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August 16

Enterprise

I thought that I watched every episode of Star trek the next generation before moving on to deep space 9 but now that I am on season they keep mentioning what happened to the enterprise and how it was destroyed. Can any one please enlighten me as to what happened to the enterprise? was Piccard okay? And what about Data? Basically, what happened in the last episode of the next generation? Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.145.145 (talk) 01:10, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

The Enterprise-D was destroyed in the film, Star Trek Generations. They could have been referring to that. It wasn't destroyed in the last episode of the TV series (that episode ends with Picard sitting down with the other senior officers to play poker in Riker's quarters). --Tango (talk) 01:17, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

There's a timeline on Memory Alpha that may also help. There are four Next Generation films which take place in various times during the other series. Vimescarrot (talk) 01:24, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

You should also note that DS9 and TNG ran concurrently for a few seasons, so that's something to be aware of. Aaronite (talk) 03:25, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Haha, I'm on similar quest right now (but ahead of you) and I noticed the same thing. Yeah, it's the movies they are talking about. TomorrowTime (talk) 08:31, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

But if you're wondering whether Data is okay, you probably shouldn't watch Nemesis... Adam Bishop (talk) 15:48, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

You probably shouldn't watch Nemesis anyway :) TomorrowTime (talk) 16:17, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

The odd/even StarTrek movie rule definitely doesn't apply to Nemesis. It's the tenth movie - sadly, we now have to consider 10 to be an odd number because it was a truly terrible movie. SteveBaker (talk) 01:19, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Didn't like II or IV. II bugged me because it ruined the upbeat ending of the TOS episode Botany Bay whoops, apparently it was called Space Seed. IV was too much about Roddenberry's politics, which are quite different from mine (I like Babylon 5 and Firefly a lot). It did have a few good lines though — "Take me to nuclear wessels!".

But I liked First Contact reasonably well, mainly for the character of Zefrem Cochrane and the individual-inventor source of the warp drive. --Trovatore (talk) 01:28, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

IV was about not driving humpback whales to extinction. It's not exactly controversial politics... --Tango (talk) 02:08, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I didn't mean the whales, per se. --Trovatore (talk) 02:10, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I am not so sure Tango. If you were to plot the humpback whale population against the standard of living in the USA, you would find a pretty good correlation showing the standard of living increases as the humpback whale population decreases. Therefore, killing all humpback whales will solve all the problems in the USA. Googlemeister (talk) 13:36, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Then what did you mean? It's all about whales... --Tango (talk) 15:35, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

It struck me as anti-capitalist withal. --Trovatore (talk) 19:16, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

What, and you only noticed this now? Think about it - obliteration of money, working in order to better oneself and contribute to the society... The whole idea of society in Star Trek is a highly idealized form of communism, FFS. The whole series is a leftist fairy tale. I mean, c'mon, the only major species that "still" uses money is portrayed as runty, greedy, untrustworthy, lustful, abhorrent and slug-and-bug-eating. TomorrowTime (talk) 19:35, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Well, you're treating the whole canon as one thing, which is probably unjustified. The original series was not quite so blatant on this point (though I do remember being struck by it in the episode where the spy disguised as an Andorian was fomenting discord among delegates discussing accession to the Federation of some little planet, the reason being apparently that it would interfere with mining interests). But it was very front-and-center in movie IV, which is why I didn't like that one very much. --Trovatore (talk) 22:19, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Well yeah, you're right, I did commit the fallacy of encompassing the whole canon into this. But I did take the time in the meanwhile to watch the movie again (I did like it, after all), and I must say I'm not sure what bugged you so much. The only thing that could be seen as anti-capitalistic in the movie was, IMO, the brief scene where Kirk figures that "well, in this barbaric time they still used money, we should get some, I'll go sell my glasses". I'd be interested to know what it was that didn't sit well with you. (Bear in mind, I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I'm just a curious European lefty interested in an exchange of opinions.) TomorrowTime (talk) 23:13, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm equally confused. Star Trek generally is anti-capitalist, certainly, but The Voyage Home isn't particularly so. As you say, there is one mention of "they still use money", but that's all I can remember. --Tango (talk) 23:29, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't remember exactly. It was a long time ago. That was the impression I remember coming away with. --Trovatore (talk) 00:40, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

The whole business about whether money exists or not is a mess - there is an episode of TNG where people from our time are frozen and resurrected and Picard explains that money doesn't exist anymore - yet the Deep Space 9 episodes are full of wheeling and dealing over "gold pressed latinum" - which appears to function precisely like money - and not just for the Farengi. They are continually talking about how the bar makes money and how much they charge for access to their holodecks. Even in TOS, there are cases where money most certainly exists. (like in "The trouble with tribble" where traders sell tribble to the Enterprise crew). IMHO, the writers simply lost series continuity at some point. The best spin you could probably put on it is that in the future you can get the basics of life without needing money - and perhaps that money isn't needed on board the Enterprise. But in a world with ubiquitous holodecks and replicators - it seems that almost anything you could want in life is just a matter of having a suitable power source. SteveBaker (talk) 03:55, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Nicely summarized. But my issue isn't so much money or not-money. It's more what takes its place (assuming scarcity has not truly been overcome). Is it a centralized command structure? The original series is set on a military vessel, so you'd hardly know.

But my differences with Roddenberry show up nicely in Andromeda, where the heroes are trying to rebuild a central state. That's not something my heroes would be likely to do. That's why I'm more at home with Firefly, where, tellingly, the good guys are "The Independents" and the bad guys are "The Alliance". --Trovatore (talk) 06:56, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

The money thing is also explained (more fully, I think) in First Contact, when Picard is describing it to Lily. I think the point is that Earth and other parts of the Federation don't typically use money, but could acquire some if they needed it; although handily enough for the plot, gold-pressed latinum is supposed to un-replicatable. (And wouldn't you know it, Memory Alpha has an article about Star Trek economics.) Adam Bishop (talk) 18:49, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Actually, the solution is that the definition of "Star Trek movie" is functional, not nominal. Paul (Stansifer) 15:21, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

History of longcase clock I own

I have a small longcase clock with a brass face or dial and the name "Thos Wainwright Ashbourne" on the top. It is an 8 day clock with two key holes. Can you help me with the history of the clock and of Thos Wainwright of Ashbourne, in England. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.181.99.121 (talk) 05:44, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Page 8 of this PDF gives some information on Wainwright. Dalliance (talk) 09:13, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

It's all in the mind... and the location

Is there a disease which only manifest itself when one is placed on a specific area or induced with a specific type of stress? I just read a business magazine article where a guy suddenly develops a rash when he is placed on an area where he has to handle financial responsibilities like his workplace. He seems to consider money and power as evil or something so that seems to be the trigger. The problem seems to be all in the mind since he was reported to be successful and healthy outside the area of finances.--Lenticel ^(talk) 06:07, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't have a specific answer for you but our article on Psychosomatic medicine has a section for disorders which may be of interest. Dismas|^(talk) 07:15, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

There are cases of "school denial syndrome" in Japan (or sth like that, I don't think that's a proper English expression) - kids can get so wound up by the stress of going to school (exams, bullying, generally not fitting in with the rest of the crowd, stuff like that) that they actually throw up every morning when they are told it's time to go to school. And yes, it's considered an actual problem, not just some lazy brats' way of trying to wiggle out of having to go to school. TomorrowTime (talk) 08:37, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

School phobia which is actually a redirect. Sussexonian (talk) 19:31, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Laurence Olivier comes to mind here. It sounds crazy, but for some years during the latter part of his career he experienced severe and debilitating stage fright, but there was never a problem with the other public appearances he made during this time. I don't know whether he had visible physical symptoms, or internal feelings of fear, dread etc. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 09:27, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

NHL goaltender Glenn Hall supposedly threw up before each game. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:39, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

A few years ago when I found myself working under a bullying and procedure-violating Line Manager, I used to throw up most mornings before driving to work, so it's not a problem confined to schoochildren! (For interest, I stuck it out until his (and the overall Site) Manager (who refused to initiate the complaints procedure over this) was fired for various incompetencies, and he himself simultaneously left for another company having anticipated his own dismissal.) (87.81 posting from . . .) 87.82.229.195 (talk) 11:00, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

There are of course many physical stresses that can make one sick or worse. They include Frostbite, Heatstroke, Drowning and even more unhealthy things such as Crushing by elephant. Being in a location that prompts remembering or imagining such experiences causes unhealthy mental stress.Cuddlyable3 (talk) 11:27, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

An unwritten rule of the refdesk: If possible, always try to find a way to work one of the following two links into an answer: "crushing by elephant", "Japanese toilet" :) TomorrowTime (talk) 11:41, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Identity of torch bearer

The schedule of the Junior Youth Olympic Flame route states that Pal Schmitt was to be a torch-bearer at this stretch of road called Church Street. The man in the photo is definitely a torch-bearer, because his uniform is unique only to torch-bearers. However, I cannot confirm if this is really Pal Schmitt.

Can anyone identify the person? --TVBdxiang (Talk) 10:29, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Well, the man in the photo certainly doesn't look like the 68 year old man with grey hair that our Pal Schmitt article shows. Dismas|^(talk) 10:56, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

I was about to suggest you ask User:Tdxiang, who took that photo ... --Sean 18:41, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

It's perfectly possible that this is either the person who will hand the torch on to Pal Schmitt - or who will take over the run when Schmitt is done. I'm sure they practice the hand-offs before the actual event. If you have details about the flame carriers, I'd definitely check the previous and subsequent bearers. SteveBaker (talk) 00:39, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

It's certainly not him; here is a picture of him at the time.

The participants are listed here; I tried Googling up some of the names, but haven't found anyone who looks like this chap yet.  Chzz  ►  06:33, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Could it be Zsolt Gyulay? See [1] [2] (on right) and Google for more.  Chzz  ►  06:51, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

economic benefit from debit cards

How does the government of a country benifit from DEBIT CARDS? Let me clarify that I'm talking about DEBIT CARDS specifically and not CREDIT CARDS. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rajat hira (talk • contribs) 15:15, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but it saves some money for Bureau of Engraving and Printing.(Or its counterparts in other nations)

It probably makes law-enforcement easier to have traceable transactions. APL (talk) 16:01, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

It also makes economic activity easier - you don't need to have money on you to have money on you (that is physical cash is somewhat redundant). It likely increases efficiency for businesses - they spend less time maintaining their accounts as it is electronic activity with built in automation compared to the more time-consuming dealing with cash-transfers and so on. It also makes banks more efficient and, whilst not favoured at the moment, banks make huge amounts of money and pay large amounts of corporation tax / lend-money to small busineses etc. ny156uk (talk) 16:23, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Aside from not printing cash and minting coins, I can't see any other way, since the government doesn't run debit cards; the banks and credit companies do. Aaronite (talk) 16:49, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

What do you mean by the government benefiting? Assuming we are talking about legitimate democratic governments, then they don't try and benefit the government, they try and benefit the country. Debit cards benefit the country because they make it much easier to engage in economic activity (which is generally a good thing - a trade is (assuming no inefficiencies like one party having incomplete or false information) a win-win scenario for the two parties). --Tango (talk) 17:17, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

As noted above, the ease of use of debit cards can be expected to increase economic activity. Transactions are securely recorded, so they can also be expected to reduce tax evasion. Debit cards also can be expected to reduce counterfeiting and crimes involving the use of currency, although this may be a limited benefit because (1) currency is still in use, and therefore these crimes can still occur, and (2) there are corresponding crimes involving debit cards, such as fraud and identity theft. A major offsetting consideration, from the government's point of view, is that debit cards give it no opportunity for seigniorage, the difference between the value of a dollar bill and what it costs the government to print it. John M Baker (talk) 17:35, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Being charged a debit card overdraft will increase the profits of the bank, and those profits are taxed. Googlemeister (talk) 18:23, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Our article on the broken window fallacy might be relevant here. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 20:43, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Not applicable in this case since we are not talking about a benefit to the economy overall, just a benefit to the government. The glazier benefits from broken windows, even if everyone else suffers. Googlemeister (talk) 13:33, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

That is only if he is incapable of any employment other than glazing. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:45, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

If there hadn't been a bank charge (and an associated, taxable bank profit) the original purchaser could have used his money to buy additional goods and services from other non-bank companies who would have profited and been taxed in their turn. In other words, some of the profit and associated tax burden was shifted from the widget supplier to the bank; you've not made a convincing case that the government coffers are any further ahead. The example you offered didn't indicate how the bank charges improved the overall output of the economy, and so don't demonstrate how overall there would be more for the government to tax. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:00, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

He could just have easily not spent it at all though, or spent it on a product from a non-profitable company in which case the (federal) government does not benefit (assuming the person is not on welfare I guess).

San Francisco Chronicle article by John Wasserman entitled "Very Very Terry Terry"

I'm looking for an article by John Wasserman written in 1967 or 1968 about a grand opening at Ghirardelli Square in which the band The Who and Neighbr'hood Childr'n is mentioned. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.185.13.170 (talk) 18:16, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

We have an article about him under his fuller name of John L. Wasserman, which mentions that he was an entertainment critic for the San Francisco Chronicle (whom you could try contacting, and who might be able to sell you a copy) and that a book incorporating many of his articles (see the end of our article for details) has been published that might include the one you want. The existence of this volume reduces the likelihood of the article being available free on the internet. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 19:39, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

As with your last question on this topic, your best strategy might be to contact the San Francisco Chronicle directly. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 20:41, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

You're better off calling your local library; newspapers aren't generally in the business of looking up 40-year-old articles for people, although some do offer such a service for a fee. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:33, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

August 17

Proposed UK responce to nuclear attack after Trident

What is the proposed responce of the UK if a rogue state (and in time all or nearly all states could have the technology) explodes a nuclear missile in or over London, if Trident was no longer available? Write them a very stiff letter of complaint? 92.28.247.204 (talk) 09:26, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Proposed by whom? The UK has the third largest military expenditure of any state in the world, so it would have a large number of potential responses to any attack. If the question is intended rhetorically, bear in mind that, to date, the only state to have exploded a nuclear weapon agressively is the United States, that most states, including Western European ones, do not maintain a nuclear capacity, and that in an actual event of this type, it may be far from clear who is responsible for an attack or, if it is an organisation, where would be an appropriate target for a nuclear response. Warofdreams talk 09:50, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

"It would have a large number of potential responses to any attack" - could you be more specific please. 92.28.241.20 (talk) 12:36, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

(If I may) Might I suggest air strikes, naval bombardment, targeted air drops, full-scale invasion. Just what comes to mind. - Jarry1250 ^{[Humorous? Discuss.]} 12:44, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

In terms of solely nuclear response, the idea would be, I think, to rely on the nuclear powers still left in Britain's military alliances (NATO comes to mind). - Jarry1250 ^{[Humorous? Discuss.]} 12:27, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

The main proposers of not renewing Trident are the Lib Dems, and I don't think they are proposing having no nuclear deterrent at all. They are just proposing a thorough review of the options. --Tango (talk) 12:50, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Though it is worth noting that at the moment, the only UK nuclear weapons system is Trident, and introducing a new (or old) system would be non-trivial. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:59, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Trident is reaching the end of its operational lifetime, though, and renewing it is also non-trivial. --Tango (talk) 14:24, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

True, true. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:44, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Even with Trident, it's not clear what would happen. If Pyongyang slipped a nuke into London and sets it off today, what happens? Well, first you'll want to make sure it actually came from Pyongyang. This can be done without too much difficulty (isotopic analysis) but will take a little time to check the results, assuming they are straightforward (and not some kind of elaborate Tom Clancy scenario involving stolen HEU and a false flag operation or something). Then what? Do you just nuke back? Or do you laboriously go through the UN or NATO? What if China and Russia say, "please don't nuke back, we wouldn't like it if you nuked back"? Do you risk escalation and involvement of two other (very nuclear) superpowers? Or do you try to do some kind of coalition invasion force thing? I don't know. I'm sure this kind of thing keeps people up at night at high levels. It's not straightforward. The best part about nuclear deterrents is that you hope you never have to use them — put on a tough face and hope that works to deter. Actually contemplating what you'd do with or without them is a little tough.

If we switched it from London to, say, Berlin, it becomes a little more clear: Germany limps over to UN/NATO, says "help," and then the US and everyone else tries to whip up a war party to go (conventionally) bomb or invade under a UN police action (again). It seems unlikely on the face of it to me that the US, for example, would respond with a nuke in such a situation, but this is just speculation on my part. I don't think the US wants to start nuking people (again) if it can help it. Presumably a similar situation would unfold if the UK got rid of its deterrents. (Or the US, for that matter.) --Mr.98 (talk) 13:59, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I doubt N. Korea would be nuked in retaliation. While it has an enormous army, it is outdated. NATO wouldn't have any difficulty defeating N. Korea by conventional means. The only thing stopping them at the moment is China and if N. Korea did launch an nuclear attack on Britain (or anywhere else, for that matter) I doubt China would be able to do much to help them. --Tango (talk) 14:37, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree, though I don't think China would be very happy if the response was nuclear, which was more my point. (I don't think China would risk nuclear war over North Korea, mind you.) My general point is that once you really start contemplating this beyond the slogans, it gets really murky and problematic. Once you expand the "nuclear war" timeline from "we have 30 seconds to make a decision" to "let's ponder what to do for a few weeks", the decisions actually get a lot harder. It's easier to say, "well, if they're going all out, we'll go all out too!" than it is to say, "well, what exactly does this horrible but not all-out attack warrant?" --Mr.98 (talk) 14:47, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

The civilian response would be to Duck and cover and might have looked like this (45-year old film that was banned by the BBC). Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:42, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Considering that North Korea can barely put together one working test, Iran seems adamant (for now) that their nuclear ambitions are limited to civilian power stations, and neither nation has a history of threating the UK, what possible reason would either nation have attack a nuclear-free UK? A much more likely scernario is a dirty bomb detonated by a home-grown suicide bomber, against which Trident is absolutely useless. Astronaut (talk) 15:06, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

It's worth noting that even the "dud" North Korean bomb was significantly more powerful than a conventional bomb. .5-1kt is still a deterrent if you consider tens of thousands of deaths to be undesirable. I'm not sure too many people really feel that Iran is trustworthy in reporting their ambitions. But in either case, I do agree it's hard to figure, exactly, why they would want to attack the UK, nuclear free or not. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:14, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm not too worried about Iran. They won't use nukes for the same reason the existing nuclear powers don't - mutually assured destruction. North Korea, on the other hand, isn't exactly a rational regime. They could easily decide that going out with a bang is better than making a few concessions but keeping your country. I agree, they wouldn't target the UK, though. We're not in range of their delivery systems and a suitcase-bomb style attack doesn't seem likely (missiles can be launched at short notice, suitcase-bombs can't). --Tango (talk) 16:54, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

As I see it — and this is getting into soap box territory, I admit — the main problem with a nuclear Iran is not so much that Iran will use them (I don't think they will — their hard-liners have issues to be sure but they are not suicidal or millenarian), but that it will spur other countries in the region to develop weapons as well. If Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt get bombs, that's an awful lot of nukes clustered in a very volatile region (along with Israel). It would be certainly going the wrong direction when it came to making a "safer world." That being said, I don't think it's worth overreacting to, either. The world will not end if Iran gets the bomb, nor do I think nuclear war will suddenly break out. But it would not be a very good thing. --Mr.98 (talk) 22:02, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

A suitcase bomb could be smuggled into the country. The time it takes to get here is not important. Over the next few decades ICBM technology, or even just an aircraft with a hidden bomb, could become easily buildable in any country. The technology that launched the first satellites is fifty years old. 92.28.255.157 (talk) 19:31, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Right, but ICBM tech is still pretty hard. The North Koreans are basically just augmenting old Soviet technology (and the Iranians are augmenting North Korean technology based on Soviet technology). "Rocket science" is actually a lot harder than building nuclear weapons, as it turns out. It is a non-trivial problem to move a large amount of mass to a given place with any accuracy. I don't want to make it sound impossible — it's clearly not — but I don't think it's going to become "easily build-able in any country" anytime soon. Nuclear weapons, by contrast, especially crude ones, are "easily build-able" if you have the fissile materials.

Separately, the transit time does matter if one is actually trying to use it for specific ends, and it is not a trivial thing if you actually care about it making it there and not getting caught. (You can be sloppier about things like smuggling counterfeit money or even drugs because it's not quite as hard to cover one's tracks and the consequences at a state level are pretty low, especially with regards to North Korea, who is already pretty much a pariah. But nukes are expensive, both in terms of real dollars and in terms of what would happen if you got caught smuggling one, and they are traceable — through isotopic analysis — to specific countries.) The more realistic scenario, if the North Koreans wanted to target the UK (for whatever reason), would be to smuggle in the bomb some time before you thought you might have to use it, and just have it hidden away and "available" if necessary. This was the old US fear about the Russians in the 1950s, before the USSR had means to deliver its bombs to the US with any reliability. There was even some concern that one could, given enough time and will, smuggle in nuclear weapons parts by means of diplomatic pouch! --Mr.98 (talk) 21:58, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

For the record, a "diplomatic pouch" can be a giant crate with a nuke in it. It isn't literally a courier's purse. It would not be necessary to ship over 100 parts and assemble them in the target country. The serious concern on the US side was that the USSR would just ship over whole nukes in crates which were marked "diplomatic pouch" and which were therefore unsearchable. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:39, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

They were also afraid of them shipping the parts in literal pouches, incidentally. --Mr.98 (talk) 01:06, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Real?

Is this image real ?  Jon Ascton  (talk) 11:59, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Probably. And if it is, it sure gets around. Dismas|^(talk) 12:57, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Dismas. It's probably a naturally-occuring formation. Chevymontecarlo - alt 13:06, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Wow ! never knew such cool search engine exists (and actually works) ! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jon Ascton (talk • contribs) 14:16, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Given the number of trees in the world, I'd be surprised if there wasn't at least one that looks similar to that, so it's probably real. --Tango (talk) 14:26, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

And what about this one? My question is : Is the image a)Real b)Fake c)Photoshopped —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jon Ascton (talk • contribs) 14:16, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I doubt that's real. The spinal damage caused by carrying that much weight would be enormous. --Tango (talk) 14:26, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Obviously fake/photoshoped, just like this :) --Galactic Traveller (talk) 15:19, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, that's almost certainly photoshopped (which is pretty much the same as fake). Chevymontecarlo 16:53, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

It's fake (though not in the usual sense that breasts containing implants are considered "fake"), but it's not photoshopped. There are videos out there with a similar (or the same) model. Not my cup of tea, but it's some kind of prosthetic. Videos involving the male version are also out there. Whatever floats your boat, as they say. Matt Deres (talk) 19:24, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

duct cleaning regulations for restaurants in Oakland Cty, Michigan

I need to know how often hood and ducts in restaurants have to be cleaned per NFPA96 fire code —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.226.45.113 (talk) 14:28, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

According to this, Regulation 11.4.2 says: "Hoods, grease removal devices, fans, ducts, and other appurtenances shall be cleaned to bare metal prior to surfaces becoming heavily contaminated with grease or oily sludge." - so there is no definite interval. You just have to avoid them becoming "heavily contaminated"...which is a pretty vague rule (how much is "heavily"?). However, they do have an inspection schedule. You have to have the system inspected by a specially qualified professional at intervals depending on the type of cooking you do:

• Systems serving solid fuel cooking operations -- Monthly
• Systems serving high-volume cooking operations such as 24-hour cooking, charbroiling, or wok cooking. -- Quarterly
• Systems serving moderate-volume cooking operations. -- Semiannually.
• Systems serving low-volume cooking operations, such as churches, day camps, seasonal businesses, or senior centers. -- Annually

So what I think this means (and I'm not a lawyer - nor is Wikipedia allowed to give out legal advice - so read the document for yourself) is that you have to have the hoods & ducts inspected by a professional at these intervals - and you have clean then BEFORE they become heavily contaminated. That's a tricky standard! If you're coming up for a quarterly inspection - and right now they aren't heavily contaminated - you have to somehow guess whether they'd be classified as heavily contaminated sometime within the next quarter - and if so, clean them.

I think the bottom line is that to be on the safe side, you should clean everything to the bare metal before each inspection - but it's kinda tricky.

SteveBaker (talk) 17:24, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

++ Since NFPA is a collection of Fire Protection Codes and Standards that become enforcable when a government or insurer ("Authority Having Juristiction" "AHJ") requies their compliance, you could consider contacting the local fire marshall or building inspection official or your insurance company. Chas in BR (talk) 21:07, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Last day of summer vacation

Hey guys. School starts tomorrow so this is my last day of vacation :( I have got all my stuff ready for tomorrow so today I'm free the whole day. What are some things I can do today to bring a spectacular end to my summer? BTW I cant leave the house. 76.229.199.177 (talk) 15:10, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

That last bit kind of puts a dampener on things. If I couldn't leave the house, I would probably spend it playing all my favourite albums back to back while eating pizza and drinking beer. YMMV. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 15:12, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

You could write a Wikipedia article. --Tango (talk) 15:38, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 August 14#Tips for returning to school in a big exam year?.

—Wavelength (talk) 15:50, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

That's a completely unrelated question. This OP is asking for ideas for something fun to do on the last day of vacation, that OP was asking for advice on how to study better during his final year. Please don't give people such pointless links. --Tango (talk) 17:04, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Good preparation can help to relieve stress, and therefore it can contribute to fun.—Wavelength (talk) 17:31, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Are friends available to come over? Do they have friends of the opposite gender? A party may be afoot. (Of course this is not great timing because you will have to clean up when the party is over at 3AM.) Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:28, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

1. Watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off - then think carefully about whether "I can't leave the house" means "I shouldn't leave the house" or "If I leave the house it's essential that <person X> doesn't find out", etc. (PS, don't do the thing with the car at the end).
2. OK, OK, that's not gonna work, I can tell. How about you spend the day PLANNING what you're going to do at the end of the coming semester? Plan something utterly outrageous - something so stunningly awesomely huge - that you'll look forward to telling everyone about it when you get into school tomorrow. Make it so it's definitely going to happen - you have months to arrange whatever it takes. SteveBaker (talk) 17:36, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Spend the day making up the most preposterous possible idea you can, and then spend the whole semester trying to convince your peers that you did this activity during the summer. Googlemeister (talk) 18:29, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Why not cook something extravagant, or that you've never cooked before? An enormous chocolate cake with 3 layers, filled and covered with chocolate fudge icing and raspberry jam. Pizza topped with fish and chips, or chicken nuggets and fries. Make the biggest sandwich you've ever seen, 10 layers, filled with the most over-the-top fillings. Chocolate brownie baked Alaska combo. There are loads of recipes online that you can use for inspiration, help, or to make the components of something awesome and ridiculous. 86.164.66.83 (talk) 19:30, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Photographing the Perseids might interest you.—Wavelength (talk) 20:41, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Internet stuff? YouTube? Facebook? Chevymontecarlo 06:55, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

MIght I recommend that you find a means to view the film American Graffiti? It is the definitive "Last day of Summer Vacation" movie. --Jayron32 07:08, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

An excellent film, although the viewer might want to refrain from the part about destroying a police car with the police in it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:28, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Not at all, actually. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 10:15, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Crisps or Chips?

In the US, we call them "Potato chips" and in the UK we call them "Crisps". So why does a packet of Baked Lays, sold in Texas, say "FLAVORED POTATO CRISPS" on the front? This bag says "65% less fat than regular potato chips" - and uses a US phone number for their "Questions or Comments" number - so these are clearly marked for US sales, not UK.

Weird. SteveBaker (talk) 17:28, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

It may be a marketing requirement thing. There may be a statutory definition of "potato chip", which Baked Lays may not meet. They might be legally prohibited from calling them "potato chips", so they settle on a term that gets the same point across, but is not legally encumbered. Another option is that it's a marketing ploy. They want to distinguish themselves from potato chips, so they use a different term so that they can say, effectively, "We know potato chips are unhealthy, but don't worry about it, because we're not chips!" -- 140.142.20.229 (talk) 18:10, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

There was a lawsuit on this important topic, needless to say:

How are Pringles made and why do you call them crisps and not chips? Pringles aren't just any old potato chip, they're called potato crisps because of the ingredients we start with and the unique way they're made! To be called a chip you have to begin with whole potatoes. Pringles starts with dried potatoes which have been cooked, mashed and dehydrated.

Source. Same deal with your chips crisps, I imagine. --Sean 18:35, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I was just in the U.K. and saw a bag of "crisps" labeled... French Fries. Blew my mind. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:32, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Actually even more so with the Baked Lays. To get them crispy without frying they have to mix in a whole bunch of strange stuff with the cooked-mashed-dehyrdrated-ground-up potatoes. Looie496 (talk) 23:59, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

My point was, the British call our french fries "chips" and our chips "crisps," but they have crisps called "French Fries." My head is spinning. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 01:11, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

You mean freedom crisps? --Trovatore (talk) 01:21, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

In other news, Hula Hoops are not the same as hula hoops, Monster Munch are not made from monsters, and people eating packets of Skips are not eating skips. Walkers' "French Fries" is a brand name, and nothing more – it doesn't imply anything about what "the British" call snacks in general. 80.254.147.52 (talk) 12:22, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

But we Brits wouldn't call those long thin straight or curvy potato-based snack things sold in packets either "chips" (which are hot and sold freshly cooked) or "crisps" (which are basically roundish and thin and served in packets). So, "French fries" seems a perfectly sensible commercial name for them.  :) Ghmyrtle (talk) 06:45, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

In America, the things that Walkers are calling "French fries" are called "potato sticks". Potato_chip#Similar_foods actually discusses a brief history of potato sticks and mentions "Walker's French Fries" directly as well. --Jayron32 06:52, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Hmm &mdah; this American never heard of "potato sticks" till just now. ---Trovatore (talk) 08:28, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

You can buy something called 'potato sticks' in the UK, but it's nothing like Walkers French Fries. Potato sticks, here, are thin sticks cut from actual potatoes and sold, usually under a supermarket own brand, with the other party snack crisps. French Fries (the crisp) are more extruded, puffed up a bit, and much larger. And I'd call all of these things 'crisps', like I'd call Monster Munch 'crisps'. 86.164.66.83 (talk) 11:08, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

AH! Having never been to the UK to enjoy their snack food, then I didn't realize that's what Walker's French Fries were. Then they aren't really potato sticks. We have a product in the U.S., called "Fries" which are puffed/extruded potato paste. Two brands I can think of that make these are Tom's Fries and Andy Capp's Hot Fries. See [3] and [4]. It sounds like your potato sticks are exactly like OUR potato sticks: Crispy fried thin slices of potatoes. --Jayron32 01:47, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Ah, truly, processed potato products are the great universal. ;) Someone should probably edit the article. 86.164.66.83 (talk) 10:05, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Does Andy Capp, the comic strip after which the crisps are named, even run in the US? If so, it makes me wonder what people make of it. Marnanel (talk) 20:26, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Architecture: Victorian restoration of local churches

Neither Pevsner (1970) p. 471 nor Pugh (1953) VCH p. 157 tells me who restored St George's Church, Little Thetford, Cambridgeshire nor the nearby St James' Church, Stretham. VCH confirms "... drastic restoration [of St George's] in 1863, ..." and also "In 1876 the [St James'] church underwent a severed restoration". According to VCH, J P St Aubyn designed the two schools in 1872 at Little Thetford and Stretham. Is there any way of finding out who restored the churches? --Senra (talk) 17:47, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I have always found the staff at Cambridgeshire Archives to be knowledgable and helpful, and I'm sure they will be able to lay their hands on useful information for you. --TammyMoet (talk) 18:15, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Thank you. Following your reply I sent an email to Cambridgeshire archives. In the meantime, I thought there may have been an (digitised?) architectural tome that might have the answer --Senra (talk) 18:35, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I found a reference; according to Historic England. "Details from listed building database ({{{num}}})". National Heritage List for England. St James' Church, Stretham, was indeed J P St Aubyn although Historic England. "Details from listed building database ({{{num}}})". National Heritage List for England. does not say who did St George's Church. I hope IoE is a RS; I am not holding my breath—I know of at least two IoE records which have the wrong images attached to them --Senra (talk) 19:13, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Resolved

--Senra (talk) 14:33, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

longest straight section of rail(road) track

Since railroad track alignments are most often selected to minimize grade (steepness), the idea occurs that a straight run (section) of track is an oddity.

What is the longest straight run of track in the US? In Europe? in other locations?

Chas in BR (talk) 20:29, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

This says it's on the Nullarbor Plain in Australia. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 20:35, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

And this verifies it, though there are no sources. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 20:36, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I have been on that track. A full day of travel with no hills or curves. Googlemeister (talk) 20:44, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the answer. You have given the longest in the world. I am also interesteed in the topic by country or continent. Any ideas? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chas in BR (talk • contribs) 20:42, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

This posting appears to reproduce information from Guinness World Records that names the longest straight rail section in several countries, including the USA and Britain. Karenjc 21:56, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

However, that might not be current information; it says one section of route is "now" part of the Seaboard Coast Line, which, as everyone knows, hasn't existed under that name since 1982. (After several mergers, it's now part of the CSX system.) So it's possible that some sections of straight track have closed since then, or (less likely) that some new ones have been built. --Anonymous, 23:08 UTC, August 17, 2010.

Who you callin' "everyone", pardner?  :) -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 05:50, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

If a long section of railroad track were literally straight (not following the Earth's curvature), then the train would tend to accelerate toward the midpoint due to gravity, then decelerate from there toward the end. Edison (talk) 14:59, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Indeed, these discussions are only about horizontal curvature. The Nullarbor Plain track is described as "dead straight although not level". --Anonymous, 21:20 UTC, August 18, 2010.

Technically nothing can be literally straight since things are made up of generally round atoms. Googlemeister (talk) 16:25, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

A length of track could be made straight to a specified degree, regardless of the fact of it being made of atoms or molecules. How many "round atoms" do you suppose are in one cross section of railroad track of one atomic radius of iron (126 picometers), when the rail weighs at least 40 kg/meter per Rail profile? A gazillion times 10²³? There are doubtless many sections of pretty straight track many miles/kilometers long where there is a very slight dip between two small hills. Edison (talk) 01:30, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

The definition of a straight length would more correctly be the "great circle" route between any two points, or more simply, horizontally straight, and ignoring any "vertical" curves. --Chas in BR (talk) 14:23, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Actually, it should follow the geoid, which is nowhere near circular anywhere in the world. It's not even constant. Flatness utopian. --Gerrit ^CUTEDH 15:55, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Chinese or Japanese equivalent of Celtic Knotwork?

(could someone please move this to Humanities? That desk is currently blocked in China. I can view it with a proxy, but I can't edit it to ask a question because the proxy is blocked. So I ask here and kindly request that you transfer this question and remove this header... thank you!)

Is there a Chinese or Japanese equivalent to the Celtic Knotwork artform? 61.189.63.157 (talk) 22:55, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I've added a link to Celtic knots--Lenticel ^(talk) 00:25, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Mizuhiki. See also [5] and [6]. Oda Mari (talk) 07:44, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Où puis-je acheter un beret?

Where in my area (Milwaukee WI, 53220) can I buy a plain black French-style men's beret? I've looked at the places where I frequently shop, and performed several searches to no avail. This store should be in the city or in the southern suburbs. I prefer not to buy it online because I don't wish to send my information across the internet, even though I know the chances of its being stolen are minuscule. 76.199.154.210 (talk) 22:59, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I did some searching, too, and I now very much doubt that any store in southeastern Wisconsin stocks French-style men's berets. However, there is a store in Milwaukee that may be willing and able to special-order a beret for you. Here is a link to its website. Marco polo (talk) 00:37, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Searching Google for "hat shop Milwaukee" or "milliner Milwaukee" gave several options, although most look like they specialize in baseball caps. It may be worth phoning a few of the more likely shops, to see if they stock or can special order your desired beret style. -- 174.21.233.249 (talk) 05:48, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Kangol used to make those exact berets.Googling found many outlets in Canada.Hope this helps..88.96.226.6 (talk) 23:38, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

August 18

spartagus blood &Sand

How can I obtain a copy of the last episode of this series? I saw the entire series and missed the last episode " Kill them all". Is there anyway I can download that episode?

Dorothy Reed

(e-mail removed for security reasons) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.141.233.242 (talk) 00:12, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

I think you mean Spartacus: Blood and Sand. If you have a Netflix account, the episodes will be available for streaming in three days. Dismas|^(talk) 00:41, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

It seems to be available through TVDuck: here. Dismas|^(talk) 00:44, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

In the UK, at least, it'll be repeated several times over the next week, generally later at night. Take a look in a TV guide. I'm assuming you're more concerned with simply watching the episode than obtaining it from the way you phrased your question. 90.195.179.60 (talk) 02:30, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

I think you can also see it on watchtvfreeonline.net. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 06:59, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

"Authenticate your account"? WTF is this nonsense?

OK, so I sign up for an account on IMDB. It tells me I must "authenticate" my account before I can post on any message board, which means using an Amazon account (didn't have one, so I created one, now I must place an order in order for it to authenticate my account, I'm not about to do that), a credit card (hell no, I'm not gonna give out sensitive information like that), or text messaging (those charges aren't cheap, so hell no as well). Why are those my only options, and what is the reasoning behind all of this? 24.189.87.160 (talk) 03:10, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

It makes sure you are a real person, and not a spam-bot or other automated program which will quickly clog their message boards with spam to the point where it becomes impossible to use. --Jayron32 04:41, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Does that explain why I would have to place an order on Amazon in order for the authentication to go through? 24.189.87.160 (talk) 06:41, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

The use of the Amazon account is only one option. If that method bothers you, then use the text message or the credit card. The Amazon authentication procedures are different from the IMDB ones and presumably have different reasons for existing. WRT Amazon, one way to ensure you are a real person is that you correctly ordered an item to be delivered to a real address and paid for with real money. --Jayron32 06:47, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

The OP's point is that such elaborate procedures should not be necessary just to sign up on a friggin' message board. There are plenty of much simpler ways (e.g. captcha, or just responding to an automated email) to ensure that the person is real. IMDB's policy is completely over the top. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 07:50, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

IMDB have had problems with studios astroturfing their own films. It's not that hard for the PR dept. of a large studio to create a large number of webmail accounts, and then create one IMDB account for each webmail account. Presumably the studios were to do this, they'd use a small company grade line that's not publicly tied to the studio, or their PR staff's home lines. Tying your IMDB account to a credit card makes this a lot harder. As Amazon own (at arms-length) IMDB, they can do the credit-card check via Amazon. CS Miller (talk) 11:33, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

This would be an example of how a few rotten apples trigger mass-punishment and inconvenience. Luckily, that never happens on wikipedia. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→

I've contributed to a few IMDb message-boards and link-pages (outside reviews, official French site, etc.), and I didn't have to do any of that when registering in 2003 or 2004. But I can see that when a film is in release or approaching an awards season, its promoters might spam IMDb and more insidiously its rivals might also spam it with negative reviews. —— Shakescene (talk) 20:35, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Though strictly speaking, you only need a certain, relatively small percentage of "rotten apples" to render an entire system unworkable. I am betting that a clever sociologist or economist either could or has come up with a fairly precise "rotten apple rate" that is necessary to tank an organization's effectiveness (with variance, no doubt, in the structure of the organization itself, whether it can effectively screen out the "apples" or reverse their harm, etc.). If I were a sociologist or economist (or Malcolm Gladwell), this is something I'd probably find pretty interesting to work on. --Mr.98 (talk) 22:53, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Travel from China to US by boat?

I'm interested in traveling from China to America by ship. I don't care about stopping at exotic spots along the way, I just don't want to fly. I've tried Googling a variety of phrases but I can't find anything aside from the usual "Orient Cruise" type stuff. Can anyone help me find some basic information. Surely there must still be SOME demand for sea travel rather than sea-based sightseeing? Rates? Duration? Anything? thank you! 218.25.32.210 (talk) 05:09, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

You can sometimes book passage on cargo ships; there is a large amount of cargo sent by ship between the U.S. and China. This google search has some general articles on traveling in this manner; no idea if it is possible to travel this way from China, but it is a viable method in general. --Jayron32 05:20, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Try Googling "Freighter Travel Voyages" this will bring up names of specialist agents dealing with freighter trips.--85.211.142.98 (talk) 05:47, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

You could also check Cunard. Jørgen (talk) 06:24, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

...and seat61 has a lot of information on ground-based travelling (though not much trans-Pacific, though). Might be worth a look if you end up going via the trans-Siberian to Europe and from there across the Atlantic. Jørgen (talk) 07:10, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

...and couldn't resist doing some research: from Beijing it's six days to Moscow, plus three days to London, and then six or seven nights from Southampton to New York with Cunard. That is fifteen days of travelling, but of course these things don't depart every day (and you'd have to have some days margin as well). Might be faster than a trans-Pacific freighter, though (I have no idea) Jørgen (talk) 07:19, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Here is a website listing freighter routes across the Pacific that accept passengers. The website mentions prices for trips beginning and/or ending in the United States, but presumably you could negotiate directly with the companies owning these ships to arrange a passage from China to the United States. Going directly across the Pacific will almost certainly be less expensive than traveling by rail to western Europe and continuing by freighter or passenger liner across the Atlantic from there, especially if your destination is on the west coast of the United States. Marco polo (talk) 14:26, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Isn't that piece of advice in conflict with your user name? In any case, you are probably right. By the way, train service across the US is fairly good, so your final destination in the US need not affect much which way is best. In about three days you can get anywhere in the States by train. (Or you could, of course, rent a car.) Jørgen (talk) 16:40, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

You mean three days if there is a train to where you're going, and if you don't lose a day connecting between the western and eastern halves of the rather sparse Amtrak system. (Air travel, on the other hand...) --Anonymous, 21:24 UTC, August 18, 2010.

Wow! I have to say that I assumed that travelling by freighter would be a low-budget way to travel...but these guys are charging between $4000 and $15000 for a trip you could make by plane for $1000 to $2000. SteveBaker (talk) 03:32, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

For a person, yes. But how much does it cost for a car or a bike? Therein lies the rub. I assumed the same thing while traveling in Japan and did some ferry trips but these weren't nearly as cheap as I'd expect. Then I figured out the only people that really use ferries for longer trips are bikers who can transport their bikes around on a ferry much cheaper than they would in a plane. TomorrowTime (talk) 06:07, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

For a difference of several thousand dollars, you could throw your bike into the harbor and buy a really nice new one at the other end and STILL be a few $k up on the deal! You can ship a car half way around the world for $2,000 without you. It's still not looking like a good deal! SteveBaker (talk) 01:08, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Steve, freighter prices look expensive, but see what you get, bed and board, travel, sometimes free booze (depends on the line), anytime visits to the bridge, enjoy the sea air and different ports, restful days sailing. I've done this for £35.00 per day in a basic cabin and up to £75.00 per day, (that was 3 months around the world), in the Owners Suite. Beats flying and the airport hassles any day if you are not in a hurry.--Artjo (talk) 06:27, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't know the OP's reasons for not wanting to fly, but if it out of environmental concerns I think they will find freighter travel will use much more fuel than the equivalent journey by air. According to this page, a Boeing 747 consumes about 4 L (1.1 US gal) per second - on the 12.5 hour flying time between Shanghai and Los Angeles the aircraft will consume around 180,000 L (48,000 US gal) of fuel. According to this LA Times article, a freighter consumes 125 metric tons ~150,000 L (40,000 US gal) of fuel for each 500 nautical miles (580 mi; 930 km) travelled - on the 10,500 km (6,500 mi) journey between Shanghai and Los Angeles the freighter will consume ~1,700,000 L (450,000 US gal) of fuel. As others have pointed out above, freighter travel can also be more expensive than air travel. Astronaut (talk) 11:12, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

The environmental costs of flying are certainly much greater than those of sea travel. While it takes more fuel to move a large freighter than a jet plane across a given ocean, the amount of fuel per tonne is much lower for the freighter. The amount of additional fuel needed to carry an additional passenger on the freighter is minuscule, certainly much lower than the amount needed for each passenger on a jet plane. Marco polo (talk) 12:59, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Plus the freighter is going no matter how many passengers it is going to carry. That is not the main purpose. Googlemeister (talk) 18:21, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Freighters don't carry a doctor so no more than twelve passengers are permitted.--Artjo (talk) 19:51, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

The same arguments could be used the other way around: The fuel consumed per passenger km is lower when flying; and the plane will still fly whether or not the OP is aboard. If the OP has lots of time and money and is looking for a different travel experience, then travel by freighter; just don't kid yourself that you're saving the planet by doing so. If you want to save the planet, stay at home and use technology such as the intenet to make a virtual visit to America. Astronaut (talk) 21:56, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Marco is correct. What counts is the marginal fuel consumption, which is minuscule, probably not measurable.John Z (talk) 07:55, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

The plane will not fly if 1 passenger is not aboard, but if 0 passengers are aboard, it will most likely not fly. The freighter could care less whether it has passengers or not since it's primarily a cargo transport. Googlemeister (talk) 13:20, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I would think it depends. There may be situations where it will have to fly even with no passengers, e.g. if they need to pick up people on the other other side, and particularly likely if they're not in their home airport. A perhaps better point is that the number of flights, type of aircraft used, etc will generally vary over time depending on the passenger load each flight has. Nil Einne (talk) 22:37, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Indian TV audio problems

My Sky TV package here in the UK lets me watch NDTV 24x7, the Indian TV news service. One thing I have noticed, that is not present on other TV news channels, is the audio is often distorted, like the amplification is turned up way to high. Is there a technical reason for this distortion? And is there a way I can remove the distortion without affecting the other channels or involving huge expense on my part? Astronaut (talk) 09:33, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

You should call the SkyTV service center and explain the problem. There is unlikely to be anything you can do on your end of things and it's their responsibility to deliver quality audio to you. They appear to be one of those companies who are resistant to giving you a phone number to call - so perhaps start off by talking to them at their "Help Center/Contact Us" link here: http://www.sky.com/helpcentre/contact-us/index.html

It's likely that Sky pick up NDTV via another satellite link and rebroadcast it. It's quite possible that their tuner isn't correctly set up.

SteveBaker (talk) 03:28, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Zh.wikibooks pictures

b:zh:File:3.3.3.gif, b:zh:File:Fsockopen.gif, b:zh:Gethostbynamel.gif. (I think there are more but I won't bother finding all of them. :P) What are these screenshots licensed under? (I'm trying to tidy up zh.wikibooks.) Kayau Voting IS evil 13:51, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Ahh a question related to a Wikimedia project! Your links are dead Kayau, I think the real ones are: wikibooks:zh:File:3.3.3.gif, wikibooks:zh:File:Fsockopen.gif, wikibooks:zh:File:Gethostbynamel.gif. Unfortunately I am not sure about the licensing. English Wikipedia uses Netscape screenshots as fair use (eg). Perhaps the browser is de minimis in these shots. If you don't get an answer here, Wikipedia:Media copyright questions may be of some use.--Commander Keane (talk) 00:37, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

The Police are idiots

Why do the majority of childrens shows depict Police Officers as bumbling idiots who jump to wild conclusions based on little or no evidence, and often wrongly imprison (admittedly usually for only short periods until they're proven innocent) people without trail? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.160.214.26 (talk) 19:11, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Maybe because it makes for a more interesting story? Or maybe it's a Commie plot to undermine authority? Can you name any specific shows? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:23, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PoliceAreUseless 82.44.54.4 (talk) 20:28, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

It's pretty standard to have children's stories where the adults are oblivious to what's REALLY GOING ON, leaving the children to solve the mystery, catch the villain, find the treasure, or whatever.

You'll notice that the teachers in the Harry Potter books are equally useless.

A story where the children more realistically bring their concerns to their parents or guardians who then take their concerns to the police who then resolve the issue, would not sell as many books.

I suppose a really good writer would get the adults out of the way in some really believable way, but making them stupid is easy and moves the plot along. APL (talk) 21:04, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

If the authorities are not useless, or corrupt, then most plots would be resolved pretty quickly. "Oh no, someone has killed Mr. Body!" "Well, just call the cops." "OK, problem solved." I mean, how much fun is that, especially when you're a hard boiled private detective who won't stop until he gets his man? In any case, these things generally reflect (and feed) larger cultural concerns. For example, after Watergate the "daring investigative reporter who uncovers the official conspiracy" became a major trope in films. In the 1940s and 1950s, the "G-Men" (FBI) were all good guys; in the hangover from McCarthyism and Vietnam, they were often as not sinister figures. --Mr.98 (talk) 21:49, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the answers. I guess I just wondered if there was some specific, social reason for it. After having watched so many shows during my childhood where the police lock up the heroes of the story based on zero evidence I developed a strong dislike and distrust for the police. But if it's just lazy storytelling then that explains it maybe —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.160.214.26 (talk) 22:00, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

It's not a social reason, its a story telling reason. Story telling is about escapism. Almost all of us lead boring lives, and if our entertainment reflected reality, it wouldn't be as entertaining. Most police are very good at their jobs, and most kids, while clever, aren't really capable of solving crimes and taking down criminals all on their own. If we told a story exactly as we would expect it to go down in real life, no one would watch it. If instead, we use caricatures of the bumbling cop and the clever kid who solves the crime, its more entertaining. Its not more complicated than that. If we accurately reflected reality in our entertainment, it wouldn't be all that entertaining. --Jayron32 01:42, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

It probably does have a social reason, though. Our tropes do reflect our anxieties, underlying moods. Americans since the 1960s at least have had ambivalent feelings about police, that's pretty clear just listening to people. There have been real-life reasons for feeling that way — and media based on said real-life reasons (e.g. Serpico). But a cultural trope need not be popular because it reflects reality itself to any great degree. But a trope's popularity probably does reflect broader social and psychological resonances, and the fact that some of these don't translate well to other cultures (and vice versa) are good evidence of their specificity. The "children solve things, adults bumble" has been noted by many, in regards to the Harry Potter series, as being an ideal recipe for the target demographic — children. It's easy to forget how boring and alienating adults and "adult conversation" can be when one is a child, how parents just don't understand, and so on. That particular trope is pretty clearly just a translation of that deep-held feeling into a fictional structure. That such tropes have become cliché at this point just shows how deep it goes. Compare with something like the young girl in Kick Ass, which is a pretty "edgy"/foreign/non-standard trope (a child who is a foul-mouthed, killer ninja) — and one which many reviewers noted (with horror) as one that did not resonate with them. I'm not saying one has to get all Bruno Bettelheim on this, but to acknowledge the likely social/psychological reasons for a trope's popularity is not a very radical idea. --Mr.98 (talk) 03:07, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Dislike of the police did not originate in the 1960s, it just became more open. For example, there's Tom Joad's speech in the 1940 film, The Grapes of Wrath (film), which includes the comment, "Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there." Then there are the Keystone cops from the silent film era, constantly made to look like buffoons. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:27, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

That's true. I'm thinking as well though about regulations in the 1940s and 1950s, at least in comic books and probably elsewhere (e.g. Comics Code Authority, Motion Picture Production Code), which prohibited against depicting criminals as ever getting away, police as ever being anything other than noble, etc., and the backlash you get to that by the late 1960s, 1970s. --Mr.98 (talk) 12:15, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Going through some books from childhood, I have to say: the policemen really have been bumbling for quite a while. In Pippi Longstocking, but also 19th century cops Duff and Blathers in Oliver Twist. In Cops and kids: policing juvenile delinquency in urban America, 1890-1940 (Ohio State University Press, 2005, p89), the author David B. Wolcott mentions the Keystone Kops in connection with the Detroit police who, despite a lack of corruption scandals, nevertheless were seen as inefficient, "an image they resented deeply". The author suggests that the bumbling image prompted thoughts about "professionalism" which contributed to police reform. ---Sluzzelin talk 14:34, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

There's not really a definitive answer to this question. Sociologists would say that it's because police in modern society (since maybe the mid 19th century) is a 'functionary' job filled filled by people from relatively low social classes, who are then portrayed as bumbling and inept for class-distincton reasons (compare with 'detectives' who are generally cast as relatively urbane, educated, leisure class individuals). Psychologists would say that it's a natural childhood rebellion agains parental authority (where the 'policeman' becomes an archetypal authority figure who can safely be mocked in a way that parents can't). The story-writers probably see it as a useful marketing trope - making the target audience feel empowered and superior is always a useful sales tactic. and I'm sure there's a double dozen variations on those themes. who do you want to believe? --Ludwigs2 14:51, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

More than that, I'd say the 'bumbling idiots' stereotype is a common middle-class view, whereas the 'wrongly imprisoning', more threatening, stereotype tends to be a working-class view. Presumably based on the interactions people have had with the police, and the stories their friends and relatives have told. You can watch it happening in the UK, if you watch people with their little children when a police officer walks past. (Some parents don't say anything.) Some point out the police officer and tell their child that, if they aren't good, the nasty policeman will arrest them. Some smile and point out the police officer to their child, as a nice thing to see. Some parents tell their child that police officers are safe people to find when they're lost: some give the opposite impression. And, in very broad strokes^{general trends, not true of all individuals}, this follows class lines. If you're writing a story, you tend to include your own worldview and the worldview of your intended readers. 86.161.255.213 (talk) 23:06, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

How about: Because children are more skeptical and see through lies better than adults, so you have to tell them the truth? ;-)John Z (talk) 07:49, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I find that many teenagers dislike police officers. ~AH1^(TCU) 20:04, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

manufacturing of nuts for gluten free diet

i have recently been diagnosed with celiac disease. a lot of the recipes call for nuts, which I love. However, i cannot find any nuts that have not been processed where wheat has been processed.

Even the fresh nuts at places like Whole Foods have been manufactured where wheat has also. Any ideas where or how to find gluten free nuts? Coolel01 (talk) 23:12, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm sorry to hear about your disease. Have you tried looking online (though it it isn't easy), like Amazon? 24.189.87.160 (talk) 04:55, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

The article Celiac disease links to the US Celiac Disease Foundation - I'd be surprised if they did not have any advice on this on their website, and if they do not, you should be able to call or email them. This is assuming you are in the US (as you mention Whole Foods), I guess most Western countries at least will have national organizations that have information on this, there are some more links on the Wikipedia page. Good luck! Jørgen (talk) 11:19, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Nuts grow, they are not manufactured. You could always buy nuts in their shells, although I think that is overkill. 92.28.255.53 (talk) 09:35, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Obvious the OP is talking about the fact of cross-contamination issues. If you don't actually know what you are talking about, please don't offer explanations that verge on medical advice. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:45, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

August 19

drugs

what is (if there is) the difference between methaphedmine and amphedmine? Is "ice" amphedime or methamphedimeKnowledge4k (talk) 11:54, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Amphetamine and methamphetamine are closely related chemicals (the latter has a methyl group that the former does not). The effects of the two (compare amphetamine#Effects and methamphetamine#Effects) are pretty similar. When such substances are illicitly made, it's common for poor quality control to result in a batch actually containing a range of related compounds rather than the single desired one, rendering the already complex matter of how such a substance interacts with the body yet less predictable. Meth is commonly known as (among other things) "ice", although in Australia 4-Methylaminorex is also called "ice". -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 12:25, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

most powerful guns in the world

whatcha got? --Baysean (talk) 13:22, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Project HARP, Project Babylon -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 13:25, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

See Supergun in general. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 13:26, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Though if you mean, "something you could use at relatively small distances," miniguns are pretty impressive in terms of their rate of fire, and the GAU-8 Avenger is a pretty neat piece of machinery. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:12, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

It's hard to beat nuclear artillery. You could even use a gun-type shell for extra credit. --Sean 15:36, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

I've always thought the nuclear rifle would fit under this title. ^Avic_ennasis @ 16:09, 9 Elul 5770 / 19 August 2010 (UTC)

"Gun" is a relative term here. Typically (I've got no cite to back this up) the distinction between "gun" and "cannon" is the .50 caliber mark. I might be wrong about that though. Shadowjams (talk) 06:10, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

What - like this gun? Alansplodge (talk) 17:19, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Does this qualify? Enter CBW, waits for audience applause, not a sausage. 07:17, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Musical instruments

Whats the difference between a banjo and a ukelele?--88.104.80.177 (talk) 15:23, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Two main differences are they way the strings are tuned and that the banjo has a head (rare among chordophones) and the ukulele doesn't. There are also great differences in sound, technique and most common appearance in musical genres. I suggest you read our articles on banjo and ukulele and listen to examples (in the articles or on youtube, for example). ---Sluzzelin talk 15:30, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

You might also find the Banjo ukulele article interesting. -- Q Chris (talk) 16:34, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

the main difference, IMO, is that the first one is slightly less annoying. --Ludwigs2 17:02, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

The banjo-ukelele was popularized by British entertainer George Formby, Jr.. Other such hybrid instruments include a Mandolin-banjo, a Banjo guitar or Guitjo. All stummed/plucked stringed instruments (guitar/mandolin/banjo/uke) could be played roughly like each other, however historically they have different tunings and playing techniques. For example, there's nothing to stop someone from tuning a banjo to standard guitar tuning and strumming it like an acoustic guitar; its just not often done like that historically. --Jayron32 03:04, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I think you misread, the first one would be banjo not ukulele so your statement doesn't make sense Nil Einne (talk) 13:12, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

A banjo takes longer to burn! :-)--88.104.84.86 (talk) 07:19, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

FFV Fuels that can be used on Flex vehicles

Hi,

I need to find out what percentage of the existing 9,000,000 FFV that are on the road today,can use all three: plain Gasoline, E85 and M85. Are the cars that Detroit is making today as they come from the showroom can use all three fuels. I had heard that FF vehicles that use E85 cannot use M85 and vice versa. Please advise.

Ignacio Aliaga <redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by Consultiali (talk • contribs) 19:05, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Does FFV, or any of the references therein, answer your question? (I removed your email address by the way) --ColinFine (talk) 21:51, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Gasoline, E85 and M85 FFV

Can Flex fuel vehicles in today's showrooms and 9,000,000 vehicles in the country use all three fuels, gasoline. E85 and M85. I was told that vehicles like Ford and GM or any vehicle that was a FFV that use E85 cannot use M85 and vice versa. Please explain if all FFV in the USA made as FFV can use all 3 fuels without changing anything in the vehicle once it is manufactured.

Please advice —Preceding unsigned comment added by Consultiali (talk • contribs) 20:34, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

To give your question some context for others, relevant articles are Flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV). E85, and the M85 disambig page says it's "a 85% Methanol / 15% Petrol blend." -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 21:44, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Most modern cars could run on E85 - but they have problems getting the engine started using that fuel - especially in cold weather. In places like Brazil, where ethanol is commonly used, they install a small secondary gas tank which they fill with regular gasoline - the car uses that to start and get warm - then the driver flips a switch and drives the rest of the way on Ethanol. Older cars can't do that because ethanol dissolves rubber and some other compounds found in the gaskets, seals and hoses. Modern cars don't have that problem - but they do need special setup to start on ethanol - which is what a "flex fuel" vehicle brings to the game. Ethanol also conducts electricity (gasoline doesn't) so they have to be more careful with things like submerged fuel pumps.

M85 is a whole different problem. Methanol corrodes aluminium - so it is essential that the fuel not come in contact with any aluminium engine parts. Since aluminium is used for lightness in most engines these days, it takes a LOT to make a normal car run M85 for anything other than drag racing or other motor sports (where the engine can be torn apart after just a few minutes of operation - and you don't expect your car to last for 150,000 miles on the one engine!). Flex fuel vehicles are really no different in this regard.

SteveBaker (talk) 00:19, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

You may also find our Autogas article interesting as a different alternative to those fuels. Exxolon (talk) 01:07, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Discussion forum

I'm looking for a discussion forum that focusses on issues around energy efficiency in the home and green remodeling / appliance choice. I can't find one though - can you? Thank you! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.120.194.187 (talk) 21:48, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Type "Green living forum" into Google.com and click on any of the first dozen or so links that come up. SteveBaker (talk) 00:11, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

This and this seem to be decent forums. There must be hundreds around, but if you can't find any dedicated forums, why not post on a 'off-topic' or 'community discussion' section on an unrelated forum instead? I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that. Chevymontecarlo 07:00, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Illness and Injury

Should or shouldn't athletes complete or play though their illness/es or injury/ies? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mybodymyself (talk • contribs) 22:11, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

That of course depends on a lot of things. What's the nature of the injury? How important is the game to the athlete? How likely is the injury to develop complications if it's played on? In many cases, "playing through" an injury will mean that it takes the injury longer to heal. This may be acceptable to the athlete if he feels that the benefits of not missing some games outweigh the costs of having an injury longer. Buddy431 (talk) 22:26, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

And, of course, if this sports injury affects you or anyone you know, the injured person should ask their doctor/physiotherapist/athletic trainer. Such professionals will be able to give the best advice for the specific injury and the specific person, helping the athlete avoid ruining their career. 86.161.255.213 (talk) 22:51, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

It also depends a lot on what the teacher of your sports medicine class taught you when you answer this homework problem. In general, they have probably spoken in class about the benefits and drawbacks of playing through injuries, and what sorts of injuries one should or should not play though. You should read through the notes your wrote down during lecture the day(s) he or she discussed these issues, and/or you should read the chapters of your textbook where these issues are discussed. --Jayron32 02:56, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

--Jessica A Bruno 19:57, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Who should or shouldn't make the decision on whether an athlete can play though their illness or injury?--Jessica A Bruno 18:57, 20 August 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mybodymyself (talk • contribs)

Assuming the athlete is an adult, it is up to him or her. If they speak with their doctor or trainer who tells them that if they try to play through the injury, they run a high risk of a much worse injury, then they have been advised and are responsible for any consequences that occur. Googlemeister (talk) 19:36, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for all of your answers to my question here. All of them were informative. Anyway, I was only curious about this then student and etc along those lines.--Jessica A Bruno 19:57, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

August 20

Sending lots of photos over Internet

What's an effective way so send about 20 jpeg photos (~200mb in total) over to someone without using .rar or .zip? Acceptable (talk) 00:43, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Dropbox? [7] Dismas|^(talk) 01:41, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Upload them to a site like photobucket and send your recipient a link to the album —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.167.165.2 (talk) 02:41, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

At the risk of promoting one company over another, you might also consider sending the folder via a service like YouSendIt. It does have a number of no-charge options, and it does work rather well (from my own experience). --McDoobAU93 (talk) 03:52, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

How good are you with computers? You could download Apache and serve the photos from your home computer. (An FTP server would probably be an even better choice; very easy to set up if you're running Linux). I wouldn't bother if you hardly send this many photos, but if you do this often or want to send the photos to multiple recipients, serving them yourself eliminates any middlemen, terms of service, and non-ISP bandwidth charges.--el Aprel (^facta-_facienda) 04:01, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Some ISPs have in their terms of service that you are not to operate a server. I don't know that they'd really enforce that if you're just running ftpd (yikes! don't do that -- at least make it sshd) for a few friends to download stuff (assuming they even found out), but I also don't know that they wouldn't. --Trovatore (talk) 04:09, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I doubt zipping them would help much, and at an average of 10 MB apiece, you might hit the upper bound on your e-mail. Do they have to be sent via internet? Certainly 200 MB will fit easily on a CD (or better yet, a little flash drive) and they could be snail-mailed. Also, if there's anything sensitive in those photos, you're better off not using the internet anyway. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:27, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

What about Flickr? If they have a 'private album' feature or something similar, you could upload it there and then send the person the link. You could use a 'private album' or a similar feature if you don't just want anybody to see the photos. Chevymontecarlo 06:56, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

One important thing to note (which may help to cut off some avenues of discussion here) is that JPEG files are already compressed about as tightly as it is possible to compress image data. So if you're looking for a way to compress them further, you are wasting your time. Compressing JPEGs usually makes them bigger - not smaller! Hence, all programs like ZIP and RAR (and TAR and BZIP and GZIP...and many, many others) are going to do for you is to package all of those files into one big one. If the person you are sending them to is technologically unsophisticated and might not be able to unpack them - then you're basically going to have to send them individually. I agree though that for most people it's better to put the images onto some kind of web site so people can look at them super-easily - and only have to save them if they need to. SteveBaker (talk) 00:08, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Actually some specialised models can usually further compress JPEGs. StuffIt was the first, but it seems others notably WinZip have now developed their own. I can't find any tests with multiple files but these two [8] [9] show StuffIt achieved a compression ratio of 24%+ (0% means n compression i.e. compressed file is same size as uncompressed). (StuffIt still seems to be about the best, perhaps because they have patents, Some PAQ variants may be mildly better but these are generally more research then intended for normal usage, and I wonder if they actually violate the patents anyway.) This isn't that surprising since it's a rather old format. See also JPEG#Lossless further compression. I think this has been discussed before on the RD as well. Nil Einne (talk) 10:05, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

hjsplit is a little free program that can split your files into smaller chunks that you can send as e-mail attachments. The recipient uses the same program to reconnect the files. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:49, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Making food with just a water boiler

I'd like something that can be stored in room temperature and is healthy so I can just buy a large quantity and not bother about it anymore. It won't be my only source of nutrition, no worries. --85.77.220.201 (talk) 11:26, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I wouldn't say Pot Noodles were healthy but they'd fit your bill! --TammyMoet (talk) 12:09, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Dried soup mixes (particularly for legume-based soups) also qualify. Marco polo (talk) 12:15, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Couscous (the instant sort). Just add a spice or two. Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:31, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

How about pasta and rice? Googlemeister (talk) 13:15, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Mie Goreng is ultra cheap, rather tasty and really good with different sauces and spices.Jabberwalkee (talk) 13:52, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

If you are willing to do some work, and not use the water boiler but sunshine, then rather than buy the factory made crap then mipku is always good. Once you have that you could then go on to make Pemmican. Enter CBW, waits for audience applause, not a sausage. 14:39, 20 August 2010 (UTC) Missed a bit the first time. Enter CBW, waits for audience applause, not a sausage. 14:51, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Cup a soup? Chevymontecarlo 16:04, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Many types of meat, starches and vegetables, as well as fruit and milk are available in jars, cans or plastic retort pouches, and can be stored at room temperature. There is no reason to stick to dried instant meals or weird exotic foods. Crackers have a long shelf life as well. So does cereal, rice, and instant mashed potatoes. Peanut butter is an old favorite. Velveeta is a cheese product that does not need refrigeration. Edison (talk) 20:44, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Nit picking: the article says "As is the case with most processed cheeses, the manufacturer recommends Velveeta be refrigerated after opening." 92.29.119.106 (talk) 22:41, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Most of the suggestions that have been made are devastatingly high in dietary sodium. Unfortunately it seems to be extremely difficult to get convenient staple nutrition in a way that is even remotely within the sodium limits that are even borderline acceptable. The pasta and rice suggestions are not bad provide you don't add salt or salty sauces; similarly you could consider using oatmeal as a decent fraction of your daily calories (I like to get the steel-cut oatmeal, and add fresh or dried fruit to the boiling water before putting the oatmeal in).

But unfortunately there's no substitute for lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and they have to be bought every two or three days. There is no healthy way to buy a lot and forget about it. --Trovatore (talk) 01:26, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

In the absence of fresh fruit and vegetables, dried and frozen fruits and vegetables can provide a good alternative. Dried fruits can keep, if stored correctly, almost indefinately at room temperature. A properly maintained garden can provide a nearly year-round source of fresh vegetables in most climates, if the proper vegetables and fruits are planted at the right times. Excess fruits and vegetables can be canned and stored as preserves, and you don't need anything more than boiling water to sterilize the mason jars. People did manage to eat year round before the advent of prepared foods and microwaves. --Jayron32 05:30, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Help in identifying a golf cart.

The unknown golf cart in question.

I know I've asked this before, but I've been searching Google for months regarding info on a certain Yamaha golf cart. It had no inbuilt roof, and had handlebars for steering instead of a typical wheel. I don't know the year or model, and my dad returned it to the dealer due to technical problems. Blake Gripling (talk) 12:20, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

I think it's YAMAHA TurfMate G6-A. See [10], [11], and [12]. Oda Mari (talk) 15:09, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Helping me find a sticker the size of an asterisk.

I am applying stickers to a scale model, and I just lost a shiny, circle-shaped modeling sticker that is only like, a millimeter in diameter. How am I supposed to find it in my carpeting without ruining or destroying it by accident? 64.75.158.198 (talk) 20:02, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Try a lint roller. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 20:26, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Turn off the lights and try shining a bright flashlight over the area and see if you can pick up a reflection. Matt Deres (talk) 20:32, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Static electricity is your friend here. Googlemeister (talk) 20:55, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Why do I see the number 22 or 2.2 on cars

I see a lot of cars with chrome numbers 22 or 2.2 added as aftermarket trim. Can anyone tell me what this means?23:39, 20 August 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.66.7.18 (talk)

Numbers on the sides of cars, unless it's in some sort of race, normally indicate the engine displacement in liters. Although 2.2 is rather low to be proud of it... Dismas|^(talk) 01:51, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Or, in these carbon-conscious days, rather high to be proud of it? (Enquires 1.2-driving 87.81.230.195 (talk) 08:50, 21 August 2010 (UTC))

August 21

if a trade smeargle from Colosseum will it still have a red tale

if a trade smeargle from colosseum will it still have a red tale —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.23.212.162 (talk) 00:49, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, I don't speak Markov chain. Marnanel (talk) 01:24, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Presumably this is a Pokemon question? You would have better luck:

1. Asking on the Entertainment Desk
2. Slowing down to check your message, making sure you've written in full sentences and mentioned that you are talking about Pokemon.

The best I can offer you is the articles Pokemon Colosseum and smeargle. A quick skim of the article on Bulbapedia gives me no reason to think the colour of its tail will change. 86.161.255.213 (talk) 01:39, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Am I just getting old, or is pokeman a really, really strange concept? --Ludwigs2 02:25, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

It's just a wholesome children's game where you capture intelligent creatures and force them to beat each other into unconsciousness, no matter how non-violent they normally are. Who'd have a problem with that? 86.161.255.213 (talk) 12:08, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Maybe they're asking about something like this. After having played it for too long. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 02:38, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

You know, if we do interpret the "red tale" as a communist story, it might even be possible that they're talking about an advanced game of Mao. But in that case we can't tell them the rules without taking a penalty. Marnanel (talk) 02:40, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Red tail indicates it's shiny. There's no reason to think a Pokemon would lose its shininess being traded from one game to another; certainly, they never do when traded among the regular handheld games. 90.195.179.233 (talk) 14:52, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Please help me identify an Anchorage, Alaska building

I took this picture in Anchorage when I was there in 2006. I would like to identify it, as well as know where it is. Any help in finding out would be greatly appreciated. It's apparently not one of the tallest buildings. — Athelwulf ^[T]/_[C] 04:06, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Identifying that peculiar little Prince-like logo would probably help. Meanwhile, have you looked for the building in Google Images? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:53, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Flickr gives ASRC Building which I'm guessing is the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, hey presto - the logo's match too. It was on the 6th page of a search of Flickr for "anchorage building alaska". Nanonic (talk) 10:49, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

And here it is on Google Maps. Nanonic (talk) 10:53, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Manual strangling

Suppose you were a pathologist who needs to investigate a corpse. If it was murdered by manual strangling, what signs are there on the body? (I know, I've asked enough strange questions already...) Kayau Voting IS evil 04:13, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Marks around the neck, I would presume? 24.189.87.160 (talk) 04:49, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Try this page[13], which I got from googling post mortem signs of strangling There are many other hits. Richard Avery (talk) 07:03, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

CSI usually mention facial petechiae Rojomoke (talk) 10:11, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

From a forensic anthropology class I took many years ago, they told us that bruises around the neck and broken hyoid bone were common. The article linked to by Richard Avery seems to cover these and their deficiencies pretty well. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:55, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

The lungs will also show distinct signs, if the death was from suffocation. Looie496 (talk) 00:48, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

What's the formula or algorithm used to calculate the banker's offer on Deal or no deal?

Don't know if this belongs in Entertainment, Mathematics, or here. Thanks. 76.27.175.80 (talk) 17:09, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

His offer is often close to the median value, and always much less than the expectation (Arithmetic mean), but the banker plays psychological games with the contestant, so there is no algorithm. Dbfirs 17:21, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm not certain, but "the banker" is in all likelihood a plot device. It is highly probable that the shadowy figure they show is in no way involved with determining the amount offered. Most gameshows which offer "jackpots" take out insurance against paying out the jackpot (and near-jackpots), in order to mitigate risk and smooth cash flows. In doing so, they have to provide the insurance company with information on the method of payout determination. In a game like Deal or No Deal, the likelihood of the contestant accepting the offer is critical to figuring the chance of a jackpot, so "we'll offer what we feel like" probably wouldn't cut it. I have no way of being certain, but I highly suspect that there *is* an algorithm used, possibly with a certain random factor included to avoid being obvious. I'd guess that most of the offers are determined solely by a computer, but with the producers "tweaking" it rarely when doing so would increase drama (e.g. play psychological games), although they're probably limited by certain guidelines (e.g. never go over the expectation value, never more than X% away from the computer estimate, etc.). If an algorithm does exist, though, it is probably protected by pretty severe confidentially agreements to avoid people "gaming" the system (like Michael Larson did on Press Your Luck when he figured out its algorithms), so even if we were sure there was an algorithm, we wouldn't know what it was. -- 174.21.233.249 (talk) 17:42, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

I found this from google. The author claims that his formula (based on data of 31 banker's offers in the US NBC version) explains "99% of the variance in the banker's offer". Although my understanding is that the banker takes account of the contestant's attitude to risk - so there is no formula. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 17:31, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

I believe the US version is different to the UK w.r.t. bankers, asI recall the UK version is much more context dependent. - Jarry1250 ^{[Humorous? Discuss.]} 17:35, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

These formulas just do not work, even for the American version, though there is some truth in the claim that the offer comes closer to the expected value as the number of remaining boxes decreases. In the English version, the "banker" tends towards the median in early rounds, but there is considerable variation to make the game more interesting. Dbfirs 22:37, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

TV programs cost an absolute fortune to make and compared to that, the prize money is not the biggest cost. TV studios are much more likely to pick the amount to make the show more interesting - perhaps to skew the ratio of winners to losers to match some kind of predetermined amount that will keep people watching. SteveBaker (talk) 20:05, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Another jarring Americanism.

I listen to and watch several USA news channels and always find it jarring to hear a report such as, "The President and First Lady met with the leader of XYZ Thursday evening", or "A fire-engine broke down on the freeway Wednesday morning". Why not "last Thursday evening", or "on Wednesday morning"? And why, whenever that misuse began to develop away from the British English format, did the whole of the Continental USA unquestioningly follow suit, knowing as they must have done that it was wrong? 92.30.184.85 (talk) 18:33, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

You should ask this on the language desk if you don't just want anecdotes as answers, or smug replies about how English is a living language, etc. --Mr.98 (talk) 18:35, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Smug questions will probably get smug replies no matter where they are asked. Adam Bishop (talk) 19:03, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Plus I don't see anything wrong with that construction. English is a living language, after all. 24.83.104.67 (talk) 19:18, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Your whole premise is wrong. American English did not develop away from British English. Both modern American English and modern British English developed away from early modern British English. In many ways, modern American English is closer and more faithful to its early modern parent than modern British English is. So, in many cases, it is modern British English that has developed away from the earlier norm. Why should American English have followed British English on its errant path? Marco polo (talk) 20:06, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

an old linguistic factiod I heard somewhere, that Shakespeare (if he were alive today) would actually be most comfortable with the way that English is spoken in Chicago. --Ludwigs2 20:27, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

More of an opinion than a fact(oid) I would venture. Alansplodge (talk) 23:40, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't have a problem with it, though I am American, so maybe I'm just used to it. I think it's better the way they do it than the way you suggest with the day of the week first. The media's way gets the heart of the story out there first and then notes the day. I care less about when something happened than I do about what happened. Dismas|^(talk) 00:11, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Average # of patents for an American patent holder

How many patents does the average person who holds at least one American patent have? Thanks. 76.27.175.80 (talk) 19:20, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't think there are good statistics out there for this, but it is an interesting question. Just as an informal, non-statistically significant, non-scientific test, I clicked on a little over 20 random patents issued in the last 20 years on Google Patents, then put the inventors names back into the search (throwing out those with generic names), and tallied the results. My average was an impressive 24.39, with a median of 12, which was a lot higher than I had thought it would be. The reason is that my sample ended up picking up about six inventors who worked for IBM or big medical companies or big electronics companies. These sectors churn out literally thousands of patent applications per year and they have whole teams often listed as inventors on them. One of my names (an IBM one) had his name listed on some 155 patents (but not usually as the sole inventor). It was not uncommon to find people who had between 40-90 patents.

Throwing out the high end, I still only found two inventors in my list with only 1 patent each. The rest ranged from 2-20. Anyway I was surprised by this, but I shouldn't have been — it's been pretty well documented (see David F. Noble's excellent America by Design, 1977) that since the late 19th century most patents in the US are held by major industrial concerns, not the "amateur tinkerer" that people think of when they hear the word "inventor." Even the "amateur tinkerer" probably has more than one patent, though. I suspect that patenting is one of those things that, if you do it, you probably do it a lot, and if you don't do it, you probably never do it. There are of course the occasional people who happen across an invention in their course of work and get it patented, but I suspect they are drowned out by the volume of people who are basically patenting things as a full time job. But this is just speculation, and my data is certainly not scientific. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:50, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

To rephrase

I asked a question a few days ago and it may have been badly worded as I did not get the answer. Many countries were involved in WWII. If we only look at Britain and Germany, which of these two countries made the first military attack on the other, and how long was it before the other side retaliated. I know Germany ivaded Poland and this can be seen as an act of war. I only want to know about these two countries and their interaction, for this perticular instant. Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.145.145 (talk) 22:10, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

The only warlike act on 3rd Sep appears to have been the sinking of SS Athenia by U30, although this was unknown to the German Government and high command. "RAF aircraft drop 6 million leaflets on cities in northern Germany[14]". Two German merchant ships are seized in UK ports; one British ship seized in a German port. A number of RN submarines were bombed by the RAF[15]. The next day, 4th Sep "RAF Bomber Command go in against German warships in the Heligoland Bight with 29 Bristol Blenheim and Vickers Wellington bombers in a daylight raid. The Admiral Scheer is hit three times but the bombs do not explode. The cruiser Emden is damaged by wreckage of a shot-down Blenheim. Of the attacking aircraft, 7 are lost."[16] A famous friendly fire incident on 6th Sep was the Battle of Barking Creek. Alansplodge (talk) 23:36, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

August 22

Help! I have really good wine but no corkscrew

Yes, I know I could grab a screwdriver or thin knife or something and go to town, but I'd ruin the cork and probably break it up and get cork in the wine. I do have a corkscrew and I've spent half an hour looking for it. Anyone have some suggestions?--141.155.148.156 (talk) 01:26, 22 August 2010 (UTC)