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I think this answer is very presumptuous. Please don't assume that anyone who masturbates (or wishes to stop masturbating) would be satisfied with a woman as a substitute. It also presumes that people (or men and lesbians, I guess) in (again, presumably) sexual relationships stop masturbating; an assumption disproven times over by surveys. Anchoress23:42, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also, why assume that the poster is a heterosexual male or a lesbian? Please tell me you realize that straight women and gay men masturbate as well. --Charlene08:55, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If it interfers with your daily life, you could get some counseling. If you keep it moderate, and don't bother anyone else, it's no problem in itself. 惑乱 分からん21:11, 21 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yeees. It definitely can be addictive, but only in the same sense that breathing, eating and sleeping are addictive. I'd say more about this, except something's just come up and I've got to go and do something about it. :) JackofOz01:08, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Don't mind JackoffOz, he's just yanking your crank. Just tell him to beat it and he'll knock it off. They say that if you really want something, you can get it. People have told me that hypnotism works for things like this. V-Man73702:06, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Masturbation is a serious issue, and not just among people. In one of the early space launches, pre human flight, one monkee restrained in a capsule got a free hand. Apparently ejaculate gummed some of the electronics.
I've discussed this with my wife, but she said she couldn;'t help me. Something has to happen to stop this getting out of hand! DDB10:11, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Dave Sim wrote that "sexual desire is a lot like a rash. If you keep 'scratching it' you make it worse... If you learn to leave your penis alone, I discovered, your penis will learn to leave you alone." --Lph18:01, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Any kind of activity can be the subject (object?) of a compulsion or obsession (I do not mean OCD). When anything, be it D&D, masturbation, or wikipedia, takes up an inordinate amount of your time and negatively impacts other areas of your life then you are exhibiting addictive or self-destructive behavior. As a Scientologist, I would not, of course, direct you to a "mental health professional" but would first urge you to try some self-therapy and self-discipline. It would help to quit completely and remove anything from your home that is associated with the activity (I mean porn, not napkins). For a while, stay away from things, activities, and areas you know will cause problems for you. Find an alternate activity that takes your mind off the compulsion. If that does not work, then there are twelve-step programs for sexual addiction. If you are religious then talk to your priest, rabbi, mullah, etc. --Justanother21:25, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, in all seriousness, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with masturbation. It is a healthy part of your sexuality and you should never been ashamed of it or try to stop yourself from doing it just because you think it's wrong. Some people (me, when I was younger) can experience severe headaches when doing it (it has to do with high blood-pressure, I think), but those are not dangerous and it's fairly rare. That's pretty much the only physical ailment associated with masturbation. Also, virtually every man in the world reguarly masturbates, so not only are you not alone, you are in the VAST majority. You should not quit, that's a very, very bad idea. Some people tell you it's wrong and shameful but it is not. It is completely normal, and completely ok. Of course, everything can be turned into a compulsion, whether it is video games, exercising, playing chess, or whatever. If you feel that you have to do it several times a day, even when you don't want to do it, you might want to talk to a doctor or something. But that's probably not you.
My advice: enjoy the heck out of it! It feels great! Make a point out of making up the most fun fantasies you can (like I don't know, Lindsey Lohan on the top bunk in a submarine crew room. Or why not Paris Hilton in a ski cabin during a snowstorm playing strip poker. Fantasy Hilton can be A LOT of fun, and she's terrible at Texas Hold'em ;) An active sexual life and imagination is a GOOD thing, don't let anyone else tell you different! And remember, those people that tell you different, they are almost certainly doing it too! Oskar23:20, 22 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't disagree but remember that some people can have a drink with dinner and enjoy a nice movie and some people have a drink with dinner and wake up the next morning in an alley. If it is a problem for him on the order of addictive or compulsive behavior and if he wants to address it then he should address it. That is my only point. He could as well have asked "How do I quit playing WoW" or "How do I quit editing wikipedia". Best of luck to all. --Justanother00:46, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also please keep in mind that you may not think it is "wrong or shameful" but some people do. Please don't try to enforce your opinions of morality on other people. Johntex\talk16:58, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Considering this person is probably a kid, we shouldn't condemn them for something which is perfectly natural, anymore than we would condemn them for blinking or scratching an itch. -- febtalk19:02, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I can't help but notice how many and how detailed, and apparently well-informed responses are on Wikipedia Reference Desks on subjects as intellectually stimulating as wanking, shitting and pissing etc., as compared to the many sparse and parsimonious answers given to some of the genuine and more worthy questions that are posted, including even those that are completely ignored. There must be a correlation in there somewhere. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.145.241.52 (talk) 20:58, 25 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
Promise God you will try to stop: When my mother was dying a couple months I promised God I would try to stop if my mother was spared. When my mother was spared, though I did not stop imediatly I lost the urge, and have not done so in a couple weeks. Such was the case even though throughout college and law school I engaged autoerotic behavior at least once a day.
February 22
February 23
VAT in Turkey
I would like to ask the VAT % and VAT catagories in Turkey. What is the VAT refund proguess in Turkey?
Hello. This page tells me that standard VAT is 18%, and "there are different rates of tax of 1% And 8% for goods and services as defined in law". This site also has some more information on taxes, but nothing on the VAT categories (which may or may not exist). JoshHolloway12:55, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I put a champagne bottle in a double walled clear plastic cannister. (The double wall insulates the bottle.) As it turned out the outside diameter of the bottle equals the inside diameter of the cannister. What goes in won't come out. I've tried heat, cold, olive oil and nothing seems to work. I thought about breaking the bottle in the cannister but I don't think I can do that without ruining the cannister besides the bottom of the bottle might be a problem to remove. Solution anyone? Duracelldave10:05, 23 February 2007 (UTC) Duracelldave[reply]
Put ice water in the bottle and submerge the cannister (with the champagne bottle inside with ice water) in warm water and hope that the temperature difference will give you enough clearance to get the bottle out? --antilivedT | C | G10:07, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'll bet that'll do it, but you can force a few more degrees of temperature difference by filling the bottle with ice and brine. And let us know how it goes, 'kay?
If all else fails, you can drill a small hole in the bottom of the canister, remove the bottle now that the vacuum seal has broken, then caulk the hole with siliconsealant and save both the bottle, its contents (if any), and the canister. Any oil you used will have just sealed it better. 14.7 psi x the base area of the bottle (6" diameter max?) = 415 lbs. You are not going to pull that hard. --Justanother17:13, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you have a very long, sharp drill bit you can drill a hole in the bottom of the bottle, then blow air into it. The pressure will thus work in your favor to blow the plastic container off. Another thought, there may be a small air gap between the bottle and plastic container, such that hanging the container upside down will allow the bottle to slide out very slowly (might take days). StuRat14:59, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Turning dial on watch
Alrighty. I have an analog, 12-hour, quartz-crystal, battery driven watch.
Imagine you are looking down at the watch face to check what time it is. There is a pane of glass that seperates the face of the watch from debris flying around the outside world. Around this pane of class is a contraption that twists (it clicks when you turn it) around the circumference of the watch face. It also has numbers (5,10,15, etc.) which correspond to the number of minutes represented by each number (1,2,3, etc.) on the clock face.
You can set the dial to adjust for the local time when you leave your own time zone, or set it for your distant sweet-heart's time zone so you don't call him or her in the middle of the night. 164.223.72.520:48, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
See diving watch. The "thing" is a rotating bezel that you can set to a certain number of minutes. It will only go one way because if you go diving with a limited amount of air, you don't want it bump it backwards and give the illusion of having more air. - AMP'd22:43, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you to everyone for their explanations. This Tachymeter was irritating me to the point that I once starting spinning it around out of sheer boredom, whilst waiting for the bus, and said (louder than I meant to) "what is this FOR? Just for the hell of it, I bet."
Laws in Florida about hiding one's face in public?
Say I walked out of my house with my face covered, be it with cloth or a gas mask. Is this illegal? Do I have to take it off if asked by a police officer?
Oh come on, lighten up! The guy isn't asking for legal advice, he's asking if anyone knows if there are laws concerning this. I personally think this is an interesting question touching on civil liberties and so forth. So I don't actually know the answer. I wouldn't think it is actually illegal, but that doesn't mean NOT taking it off if a POLICE officer asks you is your right. A police officer has rights to ask you to do anything within reasonable limits, i.e. stop, turn around, show license, etc, even if you are not a suspect in anything, I'm sure "take off your mask" falls within that, I doubt very much you could refuse to take off a mask without getting arrested, you'd be asking for it if you tried it... Vespine21:53, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Ceramics Story
I read a story online a few weeks ago somewhere and can't find it (i've search my recent pages history). The story went something like this...At the start of a new year the ceramics teacher divides his students into two groups. He informs the first group that he will be marking them only on the quantity of ceramics they produce, that he doesn't care about quality only the quantity counts. The second group he informs are being marked solely on the quality of the ceramic they produce and that he just wants the piece to be as high quality as possible. At the end of the year he is reviewing the work and notices that all of the best pieces of work are within the first group's work, and that in seeking perfection the second group spent more time assessing and planning and the piece never got anywhere.
The moral was that of the create/refine preference over the get-it-right-first-time moral. I don't know if anyone has a link to the piece I was reading/whether this is a common story/would be able to tell the story better. I feel like i've forgotten some of the parts and when I say it it doesn't seem the same as I read.
I don't know of any parables, but there is the old axiom "don't let perfection be the enemy of the good" Of course then you have to set a standard for "good" which could be the enemy of "adequate" -- Diletante16:56, 24 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Was this a statistically reasonable sample? Was it a double-blind experiment? Is it reasonable to generalise this specific situation to a wider world? No, No and No! A friend and co-worker has a diagram of a big triangle on his cube wall with the three corners labelled "Fast", "Cheap" and "High Quality" - he offers management the option to point to where within the triangle they'd like him to perform. SteveBaker17:17, 24 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Another variant of that: "Fast, cheap, good: choose any two." --Anon, Feb. 25, 08:49 (UTC).
I would bet that the average quality was much worse in the high quantity group, however. The method you describe is close to what I understand the process to be to produce high quality electrical resistors (those close to the target resistance). Rather than focus on producing a specific resistance precisely, they just produce a large quantity, and test them all. Those which are quite close to the target resistance are sold for the most, in the +/-5% classification. Those which aren't quite as good are sold as +/-10% resistors, those which are worse yet are sold cheap as +/-20% resistors. The few which fall outside that range are commonly discarded. StuRat14:45, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Trans
whats the difference between transsexual and transgenered? they both have articles that dont explain the difference. what about transvestite? the word is used in many articles but does not have an article of its own.
You've got it. According to the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. highways go up north to south, while interstates go up south to north. Thus, I-90 is in the North, while U.S. 90 is in the South. I-50, if it existed, would run very close to U.S. 50. -- Mwalcoff03:10, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I've recently uploaded my website using Dreamweaver 8.0. The site displays properly in IE7 and Firefox on my computer, but after i uploaded, there are a lot of missing elements and many links don't even work. For example, the background doesn't appear and many of the buttons don't appear either. I am hosting with www.ixwebhosting.com. Does anyone know why this happens? My website url is www.globalclimax.com. Thanks Jamesino19:30, 24 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This question probably belongs on the computing reference desk - but I might as well answer it since we're here.
Well, I'm using the very latest FireFox and from what I can easily see that:
Your stylesheet uses small image files for the menu items on the left: eg "what2.jpg" for the "* WHAT" menu button. Most of those are not present on your website (or maybe they have different names or are in the wrong directory).
Many of the linked pages are also missing - so even if the images were there, they wouldn't lead anywhere.
There are a bunch of flash animations used for banners - which also appear to be missing.
But in any case, your site has some pretty serious problems. The worst is that none of these images have "alt" tags. There are two reasons for "alt" tags that you should be aware of: Firstly, if problems like this show up, then the missing images will be replaced by whatever text is in the alt field - this makes problems much easier to diagnose and people will still be able to use your site while you are repairing it. Secondly, blind people using special browser software that reads the web page to them will have something to hear spoken to them in place of the image. The flash animations are a TERRIBLE design decision though - never use flash for trivial decoration, you are just about guaranteeing that half of the people out there won't be able to see your site in all the glory you expect it to be in because they either have an older version of flash installed - or no flash at all. Just say no to flash unless you absolutely, utterly, must have it for some content. Even if you do have flash, you absolutely must include the little snippet of code that detects whether the user has flash of an appropriate version installed and if it's not: both provides alternate content and a link as to where to download the flash plugin from. SteveBaker22:06, 24 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Oh i got it now, I was hosting on a Linux server and I created the website on a Windows machine. Some of my capitilization between file names and links didn't match up. Jamesino00:00, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
help me
I am questioning the neutrality of the article on Larry Birkhead. Is is very negatively slanted. Someone is running their own agenda. What is up? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bjacksob (talk • contribs) 22:09, 24 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
You should discuss this on the Talk: page for that article (click on the 'discussion' tab while viewing the article). If that does not get you a satisfactory answer then follow the procedures in WP:NPOV. But please discuss it calmly and carefully on the articles discussion page first. SteveBaker22:13, 24 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know, but it certainly doesn't make sense to me that that would be the case. The idea is to sell your product as more than "just a cigar," as something different and superior. So I doubt it. 70.108.199.13008:17, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I used to turn off my printer to save the electricity cost of two LEDs being on all the time, but a friend says that is false economy since it costs more when it is switched on daily in ink, as it recharges the ink every time which of us is right please? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.110.23.62 (talk) 09:30, 25 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
2 LEDs will draw less than 100mA (very likely under 50mA), at about 2-3 V. Now that comes to power usage of about 0.4W (after rectifier and some other chips that might be running), which means you have to keep it running for 2500 hours (~100 days) for it to consume 1kW/h, so you wouldn't save much electricity. Depending on your printer's type and age, it may or may not need to flush down your print head with ink every time you turn it on, but I do tend to agree with your friend since ink is so much more expensive than electricity. --antilivedT | C | G10:11, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Of course, this depends on what your printer is actually doing when it is left on. Most things are doing more than just powering the standby lights. Skittle16:52, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It also depends what your printer is doing when it is off. It is quite possible, for an inkjet printer, that it is in exactly the same state as when it is sleeping with the power on, except that the LEDs are turned off. I have a VCR for which that seems to be true. A clamp meter might tell the tale.
I was on an Emirates flight back to Auckland a few weeks ago (great on-flight entertainment system), and we were unable to land due to a localised storm at the airport. As we were circling around Auckland, I noticed that whenever the plane is travelling through clouds, the wing changes colour (yellow, red, purple etc.), which otherwise should be white. Is this related to refraction and rainbows and how does it work? --antilivedT | C | G10:05, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Refraction definitely sounds like the best explanation, especially considering the fact that you were looking out an airplane window, which I understand are double-paned. This could somehow interact with the cloud-refracted light via interference. V-Man73705:34, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I wonder if this is a polarising thing. Those windows are acrylic and under a lot of pressure - so as you change altitude the stresses change - which does odd things to polarising materials. The wing is pretty smooth and shiney - so sunlight reflecting off of it would be fairly strongly polarised...maybe. SteveBaker15:37, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
a question. (human-powered flight)
In the modern world what would be the advantages of people being able to fly, both if everyone could and if only a few could? Bearing in mind that if people were able to fly, they would need huge wings, that would be unlikely to work very well inside.
Also what would be the main disadvantages of this?172.141.15.6112:38, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps the better question would be: why did an intelligent species not evolve to fly, or a flying species evolve to intelligence? And the answer is probably in the necessary mass of the brain for intelligence, and the support structure to house that brain. --Zeizmic15:47, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Apart from the obviously huge amount of energy it would need to keep someone in the air, I would also expect it to be difficult to fit into small spaces such as cars, or to put clothes on:) Mainly everything is designed around people being like they are:) If people were different, everything else would have to be different too:( It could also help people lose weight, both giving them a way to use up their extra calories, and as an incentive for fat people, who would be too heavy to gety off the ground:)Hidden secret 718:51, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yeees. If it depended on weight (rather than being fairly magical), we could see a lot of people losing weight, perhaps some losing too much. It could potentially solve a lot of problems, as it could be a lot faster and more convenient to fly than to walk, so people might start flying when they would otherwise use powered transport. So people would likely use more calories (solving one problem), and use less fossil fuels to power transport (solving another problem). Also, if we were taking the bird model rather than the bat model (no reason to think that, but...) we would have feathers, so would need less clothing and less heating. Even with the bat model, we'd be able to wrap ourselves in our wings, needing less heating. So we'd have people moving further without cars. The wings could really get in the way of using our hands to do things, such as driving (maybe that would encourage even less driving), but we'd be able to build higher, without lifts, as people could fly up and enter external doors high up. Playground equipment would be built higher. Whole new squadrons of soldiers would be trained. Skittle20:13, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
So would it be a good idea or not, if it was possible
Changing Daylight Savings Time
…≥—I read in 2005 Congress changed the Daylight Savings Time to begin 3 weeks earlier in March and 1 week later in fall. Seems they think that it will be light longer in the evening to save energy. Its the same day it was in winter,only now its Spring, so i don't get that part, but everyone is freaking out because automatic time change on the VCR, computer, TV, etc. is going to be off!I guess the whole world now is going to fall apart because people will gain or loose this time, and, the millions they will spend to correct everyones time, is a waste.
Why not have Congress admit it was a nice idea, but just won't be worth millions to possibly save energy, and let well enough alone.
We'll have to see if it does change, and what havoc it has caused. I would just as soon let the rainy Spring come later!! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Suzybiggins (talk • contribs) 12:38, 25 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
Welcome, but you'll find that it runs against the smooth running of the beast, if you don't actually ask a question here. And we wouldn't want that, would we? --Zeizmic15:44, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Hello Suzy. These pages (the Reference Desk) are for people to ask questions about things, generally wanting a factual answer. They're not supposed to be used to post your opinion, as this is not a chat room or a chat forum. If you want to generally chat about this change, there are many forums out there you could use, or you could befriend someone on Wikipedia and chat on their talkpage. Skittle16:50, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I would not only eliminate Daylight Savings Time, but time zones, as well, and have everybody use UTC. Everyone would just set different times, based on when the Sun is up in their area, to go to work and school. (It really is the same time everywhere, we just pretend it isn't because the Sun is in a different relative position.) This would make it far easier for people around the world to communicate about time than it is now. This would also make it the same day everywhere. StuRat13:35, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It really is the same time everywhere?? If so, what time would that be? UTC? Hardly. That's just as much of an arbitrary yardstick as anything else. In other than polar latitudes, local time usually has a strong relationship with sunrise and sunset, and for good reasons. Can you imagine what your idea would mean for some people: "I wake up at 4pm (Monday) when the sun has been up for an hour. I start my working day at 6pm, and leave the office at 2am (Tuesday), when the sun is just starting to set". For all sorts of practical reasons, this is not really a goer, Stu. JackofOz23:24, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There really is a question here. Actually there are two: "Will starting Daylight Savings Time earlier really save energy? and "Is it worth the bother people will have to go through?" The answer is yes and yes.
Let's say the sun is rising where you live at 6:20am and setting at 5:30pm. You are getting up at 5:30 to get ready for work. You have to turn on a lot of lights because it is still dark. You get home about 5:00 or 5:30 and again have to turn on a bunch of lights until you got to bet at 9:30.
If we switch to Daylight Savings Time today, the sun would suddenly be rising at 7:20 and setting at 6:30. You still need lights in the morning, but you need them for one less hour in the evening. That saves energy becuase most households consume more energy at night. The United States saves about 1% of its energy used as a result of observing DST. See Daylight Savings Time.
Is it worth the bother? Yes. Saving just one-percent of the energy used in the United States for a 3-week period is a big deal. Most people have their leasure time at the end of the day rather than the morning. For that reason, a lot of people would rather we be on DST all year long so that they can have more light in the evenings.
Also, it is not that hard to set your clocks ahead sooner in the year. You have to do it anyway, what date you do it does not make much difference. The hoopla this year is that a lot of software programs were written prior to Congress' decision, so they don't know the switch is coming early. You probably only have between 0 and 3 devices in your house that are even smart enough to try to reset themselves. You just need to check on them.
The only people who are even remotely likely to suffer because of this are people who make international conference calls at a set time. Because the rest of the world is not switching early, these people may be confused about what time to dial into their conference call. Johntex\talk03:44, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The downside is that you may have to get up in the dark for a month longer than you otherwise would. For some of us it is extremely difficult to wake up when it is dark outside; we function much better if it's light for a little while before we have to get out of bed.
By the way, obviously full-time daylight saving time would eventually be the same as full-time standard time, because schools and businesses would eventually adjust their starting times accordingly, and eventually you'd reach the same equilibrium position you have now, relative to the Sun as if you changed it to standard time all the time. --Trovatore03:51, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
For the problem of getting up in the dark, have you thought about putting a timer on your lights? They make alarm clocks that gradually turn the lights on to help you wake up. Concerning your hypothesis that schools and business would just adjust their starting times - I doubt that would happen. Starting times are culturally ingrained, I doubt they would change, especially since everyone would know the reason the time shifted. Johntex\talk05:19, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Inside lights are the wrong intensity, the wrong color temperature, and come from the wrong direction. No doubt with sufficient expense these things could be overcome, but personally I don't want to get up in the dark, period, and I think plenty of people agree with me. The insufferable arrogance of the morning people will not last forever.
I think you're quite wrong about what would happen with starting times. It would take a while, but the efficient markets hypothesis would eventually prove correct, and the equilibrium would shift to put activity relative to daylight the way people actually want. --Trovatore07:12, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I just don't get it. If there are only 10 hours of light in a day, and 14 hours of darkness, and you sleep for 8 hours during those 14 hours of darkness, that will mean 6 hours of using lights, whether at home, in the car, or at work, no matter what the clock on the wall says. Arguments to the contrary sound as weak as General Motors' absurd decision to spell "employee" as "employe", to save time and money used to print that extra "e". This was idiotic, of course. There are so many unknown factors, like seasonal affective disorder, increased or decreased car accidents due to dusk, Sun in people's eyes, etc., that a comprehensive analysis of the effects beforehand is impossible. StuRat14:57, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If Daylight Savings didn't save energy, having trialed it for decades in many countries (and many governments have experimented with different clock movements), this would be apparent and people wouldn't do it any more. Since governments and businesses continue to endorse the idea, one can conclude that it does save energy. Therefore, since reality does not match your theory, your theory must be incorrect :-) Skittle17:50, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Based on that logic, if the war on drugs was a dismal failure for decades, it would be discontinued, would it not ? I'm not sure if it's possible to measure the effects of daylight savings time, as many other factors change at the same time (like a harsher than normal winter, for example). And businesses want to sell more electricity, gasoline, and other products, not less, so they hardly can be expected to work for conservation. US government, at least since Reagan, has largely been in the pockets of businessmen and their lobbyists. StuRat19:47, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Megaphone,walkie talkie and intercom use
What are the conventions of using walkie talkies, megaphones and intercom systems, for example saying 'over' at the end of each walkie talkie message, what other standard procedures are in use for these communication devices?
"Over" at the end of each message unless you don't expect a reply, in which case you say "out" (despite popular usage, never "over and out", which would suggest both that you were expecting a reply and you weren't!). Apart from that, conventions vary from organisation to organisation. -- Necrothesp15:56, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
"Over" is used in most formal communications systems to indicate that the speaker has finished speaking. I wouldn't have thought that informal communications systems actually needed any conventions. -- Necrothesp18:30, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
For a project, I have to compile a list of the top 10 funniest youtube/google video videos. So far, I have "George Washington" [2] as number 1. Any suggestions? -- Sturgeonman16:27, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This duck and cover video is really not funny. It´s rather tragic. To me it´s the government of the United States trying to scare to death all of the children and other citizens in their country so they support the war, frightend by the imminent explosion of an atomic bomb. A.Z.18:33, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
there is one that is pretty dumb but it is really funny. type in mortal kombat and there u will see some teenagers, its pretty funny. Another is the parody of the urban ninja.
I definitely think that this is the funniest thing I've seen on the site. The guy is an absolute psychopath. This one was pretty funny too, but you have to have seen some actual David Blaine to really like it. 70.108.199.13003:14, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
And Duck and Cover is pretty hilarious. In that I-almost-feel-sick-for-laughing-when-I-think-about-how-this-pertains-to-our-near-future kind of way. 70.108.199.13008:05, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If a nuke went off, which some national leaders have warned us might well happen due to terrorism if not military action by a world power, the Duck and cover approach would save the lives of those who were far enough away to see the flash and have a few seconds delay before the arrival of the blast wave. See Effects of nuclear explosions. The natural reaction for those several miles fromthe blast would be to run to the window and stare at the mushrooming cloud, perhaps suffer blindness and thermal burns, then physical injury from flying glass when the blast wave arrived. Ducking down under a piece of furniture or in a ditch would be a fine idea. Similar techniques are useful in earthquakes or tornados. This must be balanced against the increased fear from repetition of the warnings, which have been compared to today's warnings of "Mushroom clouds being the smoking gun" to tell us terrorists have nukes, along with periodic "heightened terrorist alerts" which have no specific actions mandated for the public. Edison17:36, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The whole 'blindness from looking at the explosion' thing is very overrated. There is a great bit in Richard Feynmann's autobiography about when he was present at the very first atom bomb test. He claims to have been the only person to see the test with naked eye because nobody else bothered to do the back-of-envelope calculation to determine what would happen. He figured out that he'd be fine looking directly at the explosion - but then worried that maybe he'd dropped a decimal point in doing his calculations - so he decided to watch with just one eye just in case! But I guess it depends on how far away you are and such. SteveBaker20:44, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The video isn't funny because duck and cover may or may not be a valid strategy, it is funny because "duck and cover" is said about ten times a minute, the way it is executed, and how it tells kids to trust in random strangers for help. Someoneinmyheadbutit'snotme21:46, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Although - if a nuclear weapon has gone off nearby, I'd prefer my kid got help from a random stranger than not to get help at all. The odds of them accidentally running into a sexual predator or a kidnapper at a time like that would be pretty small - and if they did happen to run into the wrong kind of random stranger then I honestly think they'd have more on their minds at a time like that! But I agree, those Duck & Cover things are bizarre - often to the point of being hilariously bizarre. All of the cutsey kid jingles and the rhyming advice, all set on top of a situation where the kid is almost certainly going to die - and all of his/her family is probably dead already...yeah...cute. SteveBaker15:34, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The video of those Chinese guys lipsynching to the Backstreet Boys is hilarious! (They call themselves the Back Dorm Boys) [3] So is the one with those Smosh guys lipsynching to the Pokemon theme song. [4]. Both of those have been extemely popular on YouTube have been shown on international media (The Back Dorm Boys have even been signed as Motorola spokespeople!). I'm also a fan Chad Vader. ;) --Candy-Panda10:31, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
cohort 1935
Approx how many people were born in the US 01/09/1935 and how many are still alive? I would like to invite Dick Enberg (Bob Denver died recently) and all others born on that date to a party. Note the magic date: 01/09/1935 can also be written 1935.24.24.128.5818:27, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
2,377,000 births in 1935 per [5]; so ~6500 people born on any given day assuming even distribution. Step 2 would be to figure out what proportion of people born in that year are still alive... hmm. ~1.5m people alive in 2000 were probably born in 1935 (estimated from [6]) - so ~4,000 born on any given day that year.
However, those are ballpark figures and don't account for immigration - but even so, you're probably looking at 2,500 to 3,500 people. Shimgray | talk | 20:16, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Is there some family guy where there's a talk show with a black host and guests and they do a really loud "UH-HUHHHH" what episode is that? Thanks. 69.214.250.18120:01, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Problems with login
I am trying to login but here is what is happening.
I enter my login info and it says i login successfully but whenever i go to another page it appears that i have logged out. my username is Woohah Master.67.142.130.3920:14, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I was having the same problem last week. I'd be on one page, logged in, then when I linked over to another page, it showed me as logged out. When I linked back to the original page, I was logged in again. I went back to the second page and re-logged in from there, but I was still logged out. Weird. It seems to be ok now. JackofOz00:46, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Virgin Pendolino Train Derailment in Cumbria England.
I understand that an initial Department of Transport statement on the above derailment will be announced tomorrow (Monday 26th Feb 2007) with a much fuller and more detailed report not due for many months to come. But, popular media reports on British News Channels seem already to have homed in on the likelihood of defective Track Switching Points, which would not be the first time on British Rail (sic) of similar causes of derailments. My question is - can a train driver travelling at 90 miles per hour see a set of "opposing" points as he approaches it? I realise there is little to nothing he can do, save perhaps, close down the engine before the train is derailed. Or do train drivers tend not to look at the tracks ahead and instead concentrate on track side and other signals? Just curious.
It takes a long time to stop a train - they can't stop anything like as fast as (say) a car. So it's more than likely that even if they could see this problem, there isn't much they could do about it unless the train was moving very slowly. SteveBaker23:00, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry - Well, the state of a set of points (a "turnout" in US English) is frequently indicated by trackside signals - you can see a bunch of these in our Railroad switch article. But the range of styles varies tremendously - depending on the importance of the switch and the local railroad standards. If there was such a sign, I'd expect the driver to pay attention to it - but with nothing much they could actually do, it wouldn't have helped. Without the sign, you'd have to be pretty close to the point to see how it was set. I actually have some experience of this stuff - I work as a flight simulator designer and some years ago we built a railroad locomotive simulator for Burlington Northern railroads here in the USA. I know that in order to get their license to drive a locomotive, the 'engineers' on that railroad were required to pass a test which entailed them noticing all manner of teeny-tiny problems and report them back to the authorities. Hence, if a crossing gate has flashing lights - and one of the bulbs had blown - the engineer was responsible for reporting that. So I know they are alert to these kinds of problems...but as far as I know, the concern is more that they report problems than that they actually change they way they drive the train as a consequence. I suppose if the driver of a train coming the opposite direction on a parallel track had noticed the points being set unusually, then maybe he had a responsibility to report it and maybe thereby have prevented disaster - but it's far from clear whether that would have been possible. I kinda doubt it. SteveBaker23:59, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Since the accident happened after 8 p.m. it would have been dark for a couple of hours anyway and the driver would have had no chance to see the points, even if he could see it in daytime. Drivers place total trust in the signals being correct. Steve's original reply is perfectly correct that he could not take avoiding action to prevent a collision if he did notice something amiss, but he may be able to reduce speed to lessen the effects of a collision, as happened in the daytime collision at Winsford in 2000 - but that was an empty passenger unit which had gone through a red light in front of an express, rather than points set the wrong way. Once a train is derailed, of course, it's all down to simple physics and media reports of the driver "battling to control the train" are total nonsense. -- Arwel (talk) 00:10, 26 February 2007 (UTC) (ex-BR)[reply]
I was on an Amtrack train in the U.S. when, during the daytime, a fuel truck pulled across the track in front of us at a grade crossing, ignoring the warning signal, and stopped for some reason such as engine trouble or other traffic blocking it. The train was not at maximum speed, going perhaps 50 mph. I don't recall if it made a full stop but it slowed enough in a panic stop that the truck got moving and we did not hit it. I heard the conductor (guard?) who was in same car I was, tell the engineer to "Catch the bastard and get his license number." The train then applied maximum acceleration to catch up to the truck which was on a parallel road, and probably hit 90 mph. but the truck had a head start and turned off before we caught him. In this case, the engineer could certainly see the interfering vehicle and was able to stop. Edison17:48, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
OK. It's now a day later than when I asked the original question, and first off, I want to thank everyone above who answered or responded - secondly, I want to assure Steve I was not being argumentative in my response to his, I really did appreciate his, the first, response. The point I was making was simply that I was curious to know whether in normal daylight conditions (thanks for the input about the time of the incident to Arwel_Parry) a train driver travelling at 90mph would be able to see an opposing set of points. I had already accepted that there would be little to nothing he could do to avert a derailment at that speed. But since then, we have learned that a "stretcher bar" which apparently keeps the moveable switchgear (the points) exactly 4' 8" and a half apart, appears to have been missing at the time of the derailment, which to me, suggests murderous intent on the part of an as-yet-to-be identified vandal, or a case of criminally irresponsible neglect on the part of the maintenance team. So we are agreed, it is unlikely that a driver would see such an obstacle, especially in poor lighting conditions, and ergo, there is nothing he could do to lessen the consequences. But again, no offence intended to Steve. And sincere thanks once again.
Wow! The stretcher bar was missing?! YIKES! (Incidentally - no need to apologise - I hadn't taken offense - you were correct, I hadn't read the question properly the first time around. But it's almost impossible to read emotion in written conversations anyway - so I'm rarely offended no matter what!) SteveBaker15:28, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The RAIB interim report on the derailment here says (paras 27/28) that out of the three stretcher bars and the lock bar that should have maintained the correct separation between the switch rails, one was missing, two were fractured (one possibly as a result of the crash) and bolts on two bars were missing. As a result, it says, "the left hand switch rail was free to move across close to the left hand stock rail whilst the right hand switch rail remained, correctly, against the right hand stock rail". Gandalf6115:51, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia Images
I am looking for images of Marian Anderson as a baby, and Wikipedia was unable to find any sources whatsoever. I really need these pictures for my Marian Anderson timeline.
I would also like to know how to trace back to see if I am related to Marian Anderson in any way, we have the same last name and i was just wondering. I would really like to know both. If this system is unable to trace back, I will go to another source. Thank you! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.160.194.227 (talk) 20:51, 25 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
When you say 'Wikipedia' was unable to find any sources', it sounds as if you are trying to make Wikipedia what it is not (unless that was a mistake for 'Google'). Wikipedia has a fair collection of images, but they have mostly been imported specifically to illustrate articles. To search for an article, type it into the search box in Wikipedia. For any other search, use a search engine. --ColinFine21:48, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You know how homeopathic "medicines" are given in small, hard sugar balls? How do they make those? I was wondering if I could make some home made mint candy using them. Just a culinary experiment for myself, really. — Kieff | Talk21:45, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not sure, but had a thought, why not try using sugar cubes (sold for sweetening coffee) ? You could add a drop or two of some powerful, bitter flavoring and make each into a "candy". StuRat12:31, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There used to be little devices called pill-rollers where you pressed the sugery mix while it was still soft into "sausage "shapes.This was then cut into segments then the segments were rolled round on a board by another flat paddle until they became round.It is possible to do this by hand.I followed a recipe for dried frog pills in Nanny Ogg's Cookbook which worked for mehotclaws**==11:11, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Cannot rid myself of spiders, no matter what I do
Greetings!
My name is Joe Bitonti and I live in Southwestern Pennsylvania, namely a town called Belle Vernon , zip code 15012. I have what I believe an unusual problem and Probably a problem that you have not come across in your experiences with spiders. I want to tell you the whole story about how I became infested with spiders. In 1999, I decided to install a new rug in my living quarters. I contacted Sears, picked a rug and was told to wait two weeks. Sears and I made an appointment to have the rug installed on a Saturday and the night before I pulled the old rug and cleaned the floor waiting for the next day. The next day Sears called me to tell me that they had the wrong color of the rug and I had to wait two more weeks. The bungalow that I live in is about fifty years old and there has been some settlement. Three nights later around 2 a.m. I was bit in the sole of my foot with a sharp jab. I turned my foot to see what had bit me and I saw two fang marks. The area was yellow and I waited to see if the yellow would spread but after an hour, the normal color came back. I did not see this spider but the next morning as I was taking a shower I saw a large black spider being pushed by the water toward the drain. I had just a few minutes before opened the grill of the drain and there was nothing this spider could do to not go down the drain. I have never seen a pregnant spider but this was the largest spider I ever saw. The back of the body was quite large and it looked to be over two inches high. I panicked and turned the hot water on and the spider went down the drain. Nothing happened for the next month. I was sitting at my desk when I saw a silver pest about 1/16 of an inch on my arm. This pest had two pincers was in a vertical position. Looking closely I saw this thing rub the two pincers together and then went down the shaft of the hair on my arm. Then this thing went Horizontal and away from the hair and the skin turned opaque. I squeezed this thing out of the hair shaft and flicked it away: mistake number two. Then I began to itch all over my body. I went to the local hospital and signed into the emergency room where an intern looked me over. He did not see anything but gave me a tube of paste and told me to rub this paste all over my body and go to bed. Then I washed this paste from my body. I was told by the intern that in the morning the itchiness would be gone but it was not to be. Next, I went to a skin specialist and told me there was nothing he could do. All of this time I never saw anything on my body, but the itch continued. I then went to the University of Pittsburgh Presbyterian Hospital and saw a group of dermatologists. While I was waiting, I saw for the first time a black dot on my nose and then I felt the itch. The doctor came in, looked over my entire body, and did not see anything until I told him about the black dot on my nose. He took it and told me he would return in awhile. He returned and told me that the itching was because of the new kidney that I had received from the Thomas Starzyl building at the Presbyterian Hospital a few years back and gave me some zyrtec. I also went to the University Hospital in Cleveland and saw another Skin specialist. He wanted to give me Cipro and told me to return in 3 months. I could not convince this doctor that I believed that I had an infestation and I left refusing to take the medicine. After several more trips to different doctors, I finally gave up. It is a wonder that I have not lost my sanity throughout the years but I am determined to continue to try to get someone or some organization to help me. I tried different things to get rid of the infestation such as using very hot water, almost scalding to rid my body of these pests. I have gotten some control but cannot do anything about my back. I cannot feel these pests coming out of my body but when they enter the body, again I feel a sharp pain. Now, we come to this year because it seems as though these pests have gotten worse. (Earlier I forgot to tell you that when I pulled the rug I saw that a gap was left under the baseboard, but I did not thing anything of it until after I was bit I got a light and looked at the baseboard. On the inside of the nailed strip, I saw many little bugs walking along the strip. The living quarters were exposed to the cellar of the house and I believe where there were bugs the spiders were. There also and that was where the spider had come up through the cellar into my living quarters. I put putty in the gap but it was too late. I also believe that the spider that stung me had put something into the wound, which evidently was an egg.) I now am using pest control liquids to try to take care of these pests. I have had at least three exterminators a year come to the house to spray and they all did a very good job. Nevertheless, about three days later I can see the spiders. The outfits that I contracted sprayed the attic, the living quarters, the cellar and the cement foundation of the house. Some of these exterminators have returned but left disgusted when I wanted them to return. Now I started looking where these spiders came into the living quarters and have found that they are coming through the light fixtures on the ceiling. Therefore, I have taken the lights out and re-plastered the ceiling. I now sleep on the living room couch but the very small spiders seem to be being through somewhere the latest company called ORTHO said to saturate the drapes, the floor, the walls and the rugs. That probably is going to be the next step. One unique thing about these spiders is that they come into the room around 2 a.m. thru 6a.m. A gray or yellow shield surrounds them. It seems to be a safeguard. Throughout the day sometimes, I see something floating down from the ceiling and land on the floor and then evidently while I am sleeping they crawl on the bed and bite me. I do not feel the bite but the next morning the bit site itches. I now have about twenty bit marks that are two fang marks on my body. There is another thing that has happened to a friend of mine that is peculiar. Around October of this year, I was asked if I could watch their home in the evening as they had moved away and could not get to the house except on weekends. So about three nights a week, I go to their house from 9p.m. until 6a.m. About the time that I was to watch the house, I helped this woman go to the attic to get some Christmas decorations and while up in the attic I did not see one spider web. A month later around the end of November this woman had forgotten to get something from the attic and was quite surprised. The entire attic was filled with cobwebs and I noticed that when I was in the house and around 2 a.m. I saw about six spiders coming from the woodwork at the ceiling. One more thing. I went to an urologist and upon an examination; he saw red dots (about 20) on my back and was told to go a see another skin specialist. This time I should have gone because the month before I had asked my brother to look on my back and he then saw black dots. I asked my brother to put Fuller Brushes Salve that they sell to hunters on my back. When he did this he was shocked and told me that he saw, some of them move. I tried to get him to go to a doctor with me but he said no. The dots that the urologist saw were now red and I believe that these were baby spiders growing on my back. I also burned them off with the hot water. Another mistake. Every time I have a chance to prove myself, I do something stupid and eliminate my opportunity. You now have the entire story. There must be someone out there that can help me. I am willing to compensate you for your time. I am sorry that this is such a long-winded letter and that some of the sentences have separated. I anticipate your response.
Sir, with all due respect, there is no really tactful way to say this, but I am inclined to believe that the spiders you believe are bothering you are not actually real. You may wish to have a qualified general practitioner or psychiatrist hear you out; I believe your symptoms are similar to those of stimulant abusers who feel crawling sensations under their skin during withdrawal. Haikupoet21:50, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
-Joe:
Thank you for that response. I am inclined to burst into an explicative but I will not. I have heard your response endlessly; that my problem is induced by mental instabilities. How do you explain the incident with my brother then?
I understand your frustration. As a sufferer of mental illness myself I have perceptions of things that seem very real to me that others assure me are not in fact true. From that point of view, I think it behooves you to talk to someone in a psychiatric specialty, if for no other reason than to rule out a mental issue. I don't question that your perceptions of what's going on are exactly what you're seeing and feeling. I am simply saying the etiology might not be what you think. Haikupoet22:28, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
"wall of text" ... indeed! Never thought of that before - nor did anyone else before this (I think). So Proficient, you get to claim that particular metaphor and a good one it is. --;-)) --hydnjotalk00:42, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
While we cannot give medical advice, Delusional_parasitosis might be informative. Spiders need a food source it would be unusual to have a bunch of them congregating indoors unless there was an abundance of small insects for them to eat. Since you say that you have the exterminator come 3 times a year that seems unlikely. -- Diletante02:33, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
1) The behavior you describe sounds more like ticks than the other arachnids (spiders), to me. The sighting of the spiders may be unrelated to your tick infestation. While ticks only bury themselves partially in the skin while feeding, if the tick is small enough and/or your vision is poor enough, those might appear to be just black spots. Also, if you scratch them off, their heads may break off beneath the skin, appear as black spots, and possibly cause an infection. You need to get a doctor to lance the skin and remove those black spots to determine what they are. If you do have a parasite beneath the skin, that might be something quite different, like some type of parasitic worm.
2) If there is any way you can collect these arachnids, dead or alive, in a jar, it would be of great help to identify them.
3) Arachnids frequently live in the hollow areas between walls, so you should ask the exterminator to drill holes, spray in insecticide, then seal the holes. At least one hole should be drilled between each set of studs. Arachnids between the walls may come out in light fixtures, electrical outlets, and other holes in the wall. A more radical way to kill off everything in the house is to tent it and fill it with a powerful poison. This poison will hopefully seep into the walls and kill everything. You, of course, need to leave for several days during this process. This brings up the possibility of you infecting the new place or reinfecting your own place when you return. Also beware of anything you take with you, like clothes, which also might be infected.
4) I'm not sure if it's fine enough, but perhaps mosquito netting or something similar would work to keep them off you while you are asleep.
5) Coating your body with a thick oil was probably good advice. That can prevent any ticks from breathing, which causes them to leave your body. It will also prevent further tick infestations.
6) It would help us greatly if you could provide pics of the black spots, red spots, arachnids, etc.; anything you have.
I really think we're missing our standard disclaimers here... We should not be touching this question, and acting as though we really know something. --Zeizmic13:37, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I agree - Wikipedia has strong rules against giving any kind of medical advice or diagnosis. There are really good reasons for that rule - in many juristictions, practicing medicine without a license is illegal and carries a heavy penalty. We just can't go there. SteveBaker17:25, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Two things for the original questioner... 1/ As stated above, we can't give out medical advice. And 2/ If you've already seen a slew of doctors, including several specialists about this... why do you expect that a bunch of anonymous web-posters that may or may not have any credentials in anything would have any better answers? I'd go back to the certified professionals, if I were you. I wouldn't trust the guys on this board to trim my toenails, let alone diagnose a problem so complex that you've seen a bunch of specialists and not yet gotten a satisfactory answer! (hehe, no offense guys... ;-) ) --Maelwys17:33, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see how any of the above responses were in any way inappropriate. In fact, my kudos go out to Haiku for having the courage to share with the OP, as well as the rest of us, his/her personal experience. Believe me, some of the best and most helpful information regarding medical conditions comes from fellow sufferers first, and doctors a distant second. Think about it. Afflictions such as drug or alcohol addiction, depression, and many other conditions are defined as a diseases. Yet what has been proven to be the most effective form of treatment? The medical community? Of course not. Support groups consisting of fellow sufferers have been proven to be far more helpful than anything a doctor can provide.
Haiku wasn't in any way "providing a diagnosis", rather s/he was providing an informed suggestion as to what may perhaps be the problem. Same goes for Diletante. As for Stu, his remarks could not be described as "medical advice" in any sense of the word. As for Steve's remarks, believe me, nothing said here even remotely approaches "practicing medicine without a licence". Rent an office, hang a phoney diploma, wear a white lab coat, drape a stethoscope around your neck and begin taking appointments, and now you're "practicing medicine without a licence". Above all, please remember that one of Wikipedia's five pillars is that when the situation warrants it, Ignore All Rules, follow your conscience, and do the right thing.Loomis23:39, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I hate to comment here, what with our rules against medical advice, but I was moved by your situation because I can only imagine how distressed I would be if it happened to me. I'm certainly not suggesting a disgnosis, but I'll just say that - further to Haikupoet's suggestion - certain aspects of your story reminded me of a strange and rare condition which may or may not exist, called Morgellons. Read the article and make up your own mind, but most importantly, continue to see a doctor if you feel distressed by this occurance. Rockpocket
Sounds like you have taken constructive action by having exterminators in and seeing doctors. The exterminating might have eliminated a spider problem, and by reducing the food they find (other bugs) would greatly lessen their incidence. You might still need to see your regular doctor, or a dermatologist if there is a continuing skin problem or perhaps you have issues such trhat you would benefit from seeing a psychiatrist. All should remember, however, that even someone with mental problems could have a skin disorder or a spider problem or other insect problems. The "spider infestation in humans" story is a well known urban legend, and many variations on it can be found at www.snopes.com by searching on "spiders." I once lived in a house infested with poisonous brown recluse spiders, and was never bit. I knew 3 other people who were bit, and each just had a localized sore, and certainly was not "infested" by spiders. Edison06:53, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
-Joe: Thank you so much for all the responses, you don't know how much it matters to me. I have seriously considered moving because the problem is so bad. People keep suggesting that the problem is mental, but how could this be with actual witnesses? I just am at my last straw, you don't know how much serious help you are providing. I love you all. God bless you.
Poker question
I had the same hand as the winner: two pair (aces and 7s). I lost the hand because his kicker was higher, but why did the person with 7s and 8s get a side pot when I had a better hand than he had? Log of the hand is at User:MacGyverMagic/Discussions/Poker, you can answer there. - Mgm|(talk)22:21, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Answered. It looks like the "side pot" was just a glitch in the software; the player just got back the extra money the other players couldn't match. Clarityfiend23:51, 25 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I had sex with bi-sexual girl who have not had sex with a man before. However she have had sex with girls who have put fingers, tongue and dildo inside her vagina. If I would ask, did I deflorate her, how would major cultures answer? For example, would this be considered defloration in west, in muslim cultures, in China or in India? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jormix (talk • contribs) 22:57, 25 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
I don't think the question has any clear answer. Also, many of these cultures seem rather "family-oriented" to me, where lesbian sexual experimentation likely is rarely discussed, or considered more or less "inappropriate". 惑乱 分からん00:09, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also, please sign your posts with the easy '''~~~~''' signature markup so that someone else doesn't have to do it for you, thanks, --hydnjotalk00:34, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I can only speak for the west, but I think you've pretty much answered your own question in the post. How ever you want to define it, defloration relates somehow to innocence, sex or purely physically the hymen. As you have yourself admitted, the person you are talking about has had sex, is not innocent (which I interpret to mean reciprocal) and has been penetrated almost certainly to have broken her hymen. So by any definition I can think on you are not her de-florist. However as with most thing sexual, really the only thing that counts is her opinion, for example if she decides to be hetro and justifies her previous sexual activity as purely exploratory, she could very well consider that the first time she actually had sex. As far as east cultures, I'd say the question is probably not even worth asking, the sexual revolution hasn't happened everywhere. Vespine04:17, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
So defloration is the same thing as breaking hymen, even if it happens without penis? How about if i alter my question a bit. Is it considered that I took her virginity? Now I mean virginity as a social construct, not hymen. Is there any way to see things in the way that I took her virginity? Jormix12:50, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Somehow I have the feeling that I was her first real sex. They were just girls who had sex with her before me. They put little girls fingers and a plastic toy inside her. Real sex is to put penis inside vagina. Also I would not feel betrayed if I would have a wife and she would have sex with a woman. Jormix20:51, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Anyway, I am also personally annoyed by the frequently perceived stance of any contradiction between "innocence" and sexuality. 惑乱 分からん15:20, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I can't speak for Wakuran, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but he seems to be taking issue with Vespine's remark that if she indeed had sex, she is by definition "not innocent". Nevertheless, in Vespine's defense, I doubt s/he was speaking of innocence in the sense of being the opposite of "guilty", but rather in a far more colloquial and somewhat unrelated sense. After all, by this definition, none of our biological mothers could be considered as being "innocent". Yet, for obvious reasons, it would be the height of hypocrisy for any of us to take a dim view of our mothers' past sexual activity. Loomis22:55, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for explaining! If that was what Wakuran meant I understood it now. I also do not think that people who had sex are somehow quilty, unless of course they cheat their partner Jormix23:15, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
So I decided to stick one of the CFL bulbs we just picked up into the three-way lamp in the living room, seeing as I only really use the lowest setting on the three-way bulb, figured if it wasn't too bright, Id just use the CFL. I checked the box and bulb throughly for warnings against this, found none, and Ive used standard one-way bulbs as temporary replacements for thee-ways for as long as I can remember.
Turned the switch, nothing happens at first, then I hear a slight pop, and then a hiss as smoke spews from the lamp before the circuit breaker trips killing everything in the room. Once the shock (not the electrical kind, I was fine) wore off, & I got the room vented as at first I thought the bulb exploded, and obviously breathing mercury vapors isn't good. I noticed that the wire leading to the lamp seemed to have shorted in a number of places (with very minor scotching on the carpet), the bulb itself looks and seems fine (though I'm obviously hesitant to see if it still works).
Is there an unwritten rule about using standard CFL bulbs in three-way sockets, or is it more likely it was just a crazy coincidence and the lamp itself decided to fail/short out?
Update: After rigging up a spare lamp out on the porch, with a powerstrip to switch it on behind the sliding glass door, the bulb seems to work just fine. Cyraan01:32, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
As you probably know, a three-way lamp actually has two filaments of different wattage ratings. By operating them separately or together, one can get a total of four brightness levels (including, of course, "darkness"). One filament of the three-way lamp connects between the central contact of the base and the metal shell of the base, just like an ordinary lamp. The second filament of the three-way lamp connects between an added ring contact on the base and the shell.
Here's where the problem comes from: Most "one way" (ordinary) lamps won't touch the prong in the three-way lamp socket that supplies power to this second filament. But a few CFL bases are badly designed so that their metal shells touch the second power prong. This creates a short circuit when you turn the lamp's switch to a position that applies power to the second power prong. If you're lucky, the circuit breaker or BS 1363 fuse promptly blows. If you're unlucky, things sizzle for a while. This sort of fault, BTW, is one of the driving forces behind the change in law to require arc-fault circuit interrupters; they're sensitive to exactly this sort of sizzling fault.
Examination of the CFL base and the three-way lamp socket will probably reveal to you how the short circuit occurred.
I figured as much, the circuit breaker tripped promptly, so I was among the lucky I suppose, though Ill probably need to get the lamp re-wired. Guess I should have googled around a bit before giving it a try, I just assumed there would be a warning or something against it on the package or bulb itself it there would be such a problem, but I guess you know what they say about assuming. Thanks for the answers. Cyraan19:36, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
But any normal bulb would have had the same problem - it's not unique to CFL's. You don't see warnings on other bulb types. If anything, the warning ought to be on the lamp. SteveBaker20:37, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think that last bit is true. The "three-way" contact is placed in an area that, on most lamps, is part of the lamp base's insulator. It's just that some CFLs have oddly-shaped metal shells that "intrude" into the area that ought to be a "keep-out" area. I've never managed to toast a three-way lamp socket with an ordinary incandescent one-way lamp.
Indeed, that was what confused me at first, Ive used one-way incandescent bulbs as temporary replacements for three-way bulbs for years now, without all the popping and smoking. Cyraan22:34, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
American flag
Does anyone know why some American flags have yellow fringe around the boarder? Does this fringe have a significant meaning or is it just decorative? Lmm5600:50, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag itself as long as it does not deface the flag proper. Ceremonial displays of the flag, such as those in parades or on indoor posts, often utilize fringe to enhance the beauty of the flag. The first recorded use of fringe on a flag dates from 1835, and the Army used it officially in 1895. No specific law governs the legality of fringe, but a 1925 opinion of the attorney general approves the use of fringe "...at the descretion of the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy...". The United States Institute of Heraldry also confirms that there are no implications of symbolism in the use of fringe.
Ì have been wanting to take a martial art for some time now. 1 person I know has recommended Aikido. I have reasearched it and found out a lot of stuff about it. Another person recommended jiu jitsu. i have also reasearched it. i have been told a lot of different stuff, those were the best ones that were recommended. Which one do you think? Have any other recommendations? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.191.114.194 (talk) 05:21, 26 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
Depends what you want. The most effective is supposedly judo, as it focuses on disabling opponents very quickly. Arguably, the best fighter practices Judo, as he has never lost or something like that. The most flashy (to me) is probably Taekwondo. One of the most beneficial is Tai Chi Chuan, which is often practiced for health. Other than those, it really is personal preference as to what you want to learn. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 05:55, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If your aim is to screw people up, Muay Thai looks pretty effective. Watch Ong Bak for proof. If you don't want to kill people or break bones every time you get in a fight, I think Aikido would work especially well because of the general lack of direct hits. 70.108.199.13008:14, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That's not entirely true. It's true that even someone as learned as Jet Li admits to not being able to defeat his rather large co-star in one of the movies in a real fight, they give you more edge than someone who is completely unlearned. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 22:02, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Do you have a citation for this? Jet Li was a multiple Chinese national champion, and is still regarded as one of the best in his art. Sandman30s11:08, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Besides, it could probably be worth the effort in other areas than just brawls, like improving personal health, endurance, fitness etc... 惑乱 分からん04:27, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Do not listen to any of the above rubbish about the "best" martial art. I have taken Karate for quite a while and I can tell you only two things about fighting:
1) If you work out, practice, work out some more, and then practice some more, then practice, then work out, etc... you will become skilled.
2) Do not rely on flashy moves to do the job. Use the most effective technique requiring the least amount of effort. This usually involves a punch/elbow to the face, kick to the knee, armbar, eye gouge, etc.
If I were to reccomend anything, I'd say take boxing. They don't fool around with silly "Ki" or "finding one's true self", blah blah blah. They say just punch the bastard. Hard. That's how we do it in Kyokushin.
I've been confused about this for awhile. There are cellphones with email/browser capabilities, PDAs with phones, BlackBerries, and SideKicks. What are the difference between all these except for the name and shape? Am I missing something here? I was under the impression that BlackBerries are wireless devices with PDA capabilities and wireless phone, but aren't all the ones I mentioned like that?
And P.S. I wish there was an electronics ref desk. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 08:02, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It's really just a matter of what software they are running - but the 'shape' is not entirely inconsequential - you need a decent sized display if you are going to be doing the kinds of things you do on a PDA for example. You could theoretically do those exact same things on a phone - but since phones tend to have tiny displays and no touch-screen, it would be pretty painful to use one to update a spreadsheet or write a lengthy document. But you are basically correct - they aren't a whole lot different 'under the hood' - which is why these 'hybrid' machines like the Blackberry with better keyboards and bigger displays than a phone - but with the handy voice functions of a cellphone are appearing. You could spread the net wider and ask why memory sticks and mp3 players and wrist watches and digital cameras and GameBoys don't do those things. With the rise of bluetooth interfacing for mobile devices, the convergence of these technologies is clearly happening. The cellphone/MP3player/Browser/Camera thing has already happened. You can play games on your phone. Some have USB interfaces so you can use them as memory sticks. All that remains is to ask what you'll call this thing? Is it an iPod with a wireless add-on - or is it a cellphone that plays MP3's? Is it a cellphone that plays video games - or is it a videogame with a cellphone attachment? SteveBaker16:31, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The culprit would be arrested upon their return. The rest of the crew would probably have some emergency procedure to restrain said individual until a shuttle was ready to bring them back. - Mgm|(talk)11:53, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
... each Partner State has to make sure that it has taken appropriate measures in its national legal system to enable its competent authorities to initiate criminal prosecution against an astronaut of that State’s nationality, and also enable the competent courts to actually exercise jurisdiction over the case, when receiving evidence that the astronaut concerned may have committed a particular criminal act included in the various categories of criminal acts designated, by that State, to be subject to prosecution when committed onboard the ISS.
... which I understand to mean that the alleged murderer's own home country would be responsible for their prosecution and trial. Gandalf6111:58, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The above paragraph does one thing: If you're a citizen of Blah-blah Land, you took off from your Blah-blah Space Center, you killed someone in the ISS and then you returned to the Blah-blah Airbase in your country's space vehicle, the victim's country can always force your country (Blah-blah Land) to prosecute you. Your country cannot shield you from law.
In case of a very obvious crime (e.g., murder), these international space men and women shall capture the criminal and their countries would battle for jurisdiction. Candidates shall include:
Criminal's country;
Victim's country;
Capturer's country;
The crime scene segment's country;
Landing craft's country;
Landing country;
Any mutually agreed country.
Let's say a Japanese citizen killed a U.S. citizen in a Chinese Antarctica base and was caught by a Russian scientist. A visiting German policeman from another base gathered evidence hours after the crime. A passing-by French aircraft flies the criminal (injured) and victim (dead) to the nearest Chilean Naval hospital at Cape Horn. Very possibly, Chile's legal system kicks in. However, since none of the involved parties (criminal, victim, witnesses, crime scene investigators) speak any Spanish, the Chilean government may want to send the criminal to trial in another country. However these countries are quite powerful, they may wrestle over the jurisdiction for whatever reason (We don't trust your legal system! You killed my people! We caught him! It occurred in our base! ...). -- Toytoy13:30, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, I was actually looking for information on what the other atsronauts would do (or astronaut, since there'd only be one left, making him evenly matched with the murderer). I should have been more specific. Also, what timezone does the ISS run on? I'd assume it to be GMT, but the article doesn't specify. 58.7.238.21113:35, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Would it matters whose airspace the crime occurred in? There is a legal vacuum so far as precedent for prosecuting them. Perhaps the urgency of apprehension of an astronaut Depends on the gravity of the crime. Edison18:01, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Since Pakistan's western provinces are "tribal areas" seemingly completely outside the control of the central government, why can't those provinces simply leave ? If they don't want to do so (because they would be attacked by the US for harboring al Queda and the Taliban, once no longer under Pakistan's protection), could Pakistan just "cut them loose" unilaterally ? This would seem to be very much in Pakistan's interest, as the western provinces are a major liability at present, with very little benefit for Pakistan. StuRat11:30, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Few countries voluntarily give up claimed territories. In the case of Pakistan's tribal areas, Pakistan has strategic reasons for not abandoning its claim. If the tribal areas were no longer part of Pakistan, they could become part of a greater Afghanistan, which would be a potential enemy of Pakistan, and a more powerful one than an Afghanistan lacking those territories. I think that the historic arrangement between Pakistan's government and armed forces on the one hand and the tribal areas on the other is something like "We'll leave you alone if you leave us alone". I think part of the agreement is that Pakistan's military would get access to those areas if some party posed a threat to Pakistan proper. If Pakistan abandoned all claim to those territories, it would lose this right of access.
Another, related reason why Pakistan would want to maintain its ties to these areas is that they give Pakistan more influence over the ethnic Pashtuns who inhabit these areas and who are also the dominant ethnic group of Afghanistan. Under the current arrangement, Muslim Pakistan, so long as it does not interfere with tribal authorities in its Pashtun territories, can pose as a more desirable ally of the Pashtuns than the Kabul government in Afghanistan, which may be seen as a puppet of infidel Westerners. By looking the other way while resources flow to the Taliban (while claiming to the West that they oppose such flows) from its tribal areas, Pakistan retains some power over the Taliban (if only the power to allow them access to resources), and Afganistan will likely return to Pakistan's sphere of influence if and when Western forces withdraw. Marco polo15:43, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I doubt if Afghanistan would be any more successful in integrating those areas than Pakistan has been. So far there have been numerous assassination attempts at Musharraf due, at least in part, to the presence of the tribal areas. And, if Pakistan thinks it has any influence over those areas they should look at the results of their last "peace treaty", which shows how the influence is strictly the other way. The Waziris and Pashtuns seem like far more trouble than they are worth. I also think any country which includes those tribal areas will be substantially weakened, not strengthened, as the tribes there are loyal to nobody (except perhaps al Queda). StuRat16:27, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'm more curious about Stu's second question, which relates not to the issue of Pakistan's interest in or the wisdom of relinquishing control of these areas, but rather the practical aspect of whether or not Pakistan can "just cut them loose", whatever its motives. That's indeed a fascinating question, as, to the best of my recollection, I've never heard of that sort of thing ever happening. Yet I'll give it some thought, and perhaps I'll come up with a similar instance. In any case, I have absolutely no doubt that it could if it wanted to. I can't for the life of me think of any obstacle that could possibly stand in the way of such a decision. Loomis22:36, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I wonder, in general, if there would be a problem getting the international community to recognize that those areas unilaterally granted independence are no longer their responsibility. For a similar instance, I had to go back quite a way, but I seem to recall the Roman Empire cut England loose toward the end of the Empire. StuRat23:52, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Good point. Israel has also more-or-less unilaterally cut Palestine loose, for the same reason. Of course, constant terrorist attacks from Palestine cause them to go back in, then withdraw, periodically. StuRat11:23, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Do they do it in jail, monastery or some religious countries where alcoholic beverages are prohibited? I know they brew fruit wines but how about using these lovely cold drinks? -- Toytoy12:54, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yeast prefers fructose to sucrose. Fructose is fruit sugar, and "high fructose corn syrup" is nothing but corn syrup with more fructose than normal (it's not some complex chemical). However, yeast won't grow at a low pH, and it won't grow if there's too much sugar (of any kind - fructose, sucrose, dextrose, etc.) in the liquid. Most sodas are too acidic and too sweet for yeast growth. --Charlene13:07, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I see. They made soft drinks acidic to improve the taste and supress bacterial growth. So you may want to add a little lime and water to your coke. -- Toytoy13:37, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The acidity comes in part from the dissolved CO2 forming carbonic acid under pressure. Letting it go flat - and maybe shaking it up a bit to get rid of the last of the CO2 - would help that some. I'd be surprised if it was too sweet - but if it is then just dilute it with water. SteveBaker16:18, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Is there a source for yeats "preferring" fructose to sucrose? In proofing yeast, it foams up nicely with sucrose and bread rises well with sucrose. Bread made with fructose or sucrose seems to rise about the same. The acidity of soda might interfere with the yeast action and require buffering to a proper ph. Edison18:05, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You put sugar in your bread!? :-S (Oh, btw, I know yeast uses sugar, but surely it usually uses the glucose from the starch?) Skittle17:10, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Does 20 years of winemaking count? Basically, the yeast developed by vintners and beermakers prefer fructose to sucrose in that a liquid sweetened with fructose will convert to alcohol faster than one sweetened with sucrose. Fewer off tastes, as well. (Yeast don't just convert sugars to alcohol and CO2. They also have other micronutrient requirements and produce other byproducts.) Yeast meant for breadmaking has been developed specifically to prefer glucose to anything else. However, all yeasts will get around to digesting most simple sugars - dextrose, sucrose, etc. The problem with bread yeast is that (depending on the strain) it will die out at about 3 to 5 percent alcohol, whereas wine yeast can survive up to 12%. Some sourdough bread yeasts have a higher tolerance. --Charlene03:24, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Web site where I can find a page full of different car emblems by manufacturer and make. (ie, ford mustang, chevy camaro, dodge ram---not just ford, chevy, etc.) Someone ran through my fence and left the auto's emblem. I've gone to several automakers sites and talked to the police. So far I haven't found an answer or emblem like the one left behind. DumbcluckDumbcluck16:04, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Alternatively upload a photo of the badge and i'm sure someone on the reference desk will be able to help. Being a huge car fan I could perhaps help (I particularly like quite obscure brands you see). ny156uk18:55, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, I was wondering if someone could add the way to pronounce the names of places, cities etc. Like I was searching for Middle Musquodoboit, but was not able to see how to pronounce it.
u can look in dictionary.com.
there is a button that says pronounce
press it and it should pronounce for you
Unknown Song
In a Nokia India Cellular Phone ad, (not sure about the model, its for the new music phone, maybe the 5500), the background song is very catchy.
Cant find out whose track it is. Lyrics go something like this:
Last night, I had a dream I saw you
In this dream I'm dancing right beside you
And it looked like everyone was having fun
The kind of feeling I've waited so long
A huge one that touches on technology is "Did the atom bomb shorten the war". There is another area of dispute that involves technology but I think I will pass. --Justanother20:18, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
How about these:
How important was radar (and the edge the Allies had in radar technology) to determining the outcome of the war?
Did any good science come out of the medical research performed by Nazi experimentation on prisoners?
How important was air power in the outcome of the war?
And here is one that would be much less common: Was there are Nazi moon base?
What would have happened if the Germans (or Japanese) had been the first to build an atomic bomb?
Nonsense! Enigma is extremely well understood...in fact it was so well understood by the allies during the war that they could easily decrypt any message the Germans sent with the darned thing. The computer that was used to crack subsequent codes is also well understood but for some bizarre reason it's still a state secret in the UK. SteveBaker15:18, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There is also a whole host of issues relating to strategic bombing in general -- was it effective, why was it used, was it ethical, was the atomic bomb somethings qualitatively different than the firebombing, etc. Another bomb-related topic is "Why didn't the Nazis invest in the atomic bomb?" --24.147.86.18703:31, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Voice Depth
I know that a certain amount of a person's voice depth is probably due to their natural build/vocal chords etc. but I was wondering if anyone knows of any studies that have looked at social-factors. I wondered whether perhaps a girl raised by only her father may, as a result of mimicing, have a deeper voice than a girl raised by only her mother. Or indeed boys having softer voices if they are raised by a mother only/deeper men only. I guess even having only brothers (or sisters) has an affect. Any input/help thankfully received. ny156uk18:50, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Studies have been made, but as far as I know they've focused on different cultural attitudes to voice pitch, rather than the effects of possible mimicking. A quick Google search led me to this blog entry that mentions the difference between Japanese, American, Swedish and Dutch women in terms of depth of voice, and mentions a book that seems to expand on the subject. Alarm23:37, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
And what about gays, I don't reckon their high (camp) voices are linked with fancying men? I guess thats part of their culture or something —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 137.138.46.155 (talk) 11:46, 27 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
We have some information (and plenty of misinformation) on this subect in the archives. Sadly this wasn't one of the RD's greatest moments, but there is some interesting references linked. Rockpocket19:02, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Biodiesel 50 Million gallons
the american soybean association said every 50 million gallons of biodiesel produced raises the cost of soybeans 1%. They cite the USDA. Can anyone tell me how to find this? I have been to the USDA cite and came up nada. Any ideas? Menkatopia19:52, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Start with a search for statements by Keith Collins, their chief economist and goo fu from there. Here is his latest and it goes much more into depth on the impact of ethanol production from corn than that of biodiesel from soy. --Justanother20:16, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Please sign your posts by putting four tildes (~~~~) at the end.
It depends on many factors including the narcotic, your weight, the amounts used, etc. Most of them are metabolized, and out of the bloodstream itself by the time the effects subside, but are usually still be detectable with other means other than a blood test. Cocaine can be completely out of your system in a matter of hours or days, while cannabis can be detected in your system for up to a month or more. Cyraan20:55, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you didn't understand Jormix' sarcasm. Please refrain from writing ALL-CAPS in the future. It's considered "screaming", looks rude and makes you look less serious. 惑乱 分からん00:38, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Defloration again
If defloration means breaking hymen, how about women who are born without hymen? Can you deflorate such a woman? How does major cultures answer?
I am asking this because I had sex with a bi-sexual woman who have had sex with girls only before me, and I was her first man to have sex with. This created emotional unsecurity to me. She told me she had never bleeded during sex, so propably she did not have hymen at the first place. So she was not deflorated when a girl put dildo and finger in her vagina during her first time sex. So she was a virgin until I put penis inside her? Jormix21:08, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
In Western cultures today, virginity is often defined in terms of any kind of sexual activity, especially leading to orgasm. For example, gay men typically define their loss of virginity in terms of their first sexual interaction to the point of orgasm. Lesbians would use a similar definition. So, under this definition, if this woman had prior sexual activity to the point of orgasm, penis or no penis, then she was no longer a virgin. But why this matters to anyone but her, I don't understand. Marco polo21:17, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I am western but my emotion says some parts of western culture are wrong. Also western people were traditional before, and I find this traditionality is in some aspects closer to my heart than rootless and corrupt modern value-liberalism of west. I want a partner for a long term relationship, maybe even marriage, and I want that such a partner loses her virginity to me. This girl feels nice but I must know were I her first or not. I want this answer from real ancient cultures and not from yesterday-created western idealism. This is why I also ask about other major cultures. What would Muslims or Indians think, was she a virgin before me or not? Jormix21:29, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
OK now we know why you keep pressing this issue and I can give you the answer you have wanted all along so you can stop pressing this pointless line of questioning. You took her virginity so you can marry her. Happy now? -- Diletante21:53, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I can't help but sense a certain hypocrisy in your question. Have you considered the fact that one of the very reasons why you're so understanding of this particular woman's bisexuality is your own exposure to what you call "rootless and corrupt modern value-liberalism" and "yesterday-created western idealism"? It's more than likely that what you seem to be referring as "traditional" cultures would be far more concerned with labelling this woman a "sick sexual deviant" for her bisexuality than with whether she's technically a virgin or not. Oh, and you'd likely be stoned for your pre-marital sexual activities as well. Loomis21:46, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This came to my mind. But as I said I dislike some aspects of modern western value-liberalism, not all of them. I know also that homosexual and bisexual behaviour were accepted and even admired in ancient Greece and Rome and in some forms amongst the Germanic barbarians and later Vikings so it is actually very traditional and very deep rooted in my European ethnic background to accept at least womens bisexuality. I am not a Christian and Christians were those who condemned bisexuality. Jormix22:31, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Actually it is a lot wider phenomenom than just New Age movements. It is a symptom of Multiculturalism. In societies with multicultural policy it is normal to pick superficial features of different cultures and traditions to create your own "custom" cultural identity. It is like picking products from supermarket. Just pick what you happen to want at a moment and leave other features away. Its cheap, its easy, its consumption. Tuohirullapuhu15:03, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Christians were also those who condemned all forms of pre-marital sex. There were ways to date and there were fertility rites that allowed pre marital sex in pagan Europe. For example in some cultures you could have pre marital sex at midsummer night and it was not considered as loss of virginity but rather holy ritual to honour sun or to make ground fertile Jormix22:40, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'd imagine that there would be plenty of things worse than giving birth.. slowly getting your hands cut off at the wrists with a rusty sawblade for one. But I hear that there are some pains that for special reasons are in a class all their own, like cracking a femur down the length of the bone --frothT00:56, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Probably said half-seriously ("aw man that was the most painful thing EVER") but there is no way that those are the most painful things. What if instead of a baby coming out, a woman was forced to endure someone breaking her cervix and a wooden baby coated in sandpaper being pushed into her uterus? I'm looking for a more scientific answer to the question, like is there some disease which directly stimulates all pain nerves in the body or something insane like that? --frothT02:29, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think a human body could handle extreme amounts of pain. I think anything severely more painful than the answers given, would likely cause you to either pass out or die in the process... 惑乱 分からん02:51, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I quite agree with Wakuran. Although I would have to say crucifixion would be the worst. By the way, the word "excruciating" literally meant "off of the cross," reflecting the intense, slow death of the victim. bibliomaniac1504:56, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Info given here is purely for discussion and does not constitute a recommendation, and we accept no liability. I expect electric shock would be the worst, per [8]. The pain reportedly increases as the eighth power of the current. The shock can be remotely applied via a shock belt. Sadly, reports are that extreme pain causes neither death nor passing out, if properly done. It can be applied to sensative areas while avoiding passage through the heart (which might cause death) or the brain(which might cause unconsciousness or death). Most aversive conditioning or torture uses low current high voltage application, (nonlethal agricultural electric fence, Tucker telephone , dog shock collar, Taser, cattle prod, Bird Inductorium, rat maze, aversive conditioning) while the Electric chair uses high voltage high current. Edison06:31, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You're all wrong. The is little discussion in the academic community about what the most painful sensation of all is: Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. Causes death in about 93% of reported cases and the few survivors are so badly scarred that they are unable to stop screaming in horror for the rest of their natural lives. Oskar06:56, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Pain is actually a very relative measure and varies between people. The brain can block any nerve in the body and there is a thresh hold of pain that a human can experience. According to this [9] with training it is possible to learn to consciously control pain. Also, as a side note, our article Agony says that cancer sometimes causes extreme pain. S.dedalus07:39, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed, it would vary widely from person to person. For example, a family friend reported using an epillator on her legs as being unbearably painful, more painful than childbirth! My mother regularly uses an epillator with little to no discomfort, and considers childbirth as the most painful thing she has ever experienced, but has never broken a bone or donated bone marrow, which could be worse. My sister broke her arm, and seemed to feel little pain compared to the bruising on her back (although that could be a self-preservation, endorphin-related thing I suppose). So really, people feel different things as being more or less painful. Skittle16:44, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Pain is subjective, nociception is objective. If you wish to be scientific about it, you would measure the most noxious nociceptive response based on quantitative physiological parameters. Comparing childbirth to a kick in the nuts is pointless, as no one person can experience both. Rockpocket21:40, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Water in stone
Okay, stupid question. I thought I heard/watched on TV/read that water could be extracted from stones, but I doubt it's possible. Does anyone know the answer to this less than usual question? · AOTalk21:45, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I wouldn't be surprised at all if even stones (at least those found on Earth) contain miniscule trace amounts of moisture. If so, then technically, if you're willing to consider the extraction of one billionth of one exalitre (0.000000000000000000000000000001 litres) of water evidence that water can be extracted from stones, then I suppose the answer would be yes. Loomis23:42, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There's a far higher proportion of gold in seawater than there is of water in rocks, so that would be a better proposition. But even that is economically pointless, since it would cost far more to extract the gold than the gold is worth. JackofOz23:32, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
As a Boy Scout I was told not to place creek rocks around a campfire because the water in them would make them explode from the heat. Sounds like a job for [Mythbusters]]. Edison06:08, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Wow, thanks! So basically, no, it isn't possible to extract water from rock (in substantial quantities). As for exploding rocks... I'll try that sometime. :-) · AOTalk14:17, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
HAH! As a young Boy Scout, I'd put all sorts of rocks into the fire to try to get them to explode. One time I got the rock hot enough that when I took it out of the fire (using tongs, of course), it cracked (but did not explode). Lucky for me, I never happened to throw a geode in a fire. V-Man73704:29, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Squeezing water from a stone is a very old literary device to show great strength (no, I have no sources, just memories of old folk tales), sometimes being set as a challenge to win a great prize. Usually I've heard the trick being using fruit instead of stones; I imagine sponges are a modern take on it! Anyway, this was just to suggest what might have been misheard, out of context. Hope I haven't patronised anyone! Oh, and there's the common phrases "It's like squeezing blood (or water) from a stone", "You won't get water (or blood) from a stone no matter how hard you squeeze", etc which again could have been heard out of context. Skittle16:37, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sure that used cheese sometimes, instead of fruit. And river can come out of rock too, even without magic
I remember being told a story in primary school about a knight or something who defeated a dragon by telling him he could squeeze water out of a rock, the dragon tried and couldnt do it, and the knight used cheese instead and this scared the dragon into thinking the knight was stronger and so the dragon gave up it's treasure. My memory says it was St. George, but it seems he just stabbed the thing to death. No idea where it's from, then. Anyone remember? I'd like to know. Capubadger10:09, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
do any of u guys know how much the gutenberg bible was worth when they first started selling it?
i looked in the article and i can't find anything. i looked in google and all i found was how much it costs now —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.210.12.248 (talk) 22:25, 26 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]
Au contraire, non frere, the location cited above actually says that the 20 guilder then would be the equivalent of about $1000. It is possible to calculate historical value of money by seeing what it would buy (land, labor, commodities) and its precious metal content. The question looked at what the item cost then compared to what it is worth now. Sometimes people get enthralled by how valuable such an antique is and wish their ancestor had bought one and passed it down so they could sell it and be rich. The Wikipedia article on the Bible says the last sale of a complete one was in 1978 for $2.2 million, which would be a paltry 1.48% return from 1454 to 1978. If the purchaser had neglected his spiritual wealth and instead put the $1000 equivalent at interest at, say, 3%, it would have increased to over $5,300,000,000 by 1978. Even a 2% return on an investment over that period would have increased to $32 million by 1978. Edison15:27, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
This is still completely and utterly meaningless. We can't just compare it to $1000 dollars today, because not only is the currency and price of goods different, but the entire world is. The psychological difference between $1000 then and $1000 now is vast. I mean, that much money only the richest of rich could possibly afford (we're talking aristocracy and the clergy, at the most), while a $1000 dollars today is still a lot of money, but with some frugality and a decent credit card, most people in the middle-class could afford that. A better value would be perhaps to say that it cost $1,000,000. This is technically incorrect (because, as you say, if you compare it to other costs it doesn't parse), but it conveys the psychological cost much, much better. This is my point; however you come up with a value, it will have little or no meaning in the world today. The way we use currency, the way currency is distributed, the difference in price from product to product and how the market works is too different then to now to make any comparison anything but meaningless Oskar17:48, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
No - it's not meaningless so long as it's calculated correctly. If 20 guilders back then was about what a typical person of the time would have earned in a week - then we can look at what a typical person earns in a week now - and say "About $1000" (or whatever it is). You could also say "How many loaves of bread would 20 guilders have bought back then? How much does it cost to buy that much bread now?". Of course the answers you get are very variable - so you have to look at a lot of measurements and average them or something - and the result isn't going to have any kind of accuracy. But it definitely gives you some insight into what sort of an person might be able to afford one. You get a pretty reasonable feeling of what that Bible represented to people of the time. If the answer is indeed somewhere beteen $500 and $2000 in present value - then you can say that it was maybe 10 times the price of a nicely bound quality Bible today. You can say that the average man-in-the-street would not have been able to afford one - but a nobleman would have thought it a reasonable (but not inconsequential) purchase - and a church could have bought one if the parishoners wanted to collect money to buy it. SteveBaker23:43, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'm trying to understand the purpose of the AHL. Its article describes it as a "development league" for the NHL. Why then, do the vast majority of draft picks come from the three sub-leagues of the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, QMJHL, WHL) and from Europe. Isn't the AHL supposed to be producing NHL players? Also, there's too many AHL players that are too old to be playing junior/minor hockey and will clearly never make it in the NHL, so why don't they kick them out and recruit new young players?
Those are two different types of leagues. The AHL is the minor league system of professional teams whereas the OHL, WHL, QMJHL are amateur teams for players under the age of 20. Once a player is drafted, if he is not good enough to make the NHL team he is placed on an AHL team untill he developes further. --Djsasso23:39, 26 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
First a/c designed to be data-link flyable from the ground.
First sophisticated bleed-bypass system for both intake AND engine/exhaust. Everybody uses that now.
First combination of the last two points with an "ejector" nozzle that used the bypass air to create thrust at the exhaust nozzle while also improving intake flow. The F-106 didn't even have a nozzle, just a pipe.
Use of a drooped leading edge and aerodynamic "twist" on the wing.
First oxygen-injection re-light system.
First engine to have only two main bearing assemblies on a two-shaft design.
First to use a variable stator on a two-shaft engine.
First use of a trans-sonic first compressor stage on a turbojet engine.
First "hot-streak" type of afterburner ignition.
Exemple : What is a oxygen injectoin re-light system and what is a variable stator. Stator is not the fixed part of a jet engine?
Thank you
If it's just the terminology you're interested in, I can certainly help. It would very much help to look at the diagrams at Jet engine for this.
1. Indicates that the aircraft has no pilot on board, and is controlled via radio from the ground.
2. Bleed bypass indicates that some of the air in a jet engine is bypassing the combustion chamber and is sent cold out the nozzle. This example is known as a turbofan. The bleed part is redundant since this usually indicates the air is 'bled' from behind the compressor, while bypass air always goes through the compressor. It does not make sense in the context of either an intake or a nozzle alone, it involves the entire engine.
3. The bypass air is always used to increase thrust. From what I've seen, an ejector nozzle is used to produce a cooler nozzle flow, by mixing in the cool bypass air with the hot turbine exhaust. All jet engines have nozzles, even if it doesn't appear so.
4. A drooped leading edge, or slat, is used to generate higher lift at slow speeds. A wing's twist is used to ensure that the root of the wing (near the fuselage) stalls before the tip. This means the ailerons are still effective during a stall, allowing roll control.
5. This sounds to me like oxygen is injected into the combustion chamber in order to help light the engine after a flameout.
6. Two main bearings - sounds like the joints between the engine shaft(s) and the frame.
7. The stator is a set of fixed blades in the compressor or turbine. If the blades are variable, their pitch can be changed depending on the flight conditions to improve the efficiency or performance of the engine.
8. Transonic indicates a velocity near the speed of sound. Thus, the air coming into the first compressor stage (in the diffuser) is transonic.
9. I can't find any difference between a hot-streak and a conventional afterburner, at least not with a few minutes of googling.
Which one, you ask - there are so many. Anyway, the one that is currently getting under my skin is when they interview somebody, particularly a person not yet well known to the public. Before he/she gets asked their first question, they’re shown walking. Maybe walking into their office, where an unnaturally tidy desk awaits them, and they start leafing through the sole book sitting there; or maybe just walking across a park, or along a footpath, going nowhere in particular. If I were ever interviewed on TV (hardly likely), I’d make it an absolute condition that I not be shown just walking somewhere. Why do TV stations persist with this? What value is there in seeing some person just walking? Surely we’re interested not in looking at their whole body, just their face when they start talking. This one is right up there with news readers having not only a desk top computer that they never look at, but also holding a pen that they never use. What’s wrong with a clean desk and empty hands? JackofOz02:48, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know. Another irritating cliche is the stupid, stupid stories about people who have assumed a "healthier" lifestyle (in other words, they've stopped eating junk food). They're always shown awkwardly cutting up vegetables, often a yellow pepper. I don't even want to see articles like this - what, there weren't enough murders and car crashes today? - let alone this stupid cliche. --Charlene03:16, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Don't get me started. Another of my pet peeves is, when a guy scores a goal in a soccer match, he runs off with his arms outstretched. The camera always, but always, gives us a close-up of only his head and arms. This is where we do want to see the whole person, not just their face. Well, I do anyway. Relating this to my original question, there's obviously a conspiracy to give viewers the exact opposite of what they want. I think nuking the TV stations would be going a bit far, but what else is appropriate? JackofOz04:17, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I think you can add to this the fact that a news report of a fire/catastrophe/accident/etc. will invariably contain some witness saying "It's the worst XXXX that I've ever seen..." Do these people see horrific accidents so often that they'd be able to qualify statements like that? Dismas|(talk)04:35, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Not to mention the "carnage on the roads" every holiday season. I think there's a definite case for a Wikipedia article on dumb, mindless, irritating TV and film cliches. Seriously. JackofOz04:52, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, thank you, thank you, Dismas. I should have known better than to think we hadn't already done it. You've made my day. :) JackofOz05:40, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I hate them interviewing an athlete immediatly after they have just done something so their answer is just a series of gasps.Why not wait one minute and let the poor soul at least get their breath back?hotclaws**==11:30, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
To return to the question, I agree it is a cliche. I would imagine they do this to try to give us a better sense of the person and hte surroundings in which they live or work. You know what is really annoying? When something happens during the day and by 10:00pm or 11:00pm the newsies have their TV crews in front of a now completely quiet scene so that they can broadcast "live from city hall", or whatever the location was. Johntex\talk14:13, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It simulates how you might meet someone in real life. First you seem them from a distance then once they are up close you can see their face and hear what they are saying. It is simply an establishing shot. Like any editing technique it can be done poorly or done well. -- Diletante15:57, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
That sounds like a plausible explanation in some cases. That might explain starting out showing the interviewee at full height while standing still, then zooming in to their face when they start talking. It doesn't explain the person walking 30 yards into their office, sitting at an almost empty desk, and faking doing some important reading. Sorry if this took a tangent into a mini-rant, but I really am curious about this strange behaviour that innocent people seem to allow themselves to be forced into. JackofOz03:47, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Sometimes I perform meaningless tasks like that without thinking about it... Perhaps I was destined to be interviewed on television? V-Man73703:51, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I was hoping some of you experienced wikipedians can try to figure out why no one is questioning the passenger manifest.
The passenger manifest must be compiled before a plane takes off; yet the official passenger manifest fluctuated for over a month after 9/11.
What's more, the majority of the dead "passengers" have no family members coming forward to either accept government compensation or are very quiet. The people related to those dead at ground zero are very vocal in comparison.
Also, there are no arabic names on the passenger manifest. 19 arabic "hijackers" could not have snuck onboard all these planes.
Also, can somebody verify if two people who were reported dead on the plane (and their families recieved mysteriously undamaged id and credit cards) but weren't on the passenger manifest actually existed?
Please I think this is the most telling piece of evidence against the corrupt Bush administration.
First, I don't accept any of the "facts" you rely on. Prove to me that the passenger lists varied for over a month, prove to me that no Arab names are on any of the lists, prove to me that relatives of those on the planes have a lower rate of seeking government compensation. Then list the names and plane of the two passengers you speak of and what specifically your conspiracy theory is (what exactly do you think the "corrupt Bush administration" did ?). StuRat10:22, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Many published passenger lists are, in fact, lists of victims. The terrorists are not usually considered victims, so no arabic names, and the numbers of passengers vs. number of names on victim lists will not match. Also, lists published soon after 9/11 were compiled by and from news agencies, and were incomplete as they were not the real passenger manifests that the airlines had. When lists were released, the names were released only after the victims' families were notified; later lists were thus more complete. See here for more details. Conspiracy web sites will not acknowledge these things, as that would cut into sales of banner ads, books, videos, etc. There's easy money to be made by telling you stories. I should get into that biz... Weregerbil12:34, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You see, the kids, they like the rap music, with the hippin' and the hoppin' and the bippin' and the boppin', so they don't know what the jazz, is all about!
In all seriousness though, he did come under some controversy a few years back for a speech that criticized the views and priorities of some of todays African American youth, at least attempting to make a difference there. Cyraan04:55, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I view that speech and later speeches as saying the lack of morals, realistic goals, respect, etc., apparent in black kids today is primarily the fault of their parents and the black community. This is in sharp contrast to the "PC" line that all black problems in the US are a result of slavery, segregation, etc. "Cos" points out that only 30-40 years ago most black kids had morals, realistic goals, respect, etc.; so slavery, segregation, etc., can't be blamed for the subsequent decay, and the black community must look inward. Less controversial activities by "Cos" include his portrayal of positive black role models in The Cosby Show and Cosby. The earlier Fat Albert was a bit more controversial, for it's negative portrayal (for comic effect) of black characters, such as Mushmouth. StuRat10:13, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Contribution
I love this website and I found something that you guys don't have. I don't want to sign up or anything but heres the website that I found that has different martial art syles that different practitioners use. Look under "Bruce Kinney - Instructer." Theres a fighting style and translation. It's Lohan Kuen(Monk's Fist). You don't have a page about it, so I wanted to let you know. I just want to contribute to this wonderful website!
When you create an article, the name is automatically 'reserved' unless it's already in use by another article. If you are asking how to create an article - let us know and we'll point you in the right direction. SteveBaker15:03, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Legal disclaimer: I do not endorse any threatenings of any Jimbos.
Itunes7
How can I get Itunes7 on my computer? I tried downloading it from their websight, but it didn't do anything, and still doesn't work. My Ipod says it needs at least Itunes7 to work. What is the point of creating a program that doesn't do anything? And yes there was a CD with my Ipod, but it has Itunes6 on, for some reason.
Then what do I do once I've apparently downloaded it?
Install it. On a Mac, you would simply double click the file that was downloaded and it would walk you through the installation process. I'm fairly certain the same would be true for a PC though I don't run a PC so I'm not as sure on that one. Which type of system are you using? Dismas|(talk)21:52, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What you should do if you have a Windows computer and you're downloading it and then can't find it anywhere is when you try to download it, don't download it to the folder they suggest (usually the Temporary Internet Files folder hidden away somewhere) but rather click "Browse" and save the installation file onto your desktop or somewhere easy to locate. So if it doesn't autoplay, then once you've downloaded it, you start installation by double clicking on that downloaded file. The wizard should take you from there. To upload your ipod you need to a)move all your music into the itunes library (which I think you can request it to do during installation) and b) open itunes with your ipod plugged in. Unless you download some different stuff, only Itunes can update your ipod. 70.108.199.13004:54, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Also, if you don't want to bother with all that, I'm pretty sure you can just open up your Itunes 6.0 and click Help (in top menu) then "Check for Updates" or something. Then just update to 7.0. I think. It might be that you can only update, say from 6.0 to 6.2 or something, though. 70.108.199.13004:57, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Saint-Martin: European Union status 67.70.203.202 17:19, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
Hello,
I'm having a difficult time determining if the French portion of the island of Saint-Martin (St. Maarten) is, in fact, part of the European Union...and whether, as the holders of EU passports, my wife and I would thus be eligible to seek employment and healthcare during future annual, six-month visits there (she's a public school Principal/Special-Education teacher nearing early retirement and I'm a writer/speaker; our citizenship is dual Canadian/Italian and we are hoping to be able to escape our intense Canadian winters).
Any insights or references you may be able to provide would be very much appreciated.
If you would like an official answer just to make sure, contacting a French embassy or consulate will probably be best, this is the contact info for the embassy given at the bottom of this site:
There are also links to the various consulates by location here, while they all seem to be in French, each site has contact info at the bottom of the page. Cyraan19:10, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Despite the claim in Saint Martin (France) that the territory remains part of the European Union, my research on "overseas collectivities", such as Saint Martin has just become, indicates that they are "associated with" the European Union but that EU laws do not necessarily apply to them. Each such collectivity can define or negotiate its own relationship with the EU. This is in contrast to the overseas departments, such as Guadeloupe, to which Saint Martin used to belong, which are part of the EU. (Saint Martin has apparently chosen this looser link to the EU in part because the Dutch part of the island, Sint Maarten, has such a loose link and has up to now enjoyed certain economic advantages as a result.) I agree that you should contact the French embassy for clarification. Marco polo19:32, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
why did the market crash today? will it crash tomorrow too?
If something has already crashed, you need to fix it before you can crash it again
Of course the market carsh is different, and it could happen again tomorrow and the day after and the day after, and then it would be the end of the world :)
What has happened today is not a crash. It is a slightly greater than 2% drop (in the United States) after a long bull run. This does not even count as a correction, according to our article Market trends. After a long period without such a drop, it is startling, but 2% movements in stock market indexes were much more common historically than they have been in the past few years. This could be the return to historically normal levels of volatility, or it could be a one-time aberration in a period of unusually low volatility. For an explanation of today's drop, you could do worse than the lead story on Marketwatch. Marco polo20:09, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If I had even the slightest clue as to which direction the market will head tomorrow, I'd literally be able to make millions. Even if I were 100%, absolutely certain that the Dow will go down by even one point, I'd place my life savings into shorting the market, and thereby make a bundle. In other words, there's absolutely no way to know for certain which way the market will head tomorrow. If there were, I'd be a zillionaire by now.Loomis21:47, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
-absolutely Loomis. my husband is a day trader and noted the Dow hit the biggest one-day drop since the day after 9-11. but who could know this? and who can know when is the beginning or end of a run? on another note, some 300,000 orders that went out of his office (we live in austin) in the last 20 minutes are in question. apparently, new york was inundated and so depending on how things open, this will make or break many a traders' personal accounts. my husband is here now and says if you ever do figure out a sure thing, share the info and we'll all make a killing!
A question about the road signs in the UK. What does an Access only sign on the entrance to a road mean? no offense, but if you don't know the answer to the question, please don't quess! I have checked the WP article and the Highway code website. MHDIV ɪŋglɪʃnɜː(r)d(Suggestion?|wanna chat?) 18:54, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yes; it means, well, access only. In other words, it is not a through road, but only to be used if you are visiting a particular house or location. Clio the Muse19:08, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Read it as "local access only". --Anon, Feb. 28, 2007, 05:28 (UTC).
In some instances, a temporary "Access only" sign will be put up on a road which is normally a through route, during periods of roadworks. In such cases, it means that the road is temporarily shut to through traffic, but residents/visitors can still access the buildings on the street up to the point of the blockage. This has been going on in my village rather a lot lately... Hassocks548909:06, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you are referring to the pitcher who has struck out the most batters, the answer is Nolan Ryan, with 5714. If you are asking which batter has struck out the greatest number of times, the answer is Reggie Jackson, with 2597. Carom20:12, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
i'm new and a little confused. you stated we shouldn't include personal articles but the first prompting is an article with User:(my name). should i fill this in because there is a users' articles data bank or is this just by default and i should not do this? i couldn't find an answer among your FAQ. my apologies... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Inklings101 (talk • contribs) 19:49, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
Not a problem! User pages are not articles; you may feel free to put personal stuff there (within reason; it's not your blog). Welcome to WP! --Trovatore19:55, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
- thanks for the help. i clicked on your user page and hope to add some identifying color to mine as well. this page suits me because i have found errors in many a best seller ("Dry" most recently) and it drives my would-be perfectionist self crazy! i appreciate your help...
Cingular MediaNet
I have a new cingular phone however when i try to access the internet on it(the phone is internet ready) it says GPRS failed. Is their currently an outage involving cingular's WI-FI network?--logger20:17, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Were you able to use it before? If I recall correctly, the internet browsing is disabled on their end by default if you don't already have a data plan, as you are charged by the KB. I had to talk to a customer service rep to get it turned on for my new RAZR (their website has a section where you can use a chatroom to talk to one, it was actually quite easy.) Cyraan21:11, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If a 4:3 monitor and a 16:9 monitor are both 19", does that mean the 16:9 one will be shorter than the 4:3 one, meaning the 4:3 is better for 4:3 images? Or is the 16:9 19" monitor just a 19" 4:3 monitor with extra space on the sides?
I read that the inch number was measured by a diagonal line from the upper left corner of the screen to the lower right, so your first defiition seems more likely. 惑乱 分からん23:22, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah - monitors are measured by the diagonal - so yes - the 16:9 monitor will be shorter but wider than the 4:3 if they have the same diagonal - so displaying an un-cropped 4:3 image on the wide-screen monitor will result in a smaller image than on the 4:3 monitor. SteveBaker23:29, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If you are selecting between two monitors, pick the widescreen one (btw, widescreen monitors are often 16:10, not 16:9, for some reason). It's such a huge improvement over 4:3 monitors, whether you are watching movies or just using your computer. Well, in my (very credible :D) opinon at least Oskar02:23, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Just did some math, because I was bored. Assuming that 19" refers to the diagonal of the "visible area". With 3:4 you're getting 173.3 square inches of monitor for your money, 10:16 comes in at 162.257 sq inches and 9:16 is 154.256 sq inches. So 3:4 is a better deal for amount of screen, but obviously they will sell for different prices anyways. I do believe that widescreen formats look much better for movies and gaming, but i prefer 3:4 for browsing webpages and the like. Capubadger10:59, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The problem with wide-screen for reading text is that our eyes don't do well at reading very long lines of text because when you get to the end of one line and have to zip back to the start of the next, you tend to lose track of which line is which. This is why newspapers split the page up to use narrow columns. So you'll tend to use tall-but-narrow windows that are closer to the shape of a 4:3 screen than to a 16:9. However, if you want to have a lot of text windows open at the same time - then 16:9 lets you put more windows side-by-side. So which you want depends a lot on what you do most. Of course if you plan to watch movies on your monitor - then 16:9 is *THE* way to go. Most action-oriented 3D games look best in 16:9 too. If you plan to use your PC to write a novel (or an encyclopedia!) then 4:3 is probably the best choice. SteveBaker15:36, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
publishing
i am a student in a brooklyn middle schooland I have to do a bibliography and for that i have to write down the authors name, the title of publication, the place of the publication,and the year of the publication for the topic "Battle of Long Island" but i look every where and I cant find that information.Please write back to me or send me the answer at my e-mail adress [removed] thank you very much
This sounds like an interesting project. My kids have done the same. I would suggest putting that exact title in a Google search. Also, you're at an age where you could site Wikipedia, so search in that as well. Finally, there is the good old library! --Zeizmic23:41, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Do you mean, you've used the article Battle of Long Island for your report, and now you need to cite it? In that case, go to the page on Battle of Long Island and click the blue link on the far left of your screen that says Cite this article. However, depending on how strict your teacher is, you might do better to look up references listed at the bottom of that page (under the heading References), use the information in them, and cite them instead. Whatever you choose to do, good luck! Skittle23:49, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
For your bibliography go to the Library of Congress site here [11], and under the subject browser enter Long Island, Battle of. You can then go into the specific information. You should be able to compile a fairly comprehensive list of sources, both primary and secondary. Clio the Muse23:55, 27 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
February 28
Serena Williams
Hi, I have seen several news article about Serena Williams being possibly transgendered or taking steroids. Her article completely doesn't say anything. I think asked on the talk page and found it is filled with fanboys who vandalize the talk page whenever I ask -- and clearly these fanboys also (WP:OWN) control the article, too.
Anyhow, before coming here I google searched and just found nothing. Here is an interview where someone asked her and she refused to answer it http://www.bongonews.com/layout1.php?event=181
After a bit of a search, I could find no evidence that Serena Williams is transgendered or that she has been accused of using steroids. As for your "interview", it is clearly bogus and not to be taken seriously. If you look under the banner of "Bongo News" you will see that that website is really about "Satire. Parody. Jokes". Marco polo01:21, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Have you found anything refuting any claims? Many people think she is on steroids and it would be good to have a denial in some form if is not true. SakotGrimshine01:34, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) That's not how it works. You need to find evidence supporting the claim, not denying it. I haven't found any refutation of any sort to her being a robot, but that doesn't mean that she is. If you can find no credible claims for something, it is completely irrelevant whether or not there exists a refutation. See negative proofOskar02:19, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Heh, I remember that Robert Crumb drew a picture based on that ass picture. It's in his mag "Art and Beauty Magazine Vol. 2", I think. I couldn't find any example online, though... 惑乱 分からん11:22, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
screensavers
I accidentally made a picture a screensaver. It isn't that apealing and i want to get it back to normal. What do I do?
On Windows, you'll want to go to the desktop, right click, select "Properties" from the list. It'll open up a box. Click on the Screen Savers tab on the top of the box. From the drop-down menu, choose whatever Screen Saver you want, or turn it off or something with the various options. I've never really heard of a plain picture screen saver, so perhaps you're referring to desktop background. You can change that in the same properties box, in the Desktop tab, where you can choose other pictures to display or even browse for pictures you've saved onto your computer. Hope that answers it. 70.108.199.13004:47, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
On the other hand buy an Apple Mac and with three mouse clicks you can change your wallpaper to any one of your photo library pictures.--88.111.98.9508:53, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Interest pay off
What will happen to the payment of R1000 per month over three years if I pay the interest of R5000 in the first month of the loan term?
which food is high in calories and fat but its healthy for you?it sumthin common
All food - broccoli, butter, bread, beef - is "healthy" in general*. It's all in the amount. One teaspoon of oil won't kill you and may contain omega-3 oils that can be beneficial. A cup of oil a day isn't a good thing - although it'll probably kill you with diarrhea before it makes you fat. (*I say "in general" because of course contaminated food isn't healthy, nor is anything the diner is personally allergic to.) --Charlene09:17, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There are things which should be avoided entirely (where possible), like trans fats. One high fat food that's good for you is avocado, another is fish, like salmon. Full fat milk is good for kids, but low fat milk is probably better for adults. Some nuts, like walnuts, are also quite healthy and quite high in fat. Anything with a substantial amount of fat is also likely to be somewhat high in calories, as fat has 7 calories per gram. StuRat13:33, 28 February 2007 (UTC)::[reply]
I know the question doesn't mention this, but please, when looking at fats and calories, don't forget fibre. If you don't eat sufficient fibre, you can look forward in later life to such problems as Diverticulitis and the possible surgical removal of some part of your bowel. Hey - I just realised, that's a great way to lose weight instantly.
So is cutting your legs off
i need help
i am looking for examples of companies that were previously in operation but were closed down for management problems and which were revived and are now back in operation. I would prefer companies in the USA or any other region. Thank you
41.222.13.1209:26, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
lsd
I recently met a guy who had done to much LSD in the past. He never really finished the trip and still lives in a very strange version of reality. Is there a name for this disorder? Will he ever be the same again?
Much appreciated, and is similar to what i am looking for. However, this article seem so be very vison related whereas this chaps vision is fine, and he thinks he is fine and normal. Its just when you talk to him you soon realise that his entire world perception is wrong, eg he has in depth discusions with his couch. I believe Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd suffered from a similar disorder.
Reading upside down?
Is there a recognised term for being able to read upside down text - I find it fairly easy whereas other people seem to struggle - I'm just curious if it's recognised. Capubadger15:23, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]
how can carlos coys fans wrie to him
Im one of spm biggest fans hearing his songs 14 hours a day even at work i dont care what he did i dont even think he did it but it would be a big honor for me to write to him ."how can this happen"
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