Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

[[:|WP:RD]]

A formula to calculate the freezing point of water

aristotelian model of compassion vs. dalai lama's view

This question was posed at the Main Page talk and is transferred here: aristotelian model of compassion vs. dalai lama's view -- All that comes to mind is the Dalai Lama's comment that "we Buddhists can learn something more of compassion from Christians" -- info on aristotelian model and compassion and dalai lama -- I don't know where to look to see if my earlier question has been answered--where would I look?

it would be answered here. I don't know. This seems not like something that can be answered in a nutshell. Start with Ethics in religion (sadly without references) and Avalokitesvara. this seems like a good article (with references). Go to a library from there... dab (ᛏ) 11:11, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

ah, yes, you might want to plod through the 151 hits of google scholar first,

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=aristotle+buddhism+compassion

would be great if you wrote a WP article about what you found out, after. dab (ᛏ) 11:48, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Dbachmann's reference above gives a good 1-paragraph summary, which is re-phrased below:

Aristotle notes that a prudent/virtuous man acts for the good. The Dalai Lama would also espouse virtuous actions. Both require one to choose between right and wrong action, as shaped by practical wisdom. But compassion informs one's own (practical) response to the suffering of another. For someone to feel compassion, one would have to know/feel what the suffering of another entails. This might prompt one to act, or not, depending on one's own powers.

Ancheta Wis 02:08, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Note, it is possible for other animals to perform what we might view as compassionate acts, such as the rescue of humans by gorillas, dolphins and dogs, and the rescue of caterpillars and aphids by ants.

Don't make much from Dalai Lama's statement. He is not representative of Buddhism (unless you want to know his view specially). He is a head of a Buddhist nation. His statment is more politically correct than correct. Buddhists do not need to learn copmassion from Christians ( No, I am not a Buddhist ). The compassion of Buddha is unbound and unconditional. You don't have to beleive in Buddha for Buddha to have compassion for you. Buddha's compasion is not limited to man kind only. As reflected in the story where he saves the swan when Devdutt hurts it. Christ's compassion is limited to christians only. He does not give a damn about those who do not accept him as a savior. In fact he warns them There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day(John 12:48). They pretent to do chariatble work among non-christians only because they hope to convert them to christianism. Buddhists know what is compassion, they just do not have enough infrastructure to practice it.

Here is a good link comparing western models with eastern (including other pov's from the Dalai Lama), however, not sure if it covers anything about the Aristotelian model:

http://peacecenter.berkeley.edu/research_compassion_goetz2.html hope that provides some sort of constructive start for a complicated subject allie 02:29, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Posting to a newsgroup without compromising my email address

I'd like to post to a newsgroup without revealing my email address (or at least with a "nospam" bit inserted).

I'm signed up with Google newsgroups which insists on using the email address unmodified (unless you know different).

For the newsgroup concerned there seem to be some web interfaces I can use to post but I need to register and give them my email address. It doesn't take a genius to suspect that they run the webservice for free because they make their money selling the email addresses they garner.

I'm really only concerned about spam - perhaps I'm being overly worried as I've had the address for years, it's a Hotmail one and presumably it's on every list going by now anyway. If that's the case then please just confirm this notion and I'll press on regardless and let MSN's spam filter do all the work. --bodnotbod » .....TALKQuietly) 06:49, Dec 14, 2004 (UTC)

Check Google's Privacy Policy if you think they might sell it although if it's going to be posted with your messages then your email address will be harvested by the spammers anyway. Maybe the account settings will let you garble it. You could take out a second email address at Hotmail or Yahoo or somewhere and use it just for your newsgroup subscriptions instead though. adamsan 09:13, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Get a "disposable" address (a new Hotmail account?), mark in the signature that the from: address is something you're not likely to read, and use that. (On the other hand, an address I was using to post to Usenet for years currently directs to a hotmail account, and it gets only trivial amounts of spam; the filters they have are getting better.) I also feel obliged to point you in the direction of a proper news-service ;-) - http://news.individual.net offers "proper" (ie, not through a web interface) access for no charge, and are good reliable people. </evangelism> Shimgray 14:09, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I haven't been on usenet for years but why not use a newsreader such as forte Agent or even outlook express? You can whatever adress you like in those. Failing that create a new email address say spammypot@throwawaywebaccount.ta-very-much then use that. Put "I never read email at this address" as a signature to warn people not to bother you, then let thaty adress catch all the spam it wants. Periodically delete everything from it every couple of months to keep it active. Theresa Knott (The snott rake) 11:42, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I typically use pseudes@falsus.ne, from the Greek word for "false" and the Latin words for "false/cheated" and "not." :-) --Gelu Ignisque

Thanks for the replies. All of them seem to leave me with other problems ;o) I use Mozilla for my mail and a quick Google suggests I can use it as a newsgroup client, but the references to that point to an option I don't appear to have on my menu bar. I think I downloaded a non-newsgroup build for disk space reasons. And I'm sure I must have privileges to have another email address through my ISP since I currently don't even use the one they gave me but I have no clue as to how to sort that out.

I'll give them a ring in the morning. I think I've actually solved most of the problems I wanted to go to the group for anyway by doing some more thorough searching of its archives. --bodnotbod » .....TALKQuietly) 23:25, Dec 14, 2004 (UTC)

PS: Forgot - yes, the setting up a new Hotmail account was a solution that occurred to me very early on but I have rather a hate/hate relationship with the one I've already got and I was thinking I may want to get into reading messages too which would painfully slow in Hotmail. I think the thing is I'm uncertain as to what I really want and what I'm hoping to achieve. I'm like that. It absolutely infuriates people...

Given that you have your own domain (et al) they should give you a magic catchall email address (on looking at your host, it seems like they give you an impressive 200 real addresses, but you don't need them for this). If you set up your mail client to read mail from that catchall account, then it gets mail sent to "anyoldrubbish AT bodnotbod.org.uk". But best of all, every time you need to subscribe to some online thingy that wants an email address (e.g. bigscary.com) you make up an email address for that (bigscary_2004 AT bodnotbod.org.uk) - and if you subsequently get spam, you can tell who sold your email address (and you can block one of these useless addresses without blocking your "nice" one that only your friends know). That catchall address gives you throwaway addresses without the bother of throwaway accounts. - John Fader

Create an account with your fake/spammable email address in Mozilla Mail or Thunderbird. Make up your POP3 mail server name if the address is bogus. The new address can then be selected from the "From:" drop-down menu when composing an email. Alternatively, simply click on your new account in the "Folders" pane, and any subsequent emails you send will use that address in the "From" header automatically.

chocolateboy 17:05, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Well, thanks for pointing up how much of me is traceable and scaring me even more ;o) Actually, I signed up to a website recently and was not asked for my real name and address and I got, within a week, a magazine delivered to my home on the very subject of the website. It can only have been through the scanty details I provided to the site that this happened, it would not have been to do with any other 'real world' activity or anything. Having said that I used to avoid associating bodnotbod with my real name, but I've stuck my real name on my website now, so it's definitely part of me. But I can't imagine they hire someone who individually looks someone up based on their username every time they get a new registrant.

Now I wait for the day that a girl sends me a brochure of pictures of me getting drunk they've found online, in response to any attempts I make to woo them.

I'll have a go at that domain email thing. I'm not sure where you got the 200 figure from but it might be skewed by the fact that I got my domain for free since I know a man who owns his own hosting company (which is nice). I suppose the next question is "so why don't you ask him about all this then." Well, yes, good idea. I'll do that.

Whilst we're on the subject, have we got any articles about, well, I dunno what you'd call it, online detective work? --bodnotbod » .....TALKQuietly) 01:27, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

westchester county ny

Is at Westchester County, New York, hope that helps. &#0xfeff;--fvw * 00:56, 2004 Dec 15 (UTC)

Economic / Banking Statistic

How many checking accounts (or demand deposit accounts) are there in the US? How many in EU? How many checks are written in each per year? What is $$$ value of checking transactions in each per year? Any such statistical info regarding the size/volume of demand deposit accounts worldwide, or links to such information or data, would be appreciated. Thanks - KPM 14 DEC 2004

For the US, at least, you may be able to get some idea of the numbers by examining the statistics available at [1] and [2]. SWAdair | Talk 05:58, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)

ABout AndhraPradesh reference

SIr/Madam, I'm krishna from india..i'm creating one webpage on Andhra Prdesh.. MAy i use ur information/articles regarding Andhra Pradesh,,, Thanking you sir, krishna andhra pradesh, india.

Wikipedia is free. Feel free to use information from Andhra Pradesh or any other article. If it helps, you can add an acknowledgement. See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia for details. If you wish to give back something, you can contribute any useful information that you might have to Wikipedia. -- Sundar 07:13, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC)

Thermostat setting

Where can I find information about how to set my programmable house thermostat most efficiently? I am interested esp in whether it is better to keep the house a little warm all the time, or let it cool down completely then heat it up again in cycles. Thanks.

According to [3] and [4], a common misconception is that it's better to keep the thermostat on rather than letting a building cool down and then heating it back up. So during winter months, turn the temperature down when you're gone and turn it back up when you get home. Here in California, we hear nonstop pleas to be energy efficient, especially from the folks at Flex Your Power. They offer some ideas, but I generally go by this rule of thumb: 68°F (20°C) during winter while I'm at home, and 78°F (25.5°C) when I'm at home during the summer. Of course, YMMV. Best, David Iberri | Talk 18:05, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC)

Lactose

(Moved from Talk:Lactose --David Iberri | Talk)

Why some population became able to metabolise lactose when they could eat cheese or yougurth that doesn't contain lactose? Isn't the calcium contained in cheese not enough for a diet?

Are you asking why lactose tolerance (as opposed to the more common lactose intolerance) developed when humans could have met their dietary calcium requirements by eating cheese and yogurt rather than foods like milk, which contain lactose? If that's the case, it sounds like you're saying that cheese and yogurt don't contain lactose, which is only true of recently developed lactose-free substitutes. And lactose tolerance emerged long before those products were created, somewhere around 4000 BC. Perhaps you could clarify your question? --David Iberri | Talk 18:39, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC)

running of Chincoteague horses

When is the annual "running of the horses" festival on Chincoteague Island, Virginia? Or are there several festivals? It's not mentioned in the article. Mjklin 19:04, 2004 Dec 15 (UTC)

According to [5], [6], and [7], it starts on the last Wednesday in July. --David Iberri | Talk 19:19, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC)

Thanks. Mjklin 19:34, 2004 Dec 15 (UTC)

the 'salt of a molecule'

I understand how some molecules (for example, acetate) can exist in an acid form (acetic acid) or in a salt form (sodium acetate, etc.). When reading the Wikipedia article on cocaine, I came across mentions of the salt form, the base form and the pure form of the cocaine molecule. What I don't understand is... don't these terms only make sense when the molecule is ionizable? Where is the ionizable group on the cocaine molecule? And what is the pure form of the molecule, relative the salt and base forms? ike9898 19:05, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC)

The salt form of cocaine is cocaine hydrochloride, Coc + HCl. In solution, the nitrogen on cocaine would pick up HCl proton, giving the salt, Coc⁺ + Cl^-. The base form can then be produced by filtering out the chloride precipitate and then adding NH₃. A base, NH₃ strips the proton off of Coc⁺, giving Coc + NH₄⁺, a base form of cocaine. It's not clear from the article what "pure" cocaine is; I'm guessing the pure form of cocaine is just the molecule cocaine all by its lonesome. Does that answer your question? --David Iberri | Talk 21:31, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC)

Yep, thanks. ike9898 22:23, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC)

Need Help with a 390FE

Anonymous request moved from the Village Pump. Peter O. (Talk, automation script) 19:20, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC) Thanks for taking a minute to look over my questions. I am currently rebuilding a 309 big block in my spare time. I was wondering if any of the Ford Guru's might have some feed back. Keep in mind, Im in college right now for diesel mechanics, and my funds are extremly low. I am looking at maybe tring to strok the engine. Any body had any luck tryin to build on of these monsters

I took the motor out of a 76 3/4 ton 2WD. It was painted from the facory as Orange Blossom Special. Needless to say, with a bad drinking problem, the ol' truck didnt last that long. It was buttoned up behind a 4 speed manual, with granny gear. It was fun while it lasted, but it doesnt scare me anymore. NEED MORE POWER!!! I took my heads and block into school to clean them up a lil. Belive it or not, the block actually was blue at one time.

I'm pondering the thouget of Buying a F250 Highboy. It sits in this guys yard every morning on my way to school. I think its a 78, and its runnin a C6. Its a closs toss-up between goin really fast, or goin wherever I want. Once again, thanks for your time reading this. Please reply to this web site, or email me at Viss79@hotmail.com Give me the guidence to build a winner.

Is this a request for instructions on how to build a monster truck? Surely us Wikipedians are too elevated to get involved with this sort of ting? (Hoists nose in the air, sniffs theatrically, flounces off). --bodnotbod » .....TALKQuietly) 02:02, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

If you're hurting for cash, an FE block is not a very smart way to go. Dump the 390, and try to find a "385 series" big block, aka a 460/7.3L. The parts are cheaper, much more plentiful. Ford stopped building FE blocks in 1969, stopped putting them in cars the same year, and continued to put them in trucks, usually as 360s, until 1976. The 385 series 460 cu. in was in production until 1997. There are 4 fold the number of 385 series blocks out there. They sell mount kits for the 385s to fit in almost anything you can drive. You also need to get the block and head casting codes for what you want. Not all 460s are alike. If you goto a dealership, they should have it on microfiche, a book or CD for sale. You need those codes before you go treasure hunting for a "385 series" 460/7.3L. Check this site out [8] --scupper 15:47, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Another note is that the 390 can't be bored or stroked very much further. The largest FE-series is the 428, and that's about as big as you can go (and you'd do better just buying a 428 Q-code engine anyway).

Ford blocks were often blue, if painted. My 428 is unpainted but the rocker covers are blue.

I echo User:Scupper's suggestion to look at the Ford 385 engine if you want easier, cheaper power. You can bore/stroke these to utter monsters; look at the 557 cubic inch motor from Coast High Performance, for example, with over 600 hp. —Morven 20:42, Dec 17, 2004 (UTC)

statistics question

I have some data, but they've been stratified to reduce a confounder. I have calculated the odds ratio in each group, and am aware of what a 95% confidence interval is. How do I calculate a pooled estimate of the odds ratio together with a 95% confidence interval? Dunc|☺ 22:37, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)

CSI: NY Theme Song?

I know this might sound stupid, but is the CSI: NY theme song part of a regular-sized song? (i.e.: The "Charmed" them song is part of "When Is Now" or something like that.) If it is, what is that song/singer and where can I find the lyrics to it?

--Tina

I can't swear to it, but someone claims it's "Baba O'Riley" by The Who. - Nunh-huh 04:16, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Dear Tina, The theme song for the CSI program that is set in LAS VEGAS which stars, among others, Marg Helgenberger, is "Who Are You" as sung by Roger Daltry of the English band called The Who. Watch the end credits to see for yourself. John Gambardella

The theme songs to all of the CSI series are songs by The Who.

-- Cyrius|✎ 05:02, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

qualifications of a member of the Sanhedrin

To Whom It May Concern;

I would really like to know if you can either tell me where to find the answers or just give them to me for these questions:

Have the qualifications for a member of the Sanhedrin changed over time?

I understand that one qualification for a man to be a member of the Sanhedrin in Jesus' day was that he had to be married. Is this correct?

Thank you for your time and efforts on my behalf.

Brian G. Baxter bbaxter@shaw.ca

Neither the article Sanhedrin nor my Bible Dictionary give any indication that marriage was a pre-requisite. I quote "The method of appointment is not clear, but the aristocratic origin of the body suggests direct appointment of members of the ancient families". DJ Clayworth 03:26, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah (Laws of Sanhedrin, ch. 2) lists the legal qualifications for a member of the Sanhedrin. Among them is the requirement that a member of the Sanhedrin should have sons, so that he would be merciful, although marriage itself is not listed. The legal requirements (according to Maimonides) did not change over time, although of course the practical build of the Sanhedrin would have. The Sanhedrin ceased to function entirely during the 4th century. --Avi 17:03, Dec 26, 2004 (UTC)

Trinomial as square of binominal (math help)

As a liberal arts kind of person, I have ask Wikipedia's many mathematics buffs:

How can I write the trinomial x² - 18x + 81 as a binomial?
How can I solve the equation of x² + 2x - 35 = 0 by "completing the square"?
How can I find the height and weight of a triangle given that the area of the triangle is 35 square feet and the height of the triangle is three feet longer than the base?

Thanks. Neutrality/^talk 04:48, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

You can't. But you can write it as a binomial squared:
x² - 18x + 81 = (x - 9)²

How you get from the one to the other is fairly well described in binomial. We're exploiting the equation (a - b)² = a² - 2ab + b²

a² = x²

b² = 81

-2ab = -18
This one's more complicated. Take a look at Completing the square for a full explanation of how the 1 was decided on.
x² + 2x - 35 = 0

1 - 1 = 0, so we can add it to one side

x² + 2x - 35 + 1 - 1 = 0

rearrange

x² + 2x + 1 - 36 = 0

just to be explicit with the parens

(x² + 2x + 1) - 36 = 0

completing the square allows us to do the following substitution into our equation

x² + 2x + 1 = (x + 1)²

(x + 1)² - 36 = 0

add 36 to both sides

(x + 1)² = 36

take the square root of both sides (square root of 36 will produce both positive and negative 6)

(x + 1) = ±6

subtract 1 from both sides, and get two roots (as you should)

x = 5, x = -7
More steps to this one.
basic triangle area formula

Area = 1/2 * base * height

given equation

height = base + 3

substitute the given into the area formula

Area = 1/2 * base * (base + 3)

multiply it out

Area = 1/2 * (base² + 3*base)

Area = 1/2 * base² + 3/2*base

put in the value for area

35 = 1/2 * base² + 3/2*base

rearrange to get a zero on one side so the quadratic formula can be used

1/2 * base² + 3/2*base - 35 = 0

This produces two values for base: 7, and -10. You can't have a negative length, so we can throw out the -10.

back to the given

height = base + 3 = 7 + 3

and we have the answer

height = 10

base = 7

It's fairly likely that some math nerds will show up to berate me for some mathematical inexactitude (probably relating to the square root bit), but this is how you do it. -- Cyrius|✎ 05:33, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

For the third one, there's an easier way to do it:

70 = base * height (because the base * height equals twice the area)

height = base + 3

70 = base * (base + 3) (substituting)

70 = base² + 3*base

Rearrange: base² + 3*base - 70 = 0

Solve that on your calculator or whatever, get two solutions: base = 7 and -10. You can't use -10, because it's negative, so throw it away.

Base = 7, Height = 10

ugen64 05:42, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Actually, that's equivalent, you're just multiplying both sides by 2 instead of carrying the 1/2 around. -- Cyrius|✎ 06:17, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Which is the smart way of doing it. -- Cyrius|✎ 06:23, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Silly question about roads

In the US, a length of road might be called "Padonia Rd.", "Padonia St.", "Padonia Dr.", etc. Is there any difference between a road, street or drive in this context? What about an avenue -- these are typically large multi-lane roads, I think, but not always. The only constant is "court"; "Padonia Ct." always ends in a cul-de-sac, right? Tuf-Kat 06:25, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

There's no consistent meaningful distinction between any of them. In my experience, the suffixes are ignored completely by residents. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some cities have roads with duplicate names but different suffixes, but I've never come across it. Is the distinction between types of road important in the context? -- Cyrius|✎ 06:52, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Just look at Atlanta, Georgia, which has a dozen streets called Peachtree, but with different suffixes. Or a couple days ago I discovered there are two Nightingale streets in the Cincinnati, Ohio post office, one a court the other a drive. PedanticallySpeaking 21:56, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

Correct on "Court". Otherwise, there are many areas where there are local distinctions (e.g. in both New York City and Seattle "streets" go east-west, "avenues" go north-south). "Place" is usually minor, "Alley" is always minor and usually a service road between more major streets, "road" is more often rural or suburban than urban (but there are exceptions), "way" is usually not entirely straight (but, again, there are exceptions).

As for duplicate names but different suffixes — or prefixes — Seattle is full of them. The picture at right is the corner of Pike and Pike: the photographer was standing on Pike Street; Pike Place runs off to the right. There are arterials called NE 45th Street and 45th Avenue NE, which locals distinguish as "NE 45th" and "45th NE", almost never bothering with "street" or "avenue". University Street is a major downtown street; University Way is near the University of Washington, 3 miles away (it was founded on a small campus on University Street, but it hasn't been there in almost a century). I could go on, but I'll spare you. -- Jmabel | Talk 07:28, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

The insanity continues when road namers have "foreign" languages in which to get lost. Consider California's Spanglish delights, including:

Palo Alto, California's "El Camino Way" (the way way)
Escondido, California's "Sendero Avenue" (path avenue)
Sacramento, California's "Camino Avenue" (way avenue)

I dread to think what nasties they've visited upon Hawaii. -- John Fader 13:54, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

English is quite capable of getting lost within itself for street names. "Avenue" meant, at one time, a row of trees, and "Avenue Road" was a road bordering trees before Avenue became a type of street. "Boulevard" was a grassy divider in the middle of the street, or a grassy bank at the roadside. As a street name it once meant a street thus divided or bordered, but the organic origins of Boulevard, like Avenue, are lost to all but trivia buffs. It is still sometimes used to mean generally the space between a road and adjacent private property, hence "boulevard cafe", "boulevard parking", etc.

Toronto is a city in which you should pay attention to street types, as street names are re-used, often very far apart, mostly as a result of growth by annexation. Centre St is in the far northwest of the city, Centre Ave is in the downtown core; Spadina Rd begins where Spadina Ave ends; Danforth Rd forks off from Danforth Ave. Sharkford 21:22, 2004 Dec 16 (UTC)

Avenues are usually small neighborhood roads. Maybe you were thinking of boulevards? There are a large number of names for types of roads. One county in Michigan has named every east-west surface road, a highway. Rmhermen 14:18, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

I don't know where you live, but these are not small neighborhood roads:

Fifth Avenue (or any of numerous others), Manhattan
Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC

Jmabel | Talk 07:22, Dec 17, 2004 (UTC)

In the suburbs of Philadelphia we have many roads that are named with the suffix Pike (Bethlehem Pike, Ridge Pike). I have heard that this indicates that these roads were once private toll-roads (you had to pay someone to 'turn the pike' and allow you to pass. ike9898 14:36, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

It's definitely not a suffix, it's a noun-phrase head. --Gelu Ignisque

My hometown has four streets named "Grenfell" (Court, Place, Crescent, Drive), all connecting to each other in the same neighbourhood. Adam Bishop 04:17, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Is your hometown Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada? I checked Microsoft MapPoint 2001 but did not see any "Grenfell" there. -- Toytoy 02:38, Dec 18, 2004 (UTC)

Ah, no, I mean London, Ontario, although I suppose that is not literally my hometown... Adam Bishop 02:57, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I see. It's a terrible mess out there. The Grenfell Drive branches out Grenfell Crescent which branches out Grenfell Court and Grenfell Place. The Post Office may want to pay them $5 to change these names. -- Toytoy 04:19, Dec 18, 2004 (UTC)

I'm currently staying with my parents for Christmas, and there's a good dozen (at least) streets here of the form X Avenue, X Way, X Drive, X Gardens, X Road... it's fairly common in the UK, for streets built as part of a single housing estate. (another popular approach is "themes" - all named for flowers, or trees, or battles - I always felt a bit uncomfortable with the idea of a Somme Road, or a Ypres Terrace, but there you go.) Shimgray 02:24, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Many thanks for everyone's responses! FTR, I didn't want to know for any article, or for any reason in particular... Just curious. Tuf-Kat 05:59, Dec 19, 2004 (UTC)

In the UK it's very common for streets with the same name and different suffixes to be located close to each other. And the suffix is not normally omitted in speech as in the USA. Normally "Street" is in an urban area (except for Watling Street etc which are names of Roman Roads). Road, Way, or Drive would be normal in a suburban area. "Close" is always a cul-de-sac (but I know of at least two exceptions!) rossb 15:47, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Just to add a little anecdote ... In the South Bay, Los Angeles, there is a street called Ramona Street at its north end and Fir Street at its south end. In between, it's called Firmona Street. Rick K 07:59, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

"In my experience, the suffixes are ignored completely by residents" (above). I am a London Private Hire driver (NOT black cab - better and cheaper than black cab). I am still waiting for an American to get in and say "take me to Oxford" (meaning Oxford Street). They may get a shock when I drop them off at Maudlin and ask for 80 pounds.

Indonesian Hats

File:Soekarno Indonesia.jpg

Sukarno

What are the brimless hats (shown in the picture) worn by many Indonesian men called? PedanticallySpeaking 21:58, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

I think they are 'peci'. google:peci indonesia - Key45 22:25, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Pug Rescue in Ohio?

I know there are places called Pug Rescue. But are there any in Ohio? Any information about Pug Rescue would be helpful. Or even Schnauzer Rescue. ^^ KThx.

--Tina

A quick Google search turns up ohiopugrescue.com at #1. --David Iberri | Talk 23:07, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC)

Driving Arizona

I'm going to be taking a one-man driving holiday in CA/NV/AZ in Jan/Feb of 2005, and I hoped y'all would fill me in on some driving conditions info that ordinary guidebooks and weather sites seem to miss.

Firstly, I was planning on visiting either or both of the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. It's clear that the temperatures in northern Arizona in early February are routinely below freezing (often considerably so). Should I anticipate a significant amount of ice and snow (i.e should I bring chains, and expect to be driving slowly) or is it a truly desert cold (an essentially dry chill)?
Secondly, I'll be renting a car near San Francisco and driving it to Phoenix, Arizona. Will a soft-bellied California rental car be properly winterized, or will I have to perform a fluid-transplant somewhere in Nevada?

Thanks. -- John Fader 02:04, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Well, the NPS website would probably be a good place to start, in particular the weather page (It says snow on both the north and south rim during winter months). In general, you should probably bring snow chains since they are relatively inexpensive, and it's far better to have them and not need them than the other way around. As for the kinds of weather your car will be prepared to take, I would recommend asking the company, as they are the only ones who would know for sure. --Cvaneg 02:28, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

One condition you're probably not aware of.... at the top of the canyon, the climate is essentially alpine; it will be cold and maybe snowy in the winter. At the bottom of the canyon, it is more like Phoenix; it won't be hot in Feb., but it will probably be comfortable. However, if the trail to the bottom is wet and mucky, it is a little sketchy! By the way, other than the Grand Canyon, the best places in AZ are Tucson and Bisbee. I wouldn't bother with Phoenix. I'm biased, but I lived in AZ from from '98-'03. ike9898 03:18, Dec 17, 2004 (UTC)

I spent a short New Year's vacation in northern Arizona last year. When we arrived at the Grand Canyon, the place was very cold but quite dry. An centimeter or two of snow fell the night before our departure, but our city-slicker Accord was able to navigate safely all the way from the village to the east entrance. After a day or two in the likewise dry eastern part of the state, we passed through the highlands southeast of Phoenix literally on the heels of a snowfall that reached a depth of, oh, 10 cm or more in places. The snowplows were on top of it, though, and no harm came of it, though I did have to slow down a good bit (from 60 mph or more to 40 or so) for the conditions. You wouldn't be courting disaster if you entered the area with no chains, but it would be reasonably cautions to bring them. --Smack 05:00, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

On some of the freeways in AZ, the speed limit is 75 mph - which means people drive 85 mph. ike9898 19:39, Dec 18, 2004 (UTC)

Mingus Mountain runs from Prescott up through the small mining town of Jerome (pop.463.5) and is considered THE motorcycle ride in the western states. It has approximately 55 curves in the road, and is incredibly scenic (including the Red Rocks of Sedona). If you do visit Jerome, a popular tourist site, be advised that this little mining town has roads that are about as narrow as the average sidewalk in America. But don't miss it. allie 02:22, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

polar bear with warrior woman on top

what is the name of the vodka with the woman warrior riding a polar bear? please help thanks send email to wskipper@satx.rr.com

A simple google for "polar bear with warrior woman vodka" displayed a link to eBay selling a "1987 Rumple Minze Warrior Woman Polar Bear Ad" as the first result. I guess, the name of the vodka is Rumple Minze, though, if I am correct, it's actually schnapps. Paranoid 20:22, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Rubber Ducky song (no, not that one)

Years ago, I heard the rubber ducky song, but I can't remember the words or find it on the net. No, not the one that Ernie sings, but the one that replaces references to Ernie's favorite toy with references to the floppy antenna frequently used by handheld Amateur radios (and uses the same tune). What were the (parodyed) words? --ssd 05:21, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

there was a spinoff of the Kylie Minogue song going 2I should b so lucky zith my rubber ducky". But then again, i know thats not helpful--Wonderfool 00:19, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Nazi Architecture

I was reading the article on Nazi Architecture and came upon an interesting quote- "Nazi buildings were an expression of the essence of the movemnt buildt as a Nationalist Socialist building should be regardless of the style used" and I want to know how to find out who this quote was originally said by. Thanks.

Well, it seems to have been written by User:Rsloch, so perhaps you can ask them on their talk page. Adam Bishop 06:32, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

It might be difficult to trace the origin of the exact quote itself. If you're curious about the why, then that's a bit broader. The buildings were typically monumental in scale, regardless of any particular style. Instead just doing a Google on Albert Speer (Hitler's favorite architect), go to the Baker Library website (Dartmouth) and look up some reference books on Speer. You'll find plenty of books on the topic. They'll email you a printout of books available, and then you can locate one at your local library. Hope that's helpful? --allie 17:47, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Interpreting Demographic/Population Statistics

I have a question regarding the interpretation of demographic statistics - in particular as related to cities within the USA. I will use San Antonio, Texas as an example, and here's the question:

In looking at population demographics by race for San Antonio, it lists the %'s for various races along these lines: 68% white, 7% african-american, 1% native american, 2% asian and 22% other. Then it goes on to say that 59% of the population is of latin/hispanic race.

Do those statistics indicate that the latin/hispanic %'s are included within the white statistic as presented, and that therefore the actual % of the white population is only 9% for San Antonio?

I guess I don't understand why the hispanic population is not called out separately (as is the native american group) in the first listing of population percents.

Thanks very much.

Steve

Hispanic origin is a separate census question. Hispanics can consider themselves white, Native American, or more rarely black, Asian, etc. Rmhermen 18:48, Dec 17, 2004 (UTC)

We actually have a Hispanic article which deals with the matter in specifics. Although in general the argument goes that the term Hispanic draws from several disparate ethnic groups and is about as useful a categorization as American when it comes to determining race. Race in general is a sticky subject, and even in the dispassionate realm of science everything is not as clear cut as one would hope. --Cvaneg 19:49, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Most likely, nearly all of the 22% identifying themselves as "Other" also identify themselves as Hispanic. I don't think "Mestizo" is listed as a race on US census forms, but it is how the bulk of the Mexican population identifies itself. Ergo, if what you want to know is the percentage of San Antonians identifying themselves as "White Non-Hispanic", it's probably roughly 30%. Diderot 20:41, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

You are correct in that Mestizo was not on these census questions. You could have used it on the ethnicity question on the long form but I think it would have been a write-in. Rmhermen 20:55, Dec 17, 2004 (UTC)

Thompinian

Where is the Thompinian phonetic alphabet used? --ᓛᖁᑐ 21:58, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The Thompinian alphabet seems to have been the creation of a Spanish speaker in Colombia for personal writings in Spanish, and then extended to other languages. Like most other personally constructed orthographies (including my own), I don't think it is in wide use anywhere, and is probably not used at all except by its creator and possibly some of his friends. Ливай | ☺ 23:48, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Standardised sizes of bowls, cups and plates

How were the standard sizes of bowls, cups and plates established? Constafrequent, infrequently constant 08:13, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I don't think they are standardized. ike9898 19:37, Dec 18, 2004 (UTC)

Surely they must be, since the majority of dinner plates and so forth are the same size? Constafrequent ^{(talk page)} 03:43, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I don't know if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, but...the National Retail Federation (www.nrf.com) allocates size and color codes for use on Universal Product Codes (UPCs) for all sorts of stuff, including dinnerware. I guess that means that if you want to sell something in volume (ie you want to slap a UPC on it), then you have to go to the NRF. They'll also allocate a new code for a new size/color. I don't know if this is just for the US, or globally. -Rholton 06:34, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Thanks ike9898 and Rholton. Others? –– Constafrequent ^{(talk page)} 08:18, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Cups, mugs, bowls, plates, cans, cigarettes, and other containers and consumables have common dimensions. What is the history of such standard dimensions? –– Constafrequent ^{(talk page)} 20:08, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Girl scout uniforms

I was wondering where I'd be able to find pictures/diagrams of the uniforms of various girl scouting organisations around the world (specifically in europe). Any comparisons, or pictures of obsolete uniforms would be very helpful. (I'm trying to identify one that I've recently acquired) Rhymeless | (Methyl Remiss) 09:26, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Sorry for being a bit late, but I have only just seen this, but surely a quick look at the 'Image' pages of either Google or Yahoo Search would bring a few things up that might be useful? Dieter Simon 00:29, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Try the official Girl Scouts of America link. They have a "contact us" email form; and overseas information; information on badges; so it's a start. The Girl Scouts began as an American organization, so finding a European badge will require a little digging. Maybe you'll find a match for your badge though :

http://www.girlscouts.org/

Hope it helps, allie 02:45, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Kwanzaa

I am interested in any information on the % of African Americans that celebrate Kwanzaa. Is this proportion rising or falling? Is it more prevalent among any particular sub-groups (blacks in Southern states vs. Northern; Christian vs. non-Christian; rich vs. poor). ike9898 17:09, Dec 18, 2004 (UTC)

Emic and etic

What are the differences between phonemic alphabets and phonetic alphabets? --ᓛᖁᑐ 19:13, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Most people use the two words interchangably. However, in principle, a phonetic writing scheme is one where each distinguishable sound - according to some observer - is seperately represented; a phonemic writing scheme is one where each sound distinction that can change the meaning of a morpheme or lexeme is distinguished, and no other sound distinction is represented.

Inuktitut example: Inuktitut speakers use the shound /sh/ before most /u/'s and some /i/'s insread of /s/. But, which sound they use is completely controlled by the surrounding letters. The places where they say /sh/ they could never use /s/ and vice versa. So, both sounds have the same underlying phoneme and can be represented with the same letter of the alphabet without confusion. Thus, people writing inuksuk phonetically write inushuk, but a phonemic script for Inuktitut would write it inuksuk.

Same with the /u/ - /o/ distinction. Greenlanders write two different letters for the sounds /o/ and /u/, but they are really the same phoneme. Greenlandic spellings are not phonemic because they derive from Kleinschmidt's work some 150 years ago. Qaliujaaqpait - the Canadian roman system for eastern dialects - was invented much later by professional linguists, so it is a mostly phonemic writing system.

Different linguists sometimes disagree about exactly what sounds are distinguished from which others, and what mechanisms are necessary to explain the differences. As a result, a language may have more than one phonemic analysis and therefore more than one different phonemic writing scheme. Phonetic writing is entirely dependent on which sound differences someone perceives, so there can be many different phonetic writing systrems as well.

Diderot 19:40, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Extinction

The article Extinction event claims the background rate of extinctions is about two to five marine animal families per million years. What is the rate in terms of species or genera? --ᓛᖁᑐ 21:26, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

War: What is it good for?

Business? alteripse 21:48, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

To quote Edwin Starr, "absolutely nothing". -- Cyrius|✎ 07:23, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Say it again. Dysprosia 09:25, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

As far as I can tell from the brief research that I have made, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker, and is friend only to the undertaker. It seems to be an enemy to all mankind, frankly, the very thought of war blows my mind. Intrigue 19:36, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Heraclitus would tend to disagree... [9] dab (ᛏ) 20:11, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Solving the overpopulation problem, perhaps. Ливай | ☺ 04:56, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

War is not a cost-effective way of doing this. For the price of one stealth bomber you could manufacture about 80 billion condoms (stealth bomber: more than $2 billion; condom: $0.025). Gdr 13:01, 2004 Dec 24 (UTC)

Ah, but you have to force people to use condoms. You can impose your own solution with the stealth bomber. Rick K 08:03, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

And not one link to War#Costs and benefits of war. People! :-) JRM 14:13, 2004 Dec 21 (UTC)

Most of the best films have some sort of war in. In fact, this makes me think of a question i shall post here--Wonderfool 00:22, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Political gain? Either in the spoils of war from a successful military conquest, or within one's own country. A nation at war is a nation with a common enemy, therefore much more likely to follow any lead which opposes that enemy - that is to say, whatever differences political groups have, they will generally abandon them and unite if a greater external threat faces them. This can be advantageous to a suitably cunning person or group. Noodhoog 06:14, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

War is a great way of kick-starting the economy... Alphax (t) (c) (e) 15:01, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

how do i make a request on a new subject

I would like to know what turpenoid is.

I moved this from the help desk. As for what a turpenoid is, I think it's a good name for an elected official who publicly displays a combination of moral turpitude and stupidity. However, if you want to know what a terpenoid is, click on the word and you will be magically whisked away to an answer. alteripse 22:49, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Turpenoid is now a redirect to terpenoid. Now we can all agrue over whether it should be. :-) -Rholton 18:21, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I vote no, or at least make it a disambiguation page with the new definition offered above. Let's see if we can start a word! alteripse 23:13, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Hmmm...Well actually, Turpenoid seems to be some sort of turpentine substitute, apparently a trademark. If I get a chance, perhaps I'll turn the page into a stub for this meaning.

However, just to be clear, neologisms tend to be quickly placed on VFD, and usually end up deleted (or so modified as to no longer be about a new word, as in this case). The reason I thought there may be some question about having the redirect is that some may not consider turepenoid a common misspelling of terpenoid. For the time being, I'm going to change it back to a redirect. -Rholton 00:39, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Turpenoid is indeed a kind of petroleum distillate and a cleaner for paint brushes. Again you can find quite a few explanatory websites , for example "define turpenoid" without quotes lets you see a number of explanatory sites on Google or Yahoo Search. Dieter Simon 00:49, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

significant omission in your list of dates of death

Good evening,

in your list of dates of death I find an very significant lack: please check yourself.

Kaspar Hauser died on Dec 17 after a murder attack.

I would wish very much that this be considered.

Respectfully Hans J. Struck

Kaspar Hauser died December 17 in 1833. Hardly material for the recent deaths page. Or did you mean a different page. Feel free to edit the page yourself; that's how the article get improved. Rmhermen 23:27, Dec 18, 2004 (UTC)

Accuracy, truth

Dear Sir or Madam,

If hundreds-of-thousands of articles are being submitted, how does Wikipedia know that they are accurate? Surely, it is not possible to have someone double-checking (triple-checking?) every article submitted?

Many thanks for a very interesting website.

Sincerely Bert

Hey Bert (sorry, couldn't help it), your question is answered in some depth at Wikipedia:Replies to common objections. If that doesn't meet all your concerns, feel free to ask (although Wikipedia:Help desk is probably a marginally more appropriate venue for such discussion). -- John Fader 00:20, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

How to find info on a non-public corporation?

What resources are available to find out information about a non-public corporation in the United States? Are there any publically-accessible records which a private corporation has to report to the government? In particular I'm trying to find out information about t/Space. --NeuronExMachina 01:14, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

There is very little a private corporation has to report. I don't think even their tax records are public information. For a large enough company Forbes magazine may have published some information. I am not aware of any other public repositories of data. Access can be paid for to private databases such as Dun and Bradstreets.[10] They maintain as much information as they are able to get, including revenue, officers, credit worthiness, etc. - Taxman 03:04, Dec 19, 2004 (UTC)

One of your best bets for free information is the public library in the town where it is headquartered. Most public libraries happily take phone calls on this sort of question and will track down what they have on file. -- Jmabel | Talk 06:16, Dec 19, 2004 (UTC)

What sort of information can one typically find on a company from a public library? --NeuronExMachina 09:37, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Ring them and ask! - Adrian Pingstone 10:54, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Most good public libraries keep some clipping files for local newspapers, although less so now in the Internet age. -- Jmabel | Talk 01:03, Dec 20, 2004 (UTC)

One of the great advantages of keeping your corporation private is the, well, privacy that you can maintain. In many parts of the U.S. and Canada, "WHMIS" documents relating to materials that they're using must be put on file and available to the public (possibly at the nearest fire station?) so that might give you a clue as to what they're up to, or at least what kind of white board cleaner they use. Sharkford 21:18, 2004 Dec 20 (UTC)

help identifying jacket patches

Anonymous request moved from the Village Pump. Peter O. (Talk, automation script) 21:26, Dec 19, 2004 (UTC)

My father was in the 20th Air Force--677 B Squadron--flew the Hump I'm tring to identify or get the meaning of several patches that he wore on his flight jacket. I know I don't belong on this site but don't know where to go. Thanks Tim Borden timborden1@mindspring.com

Tim, we welcome these sorts of queries from visitors. As far as Wikipedia is concerned, virtually everyone belongs on this site! As far as the patches go, if you could upload photos of the patches, or at least some fairly detailed descriptions, we might have a good shot of helping you identify them. -Rholton 01:53, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Everyone except that guy asking where to pirate games. -- Cyrius|✎ 04:15, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Tim: check out this web site. By "20th Air Force" you probably mean the United States 20th Army Air Force possibly 677th Bombardment Squadron - since you know what you're looking for, you're more likely to find it than we are. Search for his plane type (e.g. "B-29", "F-4", "Phantom", etc.) or for his base (e.g. "Hollomon AFB"). If I've guessed right about your father's squadron, be sure to look at those other websites which may not help with the patches but might have some interesting photos. - Nunh-huh 04:59, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Caustic pineapple chemicals?

I checked pineapple but found no reference to that chemical that makes your tongue feel raw and painful if you eat uncooked/unprepared pineapple. Is it pineapple that does that? This is one of those things I have a faint memory of, but no hard information. grendel|khan 02:36, 2004 Dec 20 (UTC)

Possibly bromelain or papain? =- Nunh-huh 02:39, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

cooked pineapple? it makes sense to me--Wonderfool 00:27, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Pineappe contains an enzyme that is an excellent natural exfoliant for your facial skin. Makes you look dewy and radiant when applied on a regular basis. Highly recommended. Oh, wait. I meant papaya. However, if you're spending too much time on Wikipedia, try it anyway, "It's a good thing." --allie 21:46, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Currency copyright question

Image:SacDollar.jpeg comes from the United States Mint. Their copyright policy states, in part, "Also for example, copyrights in the Dollar Coin Obverse Design featuring Sacagawea [... have been assigned to and are owned by the United States Mint." I was under the impression that the Mint, being a part of the Department of State (which is part of the federal U.S. government), couldn't copyright anything at all. So, is the U.S. Mint's page in error, or is the statement that the U.S. federal government copyrights nothing in error? I'm pretty confused on this one. grendel|khan 03:21, 2004 Dec 20 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, the US government can hold copyright on materials transferred to it by third parties. In addition, the laws regarding the reproduction of money or images of money are strange and twisted. -- Cyrius|✎ 04:12, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

We have an article on the work of the United States Government which discusses what Cyrius is talking about. --Cvaneg 05:39, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Antique Rifle-Who made this model?

There was a rifle discovered by a friend of mine. He collects guns and cannot find any information of any kind on this rifle. The only markings on this rifle are machine engraved (just like Winchester or any other markings) and say Cherokee 75. That is the only identification on this rifle. There are no serial numbers or anything. Does anyone know who made this rifle or where it came from or where I can look up the information? It is not in any collectors' books that we have checked. Thank you. Candy Arp

Does the rifle look anything like the one in these pictures? If so, it's probably made by Thompson/Center. -Rholton 06:20, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Quote from Ayn Rand

We the willing, led by the unknowing are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much for so long with so little we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

Is this quote from the Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged? Thanks! Elaine A. King, CPA

No. It's not from Ayn Rand: it's a popular office joke, by Ayn-Nonymous<g>! It's certainly nothing that Ayn Rand would ever have thought, let alone written. - Nunh-huh 22:10, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I don't know what came first, but a popular slogan in Vietnam among disgruntled grunts was "We are the unwilling led by the unqualified to do the unnecessary for the ungrateful." --jpgordon ∇∆∇∆ 00:31, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Million dollar question

How do I make a million dollars, attract beautiful women and become famous? I figure we know everything else, we might as well find out about this one. Thanks. - Ta bu shi da yu 11:32, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC) (Oh, sorry about the male POV — except for you gay guys of course)

Insider trading.
Take over an underdeveloped nation through a romantic peasant revolution.
Record a top 40 hit.

Failing that, there's always sports. Hitting a baseball four times out of ten ought to do the trick.

Diderot 11:41, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

If everyone sends me a thousand bucks, I'll post the answer here! ;-)

-Rholton 18:27, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

You could deal drugs. They're real expensive these days, plus all your profit is tax-free. If you want something legit, you could start a McCarthy-esque paranoia against a scapegoat of your choice (Jews, Hispanics, gays, heck probably even extraterrestrials...people seem to get more gullible every year), then get elected to Congress, where you can give yourself raises whenever you and your co-workers feel like it. Ливай | ☺ 22:18, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

No you can't, according to the 27th amendment [11]. Payrises for Congressmen and Senators don't take effect until an election has intervened. Kind of a nice incentive for congresscritters to avoid hyperinflation, don't you think :) --Robert Merkel 06:09, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

But it doesn't really matter; the vast majority of incumbents are re-elected anyway. It looks better, but doesn't really do much. -- Mote 16:39, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

It matters even less when you're in Australia. Alphax (t) (c) (e) 15:07, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

Ted Turner, asked this question, said "Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and ADVERTISE!" -- John Fader 00:56, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Conduct seminars in which you teach people the secret of how to make a million dollars, attract beautiful women and become famous. (What do you teach them to do in the seminars? Easy! Conduct seminars in which you teach people the secret of how to...you get the picture).

Failing that, let's ignore inflation for the moment. If you could save $5000 per year and invested it in an S&P 500 index fund (which returned about 6.2% per year real returns between 1965 and 2002), in 43 years you'd have a million dollars. Savings and compound returns, m'lad. --Robert Merkel 06:05, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Art. but do really good art though. films, literature and architecture too. those things are great. learn poker too. and play online poker.thats an easy job. i wonder how u can tell poker faces online--Wonderfool 00:37, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Cure the common cold. Neutrality/^talk 03:45, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

Focus on becoming famous first, the rest seem to come along with it. Now, to become famous is easy, just kill someone who is also famous. George W. Bush would be a good place to start. — Kieff | Talk 08:11, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

Oh lets see, 1. do something that people will pay you $1 for a million times. Or sell a million of something for a dollar each. But making a million and having a million leftover are very different. Most people in developed countries will make a million dollars over their lifetime. Few have it at any given time. 2. Have something they want. Having lots of money and being lead singer in a band are easy ways to do it. Having an incredible personality works too. 3. Do or be something noteworthy that people want to know more about, talk about, and think about. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. - Taxman 04:23, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

Selling Wikipedia dudes. make it a hard copy and flog it for a lot. Then every year you could sell an upgrade. Plus, the contributors may get paid too then. And everyone will be happy--Onefool 02:40, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Marry up: The best society people do. Of course, you might have to forego the "beautiful women" part of your quest, but it's a question of priorities. Some people want to change the world; some people want to get rich. It's a question of priorities. allie 02:54, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Names of English & Spanish ships at Battle of St Vincent

Moved here from article namespace, please email questioner, article deleted. I am a member of the Britannia Naval Research Association based in Oxford England. We are preparing a presentation of The Battle of St Vincent in 1780. The battle was fought between the Spanish and English fleets. We are having difficulty in naming all the English and Spanish ships present and historic records seem scarce. We also require details of the Spanish flags, both national and admirals' flags of that date. Malcolm Lewis mandblewis@onetel.com

Wikipedia's article on the battle is at Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780) and George Brydges Rodney and Juan de Lángara have more information. Unfortunately, we can't conjure historical sources out of thin air any more than you can. If you can find good sources, please use them to improve the article. Gdr 16:49, 2004 Dec 23 (UTC)

The discussion page on the article mentions [12], which is an annotated painting of the battle giving some ship names. Shimgray 17:19, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[13] also has a painting, although without ship names. Shimgray 17:25, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[14] notes that the 2nd Bn, 73rd Foot (they would later become the 71st Foot, and then the HLI) fought in the battle as Marines, although it doesn't give a ship name. Might be worth chasing up that angle. Hmm... [15] seems to suggest the Prince George fought there, as well.

I've put some more details on Talk:Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780), to avoid cluttering this page. (of course, it'd help if I could write this cleanly...) Shimgray 18:02, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Questionable actual military rank, common use of title Colonel in Virginia, West Virginia

In writing several articles on not-so-famous people, I have run across indications that some individuals who did not formerly attain the rank of Colonel apparently assumed the use of this title (or it was used by others when referring to them) in the years after the American Civil War. From my own experience, I was aware of several such people who were still alive in the mid-20th century in Virginia. That leads me to speculate that this was/is some kind of colloquial situation. Following the lead of author H. Reid in The Virginian Railway, I addressed the issue in the William N. Page and related articles and have side-stepped the issue in Algernon S. Buford and related articles. In both instances, there are published indications that the title of "Colonel" was not an earned military rank.

1. Has anyone else run across this?
2. Since we are compiling and writing article with information of a factual nature, how do we address such a situation?

Thanks. Vaoverland 17:33, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

One famous example of it was late Colonel Sanders who knew much about chichen cookery. They used to (sell?) these honorary titles in the American South.

The Colonel is also often a shorthand reference to Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, who was an honorary Kentucky colonel. The title is an honorary title offered to celebrities by the Governor of Kentucky. -- Colonel

2 : a minor titular official of a state especially in southern or midland U.S. -- used as an honorific title -- http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=colonel

-- Toytoy 18:06, Dec 20, 2004 (UTC)

I wrote the short article Kentucky colonel. The title is extremely common today--I see cars all the time with the sticker signifying membership in the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. One non-military colonel is Colonel Tom Parker, but his article notes the title was from Louisiana. PedanticallySpeaking 18:21, Dec 27, 2004 (UTC)

I'm an Alabama Colonel. All I had to do was write the governor and ask for it. I have a framed certificate with a pretty gold seal on it. Rick K 08:08, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

questions about WikidPad

I have recently discovered the software WikidPad, which seems to operate almost identically to Wikipedia and is simple enough to be used by non-programmers (unlike MediaWiki). It uses the file extension .wiki, and its files will export to HTML. However, it will not import text files, so there is a bit of up-front work to do cutting and pasting from my current journal. My question is, is there any other (better) software like this I should know about before I start copying all my files, or does it not matter because I can always export later? Or should I just go ahead and learn PHP for MediaWiki? Thanks. Mjklin 18:08, 2004 Dec 20 (UTC)

Media wiki isn't really that hard to install or to use, and one certainly doesn't need to be a programmer or to know PHP to do so. As, like most of the more capable wiki implementations, it requires one to set up a web server, a PHP installation, and a MySQL server, the configuration can be daunting for the non technical. Our wiki software article lists numerous alternatives. If Mediawiki really is too daunting, look for the ones that incorporate the database function (so one doesn't need an external database system like MySQL). Examples of this include UseModWiki. There are even a few that even include the web server too (so one need install only the language runtime and the wiki software itself); I've used Instiki, which is incredibly easy to install (but is also rather basic). I belive MoinMoin is also really easy to install (no SQL, and with optional included webserver), although I've never used it (but it is very popular). -- John Fader 22:20, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

You might also try Kwiki, which is implemented in Perl. It's lightweight, backed by flat files, and is quite easy to install and maintain in my experience. --David Iberri | Talk 07:10, Dec 21, 2004 (UTC)

Prescriptive grammar

Are there any Web sites where people bemoan the use of current slang, neologisms, usages, and grammatical patterns? Thanks, Gelu Ignisque

I'm sure there are. I enjoy this one (it does not really bemoan the use of slang, but it's rather fun if you like to make picky distinctions): [16]. -Aranel ("Sarah") 01:06, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Hitachi Automatic Home Bakery Bread Maker

I have recently purchased a Hitachi HB-B101 Bread Maker. There was no instruction booklet for it. Is there anywhere that I can contact to get an operating book for my breadmaker. Teri Lindsey

Digging through HItachi's web pages, I found their US Home Appliances Support page. They'll sell you an instruction manual for $10 plus shipping. -- Cyrius|✎ 23:24, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Photo stitching software

I am looking for software to stitch together 8 large tiff images (they are sections of a map). I'd love it to be free. Any ideas?

I've done a good deal of this sort of thing, but with photographs instead. All of the tools mentioned here are free: I use Hugin and Autopano-SiFT, which automatically aligns the images based on detected features. (It's practically magical.) Hugin also supports the selectable use of Enblend to blend the edges of stitched pictures together seamlessly. The toolchain should be adaptable to photographs; just pretend that they're photos taken with a very, very long lens. There are tutorials on the above pages, but if you have more questions, I'd be happy to answer them. grendel|khan 23:47, 2004 Dec 20 (UTC)

Questions of grammar

Just a few questions about grammar that I have been curious about for quite some time. 1) Why is "colonel" spelled the way it is? 2) When do you use "burnt" and when do you use "burned"? (Same with any other words similar with the "t" or "ed" ending.) 3)How do you know when to use "who" or "whom"?(Same with "affect" and "effect".)

--Tina

Regarding "colonel", Random House's writeup on it is real good. Regarding burned and burnt, as far as I know, they are completely interchangable -- "burnt toast" sounds more assonant than "burned toast", but that's about it. --01:54, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

OK, here are the next two

Who is used as a subject in a clause or sentence and whom is used as object of a clause, preposition or transitive verb: who hit whom? is correct, but whom hit who? is not. In Latin, they would be translated into nominative and accusative forms of the pronoun respectively.

Affect as a noun usually means mood, as a verb to affect means to change, but rarely it means "to pretend to" a quality.

Effect as a noun means the result of change, and as a verb to effect means to cause.

Many writers here and elsewhere who are otherwise literate cannot keep these straight. Start noticing and you'll find more semiliterati with pretensions than you might expect. Unless they are politicians affecting demotic ignorance (cf Bush's nucular). alteripse 02:16, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

To answer the second question, "burnt" to me tends to mean "charred": "burnt toast". In other senses "burnt" is not used, always "burned". Peter O. (Talk, automation script) 02:33, Dec 21, 2004 (UTC)

Burned is a past participle, burnt is an adjective.

I burned the house down.

It smells like burnt toast.

But not:

*I burnt the house down.

*It smells like burned toast.

("*" is the international linguistics symbol for an intentionally incorrect sentence.)

People don't make the distinction consistently, so don't worry too much about it.

affect and effect have different argument structures.

The stock market affects the bond market.

Lowering the interest rate effects a reduction in the cost of financing government debt.

But never:

*The stock market effects the bond market.

*Lowering the interest rate affects a reduction in the cost of financing government debt.

X affects Y means that X is an actor of some sort and Y is a thing that changes because of the actions of X. X effects Y means that X is an action and Y is a consequence of that action.

People do try to make this distinction consistently as it has real content and potential for ambiguity. You should try to get this one right.

The "colonel" and who/whom questions have already been answered.

Diderot 03:46, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

And see whom for Wikipedia's take on it. JRM 14:22, 2004 Dec 21 (UTC)

I find the following explanations helpful (and entertaining): affect/effect, who/whom. I imagine that burnt/burned has some American/British English influences, whether it is supposed to or not. -Aranel ("Sarah") 21:18, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

____

Okay, for burnt vs. burned, American English generally uses burnt as a perfect participle (the equivalent of an adjective), as in "burnt-up paper," and uses burned everywhere else. Whether to use -(e)d or -t on other verbs (learn, spoil, spelt) depends on the verb, but I'd say that the -(e)d forms are predominant in American English, except for, say, dwelt (dwelled) and knelt (kneeled). We are discussing here only verbs that have alternate forms; there is no *creeped to alternate with crept.
Regarding who/whom, using who in all instances will really get you by unless you're among conservative stylists. Linguists agree that the distinction (like the Old English case endings that showed whether a noun was the subject, direct object, or whatever) is moribund in American English; neither the mass media nor the youth observe it.
The affect/effect distinction, explained above, is observed by literate adults, so yeah, learning it is a good idea. --Gelu Ignisque

____

Mega-esophagus

Where can I get information on Mega-esophagus (Megaesophagus?). --Sgeo | Talk 01:50, Dec 21, 2004 (UTC)

Googling for the latter gives some useful hits, amongst which [17]. When you've read the material out there, it'd be much appreciated if you could write up an article or at least a stub on it. Thanks in advance! &#0xfeff; --fvw * 01:57, 2004 Dec 21 (UTC)
or this one] which contains links to other resources. -- Nunh-huh

Question of law

Is there any site that I can go to that would tell me anything about law? (Like a law dictionary.) Or if it has the statutes/ punishments for crimes (i.e.: Murder First Degree, Second Degree, etc.)?

Statutes and punishments vary by jurisdiction. Every town makes its own parking laws and punishments, while each state makes its own statutes defining degrees of homicide and potential punishments. And of course, these variations are applicable in every other jurisdiction and every other country around the world. There are of course people you can pay to advise you on the laws and punishments applicable in a particular jurisdiction. We won't invoke their name in polite discourse here, though.

Here is a "law for nonlawyers" email course: [18]

Sometimes law schools offer such courses locally. You might call your local law school. E.g., [19]

Here is a law dictionary for nonlawyers: [20]

And finally, here is a possible source for relatively cheap advice about a particular situation (since I assume you are not looking for this info from idle curiosity) [21]

Good luck.alteripse 03:36, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Many places have their legal code online. For instance: California State Law, and Los Angeles Municipal Code. Try googling for "MyState legal code online" -Key45 19:55, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The United States Code (US federal law) is also available through the links at the bottom of its article. -- Cyrius|✎ 20:35, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Also note that in many (most?) jurisdictions, statute law is supplemented by case law or jurisprudence from the courts. Some of it may be available online. David.Monniaux 16:32, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

There is a difference between the civil statutes and the criminal statutes that vary by state. The Attorney General's Office/county judicial court are mandated to carry these books for public reference by law. They have the current statutes that you are looking for. Each state publishes a book listing not only the criminal law, but citations regarding previous verdicts that generally set forth the precedents for rulings for each statute. Warning: It takes time to figure out how to read these books, they are not for amateurs. Remember: A client who represents himself has a fool for a client. allie 03:13, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ancient Olympics

At the end of the 5th century BC, how many days of competition were there in the Ancient Olympics and what were the events?

Reading Ancient Olympic Games would be a good place to start. -- Cyrius|✎ 17:50, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

IED'S DESIGNS AND COMPONENTS USED IRAQ

WE ARE TRYING TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY TO SOLVE THE CURRENT IED PROBLEM IN IRAQ. WE NEED MORE SPECIFIC INFO ON WHAT THE "BAD GUYS" ARE USING TO DETONATE AND TO SIGNAL THE DETONATION...CIRCUITS AND COMPONENTS. CAN YOU HELP? THANKS HAUTEINTELLIGENCE

IEDs are most commonly mortar or artillery shells with their fuses replaced by very simple electrical triggers. The exact circuit depends on the native fusing mechanism of the shell, but in general one really only needs to deliver a pulse of current to set the thing off, so a battery a wire and a switch is all that's needed (maybe a cap and a transistor too). Radio ones are reportedly chopped up walkie-talkies and sometimes cellphones. I think I've heard of some efforts to jam the radio frequencies involved, but it's not hard to change a walkie talkie's frequency range. It's extremely unlikely that anyone will find a technical solution for the wired variety. -- John Fader 14:41, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

DEAR MR. CAPITAL LETTERS: One not-so-technical solution: Say sorry to them, pay them lots of money for the damages done, go home and hope for the best. It still solves nothing. They will still be there killing each other because their former bad but working government has been ruthlessly overthown without a good reason.

The IEDs are built to explode. They can be installed almost everywhere. Many of them may not work or detonated by animals but it only takes a few of them to kill some invaders. They are created using available materials. That means each one may be of a slightly different design. They are no Model T cars. You may send bomb squads to some sites, but there will be many more undiscovered ones waiting for their preys. To tell the truth, the problem of IEDs will not be solved. It will be like the land mine problem, possibly, only worse.

If you want to know more about it, join the US army, go to Iraq and ask them nicely. Please use the magic word frequently. I still don't think you can get anything done. -- Toytoy 07:53, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

Headphone socket on CD-ROM drive

Is there a simple way to use the headphone socket on the CD-ROM drive on a Windows XP computer to listen to music from, say, LAUNCHcast? The monitor speakers work fine but my colleagues would rather not listen to my personal tastes in music :-) --Phil | Talk 18:38, Dec 21, 2004 (UTC)

I don't think so. Can you plug unplug the cord that connects the monitor speakers and plug you headphones in there? That will work, but depending on how your computer is situated, it can be inconvenient. ike9898 18:46, Dec 21, 2004 (UTC)

You should absolutely be able to plug your headphones into your computer. I would try the headphone socket on your CD drive first, just to see—it's not going to hurt anything if it doesn't work! There will, however, almost certainly be a sound output socket on the back of the tower, assuming that's how your computer is arranged. (Usually it's green.) You may need to go into your sound settings and request that output not be digital if your speakers take digital input and your headphones don't. (My old desktop with Windows 98 requires this adjustment. My laptop with XP doesn't.)

If the cord isn't long enough, you can buy headphones with a really long cord and they're not that expensive. (I have some that will stretch across the entire room. Wonderful for late-night television watching.) -Aranel ("Sarah") 21:06, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Wow, I've come to this one a bit late, but what the heck, I'll throw in my 2p's worth anyways. The simple answer to your question is no. Standard CDROM drives only allow for data/digital audio being transmitted from the drive to the host PC - there is no way for the drive to accept input. The headphone socket in a CDROM is simply a way to listen to a standard audio CD through it. Interestingly, for a standard CDROM to function as an audio CD player you don't even need a computer. So long as it has power (which can be provided by a standard PC power supply) and a play/stop button on the front, you can use it as a CD player simply by plugging in headphones or speakers to the headphone socket.

In more practical terms, as others have already said, it sounds like what you really want to do is get the sound from your computer on your headphones. Check your speakers - often speakers will have a headphone socket in them for convenience. If not, then you'll need to plug your headphones straight into your soundcard or breakout box. Be careful to get the right output when doing this, and lower the volume beforehand to avoid any loud bangs or pops.

Hope this helps you. --Noodhoog 17:20, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

ARTSTOR and the public domain

If this discussion should be somewhere else, please move it. This is where I usually ask questions, so this is where I'm putting it.

I've just had a rather disturbing discussion with the art librarian at my university, a public research school in the northeastern United States. (Well, it's recently stopped being my university, but I'm still hanging around.) The university library has recently purchased access for its campus to a data base called ARTSTOR. I am informed that this access carried a one-time cost of thirty-six thousand dollars, as well as a yearly fee of about twenty thousand dollars. Not cheap. It contains over a quarter million high-resolution, high-quality art images, including sculpture, painting, and photography.

Their terms and conditions detail a variety of things one is not allowed to do with the data therein, including publication on a third-party website. I'm further told that the university could lose its license if the data were so leaked. Yikes.

I'm particularly interested in the collection of paintings (I'd like better versions of this and this, for instance), so I asked the art librarian, who has some experience in publishing books with reproductions of art in them. (Thus, I take him to be a somewhat authoritative source.) He told me that collections which hold paintings also hold the copyright on them, which is why the books have credits and 'with permission of' notes in the back of them, even if the works are very, very old. (I asked about items passing into the public domain from age. He maintained that the galleries own the copyright.)

Also, he was very adamant that photographers of old works own the copyright on those photographs. I referenced Bridgeman Art Library Ltd. v. Corel Corporation, remembering the substance, but not the full name. ("Corel versus... someone.") He assured me, rather emphatically, that photographers go through a lot of effort to take good pictures of art, and that they also take great pains to protect their copyright on those pictures.

If so, what about the scans I've made of old (first published in the 19th century) prints and photographs that were reproduced in a relatively recent book? It seems to me that either both the above scans and ARTSTOR's contents (though, of course, not its indexing, presentation or tools) are in the public domain, or neither are. So who's right?

He also informed me that copyright infringement is the most popular thing in the world (literally) to sue people for. I explained that Wikipedia tries to be self-policing in these matters, and that I was in fact currently working on a project to tag images according to copyright status. I'm not sure he believed that we aren't a bunch of smelly pirates. (Though he'd heard of Wikipedia before.)

This is very disturbing to me. The guy clearly has done his research, having actually published some art books and dealt with acquiring permission. I will be consulting with my legal staff (a friend halfway through law school who just finished his 'intellectual property law' class) this evening, and reporting back the results. grendel|khan 22:20, 2004 Dec 21 (UTC)

Addendum: They have an email address, questions@artstor.org. If anyone writes them and gets a response, please let me know under here. grendel|khan 22:29, 2004 Dec 21 (UTC)

There was a discussion on this on the Wikipedia mailing lists in August. after a chap from the British National Portrait Gallery contacted Wikipedia about the provenance of certain images. Some people, including myself, did a bit of digging. While museums and collections like this assert that there is an independent copyright in digital images of public domain artwork, in practice the statutes around the world are vague on this topic, and the only case law of relevance seems to be Bridgeman vs. Corel which supports the position that no separate copyright exists. When they think nobody's listening, the museums are much less confident in their legal position than they let on. --Robert Merkel 00:59, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

So... (1) how do I get the art librarian to help me scan in those art books, and (2) how do I get ARTSTOR to let me post their laboriously scanned and catalogued---yet uncopyrightable---content here? There's a very large, well-funded organization backing up these assertions. Where do I go from here? I mean, they clearly can't do this, so... what do I do? Anyone else want to weigh in? grendel|khan 05:14, 2004 Dec 22 (UTC)

Two things to ponder: just because something may be legal under copyright law doesn't mean others are obliged to help you do it, and people (or organizations) can sign their rights away with a contract to do something that would be legal under copyright law. ARTSTOR looks like it's got your university to do just that. --Robert Merkel 06:51, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

By 'help', I mean 'not kick me out of the library'. This all seems terribly disappointing, in that I've discovered that there are gobs of free resources out there, but I can't make use of them because... well, I'm not even entirely sure why not. grendel|khan 08:20, 2004 Dec 22 (UTC)

That's easy: because access to those free resources is controlled by people who charge for giving others access, and they have enough power to maintain the status quo. This is good for big companies, what's good for big companies is good for the economy, and what's good for the economy is good for you.
Personally, I would just try to Robin Hood a digitally accessible version of the thing, if it exists. I have no qualms about violating contracts and breaking the law to deprive people of secondary income whatsoever—no more than they have about extorting the general public. (Though I would go out of my way to prevent the university from being associated with it, of course.)
On a less revolutionary note: negotiating is always an option. We should try to get a delegation that's impressive to suits together, and then brown-nose them with assertions about how it'll be bitching for their public image, and won't hurt their commercial endeavours at all, because their clients will always prefer the source over some pissant, poorly accessible free encyclopedia. (Which is true, except for the "always" part, but we don't need to tell them that.) Failing that, try to negotiate access on a case-by-case basis, promising to link the image to our "generous" sponsors, of course. Getting individual pictures is still better than nothing. And who knows, maybe slow and steady will even win the race. JRM 00:18, 2004 Dec 25 (UTC)

peaceful films

Are there any films where nobody dies? Im convinced that the percentage is about 3% of all films or somethin measly like that. also, I wonder how many ppl die in the average movie. Even kid films have the oblig death. I read somewhere that only about 6 Disney films didnt have the main character's parent die

Yes, there are many, many films where no characters die. I watched one on Monday night - the hilarious Napoleon Dynamite (unless you're counting an unfortunate cow). Any number of romantic comedy films, from Pretty Woman to Before Sunrise do not have death as a plot point, as is the case with innumerable other comedies. Dramas that do not involve death in one way or another are rarer; examples that spring quickest to mind include Apollo 13.

Sorry I'm so late, but there is death in Pretty Woman. A hooker (Skinny Marie?) is found in a Dumpster near the beginning. Nelson Ricardo 01:15, Jan 20, 2005 (UTC)

If your question is "are there films which do not rely on the violent death of a character as a major plot point", many more films fall into this category. --Robert Merkel 01:16, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Didn't Apollo 13 open with the Apollo 1 fire? And the whole movie involves death and the avoidance thereof. -- Cyrius|✎ 08:09, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Can't remember if it opened with the fire or not, but the full cast list has entries for actors playing Grissom, White and Chaffee, so... Shimgray 19:28, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Well, I know of about 2 that nobody dies- one is "Milo and Otis" (it's about a pug dog ((Otis)) and a tabby cat ((Milo)) and their adventures to get home) and the other is "Stuart Little".

What about Air Bud? There's more peaceful kids films than you think... Mgm|^(talk) 09:21, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

I saw After the Sunset and I'm pretty sure no-one died in that, despite the fact that it's a pretty adult movie. And the movie with the highest body count I've ever seen? Finding Nemo. (Think about it...) DJ Clayworth 04:18, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Pretty sure there is a death in Apollo 13. I think most, if not all, Marx Brothers films pass without fatal incident and there's not much of a bodycount in Laurel and Hardy I hope. Jackass:The Movie is probably a bit cheeky. And I feel compelled to give a nod to Terminator 2 since Arnie swears not to kill anyone, so compromises by merely disabling tens of policeman for life and consigning them to desk duties. Of course the baddie terminator carries on a-slaughtering. --62.255.64.5 18:15, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I stand to be corrected, but how about

Real Genius
Bowfinger --Etimbo | Talk 19:49, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

looking for a song

Anonymous request moved from the Village Pump. Peter O. (Talk, automation script) 01:20, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC) I have been trying to find a song that i only heard in germany.This song was out around the same time as rappers delight.The song was very long & sounded like it was computer generated.I thought the name was "computer rappin",but i can not find anything about it.I was in germany between 1979 & 1982.The song may have been a couple years old before i heard it.Please help this is driving me insane.If you know the song send any info you have to me at ociris69@hotmail.com Thank you,Robert.

Maybe something by Kraftwerk, particularly from Autobahn. It's not really computer rapping, just vocoder singing (augmented by a thick Düsseldorf accent). -- John Fader 01:45, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Series Of Unfortunate Events

What are the names of all the books in the series? I know there are 11, but I can't remember the names in order.. Also, is there going to be a 12th one?

--Tina

A Series of Unfortunate Events lists the 11 books. -- John Fader 02:42, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

But......What about a twelfth book??? There has to be!!! Snicket can't just end the book series like that...=(

the article says there will be 13 (makes sense) in total. It doesn't give the names of the outstanding two. -- John Fader 02:51, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Okay, thank you.

Parts of Speech

Hi I remember reading, a while back, that a certain Greek scholar. philosopher, and thinker actually was the first to label or name the parts of speech and to place all words into one of 10 categories (in Greek). I believe English has 8. Do you know his name or where I may find it? Enjoy your site. Art Haykin Bend, Oregon

P.S. You might ask the people over at the Help Desk why your otherwise excellent site is infected with such a distracting background pattern behind the text. It often makes the text difficult and even impossible to read. I simply don't understand what useful purpose it serves.

RE the P.S.: Background pattern behind the text? Am I missing something? Does this happen with a particular skin? -- Jmabel | Talk 07:28, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

who designed the first?

moved from helpdesk -- Ferkelparade π 09:04, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Somewhere out there, someone will have the answer i'm looking for. Who designed the first Ford in South Africa??? this might seem like a trivial question, but u have no idea how important (and urgent) this is.

thanx

Alton User:168.209.98.35

I don't have any help with the answer, but it would probably help to clarify:

- By Ford I assume you mean the auto.
- "in South Africa" -- manufactured in? designed in? sold in? used in?
- I don't have any specific knowledge, but often an auto is designed by one company, and sold under another's nameplate. Would this sort of arrangement be counted in your question?

Clarifications will help get the correct answer. -Rholton 15:46, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I found that the first Ford in South Africa was a 1903 Model A which reached Port Elizabeth in September 1904. Beginning in February 1924, Fords were assembled in Port Elizabeth from kits exported from Canada (rather than the U.S. because of preferential tariffs for fellow Commenwealth members). Engine assembly at Port Elizabeth began in 1964. This may narrow down the search. Do you mean something like the local versions of the Cortina? I notice that Ford of Southern Africa doesn't mention any design first on their company history timeline.Rmhermen 16:49, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

Death sentence

When was the last person sentenced to death for a crime other than murder in the UK? Warofdreams 13:03, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The last person executed for something other than murder was Theodore William John Schurch, hanged at Pentonville by Albert Pierrepoint for treason, on 4th January 1946. His trial by court-martial took place on 17th September 1945. William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) was hanged by Albert, also for treason, at Wandsworth on 3rd January 1946, but his trial at the Old Bailey took place between 17th-19th September. The last person condemned for treason was John Amery, whose trial was on 28th November 1945, and he was hanged by Albert quite promptly, on 19th December 1945. The only other people executed for other than murder were German spies (last one: Oswald John Job, tried 24-26 January 1944, hanged 16th March), and a number of US soldiers convicted of rape under the US Code of Military Justice and executed at Shepton Mallet - the last being Aniceto Martinez, court-martialled 21 February 1945, executed on 15 June 1945. -- Arwel 17:04, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

We have an article on John Amery, by the way, certainly an interesting character. If memory serves, the reason he was hanged so promptly was due to his trial being uncomplicated (it lasted a few minutes - he pleaded guilty, there was a statutory death penalty, and there really wasn't anything else to do at that point) - so no appeals or the like. 17:49, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

"Well, I'll guess we'll just move right on to the hanging, then." Quite refreshing compared to the unexpected hanging paradox. :-) JRM 00:25, 2004 Dec 25 (UTC)

There's a brief mention of some of the Treason trials at the end of the war in "The Trial of William Joyce" in the Old Bailey Trials series (note not in the Notable British Trials series). Amery is covered on pages 172-80. He did have a defence and there was an attempt to prove he had become a naturalized Spanish citizen in the 1930s, but efforts failed. Shortly before his trial was due to begin his defence counsel was called to the cells where an hour of discussion took place; when Amery came up, he pleaded guilty. The Judge asked his counsel whether Amery knew the implications of this (automatic sentence of death with no right of appeal at all) and was reassured that he did. His trial therefore lasted 8 minutes. C.E. Bechhofer Roberts speculated that Amery recognised his case was hopeless and decided to spare his family the infamy of a long trial. Dbiv 17:25, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Shop Manual for 1987 GMC Caballero

I am restoring a 1987 GMC Caballero and am looking for a "GMC Caballero" manual - not a manual that says - "Chevrolet El Camino". If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it. Thanks

Given that you're restoring the vehicle and specifying "no El Camino manuals", I'm guessing this is for looks as much as anything. Otherwise you could just go grab a Chilton or Haynes service manual and be done with it.

When looking for oldish semi-obscure stuff, often the best bet is eBay and its auction-house ilk. A good place to start checking is the eBay Motors website. A quick search turns up a 1983 GMC Caballero Service Manual, and the same for 1979. -- Cyrius|✎ 20:33, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Czech Republic

Dear Sir: What rights does a mother (who is from Czech Republic) have in keeping her baby who was born in the United States when her and her husband visits Czech Republic. She may choose to stay in Czech Republic. Can her husband bring the baby back to the US without any problems from the laws there in Czech Republic.

As the child was born in the United States, the child is a US citizen. As the mother is Czech, the child is also a citizen of the Czech Republic under Czech law. As long as there is no child custody dispute, there's likely to be no significant problems with the father and child travelling back without the mother. Be sure to have documentation of the familial relationship to make sure things go smoothly. However, don't take my word for it.

For actual honest to goodness professional legal-type advice, I'd suggest contacting the consulates. The website for US Consular Services in Prague is here, and the one for Czech Consular Services in the US is here. The US Department of State also offers a Consular Information Sheet that summarizes normal issues about traveling to the Czech Republic. -- Cyrius|✎ 20:09, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

ABC Past television broadcast of college football games

Hi hoping you can help me or point me in right direction.Looking for past broadcast of college football games played in the 60's and 70's. Wondering if there is a archive or central place i could contact to talk about to about a game to see if it exist and the possibility of seeing or getting a copy of the past broadcast. Hoping there is a central contact source or point to start at.

Thank you and Happy Holidays

What is the molecule thickness of benzene?

Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to know what is the thickness of the molecule of benzene? Your help would be appreciated. Regards Del..

I suppose the answer depends on what you mean by "thickness". If you're asking about the distance between electrons, then I'd assume the thickness of benzene would be twice the covalent radius of carbon, namely 144 pm. On the other hand, using the van der Waals radius might be more useful for modeling; doubling carbon's VDW radius gives 340 pm. N.b. I am not a chemist; with any luck, someone will come along with a more authoritative answer shortly. Best, David Iberri | Talk 22:06, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

Longest word?

What is the longest word in the English language? In the world? I've Google'd it, but Google(TM) turned up nothnig useful. (Or maybe it's just my computer.) Also, I would like to know the definition of the really long word. ((And it would help to have the pronunciation,too.))

--Tina

There is no clearly longest word, because chemistry has systems for naming molecules that can be carried to absurdity by giving a techincally legitimate bur impossibly cumbersome name of a complex molecule. Same may exist in other disciplines. -- Jmabel | Talk 01:14, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

There's an article at Longest word in English that may be of some interest. - Nunh-huh 01:16, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

More discussion at Longest word in English --Tagishsimon (talk)

Chemical Compound of Sugar?

What is the chemical makeup of sugar? (i.e.: Oxygen is O2.)

Most sugars conform to (CH₂O)_n where n is between 3 and 7. See Sugar, and remember there are various sorts - sucrose, fructose, &c. --Tagishsimon (talk)

If you're thinking of table sugar, you want sucrose - Nunh-huh 01:20, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Math question

How do I solve the following problems?

1)

(–q)³(–q⁶)⁴
----
(q³)⁶

Use your power rules.

x^{a}x^{b}=x^{a+b},{x^{a} \over x^{b}}=x^{a-b},(x^{a})^{b}=x^{ab},(xy)^{a}=x^{a}y^{a}

Given this,

{(-q)^{3}(-q^{6})^{4} \over (q^{3})^{6}}={(-1)^{3}q^{3}(-1)^{4}(q^{6})^{4} \over q^{18}}

={-q^{3}q^{24} \over q^{18}}=-{q^{27} \over q^{18}}

=-q^{9}

2)

GIVEN that f(x) = 4–x²
      that g(x) = 2–x

What is the rule of the function (f * g)(x)?

Assuming you mean the product of functions, use (a-b)(c-d)=ac-ad-bc-bd.

I think you meant (a-b)(c-d)=ac-ad-bc+bd.

So, (fg)(x) should be (2-x)(4-x²)=8-2x²-4x+x³.

Yes, you did. -- ALoan (Talk) 10:56, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Damn signs ;) Dysprosia 07:51, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I would guess that what is meant is composition of functions, so (f * g)(x) = f(g(x)) = f(2–x) = 4–(2–x)² = 4–(4–2x+x²) = x²+2x. —Bkell 08:28, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)

3) What is the inverse of:

a) f(x) = [(3, 9), (9, 3), (-4, 2)}

What is that? Do you mean the function defined only at x=3, 9, and -4 with function values 9, 3, and 2? If so, the inverse function is {(9, 3), (3, 9), (2, -4)}.

b) f(x) = x - (2/3)

Let y = x - 2/3. We solve for x. y+2/3=x=f(y), so this is the inverse function. (You can check by substitution, (y+2/3)-(2/3)=y, so this is correct) Dysprosia 05:08, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Thanks. --Math idiot/^{"liberal arts person"} 04:45, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

Thanks, y'all. I got an A on my exam, so I did all right. --Math idiot/^{"liberal arts person"}

sperm

Can sperm die?

Not really, because sperm was never living. Masterhomer 05:01, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Although you could consider them alive just like all the other cells in your body. In that sense, they do die after a certain amount of time(I believe its a few weeks, but not sure) in the testees and can be "killed" by stuff like spermicide. --Aqua 09:36, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

Of course they are alive. They move and consume energy and metabolize and respond to the environment and contribute dna to reproducing themselves. When they are dead they stop doing all those things and decompose. They can be frozen in certain conditions and revived, but they are not like viruses or fungal spores, some of which can be dehydrated and survive on an inanimate object in the environment for long periods of time. alteripse 13:01, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Uh, it depends on how you define life. Unlike most all other cells in the body, a sperm cannot reproduce itself. On the other hand, yes, it can decompose, but so can pretty much any complex chemical. →Raul654 13:03, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

You are confusing being alive and being an independently complete organism. You are the mechanism for your father's sperm to reproduce itself. Sperm is not an independent organism for very long, but is closer to than than any other cell in your body. The point about death and decomposition is that it is just as clearly definable for a sperm as for any one celled organism. A department store mannequin can "decompose" but that argument is a perversion of my point. Surely you don't need that spelled out. alteripse 13:19, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

AI, ixnay on the haughtinessay. And what is and is not life is by no means clear-cut. Sure you need that spelled out. :-) 82.92.119.11 12:07, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

OK, spell it out because it isn't clear to me. It is of course tautologically simple that "it depends on how you define life", but I cannot think of any of the common biological definitions by which a aperm is not alive but a bacterium or protozoan is. Read your linked article. Check out the criteria in a biology book. Go watch the Woody Allen movie. Every cell in your body that is consuming energy, metabolizing, reacting to its environment, maintaining itself and actively fighting the good fight against entropy is alive. When it stops doing those things it is dead. A virus may be an arguable case of something having some but not all the qualities of life, but there is nothing borderline about a sperm. alteripse 13:40, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Your wish is my command. From life:

In biology, an entity has traditionally been considered to be alive if it exhibits all the following phenomena at least once during its existence:

Growth
Metabolism, consuming, transforming and storing energy/mass; growing by absorbing and reorganizing mass; excreting waste
Motion, either moving itself, or having internal motion
Reproduction, the ability to create entities that are similar to itself
Response to stimuli - the ability to measure properties of its surrounding environment, and act upon certain conditions.

Spermatozoa do not meet criterion 4, hence they are not alive—according to a strictly literal interpretation of this particular definition, of course (you could take the ability to produce offspring when fused with an ovum as "creating entities similar to itself", for example, though that's a pretty long stretch). I would therefore argue that there is something borderline about a sperm, even if you or I or even most biologists would agree that sperms are alive (but I'm not at all sure about that). And for the record, my remark was more about criticizing your "surely you don't need that spelled out" than your assertions. At least use a smiley when you say that. Try assuming that people are not stupid, and genuinely in search of answers. (And if you are assuming that, try expressing it more clearly.) Just my $0.02. 82.92.119.11 14:58, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

If you don't stretch your reproductive criterion, you are not alive, because you can only produce half the DNA needed to reproduce yourself. Your argument is silly and seems to be powered primarily by your wish to contradict me because you didn't like my "tone". Right? And I hate smileys (yes, I'm a card-carrying member of curmudgeon local #112). But Merry Christmas anyway. alteripse 15:18, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

If you don't stretch your reproductive criterion, you are not alive, because you can only produce half the DNA needed to reproduce yourself. No. I am capable of "creating entities that are similar to myself". Spermatozoa are not. The "stretch" I proposed was something quite different.

Your argument is silly and seems to be powered primarily by your wish to contradict me because you didn't like my "tone". Right? <Monty Python mode>I'm not contradicting you!</Monty Python mode> And my argument is only indirectly powered by the wish to contradict you—directly, by the wish to deride your indirect assertion that Raul654 was being silly. The reasons for my argument don't invalidate it, however.

But Merry Christmas anyway. No argument there. We are in full agreement. And as a non-card-carrying member of the Harmonious editing club, let me say: :-) 82.92.119.11 15:49, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I think this is the silliest argument I've seen on wikipedia yet. If you want to argue sperm is half alive, I'll take that. But to say it is not alive at all is absurd. Sperm is part of the essence of reproduction. A successful one will certainly produce something similar to itself--it will be half identical! --ssd 05:44, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

M67 90mm Recoilless Rifle Maker

Does anyone know what company manufactured the M67 recoilless rifle? The closest I could get with google was that it was made by the US, but I'm pretty sure the US gov didn't make it themselves. --Aqua 09:27, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

Gulu

Copied from article namespace:
i want to know more about gulu district in uganda,i also want to know about the districts that sorround gulu and also the towns and villages in gulu. User:217.229.63.133

HOW DO I GROW CRYSTALS USING SALT COAL HYDROCLORIC ACID AND AMMONIA AS FORMILA COMPOUNDS---ANON

We're talking elementary school science fair project here, right?

If you google crystal coal ammonia, you get lots of answers and even recipes. Here's an explanation: [22], [23]. Here is a recipe: [24].

Most of these recipes also include a coloring agent like laundry blueing. With NH3 and HCl you will get ammonium chloride crystals which are clear/whitish. Add a drop of something else if you want color. Good luck. alteripse 13:56, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Please check this short text for grammar

Which of the commas are required and optional in this paragraph: "So that's it, everything you need to know about inducing lucid dreams using [ Acme Dream Dabbler ]. Hope this helps a lot of people, who have failed to succeed with other techniques, to become lucid." Also, what punctuation mark should be in the place of the # here? "Think of [ Acme Lucidity Lozenge ] as an anaesthetic# it will force your body to sleep while you can use your mind to induce a lucid dream." r3m0t 15:05, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

"So that's it, everything you need to know about inducing lucid dreams using [ Acme Sleep Sparrow ]. I Hope this helps a lot of people who have failed to succeed with other techniques to become lucid."

"Think of [ Acme Nap Flap ] as an anaesthetic: it will force your body to sleep while you can use your mind to induce a lucid dream."

&#0xfeff; --fvw * 15:42, 2004 Dec 23 (UTC)

Oh, and for pedantry's sake, please don't write "failed to succeed". &#0xfeff; --fvw * 15:44, 2004 Dec 23 (UTC)

Thanks very much. I'm helping a document to be written at [25]. "failed to succeed" seems bad? I'll ask for it to be changed to "haven't managed to succeed". Hoping that's better. r3m0t 15:56, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

"Failing to succeed" is "Failing", that's what failing means. How about "who have failed to achieve lucid dreaming with other techniques"? &#0xfeff; --fvw * 16:00, 2004 Dec 23 (UTC)

Or "failed to achieve lucid dreams", a matter of taste. &#0xfeff; --fvw * 16:01, 2004 Dec 23 (UTC)

Both pretty wordy. I'm settling for advising "[Hope->I hope] this helps a lot of people[,->] who [have failed to succeed->haven't succeeded] with other techniques[,->] to become lucid." r3m0t 16:06, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Actually: "not succeeded". Anybody else? r3m0t 15:59, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I would replace the first comma with a semi-colon or possibly a colon. DJ Clayworth 18:07, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

shortenings of it is to it's should not be used in formal text, but is okay in informal text or dialogue. Also very formally people is not the plural of person, persons is, though that's slightly archaic, looking at it use those. I'd use a semi-colon instead of the # a colon is too harsh; though an m dash is a possibility, as is a comma. I'd prefer the m dash for the most profound pause, I don't like the colon. You've overused commas in the second sentence that stops the flow nastily. My version; So that is it, everything you need to know about inducing lucid dreams using [ Acme REM Trembler ]. I hope this helps those who have failed with other techniques to become lucid." ... "Think of [ Wake Me Up Before You Hypnagogo ] as an anaesthetic — it will force your body to sleep while you can use your mind to induce a lucid dream. Dunc|☺ 16:33, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Legal implications of meta-search, and also of shared usernames.

I am interested in knowing about the intellectual property issues involved in metasearch, and also in the use of shared usernames such as those available on BugMeNot.com. To what extent does a site own its content, if that content was ultimately produced by others? What are the legal distinctions between:

1. Search results on Google (publicly displayed and created by individuals who have no relationship with the website)

Google does not own the intellectual property of the websites it links to. The short snippets of text it provides(see literally random search) are provided under fair use. The links themselves are citations.

2. Classified ads on Craigslist (publicly displayed, but created by individuals specifically for display on that site)

"Although craigslist does not claim ownership of content that its users post, by posting Content to any public area of the Service, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to craigslist an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, and distribute said Content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, said Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses (through multiple tiers) of the foregoing." (from the TOS (terms of service)). This probably is different at other similar sites, and depends solely on the TOS that all users implicitly agree to.

3. News stories on NewYorkTimes.com (displayed only to registered users, but registration is free)

I am certain that NewYorkTimes.com owns all content.

4. Encyclopedia artices on Britannica.com (displayed only to registered users, and registration costs money)

Again, they own all content.

To what extent can a 3rd party facilitate access to each of these 4 types of content? Thanks in advance! Schmeitgeist 17:15, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

A 3rd party can link to any of these forms of content, without permission. Despite what companies may tell you, linking is merely a citation, and thereby not even possibly a copyright violation. This is the same as it being legal to put a book in your works cited without permission. Now, you can link to a google search, and even legally put a search box on your site. You can link to the other mentioned sites as well. As for outright copying, you cannot do that for any without a license, even with citation. You may be able to get a license, though, depending on your application. As for meta-search, according to Google's TOS,

"

No Automated Querying

You may not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system without express permission in advance from Google. Note that "sending automated queries" includes, among other things: using any software which sends queries to Google to determine how a website or webpage "ranks" on Google for various queries; "meta-searching" Google; and performing "offline" searches on Google. "

As for BugMeNot.com in conjunction with nytimes.com, according to nytimes.com Subscriber Agreement, "

As part of the registration process, you will select a password and a Member ID. You also have to give us certain registration information, all of which must be accurate and updated. (a) You may not (i) select or use a Member ID of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; (ii) use a Member ID in which another person has rights without such person's authorization; or (iii) use a Member ID that NYTD, in its sole discretion, deems offensive. Failure to comply with the foregoing shall constitute a breach of this Agreement, which may result in immediate termination of your account. (b) You shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password, which you will not have to reveal to any representative or agent of NYTD."

So therefore, you have to give your real name originally, but then you can "authorize" everyone else on BugMeNot to use the name, as long as you take responsibility, it seems.

If you have any questions, post again. - Superm401 01:34, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

hammocks

You ever seen a double hammock? Plus, has anyone ever made a film about Salvador Dali

This search [26] at the Internet Move Database turns up six movies with Salvador Dali as a character. One character is "ambassador who talks like Salvador Dali", and I wouldn't bet that "Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills" contains much biographical info, but that leaves four probables. DJ Clayworth 18:18, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Could/should we have a Wikipedia biographical questions section?

I have been working on several WP articles on some not-so-famous people, and I am having trouble obtaining dates of birth and/or death. I have exhaustively searched through Google, Yahoo, and several other search engines. I have also checked historical societies and genealogy source on-line. I need to be able to work from home. I specifically need:

date of death for Algernon Sidney Buford who was born January 2, 1826. He was from Chatham, Virginia, and became head of the Richmond and Danville Railroad in 1865. I have found some records which indicate he died sometime in 1911. *UPDATE: I have found May 6, 1911 in the Dictionary of Virginia Biography Index Vaoverland 18:22, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

date of birth (around 1840-41) for Abbie Palmer Gifford Rogers, who died May 22, 1894. Abbie was the wife of Henry H. Rogers of Standard Oil and Virginian Railway. She was probably born in or near Fairhaven, Massachusetts. *UPDATE:A contact with the local library in Fairhaven resulted in January 21, 1841, and apparently she was never Abigail, just Abbie.

Is there a place on WP to ask such questions or post specific research requests?
Can anyone help with more free Internet sources for this type of biographical information in general?

Thanks. Vaoverland 17:20, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

- You are at the right place on Wikipedia to ask this sort of question, but these look to me like you may have to (gasp!) go to a library and try to search among the dead trees instead of the dead dinosaurs. -- Jmabel | Talk 19:14, Dec 20, 2004 (UTC)

Shazaam! both dates have been resolved. My local library wasn't much help, but the folks up in Mass her hometown came through via e-mail, and more research found information here in Richmond at the Library of Virginia on the other person. Thanks to all. Vaoverland 17:55, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

I still wonder if we shouldn't have a place in Wikipedia where we could leave brief biographical research information questions such as these? Vaoverland 18:02, Dec 23, 2004 (UTC)

- We already have a place to ask these questions: the Reference desk. Gdr 12:42, 2004 Dec 24 (UTC)

touche'. Vaoverland 00:47, Dec 26, 2004 (UTC)

Merry Christmas in Catalan

How do you say Merry Christmas in Catalan. I had to find out for a progect, which was cancelled, but I still want to know.

Bon Nadal i un Bon any nou ... which I guess is Happy Christmas & a Happy New Year. Google is your friend on this one, as normal... [27] --Tagishsimon (talk)

Thanks! I'll correct it on the link CP gives. Lee S. Svoboda 20:53, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

electrical engi neering

what is the emf equation of a transformer

For an ideal transformer that consists of: a coil of the primary circuit that has N1 turns and that of the secondary circuit has N2 turns. The primary coil is conected to an A-c voltage circuit source V1(t) and the secondary coil is connected to a load resister R1. In an ideal trahnsformer, the core has an infinite permeanibnility (mu = infinity), and the magnetic flux is confined within the core. The directions of the currents flowing in the two coils, I1 and I2, are defined such that, When I1 and I21 are both positive, the fleux generated by I2 is opposite that genereated by I1... On the primary side of the transformer, the voltage source V1 generates a current I1 in the primary coil, which established a flux Phi in the magnetic core. The flux Phi and the voltage V1 are related by Faraday's law, V1 = -N1 * dPhi/dT, and similiary on the secondary side, V2 = -N2 * dPhi/dt. The combinations of these equations gives: V1/V2 = N1/N2. -- Fundementals of Applied Electromagnetics, Fawwaz Ulaby, 2001 edition, page 237. →Raul654 05:45, Dec 24, 2004 (UTC)

Computer problems

My computer will not install either Windows XP or Ubuntuu Linux. On Windows XP it gets past the first part of installation, but when the computer reboots for the second part, the second part crashes. On Ubuntuu the screen starts to flicker and the installation dies. What could be the problem? Masterhomer 05:20, 25 Dec 2004 (UTC)

First, make sure your CPU isn't overheating. You can monitor this in the BIOS for most modern computers.
Check your memory. Faulty memory chips can cause very odd behaviour, including crashes only when doing certain things. I don't have links handy to memory testers, but an easy way out is to take out memory chips one by one and trying things again. (Though the BIOS is supposed to "test" memory, this is a pathetic and meaningless sanity check—about the only thing it establishes is that the chips are there.)
Obviously, if you have no clue what's going on, letting a professional look at it sounds like a good idea. JRM 16:24, 2004 Dec 25 (UTC)

For a memory test, you really can't beat memtest86. Free, open source, anally-retentive, and best of all it comes as a bootable ISO cd image, so you can be sure you're testing memory (not a bad hard drive or a dodgy windows install). -- John Fader 01:52, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

If you install linux and then try to install windows, you often end up with a crappy MBR on the primary hard drive. When you try to boot into a subsequent windows install it fails the first time, complaining it can't load the OS image. This happens even if you'd had windows delete all the partitions and make new NTFS ones. You'd think windows would write a decent MBR, but it's too stupid to do so properly. If this is your problem, you need to boot into linux from a CD (I use knoppix for this, I don't know of the Ubuntu install CD has a boot-from-cd rather than install-from-cd option). Then, from a command prompt, enter this:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda count=2

That will annihilate the MBR on the primary (IDE) hard drive. After that, windows should install okay. Also, running knoppix for a while is a good way to be sure your hardware (memory etc.) is okay, without having to install. -- John Fader 21:21, 25 Dec 2004 (UTC)

leaving the door open when broiling in an electric oven

My mother always insisted that you need to leave the oven door cracked when broiling in an electric oven. Is this true and if so why? (A christmas morning around the tree Q) ike9898 15:10, Dec 25, 2004 (UTC)

With common electric ovens, there's a thermostat that regulates the temperature; the heating element turns on when more heat is needed, and turns off when the desired temperature is reached inside the oven. With the broiler, you're often trying to brown the top, carmelize the outer surface, etc., so you want it to stay on. With the door open, the heat is allowed to escape enough that the broiler (one hopes) doesn't turn off. On the other hand, if you aren't concerned that the heating element stays on constantly, you can leave the door closed. -- Wapcaplet 15:37, 25 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Broiling (called "grilling" on the UK) creates flavor by causing the Maillard reaction to take place in the surface of the dish being cooked. In an electric oven the heat is largely transferred from the element to the dish by direct radiation; convection and indirect radiation from the hot walls of the oven contribute much less energy to the reaction. So broiling works fastest if the heating element is on all the time. Gdr 00:51, 2004 Dec 28 (UTC)

My mother always seemed to think that the oven would get damaged. Of course, my mother has a lot of baseless worries! ike9898 14:39, Dec 29, 2004 (UTC)

I suppose baseless worrying is part of a mother's job :-) My wife's mom used to worry that you could be electrocuted using a cordless phone during a thunderstorm (maybe she still does!) I would be curious to know whether leaving the door open poses a greater threat of damage, since it causes the broiler to stay on for a prolonged period. Perhaps, with things like this, it's a case of "my mother did it, so I do it also." Heard a story once about a woman who always cut the ends off a large ham before roasting it. One day, her husband asked "honey, why do you cut the ends off?" to the reply "because my mother always did." She asks her mother why, and gets the same response: "because that's what Grandma always did." So she goes to Grandma and asks her the reason. Grandma says "I don't know why you do it, but I did it because my pan wasn't big enough." -- Wapcaplet 00:36, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

If it matters, the instructions for my oven are to leave the door slightly open when broiling — this is a special setting where the top heating element is always on and the meat turns in front of it. I suspect the idea is to have lots of infrared light grilling the meat while the air inside the oven does not get too hot. David.Monniaux 16:38, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Sheep defense mechanism

Please tell me about a sheep when the preditor comes it's self defense cames it freeze for a couple of seconds and then it goes back to normal. Thank you

The fear response you speak of is not specific to sheep; it's pretty highly conserved in animals (e.g. humans, rats, dogs) and is generally thought to depend on the amygdala, a structure in the brain known for its contributions to emotion. The response is an adaptive behavior meant to protect the sheep in the face of danger. Of course this doesn't apply to exploding sheep, which are doomed to utter fulmination. Best, David Iberri | Talk 01:35, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

VB.Net Objects

I'm new to VB.NET and I have a simple question. I want to make new objects of the type BankAccount (which I have allready made) whenever the user hits a new account button. The number of objects should be determined soley by the number of clicks (so I can't create them all before hand). Preferably the name of the class should be their SS# or full name. Obviously each needs at least a unique name. Can this be done? I've done some research and I think maybe a constructor could help. BrokenSegue 04:45, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I seem to have solved the problem by making an array of objects and the redimensioning it as needed. BrokenSegue

Demographics in Poland

You're going to have to ask an actual question. -- Cyrius|✎ 04:35, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The answer may be demographics of Poland. ‣ᓛᖁ

ᑐ 06:25, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

Why wasn't there any warning system placed in the Indian Ocean to warn people of catastrophic tidal waves such as this? (Anonymous question from User:206.169.172.226, moved here from Image talk:2004 Indonesia Tsunami.gif)

There is an international warning system in place, but it's not been fully implemented (India and Sri Lanka don't participate in it, and Thailand hasn't set up the necessary wave detectors in its southern peninsula) [28]. According to an Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency official, the costs of such a system are rather prohibitive. A guest geologist appeared today on Good Morning America and said that even a warning system like that the one monitoring the continental United States wouldn't have been very effective since it only notifies up to about an hour or two in advance. However this page says the international warning system would be capable of warning 3-14 hours in advance. --David Iberri | Talk 23:39, Dec 27, 2004 (UTC)

Dealing directly with the questions: It's been a long time since a really big tsunami in the Indian Ocean, a monitoring system costs a lot of money, and it would require a bunch of countries to do some pretty complex cooordinating. The Pacific warning system was created only after a really damaging tsunami in the 1960s and financed and hosted by the U.S. BanyanTree 05:07, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Depatriation

How difficult is it for a United States citizen to defect, as it were, to the European Union? ‣ᓛᖁᑐ 03:29, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Voluntarily, it's very easy. It simply requires an overt act of renunciation (such as obtaining citizenship under another flag). →Raul654 03:37, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

How great would the expenses likely be? ‣ᓛᖁ

ᑐ 03:52, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

With the usual provisos about legal advice (I'm not a lawyer, you should probably talk to one or research carefully if you'd want to do this) once you are outside the U.S., you can legally renounce your citizenship by walking into a U.S. embassy and renouncing it. Do a web search, the magic word to use is "renunciation". Note that once you do this you probably cannot get your citizenship back and that if you have not already obtained citizenship in another country, you will be stateless, which is generally not a good thing to be. I have heard stories of U.S. embassies refusing to go through the process when someone would be left stateless, but I can't recall the details; however, if you already have any other sort of citizenship -- that is, if you are a dual citizen -- renouncing U.S. citizenship is extremely straightforward. BTW, simply taking citizenship under another flag won't do it any more, the U.S. now allows dual citizenship. And I don't recommend renouncing it by, oh, joining an army that is fighting against the U.S. -- Jmabel | Talk 07:50, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

The State Department says that active application for foreign citizenship is a good start to losing your US citizenship. -- Cyrius|✎ 08:19, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

So getting rid of your US citizenship may not be as hard as getting the new citizenship. See what requirements the country you desire to live in has for that. Those expenses could certainly vary, but my guess at filing fees, etc would be the equivalent of a couple hundred dollars. I'm sure most countries in Europe have requirements for the ability to support yourself, such as a job or valuable skills and enough assets. Those may vary so you would have to check with the relevent offices of the country you want to seek entry to. - Taxman 15:23, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

There are a large number of US citizens who also hold other citizenships, in most cases without problems. On a day-to-day basis the us is generally not interested unless it causes an actual problem (like being called to national service in a country that the us is at war with). In particular, I cannot imagine that holding dual nationality with an eu country (except perhaps France ;) ) would be a practical problem. You mention 'defect' though. The problem would most likely be gaining eu citizenship. Mark Richards 18:22, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

*nod*

I'm mainly curious about how difficult it would be for those in poverty to get out of the Western Hemisphere entirely. For example, if the Social Security Administration collapsed or was severely curtailed, would the people dependent on it be able to escape? Might European countries consider granting asylum in that circumstance (or for other reasons)? ‣ᓛᖁ

ᑐ 22:48, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Asylum is almost never granted for economic reasons. Even if the entire social security system of the US collapsed most of the people there, even the poor ones, would still be better off than most Third World countries. If you had a hundred dollars to your name, or owned a single vehicle or appliance, you are still richer than millions of people in the world.

If you are really poor getting into any country is difficult. However if you have a skill or professional training an underdeveloped country might take you. But again, why would you want to leave? DJ Clayworth 04:55, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Acquiring citizenship of an EU country can be difficult. The easiest method is to have one parent or grandparent who was born in Ireland, in which case you can apply for and get Irish citizenship immediately; other countries may look kindly upon you if one of your parents was born there, but no others that I know of will give you credit for grandparents! The next easiest method is to marry one of their citizens, go and live there for the requisite number of years (usually 3), keep out of the police's attention, fill in the forms, then pay the requisite couple of 100 €'s or so and swear an oath. Otherwise, as an unrelated person you have to somehow get a work permit (very difficult unless you have a needed skill) to get legal residence, live there the requisite number of years (usually 5), keep out of the police's attention, fill in the forms, then pay the requisite couple of 100 €'s or so and swear an oath. It doesn't apply in the case of those in poverty, of course, but if you've got a couple of million euro to invest, then you'll be welcomed with open arms. Of course you may also want to renounce your US citizenship (neither side will particularly care that you also have the other side's citizenship, as long as you use their passport to cross their borders), but if your principal reason for renouncing US citizenship is to avoid paying US taxes you may still be liable for them for 10 years. -- Arwel 20:40, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Toxic fumes?

A humorous email just made it my way noting that the combination of brake fluid and chlorine bleach produces a lot of smoke. I couldn't think of the chemistry involved and wondered if that produced any toxic gas as a byproduct. I'm thinking chlorine gas or something. Or if not, what is the chemistry involved there? Googling just brings up many copies of the original humorous list. Thanks - Taxman 04:14, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

It may depend somewhat on the variety of brake fluid used. DOT 2 is essentially castor oil; DOT 3, DOT 4, and DOT 5.1 are composed of various glycol esters and ethers; and DOT 5 is silicone-based (specific chemicals below). Most of these are incompatible with oxidizers such as bleach, and may lead to a number of interesting reactions mainly producing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and formaldehyde. ‣ᓛᖁ

ᑐ 06:03, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Excellent, thanks. Now I'm curious, so do you mind expanding and being more specific on the interesting reactions? And what products other than those three and the chloramine might be created? I also went and created the brake fluid article with what you included here. If you have much more knowledge of it you may want to work on that a bit. - Taxman 22:39, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

Mineral brake fluid

Silicone brake fluid

Positive Manipulation? v2.0

Moved from Wikipedia:Help desk

Hello, I'm very new to Wikipedia so please don't judge this question or my command of the website controls (for posting comments) too harshly...(speaking of which,sorry about the previous post... I got a little overzealous).

A friend of mine and I were driving home in the car after a game of Risk, when he insisted that he manipulated me. After an extensive discussion on the matter, to make a long story short, it turns out his definition of "manipulation" is as follows:

"manipulation is the art of getting someone, through any means, to do what you want."

He admits that it is quite a broad definition, thus allowing the word/term to have a positive connotation, as well as its innate negative one... and I am convinced that to alter the definition in this way makes the word lose all meaning (after all, if a drowning man accepts your offer to save him, under this definition, it is manipulation on the rescuer's part).

So my question is... is it possible to manipulate someone to a positive end? And if so, is it still manipulation or is there another word for such a definition?

As a reference, the real life definition of manipulation is listed below from Merriam-Webster.com: 2 a : to manage or utilize skillfully b : to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage

(http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=manipulation)

Thanks for your consideration!

~Andy

End moved text

The DictDef does not seem to me to contradict your friend's defintion. In short, you seem to have a problem with "manipulation" being for positive intent. Umm. I can't see the problem. The essence of manipulation seems to me to be that one has influence over things (clay being manipulated by fingers; someone else's thoughts and intentions manipulated by another person's deliberate behavious/actions/words). The intent of these things may be good or may be bad, may serve the manipulator or the manipulatee, but these would seem to be secondary elements which do not have any standing in whether or not manipulation was going on. In short, other than the "by any means" part, I'm with your friend on this one. ("By any means" ... could easily overstep the mark into coercion) --Tagishsimon (talk)

Thank you very much for your speedy reply and for the outside perspective! Your argument sounds reasonable, so I guess I'm going to have to admit that I was manipulated. >_< Oh, well... there's always the next Risk game. ^_^

Influence would be the more common term for what you are looking for because it connotes positive (or at least neutral) effects. But as noted above, the meaning of the word manipulation still certainly allows for positive results. It just usually has a negative connotation and is associated most often with negative effects. - Taxman 23:08, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

This is a personal view: I would say that although the results of manipulation may be positive one expects the manipulated to be slow to acknowledge that a positive outcome has been reached, since they are liable to resent being manipulated ;o) And usually the manipulated would not agree that the outcome is positive since, if they were persuaded of a positive putcome for them at the outset they would almost certainly just do what you say if asked nicely.

I would say a necessary, and as yet unmentioned, aspect of manipulation is that the manipulated is acting based on a false motivation provided by the manipulator. If and when the truth is revealed this will usually lead to much the same feelings experienced by someone who has been lied to. I have a horrible sensation, having written all that, that someone will say "well, yes, but we took all that as too obvious to spell out" - but I've done it now, so... --62.255.64.4 00:06, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Can dogs develop Diabetes?

moved from Village Pump by BrokenSegue

Ive heard, although very vaguely, of dog Diabetes.

My dog is eleven, and suddenly, she has begun to drink a lot of water and, as a consequence, urinate much more frequently than before. This is one of the basic symptoms of human Diabetes, and besides our climate is pretty good now, its not hot.

"Antonio Dober Man Martin"

Answer: Yes. Google broken today? [29]

Drinking a lot of water may also indicate kidney failure, which is a frequent problem with older dogs.

Number of Jews arrested during/after Kristallnacht

Can anyone please tell me what is the correct number of Jews arrested and sent to concentration camps during or immediately after the Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)in Germany in 1938?

Two different Wikipedia articles give different figures: The article Kristallnacht puts the number at 30,000 whereas Racial policy of Nazi Germany puts it at 20,000.

--Dr Gangrene 18:10, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich quotes a report from Reinhard Heydrich to Goering as saying "20,000 Jews were arrested" - index entry for "Week of the Broken Glass" should find you it if you want to check a copy (...this suggests "Kristallnacht" was not in use in English at the time he wrote, since the term is never used, which is odd.)

The death figures quoted by the SS at the time were low, and turned out to be several times higher, but I doubt any error of significant magnitude in the arrest figures would have crept in - a lot of deaths would be unreported, but undercounting the numbers arrested by a half (especially since the orders were to arrest "as many (...) as can be accomodated") seems unlikely. I'd tend towards the 20,000 figure.

Diving in a tsunami

Some of the victims of the recent tsunami were reported as being scuba divers. What would be the effect of being (say) 30m under water when a tsunami hits? Did these people die because they were unable to return to their boats, or by being battered by the wave? I would imagine that the wave (not really being 'moving' water, more transmission of energy) would simply pass through the divers, perhaps lifting them? Thanks, Mark Richards 18:16, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Depends on what depth they are at. Most divers are fairly shallow. So the idea that no water moves in waves is a misnomer. In shallow water the game changes. In very large waves like tsunamis the circular motion of the waves could involve rotating the underwater diver into a rock or other object. Possibly it could involve pulling them up if they are very shallow and then the force of the wave could be transferred into significant forward motion causing collision with other objects. A large enough wall of water could also create a very strong riptide, sucking the diver out to sea, disorienting them, breaking or separating them from their equipment, etc. It is conceivable that a diver in deep enough water simply suffered no major effects and would not be among the casualties. This is all conjecture, but seems reasonable from what little experience I have. - Taxman 23:21, Dec 28, 2004 (UTC)

For the wave to not affect the diver, they would have to be at least as deep as the amplitude of the wave. If the water is shallower than the amplitude of the wave, it will all get sucked up in that "circular" motion, and then flung at the land. --ssd 00:50, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The amazing thing is that several divers survived the tsunami. --jpgordon ∇∆∇∆ 01:34, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

cartoon

who were the first cartoon couple to be seen sharing a double bed

do you mean animated cartoon?

It depends on your criteria for a couple to be sharing a bed? Is it necessary for the audience to see the bed? Does the couple have to be seen together in it? What if it's just implied that they're sharing the bed? In any case, Google is your friend here as usual. Here's a page from Snopes.com that alludes to Fred and Wilma of The Flintstones being the first cartoon couple to bunk together (this was apparently in the episode "Monster Fred" which aired in 1964); also see forum thread at [30] which agrees. If the mere suggestion of a couple sharing the same bed is sufficient, then the record might go to the Merrie Melodies cartoon "Honeymoon Hotel" [31] which aired in 1934 and apparently implied that a pair of newlyweds were sharing a single hotel room bed [32]. Best, David Iberri | Talk 00:35, Dec 29, 2004 (UTC)

Radioactive decay chains

I'm looking for someone who knows anything at all about this topic. Please see Talk:Decay chain. --Smack 20:43, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Crimes in the name of God?

Dears, I would like to write an essay concerning the myriad of crimes committed in the name of God, primarily in the United States. These crimes should involve hate crimes, crimes of passion, persecution of those who either do not believe or have different values from the masses. Actually, this essay would be made up mostly of documented stories of such crimes.

My question to you is what might be the right search words to use in order to better direct my research? Of course I found slavery, genocide, witch hunts, inquisitions, etc., but I'm looking for a clearer association between the self righteous & torture, murder & mass murder.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, including those that advise me to "take my research elsewhere". Thank you for your time & kind consideration. Sincerely, John Gambardella Dec. 29, '04

I wonder if you should maybe define your terms a bit more clearly. For example, was slavery done in the name of God, or for economic reasons? If there were religious justifications for such things, that may not be the same as doing something in the name of God. Here are some suggestions for you to consider:

Islamic terrorism. An obvious and stereotyped example, and maybe you should consider 9/11 and how much the for such things was religious and how much political
Abortion. The intimidation (and in at least one case killing) of abortion medical staff on religious grounds
Going outside North America you can look at Northern Ireland and former Yugoslavia, and maybe again consider whether religion was really the driving force behind the fighting there or whether religion was simply a label that various factions attached to themselves.
Maybe consider American Civil Rights protests (they were crimes) and look at the religious motivation there
Witch-hunts are obvious ones, but you should again look at the economics as well as the religious aspects.
The Spanish Inquisition. Don't rely on folk knowledge here: go and check a reliable history book.

You have a big topic on your hands here, and frankly I wouldn't rely on Wikipedia. You need to go to source documents if you are going to get to the facts behind the stories that 'everyone' knows. However this gives you some key phrases. Take them to the web, and also to your local library. Good luck. DJ Clayworth 04:46, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC) Thank you for your excellent suggestions, DJ. You are right when you say that my goal needs to be better defined. I thought that might come about during the research. However, the main purpose of this proposed essay is to bring to light the fact that the self righteous are some of the most grievous criminals on the planet, well into the 20th & 21st centuries. Being an American, I'm determined to focus on Americans, i.e: the religious right & other like minded extremists, but not the simply criminally insane.

Once again, I thank you very much for your thoughtful reply. Sincerely, John G.

I should probably ignore this like I did when it was first posted since you confirm exactly what I suspected. What you suggest is a piece of bigoted religious hatred: don't confuse me with any conflicting facts-- my mind is already made up. Apparently it hasn't occurred to you that if you look back at the last century of cruelty, persecution, and inhumanity, that it doesn't sort by believers and unbelievers? The officially atheistic regimes of the world in the last century apparently accounted for more deaths and suffering on a quantitative scale than those that were perpetrated "in the name of god" in the last 2000 years, (but hey, who's counting?). Here's a counter thesis that is pretty obvious to many of us: as soon as a person or an organization is so convinced that his vision of how human political, social, or religious life should be ordered is so important that it justifies mistreatment of individual human beings, he and his organization have become monstrous and evil. It doesn't matter whether the abstract idea is of god or an atheistic just society, the evil arises from the combination of power to harm and the belief that ones' goals are more important than other people's welfare. But if you just want to be a bigot, be my guest. alteripse 03:09, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Jack Johnson a spy?

On Jack Johnson, there was a mangled paragraph which contained the following.

Some where in France while working for the Allies as an undercover CIA Agent on the movements of the Germans etc and relaying information back to the USA. Jack Johnson continued his marvelous undercover work. When Andrew O'Neill of the DMP was reinstated without charge over The Howth Mutiny incident 1914 Erskine Childers & the Asgard Howth Gun Run At the end of The Royal Commission on the ircumstances connected with the landing of arms at Howth Jult 26th 1914. Andrew O'Neill got a congratulations postcard from Jack Johnson.

Is this deleteable nonsense? Or is it encyclopedic data that got mangled somehow? grendel|khan 07:23, 2004 Dec 29 (UTC)

Remove - unverifiable and smells phony. All edits by that anon (194.125.42.52) to that article should be reverted unless verified. -- Cyrius|✎ 19:17, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Well, Jack Johnson died in 1946 and the CIA was established in 1947 ... Rick K 07:35, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

Ugh. You'd think I would have noticed that. -- Cyrius|✎ 23:19, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Help about categories

We are working with the articles of wikipedia. We intend to create a knowledge base which is semantic web enabled. We have downloaded the dump files which have the articles and their categories, but we failed to understand the relation between the categories. The hierarchy of the categories is available on the site, but couldn't be found on the dump files. Needed guidance on the same.

Thankin you.

See response at Wikipedia:Help desk#Help about categories. --David Iberri | Talk 19:48, Dec 29, 2004 (UTC)

Greek alphabet

Could someone please type the Greek alphabet linearly, analogously to abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz? It would be helpful if you could also include all accented variants of the vowels. Thanks! --Gelu Ignisque

As I understand it, the order given on Greek alphabet is the correct "alphabetical" one - alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, &c... you should be able to just copy/paste that. α, β, γ, δ, ε... ~~Shimgray 21:21, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)~~ - I should have added, apparently, that some of the characters there (Digamma, San, Qoppa (what a lovely word) & Sampi) are now "archaic" - they fell out of use sufficiently long ago that they're not worth noting. Shimgray 21:25, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Well, not really "not worth noting". Digamma, for example, fell out of use as a letter, but stayed in use as a numeral. Likewise qoppa and sampi. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 01:31, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)
- Ah; never had cause to encounter the numeral system, just the alphabet. Shimgray 22:50, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Volcanic activity

Where would one find a list of recent volcanic eruptions? ‣ᓛᖁᑐ 18:19, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a good start. Their archive runs back to 2000. -- Cyrius|✎ 19:12, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Same Name, Different People

When I was searching for Charles Greene it links to some runner, even under the article on Arts and Crafts Movement and American Architects. Is there anyway to fix the link so it get's referenced correctly?

Thanks

Macguy4321macguy4321

Yes, there is a way. See Wikipedia:Disambiguation. -Rholton 04:53, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

What are the question to ask when assuming a loan?

Same as for a loan you would take out yourself. Interest rate, payment, etc. Is the interest rate variable? If so, what index and margin does it have? What is the maximum the interest rate can vary to? If it is hybrid variable, fixed for a period of years and then varying, how long is it fixed for? Depends on where you are at, but most assumable loans now are variable rates, so you may be better off getting a fixed or hybrid variable loan of your own. It really depends on the details of your financial situation. An ethical advisor when provided with all of the details could tell you the pluses and minuses of different options so you could choose. - Taxman 16:02, Dec 30, 2004 (UTC)

long-term effects

Are there any negative long-term effects on someone who habitually uses menthol and camphor product? (Specifically, eating ~5 cough drops a day, using menthol/camphor gel inside the nostrils)? Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 20:33, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Camphor and menthol can be liver toxic if exposure is excessive. With a quick search I found no reports of liver damage from nasal use of either, but if someone uses it daily for prolonged periods it would be prudent to have liver enzymes checked. The most severe types of toxicity (seizures) occurred when small children ingested preparations meant for topical application. alteripse 14:33, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)

University of Sydney and copyright

The Convict King is a autobiography edited by James Francis Hogan and published in 1891, the University of Sydney hosts the novel on its servers claiming that the texts are free of copyright. However they put forward various conditions of use including "The texts and images may not be used for any commercial purpose without permission from the University of Sydney Library." and "The texts are not to be mounted on another server for public or commercial access without permission.", am i right in assuming that they are no position to make such a claim and can be safely ignored? -- Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason 14:12, 2004 Dec 31 (UTC)

Well, IANAL, or even anything close. I've never even played one on tv. However, do the "conditions of use" refer to using their website? It seems that there could be "conditions of use" of their website above and beyond the copyright of a particular item. In other words, the text itself may be free of copyright, but taking the text from their website would be a violation of their conditions of use. You could obtain the text some other way. Just my musings. -Rholton 16:42, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)

These are in the public domain. See Australian copyright law. They literally can't do that :-) Ta bu shi da yu 01:43, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Further, the Australian legislation can be found here: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/s33.html. I quote:

COPYRIGHT ACT 1968 - SECT 33

Duration of copyright in original works

This section has effect subject to subsection 32(2) and to section 34.
Subject to this section, where, by virtue of this Part, copyright subsists in a literary, dramatic or musical work, or in an artistic work other than a photograph, that copyright continues to subsist until the expiration of 50 years after the expiration of the calendar year in which the author of the work died.
If, before the death of the author of a literary work (other than a computer program) or a dramatic or musical work:
(a) the work had not been published;

(b) the work had not been performed in public;

(c) the work had not been broadcast; and

(d) records of the work had not been offered or exposed for sale to the public;
the copyright in the work continues to subsist until the expiration of 50 years after the expiration of the calendar year in which the work is first published, performed in public, or broadcast, or records of the work are first offered or exposed for sale to the public, whichever is the earliest of those events to happen.
A reference in the last preceding subsection to the doing of an act in relation to a work shall be read as including a reference to the doing of that act in relation to an adaptation of the work.
If, before the death of the author of an engraving, the engraving had not been published, the copyright in the engraving continues to subsist until the expiration of 50 years after the expiration of the calendar year in which the engraving is first published.
Copyright subsisting in a photograph by virtue of this Part continues to subsist until the expiration of 50 years after the expiration of the calendar year in which the photograph is first published.

Ta bu shi da yu 01:51, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Hmmm...I hope you're right, TBSDY, but my question is not whether the text is in the public domain, but whether the web page's terms of use restrict the way in which the web site can be used so that it prevents using that web site to obtain a copy of the public domain text. If I am in posession of an old book that is in the public domain, that does not compel me to let anyone have access to it so they can make copies. Again, IANAL. I'm just asking. -Rholton 05:41, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Out of interest, how are they going to prove that you copied it? :-) But seriously, if the copyright has expired, then I'd like to see them suing for breach of copyright! And I reckon Project Gutenberg would pull out pretty quickly too. I wouldn't touch their formatting or layout though. Those would be under copyright. - Ta bu shi da yu 16:22, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Latin expression for "Things as they are"

What is the Latin expression for "Things as they are"

status quo? adamsan 14:39, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Ceteris parabis? ("All things being equal") PedanticallySpeaking 19:34, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)

The phrase that lawyers use is: rebus sic stantibus: as matters stand --the phrase means 'things as they are.' Source: Erlich, Eugene. Amo, Amas, Amat and More. 1987. New York: Harper & Row ISBN 0062720171 (pbk)

Leave it to the lawyers to come up with something even more cryptically latin. They need to further justify their need for existence don't they? - Taxman 10:26, Jan 22, 2005 (UTC)

Those are pearls that were his eyes

This line appears twice in T.S. Eliot's modernist masterpiece "The Waste Land" (both lines 48 and 125 I believe) and is taken from Ariel's song in Shakespeare's The Tempest. I was curious to see if anyone on here had any insight into the supposed meaning of this phrase, intended by both Eliot and Shakespeare. In another one of Shakespeare's plays I forgot which one exactly, a man describes a bad dream he just had where he is drowning in a ship-wreck type of disaster. And he describes how the jewels from the shipwreck are now sunken into the sockets of the skulls of others who have drowned where their eyes once were. Do you think the line "those are pearls that were his eyes" just means a drowning death and jewels replacing skull eye sockets - or something more? I've been through various idea of my own but nothing seems to feel right.

I decided to put below the part of T. S. Eliot's poem, "The Waste Land" that contains the line I speak of above, for clarification purposes. Thank you!

"...Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,

Had a bad cold, nevertheless

Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,

With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,

Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor,

(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)

Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,

The lady of situations.

Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,

And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,

Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,

Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find

The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.

I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.

Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,

Tell her I bring the horoscope myself:

One must be so careful these days..." --Nadsat 21:47, Dec 31, 2004 (UTC)

Maybe petrified eyeballs? Peter O. (Talk, automation script) 22:05, Dec 31, 2004 (UTC)

Here's the relevent text from The Tempest (Project Gutenberg edition):

 FERDINAND. Where should this music be? I' th' air or th'earth?
   It sounds no more; and sure it waits upon
   Some god o' th' island. Sitting on a bank,
   Weeping again the King my father's wreck,
   This music crept by me upon the waters,  
   Allaying both their fury and my passion
   With its sweet air; thence I have follow'd it,
   Or it hath drawn me rather. But 'tis gone.
   No, it begins again.
    
                  ARIEL'S SONG
        Full fathom five thy father lies;
          Of his bones are coral made;
        Those are pearls that were his eyes;
          Nothing of him that doth fade
        But doth suffer a sea-change
        Into something rich and strange.
        Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
          [Burden: Ding-dong.]
        Hark! now I hear them-Ding-dong bell.
    
 FERDINAND. The ditty does remember my drown'd father.
   This is no mortal business, nor no sound
   That the earth owes. I hear it now above me.

Ferdinand believes that his father Alonso, the King of Naples, died in the shipwreck, and he is stricken with grief. Ariel's song consoles him by presenting his father's drowning in a positive light, as a transformation, not just a loss. With his grief allayed, Ferdinand can carry out the next part of Prospero's plan by falling in love with Miranda.

So the line "those are pearls that were his eyes" refers to Alonso; we are to imagine that he has drowned and that his flesh has been colonised by marine life.

In the context of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land the line describes the drowned Phoenician sailor on the Tarot card (the "drowned sailor" was added by Eliot to his Tarot deck for the purposes of the symbolism), who is presumably the Phlebas of part IV of the poem. It also establishes something about the character of Madame Sosostris — that she is prone to cliché (though quite learned cliché in this case). Gdr 23:50, 2004 Dec 31 (UTC)

Random thoughts. As Gdr says, think of this as a transformation symbol, life arising from death. The poem begins with a description of the meaninglessness/faithlessness of European society between the wars.

First instance of the allusion: April is cruel because it causes life to arise from death, and inspires hope. Marie Larisch's conversation evokes the destruction of the structure of Europe by World War I. Mankind is left with no faith, only "a heap of broken images", dry, sterile, unable to grow, inspired to fear by a handful of dust. Sosostris tells the fortune: your card is a drowned Phoenician Sailor (the opposite of dry), transfigured by water, a sea-change, into something precious: "Those are pearls that were his eyes! Look!" Yet she tells you to fear death by water, the death that would result in that marvelous transfiguration. (Eliot probably was not referring to Larisch's tale (in her ghost-written My Past) about a barren Queen whose tears become pearls, and is taken by a Water Spirit and impregnated with his daughter, who has her Fairy father's large black eyes, but is passed off as her husband's child). (Reflect here for a moment on the beauty of the interjection "Look!" here: Look at what (your eyes, for the card is you) with what (your eyes)!)

Second instance of the allusion: The dry sterile wind is again evoked; the sterility of sex alluded to with the rape of Philomel. The wife asks the husband about the wind at the door; it is death, or the death rattle; some have thought that the scene is a depiction of Eliot's wife Vivien asking Eliot about Jean Verdenal's death. The lines as originally written read: "I remember the hyacinth garden. Those are pearls that were his eyes, yes!", but were edited to "I remember ~~the hyacinth garden~~. Those are pearls that were his eyes, yes!", but the meaning in either reading is that the husband is thinking both of the hyacinth girl and ofthe phoenician sailor. This is then followed by the discussion in a pub of another sterile outcome, Liz's abortion.

So make of it what you will, I suppose, but transformation, sterility, hope, and death are all joined together here. - Nunh-huh 02:35, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Or just a colorful description of clouded over dead eyes. -- Cyrius|✎ 07:07, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

"Apple in the Chapel" incident at Knox

This was a notorious incident in Australia quite a while ago. Can anyone give me a references to an article, or point me in the right direction? Doug Mulray got sued by Knox I believe. - Ta bu shi da yu 01:41, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Oceania or Australasia?

I am confused about which is the more correct name for the 'continent' housing Australia, New Zealand and the other small islands around there.

Neither the Oceania or Australasia articles states which is 'correct' but Australasia does seem to have more history.

Which is the generally accepted one these days, Oceania or Australasia? --Kevin 01:49, Jan 1, 2005 (UTC)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Australasia was the name of the tectonic plate housing Australia and Asia. So my guess would be Oceania of there's no other options. Mgm|^(talk) 15:04, Jan 1, 2005 (UTC)

controlled aviation simulator

Do you have any info on a controlled aviation simulator? The disk is not a game and does not have a joy stick...but more, Thanks and Happy New Year, Adrianna, @ ... awire253yahoo.com

Adding links to external material

moved to Wikipedia:Help desk DJ Clayworth 01:36, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

220 V from 110 V Breaker box.

How do I get 220V from a "D" breakerbox?.....Alex

In standard North American residential electrical service, there's three lines coming off the pole into your house: one neutral, and two "hot". Each of the hot lines is 110V AC, but they are 180° out of phase with each other. For a normal 110V outlet, you connect to the neutral and one of the hots. To get 220V you connect to both hot lines.

You'll want to use a double-pole circuit breaker. I'd suggest consulting an electrician, or at least reading the Electircal Wiring FAQ. -- Cyrius|✎ 02:38, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Or alternatively (and probably safer) go out and buy yourself a 2:1 transformer, wire it up, plug it in and use that. For low current devices that will work fine. I used it for stereos, blenders and stuff like that. (Not microwaves or heaters). DJ Clayworth 06:10, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I'm not getting something here. The voltage of an AC signal ranges from

V_{peak}

to

-V_{peak}

relative to ground, yes? So if I get two of these signals, half a cycle out of phase, and add them, shouldn't I get zero? --Smack (talk) 16:57, 6 Jan 2005 (UTC)

No, because you subtract, not add. If you take the two phases and hook them across a resistor, one will be at 110V while the other is at -110V, producing a 220V drop. 110 - (-110) = 220 -- Cyrius|✎ 00:19, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

changing wikipedia

So why was the editing pages locked for an hour or so?--Wonderfool 07:30, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Routine database maintenance that lasted longer than it should. I believe Jamesday has already been chastized for its length. -- Cyrius|✎ 08:47, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Germanic tribes: Sugambri, Sigambrer or Sicambri or Sigambrer (or Sugumbrer)

There are two articles Sugambri and Sigambrer which interlink suggesting that they are talking about the same topic, but don't say so clearly and have completely independent facts. They also end up giving five separate names all of which are variations on parts of each other. I'd like to know if this is all one and the same tribe? Should these articles be merged? Where did all these names come from? Azikala 10:26, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

From a little light Googling and my own books I see that Sigambrer mainly appears in German language sources and Sugambri on English ones. The names of iron age tribes often got mangled by the time they reached the ears of the Roman historians who wrote them down so they could all be the same people with variant spellings. I haven't any proof of this though and wouldn't feel comfortable merging them on this basis alone as they could have been neighbours who had similar names due to shared ancestry or something. adamsan 12:53, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Eaton, Leicestershire

moved from article space BrokenSegue 18:41, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Anyone have any history on Eaton, Leicestershire, next village from Eastwell? Any would be appreciated... missy290370@yahoo.com User:82.3.32.72

ancient timekeeping

if you lived in 353 b.c., and someone asked what the date is today, what would the reply be

It would depend on where the person lived. If you asked a Roman, he or she would reply "400 anni ab urbe condita." alteripse 00:35, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC) Actually that gives you the year, not the date. Shall we say, "tres dies ante nones Ianuarii"? I'm probably off a day or a month, but you get the idea... right? alteripse 00:40, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC) They'd be more likely to describe the year as "The year of the consulship of C. Sulpicius Peticus and M. Valerius Poplicola" - see List of Republican Roman Consuls. -- Arwel 02:53, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC) I yield to your superior answer for the year. Did I get the day right after 3 tries? alteripse 03:32, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Most cultures have measured years from the beginning of the reign of the current monarch, e.g. "the xth year of the reign of King X". This applies to A.D. dates as well as B.C., and is still in use in Japan today (2005 is the 17th year of Heisei). I believe the use of A.D. years is relatively recent. --Auximines 10:36, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The UK used the practice of dating by regnal years in a legal context until (I think) the 1960s, following on from English practice - I have several legal books that cite, say, "1 Geo. I §2 c.5" for what modern style would title the "Riot Act 1715" (and Kipling, bless him, even managed to work "Georgii Quinti Anno Sexto" - 1916 - into verse) Shimgray 16:33, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Anno Domini dates have been used since the 7th century. See the section "The popularization of Anno Domini" in that article. The article calendar era compares year numbering systems in several calendars. User:Alteripse seems to be groping towards ante diem tertium Nonas Ianuarias. (ante takes the accusative and nonae is feminine plural.) Gdr 13:07, 2005 Jan 3 (UTC)

January 3 is the fifth day before the nones though, isn't it? The nones are on the seventh in a month with 31 days, so it's four days later, plus the day you are currently in. Adam Bishop 21:27, 6 Jan 2005 (UTC)

But Ianuarius had 29 days until the Julian calendar reform, so the Nones were on the 5th. See Roman calendar. Gdr 01:30, 2005 Jan 8 (UTC)

symtoms of imminent hard drive failure

My wife's computer is misbehaving and I suspect that the hard drive is in the process of going bad. Before going to the trouble and expense of replacing the drive, I want to be more confident that this is actually the source of the problem. What I'd really like is a list of common symptoms of an ailing hard drive. ike9898 00:38, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)

I have no idea, but if you even think the hard drive may be going be sure you have a backup. DJ Clayworth 04:01, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

If your hard drive is making a clicking sound, that's the kiss of death. →Raul654 04:11, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)

It happened to me too; the sound is the same one heard when turning off the computer. The drive will have to be replaced. Peter O. (Talk) 04:38, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)

Weird noise, random lock-ups, random bluescreens (on Nt/2k/xp: 98 has them anyway). Stuff to look for especially are occasional failures to identify the HDD at boot (if your BIOS reports this), and lockups or reboots when running a scandisk or defrag. User:Anárion/sig 07:55, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Before you do anything, make a backup (the cost of replacing a hard drive is vanishingly small compared with the cost to regenerate the work you store on it). Diagnosis by sound is imperfect, as noisy fan bearings or loose panels can make a variety of suspicious sounds too, and the failure modalities Anárion suggests can also occur due to software problems or hardware problems unrelated to the hard drive. Modern hard-drives collect a lot of information about their operation. By using a utility to query this information, you can check for impending failure. ATA/IDE drives usually feature SMART; you can query a given drive's SMART statistics using a number of commercial programs or open source program smartmontools. The documentation for the tool you use should tell you how to interpret the data it produces (i.e. how to distinuish between humdrum errors and auguries of doom). If you chose to use smartmontools, I'd recommend burning a CD or floppy with one of the diagnostic linux releases that contain smartmontools (listed on its website) so you can run it without having to install anything on a drive about which you are already dubious. -- John Fader 14:05, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Drug for Alcoholics

A wile ago I heard that Trails were being performed with a experamental drug that controlls the urge to drink in alcoholics. What is it ? Did it prove to be effective and safe ? How can I get some in South Africa ? I need to save a alcoholic father's life !!

I think the drug is called 'Acamprosate', branded Campral® or Aotal® in France. It's produced by Merck-Lipha. Another drug is called Naltrexone and is approved by the FDA. I think you can get it in an online pharmacy; but, you should consult a doctor first and try to detoxicate the person before taking these drugs. Hope that helps you.

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/08/19/alcoholism.cnna/index.html

M0rph 13:17, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Electro Plating metals

I am involved in restorstion of motor cars and need to do small scale plating. Specificaly Copper, Chrome and cadmium. What do I need to get started ? What are the chemicals and their "Recipes" required ? How is it done ?

Thanks for helping, Bennie.

The mysterious Swedish fricative

Hi, I may need a native Swedish speaker and linguist on this one.

I've just added a page for the swedish "sj" sound, which a previous contributor gave as [ɧ] (X-Sampa x\) but also named the "Voiceless dorso-palatal velar fricative".

I have tried reading up on the system of naming the consonants by place of articulation and airflow, and as far as I can tell, this isn't a very good name for it. The consonant is articulated in two places: The palate (like the 'voiceless palatal fricative' X-Sampa C2) and the narrowed lips (like the Japanese "voiceless bilabial fricative" X-Sampa Pslash). Given that, isn't it more accurate to call it the "voiceless dorso-palato-bilabial fricative" or something?

Also, what's the correct Kirschenbaum for this consonant?

Many thanks, --Steverapaport 16:50, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I'm not a fan of ascii phonetic transcription nor an expert in Swedish phonetics & phonology, but I do have a book that has a little on this sound. I have enclosed all sounds in brackets instead of using boldface like the book. Here we go:

Finally in this survey of possible fricative gestures, we must consider some more complicated possibilites....Some dialects of Swedish have a fricative that has been said to have two or even three articulatory constrictions (Abercrombie 1967). We do not, however, think it is correct for more than one of these constrictions to be considered a fricative articulation. There is good data available on the Swedish sibilant fricatives (Lindblad 1980) allowing us to consider these sounds in detail.

Swedish has four phonologically distinct fricative gestures. The contrasting sounds are sometimes symbolized [f], [s], [ɕ], [ɧ]; in addition, in Standard Swedish, there is a retroflex fricative [ʂ], which is, phonologically, the sequence of /rs/. The first two of these, [f] and [s], do not need extensive comment.... The other two, [ɕ], [ɧ]; are more difficult to describe. The basic descriptive problem is one of geographical, social, and stylistic variation....

The fourth Swedish fricative, usually symbolized by <ɧ>, is the most interesting. Lindblad describes two common variants of Swedish [ɧ]. The first, for which he uses a different symbol, he calls a highly rounded, labiodental, velar or velarized fricative. A redrawn version of his x-ray tracing is shown in figure 5.27. Lindblad suggests that the source of frication is between the lower lip and the upper teeth, and it certainly appears to be so from his x-ray. He also demonstrates that the upper lip is considerably protruded in comparison with its position with that in the gesture of [i]. In addition to these anterior gestures, Lindblad notes that the "tongue body is raised and retracted towards the velum to form a fairly narrow constriction. (The presence of this constriction is constant, but not its width or location, which vary considerably.)" The posterior constriction in this variety of [ɧ] is not great enough to be itself a source of turbulence, so that, although this sound may have three notable constrictions, one in the velar region, one labiodental, and a lesser one between the two lips, only the labiodental constriction is a source of friction.

The second common variant of Swedish [ɧ], illustrated in figure 5.28, is described by Lindblad as a "dorsovelar voiceless fricative" pronounced with the jaw more open and without the lip protrusion that occurs in the other variety. Lindblad suggests that the difference between this sound and the more usual velar fricative [x] is that the latter "is formed with low frequency irregular vibrations in the saliva at the constriction" (Lindblad 1980, our translation). We infer from his descriptions and diagrams that this variant of [ɧ] has less frication, and may be slightly further forward than the velar fricative [x] commonly found in other languages. Lindblad claims that between the extreme positions of the labiodental [ɧ] and the more velar [ɧ], "there are a number of intermediate types with various jaw and lip positions, including some with both anterior and posterior sound sources." As we note in chapter 10, we doubt that it is possible to produce turbulence at two points in mouth simultaneouly for ordinary linguistic purposes. (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996: 171-172)

Lindblad's demonstrations of his own pronuciations of some of the fricatives that occur in different Swedish dialects are shown in figure 5.31. He notes that these sounds may be characterized to a great extent by the frequency of the lower edge of the band of fricative noise. For the three sibilants [s], [ʂ], [ ʃ ] on the left of the figure, this frequency gradually descends. (It is somewhat surprising that it should be lower in [ ʃ ], than in [ʂ].) In the palatalized post-alveolar sibilant [ɕ] in the lower left of the figure there is a less sharp lower frequency cut off, as there is in the palatal fricative [ç] opposite it on the lower right side; [ɕ] differs from [ç] by having a higher mean spectral energy. The rounded fricatives in the upper right part of the figure have a strong low frequency peak. Both [ ʃʷ] and [ɧ] also have a low frequency peak, as well as a considerable amount of energy in the region just above 4 kHz. (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996: 173-174)

The other preliminary matter to be considered concerns the possibility of multiply-articulated fricatives. It is clear that generation of audible friction at two different locations in the oral cavity at the same time is very difficult. As noted in chapter 3, a fricative requires a more precise adjustment of the articulators than a stop or an approximant. The size of the inter-articulator aperture and the velocity of the airflow must be within critical limits for friction to be generated. To achieve two of these critical adjustments at the same time, especially when the flow requirements might be different for different places, is obviously problematical. From the auditory point of view, even if two sources of friction exist, the one further forward in the mouth is very likely to mask the acoustic effect of the more rearward one. Doubly-articulated fricatives would therefore seem to be linguisticall undesirable segments; they are hard to produce and poorly distinctive. Nonetheless, in a small number of languages it has been claimed that such segments do occur. We have examined some of these cases and found them to be instances of either fricative segments with a secondary articulation, or instances of a sequence of two fricatives that has been interpreted as a single segment for phonological reasons.

The most well-known case is the Swedish segment that has been described as a doubly-articulated voiceless palato-alveoar-velar fricative, i.e., [ ʃ͡x]. The IPA even goes so far as to provide a separate symbol for this sound on its chart, namely <ɧ>. The sound in question is one variant of the pronunciation of the phonological element [ ʃ ], which is highly variable in Swedish dialects, receiving pronunciations ranging from a palatalized bilabial sound to a velarized palato-alveolar one to a fully velar one. As we showed in chapter 5 it is not clear that any of the variants is actually a doubly-articulated fricative. (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996: 329-330)

References:

Abercrombie, David. (1967). Elements of general phonetics. Chicago: Aldine.
Ladefoged, Peter; & Maddieson, Ian. (1996). The sounds of the world's languages. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Lindblad, Per. (1980). Svenskans sje- och tje-ljud i ett Allmänfonetisk Perspektiv. Travaux de l'Institut de Linguistique de Lund 16. Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup.

Maybe too informative, but please enjoy. Cheers! - Ish ishwar 21:09, 2005 Jan 3 (UTC)

Beautiful, Ish! Thanks! Just what I needed. I understand a few things from this:

1. That there are several different ways to pronounce this sound, so it's not worth my trying too hard to pin it down.

2. That the way I pronounce it and hear it pronounced (in Stockholm) would fall under the "palatalized bilabial sound".

3. That my contention of the doubly-articulated fricative was inaccurate -- what I meant was "either fricative segments with a secondary articulation, or instances of a sequence of two fricatives that has been interpreted as a single segment for phonological reasons." To tell the truth I could pronounce "sj" just fine in either of those two ways.

4. And finally that this is an even more mysterious subject than I'd thought, and I'm unlikely to get it right on the first try, or even on the first Masters' thesis.... :-)

By the way, just saying "phew" after all that turns out to be a pretty good approximation of [ɧ], and I'll write that too.

Many thanks and cheers,

\ Steverapaport 22:19, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I was about to write on this before I discovered that Ish Ishwar had already done so. There was a line confusing me, which I've now removed. I hope this doesn't disturb anyone. Unfortunately, there are lots of signs that this computer present as empty squares. I understand that to be IPA-characters, but I can not comment on them at the moment.

After this long quote, I may instead make a few more functional and anectdotical comments:

This subject touches on one of the major problems for students of Swedish, i.e. the absense of one single norm for pronounciation. In the case of English, it's easier to understand, with the huge distances and so on. For Swedish, the matter is further complicated by most Swedes being unaware or denying the great variances between "high-status varieties" of Swedish as spoken in Lund, Uppsala, Helsinki, Gothenburg or Umeå - this is particularly disturbing as it includes teachers of the language and writers of text books on Swedish, and even textbooks on phonetics written in Swedish: People know of lexical differences, but do typically believe that their own pronounciation is "the most common" and that other pronounciations can be categorized as more or less distinct "dialects". Australians, Indians, British and Americans do at least recognize that they pronounce differently - the Swedes do not, and put up a blank face when asked about it.

I'm not knowing enough to make a comprehensive list of such differences, but

the assimilation of 'rs', 'rd', 'rt' and 'rl is surely one
- my personal experience is that foreigners better do not, unless one is firmly located within the area where people do so. They who assimilate 'r' understand you if you don't, but they who don't assimilate may get problems to understand you if you have also other marks of a foreign accent.
the extremely confusing distribution of what the Swedes call "sje-sounds" and "tje-sounds". There is a whole series of sounds, I believe, and the lengthy quote above is probably not totally comprehensive.
- Chief problem is that the way some people realize the tje-phonem (kära, tjära, kjortel) to my ears sounds exactly as how others pronounce the sje-phonem (skära, skjorta, sked). To make it just a little bit more complicated: I believe some Swedish speakers furthermore make a difference between kära and tjära — but most do probably not.
- The solution for the student of Swedish can be to ignore this issue and strive to use one sound for both of these phonems, which results in a situation like when some foreigners neglect the difference between "living" and "leaving" in English.
- Or one could strive to use the most distant realizations in order to enhance the chances to get understood, which also will sound wrong to a native ear, but relatively comprehensible.

In the latter case, one need to use X-SAMPA /S/ or something similar for kära and the bi-labial X-SAMPA /p\/ sound in words as skära, skjorta, sked, sjuksköterska. When I learned that sound, we were a group of native Germans who used half a day trying to whistle a tune and then immediately continue humming on different vowels. After some exercise, we could all say sked, skära, sjuk, sköterska but to put that sound in the midsth of a word, as in magsjuk or sjuksköterska turned out to be even more demanding...

--Ruhrjung 15:12, 2005 Jan 4 (UTC)

P.S. Readers of Swedish can see this confusion illustrated at a Swedish-language cousin to Wikipedia: http://susning.nu/Sje-ljud --Ruhrjung 15:26, 2005 Jan 4 (UTC)

Thanks to all, I've fixed the page to my satisfaction now. Edit away! Steverapaport 16:30, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Adding a link from Celebrities Worldwide the Celebrity contacts service for the media and entertainment industry

Please could you be kind enough to advise how I may be able to propose adding Link(s)

kind regards

Richard (Brecker) tel: + 44 (0) 20 7836 7705 and mobile + 44 (0) 7836 246 777 Joint Managing Director Upfront Television (established 1991) and Celebrities Worldwide (est.2000)www.celebritiesworldwide.com the online Celebrity contacts service for the media and entertainment industry 39-41 New Oxford Street London WC1A 1BN Fax: +44 (0)20 7836 7701

I looked at Mr. Brecker's site and it's a subscription-based service that supplies the contact information for celebrities' agents, managers, lawyers, publicists, etc. A link from an individual article to this site seems inappropriate and not useful to our users. One person I queried his site for, Katie Holmes, came up with a statement information was available but I'd have to pay to see it. But finding out her agent (or that of many Hollywood types) is a simple matter--call the Screen Actors Guild or whatever union they're in. PedanticallySpeaking 19:44, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)
- I've got to agree with PedanticallySpeaking's observation. This is entirely one-sided in benefiting Celebrities Worldwide. -- Cyrius|✎ 03:52, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

- A lot of agent information is available at the imdb page for each person, though Katie Holmes is one of those whose info is not available. imdb DOES have IMDbPro.com, which gives more information, but you have to pay for it. Rick K 07:48, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

Anti-randomness

(moved here from Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous))

This has absolutely nothing to do with the Wikipedia, except that hopefully someone smart will read this, and there might be an article written about it already. A friend of mine is at a casino, which is having a contest. Whoever correctly guesses a 7-digit combination on a combination padlock wins a semi. (My friend is a trucker, and the casino gets a lot of business from truckers.) It seems to me that one way of improving the odds is to pick an "anti-random" number - a number not likely to have already been chosen at "random" by the last few thousand truckers. I'm not sure what the correct term for this is, but I'm sure there is one. I'm also sure that someone has already done a study on this somewhere, because it would be very useful for password cracking, and, of course, gambling. Does anybody know what the correct term for an "anti-random" number is, and where a good resource for selecting such a number might be located? (Of course, I'm sure the casino has the information, but "hacking the Gibson" doesn't seem like a good idea!) Also, assuming there is already an article written on this concept, it needs to be linked to from the random article. crazyeddie 05:22, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I've heard of this sort of thing, but also have no idea what it's called. Sorry. -- Cyrius|✎ 07:34, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Statisticians or mathematicians might know. Maurreen

Hmmm. While statisticians or mathematicians would probably be familar with the concept, at least enough to know the right name, I don't think they'd deal with it too much. I'm thinking cryptographers would know more about it. At any rate, this is about the only place I know of where I stand a good chance of running into somebody who knows something about it. crazyeddie 19:10, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Don't know the term but reminds me that I've always wanted to buy a lotto ticket with the number 1,2,3,4,5,6 (in NZ you choose six numbers from 1-40). It is just as likely as any combination but I'm not sure that it has ever occurred. It would be interesting to find out what the winning combinations have been. Evil Monkey → Talk 00:54, Dec 27, 2004 (UTC)

I'm sure the winning combinations are random, but I remember something about it being a good thing to choose an "anti-random" number for such lotteries, since it will reduce the chances of having to share the prize with someone who also choose the winning combination. However, in this case, as more people choose "random" numbers, ruling out commonly picked numbers, the chances of the actual combination being an "anti-random" one goes up. And that's assuming that the casino didn't purposefully choose an "anti-random" number to put off the payoff as long as possible. crazyeddie 01:13, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I'm not any kind of statistics expert, but I would suspect that in trying to outguess in a system where humans are doing most of the "random number" generation, you'd be better served to choose a more truly random number, since humans (either deliberately, by using birthdates and so forth, or accidentally, through some kind of unconscious bias towards certain numbers or the general feeling that sequences having "order", like 1,2,3,4,5,6, are somehow less likely) are already picking the less-random ones. In such a system, I would think it'd be best to say "what sequences are humans less likely to choose?" (assuming most other humans are not using a similar approach; if they are, then you're trying to guess what sequences are less likely to be chosen by people who are already trying to guess the unlikelier-to-be-chosen sequences. "But you must have known that I was not a great fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.") -- Wapcaplet 21:10, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

So by your quote you are suggesting that we shouldn't pick any of the numbers and buy tickets because we will lose either way? :-) —Mike 04:09, Dec 30, 2004 (UTC)

That's what I meant by "anti-random" - sequences humans aren't likely to choose. I'm using "anti-random" for the time being because I have no freakin' clue what the real term is. crazyeddie 06:08, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I have read of a similar question concerning a state lottery (I can't remember the citation). The advise was to pick numbers greater than 31, because a lot of people used their birthdays to choose their numbers. That advise makes it more likely that the player would choose numbers that other players did not choose. Morris 23:28, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)

1) I think "Anti-random" is the wrong word. In software testing that term means choosing inputs pecificially to be as far from all the previous values as possible. Actually, I suppose that is one way to describe what you want, except it implies knowledge of the previous picks.

2) If I wanted to generate a "Crazyeddie Random" number, I would look at historical lotto results - specifically the draws for which there were no winners. I would weight my random number generator to favor those numbers which came up most often in the losing draws, on the theory that those are the ones least often picked by humans. I would also randomly shuffle the picked numbers, to avoid any kind of consious ordering. -Key45 00:43, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Well, I guess I have two actual questions. Firstly, what is the correct term for what I'm talking about, and secondly, what resources are there out there on the web for selecting these sorts of numbers - like historical lotto results. crazyeddie 06:51, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I suppose this is not a problem of statistics at all, but one of sociology, because the distribution of numbers picked will probably depend on age and education of the pickers (e.g. if your method becomes really famous, you'd have to go back to picking truly random numbers). Here are two relevant links I found: http://nrich.maths.org/public/viewer.php?obj_id=1355&part=index&refpage=monthindex.php http://www.wilmott.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=17247&STARTPAGE=1&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE= dab (ᛏ) 18:01, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, it's not a problem of statistics, but I figured a statistician might know enough about the effect to pin the correct term on it. It would also vary from culture to culture - in America, 13 would be picked at a different rate than other numbers, while in Japan, something similar would happen with 4 (one way of saying 4 in Japanese is the same word as "death", so 4 is an unlucky number). I wouldn't expect "my" method would be used enough to make a difference in the overall results, at least in the case I'm talking about. (Most of the clients of the casino are truckers - one friend said "pick any number besides 1234567".) The results would probably also vary depending on the range of the possible choices - dates would probably be used for six digit numbers more often than for five digits.

The two links aren't directly related, but I wonder what would happen if one set a darwinian algorithim up against human players at the means game and/or ro-sham-bo. crazyeddie 23:15, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Anti-Randomness: yes it is (mathematically sort-of-precise). More precisely, the concept of "most random" and "more random" finite sequences of a given length over a given alphabet is well-defined. You can start with a search for Gregory J. Chaitin's work (or if you have Knuth vol. 2 at hand, the only reference to Chaitin in that volume is about this). Kolmogorov came up with this independently IIRC, but he did so much work in probability/statistics and various other branches of mathematics and mathematical physics that you'll be likely deluged if you google him.

--- mp from Calcutta India

Looks like a case of same term (which I choose at, heh, random), different concept. A Crazyeddie "random" number is a number which is picked by humans when they are asked to pick a random number at a greater rate than predicted by pure chance. A Crazyeddie "anti-random" number is one that is selected less than the rate predicted by pure chance. crazyeddie 10:40, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Maximum speed of DVD and CD drives

Is there a maximum speed for a DVD recorder/reader? Is it different for plus, minus, DL or RAM? Is there a maximum for CDRW drives? Why can't CD drives go faster than 50x?

My cd drive goes 52x. Off the top of my head, spinning faster poses a risk of shattering the disk. From the CD-ROM article:

CD-ROM drives are rated with a speed factor relative to music CDs (1x or 1-speed which gives a data transfer rate of 150 kilobytes per second in the most common data format). For example, an 8x CD-ROM data transfer rate would be 1.2 megabytes per second. Above 12x speed, there are problems with vibration and heat. Constant angular velocity (CAV) drives give speeds up to 20x but due to the nature of CAV the actual throughput increase over 12x is less than 20/12. 20x was thought to be the maximum speed due to mechanical constraints until February 1998, when Samsung Electronics introduced the SCR-3230, a 32x CD-ROM drive which uses a ball bearing system to balance the spinning disc in the drive to reduce noise. As of 2004, the fastest transfer rate commonly available is about 52x or about 7.8 megabytes per second, though this is only available when reading information from the outer parts of a disc.

From the DVD-ROM article:

The data transfer rate of a DVD drive is given in multiples of 1350 kB/s, which means that a drive with 16x speed designation allows a data transfer rate of 16 x 1350 = 21600 kB/s (21.09 MB/s). As CD drive speeds are given in mulitples of 150 kB/s, one DVD "speed" equals nine CD "speeds", i.e. 8x DVD drive should have data transfer rate similar to 72x CD drive (which do not exist). In physical rotation terms (spins per second), one DVD "speed" equals three CD "speeds", so the amount of data that are read during one rotation is three times larger for DVD than for CD and 8x DVD drive has the same rotational speed as 24x CD drive.

--Alterego 06:43, Jan 4, 2005 (UTC)

The maximum hypothetical speed for such devices depends on the materials involved. No, really.

I have not seen the episode, but Mythbusters has reportedly quoted the CD manufacturers as stating that they don't see a need to go faster than 56x. Their testing indicated that it would take 100,000 rpm to cause a non-abused CD to fall apart. Standard 1x CD rotation is in the realm of 500 rpm, meaning you'd need a 200x drive. Given that at 1x speed, the linear speed is roughly 1.2 m/s, this translates into the edge of the CD moving at about 70% of the speed of sound.

However, destructive testing by people with too much time on their hands indicates that the average CD will self-destruct somewhere in the realm of 30,000 rpm.

I'd imagine that right now the maximum speed for DVDs is limited by the host computer's ability to transfer data, but that's just speculation. -- Cyrius|✎ 07:02, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The maximum data transfer rate for DVDs is not even close to the data transfer capabilities of modern computer buses. Modern SCSI buses can handle 320 MB/s. And new bus designs are much faster; see for example InfiniBand. In theory you could make faster optical media drives using multiple read heads and appropriate track layout on the disk. (This is one of the ways in which hard drives have become faster.) However, the resulting disks wouldn't be compatible with older drives. Gdr 11:43, 2005 Jan 4 (UTC)

Yes, there are big, fast connections out there. I was speaking of the average ordinary desktop computer. Besides, at 320 MB/s, where are you going to put the data? -- Cyrius|✎ 13:04, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Seagate Cheetah 15K.4 37 GB HDD. "Up to 320 Mbyte-per second throughput and faster sustained transfer rate" =) --Alterego 18:01, Jan 4, 2005 (UTC)

Like anyone believes a hard drive manufacturer's numbers on speed. :) -- Cyrius|✎ 18:08, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Just ask one of the techs. Ariel is running six of these bad boys (the .3 not the point .4 same transfer rate) at 73GB a piece. See also the May 2004 hardware order. --Alterego 18:20, Jan 4, 2005 (UTC)

I myself was interested in this so I asked a bit in #mediawiki (you were in there so you probably have it logged). What I was basically told was that the max that has been seen on Ariel is 40MBps, but this is because she doesn't use throughput, but in-out per second. She's still a babe ;) --Alterego 19:30, Jan 4, 2005 (UTC)

Drive backup software?

Is there a free software equivalent of Norton Ghost? -- Toytoy 16:10, Jan 4, 2005 (UTC)

It's hardly fancy, but if you just want to wholesale clone drives or (better) partitions you can use dd, which is available on unix and windows. -- John Fader 16:18, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps g4u will suit you. —AlanBarrett 16:49, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Does anybody know the name of Pomegranate seeds?

I've spent hours on the internet and nobody knows it. I am about to loose a bet if I do not come up with the name in 2 days. Please HELP. TK (Please email me if you know it at:thomaskerenyi@aol.com)

Probably because nobody would think that the seeds of apples or oranges, let alone pomegranates, even had a name. And about losing a bet, you seem really desperate. PoccilScript 03:23, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I think they're called pips, although that might just refer to the bit of tissue that surrounds each seed. Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 04:35, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

They're pips. I have cookbooks that call them that. Considering that it gets a fair number of hits on Google, I'd consider it an attested usage. Diderot 08:47, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

All seeds are called "pips", whether or not they are from pomegranates. -- Dominus 12:48, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Not exactly off topic, but there was a long standing problem in mathematics to prove what the optimum method of packing spheres is. Johannes Kepler approached the problem in 1661 by considering how the seeds in a pomegranate would expand to fill the available space as the fruit grows. Unfortunately our article on the Kepler conjecture doesn't mention this, but a search for 'Kepler' and 'pomegranate' only seems to give results that call the seeds 'pomegranate seeds'. -- Solipsist 19:34, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Computer trouble =

Computer boots up fine, but no picture. No signal at all. Replaced video card with a new one (PNY GeForceFX 5700LE), still no picture. What could be the problem? Masterhomer 16:42, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Well, I assume you've already checked the obvious (bad monitor/monitor-cable/kvmSwitch). Given you can't see anything, what convinces you that it is indeed booting okay? If it echoes pings then something is wrong in video land, if not then it can be any number of hardware problems (do you get the diagnostic beeps?). Oh, and make sure your motherboard doesn't have onboard video too (i.e. that you've plugged the monitor into the wrong video port). -- John Fader 18:49, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

compartment syndrome

how is it possible to find an expert witness on this subject? I need to be able to maybe find someone who is an expert on this subject so that I could get them to testify that my son had compartment syndrome and he was realeased from the hospital the day after his surgery.I just dont know where to look for this.

Well, if you know he had compartment syndrome you could always use whoever diagnosed it... Speak to your doctor, who should be able to give you the name of someone who can point out a specialist. Shimgray 18:36, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC) (NB: This information is worth exactly as much as you paid for it)

Shimgray, the message isn't clear, but the phrasing suggests this person isn't interested in an opinion as to whether the son acutally had compartment syndrome, but rather wants to find a doctor willing to support a lawsuit. A malpractice lawyer won't have any trouble finding an expert if the case is clear. On the other hand, looking here for an expert witness suggests a do-it-yourself "lawyer" with lots to learn or that the inquirer's lawyer's experts have already said the case isn't so clear, but the inquirer doesn't like those opinions. Ah, the wonderful American legal system! alteripse 04:09, 6 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Rose Bowl

In years when the Rose Bowl football game is not scheduled on January 1st (like next year, when the game is scheduled to be played on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006), does the Rose Bowl parade still happen on January 1st ? - Bevo 20:36, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

roman mouse diet

do you know what is the nutritional value of mice and rats e.g. edible dormice?

Sure, just look on the package. It says one dormouse has 34 g protein, 4 g fat, but less than 1 g carbs (so Dr Atkinus would approve). But notice that it says a serving is only 1 mouse, and who eats just one once the package is opened? Rats I wouldn't touch-- nobody but the plebs eat those and only when the corn ships are late. alteripse 04:15, 6 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I'd imagine it'd be similar to squirrel meat, nutritionally. But that's just a guess. -- Cyrius|✎ 05:10, 6 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Or hamsters, but it may be just as tricky to find someone who offhand knows nutritional values for them (I'm told they're really quite nice, it's just impolitic to cook them here). Shimgray 14:53, 6 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Uh huh. foodie to the rescue: I suggest that you contact this link with this question directly. They will not only provide the nutritional content of mice, rats, dormice, squirrels, hamsters, and other vermints, but also safe cooking techniques and precautions for handling critters with sharp little teeth. Essential advice for any culinary adventurers: http://food.oregonstate.edu/

One question does beg another: Do you live in Rome, or do you just import Roman mice? Or is that the name of a new diet?

Fighter Lead-In Trainer Course

Hi there,
I am looking for a place where they train conduct FLIT course. Preferably from the European countries and allow the contract be handled by an agent, i.e. not a G-to-G thing.

Thank you.

Who is William J. Bell?

When was this man born and where? How did he jump into the scriptwriting business? Any data would be of great use?

He's a long-time soap opera writer and producer. You can find his credits at imdb.com, but it doesn't say why he jumped into scriptwriting. Rick K 08:20, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

electronics fluorescent light

please i want u to send me some literature review about electronics fluorescent light.i need it to complete my project.please you can send it to my mail if icant get the reply right now. my mail is clementito_1@yahoo.com. thanks

English word for ma'amoul?

There is a type of snack called "ma'amoul" in Arabic. (I hope I got that right. The actual Arabic spelling is meem-ayn-meem-waw-lam.) What is it called in English?

A bit of Googling shows that other people have called them:

"nut filled cookies"
"Easter cakes"
"semoilina cookies"

See [33], [34] -- The Anome 18:39, Jan 6, 2005 (UTC)

I've seen it for sale in Philadelphia under the name "mamool" and various other spellings. -- Dominus 20:06, 6 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Defined Benefit Plan

I am interested in understanding the differences between defined benefit plan and defined contribution plan.

Can anyone help? No pages exist.

Thank you,

Jay

twominute00 AT hotmail.com

ps. I have no idea where to get the answer, so please email me with your post!

See descriptions of DB & DC in pension. (I'll email the user) Samw 04:14, 7 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Recipe For Tortilla Pinwheels

Please, help..I need to know the recipe fopr Tortilla Pinwheels. Urgently. All I remember from the recipe is that it has olives and chiles in it, and you twist the ends..and it chills overnight.

--Tina

Wikipedia is not a search engine, which would have answered your question in seconds. -- Cyrius|✎ 01:35, 7 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Please don't bite the newcomers. If these sorts of questions bother you, then just ignore them. There are plenty of people here who are more than happy to offer friendly help. --David Iberri | Talk 17:56, Jan 7, 2005 (UTC)

Doesn't look like a bite to me. The question was answered and useful additional advice on the utility of search engines given. Terse, maybe, but not rude. --Tagishsimon (talk)

It was somewhat rude. I was on edge that day and the triviality of the question pushed me over. -- Cyrius|✎ 23:22, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Uh huh. Well, Tina. I do a lot of research on food history. Here is a very comprehensive link with a lot more than you need to know. It's a lot better than Google (why does always say: Do a Google?) because it'll not only provide recipes, but recipes for EVERYTHING you need to know, and the history, nutritional value, food safety, heck - they'll snail mail you a chef as well: http://food.oregonstate.edu/ So: Share those pinwheels? Best Regards,--allie 22:21, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Arabic script for "oud"?

I know that in Arabic, the oud is al-ūd, but how would you write that in Arabic script? Thanks for the help, Gelu Ignisque

"oud" is written like this:

عُود

--Auximines 22:33, 7 Jan 2005 (UTC)

about wikipedia picture

I've asked in the talk page, but no one answered. So I'll try here. The picture is in here Image:Sojourner Rover taking measurements (large).jpg, and the question is in here Image talk:Sojourner Rover taking measurements (large).jpg. Roscoe x 06:28, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Answered there with links and stuff. In brief: Pathfinder had a lander with a camera on it. -- Cyrius|✎ 07:34, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Help about relation between various categories and their hierarchy.

We are the GNU project working at TIFR under the guidance of Dr.Nagarjuna G. We had previously enquired about the hierarchy of categories.You had directed us to categorylink table.But we are unable to understand the hierarchy of the categories from that.We request you to tell us how the hierarchy is maintained.For eg: Anarchism has category Political Theories. This category has sub-categories like Nazism and Marxism. We need to such hierarchy and not the categories to which a particular article belongs to.

We would be grateful to you if we get some information about the above.

Thanking you. --[anon]

There seem to be some words missing from your question (between "to" and "such"). Gdr 13:46, 2005 Jan 8 (UTC)

Like all of Wikipedia, the categories are defined and linked by many different users over time. Even if there was some "defined" hierarchy, there would be variances. However, there is no defined hierarchy. From Wikipedia:Categorisation FAQ:

The software feature does not force a strict hierarchy or tree of categories, but allows multiple categorisation schemes to co-exist simultaneously. Because each article can appear in more than one category, and each category to appear in more than one parent categories, the categories do not form a tree structure, but a more general directed graph. It is even possible to construct loops in the category graph, but this is seldom a good idea.

I hope this helps. -Rholton 03:19, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

what is colour for?

Too good a question to ignore. Inasmuch as "colour" is the human perception of light, I'd say that the perception of colour provides important survival advantages in the interaction of the individual with the environment, notably the identification of prey and food. Sharkford 14:53, 2005 Jan 9 (UTC)

Animals can perceive light, too. Bees see well into the infrared range, and infrared photography I've seen of flowers show that some of them actually have a bulls-eye of different wavelengths which the human eye can't detect. Rick K 07:22, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

Your answer made me curious and then I quickly found these infra-red images of flowers --62.255.64.4 00:35, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

A rubbish question

Why is it that, no matter what you put in the rubbish bin, it always smells the same? Is there some kind of chemical released by all foods when it decomposes? My housemates theorized that there must be a chemical reaction with the bin liner, but that is a lame hypothesis. And the above question on colour is a very poignant one too.

There seems to be a small group of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are produced by the putrescence of rubbish. These include putrescine and cadaverine. See here for some more detailed chemistry. --Heron 15:00, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I wonder if it's also likely that your rubbish bin tends to smell the same since, over the average week, you tend to put the same things in it. Of course, to see if this is true, you ought to seek out the bins of people who are likely to have a different diet to yourself and give their bins a good sniffing. I think any problems of a social nature that may arise from this activity would be more than compensated by your increased wisdom.

Alternatively you could wuss out and decide that next week you are going to have a themed diet in the household: see what happens if you and your co-habitees live entirely on cake for 7 days. Surely that's an experiment with broad appeal? --62.255.64.4 00:42, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

1862 Virginia Commenwealth currency

I would like to ask, how would I find out the value of a original 1862 $100.00 bill virginia treasury note? Featuring: John Letcher in the middle, George Washington on the left, and Indian maiden Pocohontas on the right. If you can answer my question, or help me with it, my email address is etriggs@knology.net. Thank You R.D. Scarbrough

Here's the "Paper Money Collecting FAQ" [35] (from rec.collecting.paper-money on Usenet; it might be worth asking there, as well]. It lists several books (I believe Pick is the standard reference, but...); try seeing if any of your local libraries have access to these, as they list the market value for huge numbers of notes.

[36] lists a $100 Confederate bill for about eighty dollars, although this could be due to something unusual about it. Condition will also - strongly - affect the value of a note.

However... [37] notes that replicas of Confederate notes were commonly produced as souvenirs, and one of the known examples is a Treasury Note; $100; Oct. 15, 1862, with the serial number(s) of the replicas given as 119, 2875. If it has either of those numbers, it may well be a replica. Just a caution. Shimgray 17:16, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The American Numismatic Association recommends tracking down a copy of Gene Hessler's Comprehensive Catalog of U.S. Paper Money. If you don't have access to a library with the book, I'd recommend seeing if it passes the newsgroup's smell test. -- Cyrius|✎ 17:40, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

One quick way to find out what the actual going price for collectibles is (as opposed to the book value) is to do a search on eBay for it. In this case, a look at these closed auctions shows that there were three recent auctions for such a note, at least one of which is a replica, and that the prices ranged from $2 (for a replica) to $275 (for one guaranteed by the seller to be authentic.) Me, I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole unless it were vetted by a highly reputable dealer or collector. --jpgordon ∇∆∇∆ 03:29, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

first world war veteran

Hi, I am looking for any information regarding my great uncle.

Hmm. IP says you're probably British. But, really, give us a smaller target next time... if you can tell us where he was from, we can tell you where to look for the information.

If he died in the war, the Commonwealth War Graves Commision website will have an entry for his grave, and a small amount of related information. Mind you, he was a veteran of it, so probably didn't... The National Archives have a set of interesting leaflets on researching various topics [38] here; specifically, you might find [39] this useful.

If you collate all the information you have on him - where he lived, his full name, dates of birth, anything you know he did in the War - you may find this a very useful way of helping search for information, or decide if information is relevant (if he was an officer, for example, this opens up a whole new set of possible sources; if he won a specific medal ditto, since the citation will be filed somewhere). If he was in the Army, knowing battalion and regiment is very useful; if in the Navy, ship names.

Genealogy websites may also prove useful, although the first half of the century is a bit of a blackspot - it's recent enough that many of the records are still private due to the fact the people in them may be living, but old enough that they're often not easily available.

Hope this helps - we really don't have information to help you with individual people, but we can point you towards relevant resources. Shimgray 17:46, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Where is Silmi Island, Korea?

Silmido (Silmi Island) is the best-selling Korean movie of 2003. I can't believe it. I consulted the maps of Microsoft Encarta and the NASA freeware World Wind and still cannot find where Silmi Island is. I also googled. There are some guided tours to that island, but so far, none of them provide a map. There are dozens of small nameless islands off the coast of Incheon. I just don't know which one is that island. -- Toytoy 17:07, Jan 9, 2005 (UTC)

From what I've managed to find, Silmi Island is located just off the larger Muui Island, which has ferry service from Yeongjong, home of Incheon International Airport. At low tide, you can reportedly walk from Silmi Beach on Muui to Silmi itself.

Based on this map, apparently from the Muui tourism board, I'm guessing silmido's the small green island off the northwest coast of the larger green island (Muuido). However, I have a complete inability to read Korean, so don't take that as being any kind of authoritative statement.

I don't know how much this helps, but it's all I could find in a brief search. -- Cyrius|✎ 18:25, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

According to the map on http://www.hotelqueen.com/kor-1/new_land_mueui.html, Silmido (실미도, 實尾島) is the little island west of Muuido (무의도, 舞衣島) (the 2nd umbrella from the top). For a broader view, you may visit http://www.viewkorea.co.kr/Korean/muido.htm.

Thanks to the movie, these two islands have become very popular in Korea. See the 3rd picture on http://kr.blog.yahoo.com/msrpine/330339.html.

Silmi Island (37.40 N, 126.39 E) is no more than 50 km (30 mi) from the North Korean border and only 5 km (3 mi) from the Incheon International Airport opened in 2001. A high-flying aircraft would possibly had taken aerial photos of that island and the commando training camp on the west coast easily. This might not be the best place in the world to launch a top secret plan to kill Kim Il-sung. -- Toytoy 03:38, Jan 10, 2005 (UTC)

Wait, so my interpretation of stuff I couldn't read was correct!? Hooray! -- Cyrius|✎ 04:31, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Yes. You did it right! I used World Wind to simulate an aerial view from North Korea, if the weather allows, you may possibly take some good pictures of that island without crossing border (37.5 N) at 10,000 m altitude. That's business as usual for a commercial airliner. A piece of cake for a MiG-19 that has a ceiling of 17,500 m. These are not the crystal clear "license plate" grade pictures taken by the Pentagon because of the 50 km atmosphere that gets in the way. But these pictures may still be marginally usable. What you need is a good camera and a good pilot. -- Toytoy 04:51, Jan 10, 2005 (UTC)

You may find this image useful. -- Toytoy 05:26, Jan 10, 2005 (UTC)

Largest gun?

Were Schwerer Gustav and Dora really the largest guns ever made? — Kieff | Talk 18:41, Jan 9, 2005 (UTC)

Depends how you define "largest". They were probably the physically largest guns (if you don't count Gerald Bull's "supergun", which was never assembled or fired), but the Tsar Cannon, built in the 1500s, had a larger calibre. I believe this is the largest-calibre weapon known to exist, although larger ones may possibly have been constructed and then lost to history. Shimgray 19:44, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

DNA

I have two questions relating to DNA: 1. How are purine and pyrimidine nucleotides similar and how are they different? 2. In order for DNA to bond to phosphoric acid, what type of reaction must occur?

See the DNA article for pictures.

Adenine and guanine are the purines. They have double rings. Cytosine and thymine are the pyrimidines. They have single rings. A is slightly different from G and only pairs with T. G only pairs with C. Reciprocally, C and T are slightly different, and C only pairs with G, and T only pairs with A.
There is a phosphate group between each base in each strand. Phosphoric acid exists primarily as phosphate. It binds to ribose even before the ribose and purine or pyrimidine become part of DNA, so it is misleading to say "DNA bonds to phosphoric acid"; rather the phosphate is already part of every base before it becomes incorporated into the string of bases that is DNA. The reaction by which phosphate bonds to ribose is called phosphorylation. alteripse 00:32, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Franklin D. Roosevelts legislation act of 1935 re; Social Security

Dear Sir or Madam, Allow me introduce myself, my name is Mamie Glorioso and my e mail address is, honeybee12@cox.net.

Perhaps you can help me, I have been trying to find the acutal written contents of FDR's or Legislations Act of 1935 regarding Social Security. By this I mean the actual written contents of this bill as directed under this act word for word. Is there such an animal? and if there is can you direct me to it? I haven't been able to find this anywhere, perhaps I'm not putting in the correct word search. I've tried just about everything.

Thanking you in advance regarding the above request, I remain, Very truly yours,

Mamie Glorioso

The Social Security Administration has a copy here; first hit on Google for 1935 Social security act. [40] has related historical material. Shimgray 21:52, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Dryer lint

So... why is clothes dryer lint almost always (95%?) bluish in colour? Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy) 06:00, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps due to the non-binding nature of indigo dye. Rmhermen 06:23, Jan 10, 2005 (UTC)
Mine is usually light grey to blue-grey. ike9898 20:00, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)
When I shared a flat, and a dryer, with a woman, it was clear whose dryer lint was whose. I wore "guy" colours, she lighter and more "girly" ones, and so my lint was blue or black or grey and her's tended to be pink or white or yellow. As neither of us was terribly good about cleaning the lint-trap, several strata of lint would build up. On removing it, one could clearly see (a la dendrochronology) who had done what washes and in what order. -- John Fader 01:54, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)
The article on belly button fluff has, loosely, I believe a scientific explanation somewhere]].--Wonderfool 13:12, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

What is dryer lint?

Does it come from the fibers that make up your clothes, or is it more like dust particles from the environment that collect on the clothes? ike9898 20:00, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure it's mostly clothes. Mine tends to include quite a bit of Kleenex tissue in addition. Some small fraction is probably hair, dead skin, whatever. moink

I'm surprised that old clothes continue to lose fibers, even after many dryings. ike9898 21:47, Jan 22, 2005 (UTC)

Not surprising at all, i think, because these are not whole fibers but small broken off ends. Notice how a garment ages, becoming softer as it's worn and washed; that reflects lessening cohesion between adjacent fibers as they break off where they come closest most often, from the stress that is makes the closth stiff. An old enough garment actually gets thinner as well as softer. --Jerzy (t) 22:32, 2005 Jan 22 (UTC)

I created a new article -- it's not yet posted.

About a week ago (give of take a couple of days) I created a new article for the Wikipedia. I titled the article PIGS IS PIGS (1937), which refered to a WB cartoon that was released in 1937. True, there is an article in the Wikipedia titled PIGS IS PIGS and is linled to the WB short by that title. However, the link and the article are both wrong. In 1954 Disney released an animated short based on the best-selling humour book by Ellis Parker Butler that goes by the same name -- the article referes to this work. This is a mistake.

The 1954 Disney animated short and the best-selling humour book by Ellis Parker Butler that goes by the same name have absolutely nothing to do with this cartoon!

Seeing that no article existed for this work, I set down to create one. It was submitted, but has not yet appeared on the Wikipedia.

Why?

Sincerly;

KRR

Is that the exact punctuation you used? I've checked and found nothing in the deletion log, or your contributions listing. MacGyverMagic|^(talk) (editing from public IP) 08:52, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I don't think so. I used the same puctuation as was used in the title of the other (unrelated) article. It would read as Pigs is Pigs (1937).

Thanks. I'll have to try again.

Seems to be there now... Pigs is Pigs (1937). I wonder if the old one hit one of the intermittent periods of the servers being overly strained, and got lost en route? Shimgray 16:58, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

yaws

Problems occuring when cancelling unstable poles

I'm revising for an exam on classical control theory and have a few problems.

What are the shortcomings of using the cancellation process in the light of uncertainties in the values of the system parameters?

Also, if I have the system G(s) = 1 / (s-1.5)(s^2+s+1) and have to design a stabilizer of the form C(s) = [k(s^2+as+b)] / (s^2+cs+d), how would I go about this?

anon

Are you taking MIT PhD qualifying exams this week like I am? (which by the way, all of you who may remember me, is why i'm so seldom around).

By "the cancellation process" I presume you mean pole-zero cancellation. It's a somewhat reasonable strategy for stable poles, if you have a pretty linear, well-modeled system, but a BAD BAD BAD idea for unstable poles. Here's why: Our models of systems are never perfect. As you mention, there will always be uncertainties in the values of the system parameters. That translates into uncertainties in the positions of the poles. And of course, these "linear, time invariant" systems we're always talking about are just idealizations. Very little is ever truly linear, we just linearize about the operating point. So if the operating point moves a touch, our model is just a bit off at that point, and oops, the zeros we decided to put on top of those poles are a little bit off. Uh-oh. Unstable poles. They'll have small residues, yes, due to the proximity of the zeros, but something starting small and growing to infinity is just as scary in the long run as something that starts bigger and grows to infinity.

It's even a bad idea to use pole-zero cancellation on stable but "slow" poles. Again, you'll significantly reduce the magnitude of their residues, therefore making them unimportant (relative to other effects) right at zero, but if they stick around long enough they'll start to become dominant. It's really a better idea, in my opinion, to put some zeros way out in the left half-plane somewhere where they can suck in the poles as the gain increases and speed up and stabilize the whole system. That is, if you aren't trying to limit high-frequency noise...

As to your second question, I guess it depends on what your goal is. Do you have particular requirements for your control system? That plant transfer function you have there is pretty simple, just a real pole and a complex conjugate pair. I'd probably do a PD or phase lead if I wanted to increase the damping ratio or speed the system up. But that controller transfer function you've got there looks like a filter aimed at particular frequencies. Depending on the values you choose, it could be a bandpass filter or a notch filter. If I were you I'd use Bode methods to design the controller. And get some requirements. Like, do you have a bandwidth requirement? Are you trying to limit noise in a certain frequency range? If that's the extent of a test question, your prof doesn't know what she's doing. moink

Gas Prices

moved from article space BrokenSegue 21:57, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Now when we think of gas we think of 1.79 to 2.00 dollars. I was wondering how much was gas back then in the year i was born 1989.

Was about $1.00 / gal in Pennsylvania that year. (I was delivering pizza, and filling up a lot...).

Using some inflation calculators the actual difference ranges from negligible to moderate. Cvaneg 00:19, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Hyperglycemia - is it a Metabolic disorder?

I see that Hypoglycemia is in Category:Metabolic disorders. Why isn't Hyperglycemia also classified thus? Ancheta Wis 02:44, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

based on a quick Google, I see Diabetes & Other Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders is probably sufficient justification for placing the Hyperglycemia stub in Category:Metabolic disorders. Someone with better knowledge please reverse my cat if I am wrong. Ancheta Wis 02:50, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

IANAMP, but I don't think that either should be in that category. Both are conditions that have various causes. For example, Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) can be caused by Diabetes Mellitus, but there may be other possible causes. According to our article, Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) has at least 10 possible causes. -Rholton 03:01, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

This is not so much a medical question as one of categorization and nosology. Both hyper and hypoglycemia, like hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, and adrenal insufficiency and Cushing's syndrome, refer to metabolic derangements with many causes. They can be mild or severe, transient or persistent, can be imperceptible to the patient or make the person feel ill, and can have minimal or severe consequences. I tend to favor a broad definition of disease that would include all of them. When you think of disease categorizations, think of a forest of trees. The trunk of one tree may be chief complaint:fatigue, with branches that include metabolic disorders, smaller brances that include each of the above categories, and still smaller twigs and leaves for the myriad disorders that can cause hypo and hyperglycemia to a degree that causes fatigue. However, the next tree in the forest is pancreatic disorders, which includes defective insulin secretion and hyperglycemia as one of the large branches and many, but not all of the same small branches causing hyperglycemia (but only those that arise from pancreatic disorders).

In practice, a physician does not always define a condition down as narrowly in terms of physiological function, molecular pathology, or tissue change as might be achieved, so he or she might think that this patient has hyperglycemia and treat it it without determining the cause (this putative physician is obviously not an endocrinologist). So I would tend to use the large category of disease for any condition that a physician might use to think about and treat a patient, recognizing that any system you use has some arbitrary and inconsistent exclusions and inclusions. Does this make sense? alteripse 12:14, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Hitler and English

Did Adolf Hitler speak English? Thanks in advance, -Branddobbe 07:05, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

While his Irish sister-in-law Bridget Hitler (wife of his older half-brother Alois) claimed that he spent some time living with them in Liverpool before the First World War, and consequently he might have spoken some English, this account is nowadays discounted. This reply on holocaust-history.org indicates that the replier doesn't think AH spoke English, citing AH's interpreter, and personally I've never seen any indication that he did. -- Arwel 12:18, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Medieval naming of animals

The medieval French gave standard names for animals in their fables, like Reynard for foxes and Chanticleer for roosters. Is there somewhere that I can find a list of those names? Rick K 07:18, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

I didn't find an exhaustive list of these names in English or French. There is one for German at de:Fabel. A small list of English names is given in Reynard the Fox, for French in fr:Le_Roman_de_Renart. Regarding Jean de la Fontaine's fables, the book by Pierre Bornecque, La Fontaine Fabuliste, SEDES 1975, ISBN 2-718-10303-5, seems to be the standard reference, but it appears to be out of print. You could probably compile a list yourself from [41]. I am not aware of la Fontaine's animals having proper names. They do, however, address each other using various honorifics. The "Reynard" (typically "Renart" in French) in "Reynard the Fox" is obviously a word-play on the French word for fox, "renard". (In German, he is called "Reineke Fuchs" or "Meister Reineke".) About "Chanticleer", see [42] (derives from "chante clair", "sing clearly"). The wolf was called "Ysengrin" or "Isengrin" [43], in French and English ("Isegrim" in German) (cf. Google cache of Britannica page). See also the 1911 Britannica. [44] gives a few more, comparing with de:Fabel, it appears that "Grimbert" or "Grimbeard" is a typical name for the badger, and "Brun" or "Bruin" for the bear. You might also check out the History of Reynard the Fox (PDF, 393kB). [45] also has some more info on Reynard. Lupo 11:57, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I wrote: "...is obviously a word-play on the French word for fox, "renard".. It appears that I have that backwards: according to fr:Le_Roman_de_Renart, "renard" is derived from "Renart" and effectively has replaced the older word "goupil". Lupo 12:01, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

why does a year start on january 1?

Oh, does it? See New Year and New Year's Day. Lupo 16:08, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

False color images in astronomy

I understand that many of the astronomical images we see in magazines, etc. are actually black and white images that have had color added. But -Why not just take color images to begin with? -Is the choice of added colors based on anything other than aesthetic appeal? -What a about relatively close objects like planets, are some of these pictures in true color? ike9898 20:07, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC)

I've always thought the colors were supposed to convey information; e.g., green indicates the surface is primarily silicon dioxide, blue indicates water-ice, or some such thing. Michael Hardy 03:37, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Reasons include:

The original image was infra-red, x-ray, or some other non-visible part of the spectrum. In order to render into a human visible form, some mapping between the "invisible colours" and the ordinary "visible spectrum" colours must be made. Such a mapping is of necessity somewhat arbitrary.
The original image, while technically in colour, occupied only a narrow band of the visible spectrum. To make details more apparent, the spectrum is "dilated": so things that in "reality" would be slightly green turn into things that are very green, etc.
The final image is a composite of different source images of different types.
Or simply that features of different types have been coloured (at a person's behest) or otherwise enhanced differently for didactic purposes.

-- John Fader 20:18, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

As to planets: yes, many of the photos you've seen of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are more normal colour images, largely because those planets are interesting to look at in the "normal" part of the spectrum. Still, there are plenty of artificial-colour images of all, particularly with planets like Venus which are uninteresting in the visible spectrum. But even though a telescope or probe's camera has a gamut that is roughly like your eye, that doesn't mean that those planets would look just like that if you were near them, looking at them with your naked eye; the detector will have different response characteristics across the spectrum. There was, for example, much debate about which was the "correct" way to post-process colour images from the recent Mars landers - some ways make the sky look the rose/red people expect, others make it appear almost blue, and it's debatable which (if any) is "correct". -- John Fader 20:29, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Consider (as a pleasantly weird example) Hubble's newer "normal" camera, Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. It features broad-response (i.e. black and white) CCDs. Between it and the source are mechanically interposed a filter (one of 48, mounted on a wheel, I think). So the operators can pick one of 48 different response curves. And by taking the same photo through different filters the resulting images can be combined to give a huge range and scope of response characteristics. There's even one filter slide that has a graduated filter, so (by carefully placing the target at the point in the filter with just the desired frequency range) the operator has really accurate control of filtering (per STSCI). All in all this is a system of colour vision so utterly unlike the one your eye uses that really all HST-WFPC2 images (which is pretty much every Hubble image you see in the media) are, and have to be, false colour. -- John Fader 21:09, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The popular press, from your local newspaper to National Geographic, will insist on bringing visually interesting images to their readers. That means colour. Colour—or coloured—images will be requested or selected for publication even if specialists use greyscale ones for their own analysis. For example, how often do you see pure greyscale MRI or CT (aka "CAT") images in the popular press? And yet I do not believe you will see a radiologist make a diagnosis from a coloured image of these modalities. In fact, it has been the norm in many hospitals to render these inherently digital formats on film (inevitably greyscale) for use on lightboxes; this is gradually changing as hospitals find high-quality computer displays more affordable. --Sharkford 14:34, 2005 Jan 12 (UTC)

Black and white (monochrome) images are probably more common in astronomy because they're much easier to accomplish. A monochrome image is a map of the intensity of radiation emitted by an object within a certain band of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as the visible spectrum. A color image also contains information as to the specific wavelength of light.

A camera that captures all of this additional information simultaneously is much more difficult to build than one that produces simple monochrome. AFAIK, spacecraft produce color images by taking a series of several monochrome images in different spectral bands. For instance, they might take one image in the red wavelengths, another in the greens, and another in the blues. The combination of these three images would produce what we know as "true color".

Alternatively, they might take pictures in three (or two or four) radio wavelength bands. For several reasons, not least because we can't see radio, these images are printed in the visible spectrum, producing "false color". --Smack (talk) 05:59, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

P.S. in response to Michael Hardy: Yes, false-color images do often convey information as to the chemical composition of an object. However, I think it's ignorant to believe that someone comes in and applies false color based upon chemical data. I would guess that the image is the source of this data. Take a photograph at a wavelength corresponding to an absorption band of a molecule, and your photo will be a map of the presence of that molecule. --Smack (talk) 05:59, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Frank Sinatra

What style of music did he work in? If the answer is Jazz, then what type of Jazz? (Yes, I've already had a look at both articles, and it's still not clear to me). ike9898 02:14, Jan 12, 2005 (UTC)

Musical categorizations aren't so neatly defined. Part of what's interesting about Sinatra is that he brought jazz-influenced vocal stylings (and especially phrasings) into realms of popular music that had previously not had much influence from jazz vocals. I suppose his early work was unambigously big-band jazz, but his later work was something else that he more or less invented. -- Jmabel | Talk 19:11, Jan 12, 2005 (UTC)

Bonnie Raitt

What is the similarity between her music and Rhythm and Blues? I know this is how she discribes her music, but I don't get it. They two don't seem very similar to me. ike9898 02:16, Jan 12, 2005 (UTC)

Asperger's syndrome

Has there been any suggestion of a link between this syndrome and birth order? It seems to me that there are some similarities between Asperger's and first born children.

A quick glance at Google Scholar throws up some papers noting a link between birth order and autistic-spectrum disorders, eg:

[46] Compared with control subjects, cases had significantly older parents and were more likely to be firstborn

There's a few others (mostly PDFs) which posit a link; it's debatable if that link is physiological (as in the paper above, which deals with related obestric complications) or related to the different upbringing of an older child. Certainly at least a correlation, though. Shimgray 03:15, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

English French

Are there any words that are pronounced exactly the same in both French and English? I would've thought the old reliable taxi would be, but my fr-eng dictionary puts a difference between the pronounciation: tæcsi for English, and tacsi for french. So i thought if taxi isnt the same, then surely no word woudl be.even French words borrowed from English, and viceversa, have been frenchised or englishised. Anybody spotted any?--Wonderfool 09:48, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Many Americans (though no Brits) pronounce "garage" in a very French way: accent on the second syllable, rolled "j" sound, etc., although the first vowel tends to be slightly off (a schwa rather than a pure "ah", but that sound is slightly off when they try to speak French, too!). Or how about "entente" and "detente"? -- Jmabel | Talk 19:24, Jan 12, 2005 (UTC)

It depends on whether you're looking at a phonemic or phonetic level. French /t/ is pronounced at the teeth, or dentally, whereas English /t/ is an alveolar consonant pronounced at the ridge at the top of the mouth. Also, the final <e> in entente and détente reflects a central, voiceless and very reduced vowel similar to the English schwa. So if you're looking at French and English at a phonetic level, there will virtually always be articulatory differences. P.S. Any word that has orthographic <r> you can pretty much forget about—it's a retroflex approximant in English but a uvular continuant in French. :-\ --Gelu Ignisque

I may be answering my own question here, but I was lookin thru a big Collins Fr-Eng dictionary last night, pondering this and found none such - there was the 'r' being rolled or the 'i' being slightly diffrent or wotever. but, there were 2 words i did track down as having the exact same phonetics: wiktionary:Peppy and wiktionary:pépi; and wiktionary:messy and wiktionary:messie. I took about an hour to find those bloody words. Damn the uber-curious mind I have. And somehow, I was expecting a Jmabel reply.Its appreciated. --Wonderfool 12:58, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

French orthographic <e-acute accent> is IPA [e], though, whereas the first vowel in English peppy is [(lowercase epsilon)] in that same transcription. The first is tense and front while the latter is lax and central. English messy is stressed on the first syllable, whereas messie, if it is a French word, is stressed on the last. --G.I.Q.

dude, you're right.that peppy and messie thing was wrong, lookin back.So I decide that there are, in fact, no words are the same--Wonderfool 12:58, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Equality of the genders

In just about every society I have heard of where there is a big fuss about the equality of the genders, this assertion of equality seems to be specifically a denial that women are inferior to men. What, if any, major cases exist of assertion of the equality of the genders being specifically a denial that men are inferior to women? --User:Juuitchan

In the US and other western cultures, women tend to be seen as better caregivers and nurturers than men. Some men contend that because of this bias they are at an unfair disadvantage during custodial battles. The group Fathers 4 Justice comes to mind in this respect. --Cvaneg 20:03, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The Two Ronnies had a long-running segment in their televison comedy show called The Worm That Turned which depicted a matriachal society that oppressed men. Dunno about any real life examples of such a thing. --62.255.64.4 00:52, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Trying to locate a soldier!!!!

Hello,

I am trying to find out which troops were stationed in my hometown in 1945/46.

My grandmother got pregnant by a soldier - and it's been hard on our family - since my grandfather does not want to even discuss the subject and my grandmother passed away taking the secret with her.

The name of my hometown is: Schwabhausen - the next bigger town is Boxberg - the next bigger town is Tauberbischofsheim - they are all located in Baden Wuertemberg.

We only have the first name of the soldier - Oscar - and since there couldn't have been that many stationed in or around our hometown and I am assuming there can't be that many soldiers with that first name.

Where would I be able to find a listing of troops???

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Heike Puhr Fort Lauderdale, FL

You're not going to be able to find a listing of names, not easily; what might be plausible starting point is finding a broad date when you reckon the chap in question will have been in the area (birthdate of child less nine months plus or minus a month should do it), and trying to work from there. If you have dates and a named location, you might be able to get the names of a set of units from the Centre for Military History [47], but I wouldn't bet on this being exhaustive or accurate (there'll have been a lot of individuals passing through, or non-combat units which often aren't recorded as exhaustively). The problem is... now you have a list of units, and you need to make the jump to the list of names and try to select one from there... I'd suggest your best bet would be to figure out all the information you have, get it down on paper, and then contact the CMH (above) and NARA's Military Personnel Records department [48] - I don't think either will be able to help you on just that information, but it's quite possible they've dealt with similar queries before and may be able to put you in touch with organisations that help with this sort of thing. (Even if you did get a 1945 personnel list, it wouldn't help much; you'd still have to get hold of the records of the individuals)
Note also that CMH has disclaimers like The U.S. Army Center of Military History does not maintain [information on locating veterans], and the release of personnel information is strictly governed by the Privacy Act.. This is likely to be the case with most government bodies; they won't be allowed to release information regarding individuals to you on privacy grounds. If you can identify individual units, however, then you can try getting in touch with (eg) veterans' regimental associations, and asking if they can assist you. Best of luck. Shimgray 20:24, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Burkitts's Lymphoma

(moved from Village Pump) Hello my niece passed away 2 weeks ago the hospital said she had Burkitts's Ly[m]phoma and we where wondering if this type of cancer can be spread to other children. She was only 15 when she died. Please emil me at jerryadams45505@yahoo.com

Burkitt's lymphoma is not generally considered a contagious disease, though it is associated in some places with certain other infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus in Africa. "There is no risk to others from a person with Burkitt lymphoma or any other cancer." [49] - Nunh-huh 21:23, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Why are roadways at night time always wet in the movies?

This has intrigued me for years and years. I have noticed that in any scene in a movie that shows a sealed road or street in a town or city, the asphalt surface of the road is always wet. It is rarely raining at the time, and rarely has there been any previous scene where it had been raining, or where the roads were cleaned with water. IN fact, the absence or presence of water on the road is virtually always completely irrelevant to the story, yet the roads at night-time are virtually always wet, whereas in day time they are virtually always dry. This happens in American movies, Australian moves, European movies, and others as well. WHY IS THIS SO?? One theory I have dreamed up is that a wet bitumen surface at night-time provides greater reflection and looks "better" on the screen than a duller, darker, dry roadway. Is this something like the truth, or is there another explanation?? Cheers JackofOz 23:32, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The reason you see this in the movies is that cinematographers put it there, and cinematographers love wet streets. They are more visually interesting; they reflect images, light, etc. It's a not-uncommon source of continuity errors, where within a scene you will see the street switch from wet to dry to wet. - Nunh-huh 23:36, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

So I WAS on the right track. Thanks for confirming my hunch. JackofOz 23:48, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

When you think about it, you'll also notice that fog is quite often used for visual rather than narrative reasons. "Cinematographers Love Wet Streets" would be a fun title for an essay<g> - Nunh-huh 23:55, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

And there I was thinking it was just a particularly obscure country music song... ;-) Shimgray 03:03, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I don't think nighttime streets are anywhere near "always" wet in movies. They're wet more often than it rains, yes, but most of the time they're dry. You're just noticing it when they're wet. -Branddobbe 07:50, Jan 13, 2005 (UTC)

Well, you may be right, and maybe I am biasing my observations. And yes, it is probably true that "always" is not correct. But why not take a tally of the next 10 movies you see that contain night-time streetscapes, and tell me how many of the roads are wet. I'll bet you that at least 90% of them are wet. I'll stand corrected if you can disprove me. JackofOz 01:46, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

TB PPD Test

The TB PPD test (or simply the TB skin test) is given to determine if a person has tuberculosis. Now, can having a cold affect the accuracy of the test? I mean, can my having a cold cause the test to be positive for TB?

The PPD test can't determine if someone has tuberculosis. It is used to determine whether they've had tuberculosis exposure in the past and (based on what their chest X-ray looks like) would benefit from antitubercular prophylaxis or needs treatment for tuberculosis. Many things can cause a false positive result (BCG vaccination, infection with mycobacteria other than M. tuberculosis) and other things can cause false negative results (immunosuppression, AIDS). But having a cold should not cause a false positive result. - Nunh-huh 08:00, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Whats the name of this illustration style?

Ive wondered for a while what the formal name for this particular illustration style is, assuming there is a term for it, so maybe somebody can finally cue me in and let me sleep at night. It's basically that old, inky, highly detailed, medieval-ish style. Ive noticed a lot of variations in the style, so its hard for me to be more very specific, but I see it a lot inside of old books, logos and the like. Im refering specifically to the type that has very densely packed lines as shading, not just outlines and figures. This image is really interesting to me and Id also be very curious to know the name of this exact style (really detailed, busy, and whimsical ) if at all possible

this is another really good example of what I'm talking about:[50]

and another:[51]

I've heard the term "woodcuts" before, but I think thats just the medium and not really the style. --Clngre 04:06, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ahem—"...very densely packed lines as shading..." is a characteristic of a copperplate engraving. Wood generally doesn't support this style: if the fine grooves are very close together, the burrs can easily break off. With copperplates, that problem doesn't exist. But that still doesn't give a name to this style. I don't know of one, I've always known this type of illustration as "engraving". On a related note, cf. etching. Lupo 08:13, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

are we just talking about the shading/lines, or also about the style of drawing the figures, or even about the content? I don't know the correct term either, but content-wise I would say it is a typical 18th century allegorical vignette, the kind they typically put on books' title pages dab (ᛏ) 09:50, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

ok, so says 17th century on the parchment thing. sorry. dab (ᛏ) 10:03, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

And there I was thinking it was just a particularly obscure prog rock song... ;-)--Wonderfool 12:50, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I think searching on the word Intaglio will give you all you want. Steverapaport 14:41, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, I have enough keywords to branch out from for a while. At first I was wondering about the style of illustration, as if it were done with a quill pen or soemthing. Assuming that all of its look -- the basic aesthetic look of it -- was done intentionally, but I now realize that some of it is probably just a product of the medium. Just as a sidenote, how would you define that first image I posted; in any sense. So it's probably some form of engraving, it was an image associated with some secret society, its very lavish and busy, and what else? My goal is to narrow down my search for engravings more of the style seen in the first and second images. Kind of absurd, weird, mystical, symbolic, etc. Maybe its even naive to think that there are subgenres or specific movements or eras with it, I dont really know. --Clngre 16:31, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

This is rather a side note, but I recall that shading drafted by using densely placed diagonal lines in two directions is referred to as cross hatching. And my Google search for the term gave this which might give you some related words. This gives you more on cross hatching.

If you're looking for more images such as those you gave, the ones with textual content that act as labels for some of the figures etc are, I believe, usually political in nature. So, I would suggest trying to search for something like the history of political cartoons or history of satirical illustration, things like that. Here's a site called Political and Editorial Cartoons In U.S. History which may have some of interest, though a brief look makes me wonder if your style may be older and more European.

Once you've got an idea what sort of period your style hails from try searching on X illustrations where X is a European ruler of that period, a King, Queen or Prime Minister.

This image search for politcal engravings returns some nice images, though I think, again, possibly more modern than your style.

Or maybe this one for century+woodcuts (dunno why) is of interest.

I don't think any of them quite hit the nail on the head, but you should have lots of roads to follow, one of which should get you there. If you do find a good site, please report back as I quite like that style of stuff too. --62.255.64.5 01:16, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)...

...found some more. A search on political etchings seems pretty fertile. Led me to [52]which stemmed from this index. You may also find some stuff at Graphic Witness of interest. Political lithography might give you some interesting results too. --62.255.64.5 01:52, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Wow, thanks a lot. Some of the images on those pages you posted were fantastic as it is. I really appreciate it, I'll defintately post some good links if I upon any. --Clngre 06:24, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

A couple of follows up. Although you can usually get finer lines with copper plate engraving, it is certainly possible to get fine detail with woodcuts - it depends on the preparation of the wood, density of the grain and the skill of the artist - see for example much of the work of M. C. Escher (more illustrations in the Gallery section of http://www.mcescher.com/). Also note that woodcuts are in a way the opposite of intaglio printing in that the ink remains on the raised surface, rather than the hollows. With copper engraving, the artist draws in positive cutting through the mask, whilst with woodcuts (and linocuts), the artist draws in negative - effectively drawing the white lines.

The second image shown, is apparently neither woodcut nor engraving, but a pen and ink drawing by the the Jazz musician Lhasa herself [53]. Pen and ink drawing is quite a common technique used in cartoon illustrations. The style does remind me of someone, but I can't quite place it. I thought it might be Sir John Tenniel's illustrations for Alice in Wonderland, but its not.

In terms of the 'busy' style of the first image, as much as anything it is about finding space for each of the symbols that needs to be included. The style is somewhat baroque, but also owes something to the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and peasant scenes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and family (particularly his Netherlandish Proverbs). Of course many similar engravings can be found in relating to freemasonry.

In general, engraving has been popular for illustrating books between 16th-19th century so it covers a wide range of sytles. Try also Albrecht Dürer (and his Four Horsemen), Thomas Bewick (eg. animal and bird illustrations). You can also find a lot of interesting examples from early copies of the Illustrated London News (eg. [54]) -- Solipsist 09:24, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

A wonderful book on the history and styles of printmaking is William M. Ivins, Jr., Prints and Visual Communications (Harvard University Press, 1951). It is a joy to read (it is very well written), puts forth a few provocative theses (without printmaking, we'd still be in the Dark Ages; and, the Greeks weren't actually that bright), and will also acquaint you with the different styles of printmaking and how they evolved from the 15th through the 19th centuries. Highly recommended. --Fastfission 18:30, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Menstrual Cycle

I have heard differing opinions about how many eggs are expelled when a woman has her period. One friend stated that it was only one, as this was the one egg that wasn't fertilized (i.e. the woman is not pregnant, so she has her period) but then we later read in a magazine that it was somethign like 1,000 eggs that are expelled each time. Which ever number is right, is that for the 7 days or so that it lasts, or what? Thanks! --anon

1000 is definitely wrong. Maybe the article was discussing fish spawning: but human women produce one or two mature eggs per menstrual cycle, not thousands. That's per month. - Nunh-huh 20:38, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

As it has been explained to me, each cycle sees the "ripening" of many eggs (I believe on the order of a dozen), but usually only one is released (that term being more common than "expelled" in the books). Upon the release of the first one (which can be from either ovary), hormones are released which suppress the release of all others, in both ovaries. Sometimes, of course, two or more are released, which leads to the possibility of fraternal multiple births. Fertilization, if it occurs, is most commonly by sperm which is already present in the fallopian tubes, having found its way there up to a small number of days prior. (After a few days it degrades in motility and becomes unable to fertilize). If fertilization does not occur, the one (or sometimes, two or more) released eggs are lost in the next menstrual flow. In any event the eggs that were not released from the ovaries are "reabsorbed", whatever that means. They don't get re-used; each cycle a never-previously-used group of eggs are ripened. --Sharkford 15:13, 2005 Jan 17 (UTC)

At-large voting

While adding an article on City Commission government, I noticed that at-large is a red link. I've been trying to figure out if this is already described in an article somewhere or, if not, which article would be most appropriate to include this in. Any suggestions? (cross-posted to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Voting systems#At-large voting). older≠wiser 19:27, Jan 13, 2005 (UTC)

Heckel and Jeckel

This is partly an article request, but it's also a more specific question. I have a (vague) memory from childhood of two animated cartoon birds, possible crows, named Heckel and Jeckel. In particular, I was wondering if anyone knows if these names may have a history predating those cartoon birds, and in particular if they may have roots in Yiddish theater, which I have been researching. The names look like Anglicized spellings of Yiddish diminutives, and an early play by Abraham Goldfaden was apparently named Yukel un Yekel. (As with all things Yiddish, that transliteration is rather arbitrary, it could as easily be Iukl un Iekl). -- Jmabel | Talk 01:36, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC)

I remember them well. They were Anglicized further than you think, to Heckle and Jeckle. They were talking magpies, debuted in 1946, and were "TerryToons" cartoon characters. I found a bit of info about them at IMDB, and a bit about their producer, Paul Terry. Nothing too much there that relates to their history or any antecedent characters, though.A page on the 1955 show is [http://www.toonopedia.com/hekljekl.htm here. - Nunh-huh 02:07, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Math question--Heyting algebra and intuitionistic logic.

I posted this on the talk page, but thought I might get a better response here.

In the "law of the excluded middle" example under "Heyting algebra", $R^{2}$ is divvied up into a set A and its complement, the first comprising $\{(x,y):y>0\}$ . Now, it would seem to me that the complement of A would be $\{(x,y):y\leq 0\}$ . However, it's given as $\{(x,y):y<0\}$ , which is then used to show that the $y=0$ plane isn't included in the union of A and not-A. How can this be? grendel|khan 03:45, 2005 Jan 14 (UTC)

That's just weird. Doesn't look right to me. -- Phyzome is Tim McCormack 00:44, 2005 Jan 15 (UTC)

Bloomstorm and Synnegi

Would you mind headlining or documenting these terms?

They can be found, among other sites, mainly here if you need further analysis: http://stormier.blogspot.com/

Synnegi can be described here: http://stormier.blogspot.com/2005/01/synnegi-explanation-death-creates.html

And bloomstorm here: http://stormier.blogspot.com/2005/01/bloomstorm-look-at-evolution-creation.html

Thanks much in advance. Bye

These look to be the personal creations of one person, and seem to have little to no currency. Wikipedia is not (supposed to be) a tool for promoting one's ideas and theories. Specifically, Wikipedia is not a soapbox, nor is original research allowed. -- Cyrius|✎ 07:02, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

installation

please tell me how to install swarm-2.2 in windows 2000 ,thanks!--hywwlh

You're going to have to be more specific. I see at least two pieces of software named Swarm that have reached version 2.2. Since I wouldn't be able to offer specific instructions for either, I'm going to have to go with generalities. Read the documentation, and use the mailing lists/forums. You're going to get better results asking the people that are interested in the software than from the random collection of people on Wikipedia. -- Cyrius|✎ 15:13, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Was there a crisis which called for action?

Abuse of technology in American schools is an excellent example of a crisis which called for action. Here we have an example where computers are available to students to further not only their education and schoolwork, but to provide them with the skills necessary to enter the workforce in society in a more competitive and productive position. In order to do so, however, these students must learn to harness the power of computer technology in a reasonable and responsible fashion. By not harnessing the full creativity and by the abuse of this powerful learning experience, this did indeed create a crisis which called for action. allie 01:17, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC).

Evolution

How and why did some animals becomer amblers others not? Erik Borries, Denmark.

I think you may get more specific information from editors at the Evolution and Horse gait articles. Personally, I think it's just something they tried early on in evolution. It worked for them, so they survived due to natural selection. That's my opinion, but unfortunately, I've got nothing to back it up. Also, you may want to be careful in giving out personal information like you did. Mgm|^(talk) 22:25, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC)

Huygens probe

Is this the first probe to land on a moon other than Earth's? I can't find any mention of this fact or any earlier lander. Rmhermen 18:16, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC)

I'm fairly sure that it is. Nothing has ever landed on the Martian moons, although I think there have been some moderately closeup photos from Mars orbiters. Nothing has landed or impacted on Jovian moons either - the Galileo spacecraft made several closeup flybys, and launched a probe into Jupiter itself, but was deliberately sent into Jupiter at the end of its life so it wouldn't ever crash on a moon with possible contamination of any life there. NEAR Shoemaker landed on a asteroid in 2001, and the Rosetta space probe is intended to set a lander on a comet in 2014.-gadfium 19:10, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Well, at least the first probe FROM Earth to land on on another moon;) ike9898 04:06, Jan 15, 2005 (UTC)

Superpower competition?

The CIA relased a report that said by 2020 China might be a global superpower and the United States might loose its unique position of global dominance and instead share the global stage with China. But given the huge gap in military and economic power between the US and the rest of the world, is it realistic to be concerened that China might catch up to the US and restart a superpower competition?

I just have trouble imagining China or any other country for that matter becoming a superpower anytime soon. Since the end of the cold war the United States has leaped light years ahead of all nations in economic, military, and technological capabilities. The United States is a megapower and no one comes even close to matching them. The only way China would catch up is if the US government allows it to happen but as long as the US economy remains strong and the government keeps spending 400 billion a year on defense there is nothing to worry about as China and the rest of the world would be left far behind

Military power relies on having the ability to spend money. The economy of China is expanding at a huge rate whereas that of the US is by comparison static. The Europeans are too good at arguing amongst themselves to present anything militarily. In twenty years the economy of China will be bigger than that of the US and hence they will have more power.

Is this cause for concern? Yes. The Chinese have a very autocratic system of government, though I suspect democratic reforms will have to come at some point. It is very bad if you're Taiwanese. As for competition, this is different from the Cold War competition where the ideology of the two sides was different and at loggerheads, the Chinese don't now want to force Maoism on anyone else, they seem to be happy making money, and if they open their markets to global companies, those companies who weald power in the US and elsewhere won't kick up a stink.

I am very concerned at the behaviour of the US government, and perhaps another large power block could help balance power so as not to leave it unchecked. Dunc|☺ 21:06, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I'm out of my depth here. But I would imagine any theory that China will match US power would make reference to the vast size of its population and lower labour costs. If the CIA have reported it I imagine you could also discover the CIA's rationale for drawing such a conclusion. In fact here's a BBC thread about it with streaming video of a programme on the topic. --62.255.64.5 01:34, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The parliamentary verb "table"

In the United States to "table" a motion means that the motion is disposed of, exactly the opposite of its sense in Britain where it means to put an issue on the agenda. I heard it used in connection with the Canadian parliament and wonder if Canadians use it in the American or the British sense. PedanticallySpeaking 19:13, Jan 15, 2005 (UTC)

You can google search for occurrences of "tabled" within [canada.com, which is a news portal to major newspaper stories. See [55]

The answer seems to be, the word is almost exclusively used in the context of Parliament and the House of Commons, and there it's always used in the British sense, ie to bring legislation up for consideration. It would not be used in the broader sense of putting an issue on the agenda (of a business meeting or whatever) or the American sense of putting an issue "on ice". However Canadians have a great deal of exposure to American media, both print and television, and are probably familiar with the American usage as well. -- Curps 21:29, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The British sense, I think...that is what immediately comes to my mind, at least. Adam Bishop 00:39, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I'm looking for a particular phrase-please help

I'm stumped, the phrase keeps coming to the back of my head and disappearing.

The phrase, like an "occam's razor" phrase, is for the ultimate conundrum. A mother is holding two children in the tsunami, she has to let one go or all die. It's the ultimate conundrum that has no answer.

Praises from San Francisco for anyone who can name that obscure phrase.

Thanks.

Hobson's choice (when the choice is illusory) or Gordian Knot (when the problem is insoluble). -- John Fader 20:46, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Isn't the whole point of the Gordian Knot that it can be solved, but in a direct and bold way? ("Cutting the Gordian Knot") --80.3.32.7 21:00, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Occam's razor is correct. Without going through the Latin phrase, his theological rational, and etcetera, it means that the simplest theory is the best theory. Intellectual abstractions are not valid explanations; all reasoning must be based on experimental proof. In other words, there may be several hypothetical explanations for a situation, but the simplest one usually prevails. Yes: Occam's razor is correct. It's a Google hit, just took a really long time to get the search terms down. Best Regards, allie 21:44, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Morton's Fork seems to fit the situation.-gadfium 22:28, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Wow, that Morton's Fork is an incredible article. If the quote that San Francisco is looking for isn't linked somewhere on that page. Thanks! I definitely learned something new! Best Regards, --allie 21:31, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

How about Sophie's Choice? Much closer, both logically and literally. Occam's razor is a guide to choosing the most likely causal connection when one can imagine more than one possible cause. What does it have to do with this situation?alteripse 01:02, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

True: I should have been more careful. He was a fourtheenth century theologian, and I merely followed up on the translation and its contemporary concept, without considering the proper usage for the phrase. That it is also referred to as the "law of parsinomy" should have been a good clue. I ignored it. Criticism well meant, and well taken. --allie 21:31, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

How about Between a rock and a hard place?--Fastfission 10:17, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The closest single word to fit what you're after would be "dilemma" Noodhoog 18:36, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Dates of events on other worlds

Yesterday's landing on Titan has made me wonder anew about whether there is any agreed convention as to the basis on which events on extraterrestrial worlds are dated. For example, the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon in 1969 happened on 17th or 18th July, depending on where on the Earth you were at the time. So what date do we use to record the event in history books on Earth?

Events on Earth are dated according to the time zone applying in the place where the event happened, at the time that it happened (so, for example, if Daylight Saving started or ended at around the time of the event, this could well influence the date of the event). The problem with events outside the Earth is, there is no such thing as a Greenwich meridian or an in International Date Line or any other type of time-keeping convention (or none that I'm aware of).

It would make sense to me if extraterrestrial "events" were dated either (a) always using Universal Standard Time on Earth, or (b) using the time zone in the place from where the spacecraft blasted off (eg. Cape Canaveral; Baikonur; China or wherever). Of course, the latter option would be of no use for events such as Shoemaker-Levy comet blasting into Jupiter in 1994. But I don't know if either of these conventions actually applies (and if so, when and how were they adopted), or if there is an alternative solution.

Also, when scientists are computing the date of an extra-terrestrial event, do they work out when it actually occurred in real time by taking into account the time it took for whatever electronic signal to reach the Earth to let us know about it, or do they base it on the time that Earth first got to know about it? Does anybody know? Cheers JackofOz 01:30, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I can't tell you about other agencies, but I've got some ideas about NASA.

For most missions, NASA uses what is called "Mission Elapsed Time (MET). This clock hits zero at launch, which is why if you're watching a countdown, you'll hear a guy saying "T-minus #". The clock is negative at that point. This is all well and good for space shuttles and Voyagers and such, because days don't have too much meaning for them. They claim that they convert to UTC for use by others, but I've seen US Eastern (KSC), Central (JSC), and perhaps Pacific (JPL) used.

However, you want to know about things that land on other things. As of right now, we've put landers on four planet-like objects: Venus, the Moon, Mars, and Titan. The landers on Venus and Titan didn't last long enough for any local measurement of time to have any meaning. Lunar landers did last long enough, but days on the Moon are a month long, so trying to operate off a lunar clock isn't really practical. While this is speculation, I'd guess they ran off MET.

However, Mars is a special case. Because the Martian day is roughly the same as Earth's, and because landers have been solar powered, and probably because of some other things too, Mars missions have run off "Local Mean Solar Time" (see Time and date and astronomy on Mars). As I recall, the Mars Exploration Rover teams had watches custom-made to run off the slighly longer days.

According to the Huygens descent timeline, ESA is reporting things to the public in CET "Earth Received" time, which doesn't necessarily mean that's what they're operating on internally. I have absolutely no idea what the Russians were using on their Venera missions. -- Cyrius|✎ 07:44, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Time and date and astronomy on Mars has some information about timekeeping on Mars -- Curps 08:00, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ethel Rosenberg and VENONA evidence

The articles on Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and the VENONA project contradict each other, the first stating that the venona evidence proved that Ethel Rosenberg was innocent, the second, that she was an accomplice. Since I know next to nothing about the trial and encountered "VENONA" for the first time when reading the article on the trial (and I doubt any library within reach will have up-to-date info on this), could somebody else find out which version is correct? -- AlexR 02:54, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Google venona rosenberg and you get all the details you want. E.g., [56]. Venona proved the Rosenbergs were Soviet agents; a significant embarrassment to American liberals who long disputed the claim. alteripse 03:01, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ethel's participation as reflected by VENONA is largely a matter of interpretation. She was not given a code name which seems to indicate that she was not a major player. But again, it's hard to know, and whether she was guilty of what they were accused of, were given a fair trial, or were punished appropriately are all somewhat separate from some of these facts, which is half of the disparity... If you'd read the very link you posted, alteripse, you'd see it says: Associated Press story, David admitted he lied under oath about his sister Ethel's involvement to reduce his own sentence and keep his wife Ruth out of prison. In an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes II," David said simply, "As a spy who turned his family in ... I don't care." David and Ruth Greenglass continue to live in the New York area under assumed names. The problem with the Rosenbergs in general is you are quick to get people on one side who say "VENONA is unreliable, throw it all out" and you are quick to get people on the other side who say, "VENONA proves everything." Neither show a very good knowledge of VENONA or the history of the case, in my opinion. --Fastfission 10:01, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

You are right, I failed to recognize that the question was specifically about Ethel: the VENONA evidence indicated that Julius, Ruth, and David were agents. Whether you consider Ethel an accomplice depends on whether you think it likely (1) she didn't know what her brother and husband were doing, (2) that Julius wouldn't have confessed to exculpate her, and (3) that David and Ruth were evil enough to implicate her if she had been truly ignorant. It doesn't take much more than knowledge to meet the definition of accomplice. This and the other issues people will have differing opinions about. I will agree with you that the more you learn about a case like this, the less likely you are to think that either "side" is entirely right. alteripse 15:41, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Well, in that case both articles should say that it is not so easy to interpret the evidence, instead of interpreting it differently and therefore contradict each other. -- AlexR 13:59, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I agree completely. I think the Rosenberg article in general should go into more detail about where the points of differentiation lie. As I know them, they are: 1. they were innocent, 2. they were guilty, 3. Ethel might have been innocent or at least not guilty of what she was accused of, 4. the evidence is too weak/problematic to decide, 5. whether or not they were guilty, they were punished too harshly, 6. their trial was botched in any event. Or something like that. I'm sort of a #5 and #6 man myself, and though I don't take VENONA at face value I find it likely that Julius at least was guilty (what really bothers me the most about their trial, I have to admit, is that Julius wouldn't just say he was guilty, whether he was or not, to save Ethel. Instead, they both died, and left two kids behind. I find that extremely irresponsible, I have to admit. As despicable as Greenglass generally seems to be, if he did lie in order to save his wife, I would at least sympathize with his motivations, which I don't for Julius and Ethel. But I'm digressing). --Fastfission 18:21, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

BTW, the picture gets even more complicated because while VENONA show pretty definitely that Julius was an agent, it doesn't provide evidence for any of the specific espionage for which he was convicted; also, there is, of course, the question of whether there was any "H-Bomb secret" to steal. -- Jmabel | Talk 23:42, Jan 16, 2005 (UTC)

I think you mean A-bomb secret ("H-bomb secret" wasn't even available until 1951).. the things that Greenglass testified that Rosenberg helped steal (which is now on the new page, David Greenglass) were on the construction of the lens molds and the implosion concept more generally. How valuable were they? Probably not very -- Greenglass's knowledge was fairly general, he often didn't know what he was looking at, and he didn't give them anywhere as complete or accurate information as Fuchs did (though he didn't know Fuchs existed at the time, of course). Did it actually help the Soviets "get the bomb" any quicker? New historiorgraphy based on Russian sources suggests not. But anyway, that's only one aspect of things, relating more to the severity of the sentencing than anything else... --Fastfission 07:06, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Year of birth for Mary Kay Ash

I reverted what I thought was vandalism to that article, but Google reveals widespread disagreement about Ash's birthdate. 1915? 1918? Probably May 12 in Hot Wells, Texas, but I'm not confident about the year. -leigh (φθόγγος) 05:28, Jan 16, 2005 (UTC)

See Talk:Mary Kay Ash - Nunh-huh 08:20, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Graphing with X, Y, Z coordinates

I realized just today that Excel won't let me make the graph I want to make. Basically, I have a list of labels and for each label I have 3 different variables (X, Y, Z), which range from -4 to 4. I want to be able to graph them in space as points (not connected), with the label next to each point. What software will do this? (I have easy access to Excel, Freehand, Igor Pro, Matlab Pro, and Stata, though I have never used the latter three before nor do I know if they are even appropriate) Help! --Fastfission 09:55, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Matlab would probably be your best shot, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Alphax (t) (c) (e) 06:24, Jan 17, 2005 (UTC)

Matlab will definitely plot points in 3space for you, but I'm not sure how the labeling would look. It might depend on how many points you have. Here's a little Matlab program for you:

x=[-4 -3 2 2 1 0 1];
y=[3 1 1 -1 -3 0 2];
z=x.^2-y;
plot3(x,y,z,'x')
for i=1:length(x)
    text(x(i),y(i),z(i)+0.2,sprintf('x=%d y=%d z=%d',x(i),y(i),z(i)))
end
title('My pretty plot');
xlabel('The x axis');
ylabel('The y axis');
zlabel('z=x^2-y');
grid on

Type "help plot" if you want to see what options there are for symbols. moink

scope and utility of sociolinguistics

can anyone give me in detail the answer of "what is the scope and utility of sociolinguistics now-a-days?"

Well we wont' answer your teacher's question for you, but reading the article on sociolinguistics will give you a few examples and a reference and read pages linked from that page and pages that link there. Remember however, to cite Wikipedia as your source. Dunc|☺ 14:18, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Burning MPEGS to a CD

I want to burn some MPEG files to a CD so I can watch them on a VCD/DVD player. Do I need to burn anything else (i.e. codecs) or do I just have to burn the MPEG files alone and that will be enough? Johnleemk | Talk 11:23, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

No, that won't work - you don't need codecs or the like, but VCDs have a particular format. Most buring programs have an option for burning VCDs, or check http://www.dvdrhelp.com/ for more information. -- AlexR 14:09, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Short answer - no you don't need to put the codec on the disc. Long answer - you can't just burn any old file onto a CD and expect it to work. The content requirements for VCDs and SVCDs are very specific. VCDs hold MPEG-1 format video at 352x240 pixels (NTSC) or 352x288 pixels (PAL); while SVCDs hold MPEG-2 format video at 480x480 pixels (for NTSC) or 480x576 pixels (for PAL) (there are some slight variations that you can make on thse resolutions by changign the frames/sec rate). If your file is in any other format it needs to be converted. Very specifically if your file is in any form of MPEG-4 based format (i.e. DivX, XVid, 3ivx etc..) it must be converted with a high probability of loss of quality. If you use Nero Burning ROM (and if you're not using it you should probably switch to using it) then Nero will attempt to convert any file you try to burn to the correct format, but in all probability it won't do this in quite the way you would want, so I recommend you use TMPGEnc to convert the file if you need to. Jooler 14:15, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Addendum - as AlexR points out - normally you can't just burn a raw mpg file as a data file and expect it to play. You have to use your software to burn it as a VCD/SVCD. This will put various helper files on the disk as well (see http://www.videohelp.com/vcd). However, I am told that some DVD players will bring up a menu if you are trying to play a DVD- on which you have burnt several raw mpg1/2 format files. Maybe this works on some machines with a CD-R too I don't know. There are a few players that are capable of playing DivX format files burnt onto CD, itmight be the case that only DivX capable players treat raw mpgs in this fashion. Jooler 14:35, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Digitally Synthesizing Siren Sounds (Police, Air-raid, etc.)

I'm trying to write a program to produce various types of siren sounds, so as to immitate police sirens, abulance sirens, air-raid sirens, etc.. I already have a program that can take a sine wave and modulate the pitch up and down to create a bad impression of a siren. Unfortunately, the result sounds more like someone playing with the pitch-bend wheel on an analog synth than any siren one might actually hear in the real world. I suspect I'd get pretty similar results if I substituted, say, a square wave or a triangle wave for the sine wave in my program.

Does anyone know if there are any easy-to-synthesize waveforms that might sound more like a siren? Or am I going to need to actually go out and digitize sounds from a real-life siren (a la Sampler (musical instrument))? --Ryguasu 04:58, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

A simple sine wave might be a good starting point for a siren sound, but sounds in the real world are generally made up of a number of different waveforms at different frequencies - for a halfway believable siren, you might try adding some harmonic overtones and maybe a tiny bit of phase distortion (more of both for a classic air raid siren than for a modern police siren). It also seems that with most sirens, different frequencies aren't shifted up and down by the same pitch which leads to a slightly more distorted sound as the siren's wail reaches its highest pitch - I guess it would be pretty tricky to sysntheize a naturally-sounding siren unless you either have a pretty detailed idea what you are doing or you are willing to experiment for a couple of hours with some wave-shaping software (which is generally great fun but rarely leads to the results you were trying to achieve - at least, that's the case with most of my synth experiments :P ) -- Ferkelparade π 22:14, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

- Here's a spectrogram of a london-style police siren
  . As Ferkelparade said, you'd need multiple frequency sources to get the overtones. Notice that the highest frequencies bend up over a longer time period than the root frequency. Also note that this siren has 2 separate whistles, overlapping in time. An alternative to multiple sines or sampling the whole siren would be to record a siren, then take a small looped sample while it is steady at its highest frequency. Then you could pitch bend one or more copies of that waveform to get different siren patterns. -Key45 22:57, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

- - Speaking of synthesizing instrument sounds, I've been trying to make them using overlapped sine waves at different frequencies and amplitudes, but it doesn't seem to work. What am I doing wrong, and where can I find analyses of real instruments to work from? Alphax (t) (c) (e) 16:27, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

- - - search for "Physical Modelling" and "Modular Synthesis". Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics is one place to start. -Key45 02:26, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Replicating the show/hide functions on TOCs

Ok, this could be a bit tricky. We all know that the TOCs on Wikipedia have show/hide links, which show or hide the TOC when you click them. How would I go about a similar function on a webpage I'm building, so that when I click a link it expands a table? Alphax (t) (c) (e) 06:26, Jan 17, 2005 (UTC)

The simplest solution would be to have two versions of the page, one with the table expanded and one with the table shrunk. You should also be able to use inline frames. --Smack (talk) 07:20, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

is there a reason why you can't do it the way Wikipedia does, using javascript to set the "display" CSS property? Frencheigh 10:05, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Yes - I don't know how to. I'm quite opposed to using multiple versions of the same page, because I want a side navigation bar with "expanding" links. For example:

Link1

This will become visible on clicking link1

Link2

This will become visible on clicking link2

...

So how would I go about this using Javascript and CSS? Have a class element for each table row, and then have a JS function that takes variables to set the display CSS element? Alphax (t) (c) (e) 06:25, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

[57] <- there's a simple example i've uploaded, the important part of which is the function function toggledisp(x){

   el=document.getElementById(x);
   if(el){
       if(el.style.display=='none')el.style.display='inline';
       else el.style.display='none';}

} which (when say called from the onclick of a button) toggles the 'display' (of say a div, with an id). but did you need it to expand a particular row of a table? because out of the browsers ive tested only IE seems to do that correctly. Frencheigh 09:43, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

:Well, I guess I can do it with a div, but my main problem now is how to get it to work when I use frames - I discovered the relevant bit of code sitting around from a downloaded WP page. I'm guessing that it's something along the lines of document.frame.parent.getElementById, but I have very litte experience with JS. Alphax (t) (c) (e) 12:30, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

Ok, I got it to work. Can I get it to work for all elements of a particular class? Alphax (t) (c) (e) 13:46, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

Boil Advisories

Sorry about there being no question here. I started typing and must have hit return and all that was posted was the header. Then when I went back my request to save text kept getting timed out. Anyhow, thank you, Sharkford, for attempting to answer the question based on only two words. The question I had was that boil advisories are posted by water departments here citing low pressure in the mains. What about low water pressure necessitates boiling water? Where I live most of the water comes from wells rather than surface bodies of water, so runoff shouldn't be the problem.

Sharkford's reply was based on just the header--no question.

If you mean the boil-water advisories that towns occasionally announce, it means that the town water supply is known to have an unsafe high level of pathogens. Bringing water to a boil is presumed to make it safe for human consumption, so you are advised to do this for any water which you will be drinking or cooking with. It seems to be assumed, true or not, that you do not ingest water during washing or bathing. Often such advisories follow heavy rains which introduce lots of surface runoff into the reservoirs or lakes from which the town water supply is drawn, bringing more decomposing organic matter than the utility's chlorination process can accommodate. Less commonly it's associated with a breakdown of the water-purification system. --Sharkford 15:13, 2005 Jan 18 (UTC)

At a guess, wouldn't one of the likely causes of low pressure be a significant leak (or leaks)? If enough water to seriously affect pressure in the whole system can get out, contamination may well be able to get in... Shimgray 00:02, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Could it also work the other way around? If the pressure is high, then any small leaks will be leaks out. If the pressure grows too low, such leaks could leak in, resulting in contamination. -Rholton 05:22, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- That certainly makes sense - it's the logic behind overpressure systems, which we don't seem to have a page on. Military vehicles intended to operate "sealed" in NBC environments are often built in such a way that they're kept at a slightly higher pressure than the outside world, in order that if there is a breach in the protection, air will flow out of the vehicle and not in. When the air outside may be full of nerve agents, this becomes really quite a nice detail... ;-)
- Similarly, some medical facilities are built like this; it's not uncommon for research labs to be kept at below the ambient pressure, so that if there's a leak nothing nasty can escape. Shimgray 16:30, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

In fact, when I saw the lone header "Boil advisories" my first thought was "don't break it, it will get infected". So relative to that I guessed prety close! Given the actual question, I think Rholton's got it; low pressure in the mains allows unchlorinated ground water to seep in. --Sharkford 21:29, 2005 Jan 20 (UTC)

Is the Gang of Four's "Design Patterns" of More Than Historical Interest?

I'm hoping to read up on Design pattern (computer science). It seems like the logical place to start might be where the description of design patterns began, i.e., with the Gang of Four's "Design Patterns". That book is almost ten years old now, though, so before I run out and buy it, I'm wondering if it has in any sense become "outdated". Is this book now better suited for those studying the history of programming than for those studying programming itself? Or does it still make sense as a good place to start learning about design patterns? --Ryguasu 19:45, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I'm sure it remains a perfectly good place to start, this is pretty timeless stuff, but if you don't mind reading on line, you probably won't find much in the book that is not also by now on line. -- Jmabel | Talk 21:22, Jan 17, 2005 (UTC)

It's still a good, worthwhile read. It's well written and thoughtfully structured, and the patterns it decribes abound in current OO systems like the class libraries for java and c#. I guess it's no longer (if it ever was) a definative library of the patterns themselves, with numerous new ones being created and some of the existing falling from favour. But what's important isn't the list of patterns per-se, but the principle (you can find endless list of patterns and discussions on their pros and cons for free on the internet). But if you read that, beg borrow steal or save up for The Timeless Way of Building, the original pattern language book (and pleasantly one without all that dull comp-sci stuff to get between your brain and the idea) - it's simply brilliant. -- John Fader 22:47, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

A good place to dig around online is the Portland Pattern Repository, aka the Wiki. -- Cyrius|✎ 22:52, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

What's up with the Nicobar Islands?

Reading some recent coverage about tsunami aftermath in the Nicobar Islands, I was puzzled about why the local government might be prohibiting foreigners from traveling to the island. Union territory says that the islands are ruled directly by the federal government, which seems to contradict the CNN article. [58] says, "Travel to the Nicobar Islands is restricted, and only Indian nationals engaged in research may visit. Some exceptions are made for tourists with special permits." [59] says: "The Nicobar Islands are not open to visiting foreigners, whether scholars or tourists. Indian citizens need a special permit - which is hardly ever granted." [60] mentions the island's lieutenant governor.

So I'm wondering why the Indian government restricts travel to the islands. Is it for ecological reasons, to maintain tribal culture, something to do with the island's past as a prison, or some other historical or political context we're missing?

What is the actual structure of the island's non-tribal government?

The tribal/non-tribal population and protected land area figures also seem to vary a lot from source to source.

The situtation on the islands seems to be in a little bit of flux because of the tsunami, but it would be nice to get a handle on how things were right beforehand. Thanks for any insight you can lend. -- Beland 21:36, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Hmm, there was a segment on Channel 4 News a few days ago, I think about the Nicobar Islands. In this case the government was trying to keep modernity away from the few remaining aboriginal islanders, whose culture was clearly teetering on a precipice. I think the relief consisted of chucking coconuts at the islanders from a fleeting boat, while they chucked pointy sticks back at the boat. So your cultural contamination theory seemed to be supported by that. -- John Fader 23:04, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Have a look at http://www.andaman.org/ - it has some related info on travel restrictions to the Andamans. But I think in this particular case, it may have a lot to do with not wanting people killed by the inhabitants, who are famously hostile to outsiders. - Mustafaa 23:06, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Interesting -- not so much for ecological or conservational reasons than for the safety of citizens and foreigners? Peter O. (Talk) 23:16, Jan 17, 2005 (UTC)

This BBC article suggest that some islands are off-limit because of military reasons. Furthermore, this article states that there were 93,000 visits by tourists to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, but it may be that in fact these tourists all went to the Andamans. -- Jitse Niesen 14:31, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

identity security issue?

Yesterday I received an email from

wiki@wikimedia.org

It states a password and username.

These do not refer to me!

I did not ask for any reminder.

Is this a scam or a security bloop from wiki?

I have posted this question on the general help page but thought it might be more relevant here.

No, this page is not for Wikipedia-related questions. Mgm|^(talk) 22:34, Jan 17, 2005 (UTC)

Ton

The article on pressure refers to units of weight called 'ton(US)' and 'ton(UK)'. Does anyone know what these are? I suspect that they're Imperial and metric tons, respectively, but I'm not sure. --Smack (talk) 01:07, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ton explains this, to more detail than your poor mortal mind can possibly withstand. -- John Fader 01:24, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

It looks like ton(US) and ton(UK) mean short ton and long ton, respectively. The terms are not used verbatim in ton but the text leads fairly straightly to that conclusion. I have heard of short and long tons forever but never heard of them categorized as U.S. vs U.K. (as are e.g. gallons). Such opportunity for enlightenment is the joy of our poor mortal minds. However, it would perhaps improve pressure to revise it to the more standard terms? --Sharkford 15:25, 2005 Jan 18 (UTC)

Weapons of Mass Destruction Destruction

Can anyone direct me to an article about the safe destruction of WMD's, particularly nuclear warheads? Every time I hear talk of destruction, I always become curious about the physics and mechanics as to how this is supposedly done. Thanks.

lvlarx 09:49, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

AFAIK (but IANARS) a nuclear warhead will not detonate unless critical mass is achieved AND an appropriate neutron source is introduced to initiate fission. Removing enough fissionable material to prevent critical mass is the safest way to prevent a nuke from going nuclear; however, since critical mass and initiation are usually achieved by an explosion of some kind, it will still explode, making a reasonably big mess. Or at least that's what I've been led to believe. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb might not be of use here. Alphax (t) (c) (e) 12:46, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

Nuclear weapons are comparatively easy. Take out the (overwhelmingly plutonium) fissile core elements and they can be de-enriched (empoverished?) into fuel for a plutonium burning reactor. The polonium initiator is probably going to end up as medium-level nuclear waste. I've no idea what one does with a ton or so of powdered lithium-deuteride fusion fuel, but it's not particularly hazardous. Biological and chemical weapons are a bit harder. Biological weapons are fairly straightfoward, largely because there isn't such a large volume of it and it can't be stored in weaponised form for a long time. Bleach, irradiation and high-temperature incineration are straightforward options. The hard case is chemical weapons. By some estimates the US Army alone has over 30,000 tons of them, and the Soviets had (and thus the Russians still have) even more. The US solution is high-temperature incineration, which is rather expensive. Many of the shells and rockets are decades old and have been poorly stored, and nasty chemical reactions have changed and corroded them. So they have to be processed in a special facility that can dismantle them using machines. Here's a story from the LA Times detailing how incredibly slow and expensive that process is. -- John Fader 13:09, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

For chemical weapons, see also Chemical Weapons Convention which describes how far various countries have come in regards to eliminating their weapons as well as the weapons of mass destruction series which describes in more detail. (By the way the U.S. has less than 22,000 tons of chemical agents and is testing chemical neutralization methods of destruction of chemical weapons) Rmhermen 16:23, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC)

LCD displays

I'd like to know why 17-19" LCD displays almost always have 5/4 aspect ratio, while most CRT and most 15" LCD displays have 4/3 ratio. What is the reason - is it easier to produce, is there particular demand for more squarish displays, do they look better on a desk?

And a second question is why the resolution of LCD displays is so limited? Why are there almost no displays with 1600x1200 or 1440x1050 resolution, while such resolution is commonplace on laptops. Is there no demand for higher res desktop LCD displays? Did someone decided that people don't need that resolution? Is the demand for hi-res LCD panels from notebook manufacturers so high that there are no panels left for stand-alone displays? Paranoid 17:16, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

a site to trace a great grandmother born in {gutengerg} mainz 1830 s

Dear sir, My grandmother emigrated to england some time in the early 1800s and her name was theresa breiding. theresa married edward byrchall in london 1873. she is mentioned on the english 1901 census as aged 70 years a british subject born in germany The latter day saints records give her birth place as gutenberg your assistance is requested on where I may search for information as non german perso and no knowledge of the language.. thank you very much , david r bluff

School Research: Murder or Manslaughter?

I am presently enrolled in a college Socioligy course and where writing a paper on a certain incedent that has happened with two diffrent groups. I am to take a position on the detailed story and write about it but befor i take a final position i would like to learn the diffrence between the two. Here is the situation:

I'm afraid we need a bit more detail than that :-)

If you were going to ask about the difference between the two terms, then broadly speaking (at least in English common-law systems) the difference is one of intent; murder is unlawful killing with the intent to kill someone, whereas manslaughter is unlawful killing without that intent (although if you set out to seriously injure someone, that may well be considered analogous to the intent to kill)

To take an example, were someone to be assaulted and fight back - and, by using more force than they intended, kill their assailant... that would be manslaughter; the killing was not a lawful one (although a plea of self-defence might well see them acquitted of the crime), but they did not intend for the victim to die.
However, were they assaulted, and fight their assailant off - then chase them down and beat them to death... that would be considered murder, since they acted with an intent to kill.

I have a suspicion you were going to ask for a suggestion over a specific case; my suggestion would be to go through the mind of the killer at the time of the incident. Were they aware their actions could or would lead to death? Had they taken a decision in the light of this awareness to continue with the action?

Best of luck reaching a decision; a lot of very interesting debate has taken place in the past by judges mulling over this very issue, and you may find it interesting to try looking for some of those cases. (For example: if, in the fight example above, party A restrains B - but B party has a grave medical condition, unknown to A, which causes the restraint to kill them... is that murder? A acted with intent to do the particular act that killed B, but did not intend it to be an act that could cause death...)

Huh, it did post last night, after all. Oh, well. Still forgot to sign it, though... Shimgray 20:45, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC))

Postmodern economics

What are viable methods for establishing and maintaining a post-monetary economy free of barter — a system without a medium of exchange or store of value?

In the absence of other answers, you might try reading the short story And Then There Were None by Eric Frank Russell. (Google will tell you where to find it. Then you might consider whether that society depicted is truly free of medium of exchange. DJ Clayworth 18:35, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Breast cancer and mammorgrams

moved from Village Pump BrokenSegue 01:54, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Hello out there! I want to get feedback on the subject of mamograms causing cancer. I read a long time ago (can't remember where) that the London Journal of Medicine stated that the pressure put upon the breast during a mamogram could activate inactive cancer cells. Has anyone heard of this? Can you give me any insight? Could this be possible and why or why not. If you have any info or links you can email me at pamelaleb@comcast.net Thank you very much.

There is research on the x-rays used in mammograms causing cancer. Rmhermen 02:25, Jan 19, 2005 (UTC)

First problem, no "London Journal of Medicine"... There seem to be quite a few papers discussing beliefs related to cancer, which mention the popular misconception that mammograms cause cancer, and a lot on the negative effects of excessive screening (basically, it screws with peoples' heads) but nothing I can find which seems to be the research you mention... this isn't a systematic search, but ten or fifteen minutes hasn't got me anywhere. Shimgray 03:39, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

do lemmings go in the water?

Look up Lemming (and, in particular, Norway Lemming). Lupo 08:16, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

And don't bite the newcomers, Lupo. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Function

What is a function from x to y? How to use an arc arrow diagram to depict a function.

See Function (mathematics)#Formal_definition. utcursch 08:40, Jan 19, 2005 (UTC)

Quebec French accent?

I had this question up on the Quebec French talk page for over a week and nobody seemed to know, so I'll try here. The basic question is:

"What are the linguistic terms and basics relating to this accent question? Is it phonology? or something physical? Where can I look up more on this question?"

On the Quebec french "ear" and "mouth"

I'd love to note somewhere the obvious difference between the location in the mouth of Quebec French vs. France French, and the related difference in how a Quebecois hears foreign sounds. Unfortunately I'm not really qualified to do this in detail. All I know is that the foreign "th" sounds come out very different in the different French accents when speaking English:

sound English Quebec France

[θ] "think" "tink" "sink"

[ð] "this" "dis" "zis"

Obviously the two languages are either differently placed in the mouth, or have a different "ear" for consonants, or both. Anyone understand the linguistic terminology here well enough to comment on this?
Steverapaport 20:20, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

While the fact has been widely aknowledged (I've seen numerous references to it), I have yet to see a suggested hypothesis. Maybe Quebecois are more exposed to English slang /t, d/ for [θ, ð] than European French speakers? --Circeus 20:42, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

First, my qualifications to comment: I lived in Ottawa (near the Quebec border) for a year, and in Northern Quebec for a summer. I've also spent a bit of time in France and in other parts of Europe where I have had business dealings with Frenchmen. In English and in Parisian French, which I studied for 7 years.

The difference is definitely not due to slang English influence, because in the remote parts of Quebec there isn't any to speak of. It is rather due to an entire way of speaking. To my ear the Quebecois speak a version of French that is spoken further back in the mouth -- their "R"s retreat almost to the uvula, the mouth is held further open, and the words alternate between sounding swallowed and sounding flat. The articulation points are further back on the tongue. There's also a bit of an adenoidal sound, as if the speaker has a cold.

The Parisiens speak closer to the front of the mouth, with more closed mouth, and most of the articulation done near the tip of the tongue and lips. I'd love to say all this with authority but all I have is my own eyes and ears for this.

I'm pretty sure that the difference in the "th" sounds is related to the different articulation points or the adenoidal thing, but I don't have much to back it up. But I'd love to hear from someone who does! Steverapaport 23:37, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

So, pointers to more on this question?

Steverapaport 18:20, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Deaths from the Crusades

I'm trying to find out how many people died fighting for the Vatican during all of the Crusades - all 12 or 13 or however many there were. That is, not the people defending the Holy Lands, just the people 'on offense'. Thanks! 168.213.1.134 18:45, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

There was no Vatican during the Crusades. You might want to look at Papal States, but even so, the Crusaders weren't fighting for the Pope. Rick K 01:19, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, I guess I'm a bit off on the exact background of the Crusades. But you still understand my question - the number of people who died trying to reclaim the Holy Lands. I guess I'm really shady on my history here... 168.213.1.134 16:49, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I think that the kind of answer you're looking for may not exist. Our article on the Crusades contains some good summary information, and links to more detailed accounts. From First Crusade:

Both knights and peasants from many different nations of western Europe, with little central leadership, travelled over land and by sea towards Jerusalem and captured the city in July 1099...

The crusades were not simple military campaigns, but were also a sort of migration. You might want to think of something kind of like the invading Vandals. -Rholton 15:56, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Academic failure

What are some good Web resources that deal with the causes of academic failure in high-school students? I'm not looking for ultrascholarly reports but rather for sites that an ordinary intelligent person can understand. Thanks, anon.

Rather than a link, I can offer some guidelines which are known to be predictors of failure:

7th grade performance of a student is an early indicator of how well that student, who was used to the less demanding environment of 1st - 6th grades, might fare. This is an indicator of high school performance for that student. (Specifically, how well they cope with change)
Similarly, the grades in a high school chemistry (including lab work) course are precursors of college-level performance. Those students taking the manual drafting course will get grades that are precursors of post-high school performance.
The key is how do the students react to more exacting or demanding standards. Ancheta Wis 15:02, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

equation for the area of a triangle

See Heron's formula -- Dominus 16:51, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

... which is fine if you know the lengths of all three sides, but if you know the length of one side and an altitude then you can use Area=(Base x Height)/2. The triangle article describes several different ways of calculating area. Gandalf61 10:49, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)

Usenet hierarchy

Can someone either direct me to a webpage completely explaining the Usenet hierarchy (eg alt. and talk.) or explain it below. I have looked at Great Renaming and Usenet already. Thanks, --anon

free articles?

Hello, I am building an internet business and am looking for a source for free articles that I can send through a retail opt-in list. Can I use Wikipedia and if so then what is my next step? Thank you in advance. Best Regards, -anon

Well, theoretically yes. But in practice you have to comply with the GFDL which means that in addition to sending the article itself you'd also have to send the entire text of the GFDL (which is rather large) and a full list of all the wikipedia contributors who contributed to the article. Now, there are those (left-handed unibrowed communists, all) who'll tell you that you need only distribute a link to the latter, but that's never been tested in court; I can't recommend volunteering to be the test case. -- John Fader 01:20, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Medical records

I would like to know if I have a right to request copies of medical records form the various doctors and hospitals I have gone to through my life (I live in the US). How do I go about it? Should I expect to pay very much? ike9898 19:39, Jan 20, 2005 (UTC)

Your right to access and correct your medical record (aka "personal health information") is protected under the HIPAA. Unfortunately, the HIPAA doesn't help make the process of obtaining your PHI any easier -- I'm pretty sure you'll have to request documents from each hospital individually. Just call or write them; they'll send you a form or (rarely) direct you to a website where you can download and print out a PDF and mail it in. IIRC, in many (most?) cases, you should expect to pay up to about $1 per page. --David Iberri | Talk 21:38, Jan 20, 2005 (UTC)

These answers apply to US only. You have the right to see your records and request copies, but remember that they are the "work notes" of your contractors and the original physical record does not "belong" to you. In general most doctor's offices, clinics, and hospitals do not charge to send a single copy of your current records to another doctor or hospital. Especially sensitive (mental health, HIV, addiction) records have tighter legal restrictions of various types and transfer and access can be a bigger pain in the rear. Many will charge to make a copy if you ask them to send to yourself, especially if the records are voluminous. You mention "through my life;" I don't know how old you are, but law does not require storage forever for adults. Most hospitals and clinics send records to storage occasionally and you might expect to pay for accessing archived records (or you may find they cant be found). As far as I know, there is no law regarding charging for copies of records, so above is custom and may or may not be followed in unusual cases (e.g., if your inpatient records take up an entire shelf in the hospital). If you are an adult and you actually get records from, say, the 1970s, you may be surprised at how scant they are. Legally required documentation has increased probably 10-fold over the last 25 years (and you wonder why health care costs continue to rise). And absolutely, you will have to request from each provider; legally, even if your current provider has a complete set of your whole-life records from ten previous providers, they can only transfer the record of their own care of you to another provider. alteripse 13:26, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Metaphysical Psychotherapist

Is there such a thing as a Metaphysical Psychotherapist

Yes, but not for long. You see, the constructive interference caused by the wavefront coincidence of two such strong sources of pseudoscientific claptrap will produce localized levels of blatant untruth that exceed the fundamental capacity of Einstein-Minowsky spacetime to sustain dissemblance (given by the Rumsfeld constant, that is 14.6 barefaced lies per cubic inch). To shed the excess nonsense a Heisenberg-Posen bridge will form (a perfect sphere with a diameter of approximately one meter) and the space therein will be ejected into hyperspace. From the frame of reference of a nearby stationary observer, that volume will appear to vanish (with the corresponding inrush of 4*pi/3 cubic meters of air, producing a loud "gasp" sound) leaving only the calves, feet, and sandals of the metaphysical psychotherapist (unless they're a midget, of course). -- 81.153.211.84 01:56, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

It is with extreme reluctance that I venture to even slightly temper the positively awe-inspiring paragraph offered above. And I've been led to believe that some of my wit was a tad sharp for tastes here... I also wouldn't trust a "Metaphysical Psychotherapist" as far as I could speculate her, but their more honest cousins usually hang out under the sign of "philosophical counseling." Google it [61] and you will find an immediate page of references to their learned societies and even pages answering that common, burning question, "what is philosophical counseling" [62]. alteripse 02:46, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Veterans Administration Cuts - 70% ??

Reference junkie here can't find anything to verify this. According to the VA Patient Advocate at the VA in Florida, the administration is cutting the VA budget by 70%. Now, why can't I find anything to substantiate this? It's not on Google or High Beam - nada. Apparently, it was just announced to the VA. Even if it wasn't released to the press yet, wouldn't there be something somewhere to confirm this? --allie 22:10, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Time warp? This [63] was posted in March 2003. Here is another angle from approx 1 year ago on this same topic [64]. These two [65] [66] from last spring address the planned reductions through 2009: more like a 17% reduction over 4 years, it looks like. A 70% imminent cut that none of these groups has heard about seems unlikely. alteripse 05:06, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Thank you. I feel like such a dyslexic dolt. Appreciate the references, very, very much. --allie 11:09, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Sri Lankan local government

What is the structure of Sri Lankan govt (not LTTE areas) below District level? What are the names of the administrative subdivisions in Trincomalee? Thanks! 203.94.91.81 05:10, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Intermittent modem hardware failure

Yes, sad to say, some of us are still using 56k dial-up modems. Occasionally mine attempts to dial and says "hardware failure". Now, it only does this when my dial up tries to connect (my ISP disconnects me every 2 hours on the dot but I have a little bit of software that reconnects me automatically to fight my ISP's evil ways), so it can't be a loose connection. Rebooting often, but not always, solves it. Any ideas?

~~Apologies in advance if my signature appears strange. I've been told off. I worked on the bloody thing for ages, but now I'll have to simplify it again. Grrrrr!~~ Actually, what was said was that it made somebody's page go broken, so probably best not to put it on a significant page at all. (No sig, this is user : bodnotbod).

Saving money by cancelling school

About how much money would the U.S. and the school systems in it save if they took off the last day of school for all public schools? How much would be saved in pay, transportation, etc? --elpenmaster

In all likelyhood, not as much as you might think. I believe all administrators and teachers are exempt from overtime laws, meaning that they get paid the same regardless of how many days they work. You might get some savings in power utilization, and perhaps fuel and salary from busses, assuming that the district picks up the tab for them and not the parents. Also, it's important to remember that many schools do not shut down just because the school year is out. There's always summer sessions, the janitorial staff is typically employed year round, so costs will always be incurred. Also, I believe in California at least, a district's funding is directly tied to their attendance, so by cutting a day, the district itself would be getting less money. Of course, this also raises the counter-question, "What is the average cost/benefit to society per student per day of school attended?" --Cvaneg 22:42, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Asian alphabetization

Let's say the only language you know is Japanese, or one of the other Asian languages that doesn't use a [[phonetic alphabet. Is there an equivalent of alphabetization that your can use to organize items, such as an index or a phone book? How does this work? ike9898 14:16, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)

Japanese is a bad example, because it does have a phonetic alphabet, and has had for about a thousand years. But your question is reasonable. I recently did some research into the way medieval Chinese printers organized their type cases; as you can imagine, the problems are similar.

Typically, each Chinese character is associated with a "radical", which is a common subpart of that character and many others. For example, the character for "明" = "bright" is clearly a compound of the two characters for "sun" ("日") and "moon" ("月"), and the radical is "sun". The radicals themselves are ordered partly by the number of strokes they contain and partly in an arbitrary but conventional way. Often, a major dictionary such as the K'ang Hsi Tzu-Tien (Kangxi zi dian in modern spelling) of 1716 will establish an order for characters or radicals, and this order will be re-used for hundreds of years afterwards.

Chinese characters in dictionaries are usually ordered by one or more of: number of strokes; what radical they contain (with the radicals themselves ordered as in K'ang Hsi Tzu-Tien or some other well-known and widely-available source); how many strokes they have in addition to the radical; what order they appear in a standard dictionary; or some combination of these.

Typically, for example, the dictionary will list the characters ordered first by number of strokes; characters with the same number of strokes will be ordered by radical, with the characters with simpler radicals before those with more complicated radicals; where the radicals have the same number of strokes the radicals will be ordered in a conventional and well-known order; and where the characters contains the same number of strokes and the same radicals, they will be ordered in a conventional order.

Note that even a phonetic alphabet doesn't solve all your problems. Consider the problem of locating John Smith in the telephone book. The spelling is unambiguous, but you still can't find the one you want. Modern Chinese dictionaries often list words in order by pinyin phonetic spelling, but some languages, like Mandarin and Korean, contain so many homonyms that this is insufficient. My Chinese dictionary, for example, lists seven different words all pronounced "chá".

I suggest that if you're interested in this you go to the library or bookstore and take a look at a Chinese-English dictionary. You will probably find its organization quite absorbing.

I hope this was helpful. -- Dominus 16:07, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

THEN

Even though it was Chinese who invented movable type, as late as a couple of hundred years ago, many Chinese printers preferred block printing because of economics. Reason: Cheap labor. Some books are selling like hot cakes. Instead of reset each page at each run, they could save the wooden board for later use.

Movable type was not very popular in China. However, it was a different story in Korea. Many Korean scholars studied Chinese works. To help their customers catch-up quickly, many Korean printers used durable brass type to print Chinese books as soon as they got a copy from China. I don't know how they managed the font.

The project of Chin Ch'ien (Jian Jin) in 1776 had twelve huge type cases with two hundred drawers each. Each drawer was divided into eight compartments and each compartment held four types. The cases were labled with the twelve divisions set out in the K'ang Hsi Tzu-Tien and each drawer also had a label; the drawers were ordered (as usual) by radical and by number of strokes.

Before each page was composed, the printer would go through it and make a list of which characters were required and how many of each. Then his assistants would gather the types from the case. Another person was responsible for returning the types to the cases when a page was broken down.

Often an unusual character would be required that had not been made up beforehand. Chin Ch'ien was using wooden type, so he could have a new character made up on the spot when necessary.

Wang Chen in 1313 was using metal types. He had them organized on two huge round tables with rotating tabletops. On the tables, the types were organized as usual, by strokes and radicals, with one table for the common characters and the other for the rare ones. As the types were needed, a printer sitting between the tables would select the appropriate types. -- Dominus 13:54, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)

In the

NOW

A Chinese dictionary usually has two or more index systems. The formal one is radical + stroke number system. No matter which dialect you speak, if you can write, you can use it. A schoolboy has to spend weeks to months to learn how to use the 100-some radicals. Usually, there will be another index that orders words using stroke numbers only. These are usually for the "difficult" words. Sometimes, you just can't tell which radical is the one.

Another method is to order the characters according to its pronounciation. Before the 20th century, there was no widely accepted way to so it. People invented many ordering systems. Currently, two widely used standards based on Standard Mandarin are used: pinyin and bopomofo. If you can pronounce, you can find it.

There are many less-used index methods. Example: the four corner method. Not each dictionary is using it.

Today they don't print so many copies of telephone directories. A telephone directory may order names according to the family name -> given name order. Family names are sorted by stroke number -> order of pinyin or bopomofo. -- Toytoy 18:37, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)

Okay, so if a literate Chinese person was given 100 index cards that each had a different word on it, could he easily put these cards in order according to one of the above schemes (without using any sort of reference book)? ike9898 22:34, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)

Possibly not. To sort several English words, you just compare each word's each alphabets. With Chinese characters, this can be more difficult. 1st level ordering could be easy. 2nd level would be much more difficult.

Radicals and stroke numbers are 1st level. They do not distinguish each charcter withing the group. You need another ordering method to sort each character. ("狼" (wolf) and "狗" (dog) both have the "犬" (the left part) radical, you don't know which comes first). Using phonemes is usually easier.

Some methods are too difficult to do it in mind. There are 100-200 radicals (1st level), you just can't remember the correct dictionary order of them unless you are truly insane. Counting stroke numbers (1st level) is a tedious job because there are some exceptions when two strokes are actually counted as one (or vice versa) because you are wrong and they are right. (How do you write R? P then slash or I then "a crescent and a slash"?) Sometimes, your order of writing is just different from theirs. (How do you write H? Vertical, vertical, horizontal? Or vertical, horizontal, vertical?) Possibly you still need a dictionary.

Ordering using phonetics is somewhat easier. Many people in Taiwan were taught bopomofo (a set of non-Roman phonemes) in kindergarten or 1st grade. People in China learned pinyin (Romanization) at about the same age. Both systems are nearly identical except for the writing systems. (See: music notation). It is possibly easier to order in pinyin because many bopomofo users forgot the exact order except for the first four or eight phonemes: bo, po, mo, fo, de, te, ne, le ... . They know the order of Latin alphabets.

If you have a rollodex or a notebook filled with telephone numbers, you may use stroke number or pinyin to order names. There's a system of family name's order "The Hundred Families' Surnames" (百家姓) (趙錢孫李周吳鄭王 ...) and another list of 1,000 frequently used characters "An Essay of One Thousand Words" (千字文) (a meaningful article written in exact 1,000 different words: "天地玄黃宇宙洪荒 ..." "In the beginning of the time and universe ..."). These are not usually used for general purpose ordering. Many ordering systems may be too difficult to implement in mind.

You can configure your Chinese version of Microsoft Windows, Linux or MacOS to order using the character codes or language specific orders. With the Traditional Chinese Windows, you can choose between stroke number and bopomofo. Some systems may support more ordering methods. -- Toytoy 04:25, Jan 22, 2005 (UTC)

Sculptured Reliefs at Perspolis

Can someone find info on the Sculptured Reliefs at Perspolis? I can't seen to find anything on them ((well at least not that which is useful.. >>; )) What info I do have is mostly pics and that cannot help me do a report on it. So please if you do find something ie- How is it made... What materials where used... What techique was used.... In what location are the works found.. bla bla bla.. you get the Idea I'm pretty sure

It's possible your trouble finding info is that most people who are likely to be providing useful info spell it Persepolis, and PRESTO, there's a whole article about it right here! alteripse 12:44, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)

electrical heating element

My electric stove has a heating element that has 'gone bad' (doesn't heat when voltage is applied across it). I assumed these things go bad because somehow the conductive path is broken, like a light bulb burning out. However, when I test the resistance across the busted heating element, it is not infinite but something more like 1 M-ohm. Can these heating elements go bad in some other way? ike9898 22:44, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)

Ordinarily, the resistance should be a few tens of ohms (e.go., 220 V across 30 ohms gives 1.6 kW of heat). 1 M-ohm will be leakage across imperfect insulation somewhere. —AlanBarrett 10:56, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Chef

Is there a complete list of the Chef's songs from South Park? I cannot find one that is GFDL or other open license. --Fan

You mean you want the lyrics, or just the titles? The lyrics are copyrighted, and will be for many years, so you're not going to find a GFDL listing of them. If you're just talking about the titles, that can't be copyrighted, so a list is perfectly free use. Rick K 21:59, Jan 22, 2005 (UTC)

Just the titles, and maybe some information about where each one appears, the context and some description of what the song is about and any guests who feature on it. I could not find it on the South Park article. Am I missing it? Thanks --Fan

Police (APCO?) 10 codes

What are all of the (APCO?) 10 codes? (i.e.: 10-4 = "Message recieved", "OK"; 10-10= "Negative","No.") I found a list of them, but it only have from 10-1 to 10-34 or somewhere around there. I know there are more (95?)..

Codes above 40 vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; APCO only created (I think) and standardized the first 40, and allowed anything higher to be defined by the user. --jpgordon ∇∆∇∆ 03:05, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Okay, thank you. Do you know of a website (or do you know them off-hand?) where I can find the entire list for the NYPD? (And uh...just out of pure curiosity, what does APCO stand for?)

The 10-codes are not standardised. APCO stands for Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials. I think the 10-codes are different for each city or whatever. Alphax (t) (c) (e) 09:45, Jan 23, 2005 (UTC)

South Park Script?

Where can I find the script to "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut"? I found a script once, but it left out some parts. I'm looking for a script that has everythnig every character said, word-for-word, including the songs. Does such a thing exsist? o.o;

Can you buy it? It must be copyright. The South Park Article is a little vague about many details. --Fan

Religion question

Which are the most and least religious countries in the world? Are they Senegal/Nigeria and Czech Republic/France respectively? A Google search yields contradicting results.

Creative writing assignment

Have you ever been trapped and imprisonned in a tall dark tower? What do you think it would feel like? What thoughts would go through your head? Tnx. Nigel

Removing the border from frames in XHTML

Now, I understand that this can be done with frameborder="0" in the frameset tag, but this isn't official. Is there an official way of doing it? Alphax (t) (c) (e) 09:54, Jan 23, 2005 (UTC)

rainfall patterns in Ireland

Does anyone have a link for rainfall patterns in Ireland on a month by month basis? I'm thinking of holidaying in Ireland in the summer and would like to know what is most likely to be the least wettest month. Jooler

For a start: [67] and [68] Joyous 16:46, Jan 23, 2005 (UTC)

Canadian pilot ww1 question

I am having trouble finding any information on the Canadian Pilot (ww1-?) Eddie Redenbacher.

Am I spelling the name wrong....Can you offer me any help or suggestions on how to get the info??

Thank you C. wallace

Do you mean Eddie Rickenbacker, American WWI ace ?