Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Welcome to the miscellaneous section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

skip to bottom

Select a section:

• Computing
• Entertainment
• Humanities
• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Miscellaneous
• Archives

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

• Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
• Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
• Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
• Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
• Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
• Note:
  • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
  • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
  • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
  • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

• The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

See also:

• Teahouse
• Help desk
• Village pump
• Help manual

November 29

Stalemate?

In the article on stalemate, the chess position is a stalemate with black to move. However, I don't understand why. Couldn't black's pawn simply take the white queen? I must be missing a technicality.CalamusFortis 00:06, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Stalemate?

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Black to move is in stalemate

Yes, you are missing a technicality. The black pawn could have taken the white queen if the white queen were located on b1. However, the white queen is on b3. "Forwards" for the black pawn is downwards on the graph. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 00:13, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Oh, of course. I'm looking at it backwards. Thank you.CalamusFortis 00:14, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Always assume that white is playing from the bottom of the diagram unless you're told otherwise. You might also want to check the chess notation article. The algebraic notation used here always numbers white's starting ranks as 1 & 2 and black's as 7 & 8. Exxolon (talk) 04:00, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Medal of the Second Bank of the United States

Does anyone here know about this medal? 200px|right Bewareofdog 06:19, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

No, but these people have lots to say on their auction page for such a medal[1] – the article Second Bank of the United States seems to have no mention. The details are: 45 mm (1.75 inch) diameter, and Barry Stanton, Sculptor (not the Australian rocker). I don't know if this would work, but you could ask the sellers by email where they got the information from, Julia Rossi (talk) 08:25, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

On first look it appeared to be a type of Challenge coin but from Julia's ebay link, i think the salient point is that it is a Franklin Mint piece from the collection "History of the United States". A bit of googling around gives some info here and there including pricing guides and other info relevant to commemorative coin collectors. Nanonic (talk) 15:56, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks ! Bewareofdog 17:57, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Incidentally, thanks for the link to challenge coin, Nanonic! I recently saw the NCIS episode mentioned in the article and tried to find out more about the coins here, but didn't know what to search for. FiggyBee (talk) 18:23, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Hm. I graduated from Air Force Basic Training (admittedly years ago) and never even heard of an airman's coin, let alone got one. When did this start happening? Little Red Riding Hoodtalk 23:32, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

geography discrepancy

I noticed what "appears" to me to be a discrepancy on a page here at wikipedia.

The discrepancy is about a place that is no longer considered an island here. I believe it is still an island. Where do I go to discuss this further. I also want to post screenshots (not yet saved) from platial.com that show the discrepancy. How may I do that and would this be considered legal? The maps at platial are in both map and satellite form.

How does one get a gfdl licence? Can one get one from platial? I have an account there. Jon (talk) 14:06, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

The talk page of the article in question would be a place to discuss it. Or you could tell us exactly what the island/non-island in question is and we could discuss it here. :) FiggyBee (talk) 11:26, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

I live very near Green Island, New York. Check out this page: Green_Island,_New_York. I am quite sure that a very small stream surrounds the southern and western portion of Green Island. I have also seen what looks like the stream but may not be recognizable by people not familiar with the area. This is at platial.com. Is it okay to post some screen shots of the area? First, a regular map of Green Island, and then a series of satellite images that show the stream (not always visible) surrounding Green Island, together with the Hudson River. If so, how do I post a screen shot here and can I post more than one at a time? Should this be done elsewhere instead? Jon (talk) 14:06, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Normally, I would suggest you be bold and change it. However, looking at the town with Google Earth, I can see where, just north of the intersection of Tibbits Ave and Rt. 787, the inlet that would cause it to be an island has been filled in. There is a small stream on the western side of Rt. 787, but that appears to dry up the further north you go. However, if you do have credible evidence, why not post a link to it on Talk:Green Island, New York (links are added like this: "[http://www.example.org link to example.org]" which would appear as link to example.org) Astronaut (talk) 16:03, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

I noticed that you called Green Island a town. A tiny part of it is a town, but most of it is an incorporated village. I live only a couple of minutes (by foot) from the main Green Island bridge. I have seen the construction of the plaza in the very southern end of Green Island, and the construction of the numerous residential buildings on Center Island, as well as partial devastation of the wooded area on that island. I have seen the creek but only where streets/roads cross it or pass near it. I obviously have not been able to walk the 787 to see the creek. Also, I have no credible evidence; just my eyes. I cannot verify that it is an island. But I have not seen verifiable evidence that it is NOT an island. I believe that statement should be removed until evidence can be shown here. Jon (talk) 16:20, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Am I stupid? That is rhetorical, I hope. I just wrote a question and wanted to reply to someone else's reply. But I do not see a link to reply. Please help me so that I can do this right.

Just hit the [edit] next to the title of your question. You can use colons (:) to indent your response, the more colons, the more indented it is. So for the above question, someone has responded and used 1 colon. To reply to the response, click [edit] next to the question title, go to below where they responded and add 2 colons before you type. This will indent twice, and show that you are replying to the response. Give it a go :-) Fribbler (talk) 12:38, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! Jon (talk) 14:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

zombie trends

_{moved to new section Matt Deres (talk) 15:03, 29 November 2008 (UTC)}

What is meant by the term "Zombie trends" as in Google's zombie trends? -aln —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.201.128.216 (talk) 13:50, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

In this case, it is most likely a reference to the User Friendly comic strip from November 16, 2008.[2] It's a joke. There is no such chart posted in an obvious place on google.org, but if there is, it probably refers to zombie computers rather than the undead. One hopes, anyway.

On the other hand, I cannot resist pointing out that a Google search on "zombie trends" brings up this bit of good news as the second link. [3]. Morrand (talk) 15:37, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

It's a photoshopped version of Googles Flu Trends. Fribbler (talk) 16:49, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

It's okay, but what made me laugh was the photoshopped ad -- Looking for zombie go-go dancers!

And a big dip for Halloween, that can't be right! Richard Avery (talk) 18:19, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

I'm worried by the dramatic rise in vampires from May 2008.[4] --Maltelauridsbrigge (talk) 15:00, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

iss from above

what part of earth is shown beneath in this pic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.145.61 (talk) 17:54, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

What pic? Algebraist 17:55, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0605/iss2_sts114_big.jpg

The Caspian Sea — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 17:59, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Like it says in the caption. Algebraist 18:01, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

The Caspian is surrounded by 5 countries, and maybe the questioner wants to know which one of them is shown in the picture. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:09, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

In that case, just based on comparisons with maps and other images, I think we're looking at Russia and Kazakhstan. Algebraist 21:23, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

childrens rhymn

there is a childrens rhymn that can be heard on the end of one of type o negatives song on woeld coming down, its eith sinus, lung or the other one, i forget now, any hoooo, it goes some thing like, one jumped into the pool where it was nice and cool, other some ting something frog —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.145.61 (talk) 18:57, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Five Little Speckled Frogs ---Sluzzelin talk 19:02, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

impress your boss?

How do we impress the bosses with ideas and help create an impact for self and when the meetings are in a tele-conference form?Seekhle (talk) 19:20, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

The same way you would in any other meeting - come up with an impressive idea and present it clearly and concisely. --Tango (talk) 19:36, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Check out the possiblity of supporting your clear and concise (per Tango) part of the presentation with textual and/or graphic visual aids, and get these included in any pre-session handouts or post-session minutes. If acceptable, include your name, title, and department in a discreet (= small type), professional-looking notation in a lower corner of the frame. The graphic component is particularly valuable when not all participants have equal language skills. The point: real-time conferencing has the drawback of a fixed pace, particularly with oral delivery of content, so the written form of that content is what will have staying power. A participant will then have your contribution accessible and retrievable, and in the best case will remember and perhaps even contact you afterwards. Warning: your boss might like this technique so much, s/he'll steal it and take the credit due you. Good luck! -- Deborahjay (talk) 22:59, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Bosses are impressed if you offer to do some task or solve some problem which is making the boss's life miserable and which everyone is avoiding. If you fail miserably, the boss will be less impressed than if you succeed, but even having a go at it can be impressive. Edison (talk) 06:31, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Isthmian games

Here is a link to the isthmian games puzzle for this year. I was just wondering how would you go about finding a solution to this. I read it and its completely stumped me. --Thanks, Hadseys 21:15, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

From what I can tell, they haven't announced a winner for the contest yet, so it doesn't seem appropriate for us to help you with it. --Tango (talk) 21:53, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

• From what I can tell i never said i was interested in competing. I dont have a high iq and i wont claim too but it would be interesting to know how to approach it. Alternatively instead of your response you could just say I dont know --Thanks, Hadseys 02:12, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

This is a public site, even if you don't plan to compete other readers might - if anyone here knows how to approach the problem (I haven't even read it fully) they would probably rather win the prize themselves than help others do so. Once the prize has been awarded I expect someone somewhere will give a detailed explanation of how to find the answer. --Tango (talk) 13:59, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I wish I had the time to zone out on a puzzle like this, but I'm afraid it would just turn my life upside-down if I even tried. StuRat (talk) 03:49, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I'd start by counting the distinct colours in what I presume to be the "scrambled" destination names - which look like bar graphs. --Psud (talk) 10:52, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

November 30

Exactly HOW are we thrown into existence!?

Does anyone realize how scary this is? From absolute nowhere-to right here, right now! By an existence creating (whaaa...?)force that only takes questions with the price/risk of driving existencee insane. There was no "you" to say "I think I'll just wait around here in a zero gravity, zero mass, timeless unvoid and wait to exist." or "It sure was fun waiting around in a mathematically unexpressionable nothingness, but hey- everyone's gotta exist sometime." But suddenly, without warning, you did. Of course there'd be no "you" to warn anyways. See how baffling this is? Assuming it's a natural occurance without the help of a God, or reincarnation, the question is - HOW!? How does something, a consciousness no less, appear from the seas of nothingfinity? What emergent property is responsible? What is the exact process to make...(???!)....emerge into something that says "Whoah, I exist! Now how did this happen?"--Dr. Carefree (talk) 00:57, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

The simple answer to how you exist is to be found in sexual reproduction and DNA. What you're really getting at is when did the person "you" come into existence, which is really a question about what it means to be a "person", what it means to be "conscious". We don't have a good answer for that but it's definitely some sort of emergent neurological behavior. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 01:12, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

There may be more to it than that, but if so, it's unprovable. Such is the stuff of metaphysics. Marco polo (talk) 02:23, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure it IS that sudden. I think it takes YEARS for consciousness to develop after birth. Only a few people claim to have solid memories from before a couple of years of age - and those that do may be "unreliable witnesses" or are falling victim of "received memories"...things that never happened or were not remembered until a parent or sibling 'planted' the memory at a later age. It's pretty clear from recent science that consciousness isn't "in control" of our behavior - it merely monitors what lower brain functions are doing. So we don't need consciousness in order to function (indeed - plenty of much simpler animals don't appear to posess this mental property - so there is no reason to assume we have it at birth. So - no bafflement - consciously grows as we do and dies when we do. More importantly, no sudden "aha!" moment when consciousness turns on - just a gradual growth and a fuzzy increase in the importance of the faculty. SteveBaker (talk) 04:11, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Consciousness is not necessarily such a shocking and unusual thing as you seem to think Dr. Carefree. We have no experience with anything else, save perhaps the lower level brain functioning that Steve is talking about, so we have nothing to compare it to. How do we know that self awareness is such a special thing? We may think it is, but our own perceptions are not objective or necessarily trustworthy. Also, I am reminded of a passage from the Dhammapada:

We are what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts.

With our thoughts we make the world.

How do we know that the universe isn’t created by our conciseness instead of the other way round? Finally I want to point out a principle of cosmology that is applicable here: It seems likely that there are few points in the universe where human life could have originated. How is it that against immense odds we happen to be on a planet with a suitable temperature, atmosphere, etc? Easy, we can only observe from where we actually do exist, therefore the odds don’t mater. Similarly the fact that against odds of trillions you and me—the atoms that compose our bodies—happen to be configured into conscious beings is simply a reflection of the fact that were they not, we wouldn't be considering the fact that things could be otherwise. Hope that helps you iron out your existential crisis.  :) --S.dedalus (talk) 06:40, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

A thought isn't a religious thing. Scientifically a thought is just a chemical reaction in your brain. We do not currently have information or the technology to discover how exactly the brain works. What we do know is that the brain is a large combination of atoms that somehow forms a consciousness and and is capable of reason. The reason a dog, for example, is incapable of reason is simply because of the combination of atoms in in their skull. Also S.dedalus, look at the arcticle on Solipsism. Strifeblade (talk) 17:14, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes, Cogito ergo sum. --S.dedalus (talk) 21:42, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

It's hard to deny that many animals have a greater sense of consciousness than a neonate. People with pets often strongly believe in the "self-ness" of their dogs/cats/whatever, non-human apes have been taught certain levels of language... Humans aren't unique in having an "us." It's just hard to imagine that which we can never experience... zafiroblue05 | Talk 20:14, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

guns

What are the latest rifeles that have been developed and the characters of them —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.92.38.180 (talk) 03:47, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Didn't want you to be an orphan, so here goes – in the article Rifle you get recent decades – military and what they can achieve – and what's popular among civilians (the AR-15 and the AK-47) and if you scroll down there's a list of kinds of rifles. Hope it helps, Julia Rossi (talk) 12:51, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Hello sir ("Basic Television System" ?)

What is "Basic Television System" in the subject "Television Production"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.197.209.44 (talk) 04:34, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Our Television production link is a redirect to Production company, which doesn't mention a "Basic Television System". Are you sure that was the name of the article ? StuRat (talk) 07:21, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I also searched Wikipedia for the phrase "Basic Television System" and couldn't find it: [5]. StuRat (talk) 07:24, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

It seems that this question may stem from a media educational course [6] of some type. This site says "In its simplest form, the system consists of a television camera that converts what it sees into a video signal, a microphone that converts what it hears Into an audio signal, and a television set and loudspeaker that reconvert the two signals Into pictures and sound." A diagram and explanation can be found here. 152.16.16.75 (talk) 11:11, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

natural predators - head lice

Do head lice have any natural predators?

Nit combs? :-) Seriously though, the Treatment of human head lice article doesn't mention any natural predators that would be useful in the treatment of head lice, though I suppose you could "employ" a chimpanzee and try to get it to groom you. Astronaut (talk) 12:19, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Red-billed Oxpecker? If you don't mind it pecking holes in your scalp at the same time, that is. The sensation of the beak striking against your skull is probably not that pleasant either. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 12:35, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I suspect that such a bird has evolved, say with a dull beak tip, so as not to upset the ox and lose it's meal. StuRat (talk) 16:18, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I suspect you haven't read Red-billed Oxpecker. They cherish the open wounds that provide the lovely meal of blood. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 17:24, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

I think that wounds made by dull instruments tend to be more painful in the immediate sense. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 17:27, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

What might prove painful for a human may be a very minor discomfort for an ox - but I think we've moved off the point.I would have thought ants might make a good job of clearing lice. Richard Avery (talk) 07:40, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Great apes eat lice, picked off each other. I believe there are instances of apes grooming humans too. --Maltelauridsbrigge (talk) 15:04, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

A primate advancing with a can of natural fly spray would be predacious enough. Julia Rossi (talk) 08:00, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Do you plan to eat the headlice afterwards?? AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 11:04, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Only if you're (s)p(r)aying, ARF. :) Julia Rossi (talk) 12:03, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

You can also pick lice eggs off each other, although that's a lousy thing to do while nitting. StuRat (talk) 13:40, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

It would appear that humans are the greatest predator of head lice, although not generally in the sense that we consume them. See Lice Capades for an illustration. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 15:03, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Well, there certainly are a lot of nitpickers right here at the Ref Desk. :-) StuRat (talk) 02:12, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

The next Golden Goose?

Following on from past (now collapsing) meteoric rises in the share values of manufacturers of bottled water (in countries like the UK where ordinary tap water has proved to be of better quality and taste than bottled): and share value rises (and subsequent collapse) in the so-called Dot-Com bubble; and more recently in the USA-led Sub-prime mortgage and banking scam - does anyone here (or historical precedent) have any scent of what industry, commodity, utility, or service provider sector might be the next Golden Goose in which I can invest my spare capital after selling all my junk bonds, collapsed shares, and (now) zer0-interest-earning investments? 92.10.162.179 (talk) 11:32, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Action houses that sell off all the stock and other assets of companies that go into liquidation? --Tango (talk) 15:55, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

You seem to be aiming to invest in a "bubble", with the goal of getting out before the bubble collapses. The problem with this approach is that most people don't get out in time (has this worked for you in the past ?). The huge growth while the bubble is inflating may be seductive, most investors earn more money at the end of the day by putting their money in investments with solid growth potential. For example, while everyone can get by just fine without bottled water, once the fad ends, people aren't likely to skip food anytime soon, so maybe invest in a food company. StuRat (talk) 16:12, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

And, if you insist on risky investments, I suggest stocks which are currently at the bottom, like General Motors. Barring bankruptcy and collapse, which seems unlikely due to government intervention, GM stock can't go much lower and is likely to rise considerably StuRat (talk) 16:15, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Given the current situation I think a lot of stocks are likely to rise considerably. Whether GM is a good investment in terms of risk/reward I can't answer Nil Einne (talk) 11:59, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

It probably depends largely on what form a possible bail out would take - will the existing stock maintain it's value or will it all essentially be written off and the company be all-but nationalised? --Tango (talk) 12:39, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

In the US, when anything is nationalized, the stockholders would be compensated. The kind of nationalization that leaves the owners with nothing is more like what happens after a communist revolution. StuRat (talk) 14:15, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes, but would they be compensated with the value of their stock before or after it collapsed? Algebraist 14:22, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

After, and those who bought when the stock price was high have lost a lot of money. However, if you buy when the stock price has already collapsed, it's unlikely to go down much further, especially if the gov will work to prevent this, but there is the potential for massive stock price growth, if the company recovers. So, you have the best of both worlds, the potential for huge stock price gains with only limited risk. StuRat (talk) 01:29, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

I hate to be a sober-talking killjoy but let me just say that seeking investment ideas from random strangers on the Internet is a really bad idea. The proper investment for you depends on your current financial situation, goals, and risk tolerance. I recommend talking to a financial planner. —D. Monack ^talk 23:53, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

And also...why would we consider bottled water firms a bad investment? Ignoring that most of the bottled water brands (I know of) appear to be attached to massive food producing companies, is there any evidence that the sales of bottled water are plummeting as the 'credit crunch' bites home? I have to say 99% of my bottled water purchases are when i'm in the city/away from a free-tap and want refreshment. Yeah I could be organised and bottle some up before I go, but bottled water costs (usually) 75p-£1 a bottle, realistically I would be looking to make savings somewhere that would save me more. I suspect bottled water sales will dip (perhaps inline with reduced consmer spending) but I wouldn't expect it to be hurt more than other bottled drinks such as coca-cola etc. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 09:06, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

im new to this 'buying a car thing'...

i will be back home in about 7 more months, and i'll be looking to buy my first 'new car'. it's a $32,000 car, and if my credit isn't exacly platinum (cough cough), and i put say....$10,000 down payment, what do you think i can expect my monthly payments to be? oh, my credit score is around 597 last time i checked =/

In 7 months time? No way to know - the credit markets are going haywire at the moment so there's no way to know what they'll be doing in 7 months time. I can tell you this, though - your monthly payments will be zero if you buy a car that costs $10,000, if your credit rating is already poor you might want to consider the frugal approach. --Tango (talk) 13:54, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Agreed. This whole "buy now, pay later" approach is how the world got into the current financial crisis, and, I suspect, how you got your bad credit rating. Both nations and individuals should try living within their means, for a change. You can buy a used car for $10,000 that does everything a car needs to do, without going further into debt. StuRat (talk) 16:05, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

There's nothing wrong with using credit per se, though it can tempt you to pay more for an item than you would if you were laying out cash. Consider that many if not most auto loans in the U.S. are "under water" -- the remaining loan balance is more than the car is worth, so there's no trade-in or resale value. (Conversely, as the Car Guys point out, if you never sell your car, there's no such thing as depreciation.)

Rates for auto loans in the U.S. (not that that's where you are, OP) vary, but they do get higher as your credit score gets lower. 1/3 down is a pretty fair down payment, but as Tango says, it's impossible to say today what interest rates will be in seven months, regardless of your credit score. Just now bankrate.com was suggesting an average of 6.83% for a 48-month new car loan. Amortizing $20,000 at 6.8% interest on a 48-month loan would require a payment around $477. If instead you could set aside $450 a month for 18 months (and if you can't, maybe the loan is ill-advised), at the end of a year and a half you'd have $18,100 (your original $10,000, plus an additional $8,100), not including interest. While you couldn't buy a $32,000 car, you could pay cash for any of several well-regarded small cars (e.g., a Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Volkswagen Rabbit). With no car payment, you could set aside, say, $300 a month for the eventual replacement. Eight or ten years of $300 a month, plus interest, and you'll be driving in style. Disclaimer: I am biased; I haven't had a car payment since May of 1996. --- OtherDave (talk) 16:40, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

And I've never made a car payment. This means my first 6 cars were all used, but, as a result, now I can afford to buy new cars outright, and my last 2 were purchased as such. I disagree with "There's nothing wrong with using credit per se". Credit requires that you make assumptions about your future income and financial obligations which are likely to be incorrect, as the future is essentially unknowable. Thus, any credit purchase is inherently risky. Only if the benefit outweighs this risk is use of credit wise. I would say it almost always makes sense to borrow money for education (I did this), do to the high rate of return, and can make sense to borrow money for a SMALL first home (I didn't do this) due to skipping rent and most homes appreciating in the long term. Any other credit purchase seems unwise, to me. Save your money instead and buy the item when you can afford it on your own. StuRat (talk) 18:40, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

The other time credit makes sense is in an emergency - if you suddenly need to buy something quickly (a flight half way around the world to deal with the death of a relative overseas, say) and you don't have the money on hand (obviously, having savings for emergencies is a better choice, but if too many emergencies happen at once you could use up your savings - say you lost your job a few months earlier and haven't been able to find a new one yet) then you have little choice but to borrow it. That's one of the main reasons for ensuring that you have a good credit history - it gives you access to credit when your really need it. If you ruin your credit history borrowing for luxuries (and any car that costs more than $10,000 is a luxury), then what will you do when things turn bad? (Remember, even if you make all your payments on time, just having a large amount of credit will damage your credit rating.) --Tango (talk) 21:20, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

There are lots of alternatives to borrowing money from banks for emergencies:

1) Borrow from friends or relatives instead. At least they usually aren't out to make a profit at your expense.

2) Sell some of your stuff. For a small amount, sell old bicycles, sports equipment, snowmobiles, etc. For larger amounts, sell off cars or move to a smaller house.

3) Is it REALLY an emergency ? Having your cable TV cut off is NOT an emergency, but insulin needed for your diabetes is.

For many people who have lost their jobs, the only sustainable option is to lower their expectations and lifestyle to match their current means. Living on credit to maintain the old lifestyle will work for a short period, but will end up in disaster, possibly homelessness. StuRat (talk) 06:32, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

If you lose your job, the answer is to live off your savings (which should be enough to last you a few months at your current spending levels) while looking for a new job. If it becomes clear that you won't find a new job before your savings run out, then you lower your expectations (both in terms of what jobs you'll go for and how much you'll spend). My example was when an emergency comes up while you're in the living off savings part of the process so you can't use the savings to fund the emergency. Borrowing off friends and relatives can be an option if you have friends and relatives that can afford it, but even then such deals can end up ruining a relationship. Selling assets is certainly a good move if you have things you don't need, but that will probably only cover small emergencies. Downsizing your house takes a long time, so isn't a good way to deal with an emergency (it's a good way to pay off the debt you built up dealing with the emergency, though). And yes, obviously "emergency" means something you essentially have no choice but to deal with, loss of a luxury is not an emergency. (Of course, insulin for your diabetes ought to be paid for with insurance (or a public health service), relying on savings or credit to pay for medical care is a really bad idea.) --Tango (talk) 12:48, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

This information is based on my UK experience, the USA may differ but buying a new car is essentially a dumb move. You typically lose anything between 10-20% of the car's value as soon as you drive it out of the dealer. You also have to pay any sales taxes and other charges that may apply to buying new. Depreciation means that in after 3 years your car will be worth about half what you paid for it. In the UK the optimum age for buying used is 3 years old - this is when car fleets dispose of their cars and their are lots available at auction - the USA market may vary but it's a good ballpark. Exxolon (talk) 00:44, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

While I mostly agree with 3, I would say it usually makes sense to borrow money, if you are SURE you can pay it off on time, to pay of any outstanding debts and bills because if you let them get overdue or sent to collection agencies that will count against you in your credit rating. Of course, ideally you should cancel unnecessary luxuries before it gets to there and definitely if you are having to borrow to pay them, it very likely makes sense to cancel such luxuries. (In other words, cancel cable TV = good, getting your cable TV cut off because you didn't pay the bill = not so good Nil Einne (talk) 11:57, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes, if you're already in the situation of having debts you can't pay, then consolidating them if often a good move. The better move is not to get into that position in the first place. --Tango (talk) 12:48, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

there is any website focused on music videos??

I am not talking about websites like http://www.mvdbase.com/ that list the music videos that exist, i am talking about a website that there is music videos to see. There is youtube, but in youtube if you want to see a music video you need to know the name of the band, on a music video website you can just open a website and start to watch some official music videos, without needing to know what you want to see this is more difficult on youtube since there is not only music video there and there are many non official music videos. I want one the dont have only mainstream artists.

http://www.singingfool.com has a random video feature. They only have a fraction of what YouTube has, but it's a start.Sunburned Baby (talk) 16:01, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks guy, that what I was looking for.

Vincilagnia

The article bondage (BDSM) says "The paraphilia of being sexually aroused by bondage is called vincilagnia." I have been interested in bondage for many years, but this is the first time I've heard of the word "vincilagnia". What is vincilagnia exactly? I am certainly interested in seeing women in bondage, and the prospect of tying women up myself interests me even more. Does this make me a vincilagniac? Note that even though I'm not opposed to being bound myself, when it comes to other people being bound, it's strictly women only. Furthermore, what is the etymology of the word "vincilagnia" itself? JIP | Talk 20:31, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

From vincio, to bind or fetter with chains, and lagneia, lust. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 20:48, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

For a collection of -lagniae on Wikipedia, there are algolagnia (including the subparaphilia phalloorchoalgolagnia), melolagnia, odaxelagnia, sthenolagnia, and urolagnia. I think the construction -lagniac for the person is correct, see algolagniac, for example. I doubt there are commonly used one-word latin terms distinguishing between your particular preferences within vincilagnia from other vincilagniacs. ---Sluzzelin talk 21:22, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Adriana Lima section

Can someone please help me out in this section linked below. A certin member is correcting something that does not need correcting. He is doing a bit of math wrong and putting a wrong date on the page of Adriana Lima as you can see the discussion below http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Adriana_Lima#The_actual_year_Lima_began_modeling_for_VS.3F

US Fiscal Policy

Hi, Does anyone have a link to a website for information on the US fiscal policy with actual figures of what they're spending? I've searched the internet but can't find anything with actual figures. Thanks. 92.2.28.178 (talk) 21:14, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

[7] are all of the CBO publications in the last 90 days. You'll probably find what you're looking for there. I think the first TARP audit is due soon (or maybe was already issued late in the week). NByz (talk) 23:09, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Try this recently created government site: http://usaspending.gov/. I also recommend this site: http://www.washingtonwatch.com/ .—D. Monack ^talk 10:32, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Calf stretches

What are some good calf stretches for those who habitually run on concrete? Anything for the Achilles tendon, tibialis anterior, soleus, gastrocnemius, shins in general, etc. Thanks in advance. --AtTheAbyss (talk) 22:26, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

P.S. I'm running to get in shape for the USMC, so the sooner I can get some good leg stretches, the sooner I can really begin running in earnest. Thanks again.

Runners' advice forums on the Internet will probably offer testimonial advice, although this may not apply in individual cases and you run the risk of being misled especially if you have any undiagnosed or latent musculoskeletal problems. Have you been evaluated by an orthopedist or sports medicine specialist? A qualified coach or physical therapist might be other knowledgeable sources to approach. Considering the demands on a Marine recruit, a health professional's advice at the outset of your training might streamline your achievements and help avoid injury. There's also the issue of suiting the shoe to that surface. -- Deborahjay (talk) 23:14, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Background to this is found in Running and Stretching, and google offering videos, forums, and tips on calf stretching is here[8]. One of the articles suggests varying your preferred running surface (esp if it's concrete) with other types. Julia Rossi (talk) 23:36, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Before beginning a cattle drive, it's good to roust the cattle (each cow, bull, and calf), so they have a chance to mill about for a few minutes and stretch their legs before the drive begins. This ensures that no muscle injuries occur. :-) StuRat (talk) 06:19, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

And if they do, it seems a useful precaution to have calf stretchers handy, so the paramedics may transport the bovines to the vet´s surgery in a comfortable supine position. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 09:45, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I knew a woman who drove 350 miles with a calf in the trunk of her car. When she arrived, it needed considerable cleaning and soothing as well as stretching. Edison (talk) 06:29, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Temple Grandin got her idea for a hug machine from seeing calves put in squeeze boxes though that's the opposite idea. Still it might inspire something? Julia Rossi (talk) 07:46, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

It's probably worth noting that a lot of research lately has called into question the value of stretching before exercise in reducing injury and improving performance. Our article Stretching has something on this, but not much. I'd advise looking through the online archives at nytimes.com. Calliopejen1 (talk) 18:37, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

December 1

colored hall windows

I have recently been noticing that a number of houses in my neighborhood have hall windows with the central pane being clear surrounded on the perimeter of it by smaller square or rectangular colored panes of glass. These windows are either at the bottom or top or both of apparent stairways. The homes probably are all around 100 years old in a small Maine town. What is this style and what is the history of its origins?Janerwwme (talk) 00:30, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

These sound like simple art deco designs. Have a look at these windows, particularly the last. Also [9]. Is the sort of thing you have seen? Gwinva (talk) 01:10, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

CD release concert

Hi. How long usually is a CD release concert? Thanks. ~AH1^(TCU) 00:47, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean a special concert that is given by the artist to mark the release of a CD? In any case, I would say that such concerts could be as long or as short as any other. But if it's a specifically promotional or industry showcase type of concert, it might be shorter than the average concert – maximum of one hour, I should think. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:54, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Or perhaps the OP means a CD of a live concert? There are technical limitations to the CD format which only allows up to 80 minutes of audio recording. If a live concert went on for longer (that's usually the case in my experience), the band/label/publisher will have to decide whether to split the concert over two or more CDs, or to edit the recording to make it fit. There might also be other considerations, such as recording several concerts on a tour and picking the best sounding recording for each song you want on the live album. Astronaut (talk) 19:15, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

i think what is being asked can be answered such, live albums are usually recorded over numerous concerts and are digitally recorded, the crowd noise is faded in at the end and start of the next song, this way they can have a vocalist saying, 'we love you cleveland and the next song is', and the next song is acctually recorded in paris, or hong kong.

If you are asking about promotional concerts in support of new CDs, my experience from shows at Amoeba Records is that they are 30-45 min or so. Calliopejen1 (talk) 18:34, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Proof of EXACT date

Hi. Let's say you made a video recording of some sort, for example a confession from someone, and you needed to prove that the recording was in fact made the exact date it was made. What could you do to prove that it was in fact made that day? Showing a newspaper from that day is a good idea, for example, but it would only prove that the recording wasn't done before that date, and the tape could in fact have been done any day after that one. What would you do to prove the exact date? 190.157.120.42 (talk) 00:48, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Tricky - in the era of video manipulation there's no real way to do this. I would say take a shot of some huge public display that show's the time/date (big digital clock or something) but it would be easy to edit the video then re-record it back onto a tape. Exxolon (talk) 01:02, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

(ec) Digitize the whole thing, get a md5 hash of it, register it with an authority you have no control over that will datestamp it? Mail a copy to a lawyer? If you're limited to just things you can display, you could add elements that would make it unlikely to have been fabricated (walk from multiple newstands to the next, showing the stacks and stacks of newspapers from that day, which makes it more implausible that you have faked it; film a date/time ticker of some major company or government agency that wouldn't likely change it just for your silly video). Another is to actually do something on tape that would be verified externally as having happened that exact day—if you filmed yourself getting arrested, it'd be pretty easy to confirm what day that happened, as an extreme example. ---98.217.8.46 (talk) 01:03, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Tape it on a holiday of some kind that would have verifiable events going on in the background, such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Fourth of July fireworks, or the New Year's Eve Times Square ball dropping. Useight (talk) 03:00, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

The MD5 thing is only going to show you shot recording before a date. It's nots going to show you didn't shoot the thing 2 days or 2 years ago beyond additional clues in the video. Using newspapers etc of course is the reverse (it shows you didn't shoot the thing 2 years ago, but you may have shot it two years from now with todays paper). News stands is a better better then one newspaper but it isn't that hard to fake if you really want to Nil Einne (talk) 14:00, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I heard of some "medium" that had predictions taped in a bank, showing the calendar time and date on their clock in the background. This was to prove that the predictions were real. Unfortunatley from what I remember the spirits were off that day so none of the predictions came to pass. -- Q Chris (talk) 15:35, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I think these are pretty much all the credible ways anyone could come up with to prove the date on a video. Thanks everyone for your great ideas. Kreachure (talk) 23:03, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Showing a newspaper in the video and then mailing a copy to yourself as a registered letter WHICH YOU DO NOT OPEN would be pretty conclusive proof. You couldn't know what the front page of the newspaper would show before you video'ed it - and you couldn't have faked it after the date on which the (unopened) packaged is registered because the post office stamped it with the date. SteveBaker (talk) 06:33, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Question about Mission Impossible episode plausibility

One of my favorite episodes was when they had to convince some ne'er do well for some reason or other that he went back in time. They went to elaborate lengths such as realistic face masks, fake radio stations, and a busy signal when he went to call his dead mother. If you thought you went back in time, wouldnt you do whatever it takes to visit a dead parent if the line was busy? No matter what your plans were for that day? He sure seemed nonchalant about it.

But really,- could this ever be done on any practical level? Are there any declassified documents of the CIA doing such an elaborate psychological ruse?--Sam Science (talk) 03:45, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

The best you could do would be something like The Truman Show, but that's really only plausible if you can trick the subject from birth, and even then it's a stretch. --Sean 15:22, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Did the Ipcress File have a plot something like that? The article doesn't say but I vaguely remember a late-night repeat of the film. If it were LeCarre it might be based on something but Len Deighton? Don't think so... Julia Rossi (talk) 22:23, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

There is a deception like that in the movie (I haven't read the book), but it involves the location, not the date. The character is not free to move about and discover where he is. --Anonymous, 02:43 UTC, December 3, 2008.

You'd have to restrict the victim quite a lot. You couldn't let him/her see modern cars, the internet, or any modern gadgets like iPhones... AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 10:59, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

I heard that the CIA is quite capable of making anyone change thier beliefs, because they realize beliefs are just that- beliefs! No one truly understands how the world is, the world is a stage that we react to, etc. Supposedly Mission Impossible was based on what they were capable of. Anyone else hear of this?Sam Science (talk) 23:53, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Sort of but more by accident, see Japanese holdout. Can't believe I found that on the first try. CambridgeBayWeather Have a gorilla 06:09, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Most educated person

Who by popular caonsensus is normally regarded as the most educated person of our times/of all time?(RNaidu (talk) 10:30, 1 December 2008 (UTC))

There won't be a popular consensus on something like that. It's far too difficult to define precisely, so everyone will get different answers. --Tango (talk) 12:51, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

It's all relative, as in President John Kennedy's subtle compliment to a predecessor and to the guests at a dinner for Nobel laureates (April 29, 1962): "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." --- OtherDave (talk) 14:43, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I personally have partaken of a great many years of college education. Or did you wish to include autodidacts and life experience? The "most educated" person may not be the wisest, most admired, or most successful. Edison (talk) 21:19, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Agree. Or the most notable. Julia Rossi (talk) 22:17, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

"X has 2 PhDs" is a cinema cliché similar to "X speaks 7 languages" for "X is very brainy". In that spirit, one candidate for RNaidu's question is the person with most doctorates, excluding honorary degrees. Yoshiro Nakamatsu apparently has five (engineering, law, medicine, science, and humanities). I thought Albert Schweitzer had four, but though he had Philosophy, Theology, and Medicine he didn't have Music. Of course one should distinguish higher doctorates, research doctorates, and professional doctorates. Deon van Zyl has four doctorates (Dr Jur (Leyden 1970); PhD and LLD (Cape Town 1983 and 1988 respectively); and a D Litt in Latin (Orange Free State 1989)) but in only two fields, as far as I can make out. jnestorius^(talk) 00:20, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Actually I disagree with you Tango, there are several popular consensuses. (People are likely incorrect and their conclusions based on misinformation however.) I’m referring to the human the forms of various deities which are generally considered to be the most educated (or at least most learned) people of all time. This is because in many religions gods, even the human manifestations of gods, are omnipotent. It is impossible to know more than everything, therefore the millions of followers of these religions must consider these people to be the most knowledgeable people of all time. --S.dedalus (talk)

But most knowledgeable is in no way the same thing as most educated. I can't immediately think of an omniscient god that recieved any kind of formal education at all. Algebraist 08:36, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

But by its very definition an omnipotent being knows everything. Therefore an omnipotent being knows what it’s like to receive education. Also, the human manifestations of a god could certainly be “educated” although such education might be slightly redundant. Finally, your definition of educated seems a bit narrow. An educated person need not receive education, as has been pointed out elsewhere in this thread already. --S.dedalus (talk) 04:07, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I think you'd be interested in Polymath. A polymath is someone who is skilled/knowledgable in many subjects, and the article has a list of "recognised polymaths" which goes up to the 1990s. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 10:54, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

What happened after them? And @ 143.44, oops, Algebraist, didn't someone call John Nash a god? Julia Rossi (talk) 12:18, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

I looked up the google and look at what I found: [10] [11] [12] [13] I think the gentleman Ashoka Prasad with 6 earned doctorates should qualify as the most educated person. (Deva 840 (talk) 12:57, 2 December 2008 (UTC))

Having lots of doctorates doesn't mean you're really clever, it just means you've worked in lots of different fields. If you specialise in one field you'll stop collecting certificates on your wall after one doctorate even though you are continuing to publish papers which could easily be turned into several doctoral theses if there was any point in doing so (which there isn't). --Tango (talk) 13:57, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Heck, Sarah Palin went to five different colleges! That's way more than I went to, with my measly specialist (elitist) education. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 14:47, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

To be fair, Deva 840 didn't say "clever". Zain Ebrahim (talk) 18:58, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

True, but my point stands even if you replace "clever" with "well educated". --Tango (talk) 19:26, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

But they said "most educated". Would it really be a terrible stretch of the definition to say that "having the most PhDs" implies "most educated"? Zain Ebrahim (talk) 19:37, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

For the reason stated, yes, it would. Having lots of PhD's means you have a very broad education, that's all. Someone with a narrower, but far deeper, education could be considered just as well educated. --Tango (talk) 19:40, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

As the person whio asked the question,I am somewaht confused.I think holding earned doctorates is a reliable enough an objective parameter of education and 6 earned doctorates it appears would be truly remarkable."Clever" is an incredibly subjective term!

I feel University validation of the highest qualifications like doctorates is valid enough.

The analogy that comes to my mind is describing somebody as religious-easy enough!But to infer that every religious person is humane woudl be a mistake.However I would appreciate more opinions. (RNaidu (talk) 11:49, 3 December 2008 (UTC))

Moses. After all, he spent 40 days and nights receiving personal 1:1 tuition from God. I doubt there's been a better teacher, although some of my teachers definitely thought they were God. --Dweller (talk) 15:00, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

For anyone reading the archives, bear in mind RNaidu and Deva are sockpuppets so it is apparent this question was asked so that Ashoka Prasad could be brought into the discussion Nil Einne (talk) 11:01, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

I take very strong exception to this comment by NilEinne.I have given him a ppiece of my mind for making this allegation-in fact the administrator who agve credence to this scurrilous allegation apologised to me in no uncertain terms within 2 days -and the rest can be seen when you view the talk pages of mine and NilsEinne!!!Trying ot drag his heels he was finally compelled to say he was sorry for calling me a sockpuppett!Still ungracious I feel but I do not commend his act of making an allegation perhaps in good faith as he protests but refusing to be gracious when he is proven wrong.Guess Wipipedia shoudl ahve a policy about this conduct.(Deva 840 (talk) 10:12, 20 October 2009 (UTC))

Three letter combination

Is there any combination of three letters that doesn't lead to an article in wikipedia when you type it in the search box? The three letters shouldn't all be the same. Thanks

My first try: fxx. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 16:13, 1 December 2008 (UTC) Okay scratch that. How about cxv? Zain Ebrahim (talk) 16:14, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

There are many. See Wikipedia:TLAs from AAA to DZZ and related pages. Algebraist 16:25, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Oh, wow! Actually I was trying out various three letter combinations and all of them led to an article, so I got curious. Thanks! =) 124.30.235.62 (talk) 16:30, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

My first (VZS) didn't, but I was trying to make it fail. Steewi (talk) 00:33, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

I was (mildly) surprised that there are some gaps among the two-letter combinations: 6 uppercase-uppercase combinations missing (XH, XQ, XZ, YF, YQ, and ZQ) and 42 red-linked uppercase-lowercase combinations (Hw, Hx, Ih, ...). See WP:2L. ---Sluzzelin talk 17:12, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

how do i make a machine???

Hello i want to build a machine that rolls alon either on wheels or on tracks like a tank and with a tall metal body shaped like a long circular or oval pillar, either with a shiny metal or dulled with hints that there was once a shine on it, and the arms move up and down from hinges on the shoulder but also with hinges ont he elbow and hands or pinchers that can grasp and for the face a big screaming mouth perhaps that opens and closes also eyes which would be for its vision and would also glow, possibly red and it would have many weapons

1. rotating spinning cutting hand pincer 2. spinning cutting saw 3. rattlegun 4. laser from the red eyes

how can i make this machine and how much will he cost and is it safe to make one Raptorkitchin (talk) 16:24, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I think your best bet is to buy one, or if you've got 'good' taste buy a lot and you could make your money back, see Robonut Dmcq (talk) 16:33, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Email Davros and see if he has some extra Daleks hanging around. Phil_burnstein (talk) 17:45, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like you want something like from Robot Wars. The contestants build their own mainly from scraps and washing machine motors, scouting scrapheaps for extras like chainsaws and angle grinders. There is a beginners guide to building robots here, but for best results you should probably join a robotics club; they'll have proper guides and be able to give you the best advice. SN0WKITT3N 18:15, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Then there are kits sold with all the parts to make such a robot (perhaps without the dangerous parts). That might be a good place to start. StuRat (talk) 01:22, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Please make sure that its brain must obey the Three Laws of Robotics. Edison (talk) 06:25, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

To try to actually answer the question - I would suggest that you start with things that already work...get a radio controlled toy car or tank to form your base - get some laser pointers for the eyes - get a battery-operated electric drill for your saw of death. Search eBay for used toys and such that would be closer to what you want. Then it's just a matter of making the body to fit your complicated specifications. For that, you could start off by building a nice solid frame to mount all of these parts on - then make up the body around that. That way, the artistic body making doesn't have to also be structurally rigid, etc. You could probably make the body out of cardboard and Papier-mâché and then make it look metallic by painting it with metallic paint. You could probably get SOMETHING like you're looking for less than $100. But this all depends on your artistic and construction abilities. If you've never built anything remotely like this before - then this is far too complicated to be your first project. You need to start simple and work up. It takes a lot of practice to be able to dive into a project like that with confidence. There are a lot of useful links in Robot combat that you should probably read. I guess something like this does have the potential to be dangerous - but you can take the cutting disk out of the drill - put electrical tape over the laser pointers...that kind of thing. That allows you do do all of your work in safety - and just turn on all of the 'weaponry' when the robot actually goes to work. SteveBaker (talk) 06:22, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Cumming

How do you stop from cumming to fast?

Think of England. 89.240.107.96 (talk) 20:27, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

You mean "think of baseball". The apocryphal "lie back and think of England" relates to an almost diametrically opposite sexual problem. jnestorius^(talk) 23:20, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

We have an article: Premature ejaculation. That may contain some advice or links to advice (I haven't read it). --Tango (talk) 20:57, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

See also Fasting. Edison (talk) 21:15, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

• Edging? = Mgm|^(talk) 00:58, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

When suffering from fast cummings, I suggest stopping to think about which words really should be capitalized. :-) StuRat (talk) 01:18, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

the trick is to stop thinking about your dick. to be quite honest, if you are truly concentrated on giving her pleasure rather than yourself, you will last for hours, this will allow you to both be completely satisfied every time and allow you to clear your mind and think of things other than sex. this is tantra. master it well and it will serve you well.

Alan Cumming? Little Red Riding Hoodtalk 02:04, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

As usual everybody is an expert when it comes(pardon that slip) to sexual dysfunction. The OP has a recognisable medical condition that requires expert attention, not the subjective advice of of random experiences. It is also contravening the RD guidelines to give medical advice. Richard Avery (talk) 08:58, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Would somebody be arrested for practicing medicine without a license for giving out prescriptions ? Yes, so that's medical advice. Would somebody be arrested for giving this type of advice ? No, so it's not medical advice. StuRat (talk) 15:01, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

cummingtonite? DuncanHill (talk) 23:12, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

December 2

US homeownership rates by age AND income?

I can find all sorts of US homeownership statistics - by race, by age, by income, etc etc. For example, it's easy to find the US homeownership rate for people age 20-29 or 25-34, or for people with annual income between $50K and $75K.

But I have not found any statistics for homeownership by age AND income. For example, I would love to locate the homeownership rate for people age 50-59 AND income $50K - $75K, but I cannot find that sort of data.

I imagine that there would be some very interesting numbers in such a grid, but alas I can't find one.

Fear Cause Seizure

Could fear cause a seizure in a person who suffers from epilespy? If so, how great does the fear have to be? [Writing a ghost story and need accuracy]

Thank You

Always Cardinal Raven (talk) 17:02, 2 December 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

I'm no expert, but I once had a friend who would have an epileptic seizure if he was embarrassed by something someone said to him. So not much, it would seem.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 18:04, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Well then the next question then would be: How great of a seizure? Would the person who is having a seizure have a different kind of seizure for different fears? Does fear affect the seizure in any way?

Thank You

Always 18:37, 2 December 2008 (UTC)~Cardinal Raven

Unfortunately, epilepsy is a wide spectrum of poorly understood neurological disorders. We can understand and treat the symptoms, but there is little understanding as to why or how it manifests itself in different people. I have 2 friends with epilepsy, and neither had any known triggers. Seizures for them were random in both occurance and severity. One eventually stopped having seizures, and is now off medication, the other must remain on medication and changes it every few years as one med or another wears off. Lots of people DO have "triggers" that can reliably bring on seizures, however there is no real rhyme or reason to these triggers. For some people it is sensory (such as loud noises, or flashing lights, or things like that) and for others it is emotional. There is simply no way to make broad statements about the kinds of triggers people will have, or the possible connection between the severity of the trigger and the severity of the seizure. Each person's case is completely unique, and each person, in conjuction with their doctors, need to find coping and medication strategies which work in their unique situations. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 20:42, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

160 GB iPod, older charger

Hello, I have a 160 GB iPod and I also have an Apple brand charger from one of the older Firewire iPods. Is it safe for me to use the older charger with the newer iPod? I haven't tried doing that yet. Thank you, LovesMacs (talk) 17:47, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

I don't know of a reason why it wouldn't work. Nothing really changed between the last couple iPod generations as far as the charging port. And Firewire has remained the same. If it were me, I'd give it a go. Don't blame me if it bricks it though. It's your iPod.  :) Dismas|^(talk) 03:58, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I agree that it's probably pretty safe - but I would check to make sure that the charger doesn't get really hot - that might indicate that the new iPod consumes much more power than the old one did. But it's certainly a bit of a gamble...you can never be sure what changed from one generation of hardware to the next. SteveBaker (talk) 06:03, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

HOw do i shot web

I've seen this said on many forums and websites

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Does the UrbanDictionary entry answer your question? Also, always check urbandictionary for questions about slang.--droptone (talk) 20:57, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Yeah I did check that, but it really didn't explain much to me

Looks like it's a question someone (may have) asked about the spiderman game and it ended up becoming an Internet meme. It's basically an example of something a newbie would say when they really don't understand what's going on. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 21:24, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

And can't spell - "shot" appears to be a spelling mistake for "shoot". --Tango (talk) 21:42, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

i thought it was a bad translation problem in a comic book. 71.223.209.11 (talk) 02:38, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

Possible Canadian Government Coalition

Hello! Here in Canada, there is a possibility that the Conservative party government will be defeated in a confidence motion on Monday. The Official Opposition (the Liberal Party) and The New Democratic Party signed an accord yesterday to try and form a coalition government. I was just wondering whether Wikipedia would have an article on this. I tried searching but didn't come up with much. Also, is this the right place to ask this? Thanks, Genius101^Guestbook 20:47, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

2008 Canadian political crisis. Yes :) --Tagishsimon (talk) 20:51, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much! Genius101^Guestbook 20:53, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

The correct answer to this question is "Meh". --Dweller (talk) 15:58, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

SUprisingly, that's actually kind of funny. Thanks for the link! Genius101^Guestbook 20:47, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Lawful reasons for termination of a job in united states of america

Whoop, Wrong area, this belongs in humanities 66.216.163.92 (talk) 01:19, 3 December 2008 (UTC) <gone to humanities>

Publishing a Book

I have a whole lot of material lying around from various projects, so I was thinking about writing a book. More specifically, I was thinking about writing a small book designed to improve higher order thinking with questions, examples and analysis (sort of like a brain teaser book that also teaches). I know that it's pretty hard finding a publisher and editing and what not, so I want to make sure that there are sufficient rewards for doing so. So what would be a reasonable return on a book of this nature?

Also I've written for and edited other's books many times over, but have never actually published a book of my own. So if anyone has any advice on the problems I may encounter that would be great.

Many thanks. Guycalledryan (talk) 23:58, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Are you going to self-publish or submit your work? In POD publishing you bear the costs, the profits and the distribution load; a publisher will give you 10% – see the article Publishing, this section[14] and the rest. For all kinds of articles on the ins and outs of POD, the guy behind Foner Books (google it) is prolific. Julia Rossi (talk) 06:53, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

December 3

How random is the random article feature?

Is it truly random, like if you kept hitting it you wouldn't get a repeat for months? Every single article? All 1,000,000+ of them? If so, how is this achieved? As soon as a page is created does it get thrown into the hopper? --THE WORLD'S MOST CURIOUS MAN (talk) 01:02, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Most probably a Random number generation facility called from PHP, the scripting language of MediaWiki, the software which drives this site. Something like rand working on the set of primary keys for all articles in the wikipedia: namespace. In essence, if you know there are 1,000,000 articles, then rand(1,1000000) will return a random value - say 178982, which happens to be the ID of an article. It is not truly random, but is near enough for rock'n'roll. And there is a possibility that you'll get the same article, but a vanishingly small possibility. --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:11, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

It looks random enough to practice bibliomancy. I asked the oracle whether I should share the power of wiki-divination with the world's most curious man, and the oracle answered with Time is of the essence (not kidding), so... :S ---Sluzzelin talk 01:40, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Funny, because when I do the random article function, its about even money that I get a stub about a French commune, or an article about a single Simpsons episode... --Jayron32.talk.contribs 05:05, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

All I ever get is UK soccer players, mainly English ones. CambridgeBayWeather Have a gorilla 05:58, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

In any random system it's possible to get the same result several times in a row, it's an astronomical chance in a collection as big as Wikipedia though. It may not take "months". And yeah, I usually get some rail station or roadway. "Oh, wow! This road passes through Coddington! No way!" That's why I hardly ever hit the random article link. Dismas|^(talk) 08:18, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Hrm... CambridgeBayWeather's aura must have rubbed off on me a bit. I just tried the link again and got a disambig page followed by an Argentine football player. joy... Dismas|^(talk) 08:21, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I usually get U.S. counties. "Random" seems to have a different meaning depending on who presses the button. -- JackofOz (talk) 08:28, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I used to do the following: choose 10 random articles and try to add or correct something to at least half of them. Anyway, right now I got a US submarine, the current Nepalese presidential election, and Portable DVD player. --Ouro (blah blah) 08:57, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I always seem to get roads and railways too. (And as proof, my first hit just now was Andoversford and Dowdeswell railway station.) Adam Bishop (talk) 09:14, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure Jack's right. I invariably get a little known town/village/county. I just tried five times! Zain Ebrahim (talk) 10:26, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

<-Theoretically, the odds of hitting a particular category is dependant on the number of articles in that category. If there are 10,000 articles in the category little known towns and villages and 10 articles on DVD players, the odds are a thousand to one that you will get another hit on the towns/villages before you get one hit on DVDs. Phil_burnstein (talk) 10:58, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Two sportsmen, two obscure musicians, two counties (Brasil and Poland) and a disambiguation page. No partridges, nor pear trees. Steewi (talk) 23:45, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

For me, it's always Japanese railway stations. There is a phenomenally active group who write about Japanese railway stations. SteveBaker (talk) 05:56, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

See Birthday paradox: you'll start getting repeats much sooner than you expected. --Carnildo (talk) 01:38, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

When I started up my own Wiki (using the same MediaWiki software as Wikipedia) - I initially had just a handful of articles. It was very clear that the system had a very strong bias towards recently created articles. However, that bias gradually went away as the number of articles grew. Somewhere we have a WP: article that talks about the randomess of random-article - and there is some statistical bias that comes about because of the way it works. SteveBaker (talk) 05:56, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

What would be great addition to the random link is a way to see random links based on a topic. Such as random links based on the Mafia, ot The Simpsons, etc... —Preceding unsigned comment added by JelloTube (talk • contribs) 09:06, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

This was discussed about a year and a half ago; the conclusion was that the random article feature was as close as possible to being completely random. See Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 June 17#Wikipedia Random Article. Warofdreams talk 15:46, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Disorder

<moved from the talk desk>

I'm trying to figure out the name of a disease/disorder in which someone believes they have an illness and act as if they're sick, but are really not. I've tried finding it, but have had no such luck. Might anyone know what disease/disorder it is? 74.95.169.158 (talk) 22:39, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

You'd be talking about psychosomatic illness, I suspect. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 23:10, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

And hypochondria. Julia Rossi (talk) 04:47, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

And Munchausen syndrome. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 11:21, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Note that the first is an actual illness caused by the mind, the second is people who just think they're sick, and the last is people who try to fool others into thinking they're sick. StuRat (talk) 14:54, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Weight of Manhattan Island?

How much does Manhattan Island, buildings, average amount of people, cars (basically everything thats possible to be calculated), weigh? How would one go about calculating this? (All I know right now is that the Empire State Building weighs 365,000 tons)

I don't think that there's going to be a statistic on this, simply because it's pretty much impossible to weigh a city. But you could calculate (number of cars in NY * average weight of a car) + (number of citizens of NY * average weight of a person) + concrete + buildings + the gators living in the sewers. And don't forget that it has the Statue of Liberty, too. flaminglawyer^cneverforget 07:03, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

The Statue of Liberty is not on Manhattan Island, it's on Liberty Island. Getting back to the question, you run into a problem due to the issue of, where do you stop measuring? The island is part of a greater land mass, namely the North American continent. So how far down into the earth do you go? Or are you just wanting to calculate the man made bits? The stuff on the island as opposed to the entire island. Dismas|^(talk) 08:14, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

See Fermi problem. You might be interested in William Poundstone's book How Would You Move Mount Fuji?. For this particular problem, I would ignore all the man-made stuff, which is mostly empty space, and just calculate the weight of a volume of earth consisting of Manhattan's area times its average elevation down to sea-level or however deep you want to go. --Sean 13:33, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

My guess is that they want to do exactly the opposite, and only measure man-made structures, cars, and people; thereby excluding the ground below. StuRat (talk) 14:43, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

But some of the most important man-made structures are holes in the ground. Do they count as having negative weight, then? We must know! :-) --Anonymous, 03:14 UTC, December 4, 2008.

Pick it up with a suitable implement (such as a spatula) and then very carefully place the whole assembly on a giant set of scales. Once you deduct the weight of the spatula, you will possess the relevant, if useless, information.

Ah - that's kinda like the "Burn's Hog Weighing Method":

1. Get a perfectly symmetrical plank and balance it across a saw-horse.
2. Put the hog on one end of the plank.
3. Pile rocks on the other end until the plank is again perfectly balanced.
4. Carefully guess the weight of the rocks.

-- Robert Burns

SteveBaker (talk) 05:51, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I THINK THATS THE BEST, MOST PRACTICAL WAY OF SOLVING MY QUESTIONS, THANKS. I'LL BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THAT BOOK, THANKS!

Call up Mayor Amalfi and ask. -Arch dude (talk) 23:50, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

help finding an article

I was bored one day a while back, so I clicked the "Random Article" button. I got sent to an article called John Smith (judge), but instead on John Smith it was somebody's name. I can't remember the name, but I do remember that he got fired from his job as a judge because he mast'bated in his robes in court. Does anyone remember the name of this dude? Yes, I already searched it. flaminglawyer^cneverforget 07:14, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Donald Thompson [15] is mentioned in this random Wikipedia article. He claimed he wasn't masturbating. Fortunately, whatever he was doing seems not to qualify him for a Wikipedia article, or maybe it got deleted.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 10:15, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Was he fired for hiring an inflatable, rubber woman as his bailiff ? StuRat (talk) 14:38, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it was deleted in May 2008 through the proposed deletion system, which theoretically allows anyone to overturn the deletion. I don't see the point though, as the deletion reason seemed sound - he was only notable for one event. Graham87 15:12, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Wow, that's a pathetic reason for deletion. Wouldn't pretty much every assassin be removed on those grounds ? StuRat (talk) 00:59, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

According to trial testimony, it wasn't one event. "At (Donald Thompson's) trial, his former court reporter, Lisa Foster, testified that she saw Thompson expose himself at least 15 times during trial between 2001 and 2003. [16]

Come again? Edison (talk) 22:34, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Does this mean the deletion should be reconsidered? Maybe some sort of record was set. Wanderer57 (talk) 19:46, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

The entire story can be read at these two articles from The Smoking Gun website. Matt Deres (talk) 21:15, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

The Friends' School (Hobart) - TCE French 5C

Does anyone have a copy of the syllabus?--121.223.157.145 (talk) 12:47, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

There are hundreds of Quaker-run schools. Where is this one? --Moni3 (talk) 16:19, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Hobart. TCE stands for Tasmanian Certificate of Education.--121.223.157.145 (talk) 21:52, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

The The Friends' School say they follow the TCE syllabus so I would think that here would be a start. Note that the syllabus expires 31 December. Of course asking The Friends' School or the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority might work as well. CambridgeBayWeather Have a gorilla 23:57, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

What can I get this guy for Christmas?

A friend of mine really likes trains. What kind of gift can I get for this person? The problem is that he's already got calendars of trains and other memorabilia (magazines, collections of timetables from around the world, etc). He also has a serious hobby train set. Does anyone have any suggestions for a train themed gift? I think I might willing to spend about $US 100. I live in Australia.

You can get DVDs filmed in the driver's cab. One or two of those, for some of the great railway journeys of the world, might be nice. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 14:27, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

You may be able to get him parts or accessories he could use with the model train stuff he already has. Knowing what specificially he'd want may be a trick, though. Friday (talk) 14:47, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Get him a ticket to rid the narrow gauge train from Durango to Silverton in Colorado. Train people love that, for some reason. I just got soot in my eye and thought Silverton was really cold. --Moni3 (talk) 14:55, 3 December 2008 (UTC) Moni reads the rest of the post about living in Australia and suggests getting the equivalent of the Durango Silverton train, feeling like a dumbass... --Moni3 (talk) 14:58, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

He's the train expert, you're not. You'd be better off getting him something complementary to his train set, that's not a train. Can you find out what scale his train set is? Get him some trees/houses/shops/sheep/whatever from a hobby shop to place alongside his train set. Ask the shopkeeper for some kind of gift receipt, so your friend can exchange the items if they're inappropriate, assuming he lives nearby. --Dweller (talk) 14:57, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

If you ever get to travel, you could buy a freight car or engine that is unique to that place. There are (or rather, were) many local and regional rail companies with their own logos and paint schemes, and these are sometimes reproduced in model size. That would certainly be a unique gift. You would have to find out what specific model train scale your friend has to make sure your gift is compatible. Buying an engine would probably be more costly and difficult due to potential voltage differences (if you are thinking about other countries). I don't know how much this would cost, because I'm not into trains myself.

A safer idea is to buy a gift card or certificate for whatever store your friend frequents for his train supplies. LovesMacs (talk) 15:05, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad] suggestion gave me another idea: there must surely be historical train routes in Australia. You could get a ticket for one of those. LovesMacs (talk) 15:34, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

We have a list of heritage railways in Australia. Marco polo (talk) 23:27, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I still have a lot of fun with Microsoft Train Simulator. CambridgeBayWeather Have a gorilla 00:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I always liked the Railroad Tycoon series of games, but I preferred to design the railroads rather than drive the trains... --Jayron32.talk.contribs 14:06, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Buy him chocolate; seriously. Buying him a train item is going to be like buying a surgeon a scalpel -- likely to be either redundant or the wrong kind, but everyone loves chocolate. --Sean 14:17, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

It depends on where in Australia your friend lives and what kind of rail buff he is. However, if it was me I would consider a trip on The Ghan. Some short one-way trips can be booked for less than AUD$150 if you book long enough in advance and are happy with the "no refunds, non-transferable" terms & conditions (talk to you friend first). As others have pointed out, there are some smaller (and presumably cheaper) heritage railways in many states. Astronaut (talk) 18:48, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

a blowjob :)Perry-mankster (talk) 22:31, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

forbidden question

Hi, two closely related queries. What is the original version of the quote, "That which is not forbidden is mandatory"? And who said it first? It's difficult to google for as I can't remember the exact phrasing and there is a lot of noise. 79.72.158.175 (talk) 21:33, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

It does not show up in online collections of quotations I checked. In most contexts, it does not make sense, because many nonforbidden things would be unpleasant and unproductive. I read of a couple whom the sheriff in a rural caught inhaling the fumes of dog poop heated in a metal box. The sheriff said he checked all the law books at the courthouse and could find no law forbidding the practice. But that did not automatically make it compulsory. (The sheriff said he could think of no punishment worse than the original offense, so he just let them go on their way). The Dirac equation has 2 solutions which make sense in terms of electron spin, but there are 2 more solutions which imply negative energy. So a recent book about Dirac says "In quantum physics, generally "that which is not forbidden is mandatory." I expect it comes from modern physics or cosmology, in the mid 20th century. Edison (talk) 22:21, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

I've certainly heard the phrase used in particle physics to describe particle interactions and decays - if there is no law forbidding a given particle from decaying into a given combination of other particles then if you watch enough of those particles for long enough, eventually such a decay will happen. I've also heard the phrase in other contexts to refer to extremely strict laws (either a country's laws or a religion's), but I can't remember the details. --Tango (talk) 22:25, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Strangely, the first use of a similar phrase I found at Google Scholar was from a medical perspective in the Journal of the Kentucky Medical Association, 1983: "Anything not forbidden is mandatory" by D.L. Stewart. In the world of physics, many uses of the phrase turn up after 1996, where Jorge.L. Lopez and D.V. Nanopoulos used it in Modern Physics Letters: "Of course, Einstein was misinformed, although on the other hand, since 'whatever is not forbidden is mandatory' one can say that he acted in a physically reasonable way." But note that they placed it in quotes as if it were a well known axiom or a truism. Edison (talk) 22:33, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

A similar phrase "everything not forbidden is compulsory." is in the book The Once and Future King. Wikiquote attributes Murray Gell-Mann. SN0WKITT3N 22:34, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

The context I heard it in (if I remember right) was an anthropological study (or a study of a study, or something along those lines) of tribal cultures with very rigid laws and traditions, and it was treated as a quote from somewhere else. The physical usage is an interesting surprise! 79.72.158.175 (talk) 22:35, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

A work by the same name is used as a reference in Biopunk and is listed under Katz's other publications. CambridgeBayWeather Have a gorilla 23:47, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

The Totalitarian principle discusses the version of the phrase with "compulsory". Warofdreams talk 12:50, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Number of articles

Is there a way of determining the number of articles we have about some "kind of thing" (which sounds a bit like a category). Eg how many articles about "people" or "live people" or "birds" or "types of car" etc. You can see the category of course, but "category:people" returns "28 subcategories + 4 people" rather than "123456 people". -- SGBailey (talk) 23:34, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

There are various tools on the toolserver such as categorycount which can count articles in a category and its subcategories. --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:41, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

December 4

Ground transportation from Newark/EWR

How long does it take to get from Newark Intl Airport/ EWR to Penn Station via AirTrain Newark and New Jersey Transit? We're talking about afternoon/early evening of a weekday (start: probably 4:30-ish or later). Thanks! Thanks for answering (talk) 01:28, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

You will wait up to 3 minutes for the AirTrain. Depending on your terminal, it will then take you about 10 minutes to reach the NJ Transit station. You will then wait up to 20 minutes for a New York bound train, which will take a little under 30 minutes to reach Penn Station. Total elapsed time: 40–63 minutes depending on your wait times. Marco polo (talk) 01:59, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

How would one have built his own home in the 1920s?

Yes, it's me again, with family history inspiring another query, because the relatives living are still a bit young to know details.

I know that my great-grandfather built the house he and his family lived in - and where my great-uncle still resides - in the early 1920s. History says he built it "himself." (This, BTW, would be in a city of about 120,000, not rural but not huge, either.) It has a basement, which I'm perhaps most curious about of all.

How would one do this. If I ever hear from the one living there now, he might have some clue, but I was wondering if any of you knew any links that would tell how homes were built then. Obviously, it's different from today; not near as many contractors, permits, etc., but to build a house singlehandedly, especially digging a basement as part of it, seems like a lot of work. Especially since they didn't have the backhoe and other bg equipment yet. Would it have been mroe similar to a barn raising like one would see in rural areas?

Thanks in advance; this reference desk is really nice.Somebody or his brother (talk) 02:20, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Are you sure that "built it himself" means "did all the work?" Not to doubt your family story, just to point out that what that phrase means is not the same from one person to the next. My brother-in-law built his house, too -- and did a good deal of the custom carpentry himself. He did not pour the foundation by hand; he didn't do all the plumbing with his two hands; essentially he was his own general contractor. Yours could have, of course; I'm just saying people tend to remember impressions more than facts. IN a city of 120,000 (definitely not "rural" in 1920) he could easily have swapped labor with others, or hired cheaply to dig a basement. --- OtherDave (talk) 02:33, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

It's entirely possible. My spouse's great-uncles hand-dug a basement for their mother with buckets and shovels decades after the house had been built. Just takes perseverance - my brother-in-law a couple of years ago hand-dug graves in old cemeteries where equipment couldn't be used and a 6 foot by 6 foot by 3 foot hole could be dug in several hours. Rmhermen (talk) 02:55, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I have a family member who bought and build a Sears Catalog Home sometime around the 10s or 20s. I know they were relatively popular in certain rural areas of Saskatchewan.NByz (talk) 05:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

If he had experience as a carpenter, electrician, plumber, excavator, roofer, mason, and concrete installer, then he might have "built it himself." But many parts of erecting a structure require multiple sets of hands. I sincerely doubt that one person, unaided, erected the house described under the circumstances specified, unless he was Superman or Popeye on Spinach. Maybe he was the carpenter and general contractor. Edison (talk) 05:51, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Building your own home normally involves bringing in people to do specialized work and just being there to provide grunt help, or not even that if you're rich. I helped build my parents home which they designed themselves and we had people in for all stages. For me it involved lots of hard work carrying up buckets of cement and things like that. Things like plastering for instance really need an expert and it has to be inspected at various stages. Dmcq (talk) 14:49, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Having all that experience isn't that uncommon, even now. My father, grandfather, great-grandparents each built at least one home including doing at least part of every kind of work involved. Perhaps those living in large cities are less familiar but where I grew up working on your house was as common as working on your car or your barn or your tractor. It is a fair point that several jobs usually require more than one set of hands but even log cabins have been built by a single person. Rmhermen (talk) 18:48, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Good free chess computer game?

What the title says. I don't want to buy Vista but I feel left out that everyone at my school can play ches son their laptops, lol. 67.169.56.73 (talk) 02:55, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Well, there's always chess.com. Useight (talk) 04:50, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

GNU Chess is open-sourced - so it's free - and it's actually a pretty strong program. It's unusual in that the interface for the player is super-crude. You type in a move - it prints its move. No graphics - nothing. However, it's designed so that other programs can provide the graphics and fancy point'n'click stuff. There are MANY programs that do the job of providing graphics for GNU Chess...under Windows, you'd probably want to use WinBoard. In fact, there are literally dozens of 'chess engines' that use the same interface as GNU chess - so you can generally pick the 'engine' that you like and pair it up with the user interface you like to make your own setup. Our article Chess engine says that there are HUNDREDS of chess engines to choose from - and lists a couple of dozen of them.

Crafty is a pretty good chess engine (and it also works with WinBoard) - it has an Elo rating of 2608 - which means that if it was a human, it would be one of the top 500 players in the world. SteveBaker (talk) 05:38, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

College football

Current African American quarterbacks in college football— Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.43.65.254 (talk • contribs)

What about them? If you look at all of college football (Div IA, IAA, II, III and NAIA), there are literally hundreds of them. Even in Division IA (can't bring myself to use the rediculous new name), there are probably dozens. What is your question about them? --Jayron32.talk.contribs 05:39, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

If you required a name of a current black quarterback in college, then Juice Williams of Illinois.--droptone (talk) 12:40, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Or Russell Wilson at NC State or Tyrod Taylor at VaTech or a whole bunch of others... --Jayron32.talk.contribs 14:03, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Daryll Clark at Penn State was under-appreciated this year. But Droptone is right, Juice Williams was definitely the most popular in 1A.NByz (talk) 19:36, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Relationship of Siblings

"Jacks" parents divorced and his dad married "Jacks" mother's sister. Two more sons were born during the second marriage. What would be the correct genealogical method to categorize the relationship between "Jack" and the two brothers?Ilprairie (talk) 06:24, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

• Besides half-brothers, they'd also be cousins. - 131.211.211.5 (talk) 08:10, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

131 is correct; Jack and the other two boys (Mack and Zack) share a grandparent (the parent of the mother and her sister) and so are cousins. I'd say the half-sibling relationship, through the boys' father, is a closer one than cousin, though. Tangentially, the article on I'm My Own Grandpa managed not to include the lyrics. --- OtherDave (talk) 13:55, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

We had a similar situation in my family. Two of my mom's brothers each married a mother and daughter. That made the older brother both uncle and (step)-grandfather to his younger brothers children. To be WAY confusing, the younger brother's kids call the older brother "grandpa" and my grandmother (i.e. the mother of BOTH brothers) "grandma". Of course, that also made my grandmother both the "grandparent" and "greatgrandparent" of the same children. These kids are both my first cousins (unremoved) and my first cousins once removed, at the same time. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 14:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

For a similar situation in popular culture, see I'm My Own Grandpa -- 128.104.112.113 (talk) 22:11, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Trans-Canda-Highway Toronto

1. How come the Trans-Canada-Highway doesn't go through Toronto, Canada's largest City, but goes through small virtually unknown villages? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.247.0.42 (talk) 14:19, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I don't know about this highway in particular, but the general reason is that local traffic in those cities would slow down people who are just trying to drive straight through. Thus, the main highway bypasses major cities and a spur or loop connects the main highway to the big cities. (Those spurs or loops do still get bogged down with traffic at rush hour, but the main highway remains clear.) A secondary reason is that it's easier to obtain land for the highway far from major cities. StuRat (talk) 15:02, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I would suspect that it is because Toronto is located deep in southern Ontario, well off the east-west route across Canada. In order to pass through Toronto, the Trans-Canada Highway would approach Toronto along the shore of Lake Ontario. (Looking at the current map, I'd guess that you'd head southwest on Highway 35 from the existing Trans-Canada in Peterborough, and follow Highway 401 west into Toronto.) On reaching Toronto (from the east), the new route would then have to take a sharp right turn north in order to get around Lake Huron and Georgian Bay (not to mention the U.S. state of Michigan). It would lengthen the route by at least a couple of hundred kilometers. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:29, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

There is another important reason. Quebec and Ontario both have large and extensive provincial highway networks (the Quebec Autoroutes and the 400-seriesKings Highway respectively). The western provinces lack these extensive road networks, so there was a much more pressing need for a uniform long-distance route. In Quebec, Autoroute 20 and in Ontario, Highway 401 already serve these purposes. Canadian federal services tend to focus on the western provinces rather than on Quebec and Ontario; as the population density of those provinces means that they are more likely to provide their own services; for example the RCMP doesn't provide provincial level law enforcement in Ontario (where the OPP handles it) or in Quebec (where the SQ does). Canada, like the US, is a federal system, which means that, being a seperation of powers between federal and provincial governments, there are jursidictional issues as to why some things occur one way in some provinces but not in others... --Jayron32.talk.contribs 21:11, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Looking at the tiny map in our Trans-Canada Highway article, it looks like the southernmost branch goes closest to Toronto near the town of Sunderland, Ontario, approximately 100 km away. StuRat (talk) 22:38, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

It sort of does, since Yonge Street eventually connects to it. That is, you can drive from the edge of Lake Ontario all the way to the end of the TCH without really leaving the road. Adam Bishop (talk) 01:54, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

If you're driving across Canada, you only have a few choices for the 24-hour drive across Ontario. One of them is Highway 7, which actually joins Highway 12 a little north of Sunderland (10 minutes north of Saintfield, where I used to live!) and heads north to meet Hwy. 11 / Yonge St. north of Lake Simcoe, thence to North Bay and the big trek through Northern Ontario, where all the trucks go. The other choice is to follow Hwy 17 up the Ottawa River valley, through North Bay and Sudbury, over to the Soo, then all the curvy way around the shore of Lake Superior, up and down some pretty impressive hills. Those are your choices, there ain't no more.

In any case, the Trans-Canada highway was made for driving across Canada, so there's no need for the detour down to Toronto. And as noted, southern Ontario had a well-developed road network long before the TCH. Franamax (talk) 02:24, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

How much money does a Russian Citizen need to have on them when visiting the United Kingdom?

Hello, I was wondering if anybody could advise me how much money a Rusian Citizen needs to be able to show at border control in order to be allowed to visit Britain on a Visitors Visa? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chrissie11000 (talk • contribs) 17:51, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I suggest you contact the relevant authority to enquire (details here). From my interpretation of what it says on that site (which could easily be wrong), you shouldn't need to show actual cash, but you may need to show you have access to sufficient funds for your visit (a bank statement, for example - you'll have had to show the same evidence when applying for your visa, just have that with you). --Tango (talk) 18:12, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

The British embassy in Moscow should be your first point of contact - address here. As Tango said, I doubt you would need to show cash (though you will need to pay the Visa fee), but evidence of your intent to return home to Russia (eg. a return plane ticket) and sufficient funds to support your stay is usually all that is needed. Astronaut (talk) 21:31, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Josh sticks

I would like to know if josh sticks are harmfull to breath in especially for children? I know if they were harmfull they would proberly not be sold but if that was the case then cigarettes would not be sold too. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.235.138.149 (talk) 19:16, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I'd have thought it most unlikely that joss stick smoke would not have carcinogenic substances in it. I do not know that for certain. If so, they pose a risk to anything around them that breathes. I don't know of any work that's been done to quantify the risk. --Tagishsimon (talk) 19:47, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Smoke in general is not a good thing to breathe, with the cancer risk (see polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) being one reason, but far from the only one (see particulate and carbon monoxide). On the other hand everyone breathes some smoke — you have to keep these things in perspective. For me personally, I would not expose myself to it on a regular basis (and certainly wouldn't want it around kids on a regular basis) but it wouldn't keep me from going into the home of someone who used it on an occasional basis. That's just my personal risk assessment and is not based on any specific knowledge of this particular kind of smoke. --Trovatore (talk) 22:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I don't know of any studies related to medical effects of incense on children. In most things moderation is a key. It is almost certain that an excess of incense would be bad for small children. I can't comment on the risk of a low key usage. Steewi (talk) 00:24, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

December 5

Why do conservatives tend to favor regressive taxes?

Why do many conservatives tend to have an affinity for regressive taxes? e.g sales taxes, especially on food and rent, or combining a property tax cut with a sales tax hike (which makes all renters worse off)

Fiscal conservatism (traditional 'republicanism', or 'right-wing thinking')in the United States is associated with supply-side economics and traditional and strict laissez faire policies. They believe that the least government involvement is the best way to lead to economic growth, which will, in turn, make everybody better off. That means that any tax levied should be "non-distortionary"; it shouldn't influence people's behavior. A progressive tax system tends to produce a distortion; it more highly discourages the next unit of output from the 'most productive' people (the people who are able to draw the highest wages). People who follow this ideology would prefer a "flat tax," (considering the net effect of sales, income, investment and other taxes) all else being equal.

Sales taxes are definitely regressive. But when put together with a progressive income tax, they may just end up flattening the whole marginal taxation curve. Even a 'flat tax' is progressive if there is a 'basic amount' that isn't taxable. The average tax rate goes up with income (even if the marginal tax rate stays flat).

The way I look at the battle between left and right is as one between equity and efficiency. There are plenty of 'equity' or 'equality'-based arguments that throw wrenches in the right-wing ideologies as the best means of 'increasing total utility' (a word for "happiness" or "usefulness"). For example, clearly a dollar of income is marginally more valuable to a low-income person than a high-income person. The condition for maximum utility, however, is that everyone's marginal utility be the same as everyone else's. This suggests that the best way to maximize total utility is for everyone's income to be the same. A supply-sider would say that situation would discourage further production and economic growth and make future generations (or future years for this generation) worse-off than they otherwise could be. Naturally, the only solution to this problem is to find out 1) by how much a progressive reform will reduce future production and 2) find out at what 'discount' or 'interest' rate we discount that future utility loss back to present value, and 3) set the "present value of the future loss of utility" equal to the "current gain in utility" that the progressive reform causes.

There is also the idea that income disparity leads to a system that is best described using a 'Class model' (lower class, middle class, upper class) where only the upper classes have access to the education needed to become that 'most highly productive worker,' resulting in other labour allocation inefficiencies.

It's best to not make judgments on potential policies based on any sort of underlying ideology. Rather, it's best to consider each from cost-benefit "present value of all future utility" point of view.

The progressivity of sales taxes can also be improved by exempting or zero-rating food, shelter and other basic goods.NByz (talk) 00:46, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

NByz is right to an extent, but I think it represents a particular world and moral view as well as an economic one. If the extreme of the economic left-wing is "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" (a quote from Marx. Not accusing anyone of being Communist before you get all crazy) then the extreme of the right-wing would be "From each in his ability to each in his ability." Morally, the right wing beleives that one should be deserving of what they receive as measured by its usefulness to society. Ayn Rand (a laissez faire fanatic) said "Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

The question for many on the right is what is more just. Should someone who does a job that society doesn't value (a low paying job) contribute less to the upkeep of the government than someone who does a job that society values more? A person with right wing ideology would say no and would probably even prefer a user pays system. If the rich person eats well and gets lots of exercise why should they subsidise the extra healh care costs of the poor person? A flat "living in society" tax would be the ideal extreme right-wing tax. It does not discourage extra (marginal) consumption or production and it represents the equal rights/responsibilities of people within society. Of course such a tax would be unrealistic, but idealogically it represents the pure right-wing (and is certainly a "regressive tax")

Jabberwalkee (talk) 02:24, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

Buses in my city travel 100+/mph

How can I stop these crazy things? I think the drivers are all mad at thier Xs or something cause they sure bring out the ol' leadfoot. I aint lookin for no legal recourse here, and wouldnt get advice from y'all nohow. Are those things that the cops use to kill engines available to the public?--Sunburned Baby (talk) 01:10, 5 December 2008 (UTC)