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Reference Desk

November 7

Shortest marriage

Can someone provide me with a list of the shortest marriages in history or recent history? Also, was Hitler's marriage shorter than Britney Spears marriage? Jamesino 00:35, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Um, Dennis Rodman was married to Carmen Electra for like six hours I think?? --Cody.Pope 01:09, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

It depends on how you define the length of a marriage. I'm sure that Rodman's and Electra's marriage continued beyond their 6-hour sojourn, because it would not have been possible to obtain a divorce that quickly. They may have gone their separate ways after 6 hours, but they could not have married other people the next day because they were still legally married to each other. Funnily enough, we have a List of people with the longest marriages, but not a List of people with the shortest marriages. JackofOz 01:37, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

I've heard that in the Middle East, prostitutes take advantage of a loophole in the law. Before the actual act takes place, the prostitute and her client are wed, and they are divorced immediately after the act. That must count as the shortest marriages in the world. JIP | Talk 12:24, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

We have Short-term marriage and Nikah Mut‘ah on the Islamic tradition. See also Hollywood marriage. We also used to have List of people with the shortest marriages but it was deleted; google still has it in cache. Weregerbil 13:02, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

How long (in hours) was Hitler's marriage? Jamesino 23:45, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Based on our article Death of Adolf Hitler, that would have been about 15 hours.  --Lambiam 11:02, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Well, that depends on belief. If you believe that "death does they part," then their marriage would have ended, but surely some beliefs are that love continues in the afterlife.--Porsche997SBS 03:10, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

"death does them part", I think. :) JackofOz 03:32, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

dress

What is the name of a dress that worn by women which is half skirt and half tank-top? I want one of those.

I know them as a tank dress Dina 01:46, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

And is someone who wears them called a Tank Girl ? StuRat 05:14, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Why are they called 'tank tops'?--Light current 10:16, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

The article on tank tops says that it's because they resemble tank suits. Dismas| 10:20, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Tanks!

nude scenes in Shakespeare movies

How many Shakespeare's plays that have turn into movies that have nude scenes? I mean like how many of them have nude scenes from the first to last play?

Romeo and Juliet for one. Rmhermen 01:27, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Which version of Romeo and Juliet?

The 1968 version with Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey certainly did, although it was tame by today's standards - no full frontal stuff, unless my memory's faulty. Whiting's bare butt (shock! horror!) attracted quite a bit of notice among reviewers in those stuffy times. Some non-reviewers also noticed it ... JackofOz 08:19, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure hethat Hussey's breasts were exposed at one point in the film. Not the end of the world, but a bit more exciting that Whiting's bare butt. ;-) --Fastfission 11:53, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

That kinda depends on the viewer's tastes. I still remember Whiting's cute butt, but Hussey's breasts failed to make any permanent impact on my memory. JackofOz 00:28, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Or apparently all of them at once:

Prospero's Books, an adaptation of The Tempest, had quite a bit of nudity. StuRat 05:11, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Roman Polanski's version of Macbeth had Lady Macbeth sleepwalking in the nude and had one of the witches flash Macbeth. JoshuaZ 05:16, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

The Macbeth shown at this year's Toronto International Film Festival did. Chuck 20:34, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

MidTerm Elections

I am an Intelligence analyst currently working in Iraq and it is very important that I find out (something I should know) when the results of the elections will / projected to be. Do you know the answer to this question? Please reply as soon as possible.

See "Election Day results" a few questons above for an answer. -THB 02:15, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

My projection of 06:00 UT translates to 09:00 Iraqi Standard Time Wednesday morning. Marco polo 02:37, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

If you're an intelligent analyst, why are you asking us? --Nelson Ricardo 05:20, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

The OP didn't claim to be an intelligent analyst, but an intelligence analyst. Such people have to get their information from somewhere, and we're obviously the best source of all possible information on all possible subjects, so why look elsewhere?  :) JackofOz 08:14, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Timmy and Jimmy - Red Eared Sliders

A friend of mine told me about a story about 2 sliders...they lived to about 40 years of age. Do you know of this story and can you locate it for me? Thank you.

A turtle Mom.

I couldn't find the two you were asking about but the Red-eared slider article says that in captivity they can live for over 40 years. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 04:21, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Skid Marks

I have been hesitating to ask this question for fear of not being taken seriously! Any way: what is the best way of removing 'skid marks' from underwear? And dont say brake wind carfully! 8-)--Light current 10:14, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

I would think that bleach would work fine for tighty whiteys. For colored briefs and boxers some sort of spray on stain treater should work. Dismas| 10:19, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Bleach can rot the fabric very quickly 8-(--Light current 10:25, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

The standard stain sprays work well, and I always throw in an extra dollop of oxygen cleaner. --Zeizmic 12:42, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

You mean you just spray before tossing them in the washer? Does that get it all out?--Light current 13:55, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Yup. Add detergent and don't mix your colours! --Zeizmic 14:07, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

I think it's time to throw out underwear when that happens. And it's also time to re-examine your personal hygiene habits if this happens on a regular basis (unless you have a medical problem, then it might be time to consider adult diapers). StuRat 17:10, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Throwing out the underwear should not be necessary. After all I'm sure you (or your mom) dont. And I dont think its necessarily a personal hygene or health problem--Light current 03:42, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

There are stain removers, pre-wash treatments, and detergents that have enzymes that remove organic material. Bleach alternatives or oxygen bleaches or hydrogen peroxide may work as well. There are also enzyme products especially designed to clean pet "accidents" that are very effective. -THB 02:05, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Well OK. But what did people do before these new pre wash treatments came out? Scrub or soak or something?--Light current 04:27, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Parents wash their babies' nappies with products specially made for this very purpose, eg. NapiSan. Forget you're not a baby and use some of that. Ever seen skid marks on a nappy? I haven't. JackofOz 08:12, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Sorry Im not allowed to comment here anymore on pain of blocking! See talk page 8-((--Light current 23:08, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Sound intensity?

In school we learn that the lowest sound we can hear is 0 dB, namely ${\displaystyle 10^{-12}W/m^{2}}$, but my amplifier has a sound range of -60 dB to 45 dB, and at around -20 dB the sound is quite loud already, and I cannot stand listening to sound played at 0 dB on this amplifier. So, what's the deal here? Why do I think sound at -20 dB is loud when we're not supposed to hear sounds below 0 dB?

DarkPhoenix 10:22, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

See sound. dBs are only ratios and your amp has a different dB reference level from the 20uPa (equ to ${\displaystyle 10^{-12}W/m^{2}}$ ). See Decibel for more on this--Light current 10:40, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

How hard is it to quit smoking

Is there any truth to the joke:

Quitting cigarettes is easy! I've done it hundreds of times.

211.28.178.86 10:24, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes--Light current 10:26, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

With apologies, I repeat a very recent entry on this same subject. And believe me - it's no joke.

I haven't smoked for over 20 years since I was told by a Consultant Cardiologist in Scotland that I could either smoke or live, but not both. And that was after having smoked 60 a day for the previous 20 years. The pain of giving up smoking was terrible, but I had only been married for a year or so and the choice was made for me by the doctor and my wife (and my conscience). The above responses do not begin to approach the torture of going without cigarettes. I cannot liken it to giving up anything else including sex, food or booze(I have never used any other recreational drugs by the way). Your behaviour changes to being angry, irrational and moody. Eating and drinking do not satisfy the craving - that's the word - craving. I would not go to bed without making sure I had a full pack of 20 cigarretes in the bedside locker. If I went to the swimming pool, I would have to get out and go to the lockers for a quick smoke. I would smoke in between each course of a three-course-meal and sometimes during the meal itself. I was disgusting, but even knowing that, wasn't enough to stop me smoking. I reckon that at today's prices here in the UK, by not smoking 60 a day of my favourite brand, I have saved over £135,000, around $270,000 over the last 20 years - but I am emphatic in saying that had anyone told me 20 years ago how much money I could save by giving up cigarrets, I would not have been motivated to stop - only my health did that. Finally, in trying to answer to the question posed above, I do not consider myself a non-smoker - I still suffer the most awful withdrawal symptoms, and still say quite sincerely, "I am dying for a smoke", and for that reason, I dare not go into any enclosed space where smoking is permitted. Thank God that Scotland has now banned smoking in public places. I can once again go into pubs, clubs, cinemas, theatres, restaurants and public transport without the temptation of smoke in the atmosphere.

At best, it's a half-joke. -THB 02:03, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Duckworth Lewis method of one day cricket

Can duckworthluis law be used without the completion of 25 over of second inning of the one day cricket match? if it can;then have it ever happened in any of odi?

A little clarification may be appropriate here - the questioner is referring to the Duckworth-Lewis method for deciding the target score for the side batting second in a rain-affected one-day match. 'ODI' is one-day international. As for the answer, this link suggests that the method can be used at any stage of the match - it allows for any number of overs to have been completed. I don't know if the specific scenario referred to by the questioner has ever happened. --Richardrj 11:59, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Light Current, why did you make the change you did to the heading for this question? D/L isn't a law, it's a method. You could, if you wanted, have corrected the whole heading to read "Duckworth-Lewis method in one-day cricket", but just correcting the spelling of the name on its own seems pointless. --Richardrj 13:11, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

THe original post said law didnt it? I changed it now. THe point of spelling corrections is so that no one is tempted to make fun of the OP spelling errors. Discussed on the talk page. Sorry I know nothing about cricket as you may have guessed. 8-)--Light current 14:00, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Letters of reference

I am currently working on a motor yacht, privately owned. I have handed in my resignation and given the company a 1 month notice. They are now being funny in that they say they will not give me a writen letter of reference. The said that under a NEW BRITISH law it is either illegal or they cn be sued if any information is incorrect on it. Please advise me of this as i do not believe them and seen as i have worked for them for over a year feel it my right to get a written reference.

Kind Regards Michele Franco

This sounds like a legal question. IMO I dont think anyone has a right to a written reference. You could ask them if you could put them down as a referee on you application form for new jobs. THat way they will fill in a form sent by the new company (or maybe just phoned up)--Light current 12:32, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

AFAIK, ex-employers will no longer write a *bad* reference for someone - as they can be sued for libel if what they write prevents their ex-employee from getting a new job (instead, they simply state that they do not wish to write a reference for that particular person). A good reference shouldn't be a problem though. You weren't on the verge of getting sacked or done anything to really piss your boss off, have you? --Kurt Shaped Box 12:39, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Sadly, a good reference could indeed be a problem. Many if not most British companies and institutions are adopting a cripplingly risk-averse attitude towards pretty much everything. They are terrified of getting sued and will do everything they possibly can to avoid it. In this case, if they write a good reference for someone, another company hires the person on the basis of that reference and the person turns out to be an idiot (not saying you are, Michele!), the hiring company could well sue the first company for negligence. So the first company just prefers to protect its position by not giving any reference at all, beyond the bare facts of when the person worked for them and in what capacity. So, in answer to the question, you will probably not get anything out of them. --Richardrj 13:05, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Of course, at my place, it was always standard practice to give a good reference to somebody really bad, in the hope that they would move to another department... --Zeizmic 13:24, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

All the above responses are very pertinent to what is happening in British employment nowadays. I worked for the UK Civil Service in a recruiting capacity and was specifically not allowed to offer a job unless a reference was forthcoming irrespective of the quality of the application form/CV/and Interview(s). And yes, you guessed it, I was not allowed to give anyone a reference when or after they left, for all those reasons listed above. The only person in the department allowed to supply a reference stating the bald facts only, was the Human Resources Director, again, irrespective of the outgoing employee's credentials and performance. In fact,if anyone junior to the HRD was found giving even a telephonic reference, it was treated as a serious breach of contract with the possible sanction of dismissal - without a reference of course.

I liked the letter of reference in the movie Bartleby, based on the book Bartleby the Scrivener, by Herman Melville of Moby Dick fame. In that movie, Bartleby, who stayed in the office 24 hours a day and stared at a vent in the ceiling, instead of working, was given a letter of reference in hopes that some other company would take him off their hands. He was said to "always be the first one there in the morning and the last at night", "never wastes time in distracting conversation with coworkers", and had a "single-minded focus and attention to detail". :-) StuRat 17:04, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Reference letters are not as common as they once were because of the threat of lawsuit for bad references. It is standard in the US for a company to only confirm dates of employment and job titles. However, references are still given informally, over the phone. Ask your immediate supervisor (not someone in Human Resources) if it would be okay for a prospective employer to call him. Unless you are sure you will get an absolutely "wonderful" recommendation, don't do this; a "good" reference is considered bad. Also, do not give the reference until the final stages of the hiring process, when both you and the employer believe that you will be hired barring unknown problems. An alternative might be a peer reference. Good luck! -THB 02:01, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I was told once that somewhere (in Germany?) a code had developed dressing negative meaning in positive verbiage, like a secret code. For example: "shows initiative" = "does something else than told to do"; "is socially gifted" = "keeps others from their work". It is easy to see how this can lead to miscommunication at both ends if one of the parties is not aware of the code.  --Lambiam 11:16, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

More song questions

Who sang an 80's sog that went...

Stop your fussing boy please stiop your fussing for your time will come.

And who sang the 80's song called another day in Eutopia.

Thanks

Toni Childs sang "Stop Your Fussing". Dismas| 14:14, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

There are no songs called "Another day in Eutopia" or "Another day in Utopia" referenced on the internet. -THB 01:55, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

There's an Alphaville album and song called Afternoons in Utopia, though... Also, Phil Collins sang Another Day in Paradise. 惑乱 分からん 07:55, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Posting a new article

Hello, I wrote a new article yesterday and saved the page. How long does it normally take for it to be published? I tried finding the article with the search function and no results appear. Is there something else I'm supposed to be doing in order for it to appear in the encyclopedia? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by FileHawk (talk • contribs)

Err, do you mean the one you put on your userpage, at User:FileHawk ? -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 15:00, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

You don't appear to have succeeded in creating an article. Maybe you didn't click the "Save page" button after you wrote it? Otherwise your article might have been deleted if it wasn't appropriate. What was the title of the article?--Shantavira 15:35, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Oh, I see, maybe I wrote the article that I wanted to post as a Userpage? I went into my contributions tab and the it says User:FileHawk and the article is there. If I want to create an article, all I have to do is search for a term and then from there create the article? The title of the article I want to post is called FileHawk. It is a basic description of a software written in a neutral tone (I was careful about that, I also looked at other software descriptions that are posted). Sorry, I'm really new at the Misplaced Pages. I use it all of the time for information and research, I wanted to contribute but I'm having a bit of trouble. Thanks for your help. FileHawk 18:12, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

If you're the creator of the FileHawk software, you shouldn't be writing about it (WP:AUTO). Otherwise, follow FileHawk, start the article, sign up for a new user account, and mark the User:FileHawk page for deletion under WP:SPEEDY (using {{db-userreq}}). EdC 21:41, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Temple of the Vampire

Does anyone have more information about them besides what they say in their webpage? or will I need to buy the bible to find out more...? I read it's a state recognized religion...I think the whole idea is pretty cool, even if it is a hoax, which is the most likely, it's still fun...they did it nicely.--Cosmic girl 15:02, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

I think questions about any religion that has half a claim to legitimacy belong at WP:RD/H. NeonMerlin 17:32, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

The main thing the Temple of the Vampire seems to be concerned with is maintaining copyright on the Vampire Bible. Thus, two takedown notices: one for Google and one for the Pirate Bay. They also strongly restate their position on their as-yet unused ebay seller's account. The following is a quote from David Kenworth's article The Socio-Religious Beliefs and Nature of the Contemporary Vampire Subculture (Journal of Contemporary Religion; Oct2002, Vol. 17 Issue 3, p355-370):

Another anarchical group is The Temple of the Vampire whose adherents also worship the 'undead vampire gods'. According to its Vampire Bible (n.d.), a very expensive 24-page paperback, the modem-day temple is a direct descendant of the Temple of the Vampire Dragon Goddess (the Hekel Tiamut) that supposedly existed in Dr of ancient Sumeria. To achieve the vampiric condition, the prospective vampire must aspire to become accepted into the company of the 'undead vampire gods' and worship them according to the prescribed rituals, undergo various grades of vampire occultism, renounce humanity, and strive to become a predator in every way. Apparently, the 'undead vampire gods' now dwell in some nether world, but once ruled Earth and enslaved mankind like cattle to be their source of nourishment. Religion was created in order to keep humanity docile. An approaching apocalypse and final harvest will see the ancient gods return from exile and in the process, they will destroy most of mankind in a carnage of violence, a massive culling of billions who in dying will feed the gods with their life energy. Hence, the great undead gods will return to Earth and their abodes of power and once again humanity shall bow down and serve them. Although The Temple of the Vampire renounces violence and criminal activity, paid-up members are told to prepare the way and are assured that when the vampire gods return, they will rule over mankind with them.

The Temple supposedly exists in the town of Lacey, although its presence there is doubtful (Guinn, 1996: 50-55). Given that the Temple is largely a mail-order organization like The Church of Satan, the lack of an official establishment is hardly a surprise; Lucas Martel, the founder of the Temple of the Vampire, was a member of LaVey's organization. Many contemporary vampires become involved with the Temple for a time, but few continue because they disagree with its brutal world-view and come to believe that it is little more than a money-making scam.

I hope this is some assistance to you. And should want to read the book, there are torrents available or you can buy a legal used copy cheap. Lowerarchy 02:52, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

questions need help.ian

1. why does james bond like his drinks shaken not stirred
2. which body part is the favourite to most women
3. which fruit was not eaten by maya women
4. i had earlier asked who put the first pre historic animal on a tv show n which animal was it.i was told its a dinosaur n by richard orwell..how is this so?

Im quite certain maya women never ate oranges, that is if you mean maya women before they meet europians othervise i suspect theyve eaten everything.

As for James Bond, I think that's just a way to show he has extremely discriminating taste, if he can actually tell the difference between the two. StuRat 16:48, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

AS for #2, If your talking about mens bodies, its the wallet area. 8-)--Light current 16:53, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

For #1, it was because the martini culture was being very anal about their martinis being stirred (and not shaken) so it doesn't bruise the liquor. James Bond's pop culture helped in disspelling that, since he likes it shaken, not stirred. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 17:33, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

You can also look at the shaken, not stirred page. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 17:36, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

No. 2 is eyes. -THB 01:52, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Pardon my scepticism, but how do you know that, THB? JackofOz 08:02, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure I remember reading that "eyes" tops out most of the opinion polls run in women's magazines on "Best physical features in a man". GeeJo ⁄_(c) • 19:01, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

1.Misplaced Pages's Martini (cocktail) article suggests that Bond liked his martini's shaken and not stirred because they were vodka martinis. Shaken martinis are shaken with crushed ice in a shaken, and then the ice is strained out so that all that's left is an ice-cold liquid. "Stirred martinis" are served over ice, which frankly is not my personal preference either. Apparently Bond and I agree, though I would order the drink as a "vodka martini, straight up, with an olive." Saying "shaken not stirred" in a bar is pretty much like wearing a tv shirt that says "card me, I'm not legal to drink." 2.Women are generally less predictable when it comes to that sort of thing (IMHO) -- if you asked a man, you'd probably get 50/50 on butt or breasts. My personal favorite part of a man is the lower back, if he's fit but not too muscular. ;)Dina 20:25, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

This is not a question - it's a big thankyou to you wonderful Wikipedians.

I suspect someone will give me short shrift for NOT posing a question here; whilst it is likely that someone else will tell me this should be on the Computing Question Page - but I have chosen to say thankyou here as I think it more a miscellaneous matter. I ordered a new desktop PC today and thought I had asked all the right questions before doing so. Only afterwards did I visit the supplier's website and discover he no longer fits parallel ports, using only USBs instead. And my printer and scanner are both quite old but still working perfectly, and of course, they are fitted with the former. So the supplier invited me to invest about £150 or $300 on new kit that would be fitted with USB ports and cables. But instead, I used Misplaced Pages and discovered I could buy a USB - Parallel adaptor. I just ordered one online, and spent £6 or $12. You saved me a load of dosh and for that, many thanks to each. Next time I shall be more careful and ask my questions here (or on the Computing page) first.

Yeah you could even use some of that saving to make a small donation (If you were so inclined) 8-)--Light current 16:40, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Also, don't do business with that company any more. Any company that would charge you $300 for a $12 fix is either incompetent or dishonest, and either reason is sufficient to shop elsewhere. I would also make a point of letting them know you won't be doing business with them in the future, and why, so they might actually change their ways. And why not "out" them here, so we know not to shop there, as well ? StuRat 16:45, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Because they'd sue us! Or slap us with a DMCA Takedown Notice, because we used their name :) --Zeizmic 17:00, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

I assume this is a US thing, so I'm not sure in how far ytou are joking, but if consumers can't tell each other about their experiences with products, then how is the free market system supposed to work? DirkvdM 04:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Account receivable and payable with same company

If OK Computer buys a desk from ABC Furniture for $1000 on account, and later sells a computer repair service to ABC Furniture for $1000 on account, it has both an account receivable and payable with the same company. Is there a standard accounting procedure in this case for OK and XYZ to agree that the two debts cancel each other out, with no exchange of cash? NeonMerlin 17:21, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Note that, depending on the jurisdiction, they may, or may not, still owe taxes as if $2000 had been exchanged, and this may affect the accounting practice. StuRat 17:24, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Not only that, but both companies (in English Law at least) would be in Breach of their respective Contracts, each with the other, in having failed to conclude the essential elements of the contracts, namely, Offer, Unqualified Acceptance, and Consideration (Money). In such a Breach, the Law would not smile upon either of the parties who might subsequently claim the Goods they had received and accepted, and purportedly claimed Title to (but not paid for), were not fit for the purpose specified in the Contract. Fulfilling a Contract in its entirety allows both parties to enjoy the protection of the Law; failing to fulfil makes a mockery of it.

Set-off is a very common and accepted practice in English and commonwealth law. I disagree with the above poster's claim that setting-off debts in this way would invalidate a sale of goods agreement. OK Computer has given consideration for the furniture by agreeing to forgive ABC's $1,000 debt for the computer services supplied. Similarly ABC has given consideration for the services by forgiving the debt OK computer owed ABC for the furniture. As tot he accounting procedure you'd have to check the relevant accounting practices in your region. Lisiate 20:43, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

It's called Barter. The benefit is that both companies got something that was worth $1000 to them but both only gave something that was worth $700 (for example). Vespine 01:03, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

No this situation is slightly different. When things are bartered there is a direct exchange of thing A for B. A set-off involves the netting of debts between the two parties involved. The things are sold for a money price but the resulting debts are then netted off against each other. Lisiate 21:18, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Secret Ingredients

This is a topic of much interest for me. I am asking for dishes that employ a secret ingredient that make them incredible.

Most commercial food products have secret ingredients, hidden under "natural and artificial flavors". 17:39, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

"natural and artificial flavors" does not mean "secret ingredients". It usually means "synthesized flavors", or "chemicals which trigger certain flavor responses in humans", the natural/artificial distinction just refers to whether or not the flavorant is developed using artificial (chemical) means or not (the contents are the same in either case). --Fastfission 11:49, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

If the ingredients are secret, we're not going to tell you our recipies. ;-) --Maelwys 18:19, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

My favourite soft drink is Barr's Ir'n Bru', which is sold as "made from Girders", and also known as "Scotland's ither national drrink", and advertised blatantly as such. The secret recipe ingredient that gives it its livid orange colour and distinctive taste is reputedly known only to a very small clique within the family owners. And then in Yorkshire we have a firm of bakers named Allison who advertise their bread as being better because it is, "Allison's Bread --- the bread wi' nowt taken out."

Almost all commercial foods and drinks now have to list their ingredients by law, so there can be no secret ingredients.--Shantavira 19:25, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

That varies extremely from country to country. Most countries don't require any labels whatsoever on alcoholic drinks. Look at a French wine and see what the label says. It may mention that it contains sulfites (or it may not, depending on what country you are in), but it likely doesn't mention that it may contain raw egg white, dried and ground fish bladder, or ground shellfish shells (all fining ingredients, traces of which can't help but remain in the wine after bottling).

Dried ox blood was another fining agent (although banned in 1997) which briefly made the news. Our fining article really needs expanding. Rmhermen 05:04, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

When it comes to food, some countries have strict rules but don't have any enforcement. Right now there's a mess going on because about 25 brands of flavoured instant coffee from Asia contain milk not declared on the label and not obvious to the drinker (the products are supposed to contain soy milk powder, not real milk). The investigation began when a couple of people in Vancouver, BC ended up in hospital with anaphylaxis over it. This kind of stuff often happens with processed foods from east and southeast Asia, for some reason. Another problem is misstating the amount of sodium in processed foods like soup, which can be a huge problem for a person with CHF, for instance. --Charlene 22:58, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

A particularly interesting story of an historic secret ingredient is that of mustard. The Colman's museum, located in Norwich (England) relates the story of Mrs Betty Keen, who in the 18th century devised the secret final ingredient for every batch of her mustard. By the time Colman's took over Keen & Son in 1903, Mrs Keen was long since dead and her secret died with her. Colman's claim the expression "as keen as mustard" derives from the Keen family and the secret ingredient(Some information on Unilever's Colman's page]), although some English language experts believe that the phrase predates this. It is possible that both are correct and that the Keens helped the phrase become popular. --Dweller 21:01, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

In most western countries things like the secret ingredient of Coca-Cola fall under a special law called Trade Secret and therefore are subjec to certain exemptions from other laws like ingredient listings and the like. There are still some things which can not be exempt, like peanuts and MSG and many others which MUST be listed because of health reasons. Vespine 00:45, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I think all the secret ingredient stuff is just marketing hype, but see Coca-Cola formula where all is revealed. (Or is it?...)--Shantavira 18:37, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

When I was growing up there was this brilliant cooldrink called "Crerar's" that was sold in Pietermaritzburg only. I swear it put all other international cooldrinks to shame, and everyone agreed. The legend goes that the only person who knew the secret ingredient was Mrs Crerar, the owner of the company, after her husband died. She would enter her factory with a bottle of the stuff and tell her workers to add a small quantity to each vat. She was told many times to take her product national if not further but she never listened. I wonder if Crerar's is still being sold? Would be interesting to know. Sandman30s 11:52, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

dreaming of things I've never seen or heard of

Hello: I had a curious dream about things I do not know about. I have tried to find answers but really I do not even know where to look. I was told that my dream was about Kabbalistic lessons. I am hoping you can give me some information to point me in the direction of a book or two etc. in order to gain understanding. In the dream I was given a project to do where I was to fix a film that was to have a nature theme but the producer had included women in very little clothing. I went to the book store to get info. and met a women who I somehow knew was Hesetic. I do not know how I knew she was Hesetic because as far as I know Hesetic women do not wear any type of religious clothing other than being modest. She was wearing a head dress that had ribbons that dangled of it, I believe the ribbons were black. In my life I have no knowledge of Hesetic women involved in religious teaching, beyond the raising of the children and the running of the home. In my dream, however; I seemed to know that she could help me or I was at least instantly ready for her to teach me. We sat at a low brass table where she had a gold object that is hard to discribe. This devise symbalized the solar system and she was teaching me nature/the nature of life by moving what I believed where the planets on the object. It looked like a ring on a stand that had rings and balls of different sizes on it (as best as I can remember). I do not remember any of her lessons but I do remember understanding and being surprised at the simplicity.

After I left I went to a old church that looked interesting. A priest let me in and as I entered the small room I noticed that the room was very dark and damp and I could barely differenciate between the stained and moldly status and people. I left! I could fly.

Went back to the book store and found another Hesetic women wearing the same head dress. There may have been a man there too, pretty sure there was. They had a collection of wooden objects that were tall and stood on the table (kind of looked like pepper mills) and I beleieve they represented the planets as well. They were teaching me again and I was thinking I could aford to purchase the wooden set vs. the gold set.

Long story I know but I did not want to leave out details as I do not know which details are necessary since the dream is crazy since I dreamt of things that I have no knowlegde of. That's why I have come to you. Can you help? I appreciate you time. Thank you Ellen Bengston

I doubt that Misplaced Pages editors are especially skilled at dream interpretation, so I'm not sure how much help we can be. I can tell you that I often dream about places I've never been or experiences I've never had. If you are interested in Hasidism, you might want to look at our articles Hasidic philosophy or Hasidic Judaism. Marco polo 18:44, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

As far as science and oneirology is concerned there is no "meaning" or way to "interpret" dreams. I always love more intricate dreams like that. X (DESK|How's my driving?) 21:06, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

I believe that you should consult a Hasidic rabbi. G-d may be calling you to convert to Judaism. -THB 01:48, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

BSG Stick

In the original BattleStar Galatica series, whenever the control stick for the fighters (sorry, forgot what they were called) piloted by the humanlike race was shown, there were three buttons on the stick. One was for the laserlike weapons, and another was for the 'turbo' feature on the engines. What was the other for?

150.134.120.220 19:56, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Don't know about the button, but see Cylon (Battlestar Galactica) for the robots. StuRat 22:04, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

The third button was IM, probably for Inverse Maneuver. For reversing the engines, thereby stopping quickly and flying backwards. Weregerbil 10:49, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

And here I thought they were Instant Messaging each other. :-) StuRat 02:50, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks so much!

64.12.116.133 04:01, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Is There A Flag Of The Cantonese Language? How About A Flag Of Guangdong?

Thanks.

Jeff.100110100 20:46, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Chinese provinces seem not to have flags of their own. However, Hong Kong does have a flag. If you needed an icon for Cantonese, you might use that, since Cantonese is the predominant spoken language in Hong Kong. Marco polo 21:13, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

But there official languages are cantonese and english. Philc _TC 22:50, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

You should also consider that using flags to represent languages is potentially very confusing, as many countries have several languages and many languages are spoken in several countries. See Why you should not use a flag as a symbol of language. Foolip 03:53, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Then there's the fact that Hong Kongers speak Hong Kong Cantonese, which is significantly different than standard Cantonese in some aspects, especially in writing.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  01:41, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Very few languages have their own official flags (The flags of the Francophone and Lusophone - i.e., French- and Portuguese-speaking - communities are the only ones I've heard of. There is no Guangdong flag listed at Flags of the World, which is pretty much the best source you're likely to find for such things online. Grutness...wha? 06:00, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

U.S. Navy uniform

my u.s navy uniform does not fit anymore. where do I go to buy a replacement uniform??? fred groehl

Sorry that I can't help you with your question. I did add a heading so that people will see it. You might want to add your own for any future questions. Marco polo 23:34, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Are you still IN the navy? And if not, should you still be wearing it? Perhsps try the costume shop? Wasn't there a sailor in The Village People ;)?? But seriously, if you are ex-navy and you are wearing a navy uniform, aren't you a member of a club or something where you could ask? Vespine 00:37, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

At the PX of course. -THB 01:44, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm guessing you're retired and want to wear it for Veteran's Day parades and such. I'd try a tailor first. They can let out the seams, then add new material, if needed. If you've really gained a lot of weight, then maybe you do need to get a new one. You could ask at a VA office if there is some way to get a replacement (be sure to tell them what it's for). If not, maybe a costume shop wouldn't be a bad idea. StuRat 03:00, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

What about looking through your yellow pages for a local Army/Navy surplus store? Dismas| 05:51, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Chemicals in Cigarettes

You posted in an earlier thread a link to show the chemicals in cigarettes. Where could I find the chemicals that are in an alternative cigarette? They (Herbal/alternative cigarette company)claim its all natural but wouldn't it be impossible or hard (to smoke)and for it to burn if there weren't chemicals added to the mixture inside? Even though the chemicals are probably in the papers they would still would be too difficult for dried leaves to burn without assistance of at least a couple chemicals wouldn't it?

Why do you say that? There are many 'natural' volatile substances that could be used instead of chemicals, saps, waxes and the like, perhaps it uses something like that? Also, don't kid yourself, just because natural substances are used doesn't mean they are less harmful then man made chemicals when you smoke them. Vespine 00:34, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I don't doubt they are just as bad. Do you know or does anyone know of how to find out the real chemicals or whatever else is used in the alternative cigarettes? I know they were sued a while back for false claims of being healthier and all-natural. BTW, what kind of saps or waxes would make it possible to burn? I never heard of that before.

Tobbaco is the dried leaves of the tobbaco plant. One presumes that it wouldn't need anything to make it burn, true? Englishnerd 17:53, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

They add chemicals to make it burn evenly. The rings in the paper are for the same purpose. -THB 00:06, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

Natural hair colour

What is the natural hair colour of Iranian and Afghani people? Is it black only or other colour?

What is the natural hair colour of Chinese, Korean and Japanese people?

See Hair color —Mitaphane _talk 23:58, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Jet black for CJK countries, although I can tell you from experience that some young children in Korea have brown hair. Here's a photo of my hair taken before I was 9 years old. (My hair's black now.) --Kjoonlee 02:08, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

LOL, is it the custom in your country to take pics of each other's hair ? StuRat 02:54, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

The image title says "cropped". Is it a custom in your country to avoid photographing the hair, altogether? @_@ 惑乱 分からん 07:48, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Your question seems to be about a certain age group. I'm certain that many older Iranians and Afghans have white or grey hair, achieved through the natural process of ageing. JackofOz 07:57, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

manga and anime differences

why are some anime different from the manga they originated from like Beyblade and B-Daman?The people make the characters look different and they change the characters stories and sometimes,they have characters the characters that existed in the anime but not and vice-versa!And im not talking about filler-arc characrters,im talkin bout main characters that appear throughout the story.Thanks for answering!

Like many fictional works that jump artforms, the people who work the manga aren't the same from the people who work on the anime(e.g. Rumiko Takahashi did not work on the Ranma ½ anime series). They are different artists with different visions. Furthermore, sometimes a direct translation between artforms isn't workable. For example, often times books that are turned into movies have to be altered to fit a 2 hour format. —Mitaphane _talk 00:08, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

This was actually a question on one of AnimeNation's recent recent Ask John columns. See http://animenation.net/news/askjohn.php?id=1427 . Ironfrost 12:09, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

November 8

culling bettas?

i just read something about how when you breed bettas, you should "cull" the the babies. i understand that its something where you get rid of the "bad" fish, and just keep the good ones. what i dont understand is how. can anyone clear this for me? thanks.

Try Google search for "culling Bettas". Or you asking how to actually "dispose" of them? -THB 03:22, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

thanks, that helped me! :)

Anti-Monster/Undead Strategy

So I had this crazy dream where I was hanging around this "abandoned" house with some people I didn't know and it suddenly became incredibly clear to me that we had to detain a "werewolf". We fought the werewolf and I bound its mouth with a belt (the werewolf was really big), but while we were trying to tie up its feet it snapped the belt and bit off my legs. I backtracked in the dream and instead of using the belt I knocked the wolf out (which caused it to turn back into a portly, middle-aged man) and used a knife I didn't know I had to hack at his lower jaw until it was a useless mess. Is this a viable strategy for protecting yourself from disease transmission from the bites of the cursed undead? Zombies? Vampires? This is not homework. 24.250.33.247 03:25, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I'd stay away from the teeth/jaw, as it might not be the bite, but being slashed by a fang. If all else fails, find an item of pure silver and press it against any wounds. User:Zoe|(talk) 03:42, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

For a while there I thought maybe this was homework.  :) --Maxamegalon2000

And since you've mentioned strategies against the undead, may I suggest Max Brooks' The Zombie Survival Guide? It's a great book. ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 07:15, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm, dream strategies for monsters made me think of the end of A Nightmare on Elm Street. 惑乱 分からん 07:41, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Maybe you're just a little nervous about tomorrow's dental appointment?--Shantavira 08:16, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

You may find it useful to know that firearms come in quite handy against unfriendly, unusual beings such as this. Яussiaп F 01:09, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Just remember that you need silver bullets for werevolves (IIRC) and zombies need to be shot in the brain. We wouldn't like any nasty surprises in your next dream... Also, please make certain that it's a monster first before you act. 惑乱 分からん 10:56, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Silver bullets are only good against vampires and witches. Werewolves have to be killed during the day (or not a full moon night) when they have no superhuman powers --froth 22:34, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages Editing

How many edits are made to Misplaced Pages by editors under the influence of Marijuana or other drugs? Does it affect the quality of the project? Or does it simply impart a new perspective on the project? Hizzizzle 05:42, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

• If you click on Special:Recentchanges, every place you see a little bold m means that the user was high on marijuana at the time. (A little known fact is that the capital Ns stand for "naked"!) It's a pretty neat Javascript feature that was implemented pretty recently. --Fastfission 05:51, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

• LOL. And here I thought the "m" meant they were typing with one hand only. StuRat 07:27, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

"m" for minister or for might hand ? -- DLL 19:19, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Rather for the Manual Movement Member Meddling done with the non-typing hand... ;) 惑乱 分からん 21:12, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

13 letter word

Its a 13 letter word. Doctors hate it, Fishermen like it and childern love to eat it. What is it?

If you enter "doctors hate it fishermen like it and children love to eat it" in Google you'll easily find the answer. Google has unfortunately ruined the art of riddles. --Fastfission 05:57, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

See our earlier discussion here: . StuRat 07:21, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

what standing for asl plz

—what standing for asl plz 59.162.198.152 06:34, 8 November 2006 (UTC)santosh —

Asymmetric Subscriber Line? Arithmetic Shift Left? Age, Sex, Location? Oh, and please write in English, not in h4xx0r d00dsp33k. JIP | Talk 06:36, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

It's quite obvious to me that English isn't their first language, so we should have patience. StuRat 07:13, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I was referring to the "plz" bit. Is it so hard to write "please"? JIP | Talk 07:17, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

If the only English he knows is from chat rooms, then he may not know "plz" is short for "please". StuRat 07:25, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

In Internet chat rooms, the person who says it is asking you your age, sex (male or female), and location. StuRat 07:08, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

ASL? (57MUK) --Shantavira 08:20, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

And the PLZ might be part of the original question. Somebody could easily ask you "asl plz" which would mean, roughly, "Please, what is your age, sex, and location?" --Fastfission 11:44, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Or American Sign Language, depending on the context. Edison 15:54, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Name of this bomb test

This is one of the most iconic images of mushroom clouds and nuclear weapons: http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/755000/images/_756742_mushroom150.jpg

Anyone knows the project, bomb or at least the location names? ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 07:29, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Manhattan Project? 惑乱 分からん 07:40, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Searching for hydrogen bomb in google image search suggests it's a hydrogen bomb. Couldn't find the name of the bomb though; nothing on List of nuclear tests jumps out immediately. The image is sold as a poster in several places; there is a non-zero possibility it is a painting rather than a real bomb. Weregerbil 10:31, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

It is an image of a French hydrogen bomb test. Give me a minute and I'll figure out which one it is... --Fastfission 11:33, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

It is the Licorne test from 1970. If you watch the movie footage on that page you'll see that it has the same cloud effects as that photo at one point. --Fastfission 11:38, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Dang those are impressive pictures! I'm a complete noob as to image copyrights; is there anything we could use on the France section of List of nuclear tests? Weregerbil 12:07, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes! Licorne! Excellent! Now I just need to find a high resolution image of this! Thanks, Fastfission! ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 17:42, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Trinity seriously!

Life Aquatic

Near the end of the film there is song that acts as the climax, what is it? It starts at 1:47:36 (the lyrics aren't in English). --Cody.Pope 07:41, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I think it is a portuguese cover of a David Bowie song, remade as a guitar-based bossanova or something... 惑乱 分からん 07:45, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Sure, but I want I name. It is not on the album. --Cody.Pope 07:58, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Apparently, the songwriter kept the English title, even when translated. It could probably be found on The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions by Seu Jorge. 惑乱 分からん 09:08, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

It's "Ziggy Stardust", by Bowie, in Portuguese. --Sturgeonman 21:26, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

riddle mind boggling

check me tomorrow and i will be different..what am i?

gosh - the date. truly boggled!--Bilbo B 08:37, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Most things will be different tomorrow. It's called Impermanence. --Shantavira 12:52, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Or more general, Time. Joneleth 15:08, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

tuition fee

how much is the tuition fee that i will pay for an education course

• Please be more specific. Fees differ from country to country and also differ per course or by educational institution. - Mgm| 10:53, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Hotel made of gold

Weeks ago I read about a hotel (maybe in Hong Kong? I don't know) that was totally made of gold, from the beds to the toilets. Can someone tell me the name of that hotel? Thanks! --RiseRover| 15:05, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I severly doubt it was completly made of gold or it would fall apart instantly, even all the interior is most likely not gold either due to the excessive weight of it would make the floor crash. Most likely it just has a thin layor of gold plating on everything. Joneleth 15:07, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I expect one could build a hotel out of gold. "Gold" includes alloys, which are stronger than the elemental metal. Gold foundation? No problem. Then build beams and columns of gold to constitute the structure, or use goldbricks if cost is no object. Corrugated gold panels for walls and floors, held together with gold bolts or welded construction. Have to come up with a nonconductive oxide of gold to insulate the wires. Gold beds are going take a little work to be soft and comfy.Way easier to build than a House of Wax or even a Cheese Castle as found along the interstates in Wisconsin, or a literal steak house, a Gingerbread House or the Corn Palace if it were truly as described. Edison 16:04, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Golden Palace, in Hong Kong. http://en.ce.cn/Life/news/photo%20news/200609/20/t20060920_8643778.shtml --Kjoonlee 17:05, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

But this hotel certainly is not "made of gold". According to the source, two tonnes of gold were used to build the hotel. This is approximately the weight of a large sports utility vehicle. This amount of gold would be insufficient to construct a hotel. Certainly the hotel's internal structure uses other materials. Relatively small amounts of gold must have been used for surfaces and furnishings. Marco polo 17:14, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

You have a point, but I think it's likely to be the same hotel RiseRover mentioned. I saw the hotel on TV the other day as well. --Kjoonlee 17:25, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

... Then I received an email from the World’s valets. They respected men-women parity and lived on prayers. Thelema, their abbey, had just received a gift that had help to clean the gold layers of the wall, floors and roofs, to better show the spirit of the place ... -- DLL 19:15, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, it was that one! Thanks for the link Kjoonlee --RiseRover| 21:53, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

When Anderson Cooper was on Jeopardy! one of the questions was something like "Only one cubic meter of this valuable element has ever been mined in all of history" and the answer was gold. So that makes it hard to believe a solid-gold anything. --froth 01:01, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

With all due respect to Jeopardy's question-setters, and knowing that gold is extremely malleable and ductile, I find this assertion very doubtful. What about all the gold the Incas and Aztecs had? Not to mention Fort Knox and similar storage places elsewhere? Surely much, much more than 1 cubic metre. JackofOz 01:11, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

From Gold#History, "Gold in antiquity was relatively easy to obtain geologically; however, 75% of all gold ever produced has been extracted since 1910. It has been estimated that all the gold in the world that has ever been refined would form a single cube 20 m (66 ft) a side (8000 m³)." CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 01:47, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Still less than I would have thought, but a lot more than 1 m³. Thanks, CBW. JackofOz 01:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Information on a company in buisness prior to1853 through 1863

History of a fire arm manufacturing company in buisness prior to 1853. Company name- Cooper Fire Arms Manufacture. Located in Frankford Philadelphia Pennsylvania

I may be surprised, but I doubt whether any of us at Misplaced Pages has easy access to this kind of archival information. I would recommend seeking guidance with a reference librarian at the Philadelphia Public Library. Probably you will need to visit state and/or county archives and get hold of old census records. Marco polo 17:16, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

If you are only trying to see what years it was in business, old city directories are a good source. Rmhermen 18:33, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

google came up with this: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/Bah/dam/rg/ys/r26ys15.htm . There is an entry "Cooper Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, charter and list of subscribers" in the box 14 list. At least now you know which box to look in 8-). --Dementios.

DD3 Report from Canada Revenue Agency

I would like to know what is a DD3 Report from Revenue Canada. Specifically, I would be interested what information Revenue Canada discloses about a person in this report. I also would like to know who has the right to obtain this report or who is authorized to view this report.

I would really appreciate an informative answer as I do not know anything about this subject.

Thanks so much,

Ed

Probably the easiest thing to do is ask them. Lowerarchy 01:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Just called and ordered mine! Dec 18/ 2013 It is an internal reference to "income" slips reported by you the taxpayer for a specific year. Beware who is asking for these!!! I was informed the CRA will make sure I receive copies of my income slips for the years requested by myself in 5-10 business days.

Looking for a yearly overview of world news events

I need info on what the major news, sport and entertainment highlights were for every year of this century - a kind of "yearbook" article. My searches have been fruitless. Any ideas?

Misplaced Pages has a growing set of articles such as 1995 (and other years) for news. And check out the 1995 by topic box to the top left - that points to music, &c &c. Also Category:1995 points to Spot &c &c, as well as to other years. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Britney Split

Britney has split from her 2004 husband on grounds of irreconciliable differences. Channel V was airing all their pranks and foolish antics during their marriage. Just after second child they split. This clearly demonstrates the unreliability and lack of faith.

This is Freedom and the foolish culture of the west.

The same goes for the split between the paralysed scientist and his wife over irreconciliable differences who was always a victim of abuse.

How does one define irreconciliable differences?19:09, 8 November 2006 (UTC) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kjvenus (talk • contribs) 18:58, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

• Pardon?

The question "how does one define irreconciliable differences" is reasonable, even if the rest of the POV in the question is, err, questionable POV. I suspect the answer is that there is no definition beyond a test of reasonableness (of the assertion that there is an ID) on the part of the judge hearing the case. It's difficult to gainsay a party who claims an ID, since it must to a large extent be subjective in nature. --Tagishsimon (talk)

I just like how the original poster said "2004 husband". It makes him sound like a car... "This is our 2004 model but everyone's dropping him off for a trade in these days. Just wait till the '08s come into stock though!" Dismas| 20:54, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to start removing all these trolling "foolish culture of the west" "questions". StuRat 21:15, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I understand the idea, but it might be considered censorship, although the user basically abuses the reference desk continuously, to begin with... 惑乱 分からん 21:18, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

When you look at the original poster's contributions, you do have to wonder what benefit he is bringing to Misplaced Pages, especially with posting on archived pages. Or maybe that's okay. I'm new, it's late and sometimes I'm a grumpy old sod.Mmoneypenny 22:47, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

To give a possible, legally defined answer to the question (Definition of irreconcilable differences from nolo.com) "Differences between spouses that are considered sufficiently severe to make married life together more or less impossible. In a number of states, irreconcilable differences is the accepted ground for a no-fault divorce. As a practical matter, courts seldom, if ever, inquire into what the differences actually are, and routinely grant a divorce as long as the party seeking the divorce says the couple has irreconcilable differences." ---Sluzzelin 23:40, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps our inquirer might explain how "the foolish culture of the west" differs from what must be "the wise culture of the east" in the matter of Nikah Mut‘ah which looks suspiciously like the matter under consideration. B00P 11:01, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Sturat: this clown is a tedious fool. alteripse 13:50, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

DL Envelopes

Having read your article on DL Envelopes I am fully aware of what size it is, but what does DL mean or stand for?

"The DL format is the most widely used business letter format. DL probably originally stood for “DIN lang” historically, but ISO 269 now explains this abbreviation more diplomatically as “Dimension Lengthwise” instead. Its size falls somewhat out of the system and equipment manufacturers have complained that it is slightly too small for reliable automatic enveloping. Therefore, DIN 678 introduced the C6/C5 format as an alternative for the DL envelope." --Tagishsimon (talk)

Hiring IT Engineers

World's largest software vendor Microsoft,, which employs over 4,000 professionals in India finds hiring just out-of-college IT engineers a problem. Whats ironical about the above claim is that the turn-out rate of engineers in the US is drastically low compared to India. But Microsoft on the other hand cites the lack of practical approach of the Indians 19:30, 8 November 2006 (UTC)~~

And your question is? The disparity in the rate at which engineers are turned out in each country may have little or no correlation with the applicability of their training to the tasks MS would set them to. I've had occasion to be less than impressed with the subject-matter awareness on the part of first degree holders. So, I fail to see the irony. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Yeah, my classmates are kind of stupid and it's hard to be proud of a CS bachelor when I know how "smart" other grads are. --froth 00:59, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The Economist has stated that only a small percentage of 'offshore' graduates are ready enough to work directly for multi-nationals. In fact, there is as a much shortage there for 'talent' as anywhere. --Zeizmic 00:33, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

History

The Know Nothing political party consisted of what people?

Know Nothing may be your friend. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Thanks

Sergeant Schultz? ("I hear nothing! I see nothing! I know nothing!") Clarityfiend 22:37, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

physics question

'If a cannon ball was trying to hit a tank traveling at 10 m/s in a straight line, how far from the target should the tank be when the cannon is fired at 70 degrees? The change in x is 124.06 m.'

I'm not asking anyone to do the problem for me, but point me in the right direction? I just need to get started.

At first glance, it seems like more info is needed. What is meant by "the change in X?" Is the cannon 124.06 m from the path of the tank? Are you supposed to assume the muzzle velocity is such that a trajectory will carry it up at a 70 deg angle and reach a point at the same height 124.06 meters away? Edison 22:30, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

The change in X means the total horizontal distance traveled. The initial velocity of x is 18.04 m/s, and the initial velocity of y is 31.24 m/s. What I'm trying to find is how far away the tank should start. The cannon will fire at 70 degrees and hit the tank, assuming it goes at a constant 10 m/s.

First you need to figure how long it will take the cannonball to fall, using only the vertical component of it's trajectory. Then figure how far it will move horizontally, in that time. Next, figure how far the tank will travel in that time. Then plot both movements on a graph and find the total distance. I'm assuming the direction of the cannonball is 90 degrees to the direction the tank is moving, but I would need to see a diagram to be sure. If I'm correct, you can use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the total distance from the two component distances. BTW, why didn't you post this to the Science Ref Desk ? StuRat 02:33, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

do manga artist get paid?

do manga artist get paid? also wat if the series they made becomes an anime or toys or video games,does the manga artist still get some of the profits atleast?If not,that is SO unfair.But thanx for answering

It depends on their contract with the distributor/publisher. --Cody.Pope 22:47, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Of course. Rumiko Takahashi (creator of Ranma, Urusei Yatsura, Inuyasha etc, is one of the wealthiest women in Japan cause of her manga works, for example. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 00:34, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

• If the artist is with a reputable manga comic publisher and not indulging in vanity publishing, there's no reason not to pay them. Anyone who is attached to a reputable publisher is being paid for doing their job. What makes you think they're not? - Mgm| 09:58, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

what kind of medicine existed in World war i?

i need the name of those medicines and the country which create the cure. ty

Lots including many that had existed for thousands of years and some made by every country. Are you thinking of new medicines from that period? Or common medicines? Rmhermen 23:56, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

There is a little information (though not much) in the relevant section of the History of Medicine page. Clio the Muse 00:16, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

i wanted a link or somewhere i can find the medicine used in world war one and each countries' invention of medicine at that particular time period. ty

Googled 'timeline pharmacological inventions discoveries:

• and particularly this detail:

Might not be as much detail as you want, but it's a start. Anchoress 03:30, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

guys: thank you very much for your helps my name is Antonio He.this is my first time using "contact wikipedia" so i'm not quite good at asking questions. anyhow, ty for the help and i'll do my best to help others on other subjects i know the most.

They had no antibiotics. They had x-ray machines. They had anesthesia. They knew about the need to use sterile technique. They had blood transfusions. If the wound did not become infected, the patient had a good chance of surviving. Not sure if they used oxygen, but it was used for high altitude avaition experiments, so it might have been available. They did plastic surgery. Edison 00:10, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

November 9

Scott O'Grady

Hello

My name is Miss Dana Glass and I would love to know of where I may get in contact with Scott O'Grady. Since you are the best site to do this it would be great if I could finally find him. I would like to know of his personal life as well, I know that he was just getting finshed in school in Dallas TX, but, that is all I know. So, would you be so kind to help me out please???

I got to meet him about 10 years ago, in those few minutes ususally I am shy when it comes to men but, talking to him I wasn't shy.I would just like to know that he is doing alright for himself.My e-mail address is <removed>. This is very impotant to me.

                                Thank you very much 
                                Miss Dana Glass

Do you mean this Scott O'Grady? If so you could try and write to him throught Random House. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 01:39, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Election music

Does anyone know anything about the song that plays on all the networks every (US) election? I think I saw something about it two years ago, but can't find anything on yahoo/wikipedia right now. Does it have a title, who composed it, and when? And how did it get chosen for this position? -Goldom ‽‽‽ ⁂ 01:31, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Snoose

When was this term first used for smokeless tobacco? I can not find it on Wikapedia and the word "snoose" isn't in the dictionaries at my local library. Is it snuff or loose leaf tobacco? The word "snoose" was used in an Alaskan fisheries magazine in 1945 so it has been around in print at least that long. None of the cans of smokeless tobacco at a store uses the word "snoose." Pat Roppel

According to Dictionary.com, it started around 1910-1915, from the Swedish "snusa". --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 02:29, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Probably not derived from the verb form "snusa", but directly from the noun snus(tobak). Also, I think it could possibly be related to snooze, or other Germanic nose-related words starting with sn-. 惑乱 分からん 10:46, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Hard Song

What would be an example of a piano song that one would play for a very high level international examination or recital or performance; or a very difficult piece? And as well, what would be an example of a flute song that one would play for a very high level international examination or recital or performance; or a very difficult piece? Jamesino 02:35, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Thousands of examples for the piano question. My extremely subjective list starts with Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, Debussy's Etudes, Liszt's Sonata in B minor, Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata, Balakirev's Islamey, Stravinsky's Three Pieces from Petrushka, Chopin's Funeral March Sonata, almost anything by Rachmaninov, Schumann, Bartok, Brahms, Prokofiev, Scriabin ..... far too many to go on. JackofOz 02:57, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

There are probably many valid examples for the flute question too. Jacques Ibert's Flute Concerto is considered to be one of the pièces de résistance. Sigfrid Karg-Elert's 30 Caprices for flute are also very difficult to perform. ---Sluzzelin 03:29, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

You might also check out recordings by flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal. Many 20th century composers wrote music for him specifically. The range of his artistic and technical resources allowed them to compose with comparatively few restrictions dictated by the instrument. ---Sluzzelin 04:11, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The flight of the bumble bee might be quite challenging--Light current 12:42, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Beethovens Moonlight Sonata, third movement. See here Philc _TC 18:54, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

piano: i wrote something called kosmikophobia. if you want a copy of it, i'll send you one. just let me know. it's about as difficult as a debussy etude or so. flute: jolivet's chant de linos or berio's sequenza I. shulamit ran wrote something called 'east wind'. it's great. you should play that, too.--Coolsnak3 22:01, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I don't know if this is relevant for your purpose, but pieces can be difficult for very different reasons. 'Flight of the bumblebee' might be very fast, but if the fingering isn't too complicated that is 'just' a matter of practising. Stuff by Rachmaninov tends to be very slow (especially when played by Sviatoslav Richter), but very difficult in terms of getting the 'mood' right, ie the dynamics (loud/soft) and very precise timing that does not follow the beat precisely (I mean in a not straightforward beat). The fast pieces in 'flight of the bumblebee' can (should) be played at the same volume with a constant timing between notes, which makes it ultimately much simpler to play than, say, Rachmaninov's third pianoconcert. DirkvdM 07:40, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Advice Sought

Do any of you guys (or girls) have any tips on how to get my reluctant girlfriend to have anal sex with me? Shes 17, almost 18. Any advice would be appreciated as I really want to try it myself. Hizzizzle 04:23, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

See lubricant. --Cody.Pope 04:35, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Although you'd be better served at Personal lubricant, rather than considering graphite powder, or boron nitride. --ByeByeBaby 07:11, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Beyond the wise advice given above, You're going to have to have an honest discussion with her about why you'd like to try this, and address her concerns about it. Hypothetically, she might be worried about it being painful, or she might be worried about it it being icky. Or she just might not want to have things shoved up her backside. Look, it might just turn out that she doesn't want to go there, at least not with you and not right now. And that's something you're going to have to accept if you want to maintain your relationship. I'm sure there are certain sexual practices you wouldn't indulge in even if she asked you to - though I wouldn't pretend to know what your personal limits might be. But, to give some hypotheticals, would you be OK with her using a dildo on you? Or maybe she'd like to have a threesome with you, her, and your best (male) friend? Or maybe she'd like to indulge in some BDSM using a cattle prod on certain sensitive parts of your anatomy? At some point, you'd draw the line, right - despite there being people who indulge in these and a massive variety of other activities to get their jollies. So why should she be any different?

In any case, have an honest talk with her. Whatever the outcome of your specific wish here, it's almost certain to result in a more enjoyable sex life for both of you. --Robert Merkel 05:02, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I'd go with the advice above. Be aware that anal sex is not only disgusting but your at risk of catching HIV and eventually AIDS if the sex is unprotected. Sex is not recommended unless it is safe--PrestonH 06:00, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Anal sex is only disgusting if you're doing it right. --Richardrj 08:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Disgust is an attitude of mind and is subjective. What I find disgusting, you may think is ok. Personal opinions like this should not be expressed in replies. Please Stick to the facts.--Light current 17:25, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Nice Woody Allen pastiche... ;) 惑乱 分からん 11:02, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Dont be silly, you cant have safe sex all your life, where do you think babys come from, if you know someone, and your both clean, shag them as much as you (and they) want however you want. Philc _TC 18:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't think safe and anal sex necessarily contradicts each other. Just practice it with condom sense and common sense. 惑乱 分からん 19:46, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree. And if you do get into it, the most important thing is what Cody.pope said - lubricant, lots and lots of it. Oh, and go S-L-O-W-L-Y, particularly at the start. JackofOz 03:27, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Start by combining aggressive anilingus with cunnilingus and then a gentle fingering combined with the anilingus. If she enjoys the way that feels, you can move on to two fingers and then eventually penile penetration. Telling her how much you love her over and over again will help, too. -THB 03:32, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Oh, and I think talking about it too much will be unhelpful--you won't change her mind. Better to have her decide she likes it and wants it on her own. -THB 03:34, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Metallurgy

How to pronoune " gangue"? Adda

The Random House Unabridged Dictionary says it's the same as "gang". You can consult several online dictionaries at http://www.onelook.com if you want to see if there is any disagreement. --Anonymous, 08:48 UTC, Nov. 9.

user count

I got a question. Even though there are millions of user accounts on Misplaced Pages, some of them are sockpuppets or vandals, some of them don't edit at all, and some of them made a few edits before they depart. Can someone tell me how many active users (like 10 or more edits a month) are there in the English Misplaced Pages?--PrestonH 05:16, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

In the Misplaced Pages article it states "During December 2005, Misplaced Pages had about 27,000 users who made at least five edits that month;" Unfortunately, the stats reference site it refers to is not accessable, but that section should give you a good idea how many active users there is. —Mitaphane _talk 09:43, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The number of editors grows by about 13% per month, so the present number of active editors may be 4 times at large. I don't know of an analysis of the distribution of editor activity, but my guess is that of these 27,000 users only maybe 10,000 had 10 edits or more in December 2005. My best guess for today would be 40,000.  --Lambiam 11:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I think I asked this question before and the answer was about 30000.--Light current 12:06, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Two months ago you answered this question with: "About 38000 in June." The criterium for being "active" in the question was at least 20 non-vandalism, non-user-page edits. With a 13% per month grow, that would make this now about 70,000.  --Lambiam 12:42, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

There you go! Answering, asking: they seem to merge! I seem to remember now I looked it up I believe on tha stats page 8-)--Light current 16:35, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

13% growth per month means a doubling roughly every half year. There are about 100,000 times as many people on Earth as editors. 2 is about 125,000, so in 8.5 years there will be more Misplaced Pages editors than people. :) Of course the curve will flatten, also because by then not quite everyone will have access to the Internet yet. So if in 8 years time everyone who does have access is a Misplaced Pages editor, does that then mean that by then Misplaced Pages will have taken over the Internet? If everyone uses and participates in Misplaced Pages, then why would they bother putting new info elsewhere? Of course this excludes stuf like email and various downloads (music, programs), but will all written info on the Internet be on Misplaced Pages within 10 years? DirkvdM 08:00, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages is not an indiscriminate collection of information. Of course there'll be things other than Misplaced Pages --WikiSlasher 11:22, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Buying TVs in Australia.

I'm looking to buy a new TV in Australia. Where is the nicest, cheapest place I could look? I'm very hard on for cash. I'm looking for one thin-profile TV, 96cm or greater with at least 480p, and one 70cm or greater with 720p. The latter would be preferable in 4:3 ratio. Any suggestions? I'd greatly appreciate it.

It depends on what state you're in. If you're really short on cash, have you considered buying a used TV? For istance, have you had a look on Ebay, the trading post (remember to tell them they're dreamin'), or in Cash Converters (the second hand dealers/pawn shop chain?) Beyond that, some people also sell new stuff on Ebay, and then there's the outer suburban discount barns. --203.214.55.189 12:27, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Crime Converters? 16:07, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Heathrow help needed - British users alert!

I've got to get to Heathrow for a flight to America at 8:30ish (GMT) in the morning in a couple of weeks.

How many hours before would I ideally have to be there for starters, i'm guessing at about 4:30am or 5? More importantly, does anyone know an affordable way for me to get there from Kent as I don't drive.

I'm thinking the best way will be last train to London and bus or coach? If anyone knows any good cheapish car services or owt that'd be great though. Thanks.

Harwoof 08:27, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I would have thought 5am is about right. As for getting there, if I was in your shoes I'd stay in a hotel near the airport the night before rather than attempt to get there from Kent the same day. Whereabouts in Kent do you live? You might find National Express run coaches to Heathrow from there, rather than having to go via the smoke. --Richardrj 08:49, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Hi Harwoof - as above, where exactly in Kent are you starting from? I'll try to work something out later today for you. (Friends and work colleagues have been asking me to plan their journeys for years, as I am the token transport enthusiast. :) ) Hassocks5489 09:01, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the responses - I'm from Ashford, Kent. Harwoof 09:47, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

• For my first flight from Amsterdam to the US I was told to be there 3 hours in advance, but it doesn't hurt to build in some extra time to make sure you make it in time. - Mgm| 09:53, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Hi again; I've had a look at various options, and it seems harder than I expected. The Last Train To London (please excuse Electric Light Orchestra reference) is surprisingly early at 22:34; this arrives at London Charing Cross at 23:57. Then you would need to take the London Underground Northern Line one stop north to Leicester Square, and change to the westbound Piccadilly Line. This link (EDIT: previous external link was invalid; this one links to the Journey Planner form itself, so the fields need to be populated - Hassocks5489) indicates that there are trains from Charing Cross to Leicester Square at 00:12 and 00:24, and connecting trains from Leicester Square to Heathrow Terminals 1/2/3 at 00:18 and 00:31 respectively, giving arrival times at Heathrow of 01:05 and 01:17 respectively. There's not too much hanging-around time once you get to Heathrow, and if your train from Ashford arrives late at Charing Cross there is still the option of the 00:24 departure by Underground.

I had a look at coaches, but there are only three departures per day from Ashford to London Victoria Coach Station - at 09:25, 14:35 and 16:20. Not too helpful.

Then I had a look at getting to Gatwick Airport by train, as there are coaches throughout the night to Heathrow, but there were no convenient late-evening departures by train, as I expected. In any case, at least one change of train is needed.

Finally, I had a look at the Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect rail services from London Paddington, but these finish well before midnight.

You would need a Single from Ashford International to Underground Zone 6. As far as I can see, a Cheap Day Single fare is available @ £19.20. There is also a ticket called the "PriceBuster" which is valid for off-peak journeys from Ashford to Charing Cross; I *think* it costs £12.50, in which case buying this and then a London Underground Single ticket from Charing Cross to Heathrow (when you get to Charing Cross Underground) would be cheaper. It is advisable to check at the ticket office first.

Finally, I have based all of this on the Monday-Friday timetable. If you're going on a Saturday or Sunday night, things will be different - let me know.

Hope that all helps! Hassocks5489 12:44, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Just some other advice, Heathrow is a hellish airport. If there is a more overcrowded transport hub anywhere in the developed world, I've yet to find it. Remember to check which terminal you're leaving from, and get your stuff ready to go through the security checkpoints. --Robert Merkel 12:47, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Thank you so much! Harwoof 14:28, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

texture modified food

HI, I am writing a dissertation proposal on hospital food and can malnutrition be prevented by food being made more palatable? I have used search engines with the keywords "palatable food" Palatable", t"exture modified food" "prevention of malnutrition in elderly". I have lots of information on malnutrition, the elderly, but am having a problem with the "food" Any help would be gratefully received. thanks

Kinda ironic. Try looking up stuff that tastes good. also, you could try to use the less scientific approach and just ask someone you know who is good at cooking about how to make food taste good without unhealthy stuff. Ilikefood 22:16, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Guess that rules out the MSG then. As for texture, apparently you can do amazing things with tofu. 16:12, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages reference desk answers

There are countless completey illogical and obvious "funny" questions on this page. Many concern gulls, other bring up the topic of anal virginity and similar, at times "obscene" questions. My question is thus, is this a necessary relief from hard working to crank out the best answers to the best questions, or just plain old fun to the invited? 81.93.102.185 20:10, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I expect that there is a fair amount of trolling on this page, even some of the supposedly serious questions. But an ill-phrased or poorly spelled question might just as easily be serious. This can be discussed on the "discussion" page for Reference Desk.Edison 20:28, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The answer to your question is "yes". -THB 04:00, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

cookie monster

is he benevolent?

It would seem so. He hasn't eaten any children yet, only cookies. – ClockworkSoul 17:28, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Ever seen that episode of family guy? :) --froth 18:12, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Recently, to help fight childhood obesity, the Cookie Monster has started eating healthy food. Somehow a Broccoli Monster just isn't the same, though. StuRat 02:37, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

If that isn't going to drive him to eating cookie-filled children I dont know what will. But not eating children doesn't make CM benevolent. His extensive charity work and wiki-vandal patrolling do though. At least until we discover his feet of clay. We're watching you CM. Robovski 04:36, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Alanis Morissette

Hi: Is the song "What if God Was One of Us" really the title of the song? Which album was it originally on. Thank you, Judy Carmichael

I think the correct title is "One of Us", it's a song sung by Joan Osborne and composed by Eric Bazilian. 惑乱 分からん 11:26, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

It was a single from Joan Osborne's album Relish from 1995. See an album review and full track listing here: . Hassocks5489 12:48, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

ian

this is a riddle-what is the number between 21 and 50. what fruit did hawaiian women not eat? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.49.92.180 (talk • contribs)

This is an encyclopedia reference desk, so we are not very good at riddles. I suggest you try a specialist discussion group such as http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Quizzes-and-Puzzles/Riddles/ .--Shantavira 16:14, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

How many Inc. companies and Ltd. companies are there in the world?

so how many are there?

Maybe someone will find the answer to this, but researching it would be difficult, since there is no international registry for corporations with limited liability. Corporations are registered instead by individual nations, or, within the United States at least, by (subnational) state. Presumably, the OP wants all limited-liability corporations, not just those with the initials "inc." or "ltd." Such corporations registered in Germany, for example, carry the initials "GmbH". If the user wanted only those with the initials "inc." or "ltd.", research would need to be done to determine in which nations those initials are used and the answer would need to be limited to those nations. Also, would the user want to exclude corporations (in the UK and Ireland) that carry the "PLC" label? Finally, new corporations are formed and old corporations liquidated on a regular, probably daily basis, so any count would have to be approximate. Many corporations are quite small. The number worldwide is probably at least in the tens of thousands, if not over 100,000. Marco polo 15:27, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Your estimate is far too low. In GB alone, there were at the end of October over 2.4 million registered companies, with 30,000 newly registered during the month. -- AJR | Talk 15:51, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Number of Rooms in the Forbidden City in Beijing

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the number of rooms.

• Some sources say that legend had it that the F.C. has 9999 rooms
• some sources say that legend had it that the F.C. had 9999.5 rooms and the .5 room was a staircase
• our article said that the F.C. was reputed to have 9999.5 rooms and the .5 room was a small room off the Imperial library
• our article said that a survey by the palace museum found about 8600 rooms
• our article now says that a survey shows that there are 2,172 remaining intact rooms.

Which if any of these are correct?--Filll 12:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The definition of a room in the Forbidden City is actually referring to a traditional measure, a "bay", which is the space between four columns. The number of "rooms" is symbolically 9,999 because the Heavenly Palace is perfect and has 10,000. I could not find the exact number of bays, but this website says the actual number is close to that so 8,600 is the best approximation of those you gave. -THB 17:58, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Shale

Mostly a British English - American English thing, I think. In British Stock Car Association, I find the statement: "Stock-car races are normally held on short oval tracks, either tarmac or shale. British Stock Car Association". Tarmac is described in Misplaced Pages (and the word is used in AE slightly differently). But what is a shale surface? Our shale article doesn't mention road usage. Is it a gravel road made specifically of ground shale? Rmhermen 14:31, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

This is quite interesting. I looked up as much as I can, and I got a lot of hits about abandoned road shale quarries, some mention of deteriorated shale roads, and the use of heated (expanded) shale as an aggregate. My best guess is that it is just crushed shale, which weathers very quickly to a clay surface, much like a classic tennis court. --Zeizmic 14:45, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

American stock car races used to be held on dirt tracks and on sand (at Daytona Beach), so crushed shale might be a candidate for a race track surface.--Filll 14:58, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

So the same as gravel, in US English ? StuRat 02:33, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Shale is one particular type of rock, while gravel is a collection of small stones of any kind of rock. You can certainly have shale gravel for covering a road (preferably weathered because crushed shale has sharp corners), and in that context "sahle gravel" is often shortened to just "shale". So then shale is gravel, but gravel need not be shale.  --Lambiam 08:41, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

What difference does it make whether the gravel is made of shale or some other rock ? Will it have any effect on driving characterstics ? StuRat 18:14, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Help-need info on GECKOS

Hi one of our kids is doing a project on Geckos....we need to know and describe the head of a gecko and if it has ears we need to describe those too,if anyone has this info please email THANX!

See Gecko which should have pictures and many helpful links. Dismas| 15:53, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Not to be confused with gordon gekko the character in the Wallstreet film by Oliver Stone. The character, I might add, has some of the greatest lines in film history...

• Greed - for lack of a better word - is good."
• "Lunch? Lunch is for wimps"
• "you better...or i'm going to come down there and eat your lunch for you"

and so on...ny156uk 17:41, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Hacksaw blade

I need to cut some thick steel piping and steel angles and will buy a hacksaw. The problem is there are all different kinds of blades and I'm hoping someone can suggest what type or brand might be good for this work, especially as to the number of teeth per inch. Thanks. -THB 17:43, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

What exact metal and how thick? A manual hacksaw will take a lot off time and effort. If you're doing much of it consider an electric reciprocating saw such as a Sawzall or something specific for the work you are doing. They have a guide to which blades to use for what thickness of what material.Edison 20:21, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Also, I believe there are specific tools just for pipe cutting, you might want one of those. StuRat 02:30, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

What I'm up to is I have the "skeleton" of a sleeper sofa from the 1950's in my living room. I stripped all the upholstery off but the metal frame (consisting of ovoid pipes, angles, and straps of steel or iron) is too heavy for two people to move. Since I got it, the service elevators were redone and it won't fit in it even taking out roof panels. I live on a high floor so down the stairs or out the window are completely out of the question. I don't want to spend the money on an electric saw even if it takes all day to cut the thing in half. I think I need 14 teeth per inch. Do you guys think it won't work at all with a manual hacksaw? The pipes are 2" on the long axis (they're ovoid, not round) and I don't know how thick the walls are, and the angles are 3/16" thick. -THB 03:14, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Or if you guys can come up with any other ways to get rid of it? -THB 03:17, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

The obvious way to do it is to disconnected the pipes at the connections. Since you didn't do this, I am guessing it's welding together. Speaking of which, a torch would work, although you would need to isolate the area so there's nothing flammable there, and make sure there was adequate ventilation (open a window). StuRat 04:07, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, it's all welded together. It's an incredible thing, they don't make'em like that anymore. StuRat,you don't think a hacksaw would work? I think it would require less skill and expense than a blowtorch and would be less likely to damage the wooden floor. I'm tired of looking at the damned thing and having it take up space. -THB 05:11, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

A hacksaw might work, but it really will take all day, and your hand will be very sore at the end of that day, and you will need to keep changing the blade, and you will have metal splinters all over the place. I've found that the hacksaw blade keeps getting stuck when I try to saw through anything large. If you do use one, I suggest you saw all the way around the outside edge, changing the angle frequently, instead of trying to saw all the way through from one side. A cutting torch is not very expensive, maybe $20. StuRat 07:13, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

How about using an electric drill to cut through the tubes? Make sure you have the right bits for cutting through steel. Just drill through at the same point at different angles enough to weaken it so that you can then bust the thing by bending it?--Shantavira 08:43, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Isn't there a tool rental company where you live?  --Lambiam 08:46, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

No chance of being able to borrow an angle grinder from someone? --Kurt Shaped Box 08:47, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages and we editors of course assume no liability for injuries or damage resulting from your efforts. Definitely wear suitable eye protection and put down a drop cloth to catch the metal particles. If you plan to use a hack saw instead of a saber saw or reciprocating electric saw, "Tools and how to use them," Albert Jackson and David Day, Knopf, New York: 1978, says pp 96-98: As a guide, 3 teeth of the hacksaw blade should fit in the thickness of the material. Blades range from 14 to 32 teeth per inch. They recommend fine teeth for thin sheet metal or hard metal. The "Reader's Digest Complete Do It Yourself Manual" 1977, says p. 19 that a hacksaw with the correct blade can cut most metal you encounter in shop work. Use coarse teeth for thick metal, and keep at least 2 teeth in contact with the material. They mention 24 teeth per inch for 1/8 to 1/4 inch iron, steel and wrought iron pipe. Check at the hardware store for blade recommendations. The $20 torch sounds like a propane unit which would not cut metal. An oxyacetylene torch would be way overkill for your purpose and would requre specialized knowledge to use safely. Edison 16:53, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Find your nearest friendly Wikipedian and borrow their Sawzall. Otherwise, take Lambiam's suggestion and see about renting one. Otherwise, yes, a hacksaw and a fair amount of elbow grease will eventually do it; you're probably not talking about making too many cuts just to get it to fit in the elevator, right? For the hacksaw, invest in a few blades and keep switching to a sharp one as needed.

Atlant 19:41, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for all the help, guys. I'll let you know how it all turns out. -THB 19:48, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

You're Still The One - What Does This Mean?

Having recently heard the Shania Twain 'hit' You're still the one, I was brought back to thinking about a portion of the lyrics. In the chorus does she say...

They said, i'll bet, "they'll never make it" but just look at us holding on.

OR does she say

They said "I'll bet they'll never make it", but look at us holding on

In other words is she betting about what they said, or are they (the sayees) betting themselves?

Clearly this hugely important issue must be resolved as soon as possible. Breathing wise it seems like she is doing the betting (they said, i'll bet,...) ideas??? ny156uk 17:41, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

They both have roughly the same meaning. The first says basically, 'I'll bet they said, "They will never make it."' and the latter says 'They said, "I'll bet they will never make it."' Why is this hugely important though? Both means others said they won't make it, but they're doing fine still. I'll go listen to it and see if I change my mind. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:08, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

And according to the official site's lyrics, it's

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"

--Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:14, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Animated Film - Best picture

I am after an answer to the following question I have spent hours trying to track down! This is the question:

What was the First Animated film to win an Oscar for best film?

Hope some one can help.

Thankyou.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Joolhenry (talk • contribs) .

The answer is none of them. Only Beauty and the Beast (1992 film) has even been nominated. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:03, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Nominated for what? It was certainly never nominated for Best Picture. JackofOz 03:16, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Oops, I mislinked. It should be Beauty and the Beast (1991 film). --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 04:13, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Tax Question (United States)

A benevolent millionaire genius has an idea to help out his community. He has just invented a small token (with his face on it of course!) that is impossible to counterfeit. He strikes a deal with the local businesses to allow the townspeople to redeem these tokens for a sample of the businesses' goods or services for the next week. The business owners are impessed with his invention and agree. The transation is carried out completely legally, following all relevant tax code (like any savvy coupon book printer would). He mails his tokens out to all of the townspeople and they're very pleased and thank the millionaire profusely, giving him the jollies he wanted or whatever. But soon enough the townspeople realize the value of the tokens and start trading them amongst themselves for various trinkets or small services like a lawn mowing. But soon they're being traded for much larger things- one old man finally sells his old pickup for 20 tokens. The small business owners find that they can buy food from the local market with tokens, so they begin to accept payment in tokens. The local factory finds that it can get away with tossing a few of these tokens the workers' way and they'll work for free, so it accepts payments for shipments to local businesses in tokens, which allows the local businesses to operate on only tokens if necessary. It never occurs to anyone to exchange the tokens for USD, after all nobody uses real money anymore. The phenomenon quickly spreads to other towns in the area, and finally to a region and the whole country. It first gains as wide an acceptance as credit cards, then surpasses them and finally it's in direct competition with the US dollar! The genius knows all about the value of money, so he prints more up so it can be more widely circulated, but carefully limits the circulation to curb inflation. Before you know it the Token economy is far stronger than the USD's and the only one that uses the dollar is the government.

Now of course the token's aren't by law "legal tender for the payment of debts, public and private" but they're accepted by everyone so practically there's no difference. But at what point do tokens become taxable? And is it possible for a competing currency to arise in america? --froth 18:09, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

With the usual disclaimers about asking a lawyer and not us for legal device: In principal, if I issue scrip to pay someone to mow my lawn, and they can redeem it for $10 worth of goods at my store, the U.S. government would want the worker to pay taxes for $10. They might also want social security payments. They have tried to tax barter arrangements which were cashless exchanges of goods and services. In practice, they would have to catch you. If it were widespread and if records were kept, the likelihood of getting caught would increase. With the example of an individual issuing scrip, I don't see what would stop hyperinflation. Edison 18:34, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Why would anybody take initially restrictive tokens over the almighty, universally accepted dollar? Especially when they're only backed by a mere millionaire, their buying power is somewhat vague, there's only one denomination, and it's impossible to make uncounterfeitable tokens (and costly to try). What merchant would want to have to deal with two different currencies? Clarityfiend 18:46, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

See Ithaca Hours, Liberty Dollar, Local currency, Digital gold currency, etc. And it is correct that the exchanges would be considered barter and are taxable: IRS pub. -THB 19:31, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the links.. so this has been done before! I also found this link .. what a jaw-droppingly idiotic law. What happened to freedom? --froth 22:30, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

That rule just says you can't create counterfeit coins, what's wrong with that ? You can still create coins, so long as they aren't meant to fool people. StuRat 02:19, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Whoever... makes... any coins of... metal... intended for use as current money... whether in the resemblance of coins of the United States... or of original design... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. No trickery here, the ellipses are for clarity. Making anything intended for use as money is illegal apparently --froth 05:14, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree, that bold part does seem rather inappropriate. Still, there are many cases, such as casino tokens, where they do just that, so this rule must be ignored completely. StuRat 07:07, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

To the people that think this is a ridiculous assumption, like the post 3 above, you're concentrating on inconsequential parameters. What if they weren't 'restrictive', were backed by more then just a mere millionare and wasn't "uncounterfeitable" or as much as most money is. This is exactly what has happened, and still is happening in Vietnam. The official currency is Dong and many places will tell you that USD is NOT legal currency, but finding someone that will NOT accept USD for payment isn't easy. Merchants are happy to deal with 2 currencies there. Vespine 00:23, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

These parameters are the ones the OP specified. If you want to consider a scenario where Gates decided to issue Billy Bucks, I'd have to ask, why bother? What's in it for him? As for Vietnam, the dollar is a more accepted currency than the dong, not less, as in the original question. Clarityfiend 04:34, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

S&H Green Stamps were widely used as currency, at one point. StuRat 02:21, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I remember getting such stamps, sticking them in booklets, and redeeming them for lots of neat stuff, but I never heard of them being used as currency. Merchants seem to have replaced stamps with discounts for card-carrying customersEdison 16:57, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

A similar scenario actually did happen once in the U.S. See Joshua A. Norton, the first and only Emperor of the United States. howcheng {chat} 19:22, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Whoever... makes... any coins of... metal...' There appears to be an obvious way round this problem.Don't use metal Lemon martini 21:47, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

research

This is pretty open-ended I know, but I'm doing some research and I want to know what people understand by creativity. MHDIV Englishnerd 18:28, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The ability to make something from nothing. -THB 19:38, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

No - the something is created from an idea that hasn't previously been formulated. Fleming didn't create penicillin from nothing. He created it using previously unassembled data.

"The ability to make something from nothing" is creation, eg. God creating the universe from nothing. This question is about creativity, a different concept. Hard to define creativity but I can give you a few examples. Anyone who writes a compelling sentence (eg. here, on these very Ref Desk pages), or paints a haunting picture, or thinks outside the square to come up with the answer to eg. Fermat's Last Theorem, or fixes a car that the mechanics have given up on, or writes a beautiful tune that never occurred to anyone before, or invents a simple device that will save lives or water or dollars, or ...(you fill in the blanks)... engages in creativity. JackofOz 04:11, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

The ability to answer this question would be a good example. DirkvdM 08:15, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Or the ability to come up with an alternative answer. DirkvdM 08:15, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Not that there is anything wrong with my first two answer, but ... Just like the beauty of a musical piece lies in the right mix between being recognisable on the one hand (a beat one can follow and a key the listeners will understand) and innovative on the other hand, creativity is the right mix between sanity and insanity - too far to one end and you're a factory worker (or whichever collar), too far to (or off) the other end and they will put you away. DirkvdM 08:15, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

In the course of doing your research, don't forget to read our article Creativity.  --Lambiam 08:51, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Looking for any Info on Author "Susannah Leigh"

Dear all volunteers, I am looking for any info on the Author Susannah Leigh. I have asked at our local Rotorua Library, Googled her name, and Wikimedia Foundation, But alas nothing. I have found all her books she writes, but I need a photo and a bit about her life.

Michelle Kinney from Wikimedia Foundation suggested I try the English Misplaced Pages Volunteers,

So I was hoping there was someone out there that could help me in my search.

Susannah Leigh she writes puzzel books and kids books.

Id like Photos info on her life, like when she started writing, where she lives, etc.

thanks heaps an cheers Suzie

There are about 16,000 hits for her at Google.com. If she has released personal info it is likely to be there somewhere. I also searched online and found reviews of her books at "Paperbacks -- Dawn of Fire by Susannah Leigh. Kaganoff, Penny. Publishers Weekly. New York: Apr 27, 1992.Vol.239, Iss. 20; pg. 258" Also found "Paperbacks--Fiction Kaganoff, Penny. Publishers Weekly. New York: Mar 31, 1989.Vol.235, Iss. 13; pg. 54" which is a review of "Fleur-de-Lys," written by Susannah Leigh, but I do not have access to the text of the articles, so I don't know if they talk about her life. You might get answers to your questions by writing to her care of the publisher. Sometimes authors answer such letters. Isaac Asimov, for instance was good about answering his fan mail. Other authors such as Harper Lee or J.D. Salinger avoid public attention. Edison 20:16, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Awsome thanks for all that info on Susannah leigh. I will go forth and concure this.

CURRYS MP3 PLAYER

Where on the Curry's website can you find the new mp3 player that they are currently advertiseing, with 2gb of memory, on UK tv???

Why not try a google site search site:www.currys.co.uk MP3 Player 2GB?

Copyright question

I was recently photographed at a Halloween party by an official photographer, with my full consent, and this photograph is available on-line at the organiser's homepage. Do I have permission to publish this photograph online myself, or would that violate the organiser's copyright? After all, I am the model. JIP | Talk 20:31, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

He who took it, owns it. Did you sign a consent? --Cody.Pope 20:34, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I did not sign anything. He who took it, e-mailed the photograph privately to me and in the process, asked my permission to publish it, and I gave it. I figure that if I want to publish it myself, I should ask him first. JIP | Talk 20:36, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

You didn't sign anything? I would have made you sign something, I don't know how well an email would hold up if you denied giving permission --froth 22:37, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

It would probably hold up, at least under estoppel. I wouldn't do an entire contract by e-mail but asking for permission and giving it is probably just fine. --140.247.250.229 23:06, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Since you have the email address, you could just ask if you could put it in myspace, and give the appropriate credit. It really is his picture, but sometimes they don't mind releasing low resolution versions for advertisement. --Zeizmic 20:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

This is a sticky subject and might start a war but you do not actually hold any copyright over your own image, paparazzi and owners of security cameras do not have to ask permission to publish their photos, if they are for editorial, as opposed to commercial purposes. If the party was in a public place then the photographer was courteous to ask your permission, but it wasn't legally required. If the photographer was hired by the person who organised the party, then permission is implied in you attending the party. I would say it would be more up to the host to inform the guests that there would be a photographer on the premises rather then the photographer them self, they're just 'doing their job'. As to wether you should ask, it depends how the photographer was hired. Some photographers take minimum commission and make their money back by selling photos back to the people in them, this used to be very common. In this case the photographer retains the rights to the photos and you WOULD be braking the law if you took the photos for free. Some are paid in advance to take the photos and in effect sell the rights as well as the photos to the person who hired them. This is probably becoming more common since digital photography doesn't have as much 'outlay' as the old method. Vespine 00:12, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

If it's a professional photographer using her as a sample or something on his web page, that seems like a commercial purpose. And I think you're way off on your argument; if a celebrity (whose likeness is copyrighted and all that) went to her friend's small birthday party and there's a hired photographer there, he can't just sell prints of her without her manager's permission, and the party organizer doesn't have authority to grant the photographer permission to use the likenesses of the guests for commercial purposes. --froth 05:21, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Not that this is likely to apply to the original question (then again, how can we know?), but I thought that one didn't need any permission to publish a photograph of a public figure. Bush, for example, would have to spend all day giving permission to photographers (ah, so that 's why he doesn't get around to making any sensible politics?). DirkvdM 08:29, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

There's no question the photographer owns the image, but if you ask permission for a specific, limited use (such as display on your own non-commercial webpage), it's quite possible the photographer will grant that permission to you.

Atlant 19:35, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Mark Banknote 1908 Germany

From the article on mark currecy I have red that mark banknote issued in 1908 Germany are today very valuable and may even fetch 55 million dollors a piece.Is there any factual data available regarding this fact.If so please inform.

With regards

Anil Saxena

A little bit of googling found this: The E-Sylum: Volume 8, Number 47, November 6, 2005, Article 3

MOST EXPENSIVE BANKNOTE

The November 8 issue of Bank Note Reporter has a front-page

article about the most expensive bank note: “Breaking the

$1 Million barrier Oct. 21 and setting a record price for

a piece of paper money sold at public auction was one of

three known “Grand Watermelon” $1,000 notes.

So, no, 55 million is a crazy price for a banknote. Vespine 23:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Long term unemployment (UK)

What is the best way to reenter the labour market having being long-term unemployed? What industries/professions are more liberal? How can someone disguise it in the CV?

You could say you did freelance work, but that is if you did do freelance work during the period off. --Cody.Pope 21:55, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I used to find jobs for prisoners due for release, some long termers and others with serious criminal records. But I networked with understanding employers and I told them the whole truth which they respected. I also gave them a resume of what efforts the prisoners had made on the inside in order to be rehabilitated in the working community. So I would say, be honest, explain yourself fully, be ready for lots of disappointments and whilst you are busy making loads of applications, do voluntary work until it hurts.

I'd say it really depends what skills and qualifications you have and where you personally will/won't work. Stacking shelves at a supermarket is usually not too hard to get. Getting into postal work is usually not hard, unless you do have a criminal record, it's a fairly high turnover occupation. Another option is to talk to employment agencies in the sectors you are interested in and try to get temp work. You can get stuck in a "temp rut" but if you are keen and a decent worker it can lead to more permanent employment. Vespine 23:34, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Plenty of call centres and temp agencies around the UK looking for people who can read/write and use a computer and phone. The local Jobcentre should be able to offer you some help re-entering the marketplace and help you find educational programs for those in various circumstances needing assistance re-entering the workforce. Alternately, have you considered self-employent? Perhaps there is something you can do for others that they willpay you for. Robovski 04:47, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

And then there's this. B00P 08:39, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

My advice... try the charity sector. They're exceedingly liberal and are more inclined to look at what you can offer than what you've been doing for the last x years. A popular way to gain work in charity (it can be difficult to break into without brilliant skills) is to offer to work for nothing for a specified period in return for a proper job description and a reference if you've done well. --Dweller 08:56, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I tried this once when I was unemployed in the UK and was amazed to discover that many charities were discouraging people from offering to work for nothing - volunteers, in other words. They said they would only accept volunteers if the person could commit to working there for at least six months and had a skill to offer. --Richardrj 10:20, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm surprised. Until very recently, I worked in the charity sector for more than 10 years. I found that small to medium sized charities are desperate for help, if people are willing to commit to come regularly and for a decent period of time, even if they are unskilled on arrival. Most smallish charities depend for their existence on volunteers. What no organisation wants to do is to spend time training someone who then doesn't fulfil the role properly. There's c.250,000 charities in the UK and most of them are smallish and would be delighted with the offer of some regular unpaid help. --Dweller 10:29, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Try McDonald's and similar fast-food chains. They have a high turnover. See also the Royal post.Mr.K. 21:59, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

November 10

Is it alright to...

Is it alright to feed fry (baby bettas) just powdered flakes? or do they also need baby brine shrimp?

Immediately after they hatch the fry will live off there yolk sacks and won’t need feeding. When the fry are swimming horizontally you can start feeding twice a day. Powdered flakes should be okay as long as you don’t overfeed. Be aware that fry sometimes can not break the surface tension of the water, so stir the food in S.dedalus 01:48, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

When we were raising Comet (goldfish) fry, we did it using smashed-up flakes. I don't know if they would have been unable to chew the bigger, full-sized flakes, but making them pre-sized for their microscopic mouths made us feel better about it.

Atlant 19:27, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

hamlet

What was the best production of Hamlet ever made?

Impossible to say. For starters, there have probably been millions of productions, amateur and professional, on stages all over the world (and not just the English-speaking world). Who can say which was the best? If you're thinking of filmed versions, I would rate as Number 1 Kenneth Branagh's extraordinarily enlightening 1996 4-hour version that for the first time on film contained every last word of the play, plus a couple of added ones for good measure; followed hard upon by Laurence Olivier's haunting 1948 version. Innokenty Smoktunovsky's Russian-language version, in the Boris Pasternak translation and with music by Dmitri Shostakovich is also one of the great ones. JackofOz 03:09, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

How about The Three Minute Hamlet? SWAdair 05:35, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

oil or gas company storage

How does the shortage of raw materials affect an oil or gas company's existance? Would it also be an oppurtunity for the company to grow?--202.133.101.89 02:59, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Shortage of which raw materials? Are you talking about steel for pipelines and tanks? -THB

Storing large quantities of either the raw materials (crude oil, etc.) or the finished product (gasoline, etc.), would have the benefit of being able to deal with supply disruptions in either case, or refinery disruptions, only in the case of the finished product being stored. Storing either would involve security risks, as those products are dangerous, especially when stored in large quantities. Finally, having the capacity to store large quantities would allow the company to engage in speculation. That is, they could increase the amount in storage if they expect prices to rise, and decrease the amount if they expect prices to fall. Thus, they could earn money from price changes, if properly managed. However, this approach entails significant financial risk, as predicting future prices with any accuracy is quite difficult to do. StuRat 04:01, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

A typical major oil or gas firm has reserves, which is oil or gas which is in the ground not yet extracted. Reserves fall into 3 catagories: proven, probable and possible. Proven does not mean that they actually have that much oil, but instead that the company is "reasonably certain" to that the oil is producable given exsisting technology at current prices. Have a look over the article for oil reserves to get a better understanding of the differences. These reserves are worth money, and a shortage of (for example) oil while deman remains at least stable would mean that the supply becomes stretched. This forces the price of oil up as those who are willing to pay more will buy available oil while those paying less will either use less, find an alternative, or wait until more becomes available at a price they are willing to pay (this is the basic principle of supply and demand. As a supplier of oil in this scenario, a high price for oil increases profits for the oil currently being produces while at the same time gives an incentive to the company to find new sources of supply and/or new extraction technologies so that oil that was previously too expensive to produce or not technically available (like deep underwater) can be profitably produced in the future. Such technical investment can also make available reserves of oil that were not previously viable (either on a cost basis or due to technical hurdle) to extract from old oil fields, and can be profitable in themselves through licensing the patent to other companies. The increased profitability of the company due to the shortage of supply could be an opportunity for the company to grow in it's core sector (i.e. extraction/refining) or it can use increased profits for diversification into new sectors (such as BP investing in photovoltaics) growing the company into new opportunities for growth. Robovski 04:22, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

natural skin colour

When I read the human skin color article, it didn't say about the colour of Asians. So, I wanted to know that What is the natural skin colour of Southeast Asians(Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Laotian, Malay (as in Malaysian), Indonesian and Filipino)? Is it brown like Indians or white like Chinese, Japanese and Korean?

More like Chinese, Japanes, Korean. Of course you can't overgeneralize about skin color in a particular nationality or "ethnic" group. -THB 05:07, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

You shouldn't even generalize. JackofOz 05:34, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

That's overly P.C. Of course you can generalize to some degree. -THB 20:00, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Here's something I copied from the Humanities desk:

Here in the Philippines, there is an old tale, I think among the Tagalog people, that we were created by Bathala, the God of the Tagalog people, by a process of - cooking. As the story goes, Bathala first cooked the first human for a very short period of time, and so the skin turned out white for it was still half-raw. The next one, he over cooked, so the skin became very dark. The last one, he perfected his cooking and so the skin turned out to be brown, thus, the Tagalogs or the Filipinos were created.Moonwalkerwiz 04:14, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

-THB 20:04, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Well - there's a biological basis for this that has nothing to do with social constructions of race. Skin color has to do with a balance of a couple of factors and natural selection. The body can process Vitamin D by exposure to sunlight (weird but true) and light colored skin allows for better Vitamin D processing. Dark colored skin offers greater protection against skin cancer. So populations that lived near the equator for many generations had darker skin because they were exposed to more sunlight (getting enough vitamin D wasn't much problem but skin cancer was) and natural selection favored lighter skin for most peoples who lived in temperate zones. Another factor that affected the outcome in certain areas is that fish are an excellent source of Vitamin D. So a few populations that lived far from the equator such as the Aleuts have medium toned skin because they traditionally got most of their protein from fish - and hence sunlight absorption mattered less for natural selection. Of course back in the days when nobody understood that biology a lot of other ideas floated around that were absolute hokum. Those other notions haven't died off yet so any discussion of the topic tends to raise hackles. Respectfully, Durova 08:04, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Our Human skin color article has a map of color distributions. Note that this is also reflects some large recent migrations southward in Africa. Rmhermen 16:16, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

nude in Max payne 2

Is this true that there is a nude character in Max Payne 2?

Yes, by using a cheat, according to this site. –Mysid☎ 16:36, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

nude sports

Is it okay that you can organize a fundraising event by holding a nude sports event, like womens' and mens' nude wrestling, boxing and beach volleyball?

As long as a fundraising event is legal and being nude is legal, it would be okay. They're separate issues. -THB 03:37, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Don't forget nude ice skating and nude ski jumping and downhill skiing. Edison 06:12, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Well of course we have a nudity in sports article. --hydnjo talk 19:31, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Einstein's Go rank

Hello, I would like to know if anyone knows Albert Einstein's exact go rank. This page says he had an "honorary dan certificate" given to him by the Japanese but thats not very specific. Thank you --– sampi 03:48, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Finding Articles Made Before Membership

Hello,

I recently created an article that so far has apparently remained unacknowledged. I know that I normally would be able to view it (as in to see why it was rejected, or any other impending status), but I created the article before I became a member. How would I go about viewing the archives so I can actually see the article I created?

(Sorry if its a stupid question...)
Thanks...— Preceding unsigned comment added by Aragoth (talk • contribs)

If you made an article, and it wasn't deleted for whatever reason, then it should be available like any other article. What was the title and subject? Robovski 04:49, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

It was Dust to Ashes and it was for Bleeding Through's first album. I tried searching for it, but I was unable to find any results... When I first created the article, I was taken into an archival space where entries sumbitted by guests could view their articles. Its probably still there, festering, but I am unable to access it... :(

That's funny. You can't create articles at Misplaced Pages without becoming a member, AFAIK. --Kjoonlee 05:31, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

That's a relatively recent restriction, added as a way of defending against vandalism; Anonymous editors used to be able to create articles; I know, I created a few before first regsitering.

Atlant 19:21, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean this? Nobody has actually made it into an article yet. If you create an account, you can copy that information into a new article and then it will be part of the Misplaced Pages. Or if you'd rather not create an account, I see no reason why I couldn't create the article for you. Dismas| 05:33, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Also note that most contributions to Misplaced Pages are never "acknowledged".--Shantavira 08:55, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

"One of the best metalcore albums" seems POV, otherwise, I guess it's a reasonable stub... 惑乱 分からん 12:02, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I wasn't going to copy it verbatim. The POV material would obviously have to come out and there are some format fixes from what I recall from when I read it a few hours ago. Dismas| 13:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I've added it. Dust To Ashes. You can decide whether it should have a lower case T. --Tagishsimon (talk)

SAT/College Admissions

If I need to submit the Common App by 1/20, but I can't take the SAT until January, am I allowed to submit the application without the SAT scores and send them later? 70.57.145.135 05:27, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

It would be best to ask the college to which you're applying this question. Each college/university may have their own rules and guidelines that they go by. Dismas| 05:30, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Dismas is absolutely correct but in most cases, yes, although your application will not be considered complete until the scores are received. All schools should already have a policy on this. -THB 19:58, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

False Accusations

It has recently come to my attention that the computer I am using at home is being called a "sock puppet" of a certain Mykungfu (I don't even know who/what that is; please explain?). I saw several vandalism notices on the "new messages" header, and I'd like to ask what the problem is. I plead my case; I honestly have no idea what is going on. I think you may have made a mistake. Please...if I accidentally vandalized something, please accept my apologies for that grievous error on my part. Thank you for your understanding. 152.163.100.199 07:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

You're sharing that randomized IP with a lot of other AOL customers. The simplest solution is to register for a Misplaced Pages account. Durova 07:34, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Oh. Sorry. I feel extremely dumb all of a sudden...could someone slap me? Please, admins, could you delete this question before other people notice my stupidity? Thanks.

This isn't the right place for this sort of complaint, but I've also been accused of using sockpuppets by an overly aggressive Admin. Do you have AOL, by any chance ? AOL gives you a different I/P address each time you use it, meaning you are likely to eventually end up with an I/P address that has been used by a Misplaced Pages vandal. That's when you get blocked. If you have AOL, don't use it for Misplaced Pages, but use another browser, like Firefox. And pretty much any time you disagree with an Admin on anything they are likely to accuse you of either being a sockpuppet or of using them. I suggest you get a regular account, as they are less likely to block people who have an account and have contributed to Misplaced Pages. StuRat

Too late! :) Nolamatic 07:42, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

See also Misplaced Pages:Advice to AOL users. --Shantavira 08:57, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

No-one (I know) thinks you are stupid. Talk pages of AOL IP users can be very scary indeed. Relax. Welcome. I can't quite tell if you are Nolamatic and have just got an account, or are not, but to free yourself from AOL IP user-page hell, please do get an account. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Incidentally, if an IP address is blocked, are all registered users using that IP blocked? Because when someone using the same IP as me got blocked, I got blocked on this account, but that seems a bit odd. Skittle 19:42, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

They did that to me, too, but I think they stopped doing that stupid crap. StuRat 20:33, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

DH

Hey, anyone know when "Desperate Housewives' is coming back on to air season 3 in Australia? Thanks

I'm guessing it was delayed because the producer is having an affair with the pool boy, while his wife is sleeping with the gardener, Rolando, in an attempt to enlist his aide in covering up the murder of the neighbor's lover, who was killed for attempting to betray his half-sister, who is the secret daughter of the mayor, who, incidentally, is also carrying on with the pool boy. :-) StuRat 19:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Hehe - but it will most likely start when the rating season usually starts, in early Feb. It's not delayed, but the hiatus is over the Australian summer (Nov, Dec, Jan) instead of the US summer. Natgoo 19:36, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Biscuit Manufacturing

202.88.253.194 12:56, 10 November 2006 (UTC)Can I Get Details on Manufacturing of Biscuits ?

Do you mean baking? In that case, you can find a lot of recipes by googling. –Mysid☎ 13:42, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Check Baker and cookie (the U.S. term used for what is a biscuit in the UK. Here, we like biscuits with gravy. Edison 17:01, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Biscuits with gravy?! what do you think of as biscuits? Englishnerd 18:00, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

In the US, a biscuit is a buttery bread roll. Here's two with a sausage patty in between: . What do you Brits call that ? StuRat 18:03, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

THat pic looks like scone to me. A biscuit over here is generally a sweet hardish confection sometimes covered with chocolate some times filled with jam etc. You may call it a cookie. Then of course there were ships biscuits; a staple of the old mariners!--Light current 19:13, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I believe "biscuit" = "cracker". Commercial baking of crackers typically uses conveyor ovens. Those assure consistent results and high throughput. 192.168.1.1 10:15, 10 November 2006 (PST)

I don't think "biscuit" = "cracker". As has previously been noted, what the Brits call a "biscuit", the Americans call a "cookie". However, I don't know what the Brits mean when, if ever, they say "cookie", or what they call a buttery roll: , which is called a "biscuit" in the US. StuRat 19:04, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

When you say 'buttery' roll, do you mean a buttered roll, or a roll made with lots of butter? Cos biscuits that are made with lots of butter are usually called shortbread!--Light current 19:14, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

A "biscuit", in the US, is a bread roll made with lots of butter, but very little sugar, which distinguishes it from a UK biscuit. Also, being bread, it contains air bubbles, which aren't present in a UK biscuit. StuRat 19:25, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

He means a roll made with lots of butter, of which the closest equivalent is a scone. Cookie in the UK is usually an oversized biscuit, or of a specific type (such as Maryland choc chip cookies). Natgoo 19:18, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah looks like a scone; BTW scone +gravy = sick, wrong and disturbing! Such a waste. BTW what do we think is the best: clotted cream and jam, or jam and clotted cream? Englishnerd 19:21, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Just butter is fine--Light current 19:25, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I assumed this was referring to Biscuit joiner. -THB 19:53, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

A biscuit in the U.S. (especially the south) is a quick hot bread made with flour, baking powder, salt, perhaps buttermilk, and shortening, not sweet, rolled out about 1/2 inch thick, cut into about a 2 or 3 inch circle, baked until the top is light brown and it rises to about 1 inch tall, and served hot, typically for breakfast, perhaps with eggs and bacon. It might be eaten with butter and jam, or topped with gravy, or eaten with a sausage in the middle. Franchise chicken restaurants serve them with meals, less the jelly or gravy. In the north toast is more commonly served for breakfast instead of biscuits. Edison 20:33, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I've had both what the English call scones and what we Americans call biscuits, and they are not the same thing. Close, but not the same. American biscuits are lighter, more bread-like, and a bit saltier than English scones. So they taste good with gravy. I've also had English biscuits, and they definitely qualify as cookies in the United States, but a particular kind of cookie. English biscuits are dainty cookies, like what you might get from Pepperidge Farm in the United States. I never saw big, gooey cookies (like oatmeal or oversized chocolate chip) in England. Marco polo 20:38, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Auto Engine Oil Leak

How do you fix a oil leak in the main seal?

Replace the gasket? --Tagishsimon (talk)

Replacing the rear main seal is very difficult, frequently requiring the engine to be partially lifted. Take it to a garage. StuRat 18:01, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

here's more --Tagishsimon (talk)

Given the workspace in most engine compartments, replacing either the front or rear crankshaft oil seals usually requires pulling the engine (and/or transaxle/transmission). About the only things you can replace in situ are the seals on the camshaft and the gaskets on the cam covers and oil pan..

Atlant 19:16, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

So the original question is ambiguous as it doesnt say whether the main seal being refeerd to is the front seal or the rear seal. Is one more main that the other?--Light current 19:21, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Would it be permissible to ask how one might develop such an oil leak? --Light current 19:32, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

The seals just naturally break down over time, but vibration and chemicals in the oil can make it happen quicker. StuRat 19:36, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Is it possible that too high an oil pressure can actually blow one?--Light current 19:38, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Help! i need help with the ladies

I'm a hopeless romantic trying to get a date.. im a nice 19 year old guy and fairly good looking but i get realy nervous around girls im attracted to and find my self out of words or saying things that dont make sense. what can i do??????

also, i cant dance, and i dont drink.. so dont suggest hitting the night club plz.

Of course, what you're describing is normal. Look at anxiety for some general tips. Perhaps you would be better off meeting girls at parties or by joining groups that girls you are attracted to join. -THB 19:57, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Go to Church. You get some nice girls there who dont drink (much)--Light current 19:59, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

But be careful with Catholic girls, as they have premarital sex as much as anyone else, but skip the birth control, since "that would be immoral". StuRat 20:25, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner

When will the Coyote catch the Road Runner?Mr.K. 20:25, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Never! If he did, it would be the end of the series. 8-)--Light current 20:28, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

When ACME fixes their quality control issues. :-) StuRat 20:30, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

They probably won't fix their quality, as long as one faithful consumer is remaining... ;) 惑乱 分からん 20:55, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Start button in windows

Why do you end windows with the start button?Mr.K. 20:35, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Because it starts the process of ending Windows. It's perfectly logical really. --Richardrj 20:36, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

As logical as any other Microsoft feature! Marco polo 20:58, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Conditions in Kerala and Tamil Nadu

I will be traveling to Kerala and Tamil Nadu later this month. I have three sets of questions about both states:

1. Do men in these states wear shorts (short pants) other than at the beach, or is this considered in poor taste?

2. I know that the monsoon season is still underway, although it is past its peak. What is the typical weather pattern? Does it often remain cloudy and rainy all day, or does the rain more often come in discrete bursts?

3. How widespread is knowledge of English in these states? Is Tamil understood in Kerala as well as Tamil Nadu? (I know that the prevailing language in Kerala is Malayalam, but I want to assess whether a basic knowledge of Tamil would be useful in Kerala, since I don't have time to study both languages.)

Thank you!

Marco polo 21:04, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

American Dream

What is the concept of the American Dreams? Does it elude the east or the Asians or are people losing mental balance as a consequence of impatience???22:07, 10 November 2006 (UTC)Kjvenus

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