on this page.) --N Shar 21:41, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Read our Fire alarm control panel article. WAvegetarian (email) 21:56, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks :) I searched but didn't find this article for some reason. --N Shar 22:18, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

snake and songs

Do Snakes get attracted by song or whisteling sound? in certain parts of India, it is been told not to whistle in the night, is that because it attracts sanke or other dangerous creatures?

I had heard that snakes were totally deaf. It turns out they can hear, just not very well. They are most sensitive to frequencies around 200-300 hertz, and whistling is a few octaves higher than that, so they may not be able to hear it at all. —Keenan Pepper 23:55, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

January 16

Commercial Music

Does anyone know what the song is from the new 24 commercial on Fox?-Ridge Racer 01:30, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Foreign Direct Investment Inward/Outward Stock

In the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's World Investment Report, they refer to Foreign Direct Investment(FDI)inward/outward stock. Are these actual stock investments in private companies? --mb

What is a pilot's loss of licence cover