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August 1

Tiny summer isles

the tiny summer isles are a few miles northwest of which scottish port149.254.120.136 (talk) 10:01, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

See Summer Isles and Loch Broom. Gandalf61 (talk) 10:11, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

That would be Ullapool laddie.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 11:52, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

unless you mean the island of summer isle from The Wicker Man (1973 film), which is fictitious.

how much do all the people in the world weight?

strange question; how much do all the people in the world weight? i was just wondering, of course you can't known exactly but average person size times 6 billions, would that work? how many tonnes?

Well the population is thought to be around 6,680,000,000 and of that number, about 2,200,000,000 are children, so I'd grossly average the weight of all at 110 pounds. If both numbers are anywhere near the mark, then it would be 734,800,000,000 pounds/333,299,676,779 kilograms/333,299,676 tonnes.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:46, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Or 333,299,673 tonnes of living flesh.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 11:55, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

wow, thank you. :) somehow i though it would be more, but i hadn't considered children.

What about the remaining 3 tonnes, Shantavira? Hair? Bowel obstructions? Chris Farley? Matt Deres (talk) 13:11, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, according to World population, it was estimated that there were just over 6.684 billion of us last month. This gives "333 499 254 tonnes" using the 110 pound estimate above and google. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 13:28, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

To help UK readers understand the answer, this would be about 52,517,142,840 stone. Edison (talk) 14:52, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

For comparision, that is about 5 times as heavy as the Three Gorges Dam. Gandalf61 (talk) 15:06, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Or about twice as heavy as <insert fat joke target here>. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 15:43, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Don't even think about it.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 01:36, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

I think that those doing such calculations would do well to consider significant figures when stating their answers. (Not that it really matters for this purpose, but saying that they would weigh 333,299,676,779 kilograms, versus 333,299,676,780 kilograms or even 333,300,000,000 kilograms gives a false sense of confidence.) -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 15:45, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

OK, make it 52,517,142,840 stone +/-25%. (I think all the contributors realized the humor of all the digits coming from a wild assed guess as to the 110 pounds. At least I hope so!)Edison (talk) 20:32, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Re significant digits, I've lost about 1.2 pounds during July ^_^ hydnjo talk 02:24, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Weather Prediction

I recall reading/hearing that you can predict the weather with around a 70% accuracy by simply stating that the weather tomorrow will be the same as the weather today - and that the billions spent on weather-predicting equipment only improves that margin to about 75-80% but that that % change is easily enough to make the investment worthwhile. Is there any truth to this or is it just basically gibberish? 194.221.133.226 (talk) 11:29, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

i would say that is true for most days, but every so often there will be one of those days when it's unpredictable and changes without warning, and than is when the weather predictors are more accurate because they monitor pressure and bars and isomorphs. for much of the week where i am its been the same each day, but there will come a time when that prediction will fails when it starts raining and then my predictions will be wrong for just one days untill the next changes. Mashpotatorman (talk) 11:38, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

(ec) How do you define "accuracy", and boil it down to a single number? It's probably easiest to measure temperature accuracy, but precipitation (amount and type) is probably more important in terms of financial and human losses. As an example, suppose that on Monday, I forecast a big, 12-inch snowstorm on Thursday. It turns out that the storm comes on Friday. In one sense, my forecast was lousy (off by 12 inches of snow on both Thursday and Friday). But, really, it was basically correct--people would know that a big snowstorm was coming later in the week, and plan appropriately (food at home, plow crews ready). That is, relatively small errors in the timing of a system can look like big errors in temperature or precipitation. I would also point out that having a day or two of advance notice for hurricanes (from satellites) and 10 minutes' notice for tornadoes (from radar) is quite valuable in terms of safety-of-life, but these advances will likely have a minimal impact on any "accuracy" statistic, because they are infrequent. -- Coneslayer (talk) 11:41, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

I was thinking in terms of the generic sunny/overcast/rainy/snowing/sunshine & showers rather than in-depth report. I.e. if it is sunny today then it's around 70% likely to be sunny tomorrow. I appreciate that is boiling the weather down to a child-like level of detail. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 13:33, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, right. That's not what the "billions spent on weather-predicting" is aimed at, though. Weather prediction is not just about that little picture of a sun in your newspaper—it has all sorts of economic ramifications. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 13:50, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Indeed. Arguably, predicting the weather tomorrow is less important than predicting the weather in an hour, or in 6 months. FiggyBee (talk) 13:55, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

That depends, of course, on whether or not you're expecting a hurricane, hailstorm, tornado, or icestorm tomorrow.... TenOfAllTrades(talk) 16:10, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Just need a tiny bit of clarification of something that seemed vague to say the least?

I may simply be out of the loop; however, I looked up a wonderful man and his mission: Father Frank Provone and Prists for Life and I go this:

Priests for Life (PFL) is a Roman Catholic pro-life organization based in New York. It functions as a network to promote and coordinate pro-life activism with the primary strategic goal of ending abortion and euthanasia and to spread the Gospel of Life according to the encyclical of the same name written by Pope John Paul II.

I just don't see where a previous name is mentioned when "according to the encyclical of the same name " is said? Who is "the same name"?

Thanks!  :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.144.73.92 (talk) 13:44, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

The "encyclical of the same name" is the Gospel of Life. FiggyBee (talk) 13:52, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Keeping items unopened, a morality/legal/blahblah issue

Note: This is not asking for legal advice. I've been thinking about this for awhile, and I just remembered again while answering a question on the Entertainment board. Is it unlawful to buy new copies of games/dvd/music and not opening them and download copies of the same things instead?

For example, I buy DS games but still use the ROMs because 1) I don't have to carry multiple cartridges with my DS and don't risk damaging or losing them, 2) loads and saves faster (if you play dungeon crawlers like Etrian Odyssey, you'd know why you have to save pretty frequently, and it takes two ticks to save with a ROM and like 10 for the cart), and 3) it keeps my games in pristine condition. I do that with anime too, where I watch fansubbed or DVD rips and I have a big shelf of unopened anime.

So the question is... is this illegal (etc) to any extent that I keep my stuff new, and does it change whether I plan on selling them in the future? This is probably more of a question about morals, but I don't care too much about the moral response, since for the most part, Copyright Jesus probably doesn't see it as too evil, if at all. The jurisdiction can be anywhere, since I'd be interested if there's laws in other countries about it too, even though I'm in the US. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 15:47, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm not a lawyer but know something about UK copyright law. It seems to me that you have bought a piece of software which essentially is a licence to use it for your own purposes as prescribed by the copyright owners' terms and conditions, whereas, you have also downloaded/intend to dowload a similar piece of software without buying the necessary end-users' licence agreement, from a source that itself will, in all probability, not have paid for such a licence, nor a licence to act as an authorised distributor of said software. In my opinion, to quote my judicial friends on the bench, whilst the software you are keeping wrapped up allows you to use it perfectly legally, the download/ed copy does not. But I feel sure other more knowledgeable Wikipedians than I will offer further illumination. 92.22.118.51 (talk) 19:01, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

The answer to the question will almost certainly depend on your jurisdiction; as well, in many places there may not be a conclusive body of law (case or written) to unambiguously answer your query. The rules around what might constitute legitimate format shifting or space shifting of digital media have been the subject of a number of court cases in the United States (our space shifting article touches on a few). If you are in the United States, the DMCA may also come into play. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 19:49, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

In the UK, I believe you are allowed to copy such things for backup purposes, you can then use the backup the same as you can use the original, however you cannot use them both at the same time, or give away or sell one and keep the other. I don't know if downloading the backup would be allowed, you may have to make it yourself. This is just from memory, though, so may be completely wrong. --Tango (talk) 20:37, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the law exists in the States to make backups yourself, and you're not allowed to sell the backup or something similar, but I have no idea about downloading the backup either. But to clarify my original question, I don't mean to download a backup while owning the physical copy and then selling the physical copy. My actual practice is more like never opening the physical copy and 99% of the time not ever planning on selling it (unless for some weird reason, I have two copies of the same thing, but then I'd still own at least a copy of the physical copy. Then I would download the identical item and use that copy. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 22:01, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Dudley Moore

I am looking for the titles, and if possible the location to watch these online for free, see www.watch-movies.net. In one, he is an advertising executive, but goes insane and is institutionalized, and then gets the other nutters to help him in his profession. Making adverts that are very true, and funny. The second him and his wife are trying to get pregnant and the doctor informs them that the reason they are having touble concieving is that his sperm is too hot and he then need to wear underwaer that has pockets of blocks of ice. Very funny. Any ideas people? Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 15:52, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

The first movie you're looking for is Crazy People. I don't know the second one. Note that it is very unlikely that any free online presentation of either film will have the permission of the copyright holders; it would be violation of our policy on external links to point to a site where you could find copyright violations. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 16:06, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

One more thought—our article on Dudley Moore includes a list of his films: Dudley Moore#Filmography. We have articles on many of those movies; have you looked through that list to see if you could find the film you seek? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 16:12, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Hidden Pages

I just noticed that some Wikipedians have hidden pages that are supposed to be found out. Any idea how they look like? Can they be anything, pictures as well as text? Do they usually look like ordinary links?? 117.194.228.11 (talk) 16:44, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Can you give an example? If people hide pages in their userspace they can be anything they want them to be. They can link to them or not. (A way to find them if they don't link to them is to look at the contributions of the user in question.) --98.217.8.46 (talk) 16:45, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

A better way to find stuff hidden in a user's userspace is Special:Prefixindex. Algebraist 16:56, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

No, that's cheating! But yes, sometimes a user makes a page in their userspace with no links to it. There are even a few Barnstar for those who find them, like this and this. 20I.170.20 (talk) 17:02, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

As this is a non-standard feature I'd guess they could be anything at all, even this:... But watch out for traps & guardians!87.102.86.73 (talk) 18:28, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

There was one user, I'll never remember who, so don't ask, who linked to their secret page via a period at the end of a sentence on their userpage. Useight (talk) 21:41, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

New Wikipedia.org organization

I just noticed that, today, the page www.wikipedia.org shows a different order of languages, with Spanish being second instead of German. Are they ordered now from more to less readers? What is the new criterion? --Taraborn (talk) 17:25, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

This issue was decided on Meta; see Top Ten Wikipedias poll. Sam Blacketer (talk) 18:36, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! --62.57.212.165 (talk) 21:35, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Problems of genealogy

I'll do an example: I'm a great-grandson of Alan. Sophia is a double-great-granddaughter of Alan: her parents are first cousins and Alan is grandfather of both.

My question is: Is Sophia my second cousin or my double second cousin??

I've this problem for Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia and his wife Anne Marie of Orleans Please, answer me. Thaaaaaaaaanks --84.222.154.178 (talk) 17:28, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Double first cousin says that a double first cousin is where a pair of siblings reproduce with another pair of siblings (eg. My brother marries my sister-in-law), and a double second cousin is where double first cousins have children. It doesn't sound like that's what happening in this case, so they wouldn't be double second cousins, just regular second cousins. However, if I'm doing this right, they would share the same amount of DNA as first cousins once removed. --Tango (talk) 23:01, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Tango. --84.222.155.253 (talk) 09:43, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Harbridge

Good evening, am very sorry to be a nuisance, it was only curiosity that made me write this, and the usual saying, ( you never ask , you never know } my name is Ron Harbridge i live in the north west, a place called astly..and was very intrigued to find out that there was a place called Harbridge even a village and a parish church witht he name Harbridge, i was hoping that you may posssibly have a contact telephone number of the Vicar of Harbridge Parish church, My wife wanted to drive down..until she realised where it was..So...if it is possible to pass on the telephone number i would be very greatful.my home e-mail is (removed for your protection). and many thanks in anticipation, Regards Ron Harbridge —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.234.223.183 (talk) 17:34, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean Astley Village in England? And where is Harbridge? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 17:50, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

There's a Harbridge in Hampshire, but we don't have an article about it. Deor (talk) 19:22, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

We do now :) - albeit a very stubby one (Harbridge). I'd say that it's likely it would be covered by either the Bournemouth or Salisbury area phone book, which hopefully you should be able to find either online or at your nearest large library. Grutness...wha? 00:36, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

I've had a quick web-search, and there don't appear to be contact details for All Saints' Church, Harbridge online anywhere - but it's likely you could find that information from the office of the local diocese - all the contact details for that office are at their site. Grutness...wha? 00:49, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

RIM BlackBerry!

Is it possible to get a BlackBerry Phone without the BlackBerry service? like ATT provides an offer without a Data Plan, but then there is a BlackBerry service too if I'm not wrong!The service that enables us to use the special BlackBerry button on the Phone!Don't we need to pay for that service too to make it possible to use the phone? Or is it not required??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.252.224.172 (talk) 20:48, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes, you can buy the phone and not get the service. You can use it as an ordinary cellphone without data access. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 01:32, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Looking for an image

I am working on a class project that examines how, as a culture, we give lip service to fighting against anorexia but continue to sexualize it anyway. One of the examples I want to use is this image, in which the model does indeed look decidedly unhealthy, but for some reason is posed like a pin-up girl. To emphasize the comparison, I'd like to find an image where a happy, obviously meant-to-be-attractive woman is posed as similarly as possible to the anorexic woman. Does anyone know offhand where I could find an image like that? (The Betty Grable shot isn't bad, but I bet there's something a lot closer out there.) --Masamage ♫ 21:28, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Here's a possibility. Very low-res scan, but maybe you could track down the original at a library somewhere. -- BenRG (talk) 22:43, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Here's a shot of Marilyn that's pretty close. Matt Deres (talk) 23:12, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Ask a friend or classmate to pose for you and take the picture yourself. -Arch dude (talk) 23:42, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Not strictly a pin-up, but you might want to consider Ingres's painting "La Grande Odalisque", which the anorexia poster seems to be based upon. Other classical/neoclassical paintings such as Goya's two "Maja" paintings (nude and clothed), Manet's "Olympia", and Titian's "Venus d'Urbino" are also worth considering. Grutness...wha? 01:00, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh, interesting. That painting is almost exactly the same, so I'll use it. Thanks! --Masamage ♫ 22:48, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

At least the anorexic has the right number of vertebrae. :) --Sean 14:58, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Technical revaluation of currency

Concerning the technical revaluation of currency, i.e. deciding to change the numeral value of the currency, meaning that the denominations of the currency change, as do the prices, by the same factor, meaning that in the end, the same amount of currency buys the same amount of goods anyway, only the numbers are different. Can a country just suddenly decide to do this, or do they have to consult other countries first? JIP | Talk 21:38, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Countries do it occasionally, often after run-away inflation. According to denomination (currency) the term for this is "redenomination" or "cutting zeroes." Zimbabwe is doing it now (or has done it recently), because transactions in trillions or quadrillions of dollars are ridiculous. Off the top of my head similar conversions happened in Yugoslavia and Turkey. The human psyche does not cope well with huge numbers with long trails of zeroes. It's harder to tell apart and work with large units like 10,000,000 and 100,000,000 than it is for the units 10 and 100. See Denomination (currency)#Redenomination for a better explanation. For book-keeping reasons, everyone needs to be on board with the change, so switch-overs that take place are well publicized. I don't know if another country can actually stop another from revaluing its currency, but I imagine communication takes place. 71.77.4.75 (talk) 22:53, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

I dug up this possibly relevant document which I just scanned over which seems to have something to say about the UN and financial reporting and promoting good practices. I am really too lazy to read it in depth but this would imply some measure of "mandatory-because-it's-politically-good-form" consulting goes on. The "mandatoriness" of the consulting is probably directly related to how important a particular country's currency is to the global economy. 71.77.4.75 (talk) 23:22, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Many countries have revalued their currency in this way - Argentina is one that springs to mind, and IIRC some African countries (Ghana, perhaps?) have also done so, and several countries had to introduce new standards in this way during the hyperinflation of the Great Depression of 1929 - most famously Germany, but also Russia and several other countries. China did similar after the 1949 civil war. In several of these cases the name of the currency was slightly amended "Mark" to "Reichsmark" or "Yuan" to "Gold Yuan", or similar. Another famous example is France's revaluation of the Franc to 100 old Francs in the 1950s. I think anon 71....'s comments about consultation being good form are pretty accurate. I don't know of any compulsory need, but it makes sense to consult first. Grutness...wha? 00:28, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

The German inflation was in the early '20s, not the great depression. Hyperinflation suggests this applies to Russia and the several others also. Algebraist 12:00, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

And Germany did not just chop zeroes and rename the currency; they also changed the way it was backed, so this is not an example. See Rentenmark. --Anonymous, 19:09 UTC, August 2, 2008.

Yes, it previous cases, chopping off zeroes has been done one the hyperinflation has been dealt with (or, as the final stage in a plan to deal with it). It makes no difference economically how many zeros there are, so it's really just tidying up after yourself. However, previous cases happened before finances became extremely computerised - Zimbabwe has had to chop them off early because the computers couldn't cope, that wasn't an issue in the 20's! --Tango (talk) 02:29, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

The answer to your specific question is no. Nations are, by definition, sovereign. They may do as they please with their own currencies. While treaty obligations may require informing other nations (e.g., in the case of a country deciding to abandon the euro), the usual case of a nation with its own, unique currency would not require any discussion whatsoever with other nations. The consequences, however, are an entirely different matter. DOR (HK) (talk) 07:46, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Monasticism

How old does a man have to be in order to become a monk in the Roman Catholic Church? --Think Fast (talk) 21:53, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

[1] has some useful information. --Tango (talk) 22:48, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

The Catholic Encyclopedia under lemma Novice states that no minimum age is fixed by canon law for admission. If under the age the applicant requires consent of his parents / guardians. The article seems to imply that 14 to 15 is a minimum age. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 11:33, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

To "become a monk," you join a religious order, which involves adhering to the community's standards, including its Rule. So it's not "the church" so much as the individual order. In addition, the answer depends on what you mean by "become a monk." You can join an order (e.g., as a postulant) without being under any vows; most orders will also require a period of temporary vows (e.g., vows for a fixed period, such as one or two years). Untimately Ultimately there's the full profession, the taking of perpetual vows. (The monastic vows are poverty, chastity, and obedience; the Benedictines add stability, which vow does not appear on the [stability] disambiguation page. OtherDave (talk) 04:24, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I remember when I was at Buckfast Abbey School, one of the monks I got to know had been sent to the abbey at age 11 by his mother. I can't remember when he actually became a "fully fledged" monk, but he was certainly at that level by the time he started to look after the bees. I was quite surprised to find a Wiki article about him! Karl_Kehrle --Worm | mroW 12:36, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

August 2

Umbrella insurance

Does personal umbrella insurance typically cover discrimination lawsuits? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.177.10.216 (talk) 03:01, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Genealogical Relationship

Can someone tell me the exact consanguinity relationship of Umberto II of Italy and his wife Maria José of Belgium. Thanks. --84.222.155.253 (talk) 09:42, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

For European royals, the two were fairly distantly related. In short, Umberto's father's mother's mother's mother's mother's parents (or his great-great-great-great-grandparents) Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt and Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden (who were themselves first cousins) were also the parents of Marie José's father's mother's mother's father (or Marie José's great-great-great-grandparents). Marco polo (talk) 21:24, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

That makes them 4th cousins once removed, by my calculation. Had Landgravine Amalie and Charles Louis been unrelated, Marie Jose and Umberto would have been 6th cousins once removed. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:39, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much!!!!!! But weren't they related with the family of the Two Sicilies, Marco Polo??? --84.222.154.142 (talk) 08:01, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Family photo

Does someone knows the names of this people in this photo, from left to right. I need the exact names of Roberto I of Parma' children, if it's possible. Thanks. --84.222.155.253 (talk) 09:46, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

You forgot to attach the photo. -- JackofOz (talk) 09:49, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes the photo is this —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.223.192.213 (talk) 09:58, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Our article has a list of all Roberto's children. Doesn't help put names to faces though. Algebraist 11:54, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Budget for village fete

As an ex Marketing Director I have been asked to prepare a marketing plan for our 2009 village fete. I am not used to small budgets and will appreciate advice from those who are. Our annual fete features a big musical production featuring lead singers with the cast made up of 60 villagers. Attendance is 2,400 over 4 shows. I want to add programmes, souvenir booklets, medieval hats for the girls and heroes’ swords for the boys...plus any ideas that may be suggested. Trouble is I don’t know quantities to budget. Can anybody help from experience, please ?86.219.161.122 (talk) 10:41, 2 August 2008 (UTC)petitmichel

I suggest you figure it out as follows:

1) Find the price of a sword you consider to be appropriate, then multiply by the number of swords needed (get a few extra in case some break).

2) Repeat this process for hats, programs, souvenir booklets, and anything else you can think of.

3) Add them all up. Then maybe double it for a margin of error/cost overruns.

Just an order of magnitude estimate gives me something around $50,000. BTW, are you giving all this away or selling it ? If selling it, you can expect to get your money back, of course, but still need to have the money up front. StuRat (talk) 14:09, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the thought... but it only repeats the question. What I need is some idea of a typical demand. Everything hangs on that. From around 3,000 people how many are likely to buy and what? That is why I asked for help from experience.86.219.161.122 (talk) 15:09, 2 August 2008 (UTC)petitmichel

Er: your estimate of turnout has just risen from 2400 to 3000, an increase of some 25%. If you order enough for the lower figure and even only 30% of your first estimate buys your offerings and you calculate your costs on that 30% figure, you will break even. But, if you sell any more than that lower figure, you are in surplus. Of course, as an ex-Marketing Director, I am sure you will have hordes of willing and able amateurs around you who have experience of previous years' take up levels. I too used to be the Head of Administration in a large public organisation and always planned my programmes on domestic principles - and they always exceeded expectations. 92.20.198.103 (talk) 16:41, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

(ec) Maybe obvious, but would it not be the simplest solution to check what happened in 2008 and before? Forecasting a demand would be tricky, not knowing the specific economic data of the residents, the age / gender mix, the enthusiasm of the folks and so on. Extrapolating from a previous demand (if at all possible) gives, at least, a ballpark figure. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 16:43, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

That was my first thought as well—though if this is the first year for swords and hats, he may have to make a wild guess. Best bet is still to talk to other people who have organized similar events, of course. Also worthwhile is to consider what you'll do with leftover hats and swords. (Can they be returned? Sold at a later event? Given to unarmed orphans?)

Depending on the budget you have available, you may also be able to consult with or hire a professional event planner who will be able to advise you on suppliers and quantities. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 17:16, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Sort of random, but if the event takes place at night and there are lots of elementary to middle school aged kids and their parents (who have money) in attendance, glow-necklaces like these are very popular and have sold out at night events I've been too. I suppose the average per kid will probably about one. You might have the girls build their own hats using construction paper + sequins + glue + other accessories at a booth manned by volunteers. It will be messy, but it is probably less expensive overall then buying pre-fabricated hats. Also consider that children and swords will guarantee that sword fights are going to break out, and people will be whacked. It would be wise to make sure the swords are constructed out of something soft like foam and not plastic. If you choose the foam route, you can get a large foam sheet, spray paint it silver, and cut it into long skinny rectangles that are length of the blade + hilt. At a booth the corners at one end will be lopped off to make the end a triangle and the kids could stick on a construction paper crossguard and decorate it. Also keep in mind that girls may want swords too. 71.77.4.75 (talk) 02:54, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Definitely look to volunteers whenever possible to lower costs. You may also consider cutting costs by trying to get local businesses to sponsor part of the event in exchange for advertisements in the programs. If you need cheap labor doing something you can't find volunteers for like folding hats or the like, high schools or colleges may be a good source. You could try asking the administration if you can post an announcement or fliers on campus and borrow a classroom for an hour or two after school lets out. 71.77.4.75 (talk) 03:22, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry about the 2,400/3,000 figure. The first is the ticket buying people. The balance are those interested. Although there is a lot of useful stuff here, most of it is basic marketing theory. And a lot is off the subject. We don't have a previous year to refer to, this is the first time we have tried to add stuff to generate extra income. What I am asking for (and that is all I need) is for somebody who has run an event such as I describe to share his/her experiences.86.209.27.67 (talk) 09:50, 3 August 2008 (UTC)petitmichel

Insure against rain for a start!--Artjo (talk) 11:18, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

You might like to pop into a bookstore to check if fetes exist in the following Meeting and Event Planning for Dummies by Susan Friedman and the Complete Idiot's Guide to Meeting and Event Planning by the same author. I'd pop over to another village and pump the minister/vicar and others about their fete. The only fetes I've known have been run by junior schools and their parent body with plenty of volunteers, no big single product purchases, people paying a day fee for their stall selling stuff they want to get rid of, or no fee and any proceeds go to the school (or village). Local businesses might like to sponsor stalls, special items, and the rest. For me, I'd look at what sales are needed before getting the same object x 3000 -- more like two or three products per family, but then I don't really know. To answer your request for someone with experience, it's not me. Julia Rossi (talk) 10:54, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Flight time

Can someone give me a rough idea of the non-stop direct flight time between London and Puerto Rico. Thanks--Artjo (talk) 12:26, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

According to this search site there are no non-stops. One stop flights are about 14 - 16 hours. Of course a real travel agent will be more informative :-) -hydnjo talk 13:09, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

My brief search agrees with Hydnjo's answer - no direct flights. One deal suggested a 13h50m journey including a 1h50m layover in Miami. Astronaut (talk) 13:32, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps they meant the theoretical direct flight time ? StuRat (talk) 13:58, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

StuRat is right, but the above are fine for my needs, thanks all.--Artjo (talk) 14:54, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Maybe use a Flight Simulator to predict it when you fly a jumbo? *shrug* JoshHolloway 16:37, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Geography Geology or Hydrology ?

Is there a term for the line of fastest flow down a river. Note : Not Thalweg which is just deepest.

many thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.108.32.35 (talk) 13:30, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

I found some references which seem to indicate that thalweg could also refer to the line of fastest flow. See the Wiktionary definition and the NOAA's NWS glossary. However, the article Thalweg mentions (without a ref): "The thalweg is almost always the line of fastest flow in any river." which would imply otherwise. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 14:05, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

WAR TROPHY

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF KEEPING SILVER TROPHIES IN OFFICERS MESS? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bsgusain (talk • contribs) 13:43, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Where else would you display the awards and trophies your Regiment had accumulated through the ages ?86.219.161.122 (talk) 15:06, 2 August 2008 (UTC)DT

Need more speaker/amp advice

Hi again, all. The build-your-own-bass-stack project has completed "Phase I", and we have (or had, for a few minutes) two working cabinets, a 2x10 and a 1x15. The boy was proud of our work. They were used in a real gig for the first time this morning.

As is frequently the case with the high-school-level battle-of-the-band format, there is much sharing of equipment. Apparently -- we do not know all the facts yet -- one overenthusiastic and under-mature bassist simply turned all the knobs up all the way and started banging away. By the time my kid got back to the venue, the feedback from the previous band was "dude, your stuff doesn't work."

With that as background, I could use any advice and guidance the WP community is willing to offer. My role in the project was power tools and woodworking; I know next to nothing about the electronics side of this. I've read several articles returned by searching for "diagnose" and "blown speaker".

• We will disassemble the cabinets, and inspect and test each driver one at a time. But, what really are we looking for? The only visual thing we might be able to identify is torn cone -- is there anything else to look for?
• How can we tell if damage has been done to the amplifier? What kind of damage is likely, and/or how would it manifest itself? We don't have a spare amp or backup cabinets.
• I think I've learned that "amp too big for speakers" damages the speakers, but "amp not big enough for speakers" damages the amp somehow. If that's not really correct, could someone clarify?

Encyclopedia-grade responses not required. Thanks to all who can help us here. --Danh, 63.231.153.235 (talk) 20:08, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh dear! I think it is more likely that the loudspeakers have been damaged. Cones dont tear like that (I dont think)-- you have to put your bot into them to tear them. To test each speaker cab on its own, obtain a 1.5v cell (from your torch, Tv remote etc) and apply across the leads to the speaker (cabinet). You should hear a thump and maybe see the cone move a little. If you dont and it doesn't, you have a blown voice coil. If so, its a new speaker (or you may be able to send back to the manufacturer for repair).

Instrument Amplifiers usually have protection circuits to allow them to be driven without damage into any load (including a short circuit) so its unlikely the amp has been damaged. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.199.184 (talk) 01:28, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

UPDATE: Things are not as dire as they first seemed. It now appears more likely that only one speaker has sustained real damage -- it buzzes like a herd of honeybees, which still has to be dealt with, but it's not like the entire project just got tossed in the crapper. Another source has pointed out, and our observations confirm, that there was stuff stacked on the amplifier, which has an cooling fan on the top pointing upward, which was thus blocked, which may have caused the amp to power-limit or turn itself off completely.

Can they really do that? That's a heckuva feature, if true! --Danh, 63.231.153.235 (talk) 03:45, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

If you're referring to "be driven without damage into any load", then yes. With the caveat that "be driven" doesn't mean "actually work", just that if the load is unsuitable the amp will "go into protection" and shut down temporarily. I'm not guaranteeing that all amps of any budget and vintage can do this :-) 81.187.153.189 (talk) 11:13, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

August 3

Beaches on north shore of Lake Erie

OK, it's not Maui, but are there any decent beaches on Lake Erie in Elgin, Norfolk or Haldimand county, Ontario? -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:28, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Norfolk has lots of beaches. Port Dover, Turkey Point, Long Point. In Elgin there is Port Stanley. Here is a list from Haldimand County. A little further east in Niagara, there are beaches in Fort Erie. I don't really know if any of these beaches are "decent", but Lake Erie is pretty cold and dirty so I wouldn't want to swim in it. Adam Bishop (talk) 15:43, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

It warms up this time of the summer moreso than the other great lakes because it's shallower, but I would also suggest staying out of it. I'm on the south side and we have mostly cliffs but some nice beaches and people go swimming without normally getting sick. Most people make sure they take a shower immediately after returning home. We have signs posted warning of contamination levels after the storms kick stuff up and the beaches with lifeguards don't let anyone in the waters then. I heard that people who test water quality think it's a pretty bad idea to ever go in there. -LambaJan (talk) 13:17, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Are lakes Ontario and Huron as dirty? -- Mwalcoff (talk) 16:23, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

There are no general restrictions on swimming in Lake Erie. There are occasional beach closures usually after heavy storms overflow city sewer systems but those are localized occurences. Thousands of people swim the lake daily and I would expect few immediately run to the shower afterward. Water temperatures seems to be running mid-70s on the south shore and around 70 F (21 C) on the north shore. Rmhermen (talk) 18:54, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Traveling on a students budget

Is it possible to travel in the Middle East for an average $50/day? I’m thinking walking/bicycling, youth hostels, and living on staples here. . . Sħukrân --S.dedalus (talk) 03:33, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Possibly, but travel to and from the Middle East will likely blow your budget. StuRat (talk) 03:47, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, but there are ways of limiting the cost. For instance if a flight is overbooked you can agree to wait and take the compensation. Let’s just focus on cost on the ground to make it simple. --S.dedalus (talk) 04:20, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

It might also depend on where in "the Middle East" you are specifically referring. $50US will go a lot further in some countries there than others. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 13:10, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

That’s what I’d like to know. :) Where will $50 go far? Anybody know the answer? --S.dedalus (talk) 05:22, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

The prices in Jordan 10 years ago (I know, WAY out of date for your purposes, but perhaps a starting point?) were extraordinarily cheap, at least as far as basics like food and gasoline were concerned. I recall our tour guide treating the whole minibus to ice cream--we protested at the expense, and he then explained that ice cream cones cost something along the lines of 3 or 4 to the US$. This was a while back, and I'm sure my fuzzy memory can be outdone by folks with more recent experience. User:Jwrosenzweig editing as 71.112.34.57 (talk) 09:59, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I was recently looking this up a little bit. I think Syria is probably much cheaper than Jordan. At this point Lebanon is probably closer to the Syria end of the spectrum. For that price range I'd stay away from the Emirates but if you want to go to the peninsula you might want to check out Oman or Yemen. I can't guarantee they'll be cheap but they'll most likely be a lot cheaper than the touristy places. -LambaJan (talk) 13:21, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

One warning, those places in the Middle East which are cheap are likely to also be dangerous. There are several reasons:

1) They were dangerous first, which made tourists avoid the place, which made the owners of hotels, etc., lower their costs to bring people in, despite the danger.

2) The hotel owners, etc., don't take in enough money to afford security guards, walls of sandbags, etc.

3) The region is poverty-stricken, which both brings about low prices and terrorism. StuRat (talk) 13:57, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! Lebanon is on my short list, so I’m glad to hear it’s on the cheaper side of the spectrum.

StuRat, yeah, I’m aware of the potential dangers of visiting some parts of the Middle East. I also know about the countries you don’t want to mix on your passport, etc. However I’m young and have some experience and I figure it’s not going to get any easier for me to do these things later in life. It’s a risk I’m willing to take. --S.dedalus (talk) 19:17, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

OK, but be sure you take precautions and don't lose your head. StuRat (talk) 23:00, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I've been to Egypt a couple of times and found prices were pretty low. For a US visitor, it's probably safer than Lebanon, Syria or Yemen; and prices seem to be lower than in the Emirates; and you get to see stuff like the Pyramids, and the Valley of the Kings. Amongst the best things I've ever done, is rent a bicycle from my hotel in Luxor and cycle to the Valley of the Kings; yes it was hot - 45 °C (113 °F) - but gentle slopes, a cooling wind from the river and a slow pace made for a great day :-) Astronaut (talk) 16:42, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

A cooling wind ? I'd need a tornado to keep me cool at those temps. StuRat (talk) 21:24, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Longest building?

The list of largest buildings in the world states that the longest building in the world is some airport at 1.7 km. Excuse me, but what about Prora? Sure, it ain't used for anything, but it is, undoubtably, a building. Is there some criterion I'm missing or is the article simply incorrect? 83.188.196.191 (talk) 07:44, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't know anything about Prora, but a glance at the article says that it's actually eight buildings, not one, and that that length is all eight of them together. --Masamage ♫ 08:37, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

And a glance at the satellite view linked from the article doesn't show any single building 1.7 km long. Franamax (talk) 08:55, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

On Line Chatting

So does it seem like people you meet chatting on line have more serious problems and bad events happen in their lives than average? Why is that? AndreaTrue77 (talk) 14:46, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

I'd chalk it up to the fact that you are likely to meet more people online than in "real life", thus increasing the chance that one of them would have had a serious problem or bad event. (It's more likely that one person in a chat room of 1000 people would have had a car accident in the past month than it would for one of 10 people in the hair stylist's waiting room.) You then have the fact that people are more likely to talk about abnormal events than routine events (In that chat room you'll probably here from the one person who has had a car accident [and the one person who has won the lottery] rather than the 900 people who are just doing the day-to-day slog.) You then throw in the Von Restorff effect, which means you'll remember the few people who have bad stories while forgetting the 900 people who said "can't complain". Finally, people are subject to confirmation bias, where once you have formulated a theory ("people online have more serious problems"), additional evidence that confirms the view is given more weight than evidence which conflicts with it. (That is, if two people, one online and one in real life, come up to you with stories about their car crashes, you are likely to view the first as confirming your theory, while the second would likely be dismissed as a random fluke or outlier - a special case not mandating adjustment to your theory.) Finally, there might even be some truth to the theory. I can't say for certain, but it may be that people who have serious problems are more likely to seek out socialization and companionship than other people, and may feel more comfortable doing it online. -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 19:11, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Would many people go online to talk about what a nice day it's been today, or other mundane topics? That gets really boring really quickly (much more so than chatting face to face about the same topic), and if they can't think of anything more substantial to talk about, the other party says "Gotta go now, see you next time". So, to avoid that, people tend to bring up meatier topics. They could discuss climate change, or the state of world poverty, or the global obesity epidemic, or the life of Emile Zola, but they'd need to be chatting to someone with a similar interest for that to work. One thing that everyone can relate to is a personal human issue, drama or tragedy, so that becomes the common denominator. It doesn't necessarily mean that that issue is dominating the writer's life away from the computer. It is very tempting, though, for the other party in the chat to form such a view, because typically that's all they know about their interlocutor and they get defined (in the listener's mind) by that issue. But we're all far more than just one issue, and every bad thing that happens is matched by many good things. -- JackofOz (talk) 00:05, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Coincidentally, I've just been reading about Tuchman's Law, which has things to say on this general topic of perceptions vs. reality: The fact of being reported multiplies the apparent extent of any deplorable development by five- to tenfold. Disaster is rarely as pervasive as it seems from recorded accounts. The fact of being on the record makes it appear continuous and ubiquitous whereas it is more likely to have been sporadic both in time and place. Besides, persistence of the normal is usually greater than the effect of the disturbance, as we know from our own times. After absorbing the news of today, one expects to face a world consisting entirely of strikes, crimes, power failures, broken water mains, stalled trains, school shutdowns, muggers, drug addicts, neo-Nazis, and rapists. The fact is that one can come home in the evening, on a lucky day, without having encountered more than one or two of these phenomena. -- JackofOz (talk) 08:34, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Why does YouTube partner accounts main video on profile pages load automatically?

Why does YouTube partner accounts main video on profile pages load automatically without the viewer's consent? I criticize this feature because it discriminates against non-partner accounts, wastes bandwidth on the profile page.. They get their videos mark as "red diagonal ellipse" when searching for videos. I want to start a blog about this. That why I call these accounts "elite". Note: I'm not debating controversial subjects but want simple answers only. Jet (talk) 18:03, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Are you really asking why? Because the answer is pretty obvious. It's about getting partners more hits, which means more people want to be partners, which benefits YouTube. Since YouTube is a service paid for by advertising and so forth, I don't think one really has a huge amount of leeway to complain about their relatively unobtrusive revenue-generating attempts. They aren't exactly forcing you to use their site. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 23:09, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Because Google is capitalist. I'll blog it myself once I get around to it, was going to write an article on YouTube anyway. Avnas Ishtaroth _{drop me a line} 05:12, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Why is eternity symbolized with a sideways 8?

Who thought of this? It's really very confusing.

"Professor Dinglefuddy, I thought eternity meant forever. How come it says here it's only 8 years?" --Hey, I'm Just Curious (talk) 19:02, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

It's actually the infinity symbol. As per the article, we're really not sure why the symbol looks similar to the a sideways 8. -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 19:19, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Ummm, perhaps because (a) the symbol has no discernible beginning and no end, and (b) were it to be oriented upright, it's likely to get mistaken for the numeral "8"? This is just a guess, nothing fit to add to the article. -- Deborahjay (talk) 20:19, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I meant "infinity". I often use the words interchangably. Hey, I'm Just Curious (talk) 20:04, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

My all time favorite explanation is that it is a sand timer on it's side; therefore it will take an infinite amount of time to empty. 20I.170.20 (talk) 20:40, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

I understood it to be symbolic of a moebius strip (which has one continuous - i.e. infinite - side in two dimensions). Steewi (talk) 03:00, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Oops - I just read the article above. It's a popular but implausible origin. I stand corrected. Steewi (talk) 03:03, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

To me, it's a twisted ouroboros. Avnas Ishtaroth _{drop me a line} 05:11, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Samsung SGH G600

Does the Samsung SGH G600 supporty SDHC memory or is it only the regualar microSDs?

89.241.242.129 (talk) 21:26, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Everything I've found so far suggest it only supports microSD cards. Note that MicroSD cards are about a quarter the size of an SDHC card, so unless the phone has a dedicated port for SDHC it will not be compatible. The phone's manual should list which cards it will take. 20I.170.20 (talk) 21:38, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks very much, but you can actually get microSDHC cards nowadays, or so the article says on the wiki. I'll go with getting a regular 2gb microSD, just to be on the safe side. 89.241.242.129 (talk) 21:48, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Ah, I see. Well then it's a possibility, though I know from experience than using SDHC cards in older devices can cause problems. Have a look at SD and SDHC compatibility issues for more info. 20I.170.20 (talk) 21:55, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

And, we do have a computing desk which may draw more attention to your question. -hydnjo talk 00:43, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

August 4

Heatwave sets off Tropical storm

Is this worthy of Wikipedia ?:

__________________________________________________________________________________

2008 Southern Heatwave

A high pressure that has formed over the South Central US has Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, now Colorado, Mississippi has caused and will cause temperatures to climb to record breaking levels for the next several days. It has also caused the formation of a tropical storm that will hit Port O'Connor, Texas and/or the Port Lavaca area of Texas in the next few days. Several electrical companies have suspended all "disconnect orders"("You don't pay your bill, you get disconnected") for the duration of this emergency. The heat wave has also caused the formation of servere thunderstorms that have struck places such as Marshall, Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana. These storms had 60 mph winds and penny sized hail. The high pressure cell has formed in the indicated areas since the middle of July and is the cause of the hellishly high temperatures, the servere weather and the tropical storm currently located near New Orleans, Louisiana. A front that was comming southward was also blocked by this high pressure cell. Heat advisories and heat warnings continue to be posted. The Weather Service has recommended that people stay out of the sun, drink plenty of fluids(NOT alcoholic ones), get to a air conditioned place, such as a library, mall.

________________________________________________________

• External links

• • http://www.noaa.gov - Heatwave, servere storms, tropical storm
  • http://www.weather.com - Heatwave, servere storms, tropical storm

• Two of the electrical companies that suspended "Disconnect orders" for non payment of bills

• • http://www.entergy.com - Suspension of disconnect orders during heatwave
  • http://www.swepco.com - Suspension of disconnect orders during heatwave

________________________________________________________________

I'm new here. I have seen articles here (long time reader, first time contributor) about then current (like the 2006 heat wave for instance)heat wave articles on here. I am also in the area affected by the heat wave. I've even tried to place this on "Wiki News" but there may be a glitch.65.173.105.133 (talk) 01:30, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

_________________________________________________________________________________________

• Needs to be rewriten at the least. Avnas Ishtaroth _{drop me a line} 06:15, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I think that heatwave → water evaporation → clouds → storms is a normal function of the weather. Local weather advisories are not really notable, though a 2008 Southern USA heatwave article might be if there is something particularly unusual about it (long lasting, or record highs, or multiple deaths from heatstroke, or ...) Astronaut (talk) 18:18, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Latest reports indicate that this heat wave is expanding into all areas of the Southern US. See Weather.com right now.65.173.105.133 (talk) 20:58, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

A better place to go to ask about this would be Wikipedia:Articles for creation. The reference desk is really intended for finding out information about non-wikipedia subjects - WP:AfC is specificially intended for new users to propose new articles like this. Grutness...wha? 23:40, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I suppose it should be noted that 65.173 is not "new here". He's been trying to get us to add stuff like this for months. Adam Bishop (talk) 07:01, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't understand the "changing username" section

My username is Slater79. Last night, I made a request that I change my username to Runt. The answer came in the Username Changing section with all this complicated gobildeegoo, with language that only an experienced computer person would or could understand. There was all this language. I don't understand that stuff! I'm basically computer illiterate. Then I went and looked at the section tonight, and any mention of my request was GONE! I am completely confused! Why do they exclude and alienate and turn off the common person by using these terms and stuff; why not use language that's used by a layman, which is what I am? Anyway, I don't understand what the heck is going on. Why was my request taken away? I just need a friendly response on this, not some robot language that's inconcievable and non-understandable. It's easy to get downright flustered when this stuff happens. Could someone who is reading this, a FRIENDLY PERSON, a HUMAN BEING who can relate to OTHER HUMAN BEINGS, please explain to me WHY my request (a simple request) disappeared??? And stuff like that???? What is going on, and stuff like that? I don't have a background in computers. I don't understand. Can someone who is versed in computer and specifically Wikipedia stuff please explain it to me in LAYMAN TERMS, terms that a COMMON HUMAN BEING can understand? I am not a genius, but I AM a bright person, and with all of the editing and contributing that I have helped Wikipedia with for so long that has improved articles, I feel that I should at least get a simple explanation that's not in gobbledeegook language from some robot, or whatever it is! And why did my request seem to disappear? Am I asking for too much to get a friendy response from a REAL HUMAN BEING???? If you are a friendly human being out there who can explain this stuff to me in layman terms, I would certainly greatly appreciate it! Thank you! Slater79 (talk) 03:57, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

As for the "gobbledeebook", I have no idea, but your request for a change username was moved to the bottom of WP:USURP. This is because the username you want already exists and that's the page for taking already existing usernames. Useight (talk) 04:05, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for replying to my thing, Useight. I meant "gobbledeegook", which is American slang for describing unnececarrily difficult language that is confusing. Thanks for clearing that up for me. So "Runt" is already being used, eh? Well, that explains that. Slater79 (talk) 04:16, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

You can still take "Runt", you'll just have to wait a week or so for the usurpation to go through. Useight (talk) 05:38, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

As for the gobbledegook—the problem is that over time Wikipedia has developed, mostly spontaneously, an incredibly intricate bureaucracy with dozens and dozens of little official policies, unofficial policies, words-from-on-high, official philosophies, unofficial philosophies, etc. to coordinate in haphazard fashion the thousands and thousands of different decisions that must be made in order to keep thousands of people from all over the world in league on the same project. When you aren't well-acquainted with these terms or policies or even the general style, it looks like you have been suddenly dropped into a legal journal. It doesn't help that half of the Wikipedians (to just make up a number) seem to love to take the time to show that they really know the policy and point out every exception to any rule they're about to tell you. (Well, it's not so much that they "seem to love it"—it's how authority works around here. He/she who knows the relevant policies backwards and forwards can win basically any policy-related argument.)

The best way to approach this is to say to whomever you are talking to, calmly, "I don't really understand the policy you are mentioning—could you summarize it for me in rather simple terms, with an emphasis on what I need to do in order to get what I want, if that is possible?" If you get exasperated, then everything will fall apart. (In my experience as a one-time admin, the easiest way to get rid of trolls is to throw policy at them about trolls, then they explode and start cursing, then you throw policy at them about cursing, then they go off the rails, then you can ban them forever. I'm not at all saying you're a troll—I'm just pointing out that emotional responses are often used as excuses for considering someone officially "unreasonable", whether or not the response is really justified.) --98.217.8.46 (talk) 12:33, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, I get it. Thanks for the info! Slater79 (talk) 01:32, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry about the Jargon from me too. Looking on the bright side, it looks pretty likely that you'll get to change to "Runt" as your username since whoever originally created it hasn't bothered to use it. Just a matter of waiting a few days. Cheers -- Derek Ross | Talk 02:24, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Fashion

Who introducted the full-skirted silhouette dubbed the "New Look" in the late 1940's? Which material is not illegal in the United States? "Hamd" means? Which woman has never been an editor of Vogue magazine? Which shoemaker began his career as a jeans buyer? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.152.240.82 (talk) 11:30, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

1) No idea. 2) Many. Do you have a list that we should choose from? 3) In English? Nothing. Though you may be interested in "Hem". Also, "Hemd" is the German word for shirt. 4) Billions of women have never been an editor of anything. Again, did you have a list for us to choose from? 5) Again, no idea. Dismas|^(talk) 13:06, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

2)Denim. 4) Her Majesty the Queen

AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 14:25, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps "hamd" is a misspelling of "hand." With regard to fabric and similar materials, "hand" refers to how they feel -- a high-quality suit or silk scarf has "a fine hand." OtherDave (talk) 11:01, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

#1 is Christian Dior. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 14:58, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

And the jeans buyer is Manolo Blahnik. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 22:02, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

69th Street, Upper Darby, PA F. W. Woolworth;s Store

I am trying to find out when the F. W. Woolworth's Store in 69th Street, Upper Darby, PA was opened.-Ladycat53fl (talk) 12:43, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

If you have the exact street address, you might find the building's history on zillow.com. DOR (HK) (talk) 08:14, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

How common is knowledge of basic shapes among adult, and college educated, Americans?

I know, goofy question, but here's the background and why I ask.

In a college class some years ago, a communication experiment required 2 people to sit back to back and describe a picture for the other to draw; the drawer could not ask questions. One thing I said to draw was a triangle; I'm pretty sure I said a "right triangle." When we were finished, she said that part had stumped her; I said I understood because she may not have recalled the term "right triangle" from Geometry. However, she said she didn't remember what a triangle was!

Now, I could understand if it was an abstract concept - I can see the average Joe on the street not recalling exactly what a noun or verb are, for instance. But, a triangle is a very basic shape, the kind we learn in Kindergarten - or before, on Sesame Street - when I say it, I would presume most get a mental picture, because it has been so ingrained. (And, before you ask, no, it was not early in the morning - I could *easily* see that being the problem, but it was an afternoon course.)

So, are there any studies that show that knoledge of common shapes (tires are circles, etc.)? I know she could have excused something like dyslexia but with shapes by saying it wasn't common knowledge, not wanting to just tell anyone she had it, but my main query is whether it is common knowledge.209.244.30.221 (talk) 12:45, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Certainly the shape of a triangle is common knowledge, as is a circle. A square is a bit tricky, though, as many people seem to confuse a square and a rectangle. Probably only those who have had a geometry class know what a quadrilateral is. Quite a few people know a pentagon, hexagon, and octagon, but probably not many know any other n-gons. The differences between ovals, ellipses, and slot-shapes is also lost on most people. When we go the 3 dimensions, it gets even worse, with many not even knowing what a sphere or a cube is. There is also confusion between 2- and 3-dimensional shapes, with "round" being used to mean a variety of shapes, including circles and spheres. StuRat (talk) 13:46, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I should also note that visualization of 3D objects is one of the areas where men actually have a measurable advantage. StuRat (talk) 13:49, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I once asked my four-year-old brother what shape a stop sign is and he told me "Octagon?". I was quite surprised. So, I'd say it varies greatly as to whether a person is going to know what trapezoids or parallelograms are. Useight (talk) 16:07, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I would say it is pretty bizarre for an adult, college-educated American to not know what a triangle is. (Though you never can be surprised what people don't know—common ignorance can be astounding. I knew a college student, at a top US university, an American, well into her education, who failed a simple test that asked her to point out where Israel is on the map. I mean, the country's in the news like once a week, and its geography is usually part of that!) --98.217.8.46 (talk) 22:48, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Not knowing where foreign countries is located, like Israel, is a pretty common thing for Americans from my experiences. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 07:22, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

There was an entry in one of the this-really-happened humor sections of the Reader's Digest not long ago, where someone wrote in and said that they had recently overheard a father pointing out landmarks in Washington, D.C. to his child. Apparently the man had said something like, "Do you see that triangle-shaped octagon over there? That's The Pentagon." --Masamage ♫ 07:52, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

how do we know which house suits us.

my name is kaveri and my husband name is svs markendyulu his dob is 28th jan 1970 and mine is aug 3rd 1974. we saw one west facing house and we did not weather it is good for us and at present we are leaving in south facing housing is that good.

thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.205.200.220 (talk) 15:19, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

The relevance of your birthdays to house preference is highly subjective, and the house facing only slightly less so. Regarding facing, you'll likely want to consider where the sun will be relative to the house at given times of day. For instance, do you like bright sunlight when you wake up? Then east-facing windows in your bedroom are good. You may also want to consider the effects of shade on house temperature. Note, however, that these (and many other) house position criteria are independent of which direction the house as a whole faces. — Lomn 17:22, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

A south facing garden is often desirable as it will receive a high amount of sunlight throughout the day, as oppose to a north facing garden which will be in the shadow of the house. However, during summer it may become too hot to use at all. 20I.170.20 (talk) 17:34, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

That's in the northern hemisphere, of course. In the southern hemisphere it is the other way round. :) FiggyBee (talk) 19:38, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Or, if you work all day, you may want a west facing garden so it gets sun in the evenings when you're home to use it. --Tango (talk) 03:48, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Looks like dob is specified because question is asked with reference to Vaastu_Shastra. 203.129.237.147 (talk) 08:55, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

British Patriotic songs

Does anzbody know any British patriotics songs that arent subject to copyright? I wish to use one on a youtube video without getting fined! Thanks v. much! --217.227.90.214 (talk) 18:34, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean songs, or do you mean recordings? A great many well-known tunes (Rule, Britannia!, The British Grenadiers) are hundreds of years old and thus not protected by copyright. But individual recordings are protected in their own right - to find one that's out of copyright, you'll have to find a recording that was first published, publically performed or broadcast before 1958 (WP:IANAL and all that). FiggyBee (talk) 19:35, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Others are God Save The Queen, Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem (although that's only for England - would you like patriotic songs for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland too, or are you only interested in those that are patriotic towards Britain?). You could use software to play an electronic instrumental version of one of these and record it, or look at the articles here for free recordings. 79.66.32.107 (talk) 22:17, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Just found this template giving some patriotic songs. Might be useful. 79.66.32.107 (talk) 22:26, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Best idea is to choose Rule Britannia or whatever then, if you can sing or play an instrument, make your own recording. If you can't, ask someone else if you can record them. -- Derek Ross | Talk 02:30, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Depending on audience Swing Low, Sweet Chariot might do it Nil Einne (talk) 09:06, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Hmm. Not quite sure how an American negro spiritual counts as a British patriotic song ... -- JackofOz (talk) 20:37, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, the English rugby fans aren't bothered about the tenuous connection. Gwinva (talk) 23:37, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Who says it's a British patriotic song? It's a rugby song. Why that should be, I don't know. Algebraist 23:44, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, it's (used as) a sports anthem, not a patriotic song. --Tango (talk) 04:03, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

@Algebraist: It was a suggested answer to the question "Does anzbody know any British patriotics songs ...". -- JackofOz (talk) 22:24, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

More precisely the song for English rugby (similar to Waltzing Matilda for Australian rugby although that has wider connections, then again Swing Long seems to have moved on from rugby since I'm sure I've heard it at cricket matches before). And I think most English rugby fans will agree it is a patriotic song (if you don't agree, try telling some of them your beliefs during a game, don't worry we'll still be here several weeks later when you can type again). Of course if you want a song for the whole of Britain it won't do, but I saw various suggestions for English only patriotic songs above Nil Einne (talk) 17:29, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Various? Apart from Jerusalem, Swing Low was the first England Only song offered (although I did ask if constituent-country songs would fit), unless I've missed one. 79.66.38.215 (talk) 21:55, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Relationship and facial desfiguration

You are in a relationship with someone and someday a dog bites his or her face and there is no plastic surgery to repair the damage. What would you do: leave the person and admit that your relationship were only with his or her face ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr.K. (talk • contribs) 19:51, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Surely that depends on whether "your relationship were only with his or her face", or not? FiggyBee (talk) 19:56, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I think it can be assumed that there is a relationship of some depth, not just a relationship of the most superficial variety. With that in mind, I feel that there is a type of inertia that tends to keep relationships going despite a setback of the nature of a facial disfigurement. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Trom503 (talk • contribs) 20:05, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Some people might be too distressed by the horrible scarring to be able to deal with it, even if they really did care about the other person as a person. Some people just have different levels of emotional capacity / squeamishness, and being capable of physical attraction to your partner is important. Also, they might have PTSD. (To answer the question for myself: even if my husband got chewed by a dog, I would stay with him.) --Masamage ♫ 20:19, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Trite I know, but physical beauty really is only skin deep - and very temporary - the true and lasting beauty of a person lies in their inner core, their soul, their heart, their wit, their sincerity, their character, oh, I could go on and on. And if the dog in question had scarred my ex-wife - I would have married the dog. 92.1.150.57 (talk) 21:30, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

This sounds like an opening for discussion such as might be found in a forum. This is not a forum, but a reference desk. There are many forums on the internet where you can have long, involved conversations about this; please help keep this reference desk reference-desky (and not-deleted) by avoiding asking and answering these sort of questions. 79.66.32.107 (talk) 22:30, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

The Simpsons episode where Bart is inventing an excuse not to meet lonely Mrs. Crabapple when he's been writing scam romantic notes to her. He suggests a crocodile bit off his face, but Marg says that wouldn't put off some women. Males are reputed to be more picky. Not to the degree you suggest, but Stephen Hawking is hardly a beauty contest winner, but seems to have married twice. Julia Rossi (talk) 06:31, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Baseball terminology

baseball terminology - what is a two seamer? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.215.18.70 (talk) 21:39, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Its a type fastball Two-seam fastball --Nick910 (talk) 22:28, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Specifically, a two-seam fastball pitch where the pitcher aligns his fingers with the seams of the ball. This allows the pitcher to slightly spin the ball as it leaves his hand, which gives a slight downward emphasis to the flight of the ball toward the batter. When done right, the result is "strike one." If thrown incorrectly, "that ball is outta here!" DOR (HK) (talk) 08:23, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

August 5

Born Under Punches

</obscurereference>

So, while I was out helping my mother with chores, my younger brother spotted a black car across the street. A bearded man came out and took pictures of our house, according to him. Being a paranoid family, my mother called police, only to find that "taking pictures isn't illegal".

Is this the FBI investigating me for whatever reason? Google Maps? A cat burglar? People at the bank taking pictures? Yeesh. I have crackpot theories, most of which do not make sense...

Any clue on what the person's motive was? Mr. Raptor (talk) 02:05, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Is your house interesting looking? TastyCakes (talk) 02:19, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Except for a stone wall. And we just moved in. My mother's boyfriend says it's Real Estate taking pictures to show comparisons of neighborhoods. Mr. Raptor (talk) 02:24, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps your neighbourhood has other paranoid people. They might be checking out the new guys on the block for suspicious behaviour (are your parents aliens? Perhaps you should check). Steewi (talk) 02:35, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

If I told you, I'd have to kill you. Mr. Raptor (talk) 02:59, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Your family's profession may have something to do with this matter. Are "You" CIA, NSA, another one of the "alphabet agencies", some of which are REALLY BLACK? Foreign govt agency, like the British MI-5, MI-6, Israel's Mossad, Russian Secret Police? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.173.105.133 (talk) 04:27, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Why would any of these people have a big obvious beardy man in a big obvious car (black, ffs, just to complete the stereotype) who *gets out* just to make it more obvious still that he's taking a photo? 81.187.153.189 (talk) 07:34, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Going by the "just moved in line" which leads me to think it's a recent sale, I would say that what you saw was a realtor getting a shot for a comparable listing ("comp") for either a listing or a brokers price opinion. With the forclosure market being what it is I would expect to see more of these over the next few months before they fall off. Leftus (talk) 00:43, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Have your folks not paid their latest mortgage payment? Maybe the bank sent round a nice man to take a pic of the house for the Realtor ad when they foreclose. 86.21.74.40 (talk) 04:42, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Could be a private investigator (albeit probably not a very good one) if you, your mother, your brother or anyone else likely to be at the house has any reason why there might be one looking in to Nil Einne (talk) 09:04, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

FWIW, I often take photos of residential houses. I work as an artist, and paint pictures of them, using the photos as reference. Grutness...wha? 07:09, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

There are all sorts of reasons someone might want to take a picture of a house -- artistic reasons (as Grutness has), reference material for some other completely legitimate work he's about to do, because it has features he wants in his house and he intends to show the picture to a real estate agent so it's clear what he's looking for, because he's just plain nuts, because he knows it'll mess with your heads and enjoys the thought, because he wants to break into the house later, because he's a photographer and just likes the way the house looks, because he lived there as a child and wants something to remember it by, because he's at the wrong address... I mean, it could be anything, and I wouldn't worry about it. And yeah, people are allowed to take pictures in public, at least in most countries. Good thing, too. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 10:25, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm in the U.S. I found a man taking pictures of my house, a year or more ago. I walked out to talk with him, and he cheerfully said he was taking pictures for "comps" -- as Mr. Raptor's mother's boyfriend suggested above, this would be to show comparable houses, possibly as part of a real estate agent's proposal for someone. "Here are some comparable houses, and here (from public information) is what they sold for)." One way this is used is to help you decide what price to ask for your house when you sell it; another is to decide what price to offer for a house for sale. Note that I have no idea what color the man's car was, nor whether he was in fact taking photos for a real estate agent. But it's not illegal to take photos of a house from a public street. OtherDave (talk) 11:09, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps the photographer reads XKCD [2] and is suspicious of someone called Mr Raptor. (Not serious, in case you didn't notice). Steewi (talk) 01:49, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

A well deserved Compliment , question.

Why don't you guys donate to Wikipedia? This place is one hell of a website. It has helped me.

How do I and others donate to a environmental cause without being arrested by the Feds, since I've heard that the Feds have started cracking down on environmentalist terrorists and environmentalist supporters, environmentalists? I don't want to end up in "Camp Hell" because I donated to an environmental group. I was told that PETA, ALF, ELF, Earth First!, others of that ilk were terrorists and mentally ill assholes by some friends.65.173.105.133 (talk) 06:00, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Don't donate to the ones who participate in ecoterrorism? I haven't heard of the World Wide Fund for Nature or Save the Rhino doing such things, among the many thousands of other sane charities. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 08:41, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Or Greenpeace. Also while I personally find a lot of what PETA does disgusting, they remain a registered charity in the US (I guess OP is referring to the US since I don't know of any other country where people refer to the Feds in that way) and I doubt you'd be persued by the 'Feds', let alone put in prison unless you directly advocate or support 'eco-terrorists' causes. Nil Einne (talk) 09:01, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Greenpeace is iffy, as they sometimes do things which are illegal. Although I wouldn't call them a terrorist organization, they seem to have inspired France, of all nations, to engage in terrorism against them in a strange case in New Zealand: Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. StuRat (talk) 12:50, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Familiarise yourself with French colonial history and nuclear testing in the Pacific before you make any more dopey comments like that StuRat. Mhicaoidh (talk) 11:08, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I suggest the Sierra Club or the Arbor Day Foundation, where you will find tree-huggers who don't make bombs. StuRat (talk) 12:32, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Instead of believing the so-called Feds, perhaps you should investigate the actions and policies of an organization that seems suitable, and donate or join them if it matches your beliefs. If the Feds say they're terrorists, but you think what they do is right and just, there is always the option of standing up for what you believe in./Coffeeshivers (talk) 15:48, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Mistake when sending directions via Google Maps

I make a mistake when using Google Maps. I accidentally click "Send a copy to my email" and it has the address of someone's home. I type my E-mail address without a dot by mistake. I'm concern about privacy. It has someone's home address and it will go to a stranger E-mail address (wrong sender's E-mail address). I don't want the stranger to know the address. This is sensitive personal information that i send to a stranger's E-mail address. What should I do? Should I contact Yahoo! customer support for assistance? Jet (talk) 07:32, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

What would actually be in the email? Would it have any details about the person that lives at that address, or about you? If not, what exactly is the problem? The mere existence of a particular address is not sensitive information. Anyone can look at a map, pick a road name, and choose a random number on that road - they then have an address, but without any information about who lives there, who's interested in getting there, etc, what use is that address?

Secondly, does that email address (your own address without a dot) actually exist? If your own address is a common name with a dot in it, I guess there's a fair chance it might, but otherwise? If you're still concerned you could try sending a test email to that address (perhaps mentioning the map sent in error, in case there is someone reading mail at that address) and seeing if it bounces back to you. 81.187.153.189 (talk) 07:47, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

And? You do know that said person's home address is in Google Maps, regardless of whether you searched for it or not, right? It's in normal street maps too. And probably the phone book, even. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 08:38, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

In general, emails are delivered immediately. If you typed a valid but wrong email address, you've now revealed (possibly) your own and someone else's street address, so some random person knows you have some undefined relation to someone at the other house. They could in theory use reverse lookups to find out names and phone numbers. So what? Contacting Yahoo customer service will only help if you sent the mail to a Yahoo address, but it's very unlikely they would delete an email from one of their customer maildrops just because you claimed it was you who sent it from Google Maps. Generally, once their server receives it, it's the property of the recipient. And once the addressee gets it (which may have happened within seconds) it's all moot. Lesson: the internet works immediately, check before you click. Franamax (talk) 10:32, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

A throwaway question

This is sparked by a comment I read in a thread about soccer/football articles. It's really a forum-style question so I won't mind if someone removes it. Anyway, does anyone have ideas? :

Is the current state of Wikipedia more reflective of evolution or of intelligent design? I don't mean the real-life debate, I mean Wikipedia itself. It certainly seems to be an example of emergence. Was it designed to be this complex? Franamax (talk) 09:43, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Uh, I don't think it's reflective of either in the context those terms are generally understood to mean. If I had to use either term to describe it, it'd be "intelligent design", though; just about nothing on Wikipedia happens without some sort of intelligence being behind it. I'm not sure if emergence applies here either, at least when we're discussing Wikipedia itself. I mean, you might as well say that a skyscraper "emerges" from pretty simple interactions, but it doesn't really count when building the skyscraper was the whole point of the exercise. That said, I guess you could say that Wikipedia's policies and communities are a case of emergence, though; they weren't the project's purpose, but rather the byproduct of people working together, and they've grown to be pretty complex over the years. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 10:13, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

There are some elements of natural selection in the content of Wikipedia—content in articles has to survive certain hazards of the environment if it is to stay in an article. Emergence is definitely spot on, though—there's a lot of that here. In my experience on here there has been a huge correlation of policy-creation in relation to the number of actors taking part in the project as a whole. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 15:03, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

If you really want to think in metaphors, then just maybe Wikipedia started off with an intelligent design and then evolved from that point on into something bigger and better then the original designer had ever hoped for. Astronaut (talk) 16:15, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

It turned out to be self replicating (a disease might be an better parallel) - As far as I know it hasn't really evolved - so perhaps intelligent design is the answer here (Mr. Wales could probably answer that question for you.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.102.5.5 (talk) 02:21, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

gif dump

there was a really good site called gifdump that has completly dissapeared, does anybody know where i can get high quality movie,tv,adult,boobs gifs for free without having to join a site —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.106.50.170 (talk) 09:48, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Google--El aprendelenguas (talk) 20:59, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Highest speed achieved by a human being

What's the fastest speed reached by a human being using only their body? Acheivements made on steroids count for the purposes of this. Ideally I'd like speed in metres/second but anything else is fine. Thanks in advance! 90.192.223.96 (talk) 14:51, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Footspeed#Limits of speed mentions without a source the highest human footspeed ever recorded as 48 km/h which is the same as 13 1/3 m/s. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 14:57, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Are you allowing unpowered equipment such as bicycles, skates, skis etc. ? Luge competitors can reach speeds of over 80 mph (35 m/s). Joseph Kittinger achieved 274 m/s using a balloon and a parachute. Gandalf61 (talk) 15:12, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

I think "using only their body" rules those out. (What's terminal velocity for a falling human? Let's see...one source says 76 m/s; that's 170mph.) --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 15:24, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Nobody reaches terminal velocity without falling a considerable distance, which means they'd have to use a plane to get far enough above ground, so it wouldn't count. --Anonymous, 18:41 UTC, August 5, 2008.

So if an Olympic athelete used a bus to get to the venue, it doesn't count? FiggyBee (talk) 20:55, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes. I'm sure that's exactly what Anonymous was saying. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 11:32, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

If we really want to be sticklers for the question as written, we'd have to disallow shoes, too. So, some of these records may not qualify. Friday (talk) 15:26, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Interesting that steroids are acceptable as part of "their body" but shoes aren't. Presumably we'd have to remove all forms of clothing. Somewhere there must be a link about "the fastest speed achieved by a naked human on steroids".  :) -- JackofOz (talk) 20:35, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

What's the highest building / mountain / cliff anyone has climbed up under their own steam (ie, no elevators or cable cars), and jumped off? That could well be your answer. Neıl ☄ 12:22, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

More likely a cliff into water, like Niagara Falls. -LambaJan (talk) 18:35, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Atomic Bombing Damage (burned in shadows?)

Back when I was first learning about atomic bombs and their effects I seem to remember being told about how the heat was so insanely hot and the flash was SO bright that peoples shadows were burned into buildings. I can seem to find any photos prove this actually happened. anyone know where I should look?

12.155.80.115 (talk) 15:46, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Dunno how reliable this is but it seems pretty good, and says that ""Shadows" were left behind where objects shielded a surface from the heat. Where this happened, the shadow is the original color of the surface, and the area outside the shadow has been turned to a different color by the intense temperatures." 90.192.223.96 (talk) 16:09, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

It's true and well-documented. The Making of the Atomic Bomb has some examples, and you can see an (alleged) example here. --Sean 16:58, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

They're called flash burns. (The "alleged examples" above come from official US government postwar reports on blast damage at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.) Here is a classic example from the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (""Shadow" of band valve wheel on paint of a gas holder at Hiroshima. Radiant heat instantly burned paint where the heat rays were not obstructed. 6,300 feet from ground zero (Japanese photo)."). It's not so much that their "shadows were burnt into the wall" but rather that there is a very brief amount of intense radiant heat when the bomb first goes off, and that wave of heat goes out so quickly (and stops so suddenly) that everything in the line of sight is instantly burned, and because the heat stops so quickly (it is just a fraction of a second long), things that weren't in that light of sight aren't burned. So it's a shadow, but it's not like their shadows were a concrete thing that was burned into the wall. It's an outline of whatever it was that was blocking that initial flash burn. More details on this can be found here. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 17:46, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

A moment of silence, friends: August 6 is the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. -- Deborahjay (talk) 06:18, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Bug Bombs

I have a carpenter ant (Eastern) invasion in my bedroom. It seems they are coming from outside but foraging inside. I am going away this weekend. Do you think that if I set off several bug bombs in my room, they would go away? It is sooo gross looking at them! --Anilmanohar (talk) 17:36, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Overuse of bug bombs has the potential to cause a significant explosion. As such, I would think it wise to use them within the proscribed amounts (I would think one max for a single room) and only while you're around to monitor the process. — Lomn 18:04, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Or, of course, you could get a professional (pest control / exterminator) in. They might be able to do a better job of finding where they're coming in from, that sort of thing. --Anonymous, 18:44 UTC, August 5, 2008.

With my personal experience with ants in my house, I've found that placing ant baits and similiar measures don't really do the job when the ants are coming in from the outside. Spraying diazinon around the house can be pretty effective for a while, but the ants always seem to come back sooner or later. Professional service is the best option for a job well done.--El aprendelenguas (talk) 20:49, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

I have found the use of boric acid/borax based ant poisons to be a safe and effective way of eliminating ants. Usually these are provided as a food substance which the foragers (the ants you see running around) take back to the nest, killing everyone there. If you are dealing with Black carpenter ant, you may have to be judicious in the choice of poison you use. As noted in the article, carpenter ants can eat a variety of different foods, so they may not like the particular type of bait you put out. I'll also note that there is more control information in the Black carpenter ant article, as well as in the External Links in the carpenter ant article. If you are worried about structural damage to the house, calling a professional may be in order. -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 21:14, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't know whether this will work with carpenter ants, but I devised an effective solution to a problem I once had with ants. Typically ants travel along a scent trail that you can use (by following their paths) to trace them to their entry point. This might not work so well on a carpeted floor, but on a fairly smooth (wooden or tiled) floor, I laid down a thick, broad, semicircular smear of canola oil (but with a small diameter) around the ants' entry point into my apartment. I then covered the smear of canola oil with a generous amount of fresh, very hot ground chili pepper (like cayenne pepper, but from an Indian grocery) so that the oil turned into a thick paste. This created a very effective barrier against the ants. A couple of them dared to try to push across the barrier but seem to have died in the attempt, stuck to the chili oil. After a month or two, the potency wore off and ants began to find their way across the barrier again, but wiping up the old barrier and replacing it with a fresh one kept the ants out. Similarly, ants might find another entry to the apartment, but I could quickly seal that off. It did not take much of my time or energy to maintain the ant barriers, though there were a couple of small, odd-looking, maroon semicircles at the edges of the kitchen. Marco polo (talk) 01:57, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I would probably go for a combination of Boracic acid bait, liberal sprinklings of pyrethrum (make a barrier of it around the territory you wish to defend), and boiling water on the nest. The Former People's Republic of Brent have some useful information here [3]. DuncanHill (talk) 09:46, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

August 6

Teller's Erdős number

Teller recently authored an academic paper, so I'm sure he has a finite Erdős–Bacon number now. His Bacon number is clearly two[4], so what is his Erdős number? Any upper bounds? It's hard to search for someone with no first name. =P —Keenan Pepper 00:37, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Wouldn't this be better asked at the Math desk? Clarityfiend (talk) 01:43, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Well, it was originally going to be about both parts of the Erdős–Bacon number, but the Bacon part turned out to be easy. Also, it's not a math paper. —Keenan Pepper 02:21, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

This probably should be moved to the Math desk, but anyway—the AMS tool hasn't heard of any of Teller's coauthors except for John Thompson. It knows two John Thompsons, with Erdős numbers of 3 and ∞, but I think they're both false positives. I suspect Teller's Erdős number is still infinite. -- BenRG (talk) 02:20, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

If you count refereed conference proceedings, Teller's E-number is just four(!). I resent this, because mine is something like nine.

1. Erdos P., Harary F., Klawe M. (1980) Ann. Discrete Math. 6:117-123.
2. Gauthier, J., Fisher, B.D., Klawe, M. (2003) Peer Presence and Real-Time Assessment: A Symbiotic Relationship. Proceedings of EdMedia 2003, Honolulu, HI.
3. Macknik, S.L., Fisher, B.D., & Bridgeman, B. (1991) Vision Research. 31(12):2057-2064.
4. Macknik, S.L., King, M., Randi, J., Robbins, A., Teller, Thompson, J., Martinez-Conde, S. (2008) Nat. Rev. Neurosci.

The weak link is the second one, being part of conference proceedings. If someone could find an alternate route between Maria Margaret Klawe and Brian D. Fisher, that would be dandy. I would be very surprised if there weren't a way around, but it may take a few steps. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 03:01, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Nine is really really high for a finite Erdős number. That might be more of a distinction than four, which is pretty common. (Mine is currently four, if you allow computer-science papers as edges.) But you may not have actually found the shortest path—I'm sure you didn't really search the whole graph up to nine steps; that would be a huge search. --Trovatore (talk) 03:45, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

No, that's true—nine is just a likely path that I found. I'm about to publish a paper (hopefully...) that ought to shave it back to no more than seven. I'm not in the computer science or mathematics fields, so it takes a bit of a meandering path to get into my area. (And it's a pain in the neck working across indices—the AMS index doesn't include everything that's in PubMed, and vice versa.) TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:40, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Hey, I've never tried that tool. I just found thanks to it that the supervisor for my masters' thesis has an Erdős number of six. As I published my master's thesis with him being co-credited, I think this means mine is seven! Yay me :p Neıl ☄ 12:36, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

How Many Venevision Internationals There Are In Florida

How many Venevisión Internationals are there going to be in Florida? Ericthebrainiac (talk) 00:46, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

One. Eric, you've been doing better about avoiding nonsensical questions at the Ref Desk; please don't start backsliding. — Lomn 01:52, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

and Eric, you're even on the wrong desk! Julia Rossi (talk) 10:00, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Question moved to the entertainment desk[5] by request from the OP. =) Julia Rossi (talk) 23:54, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Mandatory auto liability insurance in England

I will be renting a car in England (and driving it into and back out of Scotland). The rental fee includes the mandatory liability insurance required in England. How much liability coverage does the mandatory insurance provide? Does insurance purchased in England also cover liability in Scotland? Is there typically a deductible (with the minimal plan), and if so, what might that be? Thank you! Marco polo (talk) 01:43, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

You would almost certainly be best off asking the rental agency—they ought to be intimately familiar with the details of their insurance policies (including limits and deductibles). If you're permitted to drive the rental vehicle to Scotland (again, ask about your contract conditions) then the rental company will also be familiar with the insurance requirements there. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:40, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I think the premium will be more if you take the car internationally, as you plan on doing. AndreaTrue77 (talk) 02:54, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Scotland wouldn't generally be counted as "international" with respect to England. I expect any rental and insurance policy valid in one will be valid in the other, although asking with the rental agency is the only way to be sure. If by "mandatory liability insurance" you mean that level of insurance you are required to have by law, then that will pay any 3rd party damages. If you mean the level of insurance that the rental company requires you to take out, then that's probably covers everything, although there may be an excess - again, you'll have to ask them to be sure. --Tango (talk) 03:41, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I agree you should ask the car-hirer - BUT, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are all one country (United Kingdom) with no international borders for motor insurance purposes. Secondly, you will not be able to hire a car with only Third-Party, Fire and Theft cover; you will need to be Comprehensively covered, and some hirers will allow you to use your own insurance policy if it meets their standards of cover AND if your insurance certificating company will allow it so you should bring that certificate with you, if only as evidence that you are an insurable driver, but normally, they will insist on selling you their own. Thirdly, remember to bring your European or International Driving Licence (a learner's provisional licence will not suffice). Fourth, remember we drive on the left hand side of the road whilst sitting on the right hand side of the car. Fifth, remember that car hirers do not normally lease cars with automatic gearchange; manual floor-mounted stick-shift is standard in the UK. Sixth, we go around roundabouts clockwise giving priority to traffic from the Right Hand Side (unless there are traffic lights giving you priority over them). And it is worth knowing that UNDERTAKING (passing on the left side of a car driving more slowly in the central or outer lane) is always illegal except if the car is stationary whilst waiting at traffic lights or waiting to filter to the Right - even though you will experience being undertaken by some of our more inconsiderate road users. Hope that helps, but try to read a copy of The Highway Code before you come. And enjoy yourself. Oh, don't get ripped off by the larger car-hire firms. I have friends who come to Scotland from the USA, France, Germany and Spain and they all rent insurance-included manual saloons for under £20 a day from a UK wide and local main-dealer such as Arnold Clark (www.arnoldclarkrental.com). Oh, and very importantly, NEVER go through a Red Light, even if there is no apparent danger from doing so - and NEVER cross a pedestrian crossing if someone is apparently clear of your intended path whilst crossing it - both procedures are HIGHLY ILLEGAL.92.22.94.210 (talk) 09:18, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

In case you haven't already seen it, driving in the United Kingdom may be useful (WHAAOE). You may also need to know about the regulations on use of seat belts and infant car seats and that it is illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving in the UK. Gandalf61 (talk) 14:04, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks to all of you for the information. From Tango I understand that the mandatory minimum liability insurance in England covers any and all 3rd-party damages, without an upper limit. (Please correct me if I have misunderstood.) That is good to know. In the United States, the mandatory minimum liability insurance in most states covers 3rd-party damages only up to a relatively low number, such as $40,000. If a driver should cause serious injury—given health-care costs and the lack of health insurance in the US—this level of 3rd-party coverage would be completely insufficient, and an accident could wipe out a person's savings. So, to protect one's assets in the US, it is advisable to purchase liability insurance well over the mandatory minimum. But, unless I have misunderstood, it sounds as though the mandatory minimum liability insurance in the UK is such that I don't need to worry about being wiped out financially by an accident. (Of course, there are more serious risks...) I asked whether insurance purchased in England would provide coverage in Scotland because I know that the two countries have different legal systems and law codes. Of course I am aware that they are part of the same nation-state. The car hire company asked me if I planned to travel outside the UK, not whether I planned to travel outside England, so I guess that the insurance applies throughout the UK. Thanks also for the pointers on driving in the UK. I have actually driven in the UK before. It was a pleasure compared to the driving environment here in the Northeastern US. By comparison, UK drivers are so much more efficient, responsible, and courteous. The driving rules are similar to those in the US (apart from using the left side of the road), but with a few added boosts to safety, which I already observe in the US (such as staying off the cell phone while driving). Marco polo (talk) 14:28, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I am pretty sure that England and Scotland are different countries. They speak English in England and Scottish in Scotland. I saw Braveheart as well . . . seems pretty clear to me. AndreaTrue77 (talk) 18:44, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Braveheart? - oh dearie me - why did I waste half an hour writing an informed and informative response to this OP only to be underscored by your inaccurate and romanticised and opinionated AND WRONG comment above??? JEEEEZZZ. I think in future I will leave Wiki to the knowitalls who know notatall (like you) and spend my time talking to the animals who don't argue back. By the way, in Braveheart they rode horses - motor cars were not available in the 13th century. Maybe they were in the USA - but certainly not in Scotland.92.18.20.195 (talk) 21:59, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Pay no attention to AndreaTrue77, it is a now-blocked troll. DuncanHill (talk) 12:37, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Question in Miami

Is it all right for me to tell my girlfriend to go out to bars and flirt with and pick up other guys (for sex) once in a while? We have very excellent, satisfying sex. Do you think that she might leave me if she fucks other guys when she's out? AndreaTrue77 (talk) 02:53, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is unlikely to give you this answer. Neither girlfriend nor sex discusses this situation. Bye the way, how do you know she is not already doing so? Or she is actually somebody else's girlfriend and also having sex with you? 203.129.237.147 (talk) 04:14, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Your best option is to discuss it with her - the two of your are the only people that can really say what the effect on your relationship will be. Obvious advice: If you have multiple sexual partners (as your girlfriend would in this situation), it is vitally important to use protection. The risks increase dramatically once you have more than one partner. --Tango (talk) 05:32, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.85.21.254 (talk) 09:21, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Please try and assume good faith, and don't type in block capitals. Thank you. --Tango (talk) 10:33, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I think the anon is probably correct. Corvus cornix_talk 18:40, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Is it all right? Sure it is; you're (presumably) consenting adults. Is that going to make her leave you? Who knows? It's certainly not a guarantee that she's going to leave you, and on the other hand, if she doesn't get to do that, she might also leave you. Hell, she might leave you because you snore. Some people have open relationships and thrive in them; others have cuckolding fetishes and enjoy them. In general, non-monogamous relationships aren't exactly unheard of; this isn't exactly super freaky activity you're describing here. If it seems like a good idea, you're both secure in your sexuality and have a good basis of trust and communication, and you know how safe sex works, hey, what the hell. But will it ruin or improve your relationship? Who knows? We don't know anything about you two or your circumstances, and really, the Ref Desk deals best with facts anyway. You may want to consider asking someone like Dan Savage. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 11:29, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Assume Good Faith?!? This Question Is Obvious Nonsence And The Person Who Asked It Just Look At Their Edits And You'll See Why There Here. Zain Ebrahim111 Already Told The Checkusers About This User So Just Revert It Please. Quite Frankly It's A Disgusting Question Anyway And Doesn't Enforce Family Values And Relationship Bonds. 212.85.21.254 (talk) 11:40, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Edit history, you say? Uh-huh. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 12:06, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

@ 212.85.21.254 - Wikipedia is not censored and we don't accuse people of trolling just becuase we don't like them. Rilak (talk) 13:32, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Thought: it's okay to ask her, to discuss what you'd like, etc. But telling her sounds a bit unpleasantly controlling and, unless that's part of your relationship, might be enough to make her leave you. 79.66.32.107 (talk) 14:54, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

• Nah, the problem is is there a good chance that she will find a guy that pleasures her sexually better than me? Or will she care? AndreaTrue77 (talk) 18:49, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I'd say don't chance it, she might very well leave you for some hot local guy. If you value your relationship with her, which you obviously do as you are concerned for her leaving you, then don't advise her to sleep with other guys. I guess it does depend on who's gunning for this; you or her? If she really is pressurizing you for permission to sleep with other guys, then saying no might drive her away - then again saying yes is the slippery slide to swingers clubs, drugs, unprotected sex and death. As said about, it's your decision and no online community can decide, condone, or choose for you. Robb29 (talk) 18:56, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

• Y'all have been trolled by User:Wiki brah. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 21:10, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

And the editor who shouted was using legit caps in my view -- cos y'all weren't listening. Julia Rossi (talk) 00:04, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Can I say "I told you so?" Corvus cornix_talk 17:30, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Windowboxes

moved to Science desk here[6] where botany types hang out. Julia Rossi (talk) 10:04, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Face changes

What is it called when someones face changes so much and the befre and the after afe not recognisable anymore? Wot I'm chatting bout is Avery Brooks the guy who was Benjamin Sisko. now look at these pics and tell me before: [7] [8] and after: [9] [10]. now of course he got fatter, grew a beard and shaved his head but to look at these pics you or i migt not think it was same guy. What is this phenomenon called? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.139.248 (talk) 14:04, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Aging? I mean, they look like the same guy to me, but one's older than the other, and has changed his weight (only a little bit) and his hair. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 15:32, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

You pretty much nailed it yourself; "he got fatter, grew a beard and shaved his head". As 98.217.8.46 said above, the technical term for this phenomenon is called "aging". 20I.170.20 (talk) 13:05, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Sheet Music Online

Why is it so difficult to find free sheet music online - especially for contemporary music ? Is it part of the copyright issue, that artists are losing out on their royalties due to the internet making their wares available for free ? I fail to see how my playing their music on my piano at home is infringing copyright (yes, I know I might rush out and play it at a concert for reward ... fat chance have you heard me lately ? :-) Chances are if I like the music enough to want to play it myself, i probably own the Cd already, and no if I have to pay for it by buying a book of sheet music, I probably just won't bother. --196.207.47.60 (talk) 16:40, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

My understanding is that it is a copyright issue. The music labels own the rights to the songs, including the sheet music version. It's pretty stupid for them to enforce it, in my opinion, but they don't strike me as a very thoughtful industry that way. They also tried to remove all of the videos on youtube demonstrating how to play songs on the guitar. TastyCakes (talk) 17:40, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Sheet music sales are a significant part of the minuscule income of a composer/songwriter. The music labels don't generally own the sheet music; look at the copyright info on any song and you'll get the idea. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 21:07, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Sheet music doesn't just come into existence by itself. Creating sheet music takes quite a bit of time and work. If it was given away for free there would not be much incentive to make it. Pfly (talk) 22:20, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

For popular music, there are a number of sites around that have guitar tablatures (of varying quality) and chord structures for a large number of bands. Sheet music itself is much harder to find, as you've worked out already. For piano, the guitar tabs are difficult, but the chord structures can be quite useful. Steewi (talk) 02:50, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Does Homeowner's Insurance Cover In-ground Oil Tanks?

I have an in-ground oil tank and I am trying to sell my house. I have recently had a non-invasive test done on my tank and it showed negative, that is there is no leak detected now. I have heard that an invasive test can put the tank under such pressure that it causes the tank to break. If a potential buyer demands an invasive test be done and the test causes the break, and the worst possible scenario is their insurance doesn't want to pay, and if they win in court, does my homeowners policy cover it or do I have to pay for it to be opened, cleaned out, all contaminated dirt removed to a safe place, the hole refilled with clean dirt, and a new tank installed in my basement? How could I prove that it was the test which caused the breakage? I understand that if it were a slow leak my policy wouldn't cover it. I have read the policy, even the fine print, and I have asked three people who work for the insurance company and they didn't say "yes" or "no". Does anyone actually know? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.87.78.228 (talk) 18:14, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Comparing the quality of Wikipedia to another site

Recently, I came across a site that pays its user to post stuff. I am not revealing the name, since I am not willing to make advertisement for it. The strange thing about it is that although the payment was low even for poor countries, people posted any sort of shit only to receive these - literally- 2 cents for each post. On the other hand, Wikipedia, that treats us like slaves and doesn't pay us anything, has a much better quality. In a material word, wouldn't it be much logical to expect that Wikipedia had a lessen quality?Mr.K. (talk) 18:19, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I have to disagree. Wikipedians contribute because they want to. Someone on this mystery site could add lots of poor quality work and expect the same or even a bigger paycheck as someone who does good work. Therefore, the incentive to do good work isn't there. Paragon12321 (talk) 18:24, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I would conclude that Madonna was mistaken, at least as far as Wikipedia is concerned. -- Coneslayer (talk) 18:33, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Wait.. We don't get paid for this? I have to rethink my priorities... TastyCakes (talk) 18:50, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Don't worry, your PayPal payment is on its way. -- Coneslayer (talk) 19:05, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm not familiar with the site, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people have written automated scripts to post articles. If you post one page of random gibberish every five seconds, that's $14.40 per hour (assuming you're talking about US cents). -- BenRG (talk) 20:23, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

This may also be true in the real world, where volunteer work attracts more committed workers than paying minimum wage, at least if the cause is considered worthy. (If you ask for volunteers to clean septic tanks, you might not have much luck.) Clearly money isn't the only motivation for people to work. Feeling good about one's self is also important, and volunteering does that much better than being paid a wage that could be considered an insult. StuRat (talk) 15:25, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Paying people improves quantity, it doesn't necessarily improve quality. A good example is blood doning - places that pay blood donors get worse quality blood because people like homeless drug addicts with infections from sharing needles turn up for a quick buck, whereas they wouldn't bother if they didn't get paid. In order to get quality through paying people you have to pay enough that people that are already being paid to do a similar job choose to work for you instead. Most people contributing to Wikipedia are not professional writers, but still do a brilliant job, so there is no need to offer the kind of money that would attract professionals. --Tango (talk) 17:53, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Driving an automatic transmission car in the UK?

Just a thought related to an earlier question - if I obtain my driving licence in the UK by passing a driving test in an automatic transmission car, I am limited to driving ONLY an automatic transmission car. Thus, if I want or need to drive or hire a manual stick shift car I am not licensed to do so and will be refused by the car-hire agency, quite rightly (though the reverse of that is true in that a person who passed their test in a manual car is allowed and licensed to drive a car with an automatic gearbox). So how does say an American coming here for his/her holiday who has never driven a manual car in his/her life manage to hire a manual car for a part or duration of their holiday, and get away with it? My wife and I often follow USA/Canadian drivers around Scottish roundabouts festooned with traffic lights whilst their drivers struggle with totally unfamiliar 5 forward shift stick gears with their LEFT hands, on the opposite side of the car and the road than they are used to, whilst looking in their rear-view mirrrors above their LEFT shoulders when they are expecting it to be above their RIGHT shoulder? Hilarious, but how so? 92.18.20.195 (talk) 18:28, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Because under the Geneva convention on road traffic, the UK recognizes foreign driving licenses accompanied by an International Driving Permit, even when these licenses are subject to less rigorous testing than the UK license. Algebraist 18:36, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

And, spelling it out to be clear, USA licenses don't specify automatic or standard. They're good for both, regardless of the type of car the driver learned and tested on. APL (talk) 18:44, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Those struggling drivers are probably having trouble with stick shift on the left, not with stick shift as such. If they didn't know how to drive stick at all then they never would have made it to the roundabout. I think what makes it difficult is that the gear order is not mirrored. Americans pull inward to shift to first, Brits push outward, and that's harder to relearn than the change of side. -- BenRG (talk) 19:20, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

If you get a driver's license for only automatic transmissions you cannot drive in Europe, only in England. Furthermore, what kind of vehicle are you driving? Like a big truck or something? AndreaTrue77 (talk) 18:52, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

As the American who asked the earlier question about insurance in (rather than driving in) the UK, let me assure you that, while I may have the legal right to rent a manual-transmission car in the UK without ever having driven one before, I would not dare to do so. I have reserved an automatic car with the rental agency. I don't want to endanger myself or anyone else. ^{(I'd sure like to learn to drive a manual, but it is hard to find anyone who will teach that in the States.)} Marco polo (talk) 19:34, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

You can teach yourself how to drive a standard transmission. Just get a hold of a car with one, or buy one, and start doing it. It's not hard. AndreaTrue77 (talk) 19:38, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Marco, thanks for your brutally honest response. I too like driving abroad, on the wrong side of the car, the wrong side of the road etc., etc. So what do I do??? I go to a driving school for a couple of hours wherever I happen to vist - I pay about $100 - and walk away a bit better informed than when I arrived. 92.18.20.195 (talk) 22:10, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Andrea, what do you mean? As I understand it, a visitor is any country can drive an vehicle they're allowed to drive at home. If you have a UK Automatic only license, you can drive an automatic anywhere (some places may also let you drive a manual because they don't care about it, I don't know). --Tango (talk) 17:58, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

This isn't really relevant to the question but I thought I'd share my story. I got a learners license in Australia and took just a few lessons in an automatic. Then I went to England and sent the learners license away to the DVLA expecting to receive a UK automatic provisional license in return. But they sent me a full UK drivers license, they must not have realized I hadn't passed a test. Then when I returned to Australia I changed it for a full Australian drivers license. Been driving for 15 years on a full license and never had to pass a driving test. 144.137.206.217 (talk) 09:20, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Why?

My four year old daughter has gotten to the stage where she asks "why?" to everything. Which got me onto thinking, is there a witty response you can give to which "Why?" cannot be the reply? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Robb29 (talk • contribs) 18:38, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

When my daughter was four she also asked a lot of questions, especially "Why". It was only later that I realized that she was driving me crazy on purpose. I always tried my best to answer politely so I raised a spoiled brat who always demands her own way about everything. Tell your daughter to stop it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.87.78.228 (talk) 06:12, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

"No. Because I said so." Edison (talk) 18:39, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Why? DuncanHill (talk) 18:45, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Answer with another question? TastyCakes (talk) 18:51, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Poopypantssayswhy... -- Coneslayer (talk) 18:54, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Does your daughter enjoy having poems read to her? This might help (it is from "The Elephant's Child", one of the Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling).

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
I know a person small-
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,
From the second she opens her eyes-
One million Hows, two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!

DuncanHill (talk) 18:57, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Wow, thanks. I'll try that. Might break the endless loop, then again even if I say nothing after a few seconds it's "why?" again... Robb29 (talk) 18:59, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

If you read it really well, you'll probably get "again Daddy!" instead of "why". DuncanHill (talk) 19:02, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I have boldly removed an unpleasant suggestion which had nothing to do with answering the question asked. DuncanHill (talk) 20:49, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

This is reference desk. I made a suggestion. The user had the option of taking it or leaving it. --Endless Dan 20:50, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

For those who are curious about Endless' edit or are upset about its removal here it is: "Easier solution: The belt. --Endless Dan 19:47, 6 August 2008 (UTC)" Take it or leave it and brought to you by hydnjo talk 21:09, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

I like responding with "Well, what do you think?" --Masamage ♫ 22:07, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Why? -hydnjo talk 22:12, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

<Fribbler removes his belt> ;-) Fribbler (talk) 22:15, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Mommy mommy...hydnjo talk 22:28, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Why do you think? :) --Masamage ♫ 22:14, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Duncan's daughter would probably come out with something like "I think because I am", and then he'd be really worried. One genius in the family is more than enough, thank you very much. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:21, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

No daughter, but I do have a niece, who is delightful and seems to keep about 20 million serving men :) DuncanHill (talk) 22:31, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Depending on the context, a "Why not?" may work. (... and is to be recommended. There is some body of work that children do better learning in the context of self discovery. Instead of being spoon-fed knowledge, they generate hypothesies on their own, with only gentle nudges in the right direction from an adult. - I'm not a child-development expert, though, so caveat emptor.) -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 22:18, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

To keep the rabbits out. Why? Because the Emperor Nasi Goreng said so. Julia Rossi (talk) 23:59, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

You may like this I wonder whypoem by Richard Feynman. manya (talk) 04:11, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I remember watching Jack Dee in standup and he was talking about his daughter going through the same thing. To show her how annoying it was, he decided to try it out on her. "What are you doing" he asked, "I'm painting" she answered, "Why?" he asked (with a little relish... She turned to him, held up the paintbrush and replied "Because this is not a pencil". Take from the tale what you will! --WORM | MЯOW 10:51, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I'd encourage you to answer the "why" questions rather than discourage them, as they are how children learn about the world, and perhaps even more importantly, become interested in learning itself. Any why chain is likely to eventually lead to a question you can't answer, and "I don't know why" usually ends that chain. Or, if that's followed by "Why don't you know ?", perhaps you could then explain that nobody knows everything. Many questions may need a very simplified answer for small children. "Why do kids look like their parents ?" might be answered with "Because kids are made from parts of each parent" instead of a discussion of genetics, for example. If they really are driving you nuts, it's OK to say "That's enough questions for now, let's keep the rest for later." You might even schedule "why time" just for such questions. And, remember that even if it's annoying now, you may some day look back fondly at these times. StuRat (talk) 15:12, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I like StuRat's answer better, but one I often encountered when I was younger was "Why? to make little boys ask questions." -LambaJan (talk) 18:43, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

currently perry-manksterina is going thru a phase of asking 'how' when she means 'why' , i correct her and then am asked why...Perry-mankster (talk) 21:24, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Question about the Tides

I'm planning to head over to a nearby island on a kayak this weekend, and wanted to test my interpretation of the tide tables.

You may want to open this map to see what I'm talking about: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=48.42977,-123.259907&spn=0.048409,0.154495&t=h&z=13

I'm heading from the area called "Oak Bay" to the "Chatham" and "Discovery" islands.

If a local tide table says that low tide occurs early in the morning (5 AM), and high tide occurs in the evening (9 PM), would I be right to assume that during the day (in between), the tide would be carrying objects South-to-North, as more water washes into the straight from the much larger Pacific Ocean (you'll have to zoom out to see that)?

Thanks! NByz (talk) 21:35, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

That's the correct general understanding, though specific local currents may vary (you're not kayaking in the main channel, for instance). It'd be worth asking a local as to what sort of currents you're going to encounter. Also, a 16-hour low-to-high tide cycle looks suspicious, as 6 hours is the approximate norm. You might want to double check that. — Lomn 21:40, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh thanks. Maybe I'm misinterpreting this (http://www.dairiki.org/tides/monthly.php/vic) tide table for August 9th... Would those be "absolute extrema" for the days? NByz (talk) 21:46, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

The tides in that area look quite complex, leading to the 16 hour low to high reported by NByz, according to [11] and [12]. --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:49, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

It is a bit of a weird place: Big inlets to the north and south. I guess that suggests that the tides will be pretty weak that day anyway? NByz (talk) 21:54, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Actually, that chart you posted is quite helpful. Thanks Tagishimon. NByz (talk) 21:56, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

August 7

Changing career path

I've always thought i wanted to do something "sciency" at university so that basically dictated the subjects i chose to take at GCSE and A-level. I just finished my AS exams a couple months ago (Biology, Chemistry Physics and Maths) and I now feel like I'm regretting the subjects I did and wish there was something I could do to study languages at uni instead however the only language qualification I have is an A* GCSE Spanish. The thing is I speak/understand Spanish very well, and also was very good at French until before GCSE so I think I could easily get A grades at A level if i did them and maybe even another A in italian. Is there a way i can do this now? I wouldn't mind starting those subjects at A level now and going to uni a year later. Spanish shouldn't be a problem as i have a gcse but what about Italian and French? Do i need the gcse before doing the A level? Does it make a difference if I speak/understand french and italian more or less to GCSE level?

Another idea: I know that some in unis for example you can study Spanish and Russian as part of a Languages course and they don't ask taht you have the A level in both languages just one of them. Now I dont have A levels in Spanish or Russian but would I be able to do such a course provided I just proved to them some other way that I can speak Spanish as well as I do?

--JD77 (talk) 03:45, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I would first pick up the phone and talk to the admissions department of the university you are interested in attending, or even get the department's number off the university's website, and explain your situation. You may be surprised how helpful they may be; they may ask you to sit a language test or two though. If they say no, however, then you can do A-levels at an evening course if you want to (speak to your local college - if they don't do them, they will be able to put you in touch with a local evening school that does), or even talk to your sixth form/college about taking them in an accelerated course over the course of a year (they can often do this). Neıl ☄ 12:48, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

If you're willing to do an extra year in sixth form (and your sixth form will let you, but I can't see why they wouldn't), I can't you see having a problem. You can get an A-level in Spanish and at least AS levels in another language or two - that should be plenty to get onto a language course at Uni (it might not be enough for a top Uni, you'd have to look it up). If you want to go to Uni on time, you probably still have options. You need to investigate a few universities (your 6th form will be able to help there, as will the internet) and find out their requirements. They might let you in with just AS level Spanish (and maybe a GCSE in another language - my 6th form offered GCSE languages alongside other A levels, yours might too). You could also look into doing a combined arts degree, or whatever the university you like calls it, where you study bits from lots of subjects. You could then do some languages and some other stuff (maybe even some of the science stuff you were interested in before) - such courses wouldn't require any specific qualifications to get on (some of the individual modules might, but as you say, there are often language modules which don't require an A-level in that language). I expect your 6th form has career advisers, they'll be able to help you more than I can. --Tango (talk) 18:46, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Zoroastrian Websites

Are there any Zoroastrian websites with blogs, forums, discussion groups, chat rooms or reference desks ,etc, where different people, different Zoroastrians, can contact and communicate with each other, discuss about Zoroastrianism and ask questions to others, other Zoroastrians, to do with Zoroastrianism and answer others’, other Zoroastrians’, questions to do with Zoroastrianism? I mean, a website with something similar to the reference desk in Wikipedia or Wikichristian. I mean a place where your questions might be answered as soon or as quickly as in Wikipedia or Wikichristian. How do I search on the Internet for such websites, websites with such things?

Bowei Huang (talk) 07:07, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

You might look for "Parsee" or "Parsi". Corvus cornix_talk 17:33, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Antispyware 2008 help!?

Moved to Computer Desk where more expert help will be available. Richard Avery (talk) 07:29, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Whats the average number of crew on ships?

Whats the average number of crew on Cargo ship of say Suezmax size? In general how many for navigation, how many for say running engine, other support systems etc? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ranemanoj (talk • contribs) 08:37, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Our Exxon Valdez article lists a crew of 21 - albeit EV was larger than suezmax. Not sure how they were divided. --Tagishsimon (talk)

I guess it may depend on the age of the ship and the cargo carried; I've found references for crews of 15-20 for oil tankers, but over 60 for livestock carriers. The breakdown for the livestock carrier, in 1995, was; the Master, four deck officers, a radio officer, six engineer officers, an electrician, three fitters, Bosun, three able seamen, 28 ordinary seamen, three oilers, three wipers, three cooks and four messmen.[13] FiggyBee (talk) 03:20, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Gordon Hospital

The Gordon Hospital for Fistula and other Diseases of the Rectum (and not to be confused with the Aberdeen hospital) was established, as far as I can work out, in 1884, and is situated on Vauxhall Bridge Road, Victoria, London. Who was the Gordon after whom it was named? (Bonus points for any other pointers to its history.) thanks --Tagishsimon (talk) 09:21, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

This link says:

• Gordon Hospital for Fistula and other Diseases of the Rectum, Vauxhall Bridge Road, S.W. Founded as the "West Hospital for Fistula, etc." in 1884; Name changed 1886; Rebuilt 1899.

My hunch is that it was renamed after the 1885 death of General Gordon in Khartoum. He was eponymised far and wide throughout the Empire, in various ways. -- JackofOz (talk) 12:19, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Jack may well be right, but if you want to be sure ... I'm going to be lazy, and let you do most of the work yourself, but the Gordon Hospital in London] is now a mental health hospital, administered by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. You can contact the CNWL Trust here, or contact their Communications Officer directly, details here. They will be able to help you. This search shows Gordon Hospital, London SW1 is mentioned in The New Hazell Annual and Almanack, as well as a number of other books, although what it says I can't tell. Neıl ☄ 12:57, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh yeah, note it's actually on Bloomburg Street, which is just off Vauxhall Bridge Road (might help with your searching). It's been a mental health facility since at least the early 1980s, and was definitely still a intestinal and colorectal place in the late 1940s ([14]). Neıl ☄ 13:12, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Much obliged, many thanks. The bonus mark goes to Jack, for matching the date of renaming with G~ of Khartoum, which seems a likely fit. but I have also taken up Neil's suggestion and emailed Emma Thingie, the communications officer to she if she knows what's what. It's a little landmark in the vicinity of my place of work, and I'm slowly trying to understand how all of the area fits together & where it comes from. --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:33, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm still poking around; depending how dedicated you feel, the London Metropolitan Archives (not available online) hold all the Gordon Hospital's early records - see [15], and those from 1936-82 are here, with contact details. A bit more on the Gordon here. Was an army hostel during World War II. Greville Wynne was treated there following his release and return via prisoner exchange from the Soviet Union in 1964. Neıl ☄ 13:52, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Oh, that - visiting the archive - might be interesting; on which basis Neil is awarded a bonus and much thanks. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:32, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Tagishsimon. I'll add that to my resume.  :) -- JackofOz (talk)

Why cats like sea fish and avoid fresh water fish

In my part of the world, what the cats like best is sea fish. Not all cats eat meat [fowl and red meat] bought from the butcher's. Most cats don't eat fresh water fish. I have seen most cats avoiding saline water fish caught from rivers. why is this so? Raosab (talk) 13:33, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps they've simply developed a taste for it? Humans are not alone in restricting their diets beyond what is digestible. 72.242.117.18 (talk) 14:40, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

But cats who live far from sea developing this taste is very strange. Raosab (talk) 17:17, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

You are making a tremendous generalization. Are you sure this isn't just the taste preference of your cats? My cats don't even like fish at all! Assuming your generalization is accurate though, maybe there is something wrong with the freshwater that produces fish in your area: maybe it's polluted and your cats can smell it on the fish. --Shaggorama (talk) 17:49, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Your cats don't like fish at all? Wow. Maybe all that glisters is gold. --Trovatore (talk) 02:10, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Of course, I was talking about the cats in my part of the world in general. Here cats are not exactly pets. They live a semi domestic semi wild life. They are not really fed. They live on offal and small preys. Pet cats have different taste. Cats' love for fish monger [they sell sea fish only] is famous here. Every morning in every byroads and lanes cats wait to hear the hoot of the fish monger. Cats can even recongnise the engine sound of their mopeds. Maybe I should upload some video/photos of cats cosying up to the fish mongers Raosab (talk) 18:14, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

You say they don't eat fresh water fish, is that by choice or are there just none available? You say the fish mongers only sell sea water fish. --Tango (talk) 18:49, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Fresh water fish is never not so readily available as sea fish. But animals' tastes are instinctive rather than developed, aren't they? Raosab (talk) 01:58, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Asian Cuisine?

What is the most well known dish in Asian Cuisine? please no links or references to wikipedia pages. thank you --Confusedlad (talk) 16:46, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I'd go with rice. Useight (talk) 17:14, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I'd say either Sushi or sweet and sour chicken, or chicken fried rice, 3 of my favorite Asian Cuisine! But most well known dish IMO.. Sushi Nick910 (talk) 18:37, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

What constitutes Asian Cuisine? Any food eaten in Asia? If so, curry is almost certainly the most well known Asian dish in the UK. It will obviously be different in different places - the most well known Asian dish in China is going to be something Chinese! --Tango (talk) 18:51, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

What is the most well known dish in European Cuisine? Asia is a hell of a lot bigger, and much more varied, than Europe. --ColinFine (talk) 22:11, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

If you're looking for a definitive answer, you're not going to get one. "The most well know dish" is highly subjective.--El aprendelenguas (talk) 22:39, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Marco Polo knew it was noodles. Julia Rossi (talk) 02:59, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Antidepressants and alcohol

I AM NOT ASKING FOR MEDICAL ADVICE!!!!! Just asking out of sheer curiousity... I've noticed that with antidepressants they always warn not to drink alcohol while taking these. Obviously it's bad for you, but what exactly is the problem? 12.155.80.115 (talk) 18:59, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Per an article from the Mayo Clinic, alcohol may counteract the medication, worsen its side effects, and (depending on the medication in question) increase your risk of stroke. — Lomn 19:05, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

In addition, alcohol depresses the nervous system, and can temporarily screw up some of the processes in your brain by affecting the cortex, hippocampus and nucleus accumbens. See Alcohol_effects#Moderate_doses for a little more information. Since several antidepressants alter levels of serotonin, and serotonin is important for parts of the brain such as the hippocampus, having the two drugs (i.e. alcohol and antidepressants) acting on the same area with different effects isn't a good idea.--El aprendelenguas (talk) 22:36, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm not certain, but I suspect that it's also the case that several antidepressants are metabolised primarily through the liver, in which case that organ's getting a double hit on its resources (this is also the reason why paracetamols are not ideal for treating hangovers, BTW). Grutness...wha? 00:26, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Time switches

How do time switches work? I'm referring to the ones like this, that have on and off trippers of two different metals. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 19:44, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

The "on" and "off" trippers appear to be made of different metals to tell them apart when clamped to the clock wheel. So, as the wheel turns (usually once every 24 hours) the "on" tripper, at its selected time, flips a switch to supply power and as the wheel continues its rotation the "off" tripper, at its selected time flips the switch off. Actuation times depend on where the trippers are clamped onto the wheel. -hydnjo talk 00:24, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

The on & off trippers have different shapes, well illustrated here. Looking at the bottom of each, one has a peg at one end, the other has a peg at the other end. The tripper presumably is rotated over a couple of switches, one setting the current on, the other setting the current off. Which of the switches is hit by the tripper depends on the position of the tripper's peg. --Tagishsimon (talk) 00:35, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Actually, one switch which is toggled to & fro by the pegs. -hydnjo talk 01:00, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

English Multi-Label Categorization Collection

I understand that Wikipedia has a free downloadable document entitled English Multi-Label Categorization Collection.

Where and how can I access and download it?

Thank you.

--Cbagu (talk) 21:47, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

The only reference I could google for that term is an academic paper describing some collections assembled from Wikipedia data by a third party. According to the paper, the collections are downloadable from http://www-connex.lip6.fr/~denoyer/wikipediaXML/ , though I didn't try downloading a copy myself. 81.187.153.189 (talk) 22:23, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

The website seems to have disappeared; but I concur, that's the only reference I've come across. The PDF 81.187 pointed to has a couple of email addresses which might or might not still work. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:26, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia spoken articles

Hi, Can Wikipedia spoken articles be transferred into an MP3 Player, such as an iPod? --88.104.253.146 (talk) 21:49, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

You can download them and load them on any MP3 player which can handle the Ogg Vorbis format. According to our iPod article, "Alternative open-source audio formats, such as Ogg Vorbis ... are not supported without installing custom firmware onto an iPod (e.g. Rockbox)." So there you have it: just one more reason not to buy Apple :) Yes, I know that was an uncalled comment, but I'm having a bad evening. --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:55, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes, we did notice that you and Froth never seem to edit at the same time ô_o -hydnjo talk 00:03, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

(e/c) Sure, but you'll probably have to convert the .ogg format into .wav or .mp3, because I don't think iPods or most MP3 players can play .ogg. I'm pretty sure you could use Audacity to do the conversion.--El aprendelenguas (talk) 21:58, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your help - --88.104.253.146 (talk) 22:13, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

India-Japan baby

In case of India-Japan baby in legal wrangle, was it legally possible for father, immediately after divorce, to take surrogate mother to Japan for delivery, and claim custody? manya (talk) 04:27, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Obviously he didn't, so it's a moot point. Also I doubt Japan would have given the surrogate mother a visa if it were obvious that she was coming to Japan to give birth. Incidentally, I found it amusing that the article noted that the baby's grandmother spoke neither English nor Hindi, as if that were a problem; presumably, the baby speaks neither language either. :) FiggyBee (talk) 04:44, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

yogoboard

is yogoboard true? can i get a sample to see it ? can we feel the presence of ghost? is there any thing named ghost? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sahibsha (talk • contribs) 06:17, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

"Yogoboard" gets no hits on Google, so there is no such thing, so it is not true, no, no, and no. Next question?--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:00, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Ouija board, perhaps? 81.187.153.189 (talk) 07:04, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Why is the Iraq War so expensive?

I was listening to an author on public radio promoting his new book on the financial cost of the Iraq War and he mentioned that the war may cost in excess of $3 trillion; I did not listen to the whole thing. But the author has failed to explain one question I have: why is the Iraq War so expensive in financial costs? (I don't think it factors in inflation or postwar veterans health care.) One source in my Google search speculates that one reason is pork barrel spending though I doubt all of it was waste. Is it the cost of fuel or shipping supplies across thousands of miles? Not being an expert on defense spending, what is the source of the cost? --Blue387 (talk) 07:11, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

lost friend

I am looking for my friend , we lived together in Brussels, Belgium, before she migrated to Manchester England to stay with her mother and complete her studies. She was born in Ruwanda