Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Reference Desk

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May 18

Susanna Moore

Susanna Moore is referred to in your entry as an American crime writer. She is not a crime writer. She has written seven books --- three novels that make up a Hawaiian trilogy; a travel book; a novel about a murder in New York; a novel set in 19th-century India; and a novel that will be published next year. I know because I am Susanna Moore.

Hey Susanna, while we tend to like to keep our entries free of edits by their subjects (see Wikipedia:Autobiography), if you feel you can add to the article with verifiable sources and factual additions, please feel free to do so. You may cite Amazon, or anything else that can back up your claims. I see that you are on an AOL account, and thus you might want to create an account, for a number of reasons. Happy editing, Mysekurity ^[m!] 01:43, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Slight update undertaken, but I'm not familiar with the subject. Apologies for howlers introduced. --Tagishsimon (talk)

coins

I'm curious as to what the term,,{Uncirculated} means. The actual word in coin talk.

Means it has not been released into circulation (e.g. released by the Mint to banks to distribute to business and the public). Wll generally be in pristine condition and may be a design that was never circulated, which would presumably give it a premium. See extended article at http://www.goldsovereigns.co.uk/prooforuncirculated.html --Tagishsimon (talk)

Hey, I'm a coin expert, sort of, and Uncirculated is a coin which like Tagishsimon has yet to reach circulation. These are generally proof or commerative! If a coin reached circulation but is good quality, the term EF is (excellent fine, I think) used. Computerjoe's talk 18:52, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

To add to this, uncirculated coins should be free of the nicks and blemishes that ordinary coins pick up in the course of everyday wear. Uncirculated coins aren't minted in any special way; they just haven't been circulated.

Uncirculated coins are a step below "proof" coins, which are specially minted in a way that gives a mirror-like finish to the background, and a frosted look to the sculpted parts of the coin. It's a very striking effect, if you've never seen a proof coin before. Proof coins are made specifically for the collector and investor market, and they generally come in special packaging. --Tachikoma 23:34, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Adding on to what I said earlier... if I remember correctly, the scale for grading a coin goes like this: poor, good, very good, fine, extra fine, uncirculated, brilliant uncirculated, proof. It's been many years since I've thought about coin collecting, so I could be wrong. There's also a newer grading system that uses a numerical scale to rate a coin's condition. More info can be found in the article Coin collecting. --Tachikoma 14:00, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Molybdenum Disulfide

I read in the information in Wikipedia that Moly in powder form as used in oils and greases has a particle size range of 1-100 (I don't know how to say this, but likes like a backward written YM) and I am interested in how that measurement compares to micron. I have a 10 micron oil filter and would like to use some powdered Moly but it needs to be able to pass through the filter. I know someone out there can help me and I am "Thanking you in advance for your help and wish I could be as smart as you are." Thank you ever so much and "Have a great day!" Kent

That's a micrometer. It is the same as a micron. Weird, huh? --M1ss1ontomars2k4 | T | C | @ 03:04, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean μm ? That does indeed mean micrometer, with the symbol μ (the Greek letter mu) meaning 1/1,000,000th. StuRat 06:48, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Doesn't μm mean micrometres? A micrometer would presumably be a machine for measuring very small things. But yes, same thing as micron. Skittle 13:58, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Ooh, look at me, I'm from an different country and I spell things weird. —Keenan Pepper 15:52, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I thought SI units were internationally spelled to avoid confusion. I thought that was part of the point of international units. Obviously if it's an International/American difference, then I retract my comments, but I thought that the Système International would be consistent. Skittle 16:11, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

It is an American/British spelling difference. Most "-re" words in Britspeak are spelled phonetically as "-er" in American English. Oddly, there are exceptions, like "acre" (perhaps because "acer" might be taken as someone who aces a test). I suppose we would have to make it fully phonetic as "ayker" to make it clear, and we Americans aren't willing to go quite that far, yet. StuRat 16:22, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

No, the spelling varies between countries. For example the Portuguese for kilometre is quilómetro. The symbol is still km though. Jameswilson 01:06, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Fishing fleets

Er...this is kind of dumb, but what country does have the world's largest fishing fleet? It's featured as an example question on WP:Q, but it doesn't give the answer -_-. --M1ss1ontomars2k4 | T | C | @ 03:05, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I searched through the archives to see where it was originally asked (it seems the question used to be quite a bit stranger, until someone answered it and it was changed), but I couldn't come across a correct answer.
It seems that Japan may have the world's second largest fishing fleet, and Russia used to have the world's largest fleet. Spain is apparently number 4, and I have a source that says Asia has the worlds largest fleet, which is a bit silly.
All that really remains is the US and China, and I'd put my money on the US, since China gets a lot of its seafood from Japanese ships. 61.25.248.86 03:21, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

To throw another possibility into the mix, South Korea has a very large fishing fleet - larger than Japan's, ISTR. Grutness...wha? 06:31, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I know Norway's fishing fleet reigned supreme in size not too many decades ago, but I don't know about today. Wikipedia is lacking on this area. Henning 13:59, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

The answer is at the previous example question #What species of penguin appears on the coat of arms of the Arturo Prat Antarctic Naval Base?. – b_jonas 15:56, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Sleep

Moved to science. 61.25.248.86 06:36, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

England's highest waterfall

Hi Can you help me ? There seems to be several sites all claiming to be England's highest waterfall !! is it Canonteign Falls, Caldron Snout, High Force or Gaping Ghyll Many thanks in advance Regards Dennis

Dennis J O'Gara

The High Force article goes some way to clarifying this: Despite popular belief, it is not, at 20 metres (70 feet), the highest waterfall in England: Cautley Spout, in Cumbria's Howgill Fells, is almost 180 metres (600 feet) high; and Hardraw Force, in North Yorkshire, has an unbroken drop of 30 metres (100 feet). http://www.rabycastle.com/high_force.htm does state that High Force is "reputed to be the highest unbroken fall of water in England", (they seem not to have noticed Hardraw Force) so the term "highest waterfall" is open to interpretation! Not a good one for a pub quiz; there'll be people with several "right" answers ;-) Tonywalton  | Talk 09:47, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't know the nationality or the intention of the original questioner but it may be worthwhile pointing out that England and the United Kingdom are not the same so there may potentially be a higher waterfall in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland which you may also be interested in. AllanHainey 11:31, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Train travel in eastern Europe (prices of...)

I am considering travelling by train through eastern europe (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary & Romania) next year and though I can find timetables for most of my legs I'm struggling to come up with any prices (I've looked in Lonely Planets, Rough Guides, etc but they mainly concentrate on longer journeys). I could do with these to compare with Interrail/Eurail/Domino passes. If anyone could advise on fares for the following legs I'd be extremely grateful( no concessions, day fares). Krakow (Pol) - Levoca (Slo), Levoca - Bratislava (Slo), Bratislava - Sopron (Hun), Sopron - Budapest (Hun), Budapest - Cluj-Napoca (Rom), Cluj-Napoca - Brasov (Rom) and, Brasov - Bucharest (Rom)... Thanks in advance... DPM.

I suggest you talk to your travel agent - it's their job to give you information like this. — QuantumEleven 12:55, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Hadn't thought of that! however, last time I was in a travel agents (in the UK) I came to the conclusion that it was their job to sell the holidays they had on offer but ask for some 'other' information and they look at you as though you have two heads (I don't). Maybe I'm being cynical and over-generalising but I just dont trust them... Thanks...DPM

Travel agents are not information bureaux and I would have some sympathy with one who politely declined to give you this kind of information. But to be honest, I don't think travel agents would be likely to hold information on individual train fares in eastern Europe anyway. You could maybe try the tourist boards of the individual countries, or the websites of their train companies. Try booking tickets online and see what fares the sites throw up. --Richardrj 14:44, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

[1] is a useful site for advice about train travel in Europe. Deutsche Bahn [2] gives times for trains all over Europe and some prices, though coverage varies from country to country. Oldelpaso 17:27, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Speaking out of personal experience. Any train travel [excluding cross-border travel] in countries that are generally east of the Euro-zone in Europe is quite inexpensive [e. g. a one-way ticket from Gdańsk to Kraków [cross-country, ~600km] for an overnight train would be something like 12-15 Euro, maybe a little more; a student, like me, can travel the distance for 9 Euro :) ]. Cross border travel is a different story, because the tarifs are not really compatible and it is usually advisable to sit in a compartment with an experienced and English-speaking traveller. Booking tickets online is something I have never done even here at home [I'm Polish] and would not consider, it is easiest to just go to the clerk at the train station. Be careful, however, because sometimes the people will want to cheat you out of your money. Moving further south - the Czech Republic and Slovakia are a completely different story, I have never had trouble communicating in English or German at the train stations or even with train conductors.

If there is something you'd like to ask about travelling in Poland [or ask any other question related to my home country] - feel free to do it. --Ouro 22:34, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

If it comes to more than 100 quid you are probably better off buying this instead. Jameswilson 01:09, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

whatever you do don't but a Eurail/interrail pass (i forget what they're called). there are SO many train fares you have to pay extra for

In my experience, this depends on the country though. I had one when I was in Germany, and I never had to pay a cent for any of the trains there, including the high-speed ones. --DavidGC 10:57, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Article deleted contrary to policy?

Only a few days ago I created an article on the book "Successful Praying"; I took the effort to make fair-use copies of the cover, type in the entire page of contents, and find a link to the book on the web. Now, without any notice at all, I find that the page has been deleted. This makes me extremely angry to have an article which I put all this effort into thrown away without any procedure. It seems that this was clearly against the Wikipedia:Deletion_policy since it should have been obvious that the article was none of the "Speedy Deletion" candidates, and at least Wikipedia:Assume_good_faith would have given the benefit of the doubt. Surely the admin who did this should know better. I'm pissed off enough with the admins heavy-handedness to just never come back to Wikipedia.

I cannot find out who did it (because the page does not exist any more), or can I?

Thanks for any help.

Brusselsshrek 12:36, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

This is what I found from the logs: DragonflySixtyseven deleted the article on May 18, 2006 at 03:28 UTC, stating "article much too spammy" as the reason. –Mysid^(t) 12:51, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

A table of contents is not an encyclopedia article. It's is a table of contents (and in fact it is copyrighted). Rmhermen 16:29, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Consumer Durable Goods

I Want 2 know briefly about Consumer Durable Goods

Have you looked at consumer good and durable good? --Richardrj 14:06, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

NBME Question bank - STEP1 USMLE

NBME Question bank - STEP1 USMLE hi, i am lookin for question bank series book, that is used to prepare for step 1 USMLE exam. Can any one let me the latest edition details along with the author name. If it can be referenced to publications then can u please let me know the publisher name.

thanks.

User Talk Pages

Hi

I've noticed that many Wikipedians have small rectangular boxes on their talk pages which say some things about themself e.g. This user is male, this user is a Manchester United fan and so on.

How do you put these in and is there a list of boxes that can be put in.

Thanks in advance

Sam

See Wikipedia:Userboxes for instructions and a list. --GraemeL ^(talk) 15:57, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Termoli in Italy

A stage of the Giro D'Italia cycle race finished in Termoli this week. The commentator on the television station stated that one of the International Time lines passes through a building that was pictured. It resembles a small Castle. Can anyone confirm this? and is it open for visitors.

Regards Dave H

Is that the building shown in our article? The map in the Time zone article shows all of Italy in one time zone. Rmhermen 16:25, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

He was referring to the 15° E line of longitude, where local time will be equal to clock time, 1 hour ahead of Greenwich. These are not normally called "International Time lines", though. --Shantavira 18:54, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

This was my first experience of using Wikipedia and I am impressed with the result. Thankyou very much I'll come back again.

Regards Dave H

Death by cake and tickling

Me and my friend were discussing crazy things and my friend said that there is this cake that you can buy and you must sign a contract so that you will not die becuase there is a large amount of calories in it. Is this true? Also, out of humor, is it possilbe to tickle someone to death? Thanks, Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 16:52, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

How does the contract save you from death? –Mysid^(t) 17:02, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

It doesn't save you from death (the way I worded the question), but you must sign it to prove that, if you eat the cake, you will not die. Probably so the maker of the cake is not sued... Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 17:20, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I used my best googelizing and can't find this anywhere. It sounds like a local marketing gimmick. --Zeizmic 17:41, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Inspired by your title, if you were to tickle someone while they were eating, causing them to choke and die, you'd have tickled them to death. I'm not so sure about the feasability of causing death by laughing, but Douglas Adams has a character die of it, so it must be true. --Sam Pointon United FC 18:15, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

There is a place in Adelaide (au) where I bought a fiendish confection called "Death by Chocolate". It was a kind of ice cream. I have wondered if that is a local name, or a recipe found elsewhere. --Seejyb 19:40, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

"Death by Chocolate" is a popular name for desserts here in the U.S. Dismas|^(talk) 19:46, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Also a very popular name in New Zealand. Grutness...wha? 01:46, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Death by Chocolate is a popular cake in the U.K. TheMadBaron 23:17, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't think it's possible to die from eating something, no matter how rich -- unless you choke on it or you're already sick. In theory, you could consume too much caffeine if it was a chocolate dessert, but this calculator indicates that a 100 pound person would need to eat over 750 chocolate bars. It's a neat marketing gimmick; I've heard of similar gimmicks for hot foods. Seriously, though, I think that death by cake and tickling has to be the best possible death ever. I'm changing my Living will. --ByeByeBaby 20:52, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Ever heard of Fugu?  :) User:Zoe|^(talk) 23:56, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Fair enough, there's a wide variety of potentially poisonous, toxic and/or infected foodstuffs. And also, you can apparently be suffocated by a sufficiently angry/bad-ass live octopus. I'll clarify - I don't think it's possible to die from eating too much food or too rich a food. You'd puke first. --ByeByeBaby 04:21, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Apparent some Celtic communities had a ritual known as "Death by Cake", although a better name for it would be trial by cake (similar to trial by fire). A victim accused of lying would say an oath along the lines of "If I have lied may this cake choke me". As the cake contained large bits of nuts, fruit etc., there was a good chance of dying! smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 18:37, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

There is apparently a curry powder that one needs a doctors certificate to eat as it is so hot, whether this is true i dont know, as i dont eat curry or food that hurts me.

Fruits of Heaven

Hello! I am eager to know if there are fruits that can cause the blood pressure to be lowered? The answer to this question will mean a lot to me. a person who is dear to me is sufferinng of constant fluctuation of the blood pressure. Hope This query will merit beneficial respponds from you. More power. Thanks!

Please do not look here for medical advice, although you may get it. What you might be searching for is 'Natural means of lowering blood pressure', as opposed to prescribed drugs from a doctor. This is dangerous, controversial territory. --Zeizmic 17:36, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Bananas. IANAMD. TheMadBaron 23:52, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

i need ur help

my name is mussarat rahman. i am a student of fatimah jinah women's university pakistan. i doing masters in behavioral sciences and currently am doing a thesis on

A study the relationship between internet addiction and personality type

for screening net addiction i m using INTERNET ADDICTION TEST of Dr. Kimberly young. (IAT) and to assess personality type im using EPQ which measures Extroversion, introversion nuerotic traits in people.

sir i do not have the psychometric properties of this EPQ test.im using a version which has 90 items. i do not know its validity or reliabily or when or how it was developed or its cut off score. while searching through for this test i came across ur name on iternet im hoping that u would be able to help me out in this matter of finding its reliability validity etc. i would be much much obliged. ps i am in urgent need of this information which is not available to me frm pakistan and would greatly appreciate ur help.

Try here]. Jameswilson 01:15, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Did you try Trait_theory ? --DLL 21:43, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Why do you contribute to the wikipedia?

So im doing a schoolproject about wikipedia.com and tought it would be nice to have some actual information from contributers why they spend hours or more helping the community and lazy assess such as me getting free information. Thank you for your time and hope you'll feel like answering this. and dont get me wrong i really appricite the work you do and i owe all contributers big time.

/Patpau

Because it's fun, we get to show off our knowledge and occasionally spar with other contributors (who generally have a brain and can come up with a good argument). Sometimes we learn things too. Salons are out of style, but relatively anonymous public forums are good safe fun.--24.80.70.174 19:22, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

We do it because we enjoy it, because we feel like we are really benefiting something and making a difference. We also enjoy the communal side of things (See Wikipedia:Esperanza for an idea of that). The best solution to your homework would be to work in Wikipedia for a while and see for yourself. Daniel (‽) 19:41, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Keep in mind however that some people think Esperanza is A Bad Thing. Adam Bishop 02:32, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I like teaching but don't like people. I like learning new things in part so that I can keep up in conversations with my brother and father who both know everything. I like working on computers and various other technological things and this gives me an outlet for that which is simple to learn and do. It gives me something to do while I'm at work building the technology that makes this encyclopedia possible. It gives me a chance to do a good turn daily. And I took an oath years ago to be helpful (and 11 other things) which I try to live up to. Dismas|^(talk) 19:44, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I used to write articles, but found that this is much less work. --Zeizmic 20:54, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Haha, I concur! Seriously, I get a buzz from writing a block of informative text and pictures in an article, seeing my work up there for all to access. I also get to mix with nice people and interact with the inner workings of the Wikipedia bureaucracy. Sum0 21:01, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Well you should take a look at Wikipedia:Why on Earth would I want to contribute to a wiki, Wikipedia:Who, Why?, Wikipedia is a MMORPG and Wikipedia:Why Wikipedia is so great. I do it because I enjoy it. I do it because it's fun to learn new things by running through the "random article" link to help fix articles. I hope that someone will find something I edited useful. I suppose I also do it to show off the fact that I actually know something and I'm not just a pretty face. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 20:59, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Contributing is a delicious addictive frustrative showoffive passion. What did you do before knowing Wikipedia ? Forget it.

I'm contributing here to improve my english ; to improve my wiki and encyclopedic skills and help the french WP if possible. The forum side is interesting also.

Patpau, when you ask reference deskers, you have RD answers. Try contributing yourself, and feel free to ask anyone in their talk page : e.g., people who edited (see the "history" tab) articles that you like. --DLL 21:40, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Look at this still active survey. Tintin (talk) 02:13, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the great response! /patpau payback,it's taught me stuff so I pass on what I know---hotclaws**==(81.136.163.210 10:28, 19 May 2006 (UTC))

Discrepancies

How do you report a discrepency or invalid fact found

I assume you mean in an article. There's a simple answer. Remove it! Click "Edit this page" at the top and find your discrepancy in the source text. You can either remove it or correct it. Be sure to maintain a neutral point of view. If it is too big for you to correct, report the problem on the talk page (Click "discussion" at the top). Don't worry if you make a mistake, everyone does. Daniel (‽) 19:38, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

1. Edit the article to fix it, if you are really confident of your facts. Be sure to include an accurate edit summary.

2. Otherwise, or if your changes get undone ("reverted") start a discussion on the talk for the specific article, proposing the change and indicating what you think is the problem. Be prepared to justify your facts with sources. Notinasnaid 19:34, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

US Military uniforms

On US military uniforms, why are the stars on the right side of the flag? A Clown in the Dark 20:09, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

The flag is only reversed on the right shoulder; since soldiers are considered to be "moving objects", the flag is mounted in the same way as if they were flying a flag from a pole while moving forward; in other words, the stars are towards the front. This means that on the left side, the flag looks "normal", where on the right side, a reversed flag is used.

This site has a full article. --ByeByeBaby 20:43, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

That's what you get without a proper symmetrical flag :) – b_jonas 16:29, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

How to search for material in WikiMedia

If I create a link in a talk page or elsewhere to m:Help:Footnotes as I have just done here, it works and it takes me to that help page in the MediaWiki Handbook. However, if I enter that same link into the search box on the Wikipedia Main Page, I get told that the page cannot be found. In fact, if I go to http://www.mediawiki.organd use the search box there, I also get told the page cannot be found.

I have had the same sort of trouble trying to search for images in Commons using the search box in Wikipedia.

How should pages or images not in Wikipedia itself be searched for? Must I start an account in those other Wiki organizations (like WikiMedia and Commons) in order to search for content in them? Where is there a write-up or a help page that tells us how to access material in Commons or in Wikimedia?? - mbeychok 20:17, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

You do not need an account to search.

You need to go to a specific wiki to search it. Sometimes, interwiki links or replications are useful and used, as language links or some pages here, coming from Mediawiki. --DLL 21:28, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

m:Help:Footnotes is a page in Meta-Wiki, not Mediawiki. As DLL said, you need to go to Meta to search for a Meta page. (You can access all of Wikipedia's sister projects from Wikipedia's main page; just scroll down to the second-last section.) To search for a page in the help namespace, though, you'll need to scroll to the bottom of the search results page, select the "help" namespace, and click search again. --Cadaeib (talk) 01:17, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Removing/Archiving Warnings

In WP:VAN, it says that removing warning from one's talk page is a form of vandalism. Does archiving the warning the same day you receive it not have the same affect? So my question is, how long does a warning have to stay on your page before you can archive it? Thank you in advance for any help. Chuck^(척뉴넘) 20:23, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Imagine that you issue a warning to someone. Depending on the severity, how long would you like the blame to last ? If that one made sound excuses and corrected himself, improved his conduct, &c. ? --DLL 21:20, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I take it this is a hypothetical question? ;) The answer is, no time. If you archive the same day, then your talk page will be blank and visitors will know that all your interactions are in the archive. What you can't do is selectively delete warnings, as that would be misleading. Henry^Flower 21:24, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Where does it say that on the page? It really shouldn't. If a warning is removed, then the reader has clearly seen it and acted on it. You can treat it as that the warning has been received. Kim Bruning 21:29, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Under 'Types of vandalism', it says "Removing warnings/Removing warnings for vandalism or other issues from one's talk page may also be considered vandalism." Henry^Flower 22:09, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Where that runs into problems is it says ...page may also be considered vandalism. but would be better if it read '...page are also considered vandalism.. The idea behind it, in my opinion, is to ensure that the next person that goes to leave a warning knows that there has been others before. Of course finding a blank talk page should prompt you to look at the history. I don't think that I've seen a block issued over the removal of warnings though. Also I know there is a least one bot that blanks old vandalism warnings. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:12, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

I suggest you ask this on the Wikipedia:Helpdesk instead of here. – b_jonas 16:43, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

As an administrator who frequently deals with this sort of stuff, if you archived the warnings (i.e. moved them to a subpage rather than deleting) and you left the last couple of months interactions on the talk page I'm sure it would not be an issue. DJ Clayworth 17:26, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Janet Guthrie

When did Janet Guthrie retire from racing?

The article on Janet Guthrie states when her last race was in the info box on the right of the article. Dismas|^(talk) 22:19, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Mammal with the longest tongue:body ratio

Random curiosity (and watching my cat groom herself have provoked this question: what is the mammal with the largest tongue length:body length ratio? --Sam Pointon 22:09, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Surely Gene Simmons. Henry^Flower 22:12, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Our article says Giant Anteater. Rmhermen 22:48, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Google

Is there a way to force Google to look for "U.K." as opposed to "UK"? When I type in "U.K." it just takes out the periods but I want to find the instances with periods. Dismas|^(talk) 22:40, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I really wanted to find out the answer to your question because damn but that would be useful for spelling corrections and other matters, Unfortunately, I think the answer is no, according to a number of websites I looked at. See, for example, [3] and [4]. --Fuhghettaboutit 23:32, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I seems that you are not the only one witht this problem [5]. Google seems to do that will all letters separated by periods. I assume that it is searching for both U.K. and UK if that is any condolence. Jon513 21:39, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

You can use the - sign to tell Google not to search for a certain term. So searching for U.K. -UK should do the trick.

May 19

books

How many books are based on the films?

If you mean novelisations, then lots of them. Grutness...wha? 01:49, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

American Baseball Jackets

I have a beautiful old American baseball jackets - the white leather sleeves of which badly need cleaning. I'm scared that the green of the jacket may bleed if I wash it and dry cleaning is not an option here. Anybody have any ideas. Thanks

This has some suggestions but also includes some warnings. Look at the first warning where it says that you could change the colour of it. Try googleing "leather cleaning" for more suggestions. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 07:49, 19 May 2006

Thanks a million to he or she who replied.... it's easy when you know how I suppose....

(UTC)

CBW's user page photograph shows a boy, maybe grownup now. --DLL 18:57, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Sill unanswered - NBME Question bank - STEP1 USMLE

hi,

i am lookin for question bank series book, that is used to prepare for step 1 USMLE exam. Can any one let me the latest edition details along with the author name. If it can be referenced to publications then can u please let me know the publisher name.

thanks.

It might help if you explained what you're talking about. What's a "USMLE"? At a wild guess the "US" bit might be "United States" but it could as well be "Unsupported Scaffolding". Don't forget that Wikipedia is read and edited by people from all over the world! Tonywalton  | Talk 10:46, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Ancient Sparta

Did Ancient Sparta have wheels?

When Sparta was a military superpower the wheel was already a few thousand year old invention. Famously, the Spartan princess Cynisca was the first woman ever to win an event at the Olympic Games; she won chariot racing twice. So yes, Sparta was on wheels!!!! Weregerbil 07:30, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

User:Sparta on wheels!! :) — QuantumEleven 09:07, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Does Wilmington, Delaware, have wheels? (oh, I couldn't think of anything better) Sum0 21:06, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Shoot. I thought I was being creative on humanities when I made that joke. You'all beat me to it. -LambaJan 00:50, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Who is J.N.L.?

"1991 - J.N.L., is born on May 27, 1991, commencing the life of the greatest person to ever walk this earth."

Who is J.N.L. and why is this person the greatest person to walk the earth?

(I was looking up May 27th and this was listed last in the birthday section.)

It's vandalism, doubtless referring to whoever inserted that little remark, and has been deleted. Thanks for spotting it! —Zero Gravitas 06:34, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

highest mountain name

Hello, could someone please tell me what the highest mountain in a range is called? I need it for my 8 year old daughter homework, I have searched internet and discovered heaps of facts about mountains but can not seem to find this answer. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks, fiona

I don't know if geologists have a special word for it, but for a 8 year old could it be peak? Weregerbil 07:40, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

At least the highest point of a hill or a mountain is called the summit. –Mysid^(t) 07:41, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't think there is a specific word for this, unless it is a very obscure one, and suspect she has omitted the name of a specific mountain range from the question. --Shantavira 08:26, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

recruitment

how does egroups and forums help in recruitment process

They help to ensure that a company never hires someone who is so lazy that they ask an internet forum to do their homework for them. — QuantumEleven 09:06, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

regarding blue chip

what does the trem blue chip company mean????

See Blue chip. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 07:43, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Johnny Thunders death conspiracy theories...

I'm looking for detailed information about the various conspiracy theories that surround the death of Johnny Thunders. I know that some people claim that he was murdered but I have been unable to find out exactly why they believe this is so. Anyone know the full story?

Since when do conspiracy theorists need evidence? Sad but true. Superm401 - Talk 12:55, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

IMO, people generally come up with conspiracy theories about someone's death if they idolize that person so much that they don't want to accept the fact that he/she could have been the object of accidents, crime, disease, etc. just like anyone else. --DavidGC 11:06, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Who invented the first automatic transmission?

Who invented the first Automatic transmission for a car?

See automatic transmission; there's a section about the history of the devices. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 08:41, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Using public wi-fi for internet banking, credit card purchases etc.

Hi! I was wondering whether it is secure to use internet banking or credit cards via public wi-fi (e.g. in public parks etc.). I've heard that it isn't a good idea, but why? If it is done over https (secure http) then isn't it already encrypted? Thank you!

I think it's the same issue if you plugged your laptop into a sleazy hotel Ethernet drop. You might be susceptible to other attacks. If you have a hardened Linux machine, designed to plug into strange places, then you are reasonably secure. --Zeizmic 12:43, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Er... no you are not. There is a well-known fraud that was demonstrated on The Real Hustle, whereby a fraudster sets up a laptop and spoofs the log-in screen of the hotel's wireless portal system. Because the fraudster's laptop is in the same room as those wishing to log-on to the hotel's wireless network, users see the fake SSID as a stronger signal and choose that over the real portal. If you then enter your credit card details into the screen to pay for your access, you are actually giving your credit card details to the fraudster. Jooler 02:38, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Oh dear. Unfortunately I missed that episode. I was mainly thinking about free wi-fi that is available everywhere. Is it still easy for a third party to spoof pages? Thank you!

Free wifi available everywhere? Where do you live? Jooler 09:10, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

If you're connecting to an https site (or anything else using ssl, for that matter) and it is being spoofed, you will get a warning that the certificate supplied by the server isn't signed by a known certificate authority (unless you've been silly enough to turn the warnings off.) A malicious third party can still spoof the pages, but they cannot spoof a valid certificate from a known CA. -- AJR | Talk 17:04, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

immigratiions of the past

Can you refer me to any information source on the web that would tell me about the laws in effect during early mass immigrations of Italians, Poles, etcd. etc....??

I'm just trying to understand how the mass influxes werehandled in those days? Were the laws the same?? that all immigrants had to get visas??l Or were many of them illegal?? Howardback 13:52, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Each country has its own laws, and they develop with time. You will need to be much more specific about which country and what years to get a useful answer. But I think we can safely say that in many countries immigration laws are quite likely to have changed since "those days".--Shantavira 14:17, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Are you talking about immigration into the US? If you're talking about, say, 100 years ago, I'm not sure if the US government was organized/centralized enough to have a visa program. The Ellis Island article may give you a starting point.

As far as I'm aware, boats from Europe would stop at Ellis Island, and the passengers in steerage class had to give some sort of proof that they weren't criminals and that they had some means of supporting themselves (whether it be a marketable skill or family connections in the US). The immigrants were also discreetly observed by doctors who would check for certain ailments.

Passengers who could afford a personal stateroom were assumed to have sufficient financial resources, so they were able to skip the interview process.

You may also want to check the Angel Island, California article for information regarding early immigration from Asia. --Tachikoma 14:35, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

See also our articles, List of United States immigration legislation and Immigration to the United States which have more detail. Rmhermen 15:18, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

English author Rudyard Kipling lived in Maine for a time, and wrote that his American neighbours spent all their time complaining about the "dregs of Eastern Europe" coming to the US. Jameswilson 00:20, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Premiership goal scorer

Who is the all time leading goal scorer in the premier league of England?

According to FA Premier League#Top scorers, it's Alan Shearer with 260 goals. --GraemeL ^(talk) 14:34, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Bear in mind the the Premier League only dates from 1992. We don't appear to have figured for the Football League First Division, which iuntil 1992 was the highest level of English football. Jooler 02:32, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

FWIW the record for the league in total (old divs 1-4, not the prem, champ, and leagues 1 and 2) is AFAIK still Arthur Rowley's 434 goals in 619 games between 1946 and 1965 for West Brom, Fulham, Leicester and Shrewsbury. Grutness...wha? 05:46, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Past life experiences

I seem to be able to remeber past life experiences such as being a slave in America and dying in WW2 Nazi Camps.

Is this normal, i suppose not but would like to know more about these memories that i cant explain, or that definatly did not happen to me in this life. They generally are only glimpses of my seroundings as i died, and are not altogether morbid, but rather peaceful. Is this just me, have i imagined it (i dont think so) Please, if anyone could help me i would be truelly greatfull

Thank you

For first aid, try past life regression. I'd also suggest confabulation, false memory and daydream but that's just my opinion. Weregerbil 16:05, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

That is very helpful, but i did not imagine thses things, they are as real as what you had for dinner yesterday. It does not bother me, i am a normal functioning person, with no traumatic events in my life besides the usual. and there fore not confabulation.

I would believe they are very real to you. However, I have had many very realistic dreams which I would swear were real if they didn't clearly violate logic. Sometimes it's only halfway through the next day that I realise something didn't happen yesterday but in my dreams. I also hear music that isn't playing as clearly and loudly as if it were. So things can be very real, but not based in reality. Skittle 16:50, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Did you see our article on reincarnation? There are lots of external links there you might be interested in following up, and there are loads of books on the subject.--Shantavira 06:24, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

• I'm unaware of the particular statistics, but the fact it's not "normal" isn't really relevant. That's because not everyone in the world believes in reincarnation. If the feelings are peaceful and don't disturb you, I don't think you really need any help. If however, they are caused by some problem in your life (relationship problems, depression or something else) and meant to relax you when you're stressed (the brain can do strange things), it could help trying to solve the real issue that's bothering you. And while you may believe the memories to be true, I think it can still be useful to follow up on weregerbil's suggestion and make sure you rule out those other options. Skittle was quite right in his assessment. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:26, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

If you want an interesting discussion of the various ways to think about this specific issue (remembered past lives), from an anthropological perspective, try Being Changed by Cross-Cultural Encounters: The Anthropology of Extraordinary Experience (DE Young, J-G Goulet, eds, Broadview Press, Peterborough Ontario, 1994). The specific relevance is an extensive discussion of how culture-bound is our interpretation of feelings like these. In the west, the cultural interpretation is simple: these feelings are produced by the brain and do not reflect actual memory of actual experience. But other cultures have other categories of "reality" with which to interpret this sort of thing. Personally, my brain only seems to work in western mode and I acknowledge Weregerbil as the arbiter of reality on this one, but if you ask this question in many other places you will get a very different response. alteripse 11:41, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Exam Guidence

hi,

Can anyone tell me the GUIDE which ll help me in preparing for USMLE.

What?--XenoNeon (converse) 16:41, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

You may want to look at some of the external links in the article USMLE, or ask around in the university. – b_jonas 16:51, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

JRR Tolkien's world

I wanted to know if the world and races in Tolkiens books like Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Did he come up with all these concepts alone or were there myths or legends about elves and goblins and trolls and ect before he wrote these, and if he did come up with all these races on his own and they are entirely fictional, how come so many others have used these races or species in thier books games and movies, id this not plagerism?

Thank again guys.

For the most part, these existed before Tolkien; however, the characters of many post-Tolkien authors are based on Tolkien's interpretations of the myths. I added links so you can read more about it. See also dwarves (Tolkien's personal spelling of dwarfs, now quite popular.) Rmhermen 16:37, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Some creatures were Tolkien's pure creations: hobbits, orcs, ents, and barrow-wights. Orcs have appeared in other non-Tolkien works, but Hobbit is restricted and the term, halfling is often used instead. Rmhermen 16:47, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

In the films, Orcs are all cockneys. I'm sure Tolkien did not invent cockneys.
Mordor#Naming says that it means "Black Land". Tolkien was a brummie (i.e. from Birmingham), and an area nearby is referred to as the Black Country, which Mordor is sometimes called.
Slumgum | yap | stalk | 02:06, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Cockneys? I never noticed a single Orc saying he was off up the frog to the rub :-) Tonywalton  | Talk

It's worth remembering that Tolkien was a professor of ancient language and literature. Though he was clearly the inventor of much in his trilogy, there is also a considerable influence from the myths and legends which went before him. He did not invent elves, goblins, and dwarves (nor did he invent the barrow-wight, Rmherman!), but several of the races and all of the languages and legends he contrived as a backdrop for Middle Earth were his own work. Grutness...wha? 05:53, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

According to one theory that I've heard (and this was direct from Christoper Tolkien, JRR's son, so is likely to hold water) Tolkien started with the Elvish languages and wrote the rest of his work to give a "historical" bakground to the peoples who would have spoken those languages. He was also interested in creating a mythology for England, as opposed to Celtic or Saxon mythologies. Certainly some elements of LotR are common to many stories (the concept of a small group of companions undertaking a quest against overwhelming odds and triumphing, for example); Tolkien took these and created a mythology with some pre-existing and some new elements. As for "plagiarism", who plagiarised from whom? Did Stephen R. Donaldson plagiarise the horses called "Ranyhyn" from JRRT? Did JRRT plagiarise the Maiar from Richard Wagner's Valkyries? Of course, Wagner plagiarised these from Norse mythology… There are literally thousands of words that could be written on this, so I'll stop. Tonywalton  | Talk 11:08, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Some of the main sources of inspiration were Norse and Celtic mythology, Arthurian legend, the Kalevala and Beowulf. --BluePlatypus 00:03, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

birthrate

is this a trick question. idont know. what country or state if any, has an official zero birthrate?? vinny b thanks u.

Vatican City. Henry^Flower 18:02, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

But about 26% of Vatican Citizens are Swiss Guards or lay persons and they allowed to marry and procreate. The birth rate is not actually zero. Official population growth in 2004 was 0.01%. Bwithh 18:56, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Are the Guards' wives citizens, too? Do they live in Vatican City? User:Zoe|^(talk) 20:13, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes, Guard wives and children which reside in the Vatican City are citizens. There are some special rules though: See Search for "Vatican citizenship" in this link until you get to part II, Section B, Point 12:http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/doc04/EDOC10070.htm Bwithh 21:10, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Population increase is not the same as birthrate (I don't imagine there are any maternity hospitals in the Vatican). A population increase could just be one more person becoming a citizen.

Our article is rather confusing. The Demographics section says "Almost all of Vatican City's 921 citizens live inside the Vatican's walls", but then "At the end of 2003, 552 persons held Vatican citizenship". If you trust the latter figure, "61 were cardinals, 346 were other clergy, 101 members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard and 44 "were other lay persons". Henry^Flower 21:08, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Some contries in southern Africa have a negative birth rate due to Aids and TB and Malaria. Very Sad.

Again, you're confusing "negative birth rate" with "negative population growth rate". A negative birth rate is mathematically impossible. It would mean that the number of infants born would be exceeded by the number of infants "unborn", a term which, in of itself makes no logical sense. Loomis51 19:30, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

"the number of infants "unborn", a term which, in of itself makes no logical sense." - see unbirthing. I'm going to go take a shower now as referencing that article makes me feel dirty... Raul654 19:58, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Oddly, there are several hundred Google hits for "negative birth rate", some from respectable-looking sources. Henry^Flower 19:55, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Tallest mountain in the United States

I am aware that Denali (Mt. McKinley may be the highest mountain in the United States but when measured from base to peak it is not the tallest. I am trying to find out what the tallest mountain is. Please let me know if anyone knows the answer to this. Thank you.

One state too soon ... I'd imagine this is what you're looking for. --LarryMac 18:10, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

• It's all in how you measure it. Mountains are usually measured from sea level if memory serves me correctly. If the mountain is in a mountainy environment, finding a single base can be near impossible. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:18, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

  Topographic prominence would be an another means of measuring height, though this increases the relative standing of McKinley. — Lomn Talk 13:48, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Why most Search Tips

Template:Emphazi Weird question but worthy

If ever a "question" needed to be suitly emphazi'd, this would be it. --LarryMac 19:39, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Circumcision nostalgia? ---GangofOne 06:58, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Do you really long for more questions on circumcision? Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 19:12, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, I do enjoy the occasional cutting remark, so a discussion would be OK (hopefully a somewhat briss conversation, without actually cutting it short). :-) StuRat 18:33, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Curious

Is it possible to (comfortably) be mastrubated by breasts?

See mammary intercourse. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 22:35, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

"Mastrub" is a good euphemism. Slumgum | yap | stalk | 01:28, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I knew this sounded familiar. From m:bash:

<AdamBishop> "The Hebrew Bible (or Old Testement) encourages mammary intercourse in Proverbs 5:19."

<AdamBishop> dammit. That's not what that says.

<silsor> which is that, the one about taking pleasure in the breasts of the wife of your youth?

<AdamBishop> it's on Mammary intercourse

<AdamBishop> and Proverbs says "Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love."

<AdamBishop> I'm pretty sure the original does not have the Biblical Hebrew phrase for titty fucking

Hehe. Good 'ol user:Adam Bishop Raul654 01:31, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Damn you, m:Bash! Adam Bishop 02:37, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Wait, just a sec... Why, yes. Yes, it is possible. --DavidGC 02:59, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

You old dog, DavidGC. JackofOz 03:24, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

(mischievous grin) :) --DavidGC 14:48, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes it is possabl, but your wife, girlfriend need to be well endowed, or you need to be not. Great fun especially when it is accompanied by a BJ.

Removing posts from the Google Groups archive...

I wish to remove all usenet posts from the Google Groups archives made using a certain email address (an old one of mine that no longer works). While I know the procedure for doing this, is there a quicker way to list the message-ID of every single post made using that address than trawling through the archive thread by thread and post-by-post after searching for the address in question? Thanks. --84.69.16.94 22:15, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Orange Phone Contract

I have an 18 mnth orange phone contract that doesn't expire for another 10 months but I'm going to live in Holland in less than two months. They say I can't transfer the contract to another country. My friend suggested closing the bank account before I leave but I'm sure that would have some repercussions. What is suggested? --Username132 (talk) 22:30, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

relax! i dont know what the situation is if you're living in holland(although why you got a phone contract is beyond me) but i'm going to brazil in the summer and orange have said that they'll suspenf my account until i get back. i ithnk the maximum time limit might be six months tho. you could always downgrade your phone plan (i.e take off insurance and got to the lowest tariff) to cut your losses.87.194.20.253 23:54, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

you might be able to sign the contract over to another person - a friend or relative, say Bwithh 01:19, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to live in Holland for at LEAST a year if not for life so suspending my account is no good. The phone isn't insured and I think I'm already on the lowest tariff. I really don't think the contract is transferable, and it seems like a crap deal to ask someone to pay £20 a month for someone elses old number complete with annoying people contacting them who they don't know. --Username132 (talk) 13:57, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

• You still have time to get another phone and inform your friends and family of the switch, so the new owner isn't bothered by calls meant for you. I know I'm one of the few, but I'm pretty sure there's someone, like me who doesn't have a working mobile phone and who'd be willing to take on yours. If the contract isn't transferable, either have that person pay you and continue paying Orange yourself, or get out of the contract at the earliest chance you get. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:16, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

May 20

Owning a Jackdaw as a pet?

Is it still legal to own a captive-bred Jackdaw as a pet in the UK? If so, does anyone know of any people who breed them? AFAIK, these corvids were a very common household companion bird until the introduction of parrots/parakeets a couple of hundred years ago. Thanks. --Kurt Shaped Box 00:41, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Ref: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Schedule 3 - Part I. Birds which may be sold alive at all times if ringed and bred in captivity. Includes Jackdaw in the list. --Seejyb 05:39, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Jackdaw pets are sometimes strange. --DLL 19:06, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Calories in alcohol? (header added)

we have had a recent discussion regarding alcohol. My friend who is a PhD in chenistry contends that there are no calories in alcohol. Are there calories in pure alcohol? thomastjmwblatyahoo .com

Obviously ethanol has chemical energy, because it burns. The question is whether the human body can break it down and release this energy, and I think the answer is yes. —Keenan Pepper 01:02, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

The body obtains energy from alcohol quite efficiently: ethanol 29 kJ/g; carbohydrates 17kJ/g. --Seejyb 01:41, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

The confusion I think is that alcohol doesn't metabolize like carbohydrates or proteins both of which convert to blood glucose or proteins which convert to amino acids in order to feed all those hungry cells. Instead, alcohol's energy skips the blood glucose those cycles and feeds the cells more directly. Since alcohol skips the conversion to blood glucose or amino acids it is thought by some to have no caloric value. One ounce of 80 proof alcohol contains zero carbs and zero proteins but does have a caloric value of 64. --hydnjo talk 04:19, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Maybe I'm wrong here (it was a while ago I studied this), but if memory serves me, proteins do not convert into blood glucose either, they convert into ketone bodies which enter your blood and serve as fuel. This is the reason why your breath starts smelling like acetone when you start starving (as protein metabolism only kicks in once your liver glucose stores are depleted). --BluePlatypus 23:58, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Blue Platypus is correct. The protein actually breaks down to amino acids which are used directly as an energy source. It is only when there is an excess of amino acids that they are stored. Alcohol however, cannot be stored and is readily used as an energy source. Sorry for my misstatement above which I have edited. --hydnjo talk 11:48, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Blue Platypus is not correct about the ketone bodies. These derive from breakdown of fatty acids, not proteins. Proteins are mainly catabolized by the citric acid cycle. There are several entry points, for the different amino acids. --Vibo56 12:23, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

See effects of alcohol on the body#Metabolism of alcohol and action on the liver though this is not very detailed. Google for "alcohol metabolism" and you'll find plenty of detailed explanations. Gdr 12:37, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Mercenaries and Defense Contractors

What is the difference between the "defense contractors" in Iraq and common mercenaries? -Chile 03:25, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

The words of a politician who wishes to avoid using the term 'mercenaries' in his speeches? --84.67.5.153 07:08, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

To give a more helpful answer, you'll be wanting this. --DavidGC 11:14, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

No difference in what they do, just thinking though, do defence contractors get slightly less money because they've got a fancier job title? AllanHainey 08:54, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

A Defense Contractor might include a firm carrying out civilian work (such as building base infrastructure) for the military. But it's probably just a euphemism. DJ Clayworth 17:31, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

As DJ Clayworth says, a contractor is someone under contract to do *something*; a mercenary has a very specific job. See Executive Outcomes Raul654 17:34, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

books

Hi there, I would like to know that how many books are based on films and would give me the list of those books.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of films not already based on books have had novelizations produced. --Robert Merkel 07:19, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

You (or someone else) have asked this above, with the same title. You might want to read the answers there. – b_jonas 20:46, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Business Development Manager

What is the Primary Role of a Business Development Manager? What are the basic functions and extentof his rolein the Company? Thank you very much.

To identify strategic sales & income stream opportunities, and develop the relationships with internal and external customers to turn them into reality. Just having been one myself....--Shandon 09:18, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Western Hockey League,coach for 1989-90 season,tri-city americans

I would like to know who was the head coach for the WHL Tri-city Americans for the 1989-90 season?

Michael Hach

It was Rick Kozuback [6] --Cam 15:51, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

control

Hello:

I am a university professor from Israel. Recently, I have found myself using Wikipedia more and more, and I wanted to express my great appreciation for your project.

I was wondering of how control of contents is maintained, especially in academically oriented entries. I searched through your pages and understood the control mechanisms pertaining to vandalism (which is not my concern at all) as well as the on-going interactive dynamics between authors and other users. Still, my question remains: What are the safeguards against faulty, lacking, misleading, biased information, etc.

Thanks, Prof. Benny Shanon The Hebrew University Jerusalem

--128.139.226.37 09:22, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Often, groups of people who know about and are passionate about a subject in question - they watch pages and remove inaccurate information . That, and the fact that all factual information must be second-hand (i.e. it has to be cited from a respected source) --iamajpeg 11:00, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

This, and a range of related concerns, is addressed at Wikipedia:Replies to common objections. It's only fair to say that a number of other academics don't share your appreciation of the Wikipedia, and some prohibit their students from citing it as a source (a matter we address, with some sympathy to their point, at Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia). Personally, such objections seem to stem from unease with the process ("I can't believe a bunch of random nobodies can produce anything worthwhile") rather than a proper examination of the result (when such studies are done, such as Nature's comparison of Wikipedia and Britannica, we tend to come out fairly well). But really, the best way to know what kind of sausage you're eating is to help in the making of the sausage. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 11:29, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

There is a peer review process and a feature article process where articles are heavily reviewed. but this only takes places for the better articles. Jon513 21:23, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Regarding the process : it's as natural as ants building anthills and men, pyramides. Results are always a large basis and a steep top. So WPs are robust and seen from afar. --DLL 18:58, 21 May 2006 (UTC)--DLL 18:58, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

• Citing your sources is the main way to go to prove your info is accurate. If there's no sources, I usually dig deeper rather than to trust the wikipedia article itself. If you know where info came from you can go check if it indeed did come from there and whether the source is reliable in your eyes. _ Mgm|^(talk) 10:11, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

macroeconomics

what is a boom.........Examine the consequences of a boom.........How might high interest rates remedy these consequences?

Heh sounds like homework to me :p check out boom, economic cycle, interest rates, your textbook.... don't get random people to do your work! --iamajpeg 10:52, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Do your own homework. --DavidGC 11:17, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

A "BOOM" is a VERY loud noise. The consequences of a boom can be ringing in the ears. High interest rates won't help. Loomis51 22:53, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Wiki link button?

Sorry if this is obvious somewhere but I couldn't find it.

I was wondering if there is a "wikipedia link" icon/button/graphic which can be added to a web article to show a quick link to a wiki article?

I was thinking perhaps the jigsaw-globe with a swooshing arrow... just small enough to drop into an external article or document (such as a blog or website) and act as an immediate, recognizable cue to the reader that the article writer is directing them to Wikipedia for more information, and a direct link to the relevant Wiki article, to replace long winded "see wiki entry blah blah blah" links.

If there isn't such a thing, can I be credited with being the genius to invent the idea (small dry lol) My name is Mark Walton, aka Marnok. Just a small entry in the history books will be fine. One or two volumes. Nothing ostentatious. Statue no larger than life-size, please.

There are some, and you're welcome to add to the collection. See Wikipedia:Miscellaneous FAQ for details. -Rholton 13:41, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

• To be more specific: Wikipedia:Banners and buttons. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:08, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Speak English

for countries where english serves as a second language, why do you have to speak english? thank you. Carlrichard 12:28, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Most likely becuase it is the second most spoken language in the world; see English language. Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 19:15, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

• What is your question? Why do you need a second language? I'd think the benefits of that would be obvious. Or are you asking why they use English as a second language and not something else? --BluePlatypus 23:54, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

You don't have to speak English if you don't want to. (At least in free countries). Loomis51 22:51, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

• Well, English isn't a second language in the Netherlands, but I think we Dutch speak it because you can make yourself understandable to so many people with it. Chinese may be the most spoken language in the world, but most of those are Chinese. If you know English you can talk with people from loads of different countries with just the one language. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:06, 22 May 2006 (UTC)
  • Just to put things in perspective, I have many Chinese born colleagues. However I often hear them speaking English to each other. At first I had no idea why they didn't speak their native language to each other, but then learned that not only are there several Chinese languages (most notably Mandarin and Cantonese) but more fascinating was the fact that it was explained to me that most Chinese speak only one of the two major Chinese languages and not the other, and, when for example, a Mandarin speaker and a Cantonese speaker meet and try to communicate, even in China, each not understanding the other's language, they use English as the only common language of communication! Loomis51 10:15, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

ad with a song of some kind

there's an ad where there's a whole lot of bouncy balls going down a really steep street in San Francisco. i can't remember what the ad is for (it might be for sony. or maybe colour printers) but there's a song in it, what's the name of the song?

What country are you in? That might help narrow it down… Tonywalton  | Talk 13:29, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I know the ad you're talking about, but I can't pinpoint the song. I can, however, tell you that the advert is for a TV, probably high-definition, and the brand begins with a V. --Sam Pointon 13:35, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Oh, some more random information: the singer on the song is male, with a thin-ish, reedy voice, and he's accompanied by at least one acoustic guitar, possibly two. --Sam Pointon 13:38, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I remember this ad playing in the U.K. It's for the Sony BRAVIA. According to our article on the subject, the song was Heartbeats, by The Knife, and performed by José González. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 13:39, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Alright, so it didn't start with a V, but it did have a V in it, and starts with a voiced labial consonant. So, I was sort of right. --Sam Pointon 14:00, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Roof-rack Compatability

We've got a roof-rack that was bought to fit a Ford Fiesta. The Fiesta is gone but will it fit Corsa? We cannot try and see because I wont be trying it until I'm six hours away from home at Harwich with my friend waiting at Harwich harbour to pick me up for the car ferry across. If it didn't fit, I'd be screwed. --Username132 (talk) 13:51, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't suppose you can drop by your local Ford dealer and ask? They'll probably know... — QuantumEleven 20:28, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Egyptian Gods and Days of the Year

I would like to know which Egyptian Gods were assigned specific days of a month which they ruled over during a year and the month and days they ruled over. Anubis rules the days of May from the 9th to the 26th, I think. I would like to find the correct information, a book or even a link would do.

I found this information on a card in a store called Scarab, which closed last year and I have been having difficulty finding this information. Any assistance is appreciated.

Thank you,

Anubis Girl

• In all the time I spend reading about Egypt, I haven't come across anything like this. There were festivals to honor certain gods throughout the year (which I guess this card refers to), but overall gods were assigned specific subjects to rule over, like Osiris over the underworld. Besides, any idea regular days can be assigned to a specific god are flawed, they had a different calendar all together. - Mgm|^(talk) 10:03, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Title change

How can I add or change a title? The one in question is, Battery Maufacturing Association, it's about a car that was built called a Hazelcar. The article is about the Hazelcar but it's not in the title, so by putting in Hazelcar it doesn't come up, please advise, thanks, Arthur.

The best solution to the problem you've discovered might be to create a redirect page, as changing the title of the "Battery Manufacturing Association" article is probably not a good approach in this case. I've created a redirect page for "Hazelcar," so searching for that should now redirect you to the "Battery Manufacturing Association" article. For information on how this is done, see Wikipedia:Redirect. --DavidGC 14:44, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Gwigle

I'm playing an online game called Gwigle ([7]), it basically tests how well you know and can use Google. The thing is, I'm stuck on Level 1.d. I'm guessing all the pictures are by the same artist, but I can't identify them. Any ideas? Thanks :-) --Saxsux 15:51, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

The paintings I recognise are all by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. --Roisterer 16:02, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Brilliant! Thank you! --Saxsux 16:07, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Okay, I've got stuck on the next level too. I've had a look on Google Finance, and tried various companies whose name ends with "Incorporated", but no joy. --Saxsux 16:17, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Plug the following into a search engine: "31.92 May 12 close Incorporated" --LarryMac 16:56, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I'd better start thinking for myself now. --Saxsux 17:06, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

pixel

the bigger the picture, the more the pixel? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Torrasque (talk • contribs)

No. Read pixel. – b_jonas 16:16, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

==Helloooooooooooo!!! Is there anybody? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.232.218.227 (talk • contribs)

Why, of course there is, this is planet earth, isn't it? Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 20:30, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

If size of pixel stays same, then bigger the picture, more the pixel. If pixel made bigger ( = change screen resolution, for instance from 1024x768 (many smaller pixel) to 800x600 (few big pixel) on same size screen) then with same number pixels, a bigger picture. ok --Seejyb 20:34, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

<blinks> huh? Howard Train 06:16, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Break Down of Net Worth of US Population

Please provide either a break down of the amount of individuals or households by net worth in the United States by reasonably small increments up to $1,000,000,000. Example:

$0.00 to $10,000 equals 5,000,000 people (or 2,000,000 households) $10,000 to $25,000 equals 10,500,000 people (or 4,250,000 households) $25,000 to $50,000 etc. $50,000 to $100,000 $100,000 to $150,000 $150,000 to $250,000 $250,000 to $500,000 $500,000 to $1,000,000 $1,000,000 to $2,500,000 $2,500,000 to $5,000,000 $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 $10,000,000 to $15,000,000 $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 $20,000,000 to $25,000.000 $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 $100,000,000 to $250,000,000 $250,000,000 to $500,000,000 $500,000,000 to $750,000,000 $750,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 Over $1,000,000,000 I've tried to find this using a variety of searches, but couldn't locate anthing that showed it in this form. I'd appreciate whatever help you can give me. Thanks, Douglas McMillen

I haven't researched this myself, but the U.S. Census website would probably be the first place I'd check. Hope this helps. --DavidGC 08:09, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

M.A.Kuhli

Who is M.A. Kuhli? Article: Semantic feature Help!!!!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.232.218.227 (talk • contribs)

That reference (along with most of the article) was added by user:212.138.47.20 at 21:47, on January 7, 2006. It was then removed a half hour later and replaced with the words "currentlly no info. at this time." by user:212.138.47.23. As both IP are registered to "Internet Service Unit, Saudi Arabia" it is quite possible that it was the same user who wanted to revert his (or her) own edits. I could not find any reference to any M. A. Kuhli, on the internet but it is quite possible that I would have to search in Arabic to find anything. I would say that the veracity of user:212.138.47.20's edit is questionable and it is possible that there is no M. A. Kuhli. Jon513 20:48, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Anyway - thank you very much! :)) Actually, I consider M.A. Kuhli could be Arabian linguist, but who knows...

Al-Kuhli, Muhammed Ali, Brigham Young University - Laie, Hawaii, seemed to write about teaching English as second language (TESL) e.g. "The TESL Teacher and English Prefixes," by Mohammed Ali Al-Kuhli. But that was 1977, so no electronic format available. See this page That was fun. --Seejyb 21:09, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Oh, I already did that. That was the only thing that I found about him on the net :( Perhaps i should search in library or somewhere else, but unfortunately I have no time. On monday I must defend my BA paper... and in my speech I should mention who is the orignato of semantic features. - According to Wikipedia's article Semantic Features - it is mystical Kuhli :(

Hint: say that you found the information in a library, not on Wikipedia. Henry^Flower 21:44, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I'd be careful doing that. You need to reference accurately your sources of information. If the panel asks you where you sourced something and you can only answer vaguely that it was in a library somewhere, if they're doing their job right they'll tear you apart. You might be better off stating honestly that you've been unable to find the source of a particular piece of info. After all, your thesis isn't supposed to be infinite in scope. --Hughcharlesparker 10:46, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Try Dr Muhammed Ali Alkuhli, who seems to have also written an Arab-Eng dictionary? The publishing house is Jordanian, looks like --Seejyb 23:04, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

This page has the 1977 article scanned online in PDF format. I don't know how to link to the PDFs directly, but if you search for Kuhli you will see the article in the results. --Cam 03:41, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Reptile names

My son is working on a paper for school. We are having some trouble finding reptiles that start with the letter "u". If you can help us I would appreciate it.

He is also looking for a reptile that starts with a "q". Help us if you can. Thank you. Stacy

Some browsing in Category:Reptiles turns up the Uropeltidae, or shieldtail snakes. On Q, I pass. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 18:59, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I also found a U, but no Q. Uropeltis, another kind of snake. Jon513 19:01, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

here a turtle that starts with a U but you are not going to like it. And if dinasaurs count there are few with a U and a few with a Q in Category:Cretaceous dinosaurs. Jon513 19:08, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Queen Snake = Regina septemvittata; Urutu or Yarara Parker's pit viper = Bothrops alternatus. I'd imagine that there would be other Queen-named reptiles. --Seejyb 21:22, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Queen snakes are real? How cool. I had always assumed they existed only in Charlie Brown's imagination (like a sort of American equivalent of drop bears). JackofOz 23:31, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

No, no. Drop bears are real. Haven't you seen the Bundy commercials? --DavidGC 08:12, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Ah yes, how forgetful of me. They must be real, they're on TV. (lol) 8-) JackofOz 11:34, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

If you can include extinct reptiles, then one of the largest of the pterosaurs was Quetzalcoatlus. Grutness...wha? 02:39, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

We have this : Urodele amphibians. --DLL 18:32, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

yeeeah, but amphibians aren't reptiles - they're amphibians :) Grutness...wha? 07:27, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Hyperlinks

Hi, could someone please give me RAM File link name for the three video link names (so I can download them using an external application) on this page. The names are: Dawn French: Vicar of Dimbleby Terms and Conditions apply and As far as you'll get from the standard 9 to 5. I tried getting them myself, but Real Player took too long to find them. Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 19:53, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

open the page then view source and search for ".ram". For the second one I found http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/broadband/video/nb/frenchsaunders_s4ep1p3_16x9_nb.ram. good luck. Jon513 20:35, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

food allergies

Since soy lecithin is a fat source, can foods containing soy lecithin be consumed by someone with a soy allergy as allergins tend to be protein based?

good question. According to Anaphylaxis Campaign there is currently no definitive answer. However the answer (PDF) appears to be that there is no need for people allergic to soy to avoid soy lecithin. Remember: The reference desk is not a replacement for a doctor! Jon513 20:28, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. My own experience with allergies confirms that there is currently no definitive answer. As far as I understand it, there is technically no reason why soy lecithin should trigger a soy allergy. 204.16.41.2 17:19, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Oldest trick

What's the oldest trick in the book?

And does anyone know where that expression comes from? — QuantumEleven 20:26, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I think the whole banana incident, where a banana is placed skin-side up and someone walks on it and then falls. Not sure about the origin of it though. Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 20:58, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Sexual attraction. Henry^Flower 21:42, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

trick (n.), (slang): "An act of prostitution.", "A prostitute's customer.", or "A session carried out by a prostitute with a client." The oldest recorded trick I think is in the Epic of Gilgamesh but I am not sure. Or if by "the book" you mean the Bible the answer is Tamar (Bible) with Judah (Biblical figure). see Prostitution#History. Jon513 21:59, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

"The book" is definitely the Epic of Gilgamesh but "the oldest trick" could be a few different things. It could be when Gilgamesh had the temple prostitute Shamhat seduce Enkidu so that his herd of wild animals spurned him and he turned into a man, or it could be when Gilgamesh and Enkidu promised Humbaba gifts and their allegiance in return for his seven protective auras, but then cut off his head. —Keenan Pepper 22:49, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Was the Epic of Gilgamesh really a book, or was it written on stone or something? Jon513 23:30, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Clay tablets, actually — TheKMan^talk 23:32, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

The tiles on my roof had plenty of writing. I opted for shingle. --DLL 18:28, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Getting your pickpocketted by a prostitute on a night out in Manchester. Or is that just me? Howard Train 02:25, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

(lol) That's just you, Howard. Most suckers get their pocket picked. :--) JackofOz 02:36, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

How to work as a translator?

That's it. I think it's very easy for me to learn languages... so... what do I have to do to work as a translator?

Well, you should probably learn the language first, fluently. Unless you're raised bilingual, you'll probably need to be able to show some kind of credentials that you know the foreign language. (Such as TOEFL for English) Apart from that, it largely depends on what kind of translation work you want to do; translating poetry is very different from translating technical manuals, which is very different from translating advertising copy, which is different from subtitling movies and so on. If you want to translate literature and poetry, it would certainly help to have a degree in that. Most large universities have courses in translation as well, which would be recommended. For translating technical documents, it would probably be good to have some kind of credentials in the relevant field as well. Legal documents are a whole world unto themselves, where there may be legal requirements. E.g. the EU has a system of acreditation for translators. So literature and copy have the lowest formal requirements, but getting the job is largely a matter of reputation and experience. On the other hand, specialized translators are much better paid. --BluePlatypus 23:20, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

For example, if I wanted to be the translation of foreign football players in interviews, what should I have to do? Thanks for your information.

Okay well, while I don't have any direct experience of that, my impression from reading newspaper articles is that those translations aren't usually very good :). In many cases they're done by the (sports) journalist themselves. Newspaper/magazine content where they're not in a hurry to publish and where accuracy of translation is more important (Say, a literary essay for the Sunday paper) would typically be translated by an outside translator. But for things like interviews they'll just do it in-house and translate a translation if they don't have anyone who knows the source language. (E.g. A Norwegian paper might use an American TV channel's English translation as a source of an interview conducted in Chinese) So for that kind of work, it'd probably be more important to first be a journalist, and have the knowledge of a second language as a bonus. --BluePlatypus 23:49, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

I think its usually pretty informal in English football. If a footballer signs for an English club and he doesnt speak English he'll probably bring over a friend or relative who does. Or the club will find someone bilingual who lives in the local area - not a qualified translator necessarily. Jameswilson 01:17, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

May 21

How do you check whether a company with a certain name exists?

There may be several reasons why I may wish to do so. For example: 1. I receive a package or letter from a company named Crystal Inc. and wish to check whether there really is a Crystal Inc., to verify the package/letter is legimate. 2. I may wish to register a company Henna Inc. and obviously must know if there already is a Henna Inc. in existence. I would prefer a way to search an online database of company names online, but could you recommend me a good website? --58.185.148.139 00:23, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't one. And without knowing what country you're in, helping you will be hard. Two things spring to mind, though. If you're in the UK, every company is registered with Companies House and they carry records of every legal corporation and business in the country. I guess most other nations have something similar; if you let us know where you are we could look around for you. The second thing is that if you are querying a credit card transaction, the credit card company are able to check if a company is legitimate for you. This may be of use. Without knowing what your situation is, it's difficult to help you further. Howard Train 07:09, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Interesting question. What if 58.185.148.139 wanted to register his Henna Inc. as a multinational/international corporation? If Google knew such an online database, perhaps Gmail would not have all that trouble in the UK and Germany. P.S. The IP's from Singapore.

This is almost identical to a question asked before by J.L.W.S. The Special One and it used the same company name. See: Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Miscellaneous/April 2006#How do I check if a company name is available for registration?. My answer to this is the same as last time. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:01, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

There is no such thing as a multinational or international corporation, from a registration point of vew. This is just a common name for a corporation that can provide goods or services in more than one place. The corporation itself would be registered in one place, or might have associated companies with the same or similar names in other countries, owned or set up by the same people. (One reason to set up companies in other countries is that it is extremely difficuly, legally, to employ someone who does not live in the same country). You cannot register a multinational name. You have to register it in each juristiction separately. Researching new product and company names to make sure they are not used anywhere is a major and expensive task. Notinasnaid 10:07, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

hospital phone number

trying to get the phone number of the Life Care Trust Hospital in Lagos Nigeria the address would be nice also thanks dennis

As with all questions regarding contact with Nigeria, it's incumbent upon us to remind you of Nigerian 419 fraud. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:07, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Stains on Plastic

I just moved into a new apartment. On the third day everything in my apartment that is made of plastic had a stain on it. A white microwave now has dark stains that make it look dirty but the stains do not wipe off. Plastic waste cans have stains. Plastic hamper has stains. Blinds on all the windows have stains. I'm very concerned. The landlord doesn't think it is a problem and won't come to the apartment to look. Could this be a moisture problem? We have had six straight days of rain in our area. How can I find out if it is some type of a mold? If anyone knows anything about this type of problem, please help me. Thanks you. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Theresea bauer (talk • contribs) 02:12, 21 May 2006 (UTC).

First, I should ask your next-door neighbours if they have the sam ething. We had the opposite problem. After moving from an old house with ninety years of accumulated British damp in the fabric, to a new, dry house, all of our furniture turned white - and four years on the white stuff on the underside of tables and chairs still comes back a month after you wipe it. Unbelievably, the wooden furniture is still drying out. Jameswilson 03:15, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Generally, if it's some type of mold it would wipe off with a damp towel. However, some types of mold can be stubborn. Have you tried using a mold remover on the inside of the plastic waste can? (on a spot you won't be able to see in case the remover itself leaves a stain) One other thought... if this is the first day you've been in the apartment since the rains have stopped, is it possible that the stains were always there but that you can only see them now because the lighting is better? --DavidGC 08:20, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

The 3 day period and the blinds are problematic. I was going to chip in with the comment that we got stains on many articles that had been wrapped for transport in printed plastic or paper. The clue was that in one cases we could read the reverse print, as well as the different colours of ink. Those all lifted with alcohol. --Seejyb 23:14, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

looking for my ancestors

Hello I am sorry to bother you with a question. I have looked and researched my ancestory every place I can think of and all i can come up with is that it comes from spain area. I was able to find out up to three generations ago. My family have a coat of arms wich is a blue cross just like the red one from the templars except its blue. My last name is Talamantes. I was hoping maybe you may be able to help me. If you can i would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you Lost Talamantes

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.44.243.170 (talk • contribs) 07:16, 21 May 2006 (UTC).

Have you seen this one, citing a museum ? Museums can offer interesting data. --DLL 18:23, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Have you tried a forum like [8]? Rmhermen 18:34, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

• Excuse my scepticism, but are you sure that it's your coat of arms? There are any number of websites for business out there who'll be happy to sell you a picture of the X family coat of arms, or even "the coat of arms for the X surname". That information is completely meaningless since different families can have the same surname and the arms would not belong to most people with that name. In my experience, most people who do have a coat of arms (i.e. nobility) tend to know exactly who it was granted to, when it was granted and how they are related to that person. Anyway, to answer your question, there is a huge number of books on how to do genealogical research, and websites and magazines and whatnot. However, it is not something which can always or often be done on the web. Most places and countries have yet to put their birth-records online. --BluePlatypus 23:30, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Uploading pictures

I don't know how to upload a picture to Wikipedia. Please can you tell me how? I'm really eager to help on WikiProject Harry Potter. Thanks!! --Username222 03:03, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

I have moved your question to its own section. When you edit a page like this, please click the appropriate link to do so, as your question nearly got swallowed up by a discussion about stains on plastic.

The Reference Desk isn't really the place for this sort of question: any questions about browsing or editiing wikipedia should be directed at Wikipedia:Help desk. Over here we deal with the suitle emphaziation of pastatutes and the practicalities of using a small sheep as a lawnmower.

Wikipedia:Uploading images whould have everything you need. It's always good to see someone turn up who wants to contribute. Good luck. Howard Train 07:03, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

A word of caution, to save you time and frustration: please do remember that any pictures from films or books are likely to be copyright, and you need to understand copyright before you can upload anything created by someone else. Notinasnaid 09:07, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

audio

Hello, I'm not new to wikipedia but I am new to putting audio into articles. Is there a article related to this? I haven't been able to find one. - Mtmtmt 11:33, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Have a look through Wikipedia:Media and m:Help:Images and other uploaded files. That should have most of the information you need. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 12:51, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

I have actually looked on both of those pages. I am using this code now. But there has to be a better way to add just one file.

{{multi-listen start}}

{{multi-listen item|filename=Qbr0.ogg|title=Opera Section|description=This is a low quality audio sample.|format=[[Ogg]]}}

{{multi-listen end}}

It would appear not. I checked Ludwig van Beethoven and there is a single instance near the top and it's coded in the same way. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:17, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

To link inline, you can do this: Henry^Flower 15:23, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

tree grape

I love to see the tree grapes that are planted near other plants so that the pigs will die.

This sentence I found as translation from a hebrew text. Could anybody tell me what a plant this could be? Thanks Kersten

Well tree grape redirects to Bastard cobas and Amazon Grape is possibly the same as the Amazon Tree Grape. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:12, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

What Hebrew text are you refering to? What cruel sadist would want pigs to die? Loomis51 22:47, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Based on this I guess it's bastard cobas that was referred to in the text. I suspect that they were talking about Boar rather than the Domestic pig. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 23:24, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

contact lens

Hi there,

I would like to know that when it comes to cosmetics contact lens, how many types of cosmetics contact lens that are available in stores because I'm making a movie about a vampire girl who lives in a mansion.

Try this: http://www.argoth.co.uk/acatalog/four_eyez.html

• If you want to know how many lenses are available in stores, asking your local optician/optometrist stores is the quickest way to get your answer. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:09, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Semantic features

Who is the originator/founder of semantic features, i.e. plus, minus, plus-minus and zero features?

Have you read through Semantic feature? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 15:28, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

It's pretty much gone now as it was either a thesis, copyvio or original research. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 15:47, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm not interested in historical data :( I need to know more about the person who developed the understanding about these +/- and other features. - Maybe there is someone else except this mystical Kuhli? Thank you in advance! :)

Does Wikipedia have a browser search field?

Is it possible to add a Wikipedia search field (such as Google and other search engines offer) to my browser's address bar?

Try this. --hydnjo talk 18:52, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

See also. David Sneek 18:58, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

I tried using this link to add a search field to Mozilla but when i do it, nothing happens. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

Which browzer are you using? --Seejyb 22:02, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.3 (for OS X).

In the left of the search bar, you can see a little icon that shows what search engine it is using, it shows a boxed G signifying google by default. Click on that icon, and a small menu should appear. In that, the last entry is called "Add engines". Click on that one. You will see a page with a list of some search engines and other sites. Select wikipedia from that. – b_jonas 23:09, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

The color green and high IQ

Is it true that the color green is preferred by people with high IQs? If so, why? --Trivia man

Well, I believe I remember reading that the folks who put together the book No One May Ever Have the Same Knowledge Again: Letters to Mount Wilson Observatory [9] (a collection of zany letters written by cranks to that observatory) said that a disproportionate number of the crank letters were written in green ink. So maybe green isn't necessarily associated with high IQ, but perhaps those who think they have high IQ, but are infact just weirdos. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:26, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

We have the right to remain silent...

That's funny!! I wonder if pink is the preferred color of dim-wits. My ex-fiancée loved the color pink. Turns out she wasn’t very bright. Hence the ex.

Back in the good old days before IT wizardry, green pens were associated with auditors, but I doubt that says anything about the IQ of auditors as compared with the rest of humanity. I once heard in a seminar that if you want to make a good impression, don't wear a brown suit because "brown is the colour of failure". I never understood why anyone would think that. JackofOz 02:12, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

All the editors at one publication where I worked used green pens to edit our draft articles rather than the usual red because they had attended a seminar which told them that green was a more authoriatative colour than red. I don't think they knew the logic behind the statement but as management had spent money on them attending the seminar, they thought they should follow at least one of the recommendations. --Roisterer 02:34, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

• This is an interesting theory, but I seriously doubt that it holds true across countries and cultures. Various colors have different connotations in different cultures, but the genetic component of intelligence remains virtually the same around the globe. The average high-IQ person who's grown up in Ireland may have very different feelings about the color green than the average high-IQ person who's grown up in Afghanistan, for example. --DavidGC 07:07, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Film critic

Random question: how does one become a movie critic? (as in for a newspaper/magazine) 165.123.179.157 21:57, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Just start writing reviews. Send them to your local newspaper, or the local advertising free-sheet (or some in-house publication, such as a school or college newspaper )- most of these are run on a shoestring budget with one or two journalists (who also do other things too). Tell the paper you'll either work for free or (if union rules don't allow that) for the union scale. Write good tight copy, light but informative and with enough opinion for it to be interesting and worthwhile, but not so much it's just you ranting. If it's anyway half decent they'll publish it. Keep this up for a few months, build up a decent body of work, and maybe you can graduate to some publication that's a bit more credible. Somewhere along the way you might like to get a qualification in journalism, writing, or media, but if you plan on making a career of it you'll be judged on your work much more than your credentials. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:50, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

You might find the biography of James Berardinelli of interest; he started from scratch as is now a respected critic. Tijuana Brass^¡Épa!-E@ 02:00, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Italian-American Sentiments on War on Terrorism

I am curious if there have been any studies done on the feelings specific to Italian-Americans on the current War on Terrorism. I am looking for graphs depicting changes in voting patterns and information about any sort of ethnic movements towards stopping or supporting the war. If anyone has ideas, please help.140.192.206.123 00:00, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Aren't we generations past the time when Italian-Americans were a "political block" on national issues? I suspect that socioeconomic status, residence, and education are far better predictors of attitudes to these political issues than where grandparents came from. alteripse 16:42, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

replacing the m16

does anyone know if there's an assault rifle on track to replace the m16(in the u.s. military)? i understand that the xm8 was slated to do so, but that program was cancelled late last year. have we moved on to another model, or have we decided to stick with the m16 for the time being? thanks

Objective Individual Combat Weapon program has a bunch of links to various initiatives and prototypes in this regard. As the article notes, you can bet the US Army will come back from Iraq and do some fairly major thinking about its infantry doctrine, so in the meantime the M16 is going to be around for a long time yet. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:16, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

May 22

taxonimy

the taxonimy of chicken for example the kingdom class ,order....

Please type "chicken" in the search box. -- Rick Block (talk) 00:27, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Or click here. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 02:55, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Or even wikispecies:Gallus gallus. – b_jonas 11:41, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Big Tobacco

What are Big Tobacco's yearly profits?

See Tobacco industry#Tobacco companies. Tijuana Brass^¡Épa!-E@ 01:59, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Charmed

Just out of curiosity, how many times has: the front door been blown off, the attic been blown up, and the house been blown up in Charmed? Thanks --Zach 01:49, 22 May 2006 (UTC) What's the insurance rate like???? hotclaws**==(81.136.163.210 10:17, 22 May 2006 (UTC))

Laura La Plante

I have been told that I am related to this person. My mother told me that she was an American Indian & changed her name when she became a Movie Star. I am trying to find our what kind of Indian she was & if I truly am related to her. I don't know how to find this information & would be greatful for any help you could give me.

Thank you,

Cyndi Nable

Well IMDb says she was born Laura La Plant (i.e., same name without the E) and doesn't give any info about her background, which doesn't help much... Grutness...wha? 07:45, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Our article is at Laura La Plante. This site gives a bit more but no mention of ancestry. Rmhermen 13:52, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't know if there is any relation, but it is interesting to note that in La Plant, South Dakota the racial makeup is apparently 100.00% Native American. --Lambiam^Talk 21:49, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

who is hartline?

I live in burleson texas, My last name is Hartline. how did you come to be named Hartline Washington?

Are you asking this question because you found the article Hartline, Washington? If so, please note that this is an encyclopedia with around a million entries, and the information we have is in that article. Notinasnaid 10:02, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

A Darkling Plain

When will the book A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve be released in Australia? It is impossible to find info about this series on the Internet.

It appears from this Booktopia page that the book will be published by Scholastic, so you might want to go to their home page and click on the "Contact Us" link so that you can ask them. --LarryMac 14:30, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Theological Cosmology/Cosmological Theology

I wish to study the correlation between religion and science, ie. the world was created in 7 days and 7 days of the Brahma equalls 7 trillion years. Although these figures are not correct. This is the type of thing. Big Bang's relation to the Word Aum ect. I realize that this question is not as clear as it could be, but that is why i wish to study the subject. Is there a course that one can do? would i need mathamatics, Cosmmology alone requires Differential and intergrated Calculas. I cant do these, but i just want to be able to explain the principles. Please Help.

193.115.175.247 14:35, 22 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

Gerald Schroeder has written several books on this topics. There might be more. Jon513 17:35, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Lots of people are interested in these topics. A Google search on religion cosmology yielded 3,420,000 results. Of course, you have to be discriminating in any web search, and not just because there are so many possible sources. --Halcatalyst 22:44, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Gaints

Sorry, to hog all the space, but i got another question. In Genesis 6 I believe, there is a passage concerning the Nephilim. Giants of great renown ect. They are also refered to through out the Bible as Amelekites or Zummzummatis and varios other names. There are also myths in Scandanavia concerning the Nephilheim, Giants... What i would like to know is, is there any relation between these two (fictional?) characters. And is so, what. Basically, I want ANY info on them as what I have read on Wiki and other places just seem to give the same explanation as the Bible. They were apparently still alive and Kickin when the Israelites went to the promised land. Is there any Archeology? ANY Info Please. 193.115.175.247 15:13, 22 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

• See Giant (mythology) and Nephilim there is no known connection, and I don't see why it'd be likely, given that the idea of giants seems to have sprung up in quite a few cultures. I don't know where you got the idea that "Nephilheim" would be a Norse name for giant. The term is jötunn (plural jötnar). The idea that the name Nephilim actually meant real giants isn't totally accepted either (see that article). In any case they're pretty dissimilar myths. The Greek Titans would be a much more similar one. --BluePlatypus 16:18, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

I think you miss understand my question. In scandanavia there is a myth concerning Nephilheim, who were giants, the similar spelling and pronunciation of Nephilim, is quite striking Being scandanavian and hebrew, and both describing the same phenomenon. Please elaborate if any one can. Thanks again Wiki.

193.115.175.247 16:26, 22 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

Niflheim, as it's spelled does not mean "giants". It's a place (as heim meaning "land" implies). The words aren't really very similar, they have completely different meanings and etymologies, and not very similar pronunciations. --BluePlatypus 18:34, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

In Nephilim, the part -im is the Hebrew plural form. In Niflheim the part nifl means something like "fog", "mist"; it is related to Latin (and English) "nebula" (see http://yourdictionary.com/ahd/roots/zzn00500.html). --Lambiam^Talk 21:38, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Ukrainian Wax Birds

I found 50 wax birds at a garage sale. Under your website, the Pysanka article said "some of the eggs were emptied and a bird's head made of wax with wings and tailfeathers of folded paper attatched. These doves were suspended before icons in commemoration of the birth of Christ." I'd like to know if I have these birds, but don't know how to send you my picture of them to see. Could you give me the source of where this inofrmation came from for me to find out? I can't seem to find any more information about these birds. Only eggs. Thank you for your help. Deborah

Hi Deborah. Unfortunately, the user who wrote the bulk of the article, including a description of the birds, was an anonymous user, so it is probably going to be impossible to contact that author. The only thing I can recommend is a search of Google or other search engines for terms like pysanka, bird, and "wax head." Sorry I can't be of more help. --DavidGC 05:42, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

A question of appearance

Can one change Wikipedia's skin?

see Help:User style. Also if you are logged in you can click preferences at the top then skin and change the skin. Jon513 16:27, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

IDGR needs care and a good translator german -> english

At the moment IDGR is descripted only from the perspectiv of its adherents. But its a quite controversial subject. Would be great if somebody who knows german and englisch very well could translate the passage [10]:

Negativ, nämlich als unzulässige Vermischung von Konservatismus und Rechtsextremismus, werten einige den Anspruch des IDGR, Kontakte, Vernetzungen und ideologische Berührungspunkte zwischen rechtskonservativen Personen und Organisationen mit rechtsextremen Gruppen aufzudecken. Betroffen sind davon neben Vertretern der deutschen Neuen Rechten vor allem Gruppen, die dem rechten Rand der Unionsparteien zugerechnet werden, etwa das Institut für Staatspolitik oder das Studienzentrum Weikersheim. Deren Anhänger werten die Darstellung des IDGR als Versuch, auch demokratisch gesinnte Personen und Gruppen in die Nähe rechtsextremistischer Bestrebungen zu rücken und halten ihn daher für ideologisch befangen. - Claus Wolfschlag, unter anderem Autor der vom IDGR als rechtsextrem eingestuften Wochenzeitung Junge Freiheit, kritisiert, die Website diene vor allem der Diffamierung rechtsstehender Persönlichkeiten. Wolfschlag und andere Kritiker stufen einige Autoren des IDGR als Linksextremisten ein.

Tanx a lot in advance. Foreigner

Very political. A WorldLingo gets:

“ Negatively, indeed as inadmissible mixture of Konservatismus and right-wing extremism, rate some the requirement of the IDGR, Contacts, To uncover cross-linkings and ideological points of contact between right-conservative persons and organizations with right-wing extremist groups. Concerned of it above all groups are, beside representatives of the German new ones rights those the right edge of the Union parties to be added, for instance Institut for state politics or the study center Weikersheim. Their trailer rate the representation of the IDGR as attempt, also democratically gesinnte persons and groups into the proximity of right-extremist efforts to move and consider it therefore ideologically embarrassed. - Claus's wolf impact, among other things author of the IDGR as right-wing extreme classified weekly paper the boy liberty, criticized, the Website serves above all the Diffamierung of personalities to the right. Wolf impact and other critics classify some authors of the IDGR than left-wing extremists. ”

Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 17:08, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, its better than nothing. Think we should use it for a while. Foreigner 07:18, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Blimey, who wrote that, a lawyer or a journalist! With a sentence structure like that, I don't think online translation tools have much of a chance. Let me give it a shot...

“ Some describe the activities of the IDGR, to uncover contacts and links between radical right-wing individuals and right-wing conservative groups and people, as being based on an unfounded connection between conservatism and right-wing extremism. Particularly groups of the German New Right (Neuen Rechten) and on the right wing of the German conservative party are affected by this. These groups accuse the IDGR of trying to write off democratically inclined groups by linking them with right-wing extremism, and therefore see the IDGR's actions as being ideologically motivated. Claus Wolfschlag, the editor of the weekly mgazine Junge Freiheit (described by the IDGR as being an extremist right-wing publication), has criticised the IDGR website as serving to merely to defame personalities on the political right. Wolfschlag and others also view some of the IDGR's authors as left-wing extremists. ”

Hope that helps! — QuantumEleven 08:56, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Helps a lot, thank you v e r y much, I'll do away with my own work in IDGR and take this one. Foreigner 09:35, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

theres trouble with SlimVirgin who doubts the passage is correct. Please see the history of IDGR Thanks a lot in advance Foreigner 07:17, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Sailing By

Where can I download the whole of this for free? Or can't I? Thanks--Keycard ^(talk) 17:14, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

download what?Jon513 17:26, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

To download WP, we a page have for ... Let me if I find can it see. --DLL 18:00, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia database is an easy redirect there. Weregerbil 18:07, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

You might be interested in the unfinished Wikipedia 1.0. Tijuana Brass^¡Épa!-E@ 02:11, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

No, he's talking about Sailing By, the tune played on BBC Radio 4 just before the shipping forecast. Far as I can tell, he's looking for a complete version of the tune to link to on its page. --Richardrj 05:26, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that's right. Does anyone know?--Keycard ^(talk) 07:22, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

It looks like the 2 singles that were recorded are protected by copyright, and we never mess with copyright here. --Zeizmic 17:54, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

clothing at discount stores

I like to shop at Marshall's and TJ Maxx. My son doesn't want me to buy his clothes there because he thinks they are substandard quality, "not the real thing", or made just for discount retailers. Is there any truth to that? (Aside from the merchandise that is marked "irregular")

Certainly being made for alternate retailers and "not the real thing" are applicable, as I presume your son's complaint is that you're not buying him Designer Label X. However, it's up to you, the person who earns and is responsible for the money, whether the "real thing" is appropriate to buy -- that is, does Designer Label X have features or quality superior to Discount Label Y (aside, obviously, from the label)? Assuming it does, is the extra cost then justified? As for quality, that will depend greatly on specific type/brand of clothing (and may vary largely within a brand). Your best bet is to consult Consumer Reports or another consumer advocacy source for unbiased comparisons. Alternately, perhaps you should find some means of your son buying his preferred clothes via his own resources. — Lomn Talk 18:25, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

This is a parenting issue, and from experience it can be a challenge. He needs some education as to what a designer label means, including a full discussion of social significance of clothing and teenage group identification, relation to "fitting in", some of the sweatshop sources, etc. You could do what a parent of a teenage girl I knew many decades ago did: for his birthday, give him a stack of designer labels with the explanation that if the label is what is important he can put them on anything. Make him cut the quality pretense and deal with the real issue, which is the social identification aspect. Don't dismiss it as unreal, but make him discuss it. No matter how much money you have and he has, he will always be able to make himself feel fortunate or deprived by the things he can afford or can't afford. Don't be ashamed to explain exactly where that limit is for your family's circumstances and tell him it is up to him how much of a deprivation it is. Help him understand that money spent one place is not available for something else and for nearly all of us money is finite, and the challenge is for us to live with the limits, make some choices, and not let feelings of deprivation ruin our lives. These are the real issues to discuss, not the quality of one brand over another. Good luck. alteripse 21:00, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

I think part of the issue being raised is whether the cheaper designer brands sold at TJ Maxx etc are real. In my experience with TK Maxx (a sister brand to TJ Maxx) they are, but they may not be the most up-to-date 'in season' versions, they may be hard to find in the size you want or they may be irregular. They won't tend to be made of different material, or less well made, or less 'real'. Skittle 22:28, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Read Archie comics! They are the secret of life! (teenage only.. or perhaps nothing...) --Zeizmic 22:34, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Working/Moving in/to Brazil?

I am considering moving to Brazil, what are the work requirements for foreigners?

Thanks for the help,

- J. Alpar

How is a soccer ball made?

Which plastic material is used to make a soccerball and through which process? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.176.63.16 (talk • contribs)

What part of our article on soccer balls do you need further clarified? — Lomn Talk 18:29, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

this question accidentally deleted earlier, restored by me — Lomn Talk 18:30, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

xbox 360

is it possible to transfer music from my computer directly to my xbox 360? by ethernet, for example? thanks

User Talk Page

So I have to leave all bot messages (such as those regarding copyright issues) on my user talk page forever, even after I have resolved the issue? --Nmajdan 21:23, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Nope. Whatever gave you that impression? You can pretty much do as you wish with your talk page. It is only other people's talk pages that you should desist from revrting, pruning &c. Many people make archive pages and store their old talk. Some people weed it out. Some people throw it away. Go wild! --Tagishsimon (talk)

If you look at the history of my User Talk page, you will see another user restored some of the notices I deleted and said in his comment: "(adding a welcome and replacing all notices (you are supposed to leave them on your talk page))." So that's what gave me that impression. Thanks for the info. --Nmajdan 01:05, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I guess http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Talk_page#Etiquette would be the best link to policy in this area. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Deleting other users' comments on your talk page is often considered hostile or a mark of incivility and is discouraged by Wikipedia policies. It is not really "your" talk page, it is a Wikipedia page where users can talk to you about you, so deleting their comments is essentially showing disrespect to their contributions. Archiving to separate pages, however, is perfectly acceptable. Deletion of certain templates is also acceptable after those issues are resolved, but see the above article for more info. --DavidGC 05:47, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I understand about deleting other user's comments, but I was more referring to the automated bot messages. --Nmajdan 12:33, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I would recommend archiving, but if you really want to delete it, make sure it's completely resolved first. - 131.211.210.12 12:18, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

May 23

Anyway to turn off sound in Mozilla Firefox?

Hello, Is there any way to turn off the sound in Mozilla Firefox, meaning that I am able to listen to my media player and when I go into a website that has sound, that sound doesn't play or is muted some how? Thank you

If you're using Linux, have you tried using different sound servers? --KJ 01:45, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

NoScript is pretty good at not letting things play. --212.202.184.238 01:51, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Shotgun infomation!!

Where did the word shotgun originate from? Also how do you determine the guage of a shotgun?

Thanks, Casey Mcinnis

See Shotgun. Tijuana Brass^¡Épa!-E@ 02:10, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

New York's Finest Taxi Service

Did it really exist or is it just a myth? 68.52.56.111 01:56, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I assume you mean from the movie The Usual Suspects? Isopropyl 02:05, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

But of course New York's Finest are the police, New York's Bravest are the firefighters, New York's Brightest are the schoolteachers, New York's Strongest are the sanitation workers, and New York's Safest are the cabbies. Yes, the Big Apple is the capital of superlatives, and I have not made a single one of these up.--Pharos 05:47, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Who are New York's Toughest then? There are three streets in Manhattan named after the Finest, Bravest, and Toughest (after 9/11 I think). Who are the Toughest - perhaps the local National Guard? Bwithh 08:06, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

My mistake. the avenue is Avenue of the Strongest. So they named it after the sanitation workers ( so it wasn't a 9/11 thing then, as I was told before) http://www.wasteage.com/mag/waste_avenue_strongest_honor/index.html Bwithh 08:12, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

(Also, New York's Boldest are correction (prison) officers.) Bwithh 08:10, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Ah, yes, I'd heard of the "Boldest" but not the "Toughest". I don't know, maybe Port Authority Police? They were more directly involved in 9/11. Also, "tough" is sort of a word associated with the waterfront.--Pharos 08:17, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Well there goes my nice theory.--Pharos 08:18, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

NEW YORKS finest taxi service is when a youth who cannot be arrested commits a minor crime to get the police to take him/her home to thier parents, rather than organizing a lift with afriend or paying for a real cab.

Create a subject page

how does one go about creating a new page or a subject? hypothetically "the history of guitar worship." thanks

Please see Wikipedia:Your first article. -- Rick Block (talk) 04:18, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Please create this article, as a fellow muscian i too worship my axxe. Rock on! 193.115.175.247 09:50, 23 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

Once you're familiar with the rules and ways of Wikipedia, go over to Help:Starting_a_new_page (it's at the bottom of the page that Rick Block recommended) and you can start creating it for real. Just don't leave the page blank or it might get deleted.  freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  12:40, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I would just call the article Guitar worship if I were you, there shouldn't be a need for a "History of..." article unless the base article is too long and complicated. --Canley 02:59, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

washing hair

yo sup my friends, does washing your hair make it grow faster? Does conditioning it? basically id like to know how to make your hair grow its fastesest! yo catup dogs

joe jackman

I think it doesn't, but your hair might look denser or longer if it's washed. – b_jonas 09:32, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Rumour has it that if tou crush the pill and put it in yor shampoo, it will increase hair gowth, or if you are a girl, just take it and it will increase hair growth. I am a guy with long hair, and it worked for me about 4 years ago. It still takes years. 193.115.175.247 09:51, 23 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

I always think hair grows faster in summer than it does in winter. Anyone else noticed this? --Richardrj 10:01, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm a guy with long hair as well. I've never heard that washing it makes it grow faster but I have been told that if you trim it that it will grow faster. I've never understood that but it's what I've been told. And for me, having the longest hair has never been the goal. It's just easier to manage than getting haircuts all the time... Plus there are the women who ask if they can run their hands through it. I really like that part....  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 10:06, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

seconded :) Grutness...wha? 13:15, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

thirded, most decisively. Howard Train 23:21, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Have a look at 10 Hair myths, 25 hair myths and a whole google of hair myths. It appears the #1 myth is "Cutting Hair Makes It Grow Faster and/or Thicker" - False. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:36, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

See this site for reasonably balanced info; the FDA approved meds really work.

There is a wonderful story (physiology legend?) about a hermit or woodsman or whatever, who would once every few months take his rowing boat and cross the lake / river to visit the nearest settlement for some feminine interaction (no doubt under the guise of selling beaver pelts or buying supplies:)). The story goes that he found that on the return journey his beard would be growing at a noticably faster rate that before, and then over the next week return to it's old rate. This tale is related as an illustration that testosterone makes a man's beard grow faster. What it does not say, is that testosterone can make the scalp hair fall out faster.

The "pill" story is valid, though I don't know about the application method. A side effect, it gets more of the follicles in growth phase at the same time, so that when they go into the resting phase later on, you get a sudden "coordinated" excessive hair loss all over the scalp. --Seejyb 21:45, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

One Tree Hill

One tree hill is my favourite show, and I live in Australia. It showed season 1 on ten up to about episode 11. I checked the article and it said it now plays on fox 8, i don't have foxtell and I miss it dearly. Is there any chance that ten will bring it back on?

Probably not. It rated very poorly, and The OC is now Ten's dominant "teen soap" program. Battle Ape 14:30, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

If you're desperate, buy the DVD's, though I'm not sure there's a region 4 release. If your DVD player plays region 1 NTSC discs, you can get the DVDs from Amazon amongst a number of other online retailers who'll ship to Australia. They won't be cheap, though. --Robert Merkel 15:30, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

name that tune

could someone please tell me who wrote this song or what the title is. i can't seem to find anyone familiar with this. the song goes as follows.

                         there's s new world somewhere
                         they call the promised land
                            
                          and i'll be there someday
                          if you will hold my hand
                          
                          i still need you here beside me
                          no matter what i do.

it is definitely not the *promised land*. i tried that version already and it is totally different. all help would be appreciated.

It's Sonny James' I'll Never Find Another You, written by Tom Springfield.

There's a new world somewhere they call the Promised Land
And I'll be there someday if you will hold my hand
I still need you there beside me no matter what I do
For I know I'll never find another you
There is always someone to reach across they say
And you'll be my someone forever and today
I could search the whole world over until my life is through
But I know I'll never find another you
It's a long long journey so stay by my side
When I'll walk through the storm you'll be my guide be my guide
If they gave me a fortune my pleasure would be small
I could lose it all tomorrow and never mind at all
But if I should lose your love dear I don't know what I'd do
For I know I'll never find another you
[ guitar ]
But if I should lose your love dear I don't know what I'd do
For I know I'll never find another you another you another you

 freshgavinΓΛĿЌ  12:33, 23 May 2006 (UTC) thank you thank you thank you i love you.

BTW the best known version of that song is almost certainly that by The Seekers. It went Top 10 in a large number of countries in about 1965 (No. 1 in the UK, too, ISTR). Grutness...wha? 13:12, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

who ever you are you're the best. sonny james just didn't have the same melody. the seekers did. thank-you

• Oh man. That song is one of the stickiest earworms ever. I'll have that in my head for a day. Thank...you...very...much. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 16:14, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

United States Congress

I am looking for my Congresstional District Number and Who my Representative is. I also need to know who the two Ohio Senators are.

Did you look at Government_of_Ohio#State_Politics? The answer to your last question is there. --Richardrj 13:14, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

The map on Ohio Congressional Districts and the List of United States Representatives from Ohio should get you the first. Rmhermen 17:22, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

You may also be interested in Ohio United States Senate election, 2006; the election for DeWine's seat will likely be one of the four or five closest in the forthcoming midterm elections. Joe 21:31, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Literature articles - exploring themes, motifs, symbolism etc.

I was wondering if exploring ideas about novels, such as themes, symbolism, motfis etc. constituted as a violation of Wikipedia's policy of: "Do not write articles that present your own original theories, opinions, or insights, even if you can support them by reference to accepted work."

More specifically in relation to AS-Level exam texts, such as "The Miller's Prologue and Tale", "The Spire" and "Spies".

Some of those above have explanations about some of the themes and motifs in the novel/poem. I would argue that adding theme explanation etc. would not go against this policy because although it is open to interpretation, there are still recognised points of view which are taught in schools.

What are your thoughts as to an 'official' ruling? Thank you.

Presenting interpretations that have been published is fine. As you said, they are recognized interpretations that are taught in school, therefore they aren't original to you. -user:rasd

Thank you very much. Sound reasoning. -user:JohnKingsnorth

Just be sure to source them. User:Zoe|^(talk) 20:05, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

inserting a "contribute to editing" box

I am looking for a box that I have seen on some pages that is inserted at the top of a page to ask for help in contributing to the content of an article that is new... I started Ken Hart and would like to insert that box on the page...could you direct me to the location of that code..if it exists. I regret that I have only short intervals of time throughout the week to devote to editing, but am sure in time I shall become familiar with these sorts of issues..My main concern at this time is to get a solid base for the "Ken Hart" entry as I have contacted others involved in his life that shall supply me with verifiable data to get the listing to a place where others can assist in its evolution. By the way, Ken Hart would have loved Wikipedia....THNX--ZorroZ 17:17, 23 May 2006 (UTC) == Wikipedia==....AWESOME--ZorroZ 17:38, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Someone put a template on there. If you look at Template:Importance there are a list that might be relevant and also the main section Wikipedia:Template messages. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 17:40, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

What is the specific way to get a contributation into Wikipedia

I am sorry and do not know where this question should go. I have looked high and low for the method to get a file into Wikipedia. Every other question is answered but not this. I have a specific article from another web site with the authors permission to post on Wikipedia. Do I go so some page that says edit this? Then save it from there? I have created web pages so know how to upload. But Wikipedia is a mystery to me. Have a nice day

To input anything to Wikipedia, you do what you did to post here. You click 'edit this page' and type, or paste, the words in. If you need to know how to code something in particular, looking at the source (by clicking 'edit this page') on other pages may help. You can play around in the WP:Sandbox to experiment.

When you say 'a file', do you mean a lot of words? These you would copy and paste, but it would be much better to reword the section yourself. This is because anything you submit to Wikipedia like this becomes free for anyone to use as they see fit, as long as they reference Wikipedia, and the site-owner may not be so happy with that. If it is a sound file or a picture, there are specific ways to add them which involve loading them onto the Wikimedia servers first (I think). If you could clarify what you're asking, I can be more help. As can other people. Skittle 18:31, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Okay. Wikipedia:Media is probably the page you want. Note it says you have to be logged in to upload files. This means you need to sign up using the link at the top right of every page. All you need to give is a username and a password, no personal information. It is immediate, without even email confirmation, so it's quick and easy. Skittle 18:37, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

You need to have an account to create a new page or to upload a media file. If you want to create a new page but do not want to create an account, then you must ask someone else to do it. -lethe ^{talk +} 18:48, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

• Ask whoever gave you the permission to post it to Wikipedia whether they would be happy to have the material editable and available for free distribution (which are basic Wikipedia requirements). If they still think that's okay, make sure it is worded as an encyclopedic entry like the articles listed in WP:FA for example. Something that violates basic rules of WP:NPOV or WP:NOT may get deleted. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:22, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

sales rate of british newspapers

what is the daily sales rate (approximately) of these British newspapers: "The Northern Echo", "The Herald",and "Daily Star"?

Northern Echo 173,000 The Herald 74,000 Daily Star 780,000 (NB its called circulationif you need to search for any more). Jameswilson 22:16, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Windows Movie Maker

I thought someone here might know this. I'm trying to put a video I edited in windows movie maker onto a powerpoint presentation I made, only Windows Movie Maker files are not compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint. Do you know any video converting programs I could use that are compatible with Windows Movie Maker so that I could put my videos onto my powerpoint?

Thanks, Anon

Try MediaCoder. It's free and can convert most major video formats. Good luck. Tijuana Brass^E@ 23:16, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Foreign legion engagements

It will be unfruitful to ask "Where is the foreign legion now?". However, Darfur stands out as a highly important conflict today, with absolutely horrible acts of genocide and whatnot (and might I say, horrible ignorance from the world). Is there any chance that legionaires are in Sudan? Were there ever any in Rwanda? How exactly does this body act when regular soldiers of the country are practically not allowed to engage? Any information about where they might be would be nice. Henning 21:58, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

The deployments of the French Foreign Legion can be found under Current Deployments. I would presume that to avoid an international incident the actions of the Foreign Legion are held to the same standards as the regular army. Sum0 22:09, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

The French have never had influence in the Sudan, and they generally commit the Legion only to former colonies and other related territories where they have strong interests or ties to one of the parties. Chad, on the other hand, is a French community country and the French have some close involvement. Trouble there might prompt foreign legion intervention, if only to evacuate Europeans. alteripse 00:45, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Can I change my user name?

After a very bad experience on Fidel Castro page, I want to disappear. If I am going to contribute any more to Wikipedia, I must have a new identity that can't be traced as I don't want contact with any of those people again. KarenAnn 23:10, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

See WP:CHU to change your name. In the future (and I hope you'll stay), please post other Wikipedia-related questions to the Wikipedia:Help Desk instead. Thanks. Tijuana Brass^E@ 23:14, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

WP:CHU is for when you want to have your old edits attributed to your new username. If what you want is a clean break from your past, just stop using your old account and register a new one. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 11:38, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

And if you do that, read the unclean guidelines on WP:SOCK. – b_jonas 21:15, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

May 24

Specialized high schools and regular high schools

Question: Are specilaized high schools a form of acedemic segregation/discrimination?

To take the specialized test you are suppose to pay for the test. How would the poor people get achance to take the test and get into one of the spcialized high schools? --205.188.117.68 00:49, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

They don't - poor people always get screwed over in life. Everything in this society is decided on the contents of a person's wallet and the names of the people that he knows, not the contents of his heart and mind. Some of those schools would probably take a kid who counted on his fingers and couldn't spell his own name if his parents 'donated' enough money - whilst a bright kid who happened, by sheer luck the draw, to have been born to poor parents will have to fight extra hard for everything in life and probably still end up getting nowhere. When these two hypothetical children grow up and get jobs, guess who'll be working for who? --—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kurt Shaped Box (talk • contribs) 01:05, 24 May 2006 (UTC).

Commentary aside, and to try to answer your question... It depends on the area. In many areas, such tests are administered free of charge to those who can demonstrate that they are unable to afford them, though this may vary from country to country and, within the United States, from district to district. If this is true for you, you should speak with the organization administering the test, to see if they have special allowances for people in your situation. --DavidGC 03:52, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

From the taxpayer's POV, why should they be forced to pay more for a few students who feel they need a specialized school ? The most famous such school might be the New York School for Performing Arts (now the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, apparently the old name was too easy to remember and spell), featured in Fame the musical/movie and TV series. StuRat 13:21, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Dangerously close to veering off the subject, but the advantage to paying for those students that can benefit from additional education is that it increases the supply of scarce skills (doctors, engineers etc) and benefits the community. It's pretty common worldwide to tailor publicly funded education to the level of the person receiving it, which is why we get academic streaming, scholarships, kids being advanced or held back years etc. Most such schools are science-oriented. Performing arts schools are really an exceptional case.

I also suspect that the additional cost of the specialist education may not be that much, especially if it enables a bright student to learn in one year what they would otherwise take two to learn in a regular school. Also some bright kids perform better and behave better in a challenging environment than in one they find boring. DJ Clayworth 18:14, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Good answer, but when put in terms of spending less on the majority of students, to finance a few special students, this seems rather elitist. StuRat 18:48, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Business School

Just curious, Do you need to take the GMAT (Business standardized test) for undergraduate business programs, or only if you are applying for graduate business school? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 168.16.141.209 (talk • contribs) 03:57, 24 May 2006 (UTC).

The GMAT is a standardized test given to those seeking to study business at the graduate level (MBA). It is the business school version of the GRE. --DavidGC 04:00, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

In fact if you bothered to check what letters "GMAT" actaully stood for, in the first line of the article you'd see that the "G" stands for "Graduate". Loomis51 09:19, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Adding a URL Link

How do I add a link to another Website for something I just added to one of your pages? I looked through the directions, but they were too complex to follow.

In the form of [http://www.notreal.ca explanation] which turns into explanation. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 05:53, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Cigarettes

How many packs of Marlboro cigarettes are in a case? 10? nondescript 07:27, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• If I remember correctly, Marlboro has several different packages. Which one do you mean? I think the easiest way to check, is visit your local seller and check the label or ask. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:15, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• • I'm trying to compare prices for cigarettes sold at different gas stations, but some advertise by the pack and some advertise by the case, and I can't get to a gas station right now. nondescript 08:51, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

In most of the US cigarettes are sold in packs containing 20 cigarettes and cartons containing 10 packs. --hydnjo talk 12:23, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I take it you are trying to maximize your ratio of carcinogen exposure per money spent ? :-) StuRat 12:32, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

In that case, just go and inhale exhaust fumes surely? Completely free! Skittle 11:24, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Interior Decoraing

Hello! My name is Rebecca and i am in yr 8! I am currently doing a project on Interior Decorating! I really need some help as i cannot find the answers i need anywhere, I know it says "do your own homework" I tried very hard too and looked everywhere!! If you could help with some quick answers that would be greatly appreciated!!

1) Is interior decorating common in Australia today?

2) Is it more common than it was 30 years ago?

3) What are some of the forces/factors that may influence the way this occupation is conducted in the future?

Thankyou, Very Kind and Desperate regards, Rebecca!!!! (210.50.112.13 07:38, 24 May 2006 (UTC)??)

• I'm not sure why interior decoration wouldn't be common in Australia compared to any other country in the world. Every house has some form of it, even if it's not done by professionals. If you're talking about professional interor decorators, I would guess it's more common now than 30 years ago simply because people have more money to spend, but again I can't be sure as I'm not an expert. I think the third question is the easiest of the three. Think of how technology is constantly getting better and better. Think of how things like flat screen televisions and other things like that can be used in interior decorating. If you need any more help, I suggest you look up an interior decorator in the phone book or visit a local IKEA store or something similar. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:13, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Hi Rebecca, I'll do my best but I'm not an expert! Firstly, I get the impression that the term "interior design" is used more often than "interior decoration" these days, although they mean kind of the same thing. If you mean as an occupation, I'm not sure if there are more people employed as interior designers than in the 1970s - possibly not as DIY (do-it-yourself) seems a lot more popular now that it was 30 years ago, so people do their own work rather than hiring a decorator (this may help with question 3). Some factors you can also consider are the popularity of makeover TV programs like Changing Rooms and Better Homes & Gardens, and also the rate of new houses/apartments built in Australia over the last 30 years. Good luck, hope this helped. --Canley 08:09, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Mouse Help

How do you catch a mouse in the home without killing the mouse?

• Build a mouse-friendly mouse-trap as I did a few years ago. If you google it, I'm sure you could come up with a few designs. When I did it, I didn't have internet access yet, but there's quite a few books on those things too. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:05, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

And don't forget to drive far, before you let them go in somebody's backyard. You'll be surprised how soon they show up again... --Zeizmic 12:11, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• The Victor company make a mouse-sized live-trapping product. Try your local hardware store. --hydnjo talk 12:16, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• I find mice seldom travel alone, so you likely have several. And don't forget to check the traps frequently, or the mice could die of dehydration. StuRat 12:23, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I've used a simple plastic grocery bag suspended from a frame as a live trap. You need to get the mouse out of the bag before it claws its way out, but fortunately, a mouse in a grocery bag is rather noisy. --Serie 20:25, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Prior to having cats, I used to leave little foodscraps in the bottom of the bath - mice can get into the bath, but the sides are too slippery for them to climb out. it's also easy to clean away any, erm, mouse business afterwards. Grutness...wha? 06:06, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

AHH the old addage of to build an better mouse trap just bear in mind that nw mice will be able to smell that mice once lived there, and so you will ore than likely gey more mice afterwards, unless you can find out where they came from, but well done for not wanting to kill them 81.144.161.223 14:36, 25 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door...be a better psychiatrist and the world will leave a beaten psychopath on your doorstep." StuRat 22:14, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

copying book covers is copyvio?

Question about copyvio, I have had the article Successful Praying dropped for copyvio, but I have done the identical thing for the article The Cross and the Switchblade, that is, I have scanned the front/back cover of the book. Is that not copyvio? What is the exact guideline for book covers? I know there's a lot of general stuff written here about copyvio, but what is the story on book covers? Can I or can't I copy them? The book covers for the Successful Praying article were scanned at exactly the same resolution or size as the book cover for The Cross and the Switchblade for which nobody seems to be saying anything. Thanks for clarifying. Brusselsshrek 11:15, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I would have thought scanning the cover of a book for use in an article on that book would be fair use. AllanHainey 11:26, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Generally speaking, an entire article will not be deleted because of a copy violation problem with a graphic used in the article. Rather, only the graphic would be deleted. It is possible that the problem with the Successful Praying article had nothing to do with the graphic used. If the article contained large portions copied from the book or from a review of the book, that would explain it. However, looking at the deletion log, the reason given was that the article was "spammy," but without seeing specific examples of how this was the case, that reason is not very helpful. --DavidGC 11:40, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

The thing about fair use is that you need to use the absolute minimum. So, for the latter article, I'd suggest:

1. Remove and speedy the back cover image altogether
2. Downscale the front cover image to exactly the size you want to use it on the page (I'd say no more than 300px in the longer dimension) and present it in the article with "framed" rather than "thumb" syntax
3. Add a copyright notice on the image page (saying it's copyright the publisher) and a source (saying you scanned it)
4. Add a fair-use rationale for the image's use on that specific article (there's no such thing as a "fair use" image, a priori - a given image is fair use on a given article, providing a reasonable case for that fair use is made). Some examples of a reasonable rationale are at Wikipedia:Image description page#Fair use rationale - simply adding the tag isn't enough. In practice most fair use images on wikipedia don't have a good rationale, don't have proper source and copyright info, are too large, and are used in inappropriate articles - but (eventually) their days are numbered. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 11:45, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

As was brought up in the deletion review, the copyright problem was with including the table of contents and having it make up the bulk of the article, though having the back cover as well as the front was also a problem. --Sam Blanning^(talk) 16:54, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• I'm at least partially to blame here. I should've been clearer when I deleted it. The "article" was pretty much a table of contents" which is neither encyclopedic nor allowed by copyright. So I was of the opinion there was no article. Book cover images can only be used on articles discussing the book. Even if I considered it an article, the article didn't discuss the book, so the image had no valid fair use rationale. If someone can write an article about the book, I won't have many problems, but a back cover is definitely a no no. It doesn't illustrate the article. If it's low-res as fair use images should be you can read any letters, making a back cover pretty useless. - Mgm|^(talk) 12:20, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Pokemon Colloseum

I can't trade pokemon between GBA and Gamecube. Why?

• While the Game Boy Advance and the Gamecube are both made by Nintendo, the games for those systems are quite different. The systems are different and so the games are altered to make them run on each system (similar to why PlayStation 2 games don't work on an XBox). - Mgm|^(talk) 12:15, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Knowlege

They say that every one learns something every day. Today i learned that there are mammals that lay eggs, i thought this was very odd, I would like to know whhat other people have learned. What did you learn today?

See above. AllanHainey 14:02, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

That some people take clichés WAY too seriously. Just curious though, what mammal lays eggs? Are you referring to the platypus? Because I believe the jury is still out on that one. Loomis51 19:26, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Loomis, read the featured article.... Or just the intro on the main page. As for me, I learned that Loomis doesn't read the main page often enough.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 19:54, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I learned many things today. One, as stated above, that people take clichés WAY too seriously. Two, that the short-beaked Echidna is in fact an egg laying mammal. Three, that Dismas can be an annoying pedant. And four, that I forgive him anyway because he's apparently into Floyd like I am, and I can't possibly have ill feelings towards someone with such good taste in music. (BTW, will you you be coming up from VT for the Roger Waters concert up here in MTL in September?) Loomis51 21:56, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

All monotremes lay eggs. JackofOz 01:42, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Here's a useless fact or two about monotremes. In prehistoric times, there were both toothed and untoothed monotremes. All we have left now are untoothed ones. All living monotremes have Latin names as their common names (platypus and echidna). But that's not all - the common name of the platypus may be a Latin name, but it's Latin (taxonomic) name isn't platypus - since that scientific name was already in use for another type of animal when the platypus was named. Grutness...wha? 06:09, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Well thanks alot guys and girls, that was very interesting, and yes pink floyd are one of the best bands ever!!! rock on and listen to more slayer 81.144.161.223 11:50, 25 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

parametric resonance

I wish to create an article oncerning the above. But some one has my name, so i cant login, this is un fair as it is my name and i dont wish to change it to some odd handle so...

Parametric resonance occurs in a mechanical system when a system is parametrically excited and oscillates at one its resonant frequencies. Parametric excitation differs from forcing since the action appears as a time varying modification on a system parameter. The classical example of parametric resonance is that of the vertically forced pendulum.

For small amplitudes and by linearising, the stability of the periodic solution is given by :

ii + (a + B cos t)u =0

where u is some perturbation from the periodic solution. Here the Bcost term acts as an ‘energy’ source and is said to parametrically excite the system. The Mathieu equation describes many other physical systems to a sinusoidal parametric excitation such as an LC Circuit where the capacitor plates move sinusoidally.

Or some thing along those lines any way

193.115.175.247 14:16, 24 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

There's already an article Parametric resonance. Please do improve it. Notinasnaid 14:54, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks alot dude, couldnt find it earier, must have been a type 0. Now done, i think.193.115.175.247 15:16, 24 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

But some one has my name, so i cant login, this is un fair as it is my name and i dont wish to change it to some odd handle so...

Presumably the person who shares your name thinks much the same. Get over it & choose a new name, dude. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Dinarics in Serbia and Montenegro

From the Dinaric race article:

According to the Dinaric model, Dinarics are to be found today in the mountainous areas of the western Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, most of northwestern Bulgaria, northwestern Republic of Macedonia and northern Albania).

Between Serbia and Montenegro, would it be safe to say that mountainous Montenegro is the more Dinaric of the two? I’m asking because we may soon have to replace Serbia and Montenegro with simply Montenegro once the latter officially declares independence, and because Serbia from what I know is mostly plains, except for Kosovo. —Manlalakbay 14:55, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

While not being able to answer your question, i do find it interesting, after having read the article. Is this not politically incorect aand comlpletely racist, to classify people so?

Why would you want to know. We are all People.? 193.115.175.247 15:22, 24 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

Not at all racist. Racism is a much misused word but it is basically the imputation of stereotypical characteristics (usually negative) to a particular race or the characterisation of one race as inferior (or superior) to another in a particular way. It isn't the recognition that there are different ethnic groupings characterised as races. AllanHainey 10:24, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Rare Parrot Flower from Thailand

I would appreciate any help someone can offer. I received an e-mail with several photos of a gorgeous orchid-looking flower and it was merely described as the Parrot Flower from Thailand. I'm not sure how to include the photos here, so all I can do is describe that the hollow flower dangles from a stem (which continues inside the "bell" of the flower as the pistil) from a leaf group above and has a "head" that is magenta (with a green tendril mimicking the beak), a white neck/breast area, with an orchid-purple "rear feathers" and "wings". My searches have come up empty on finding more information on this flower, if that is its correct name (one search showed a photo of a completely different-looking flower), genus, where and how grown. If possible and not outside the allowable scope of questions, I'd also like to know if you are able to purchase plants anywhere. Thank you very much in advance for any help you can offer. 16:56, 24 May 2006 (UTC)Annie6078 16:56, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Looking at this forum, it appears to be a type of impatiens. (If that picture matches yours). Take a look and let us know. -- LarryMac 17:48, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

(Found an alternate space for my question.)

Consent Form? [header added]

how can i get the parent consent form so i can fill it out .

The school that gave you it. Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 18:01, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Radio Times for week starting 27 May

Could someone tell me what Alison Graham's preview for the Doctor Who on Saturday night says (27th) in fair detail? Thanks v. much.--Keycard ^(talk) 17:35, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Most of this info is from Alison Graham, but some is taken from an article on page 10 of the magazine:

When the Doctor (dressed as a Teddy Boy) and Rose arrive in '53 for the Queen's coronation, they find a mysterious street where everyone owns a TV; despite the fact that most places only had one TV per street. They investigate the mysterious TV salesman, and the strange continuity announcer on the screen (Maureen Lipman), who is a member of a mysterious alien group called "The Wire", who can apparently eat people watching television. It will also somehow end with a fight on top of Alexandra Palace, and there will be a subplot involving a pushy father. SMURRAY|IN|CHESTER 19:42, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks very much! It sounds great.--Keycard ^(talk) 07:41, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Discursive essay

Yes, even although it is slightly a homework question, but here I go. I am having to write this discursive essay and I need to write about something slightly controversial. I already done one on police brutality, and would prefer not to do it on something slightly clichéd, like capital punishment. Any ideas are much appreciated. Thanks, Kilo-Lima|^(talk) 17:58, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

What is controversial depends to a great extent on where you are. US? Europe? Australia?. DJ Clayworth 18:06, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

If you already "done" one on police brutality, the next step seems to be to do one on proper English, in particular the correct conjugation of the verb "to do", as well as the various colloquial variants. It's certainly contoversial enough, as some people (call them English purists) tend to look down on anything but perfect grammar and syntax, while others (such as myself) tend to welcome such unorthodox additions to the language as contributing to its richness. Loomis51 19:20, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I recommend choosing a topic that has no relation to where you are. The most controvercial issues tend to happen in places very far from where you live, which is why they don't get the attention they should, and your president is allowed to do really sketchy things without tripping any moral laser-beams.

Some examples I can think of are Human Rights issues in China, the divide between rich and poor in developing countries, continuing genocide in many African countries, etc. Human Rights Watch is a good source for articles on very controversial issues.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:52, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

There are dozens of human rights-type questions: treatment of women in Islamic nations; treatment of Aborigines in Australia; treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay; human rights abuses in (pick any of a couple of dozen countries here)... then there are environemtal-concerns things: policies of major governments towards big business re pollution, global warming, misuse of wilderness areas etc; Japanese and Norwegian attitudes towards whaling, etc etc etc. Any number of meaty topics to get working on. Grutness...wha? 11:52, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Australia has just sent troops to east timor, at the indonesian governments request, however, east timor should belong to Burma, not indonesia. THis is controvercial in my oppinion.81.144.161.223 11:58, 25 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

GRUNTNESS, that would be Indiginous Australians. Racial slers are offensive, although i am sure you did not mean to offend.81.144.161.223 14:49, 25 May 2006 (UTC)Anton

I thought 'Aborigines' just meant 'the first people there'. I've heard it used for many different tribes and people in many different places, but mostly in Australia. I was unaware that it was considered a racial slur by anyone, and I don't imagine Grutness did either. In fact, it took me a few moments to work out what you were refering to. So just to both reassure you that it was unlikely to be intended as a racial slur and to remind you that sometimes you need to be specific about these things. Maybe explaining "Blah blah consider 'blah blah' to be a racial slur, so you might want to avoid it in the future". I can see 'Indigenous Australians' as being more inclusive, as it implies Australianship of the people referred to, but fail to see how 'aborigine' is a racial slur unless it has often been used as an insult. Which I assume it has. Skittle 15:02, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

If you read the wiki article on the indiginous people of australian is states in there that this is a racial slurr, but i get your meaning. Sorry if I caused any offence. Justa pet hate of mine. Futher more, please see wikipedia main page right hand side, Australia deploys troops. to refer to my previous controversial subject. When will east Timor be free of persecution. We did a good job in South Africa, maybe something just as beautiful can come out of this horrid situation.

The Euro

Please help me. My son is doing a report on Italy and the teacher has asked the following question. I have tried to answer it but cannot find the information to help me son answer it.

Guestion: Explain the money unit and how it is used?

Can you please help??????????

Thanking you in advance for any help you can give us.

Thank you, Mrs. Smoke

I'm really not sure what possible confusion there could be. The Euro is the unit of currency in most of Europe, just as the US Dollar is the unit of currency in the US. I must be missing something as the concept seems way too simple to actually be so confusing as you make it seem. If you could expand on what's confusing you, I'd be glad to (try to) answer. Loomis51 19:10, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• Money can be exchanged for goods and services. --BluePlatypus 19:25, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• The symbol for the US (as well as the Canadian, Australian, Honk Kong etc...) Dollar is "$", whereas the symbol for the Euro is "€". Loomis51 19:43, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• Money is nice, It's fun to have money. Loomis51 19:43, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• Money is one of the least important things that you will ever have contact with. Trust me. --Ouro 20:00, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• I disagree. Without money you can't buy food. Without food you die. Loomis51 20:59, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• • Who says you have to buy food? There are other legal ways to get it. Anyway, what I meant to say is, one definitely should not be too money-focused, as the world is today. If you have it - okay. If you don't - make it, but do not overly care because that's a waste of life and energy. --Ouro 21:16, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Who ever said I focused my life on money? All I said is that it's better to have it than to not have it. Of course I agree that if the acquisition of money is your all-consuming desire, you'll probably lead a pretty empty life. Many things are more important than money. Love, happiness, companionship, knowledge, self-actualization...that's what life is REALLY all about. But all things being equal, it's still better to have money than to not have it.

In any case, what countries are you talking about when you say there are legal ways to get food without money? Perhaps in the developed world, where both philanthropists and taxpayers contribute their MONEY to help feed the poor, it's possible to get food legally without money. But tell that to those starving in the third world. A couple of Dollars, or Euros, or whatever currency you wish, means the difference between life and death. Loomis51 21:33, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

The question may be referring to the fact that when one travels in Italy, one still sees places quoting both euro and lira, so that a client may be told that that's about 1,000,000 L, but he physically pays in euro, and receives his change in euro. Between 1999 and 2002 both could be used. The lira is, however not legal tender any more, but the conversion shown is apparently to help the older population to get a feeling for prices (Where I live, miles have been non-official for >40 years, but older persons still sometimes ask how far a place is in miles - it gives them the right "feeling" for distance.). Also, a euro in Italy is the same as a Euro in Germany, so that the idea of an "exchange rate" and "different countries' money" is not "used" any more. I can't think of how else one would make sense of the question. You may get some answers if you search for "lira", and follow the conversion process. --Seejyb 22:13, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Okay, skip that - what I meant to say, is that money's not important. I agree with what you wrote (the part about many things being more important), and my answer was not meant as a personal attack. Sorry if you took it that way. To provide an answer, however - one can be fed by friends a little while ;) Anyway, we've drifted from the original question just a bit ;) --Ouro 06:08, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

• I'd say that if the question was "Explain the money unit and how it is used?", it's a very poorly phrased question. You can't explain a money unit. You can tell someone about it and investigate it, but explaining it is just plain *******. - Mgm|^(talk) 12:07, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Tea consumption

Being an avid fan of Earl Grey tea, I wanted to ask you guys out there, out of personal experience/investigation/whatever, how much tea can/should be consumed daily? I pretty much lead a sedentary life, and on an average day I have noticed that I consume some six-seven generously sized mugs of tea. This would amount to 1,5-2 litres daily. I do not see any adverse effects of this, have searched the Wikipedia, but just wanted to raise a question... is it too much? I usually just need to have something to drink or consume, and tea does not really make you fat, so there. It is generally not strong tea, and not tea from teabags, bleh, because I like to taste tea and not something you use to remove rust. Any comments/opinions will be appreciated. Thanks a bunch. --Ouro 20:05, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

probally better than drink that much soda. Jon513 20:20, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

The caffeine and sugar might concern you, but it does contain antioxidants. I'm not sure how much tea I drink a day but I've been drinking a few cups a day for practically forever, and I've turned out fine! Sum0 20:53, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I do not add sugar at all, sometimes a little lemon juice, but just sometimes - once in a few days. I practically never drink coffee, just to add some info :) --Ouro 21:08, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Tea without milk or sugar is calorie-free. The only risk is the level of caffiene, but that's considerably smaller than the equivalent amount of coffee IIRC. --Robert Merkel 22:32, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Tony Benn consumes 18 pints a day, and is a spry 81. (He has Guillain-Barré syndrome, but it dosn't seem to have been caused by the tea). Henry^Flower 21:35, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

As far as caffeine goes, 200-300 mg/day is considered "average, moderate", that is 5-8 cups black tea = 1.2-2 litres, depending on strength. No harm has been shown, if persons do not have symptoms or other diseases. On the contrary, some consider the moderate use of caffeine to be beneficial. Combinations of excess tea/coffee (caffeine), medication (diuretics) and other illnesses (intestinal or kidneys) can do things like cause excessive potassium loss, with heart and muscle symptoms. Excessive liquorice and the bergamot oil found in Earl Grey Tea can then aggravate the potassium loss. Definitely not a problem in normal persons, but if it really worried me, and I felt I must have a personal answer, then I would ask my Dr to do my serum potassium level, and if that were normal not let it bother me again. --Seejyb 23:17, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

It's all good. Don't lose sleep over it (so to speak). Tea's better than nearly all the alternatives, and seems to provide at least a little protection against lots of bad diseases out there. alteripse 02:15, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for the valuable insight everyone. --Ouro 06:12, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Following on from Henry Flower's comment on Tony Benn's tea consumption, he once calculated that he'd drunk enough tea in his life to float a battleship in, so it is unlikely to do any harm. AllanHainey

The Lethal Weapon Films

Will there be a fifth Lethal Weapon?

I sincerely hope not! Grutness...wha? 11:48, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Question Regarding Requirements to File Suit

I live in Florida. I think there is a legal principle that requires that the state give permission to be sued. Is this correct and if so, what is the name of this legal principle?

I believe you're thinking of sovereign immunity. -- Mwalcoff 03:27, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

MIME in hotmail

I do not want MIM in my hotmail. Do you know how to eliminate it. Thank you. ************* (telephone number and address removed) 207.224.52.183 21:58, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

It would help if we knew why you wanted to "eliminate" MIME. —Keenan Pepper 03:19, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps he doesn't like mimes; Vetinari didn't either. --Ouro 06:10, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean MIME in incoming mail or outgoing mail? MIME is normally specified by the sender. You might find this webpage helpful.--Shantavira 10:13, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

You have to hang your PC upside down in the web spider pit with a sign reading "Learn the code." Sum0 20:19, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

tennis

Hi there,

Does This site have any pictures of Women's official clothing for tennis?

What do you mean? We have lots of pictures of professional tennis players playing on the WTA tour - for a random example take Martina Hingis, so presumably their clothing meets regulations. Is that what you want? --Robert Merkel 22:34, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Clothing

Hi there,

I need to know if there is a best website on Ladies' tank tops, Capri pants, Sandal(any type) and mens' clothings?

What do you want to do? Buy those items? Look at photos of them? Trade patterns on how to sew them yourself? It might help to be more specific. In any case, have you tried searching using Google or Yahoo search? --Robert Merkel 22:44, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Civilization IV

Would anyone happen to know how to create a civilization on Civ4, or work XML for that matter?

There's a tutorial built into the game, which should be enough to get you started and winning on the easiest level.

There are many sites devoted to the game, which you'll find using Google. Our article on Civilization IV contains links to some of them. I looked to see if we have a Wikibook, but Civilization Wikibooks has such books only on earlier versions.

For XML, read our article. There appear to be some links to basic tutorials there-gadfium 04:44, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Take a look at some of the bigger fan sites (I frequent CivFanatics, but there are others), especially their forums dedicated to mod-making. Civ4 being so very moddable, there are a ton of tutorials lying around on these forums. Good luck! — QuantumEleven 08:06, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

THanks a lot. However, gadfium describes a tutorial. Is this a tutorial for modding or for playing the game?

Russian roulette

Would it actually be illegal for two (or more) consenting adults to play a game of Russian roulette? Don't worry, I'm not thinking of playing myself - just a bit of idle curiosity... --Kurt Shaped Box 23:38, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

The person who supplied the weapon could probably be charged with assisting a suicide, which is a criminal offence in most jurisdictions. A more adventurous prosecutor could well prosecute everybody who played and won on the same charge. --Robert Merkel 23:57, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• It was illegal for Darren Brown on his own. I don't think the number of players really matters - Mgm|^(talk) 12:04, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

It obviously depends upon the jurisdiction applicable. I presume the above applies to the US - it may be different in Afghanistan or ... Also certain countries impose laws on their citizens regardless of location, so just travelling to a R.R. friendly ountry may be insufficient to make it legal. -- SGBailey 13:13, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

I've heared that some magician would do it in a live performance, but of course that doesn't count. – b_jonas 18:49, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, seriously, I'd think it's a form of duelling, and duel is illegal nowdays, so I think no. – b_jonas 18:53, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

May 25

Chairmen of the Board at Chrysler from 1955 to 1995?

What are the names of all the Chief Executive Officers/Chairmen of the Board of Chyrsler Corporation from 1955 to 1995?

Let's see. Does Chrysler say? No. How about Chrysler Group's corporate official site (in the External links section). No. From that site, the "contact" link has a "other questions about the company" link that goes to a swell web form that I suspect you can fill out. -- Rick Block (talk) 05:18, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Rick, seeing as this is a place to ask questions and get answers, your sarcasm seems misplaced. --Nelson Ricardo 13:58, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

An animal name beginning with U

Can anyone help me find an animal name that begins with U other than unicorn??

• Uakari? --Slumgum | yap | stalk | 01:32, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
• Urchin? --HappyCamper 01:33, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
• Ungulate? --Slumgum | yap | stalk | 01:37, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
• Uromastyx? --HappyCamper 01:39, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
• Urania moth? --Grutness...wha? 11:47, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

There also is the urutu snake, the urial sheep, and (if you're looking for extinct animals]), the ultrasaurus dinosaur. Of course, there's the umbrellabird, there's a bunch of animals with underwater in their name, like underwater frog, and urubu is a kind of vulture (and urubu a tête rouge is how you say turkey vulture in French!) СПУТНИК^{ССС Р} 01:40, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

June 6, 2006

Are there any planned events for this day, seeing as it's 666? Would devil worshippers consider this an important day?

In the US it's the premier for the movie The Omen. --Think Fast 02:59, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

It isn't 666, it's 662006 or 6606. AllanHainey 10:31, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

You beat me to it... I was just about to point that out... Well, anyway, this demonstrates just a small fraction of the extent to which people will go to see some sort of coincidence in things. There is no cabal! Dismas|^(talk) 10:40, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

See ISO date for 20060606. -- SGBailey 13:06, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Actually, it's 2006-06-06. --Nelson Ricardo 13:56, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

It is both 2006-06-06 and 20060606. I quote "The standard permits a hyphen separator between date elements, and a colon between hours, minutes, and seconds.[2] For example, 2006-01-06 may be written 20060106 without ambiguity." -- SGBailey 18:35, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

In another curious coincidence, a few weeks ago it was 01:02:03 04.05.06 --Aramգուտանգ 16:25, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

We have quite good articles on dates. Why don't you check out June 6 and 2006 and possibly even June 2006? – b_jonas 18:47, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Trans Canada Highway EP, an EP by Boards of Canada had the 06/06/06 release date but it was changed because of "satanic activity" according to Warp Records. The album has nothing to do with that though. :3

Windows Media Center Data Storage Location

Where does Windows Media Center keep the shows you record with it? Are these protected from copying somehow (DRM, etc.)? --WasteOfTime 02:24, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Funeral

When you talk about the number of people who attended a funeral, do you count all the people who came to pay the respects, or just those who attended the final trip and burial ? At the moment, I am involved in an argument at Talk:M._G._Ramachandran#Guinness_Book_citation. Going by the book, I am right, but he does have a point that the number of attendees look too huge. Tintin (talk) 02:35, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Did they remember to count the guy in the casket? --WasteOfTime 03:50, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

If you think about it logically, the largest funeral attendance would be limited by the size of the hall, because to "attend" implies that you actually entered the establishment and viewed the ceremony. I wouldn't say you have to stay for the entire thing, but people standing outside shouldn't really be counted as "attending". There could be two records: highest attendance, and highest turnout (as in the highest number of people who showed up in the area at the time of a funeral, whether they got in or not).  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  05:32, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

In this particular case the funeral was held in the Marina Beach which is half a kilometre wide and can hold that sort of a crowd. But the question is more like whether it assumes that they were present there at the same time. This link about Nelson's funeral (which the Guinness book calls the longest funeral in England) seems to hint that it need not be a single gathering. Tintin (talk) 06:01, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Smallville Music question

hey, this is something that has really been bugging me. it is more likley that someone from Australia would be able to answer this as it is a question from the episode that aired last week. i think it's from the third season, may be the fourth. it's the season that introduces Lois Lane. it's from the episode where Lionel Luther switches bodies with Clark with the use of the kryptonian stone. the scene where the prison riot is happening and Lionel and Clark are about to face off, there is a song playing in the background. i'm wondering if anyone can tell me what the name of that song is and who sings it

• I didnt catch it last week, but the episode was Transference featuring "Pain" by Jimmy Eat World. If this wasnt it, I suggest checking out the fan sites and seeing if they have the info your after.

PS excuse my poor wiki formatting--Anklepants 10:19, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

A special hiring question

Would it ever be useful to pay a friend some bucks to help you hook up with a girl?

What kind of an answer do you expect...?! — QuantumEleven 08:04, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Setting aside the prostitution question for a moment, could you explain what you mean by "useful"? Dismas|^(talk) 10:22, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

• True friends will do that for nothing. - Mgm|^(talk) 12:00, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
• Reputable dating agencies seem to do a good job. I know several people who have found life partners that way. Doesn't sound like something a friend would charge for, however, unless there were expenses they were covering. Notinasnaid 12:18, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

By useful i mean giving money to the friend to help you hook up.

That only seems useful to the friend, who ends up with your money. What service do you anticipate getting from your friend, for the money paid, that you would deem to be of use. (Do not confuse the service with the end result. Put another way, what magic wand do you think the friend might wield in order that you get hooked up?) Meanwhile, I suggest you just relax. My experience is the less you crave hooking up, the more likely you are to get hooked up. Just one of life's interesting paradoxes. And you should also consider the possible downsides: friends are sometimes unfriendly. You'd hate to end up being thought of as the dork who paid someone else to get you a girl. That, I suggest, would not add to your reputation. --Tagishsimon (talk)

My friend basically would talk to the girl since i am just afraid to speak myself. He knows her well so she would be easily convinced.

If you're too afraid to ask her out yourself, then you're not mature enough to date. Come on, the worst she can say is no. As long as she's not a b*tch (which you wouldn't want to date anyway) she'll be nice if she turns you down. Just be polite and don't freak out.

If your friend is a pimp, I'm sure your plan will work. alteripse 23:23, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

observatories vs portals

I have come across numerous web pages while researching that claim to be "observatories" for particular subjects. For example: UNDP has "ICT for Development Observatory," or the "Canadian Cultural Observatory", and countless others. What I cannot determine is the definition of an "observatory". How does it differ from a "portal"?

The sudden glut of "observatories" seems to indicate this is a growing trend in the world of internet communication technology and I am wondering if there are any evaluations that have been done on the effectiveness of observatories for gathering and disseminating information?

Many thanks--198.62.158.205

To the extent there is a difference, in my understanding, observatories tend to be organisations that actively research an area, and publish their findings (and tend to be established by organisations responsible for policy). Portals are particular sort of website organising and offering links to subject matter data. Clearly portal owners need to do some research. And, thus, an observatory might have or run a portal; a portal may or may not be associate with an observatory. All that said, I doubt there are very good specific definitions either of Observatory nor Portal. --Tagishsimon (talk)

ARTIST SEARCH

On a scale of 1-10 I am probably a 2-3 for computer litereacy . I have done exhaustive searches with no success so far. In 1993 or 1994 I lived in South Beach Fl. One day I walked into an artists studio there in South Beach.The artists name is Louis More'. At that time he was in his early 20's and a master. I saw a portrait of Lorenzo de Medici; a sculpture of Jesus Christ on the Rock; also other sculpture and other works in oil,water, pen and ink etc.Reading some of the literature there informed me that he was a master on the level of Michaelangelo and some even went so far as to say he might be the reincarnation of Michaelangelo which he did not care for.I am trying to find out what has become of him and if he is still working.So far I have found no record of him at all. If I remember right he was commisioned to do the artwork for the Summit of the Americas logo for one year in that time period. Any help with this would be really appreciated. THANK YOU. J.C.C.

I haven't found anything either. I suspect some of your info is wrong, for example, could his name be spelled "Luis Moore" ? StuRat 19:33, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

addiction

does wiki come with a health warning? i find it very addictive. hahaha

No, but we will happily diagnose the problem for you. Skittle 15:15, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Go on then? I am very curious now :-)

Always check out links. To be more specific, click here.--Shantavira 17:27, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Change of season

Every spring and autumn, the skin starts to peel off my hands much like athletes foot, it is a disgusting as it sounds, it started when i was about 13 and still happens, does any one know why, or know any one that has the problem ect I do not want to visit a doctor as i work as much as possable, is there a herbal remedy? It is not really a problem as it goes away in a a month or so...Any one?

Medical Disclaimer It's most likely a fungus. You can also get it on your toes. My wife has it, and after many years, she's finally going to a doctor. Most likely she will have to go to a dermatologist, and get the fungus-killing pills. I, however, am on the watch for the little bits that keep attacking me, and I kill it off immediately with tea tree oil. --Zeizmic 16:03, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Compressed DVD

i have a DVD which shows the size to be 4.7GB but when i copy it on my hard disk to make its copy, its size increases to 6.7 GB. previously i had DVD which had data of 9 GB on it. it was not dual layer or any rare type of DVD. Do you have any information about this type of DVD and i have a DVD writer so how can i write a 9 GB DVD [not dual layer DVD]. is there any special software or DVD writer used for this type of DVD?

Muhammad Hamza

This sounds weird. It would be helpful if you gave some details about the data source (a data dvd? a commercial video dvd?) and about which operating system you are using, and exactly what you are doing when you "copy it on your hard disk" (drag and drop? using a specific copy command? Using some ripping program?). --vibo56 19:42, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

My article keeps being redirected, then disappears

I edited a page Desknote. Someone rewrote it, renamed it to Desktop Replacement Computer and redirected Desknote to Desktop Replacement Computer. Therefore, the many computer pages that reference Desknote end up on the Desktop Replacement Computer page. Today someone who has not been involved with the article deleted my section on Desknotes in the Desktop Replacement Computer page.

Therefore, I created a new page called Desknotes with my desknote material in it. For several hours the Desknotes link on other computer pages linked to my page. Now suddenly my new page has disappeared. Links to Desknotes on other computer pages now go to Desktop Replacement Computer. My new Desknotes page has disappeared again!

I have looked all over for a solution to this problem but can't find one. I have been searching for weeks through all the Help and Technicaal Help section.

Please tell me where to go for help! Someone said to contact my Wiki bureaucrat but I don't know who that is or how to find out. KarenAnn 15:59, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

• You're already doing the right thing -- discussing it at Talk:Desktop replacement computer. (What a dreadful name!) --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 16:10, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

• • I have discussed it there many times. I have no influence in the decisions there. KarenAnn 16:24, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Having looked at the history and your article, and Desktop replacement computer, I'd advise that 1) an article named "Desknote" is unlikely to be retained. There is an article on the subject matter, but under the title of Desktop replacement computer. I do not know which is the more likely terminology, but I note that the article has a longer history and more contributors than your article and your naming convention. I see that User:TomTheHand suggested that your article be merged with Desktop replacement computer and User:RasputinAXP undertook the merge, giving as his edit summary "redirect, information between articles is identical.". 2) After looking at your content, there may be some info that did not get merged into the Desktop replacement computer article. But I'm not suprised, for instance, that the Free Dictionary quote, which makes up about half of the article, was not taken across. Wikipedia is perfectly capable of providing a definition - it does not need to borrow one. And so I'd say: don't get discouraged. Your edit history shows that you're putting a lot into wikiedpa. Sometimes your articles get folded into other articles: it just goes with the territory. I'd recommend making whatever improvements you can to Desktop replacement computer, and then move on. best wishes --Tagishsimon (talk)

restraining order

In the last few weeks i have been walking down the road and this man has come up to me and accused me of ignoring him, he says that i used to sell drugs on his behalf, and now i just blank him. I have NEVER sold drugs, or used them. He says that if i blank him again he is going to hurt me, break my nose to be more specific. But if i dont blank him the same will happen i am sure. Can i get restraining order? or have him arrested? i dont know his name or where he lives he says his name is Khan. but there are thousands of people called that. What can i do? i am a pasafist. and i am scared. I live in the uk so uk laws apply. please help me wiki. thank you.

Using threatening behavious towards someone is illegal. Make a statement at your local police station as soon as you can, giving them a description of the man and details of the times and places he accosted you. Also see if you can find someone to walk with rather than be on your own in that area. --Shantavira 17:33, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Yup, seconded. If there is, for instance, a mentally disturbed person within an area, the police may well already know his identity. But the first place to discuss your concern should be the local cop-shop; they /may/ also be able to provide you with some better advice on how to handle the situation (although I grant they may as easily be rather useless). --Tagishsimon (talk)

How can I get my article back?

What happened to my desknotes article? I put a lot of hard work into it. Where is it? KarenAnn 16:33, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

You just asked that, and it was answered above! Notinasnaid 16:37, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

It's not your article, by the way; editors don't own articles they've created. Henry^Flower 18:44, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Corporate Email Project

I'm attempting to do some research - but don't know where to start. We want to be able to send our monthly corporate newsletter via email to our 350+ CPA clients. Obviously, this can't be done via MS Outlook. Under what heading / topic would I find some research literature to show me how to do this.

Thank you!

-Terry

Why cannot it be done in outlook? I don't know how many email addy's each Outlook email can have, but even if you have to break the dispatch over several emails, all sent to BCCs to hide the real emails from other clients, then clearly it is possible. I doubt you'll find much specific literature, since a property of most or all email clients is the ability to send things to multiple addresses. There are other systems, such as subscription based email systems, but I'm not sure you're in that sort of area yet. --Tagishsimon (talk)

I agree. It seems that a regular email client limit on these types of thing is in the hundreds. You might need to send it out in 2 or 3 goes, but what's the big deal. If you are really interested in a another way to do it use php, but that seem unnessisary. Jon513 18:07, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Some tips to avoid problems with your project.

1. Do not, absolutely do not, ever send a single message to a list of multiple customers (unless you fully understand what BCC means and how to use it). This will give all of your customers a list of all your other customers, and could leave you open to legal action. You need to send one message per customer.

2. Check the total size of the mail you plan to send. If it is more than about 100K it is likely to be unwelcome.

3. You can expect dozens and dozens of returned messages, undeliverable messages plus some replies saying "remove". Be sure you have a policy in place for making sure customers never get sent another one; again, you could have legal consequences if you overlook this next time.

4. Consider putting your newsletters on your web site instead. That way your customers and potential customers will also be able to see current and past newsletters at any time, and the amount of text e-mailed is much smaller. You can just e-mail a little note saying "by the way, we have a new newsletter... table of contents ..."

5. Be sure you don't try to use any fancy e-mail features as there are a huge variety of e-mail systems in use, some rather primitive. Some people will get their e-mail on mobile phones, so don't think of fancy stuff with graphics. Notinasnaid 18:15, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

US Navy Ratings and Ranks

Hello,

I am currently looking for a complete list of ranks and ratings that are found aboard ship in the US Navy. Even the listing on the official Navy site is incomplete.

Can you help me out?

Check out United States Navy officer rank insignia and United States Navy enlisted rate insignia. However, the ranks you're expecting to find may be enlisted specialization, (not that the E scale is exactly "rank" either). There's more to those. -user:rasd

International investments made by UK companies

I need to find some statistics on UK Companies investing overseas (not in the UK itself)over the past 5 years. They can be private , Governement or both.

I need to know where (countries) the investments were made, what type of industries were the most popular and $ amounts. Also need to know if UK corporations, or Japanese, are the largest investors in the USA.

Thank you in advance.

Glenn

Tiffany Teen Body measurements

What is Tiffany Teen hips measurements?

Everything we have on Ms. Teen is available at our Tiffany Teen article.

If I may editorialise for just one second, if looking at her picture "gets your motor running", what does it matter what her hips measure? --Robert Merkel 23:37, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

hi (bird of paradise flower diagram)

i would like to know where could i get a bird of paradise flower diagram with all its labeled parts?

Fixed useless title. StuRat 21:23, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

"4-F" US draft induction status ?

When the selective service act was in force, an individual who was drafted for the military had to have a physical exam prior to being inducted. If he was rejected, he was said to be "4-F". What was the meaning of "4-F" and how did it originate?

AJ

Actually it was IV-F (Roman numeral four). There was a very long hierarchy of these classifications, I, II, III, IV with various letters, with lower Roman numerals being more available for the draft in extreme circumstances. These circumstances were never invoked as far as I know, and in practice I believe that only I-A's were ever drafted (although I-A-O's, a certain type of conscientious objector, were drafted into non-combat roles, and for all I know there may have been other classifications for the doctors' draft and nurses' draft). For more information see Guide to the Draft by Tatum and Tuchinsky (easily found on Amazon; you can get a used copy for about three bucks plus S&H. --Trovatore 22:32, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

• Have a look at Selective_Service_System#Classifications. --Halcatalyst 22:38, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
  • Yeah, looks like I could have remembered wrong. I don't have the book handy to check. Anyway it appears they're using Arabic numerals now (see http://www.sss.gov/classif.htm ). I still think Tatum and Tuchinsky used the Roman numerals; maybe this is something that's changed since the Vietnam era. There are definitely some Sixties classifications that are missing, like II-S, the one for students. --Trovatore 22:42, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Actionscript help

http://img336.imageshack.us/img336/1818/picture10gg.png

that actionscript code seems to work fine when i export as a flash 7 swf, but when i export as a flash 8 swf, it doesn't work properly. what needs changing?

chris