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October 27

US Army vs USMC

What is the difference between the US Army and the US Marine Corps? The US Marine Corps are the soldiers over in Iraq fighting the land war, what is the Army doing to contribute? Why isn't the Army the main force over in Iraq, the USMC and the US Army seems to greatly overlap. Could someone clear this up for me please? Thanks alot. --Jamesino 00:22, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

The main difference is the US Marine Corps is part of the US Navy. Where did you get the impression that it was only (or mostly) Marines fighting the land war? This site shows the deployment of troops in Iraq: Donald Rumsfeld testified recently that there were 133,000 US personnel in Iraq, of which about 27,000 are Marines, so the US Army and Army Reserve are pretty overwhemingly the major force in Iraq. --Canley 00:47, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

The Marines are not part of the Navy, they are a different armed force. The original concept of marines (which, I believe, started with the Brits), was that they would be ground troops which are launched from ships (as in the WW2 Normandy beach landing). This contrasts with the Army, which may be delivered near the combat area by ship, but are not expected to make combat landings. Thus, Marines might be used to establish a beach-head, then regular Army troops would be brought in once the beach-head was secured. In the US, the Marines have also become a somewhat more "elite" force, and are also sent first into combat in areas that don't involve combat beach landings. The Navy, of course, is only expected to fight on the sea. There does tend to be quite a bit of overlap between the Army and Marines, however, especially when troops are in short supply, as is the case now in Iraq. StuRat 02:48, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

It is not so simple. The U.S. Marines are still part of the Navy (that is why they are the Marine Corps). Both the Navy and Marine are part of the Department of the Navy and they share resources such as legal and educational departments (JAG and U.S. Naval Academy) as well as Marines deploying from Navy ships. Branch distinctions are less important under the modern integrated strucutres. Rmhermen 03:24, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Oh, I got the impression from the news broadcasts. They are saying that "Us Marines launch an offensive at.......", "more US Marines die from suicide bombing at .....". But still both the USMC and the US Army seem like ground troops to me, what is the distinguishing difference between a marine infantryman and a army infantryman? Jamesino 01:07, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I beleive this may answer atleast some of your questions.--Porsche997SBS 04:15, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

British marines did indeed originate as sea borne soldiers. Every Royal Navy warship of any size had a marine contingent. Today the Corps (within the navy) has developed a unique role. The British marines are now Commandos. Trained for independent action, and specialists in artic warfare amonst their range of skills.-----petirmichel

Alien cross-signal thing

I just saw the horrible Plan 9 from Outer Space, and I found something quite strange in it. When the "aliens" "salute" each other, they quickly cross their arms over their chest and put them down again. This is the same thing that the X-Nauts from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door do. Is this just a coinidence, or some sort of tribute to the movie? --The Great Llama^{(now on editor review!)} 00:27, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Plan 9 (Ed Wood), is quite famous so I would suppose that the you are right about it being a tribute. You can search google and see if the creators ever said anything about that. --Justanother 01:23, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure this helps...but I've seen that in other movies too...the Oompa Loompas in the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory do that. My theory: Oompa Loompas are actually aliens that are distant cousins of the Plan 9 aliens. Paragon12321 21:59, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

We just rented that (again), I'll check it out. But since Johnny Depp stars in Ed Wood (film) AND Charlie, I totally can see that. --Justanother 04:05, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

natraj plant?

http://www.dry-flowers.net/products/exotics2.html

I am trying to find information about a plant grown in India called natraj. It is used by florists in exotic arrangements and to support orchid stems. The above URL shows a picture of the product, I couldn't figure out how to import the actual image to this spot.

I don't know if the product is a root, limb, or bark. The product is sold dried, so I can't imagine what the original looks like. It is quite a sturdy stem and is generally sold in lengths of between 24" and 36". It is an inexpensive product $8.00 per stem in Canada.

It may be a shrub or a tree or a vine. I have spent a good deal of time searching the web with no success, other than the wholesale site linked above.

Could you give me some information about the plant or point me in the right direction to continue my search?

Thanks for your help.

--216.221.81.99 01:02, 27 October 2006 (UTC) Sandi Remedios

Bit of a guess here but I think natraj isn't a plant but any dried material with that sinuous smoke-like shape, named after Nataraja. There is probably some plant that is commonly used but I think natraj is simply a name used to describe the shape. MeltBanana 02:31, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your help... Sandi

Jokes about stupid people

Is it PC to make jokes about stupid people in general and in particular? (i dont mean mentally deficient/brain damaged/mentally disabled etc)--Light current 01:30, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Possibly that depends on the stupidity, and the reasons behind it. I think that it should be, though (although it might be argued that it mainly is an arrogant way of improving one's own feelings of superiority..)... 惑乱 分からん 01:58, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Hard to say, it would depend on the situation and the joke. But if the joke can in any way reflect on a particular race, nationality, etc. then it is definitely not PC. --Justanother 02:06, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Do you also exclude the slow-witted, or the not particularly brainy? Where do you draw the line? Very few people are truly "stupid", and it's not their fault so they should not be made the butt of jokes. Almost everybody does stupid things from time to time, but that doesn't make them stupid people. I don’t usually have a problem with jokes about behaviour, but jokes about genetically inherited characteristics, the effects of brain injuries, and many other things that people can do nothing about can be extremely offensive. JackofOz 02:23, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

How about those ubiquitous dumb blonde jokes ? StuRat 02:27, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Keep in mind that political correctness is very much in the eye of the beholder. People vary greatly in what will or will not offend them. I really can't imagine how a joke about "stupid people in general" would go ("Stupid people are so stupid, they...?). About people in particular, that person himself would quite likely take offense, as would his family, and his friends might too. If you're just making fun of a mutual acquaintance with someone, some people might not appreciate your making fun of people behind their backs, but realistically I don't think most people would find it inappropriate. -Elmer Clark 03:11, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

"You know, stupid people are so stupid, that their general lack in intelligence makes them really dumb!" Haahaahaahh!!! @_@ 惑乱 分からん 03:17, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Personally, I think the problem is that they're mostly so cliched and unfunny... I don't mind jokes about stupid people in general, but they'd somehow need something more, or otherwise being too stupid in themselves... 惑乱 分からん 03:17, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

It seems the world's funniest joke is about stupidity. So is the second funniest.--Shantavira 07:38, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

It's only PC if the people you tell it to get the joke. Otherwise, it's personal. --Tbeatty 09:13, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

But then if they're stupid enough not to get the joke ,then they won't complain because they won't know why it's funny :) Lemon martini 12:14, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Judging by the responses, I realise the question should have been phrased:

Is it PC to make jokes about peoples'(stupid) behaviour or other characteristics as long as youre not referring to their:

• religion,
• race,
• sex,
• sexuality,
• appearance,
• age,
• disability
• (anything else?)

I think maybe there should be a page on what is, and is not, acceptable these days, if there isnt already. I wouldnt know how to start looking. Political correctness perhaps? Any help appreciated. Maybe its easier to say what sort of jokes can be made about people. 8-(--Light current 16:43, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Put in another way, if you tell a joke about a stupid person to a stupid person, they will laugh. No stupid person thinks they are stupid. If you tell them directly they are stupid, then they will punch you in the nose, since they've been hearing this all their lives.... --Zeizmic 16:48, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Yeah but many people laugh at jokes they dont understand, because thats what they think they should do. Not many people have the guts to say 'I dont get it'. 8-)--Light current 16:50, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

If you are making a joke where we all get to feel superior then it is usually OK (ha ha). Just realize that the butt of the joke might rightly have his/her feelings hurt if he hears/reads it. So if you make a joke about some of the stupid posts here it could well hurt people's feeling and create an unwelcoming atmosphere. I find that any joke that relies on the "in" laughing about some others and the stupid things that they do can be hurtful, elitist, and unwelcoming. For that reason they are worse than "not PC". Jokes about the stupid things we ourselves have done are usually OK, even if they obliquely reference a group like "When I was a n00b, I . . ." but I can see how those can easily cross the line too. I think that a simple joke about a person doing something stupid is funny and we all can laugh at it without hurting anyone (which is what PC means, not hurting anyone's feeling though PC is often taken to an extreme), like the joke about shooting the guy because the 911 operator says "First, let's make sure he is dead". --Justanother 16:58, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes I like that one. But is it offensive to NRA people say? 8-)--Light current 17:07, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Laughing is about oneself first. Let's create a committee for the preservation of stoopidity. If there were only smart people everywhere, no more jokes would be possible. -- DLL ^{.. T} 17:40, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I am sure that they would find it the funniest. Now if it was "Did you hear about the NRA member . . ." --Justanother 17:39, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes of course that would be anti NRA members, but still funny! 8-)--Light current 20:40, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean that when people say "you're retarded" or jokes about retarded people? The velociraptor 23:25, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

No I dont think jokes about retarded people are acceptable--Light current 23:31, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Mercedes-benz

What are the opportunities and threats of Mercedes-benz SLR Mc Laren?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.246.51.163 (talk • contribs)

• opportunities: Fast car (= speedy transportation, fun, status)
• threats: Fast car (= danger of dying, pollution)

do you want more specifics ? Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. -- ExpImp^talkcon 11:19, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I think he's asking for a SWOT analysis; in other words, he's asking for forces in the market (external factors) that are opportunities/threats for people who want to sell more Mercedes-Benz cars. --Kjoonlee 18:49, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't believe pollution from a Mercendes Benz is much plausible physical threat to a McLaren. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 05:02, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Common quotes

I currently live in Australia. The other day i was thinking of some famous quotations said by Australian politicans, but then i began to wonder-' are these famous in other countries?'. like everyone heard clinton say "I did not have relations with that woman" or Nixon "I am not a crook". What are the quotes by Australian politcans that you personally remember? (PLease don't answer this if you're Australians, nor actually research anything. I am just interested in your opinion".

Cuban Cigar 08:39, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

"G'day mate, fancy another shrimp on the barbie?" <g,d&r> JIP | Talk 10:50, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't know any Australian politicians, besides this Howard-guy.. was he called Howard ? right, he is indeed called Howard. And i don't know a single quote.... After asking 2 of my friends, i believe that it is quite common in Europe to know of no famous quotations of Australian politicians.-- ExpImp^talkcon 11:22, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I second that - I'm in Europe and I don't know any quotations from Australian politicians either. In fact, I'm struggling to think of anything any Australian politician has done that has became well known in Europe. At the moment all I can come up with is Paul Keating putting his hand on the Queen's bum. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 11:42, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Do they have politicians in Australia?  --Lambiam^Talk 12:29, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Here in the US, I can't think of any famous quotes from an Aussie politician, either. However, if you list some that you consider famous, perhaps they may ring a bell. Note that I can think of some famous British politician quotes, like "Peace in our time" and "We will fight on the beaches...". StuRat 13:02, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

At least you now have a famous quote from an Ozzie religious leader.... --Zeizmic 13:45, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Which quote is that ? StuRat 14:44, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6090136.stm

That's an interesting quotation in the light of this, which suggests it's the cats that are the problem in Australia.--Shantavira 17:42, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Calls to mind the Attila the Stockbroker poem, Contributory negligence.

"Do you fuck on first dates?" Ok, not a politician, but if he were I bet he would get enough votes for a seat in parliament. DirkvdM 19:05, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

What about the one by the Oz Prime Minister in support of comments made by one of his Ministers the other week in which he (the PM) said on his weekly radio chat show something like, "Muslims coming to Australia are welcome to share in the benefits of being here, but they need to know that in Australia we speak English, not Japanese, not Arabic, but English, and if they want to go home to where they can enjoy Sharia Law, we will not deprive them of that human right. They should also remember that when Muslims come to Australia, it is they who will have to adapt to our Australian culture - Australians will never have to adapt to the Muslim way of life." Sorry for any misquotes but that is the message that he left with me and one I shall repeat repeatedly.

I agree with that quote, and would even go further: "If you want to wear a burqa, stay in a country where that's the custom. If you want to preach global jihad, then go blow yourself up somewhere else." StuRat 05:17, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

And if you're from the US and think people in other countries don't so things the right way, then stay the fuck home if that's the place you prefer so much. DirkvdM 07:12, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

And if you're a disgruntled brit keep it to yourself; none of us shape public policy --froth^{T C} 18:59, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

He's not a disgruntled Brit, he's from the Nether Regions. :-) StuRat 19:38, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

No. Most of the rest of the world would struggle to name an Australian politician, let alone something they've said. How many famous quotes by Canadian politicians can you think of? What about from the Republic of Ireland? Didn't think so. The advantage of this is that foriegners, as a rule, don't remember our bad politicians either...--Robert Merkel 05:29, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm British and, for many years now, have been amused at the regular outbursts by Mark Latham reported in the UK press. I've forgotten the exact nature ofof many of his memorable quotes, but they usually involve calling someone (usually Howard) an "arsehole" or an "arselicker". The only Aussie political quote i could repeat verbatim, is his reference to the Aussie representatives visiting Bush in the US as: "a conga line of suckholes". Its a quote, i firmly believe, everyone should try to incorporate into their vocab. Rockpocket 07:05, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, Mark Latham has some classics. As does Paul "Scumbag" Keating, who described Australia as the "arse end of the world" and gave us "the recession we had to have" and said John Howard "slither[ed] out of the Cabinet room like a mangy maggot". Then there's Bob Hawke's "by the year 1990, there will be no Australian child living in poverty" even though "anyone who sacks a bloke because he doesn't turn up for work today is a bum" (after winning the America's Cup). Some others:

• Gough Whitlam's strangled enunciation on being sacked as PM: “Ladies and gentlemen, well may we say "God Save the Queen", because nothing will save the Governor-General. The proclamation you have just heard was countersigned Malcolm Fraser, who will go down in history as Kerr's cur”. But "the fun is where I am!" and "maintain the rage and enthusiasm!" indicates a lighter side.
• Robert Menzies: “I am one of the few men honest enough to say they do not understand women”, and "A man may be a tough, concentrated, successful money-maker and never contribute to his country anything more than a horrible example".
• John Howard: "you must remember that the Australian voter has a short memory span - less than 14 days in most cases". It's great when politicians respect their constituents. Natgoo 10:44, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

But it's true! :) In fact I wonder if there's any basis for this - say if people analysed data from polls at certain times - i.e. the government does something controversial and suddenly drops below 50% support, maybe in two weeks time the polls always jump back to the way they were before or something. --WikiSlasher 13:57, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Ha ha some good quotes there even ones that I forgot about. And I thought that people would know more about Australia because it was important (at least i think so).Cuban Cigar 12:35, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm excluded from answering, but here are a few quotes that you can read in your spare time if you like:

• Menzies: Australia is British to the bootstraps
• Menzies (toasting the Queen at Parliament House, Canberra): I did but see her passing by, and yet I love her till I die (itself a quote from ?? Robert Herrick)
• Harold Holt: Australia will go all the way with LBJ
• Arthur Calwell: Two Wongs don’t make a White
• William McMahon: I am not a homo (best remembered as screaming headlines that took up the whole front page of a Sydney rag)
• Whitlam: I have not referred to the Democratic Labor Party as whore; I have, however, referred to her as "the prostitute of politics"
• Malcolm Fraser: Life wasn’t meant to be easy
• Keating: Australia is in danger of becoming a banana republic
• Howard: We will never, ever have a GST (spoken in early 1996; in 2000, he introduced a GST over the objections of millions)
• Howard: I want Australia to be relaxed and comfortable
• Howard: The times will suit me
• Howard: We will decide who comes to this country, and the circumstances in which they come.
• Robert Ray: referred to Mal Colston as The Quisling Quasimodo from Queensland.

JackofOz 01:06, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

pontiac hood ornament-help

i am looking for info about a hood ornament-looks like an indiand cheiftan- alabaster with chrome edgeing @ end of headress-looks like it had light inside?

Is it one of these? Anchoress 09:23, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

encyclopedic

How do you rewrite a page so it isn't blatant advertising, and is encyclopedic in nature. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OHM_Tech_Ltd

I thought this article would be of use as there are probably thousands of test stickers on thousands of pieces of equipment all over the country, so it might help people find out what they were.

Thanks

For questions about editing Wikipedia, it's best to use the help desk. But for starters, see WP:NPOV and perhaps WP:SPAM. Unfortunately, there are an increasing number of articles like that in Wikipedia and it's difficult to keep on top of them.--Shantavira 12:21, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Green Tree Frog

What preys on the American tree frog? And what do they prey on ?

• The American green tree frog article has some information about their diet (apparently mostly insects), and by following a few links from the article, we get to their Amphibiaweb article, at [1], which has a lot of detailed information about them. Feel free to ask if you need help with the proper citation for an assignment, or if you have trouble working through a page that thick. (Category O is apparently "Predators"). -- Creidieki 16:39, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Voldo-walking

A girl in my school walks like Voldo... is this a disease or what? --froth^{T C} 17:02, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

If requesting medical or legal advice, please consider asking a doctor or lawyer.--Shantavira 17:45, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm not asking for advice... --froth^{T C} 20:11, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Yea that was a little trigger happy, IMHO, Shantavira. Sorry though, I can't help with your question. Maybe you could ask her? Aaadddaaammm 02:52, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

You could try asking her. Maybe she has a bad back or thinks it's cool or something. --WikiSlasher 13:59, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Salt on bricks

Can anyone tell me the best way to remove salt formations from brick surfaces? Thanks

High pressure water hose? Johntex\^talk 18:16, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

It's efflorescence, and our articles are just stubs. You can buy an acid brick cleaner from the hardware store, or you can use muriatic acid. --Zeizmic 20:07, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

• • This is the best overview of cleaning brick surfaces: [Guideline] -THB 03:20, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Uranium in cigarettes

What isotope of Uranium is commonly found in trace amounts in cigarettes? The Ayatollah 18:46, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Polonium-210 [[2]] . I think our article on polonium was written by a smoker! :) --Zeizmic 20:03, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Can Polonium 210 be used for nuclear weapons? Jamesino 22:05, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Isnt it obvious from our page on it?

Polonium-210

This isotope of polonium is an alpha emitter that has a half-life of 138.39 days. A milligram of polonium-210 emits as many alpha particles as 5 grams of radium. A great deal of energy is released by its decay with a half a gram quickly reaching a temperature above 750 K. A few curies (gigabecquerels) of polonium-210 emit a blue glow which is caused by excitation of surrounding air. A single gram of polonium-210 generates 140 watts of heat energy. Since nearly all alpha radiation can be easily stopped by ordinary containers and upon hitting its surface releases its energy, polonium-210 has been used as a lightweight heat source to power thermoelectric cells in artificial satellites. A polonium-210 heat source was also used in each of the Lunokhod rovers deployed on the surface of the Moon, to keep their internal components warm during the lunar nights. Because of its short halflife though polonium-210 cannot provide power for long-term space missions and has been phased out of use in this application.

--Light current 22:28, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Do I need to point out that polonium-210 is an isotope of polonium, not uranium ? StuRat 02:40, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Err. Yes good point. I dont think theres any uranium in my cigarettes! But it occurs in uranium deposits!--Light current 02:43, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Judging by the number of google hits for uranium & cigarette, it seems there is uranium in cigarettes... Or at least people think there is. Dismas|^(talk) 11:47, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I think the point here is that, even if there is a little uranium-238, it would be far less dangerous than its decay product polonium-210. That's basically because the half-life of uranium is so much longer, and therefore there are far fewer disintegrations per second in the same quantity of the radionuclide. The half-life of U-238 is about four billion years, so if the 138-day number is accurate for Po-210, that means a microgram of Po-210 would expose you to roughly 10 billion times the intensity of radiation that you'd get from a microgram of U-238. Of course the polonium will decay away, whereas the uranium won't, but still, your total exposure from the polonium will be more than 5 million times what you'd get from the uranium over the next hundred years. --Trovatore 21:38, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Hmm--actually I think I dropped a zero; the calculation I had in mind would give "more than 50 million times" for the second comparison. However I wasn't taking into account the radioactivity of the uranium decay products, or the fact that natural uranium is more radioactive than U-238, so I'll leave it as "more than 5 million" and have lots of margin for error. --Trovatore 04:39, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Do any nukes actually use Polonium 210? Jamesino 15:13, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

No, see Nuclear weapon. --Zeizmic 15:25, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

wtf is wrong with these gov.'s?

wow, a prime minister's term is over....so people RIOT??!?! What's their problem? just vote whoever's pissing you off out of office. Why can't any country emulate American style benevlonce-thru-$ ?

It's stupid. what a waste. Let's the hope the UN invades their country and straightens them out.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/28/asia/AS_POL_Bangladesh_Politics.php

This sort of thing happens all the time in countries man. It really has a negative effect on international views of the given nation—coups, riots, pretty much all subnational violence. Remember that not every country can vote a leader out of office—in many countries violence is the only way. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 04:59, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

What does America and benevolence have to do with each other? Joneleth 05:17, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

If you've never noticed, rioting is a pretty stupid, irrational act in itself; sometimes it's taking protest to the level of stupidity; or other times, it doesn't even have a point. People in the US have rioted because their pro sports won a championship. I think a lot of rioting happens because people are angry and they don't know how to direct that anger toward any benefical means. This isn't a culture thing. In general, all over the world, regardless of culture, economy, or government, you will find rioting happening. —Mitaphane _talk 19:29, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

mmmm, since when was America a perfect model for democracy?! Englishnerd 19:37, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

In my opinion its been a long time since America was a democracy. Joneleth 03:04, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Good, because it's a constitutional republic. And last time I checked, the UN hasn't fixed anything.--Tbeatty 04:45, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Last time I checked USA didnt fix anything either, and possibly finding someone worse than yourself doesnt make you better. Joneleth 06:57, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Name Meanings

I'm writing a novel at but I'm unsure about the meaning of a certain name. I believe it is of Japanese origin. The name is Toya (I'm not too fussy about the Kanji combinations to form various meanings) and I found that it could mean Peach Blossom. Is that correct and if not what are the various possible meanings? Thank you for your help! : )

The language desk is probably the better place to ask this. Dismas|^(talk) 20:05, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

One island animal

What's the word for a species of animal or something that lives on one island and not anywhere else? 64.198.112.210 19:11, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

A related term is "insular evolution". That is the process, not a term for such a species. --Justanother 19:31, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I find them just called "insular species" or "island species". Example here. --Justanother 19:35, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Maybe you are thinking of Endemic (ecology) MeltBanana 20:43, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Endemic is the word. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 04:51, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Counter-strike bullet spread

When you play counter-strike the bullet spread is usually enough that you don't have to be pointing the crosshairs right at your target to fatally hit it. The first shots are usually very accurate, with the bullets usually hitting within a few inches of your target at any reasonable range.. but if you keep firing they can go a dozen feet wide in either direction at far range (it depends on the gun of course). If I find myself forced to "spray-and-pray" I usually think that I have about as good a chance of hitting him if I aim a foot to the right of him as if I aim right at him... but I'm curious to know how far you can take that and still have "about as good a chance." In other words, have any informal studies or whatever been done to test how normative CS:S bullet spread is? --froth^{T C} 20:10, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Not an expert, but that actually sounds fairly realistic in terms of automatic fire - I seem to recall seeing somewhere that most automatic weapons, because of barrel heating and other factors (like the weapon jerking around in the user's grip causing fatigue, and so on) that a prolonged spread turns to scatter pretty quickly. Makes a lot of sense, really. I don't know if any statistical research has been done, but it's entirely possible. Tony Fox (arf!) 22:02, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

The decrease in accuracy, and its magnitude is based on the gun's (also if silencer/flash suppressor is on) real effect on the user. You really can't hold down the trigger on a Kalsih and expect to be that accurate. Pistols take much shorter time to return back to normal accuracy than automatic guns. If you had the reticle on you would notice that when you shoot the reticle jumps to spread over a much larger area than say, if you were crouched and standing still. Spray-and-pray is known on many multiplayer games as being "n00bish" behavior. "Pump, don't hold" is more professional. If you aren't at close range, tapping and bursts is always the best way. I don't suggest ever holding down the trigger with a pistol unless you are just putting on surpressive fire while you are running your ass out of there. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 04:49, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

It's not a matter of whether to do it or not.. i'm curious as to the algorithm --froth^{T C} 18:53, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Are you sure it's not related to this phenomenon? --Maxamegalon2000 18:09, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Campus proxy blocks youtube sorry :/ --froth^{T C} 18:53, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

That's pretty weird. I'm guessing that the cheats have some negative side-effect. bibliomaniac15 00:06, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Works Cited

How do I cite this site as a reference?

See Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 22:00, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Ask questions about using Wikipedia on the Wikipedia:Help desk please; the reference desk is for questions about anything else. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 04:41, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

List of chemicals used in Tabboco related items.

I'm trying to find out the list of chemicals that are in Cigarettes, Cigars, hookahs, chewing tabboco, et cetera, but I'm tired of the false stuff that Truth.com and PhilipMorris claim. Any websites with an [i]actual[/i] list? The velociraptor 23:23, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

I can certainly see why the tobacco companies would lie, but why would truth.com ? StuRat 01:04, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Finding a list of ingredients ranked by quantity is difficult. Anti-smoking sites like Truth.com tend to list every compound or element that has ever been found in tobacco with no indication of the relative risk each causes or even if each is commonly or rarely found in tobacco. A long list of scary chemicals is more effective than a shorter list. Rmhermen 01:11, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Truth.com gives info in a very biased manner, same with tobacco companies. You'd need to find a medical research type institution to get actual, factual results. For example, there was a commercial by Truth.com that talks about cyanide being in cigarettes. That's a very trace amount, but if you look at the article on cyanide, it's found in food too. And we don't even know if it's a harmful type. Like, I can start a campaign saying salt is bad for you, because it contains sodium, and chloride, both very toxic to humans! But of course, we know salt is not toxic like that. That's what Truth.com does, imo. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 01:30, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes they are. Believe it or not, but some people sometimes make typos or evne spelling mistakes! Yes, shocking! This does not mean that they are bad people to the very core, however. Aaadddaaammm 02:49, 28 October 2006 (UTC) - - For the benefit of those that don't understand Aaadddaaammm's comment please see this edit which was reverted by the poster. --hydnjo talk 20:55, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Stickshifters!

Any tips on driving a manual transmission such as uphill in traffic???

dont. :D

You've got two choices, neither of which are very pleasant, uphill in traffic is nasty - you can either put on the handbrake until there's a significant gap ahead of you, move into it, put the handbrake on again, and repeat in spurts, or you can just balance the clutch with the accelerator. Bear in mind that if you ever stop you will need to activate the handbrake to perform a hill start. The first of these options is mechnically best, but will lead to honking from anyone behind you, while grinding the clutch permanently will allow you to move very slowly, but will slowly damage it. Generally speaking, the slower the traffic the more appealing option 1 is - you should never rest the car using the clutch bite as a brake if you can possibly avoid it. --Mnemeson 01:24, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Yeah. Get it down to the lowest gear it'll handle without laboring. Then if you're forced to halt, crunch into the lowest gear that'll give you the accn you need! Also sound your horn at the bastard in front! If it don't clear him, it sure as hell will give you satisfaction 8-) --Light current 01:59, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

1) Put your first foot on the brake.

2) Put your second foot on the clutch.

3) Put your third foot on the accelerator.

...perhaps this is why Americans prefer automatics. :-) StuRat 02:32, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Fortunately, we Europeans evolved third legs ;-) Although strangely, the French took sole command of the reputation for being good lovers. --Mnemeson 02:38, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

---

i hate automatic transmissions and only drive sticks- they get better acceleration, have far fewer mechanical problems and can contribute to increased fuel efficiency and quick deceleration in combination with the brakes. driving on hills can be tricky but is easily mastered on even the steepest hills with a little practice. obviously practice is best done on the steepest hills you can find in the least traffic, but here's a couple tips.

1) use the same foot for the gas and brake even when you're stopped. practice getting your foot off the brake and onto the gas pedal quickly; it's impossible to manipulate a hand brake and the gear shift at the same time; it's a bad option. this means your vehicle WILL roll backwards slightly, but this is normal and to be expected.

2) don't step off the brake and onto the gas until you have enough room to move forward. when you do, give it plenty of gas, so you don't have to bear down on the gas pedal to synchronize the pressure plate, but rather sort of let off the gas as the pressure point is reached and the clutch starts to grab. if you let the clutch out too fast, with too much gas, you might chirp the tires a bit but at least you're not rolling backwards. with a little practice you'll find out how to balance the gas pedal and clutch pedal. with enough gas, you can smoothly let out the clutch and not stall the motor while the pressure plate spins up to speed. don't worry about "riding the clutch", just try to put the vehicle into motion smoothly.

3) remember that the vehicle in the rear is found at fault in the vast majority of collisions, and unless you rolled your car half a car length down the hill backwards, they'll be found at fault if they're so far up your backside you roll a few inches or a foot into them.

LOL, just go ahead and ram into the guy behind you, then ! StuRat 17:52, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

4) relax. the goal is to step off the brake and onto the gas, and let out the clutch all in one fluid motion. in practice, this means your left foot is releasing -toward- the pressure point (using the play before the clutch engages) while you're stepping down on the gas pedal. by the time the pressure point is reached, you're already gassing it up.

5) if you're really very new to a stick shift and not comfortable with someone on your tail, you can turn on your hazards before a car comes to a stop behind you. they'll think you're car's disabled or something, and be much less likely to ride your bumper- they'll think they might need to swerve around you, and leave themselves some room.

good luck and PEACE -inf

---

Have donkeys ever been trained to drive stick shift?Edison 17:16, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I live in Edinburgh Scotland UK where we have zillions of US tourists - at least half of the 10% of the US population of 300 million who actually own passports and venture outside of America must visit us every summer and autumn and at least half of them (7.5 million, or so it seems from the slow-moving traffic they create), just have to hire a manual transmission car. Watching them trying to master the manual gear changes, especially going uphill in slow moving traffic is so funny. And then they encounter the fact that we drive our cars on the Right of the car but on the Left of the road, and it gets hysterical. And then they approach a roundabout (Rotary) with maybe 7 or 8 exits each controlled by traffic lights that MUST be obeyed, even when no other car is in sight, and the entertainment is indescribably funny. And then when they do park they have difficulty finding the parking brake. Here, it is called the handbrake because that's how we operate it. But US tourists can't find it because they have their parking brake on the floor back home so it can be used by their redundant foot. And then when they go for petrol (gas), and have to do it themselves because we don't employ attendants to do it for them or us - we have to do it ourselves, and can't find the filler cap because it's under the bonnet (hood), or in the boot (trunk) they go apoplectic (get real mad). And they can't understand why all our paper currency (Bills) are all different sizes and colours with different images on them, and are issued by different Banks in Scotland and The Royal Mint in England and are all fully interchangeable. But the greatest laugh of all is when they go to the cash desk to pay for their fuel and the attendant charges them (currently)£4 (equivalent to about $8) per gallon and the tears really begin to flow (theirs not ours, we are used to it). And you thought that changing gear in a manual gearbox going uphill behind slow moving traffic was the real pain? Just speak to someone from the US who has been here and hired a car. And yet --- they all come back again so maybe the adventure and different car culture experience is worth the effort - and the expense.

They may have difficulty in finding a rental car that has an automatic transmission there. And even if they drive a manual at home, an unfamiliar manual is harder to drive than an unfamiliar automatic, since that brings up issues like the number of gears, gear shift pattern, and how soft the clutch is. Also note that self-serve gas stations are the norm in the US now. Full service is quite rare. StuRat 17:49, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Put your right foot on the brake, and let out the clutch with your left foot just enough that you can hear by engine rpm that it's starting to bite. When you're intimately familiar with the sound of your car it's easier than with a strange car, but usually then you can go from the brake to the gas with minimal slip-back. As you press on the gas then let out the clutch the rest of the way. With practice it becomes easy. When I bought my first stick-shift car I took it to a deserted hilly area at night and just did it over and over again until I got it.

I'm one of those weird people (at least in the U.S.) who prefers stick shifts; currently I'm driving a six-speed rather than a five. You have better control, acceleration, and economy, and it gives you an excuse not to answer the phone. Antandrus (talk) 17:53, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Get a car with a hill-holder. Would be a nice option on all stick-shifts. --hydnjo talk 20:38, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

One final tip: if you're an American abroad who can't find an auto transmission vehicle to hire, and you're not confident with a manual, hire a diesel if you have a choice. Not only will it be much cheaper to run, diesel engines are much less likely to stall. And, finally, it's not that hard. If you can't master a manual transmission, IMNSHO you lack sufficient coordination and concentration to drive a car safely. --Robert Merkel 22:13, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

They may have had sufficient concentration if they could pay attention to the road, instead of having to pay attention to shifting in a strange car. StuRat 22:34, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

October 28

Wristwatch in the movie "Jaws" (1975)

A question to which I have not found an answer. Think back to the night scene aboard the Orca, when the men were swapping stories about injuries, and Quint gave the immortal speech about the USS Indianapolis. What kind of watch was Richard Dreyfuss' character Hooper wearing in this scene? Thanks!! Captain Fog 01:17, 28 October 2006 (UTC)Captain Fog

heaters for aquariums

i'm buying a heater for my betta whose in a 10 gallon tank. does anybody know the cost of one that is pretty cheap but still ok? i went to "breeding bettas" and other sites, but they're not very specific. -Dixie48

• Try the classifieds in your local newspaper or on craigslist for a used one. -THB 03:09, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

That's a really small heater, and you're local Walmart (whatever!) will have good ones. --Zeizmic 14:46, 28 October 2006 (UTC) thanks!

A quick question about plants

Hello, everybody. I just want to know one thing. I am planning to go to Philmont Scout Ranch in July of 2006 (this coming summer). My Scoutmaster advised me to go look at what kinds of poisonous plants are in that area. I immediatly thought of this place. Please help out as much as you can. Thanks and have a good day!!--Chilifix 03:03, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

• Try Category:Poisonous plants. Probably the ones your scoutmaster is thinking about poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. Please don't forget to practice Leave No Trace ethics, and have fun! -THB 03:12, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

• • Oh, and to remember about the poisonous plants, "Leaves of three, let it be". -THB 03:13, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

• • • Thank you very much, THB!!! And yes, I will try to follow the Leave No Trace thing.--Chilifix 03:17, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Price of a Fender Strat

This is going to be pretty obscure - but can anyone supply the price range of a Fender Stratocaster in 1967? I'm not asking what it'll be worth today, but what it would've cost then, in US dollars of course.

Someone with a late 60s' Fender catalogue would be of much help, or anyone else who's willing to help.

Thanks Harwoof 03:58, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Not exactly but sorta [3]. This looks like the bible, maybe your local library has it or can get it on library exchange [4]. --Justanother 13:26, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

FPS in doom movie

Its true that in DVD of Doom (film), you can do something to watch the ENTIRE moving in fps view???

No, that's silly. They would have had to film the entire movie twice. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 04:38, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Would you eat crow if they really had done that? --Kjoonlee 09:20, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Crow can be tasty when prepared correclty. :) X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 08:16, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Not so silly IMO. They would have needed one extra camera attached to the active actor. All DVD players support different camera angles if the DVD's support them. Check if the Doom DVD has a 'camera angle' setup or something. It would not be something special or hidden I don't think. Sandman30s 12:19, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Line from Broadway Musical 50's or 60's

I vividly recall a line from a Broadway Musical that was said by the lead, unfortunatedly I cannot recall the name of the show, the year, or the character. The line is"...the Mexican Avenue Express?" Can anyone help me? Thanks John (email removed)

Are you sure it's Mexican and not Lexington? User:Zoe|(talk) 19:46, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

concerned about educational policy

should education be concerned with question of values, personal convictions or with only descriptive knowledge in specialized areas like physis economics etc..?

To educate is to give "intellectual, moral and social instruction" Concise Oxford. Meredith----

values and personal convictions cannot be taught, they can only be decided on by the individual. parents and societal institutions such as schools can influence those decisions through positive and negative stimuli, and i think each has an obligation to provide young people with tools to examine their values, and evaluate philosophical arguments in general, but after about age 5 it's extremely difficult to indoctrinate most people into any particular belief system or system of values. Lrpelkey 11:33, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Why do you think that anybody else's answer to your 'should' question will be of any greater weight than your own answer? --ColinFine 13:37, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Why do you(Lrpelkey) say after age 5? Surely later than that. I was a hardcore libertarian for years until recently I became staunchly anti-libertarian.(I'm in my 20's now)

So you changed from hardcore to staunchly. Not that big a change, I'd say. :) Hopefully, with the years, the insight will come that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. DirkvdM 06:33, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

School should not teach a specific set of values, religion or such because there are loads of varieties. In stead, if it does deal with the subject, it should give an overview of at least the major ones and inspire pupils to think about them through discussions. DirkvdM 06:33, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

musical notation displayed in Wikepedia pages

where can i find a font that will accurately display music notation found in Wikipedia pages? is this something i can enable my browser to do automatically, or is there some central location on this site for system/browser utilities specific to Wikipedia content?

little blank boxes are driving me nuts. thanks in advance, and PEACE --10:01, 28 October 2006 (UTC)~

• Hi, are you using Internet Explorer, by any chance? If your main font doesn't include the necessary characters, IE will not display them properly. Mozilla Firefox can make use of substitute characters from other fonts, if necessary. So you can either:
  1. Switch to a font that has more characters, such as Arial Unicode MS or Lucida Sans Unicode or DejaVu fonts
  2. Install more fonts and move to a browser with a "character fallback" feature --Kjoonlee 14:16, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Porsche model cars

Anyone know who made the first model representation of a Porsche sports car?

RALPH.

Isn't a Porsche sports car a model of a Porsche sports car? Vitriol 00:01, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Bakufuu Slash!! Kizna Arashi

what is this game? ive heard that its an eye toy game for the PS2.Will it ever be released in North America?thanks

Try Google. Guessing by the hits, I say it's very doubtful it will see a NA release. —Mitaphane _talk 18:51, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

WTF is "<>"?

one time i was reading a manga.The main charcter had meet an American kid,and whenever that American kid spoke, there was these signs;< >.For example:<oh what a lucky hit that was!>.But after a while those things stopped appearing,but they kept appearing on other American kids in that manga series.

I think it's a visual indication that the character is supposed to be speaking a foreign language. When you read the manga translated to English, the characters still speak in Japanese, only you get to read it in English. The <> thing means the character really is speaking English, or another non-Japanese language. It was the same way in 1980s Marvel comics. <> meant the character was speaking a non-English language. JIP | Talk 13:17, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

It's a comics convention, see Speech_balloon#Foreign_languages. It's mainly an American thing (I think it originated and was standardized in 70's-80's Marvel comics) and was likely added by the American editor. 惑乱 分からん 13:36, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Incomplete information

–Price Chopper headquarters is identified as being in Rotterdam, New York, Can you provide full address including zip code?

From the whois

  Registrant:
  The Golub Corporation   
  501 Duanesburg Road 
  Schenectady, NY 12306 

Also switchboard.com is best for searching but I will leave that up to you. --Justanother 17:26, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Is it legal

Is it legal to sell yourself into slavery.

To the degree that slavery is illegal I imagine it doesn't matter who does the selling as I think it is the owning of slaves that is usually prohibited. --Justanother 17:14, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

In the U.S. in the colonial period, many immigrants came over "on credit" without having the money for passage. The arrivals who owed for passage were then auctioned off as indentured servants for a term such as 7 years to the highest bidder, to reimburse the shipping company. Today, illegal immigrants from some Asian countries are smuggled into the US in cargo containers and basically sold to people such as factory or restaurant owners for a very high cost of passage, and are made to live in horrible conditions until their debt is paid. Other people worldwide are trafficked for sex work and treated as slaves, sometimes with a payment to their families. So it used to be done under color of law, and it is still done and the laws not enforced.Edison 17:26, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Indentured servitude was quite different from slavery. Also, it was rare for the term of service to extend as long as seven years. Three or four years was more common. Durova 23:38, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes. See prostitution. --Shantavira 18:30, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

If you could, who would get the money? 8-)--Light current 18:55, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Yourself or your family presumably --froth^{T C} 19:00, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Not in the US, all slavery is forbidden by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. —Mitaphane _talk 19:37, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

What if you're wearing a mask? --Trovatore 20:13, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

THats not funny!--Light current 20:45, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Yeesh, I hate to explain my jokes. But it occurred to me that this exchange will be archived, and people won't remember the context, so I'd better. The context is that there has been a rash of trollish questions where the questioner asks if some outrageous thing is legal, like beating someone to death with a cactus. Then he asks if it's legal if you're wearing a mask when you do it. --Trovatore 20:55, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes Im well aware of that. But we must not now be funny on pain of blocking. See my talk page 8-(--Light current 21:16, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I dont think its possible to sell yourself in to slavery. THe question is ill posed.--Light current 20:13, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Not so. In ancient Rome people in debt would sell themselves into slavery to pay off their debt. Plautus wrote about this as the basis for some of his comedies. Of course, you could also buy yourself out of slavery at a later date of you could generate enough money to do so (so you were not perpetually enslaved). Selling oneself into perpetual slavery is an interesting philosophical proposition. John Stuart Mill considered this in On Liberty (1859):

"By selling himself for a slave, he abdicates his liberty; he foregoes any future use of it beyond that single act. He therefore defeats, in his own case, the very purpose which is the justification of allowing him to dispose of himself.... The principle of freedom cannot require that he should be free not to be free. It is not freedom to be allowed to alienate his freedom"

In other words, Mill refuses to allow a person voluntarily to sell himself into perpetual slavery. However, one could infer, he probably would permit one to sell oneself into some type of contractual slavery (as the Romans essentially did). Rockpocket 21:11, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Contractual slave = indentured servant. StuRat 00:22, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Hey thats not funny. So its allowed 8-)--Light current 00:24, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

It is not allowed if owning slaves is illegal. --Justanother 02:20, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Not necessarily. There are many examples of laws that prohibit the purchase of illicit drugs but do not per se prohibit the selling of such drugs. Obviously selling and buying go hand in hand, so the practical effect is a ban on both parts of the transaction. JackofOz 07:55, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

It's typically the other way around, it is illegal to sell something illicit, but not to buy or own it. This was the case for alcohol in the US under Prohibition, which banned the sale, production, and distribution of alcohol, but not the purchase or possession. This was so they wouldn't have to find prison space for the millions of people who would continue to buy alcohol, no matter what silly laws were passed. StuRat 17:27, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Clocks turning

Is there an article which shows, with good overview, IN WHAT PARTS OF THE WORLD, at which times, clocks are set back/forward? Is America's one-hour-back happening this weekend, or next..? 81.93.102.3 19:51, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Spring forward, fall back. Seriously 8-)--Light current 20:14, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

That really doesn't answer his or her question, LC. In the US the clocks go back to standard time on the last Sunday in October (October 29, 2006). The time is adjusted at 2 AM. Our article on Daylight saving time is pretty comprehensive in covering the subject globally. Rockpocket 20:23, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I should add, of course, that there are variations in different states (see here) and that in 2006 the date changes to the first Sunday in November (November 4, 2006). Rockpocket 20:25, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Well in the UK we change at 2.00 AM 29 October. I think well then be back on GMT (we have been ob BST) No joke!--Light current 20:42, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I believe the plan is to change the spring forward/fall back dates next year in the US. Personally, I think time zones (and especially daylight savings times) are all just foolishness, and we should all use UTC, instead. StuRat 23:06, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

They are done for reasons that I cant quite remember now. 8-|--Light current 23:46, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

You should try visiting Russia - where all the railway timetables show Moscow time, even though local time can be up to 9 hours different! -- Arwel (talk) 15:56, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't have any trouble with that, just set your watch to Moscow time and you always know when trains will arrive, no matter where you are in Russia. The only problem is in trying to relate that to others who are still using those silly time zones. The solution, get rid of the silly time zones. StuRat 22:30, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I gather the most efficient means against the silliness of timezones is to fit two enormous jet engines on sides of the equator, and turn these off and on to stop earth from rotating. Thank you for your answers! 213.161.190.228 08:51, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

F-14's and UFOs

Is there any relation between UFO's and F-14's? Any encounters? Any UFO's that turned out to be a F-14? Thanks, Myth

Look at the article UFO.--Taida 20:44, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Pointing or linking to diffs in the page history

moved to Help desk--Light current 22:32, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Looks like a n antivandalbot didn't revert you this time! ^_^ Hyenaste ^(tell) 23:46, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Yers!. It did the last time. Id forgotten about that!--Light current 00:22, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

"Cut off" sound

What is the name for (and is there a Wikipedia article on) the sound that is sometimes used when music is "cut off". The only example I can think of is in the infamous tastless 9/11 tribute on YouTube (the sound between the Enya song and Yakety Sax). It sounds a bit like when you're turning the dial on a radio. Thanks. --Adam (Talk) 22:48, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

That's probably the sound made when the needle on a turntable is carelessly pulled off a vinyl record. If you hear that sound, then the record has been scratched. Thus, the sound indicates that somebody was more concerned with stopping the record immediately than with preserving the record. StuRat 22:54, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. Anyone know where I can download this sound off the Web? --Adam (Talk) 23:06, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Google is your friend. —Mitaphane _talk 20:03, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Is it like a rough sounding upward glissando sound?--Light current 00:44, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

October 29

redeeming paper airline vouchers

got bumped from a fliight and I got a voucher. how do I use it when booking online? (american airlines)

If their web page offers you no option for this, you may need to call their reservations office.  --Lambiam^Talk 05:16, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Should I buy Oblivion for the PS3? Somebody is inevitably is going to answer "Well, it's your choice". I know that, I just want to know if people think it will be a good game. Яussiaп F 01:03, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Compared to the expectations it is somewhat disappointing (but thats to be expected of all overhyped games). Compared to other RPGs its great. The 2 biggest complaints there has been about the game has been lvl scaling, and too extensive handholding, whether you like that or not is up to yourself. Joneleth 02:59, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

The reference desk is for asking about factual matters only, not gathering opinions. Try Gamespot or something -Elmer Clark 10:24, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

There must be an easy answer to this

When looking at a page like List of Nunavut birds the syllabics show fine in Firefox but in in Maxthon or IE7 I just see the little boxes. If I copy and paste from Maxthon into MS Word to edit, then the syllabics show up fine. The strange thing is that it's just on my home computer, all of the work computers show everything fine in both browsers. How do I get the syllabics back? Thanks. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 01:20, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

You might try this question at the Computing/IT desk. -THB 05:29, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. Don't know why I posted here, except the answers tend to be stranger. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 05:39, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Managing a library of D&D PDFs

I recently downloaded a 7.5GB .torrent of PDF bootlegs of recent Dungeons & Dragons books, magazine articles, web supplements and stationery. Most of it is from WotC, but some is from third-party publishers. I found the folder organization incomplete and slipshod...

You get what you pay for, eh? —Steve Summit (talk) 15:01, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

(with many supplements and tracking sheets filed under "Core Rulebooks"), and several duplicate and triplicate books. I'm trying to reorganize and edit the torrent's contents for burning to a DVD±R for my club's use, and also to create a new version of the torrent. My questions are as follows:

• The torrent contains both 3.0e and 3.5e material. Most of the optional rulebooks, setting books (e.g. Forgotten Realms) and modules don't specify which edition they're for. In this case, can I assume they work with either post-THAC0 edition?
• In the books of which there are multiple copies, I'll sometimes have one with higher-resolution scans of the artwork, one with proofread OCRed text, and one with sections and tables bookmarked. Is there an easy way to combine all these into one file, assuming perfect page-to-page correspondence between them, and eliminate redundant data?
• I'm thinking it might be best to include shortcuts, to make more than one sorting scheme available without duplicating files. (So for instance, I could sort by publisher first, edition first, function first or setting first, and also make A-Z indices of races, classes, spells etc.) Will the shortcuts likely be retargeted as necessary by BitTorrent and the DVD-burning software? Will .lnk shortcuts work (or easily be converted) on Macs and Linux systems? (I'll be creating the DVD and torrent from Windows.)

NeonMerlin 02:18, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps you should try this question over at the Computing/IT desk. -THB 05:27, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

The first question isn't computing/IT, even if it's the computing/IT people who would know the answer. NeonMerlin 14:49, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

1. No idea 2. You can not easily combine PDFs. You have to convert them from PDF and then back again and the conversion will probably produce garbled results or will not even be possible. 3. .lnk files do not really work in linux nor mac (I think) and the standard unix link files do not work in windoze. Probably the easiest way to organise these files would be a simple HTML file. The 'pooting desk may offer better ideas for home-made solutions or suggest a e-book cataloguing application. MeltBanana 15:56, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

PDFtk (which is free) combines PDFs very nicely, and I've never experienced corruption. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:25, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Prefect

Hey, I'm a student studying at Mount Roskill Grammar School in New Zealand. Does anyone know what is required to be a prefect at that school?

-upperclassman -trustworthy -honest -non-biased -at least slightly charismatic

good luck!

Surely you would be better off asking the teachesrs. 8-|--Light current 07:09, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

fedex

how much, within $5-$10, will it cost me to ship a document in 24 hours half-way across the USA?

fedex's system was down, they can't give me a quote!

Probably about $25, that would be if you have your own shipping account, if you go to fedex/kinkos, might be more like $40. --Mattarata 03:24, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

The Movie SIGNS

I am interested in knowing how Mr. Shyamalan came up with the name, Merrill Hess, and that character's baseball background for this movie. Thank you........

M. S . Hess

question

what is the best way to vandalise wikipedia?— Preceding unsigned comment added by SoulSceptre (talk • contribs)

By asking questions at the reference desk and not signing them. -THB 05:55, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I could tell you but I'd be violating WP:BEANS. --WikiSlasher 07:06, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Posting joke questions on the RDs 8-|--Light current 07:12, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

There is no "good" way to vandalize Wikipedia. Any and every way is bad. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 08:12, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

get a popular television show and instuct your viewers to edit a random article and watch what happens. Jon513 11:18, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

go here [5] and see what these people did by clicking on their contributions. I think this one's pretty good. [6]Taida 18:19, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps getting a large amount of people to vandalize various parts of Wikipedia with you for a long duration. --Proficient 23:47, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

This is like asking a policeman the best way to murder somebody. JackofOz 07:58, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

travel

i heard that it is more tyring to travel from west to east than from west to east. is it true and if yes what is the reason behind it.

Please see the penultimate paragraph of jet lag. -THB 05:57, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

And geostrophic wind, if you're in the southern hemisphere.--Shantavira 08:43, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

weightlifting

Does weightlifting affect your height? i'm now 15 and i haven't grown an inch since when i was 12. i am still 1.81m

Well, that's possible if you work very hard, I guess, although maybe you weren't biologically predisposed to grow taller, to begin with... (1.81=6"0' approx). 惑乱 分からん 10:18, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

silly Wak, 1.81 m = 6'0"

(Forgive me, I'm Swedish, born and bred in Metric, besides, it's probably closer to 5'11") 惑乱 分からん 17:35, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

There is a generally held opinion (I don't know if it's ever been verified) that lifting heavy weights before the bones are fully formed can lead to problems with the bone growth due to the constant forces exerted through the enlarged muscles.

However, I've never heard it claimed that it will actually stop the bones from growing at all, and that sounds pretty unlikely to me. You sound like you were a bit of giant for a 12yo, but perhaps that's it and you won't grow any taller, or maybe you'll have another growth spurt. You'd need to see an expert who could more accurately evaluate your personal characteristics (e.g., stage of puberty), family history (e.g., height of parents), etc. We can't evaluate any of that. --jjron 11:13, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

You're at a normal height. Stress such as weightlifting actually causes bones to grow stronger. If you lifted too much weight, you could cause fractures in vertebrae and loss of height. -THB 21:17, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

football(soccer)

I wanna to be a football(soccer) analyst.Who can help me to achieve my goals? I mean are there any colleges who can give the education, which is related with these field?

What exactly do you mean by 'analyst'? I don't know of any specific courses, but for what it sounds like you want to do I'd think you'd want to continue in maths (especially statistics) with a strong emphasis on computer applications. That, along with trying to get your foot in the door on a practical level, e.g., by volunteering to keep stats and do analyses for local teams, gradually trying to get yourself involved with teams higher up the scale or with the media in some way. --jjron 11:17, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

You might start with analysing the name. It's association football. Or just plain 'football' to 95% of people in the world. 'Soccer' is children's lingo. It's like calling American football 'merrer'. DirkvdM 08:51, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Religion of These People

What is the religion of the people in this photograph? Amish, Quaker, Mormon? --CGP 08:14, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Looks Amish to me. Natgoo 08:31, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I'd go with Amish. The article could do with some decent pictures of the people rather than their laundry!--Shantavira 08:41, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Another possibility is Mennonite. There are a number of Mennonite communities. I don't know about the Amish but in the one community of Mennonites that I am familiar with they have no problem using modern equipment or going on vacations but they do dress traditionally like in the picture. --Justanother 19:52, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I used to rent a house from my Mennonite neighbors. Given that the picture is just the back of a bunch of people it would be hard to say that they were either Amish or Mennonite. The style of dress for the two religions is very similar. Dismas|^(talk) 20:17, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Don't Mennonite men wear simple straw hats like this one: [7] ? If so, the black hat in the pic would then seem to indicate they are not Mennonites. StuRat 22:21, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Lat + Long of Continental Divide in Yellowstone

Anyone know the Latitude and Longitude of the continental divide in yellowstone? I know it's a line, but that sign is on a road crossing the divided, and that's the location I'm looking for. --CGP 08:23, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

yellowstone is about 44.4592N, -110.8331W I cannot tell you the exact location of a road sign. Try looking on google earth. Jon513 11:10, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Well, that's what I've been doing, trouble is there aren't really identifiable landmarks that I can use to try and narrow the location of the divide down. --CGP 11:18, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

try adding the google earth community layer. it contains contrabutions from different people around the world. beware- it is not always accurate. Jon513 11:51, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Ideally what you need is a good map with that spot height on it. I went to Flickr and searched for "continental divide yellowstone". This returns four results for that particular sign. One of those (click on the "map" link of the guy peeing) gives coordinates of 44°37' 29" N, 110°26' 03" W. From the look of the satellite photo, that would seem to be fairly accurate.--Shantavira 12:34, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

You might get the precise location of the sign, but that doesn't mean that the continental divide runs precisely past it (or 'under it'?) because it's not a geometrically precise line like the equator. It's the area where, if a raindrop falls there, it is uncertain which watershed it will become part of - most likely different molecules of it will flow in diferent directions. In young mountains with very sharp ridges that zone might be just a few centimeters wide at certain spots, but Yellowstone is nowhere near like that, so the 'line' will probably be several meters wide. But people like to pin things down, so someone put a sign up somehwere in that zone. DirkvdM 08:59, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

canada post

approximately how long does it take for regular mail to go from one side of the country to the other, ie vancouver to ottawa/montreal?

What is this time during peak months, the christmas holidays? valentines? mothers day? thank you

-jimbo

I'd say that if you're trying to get that Hallowe'en greeting to your friends in Ottawa and Montreal, you're probably too late. My personal experience is three or four business days during normal service. I think that would apply for Valentine's and Mother's day, although a couple of extra days wouldn't hurt. IIRC during the Xmas season (the only time that they actually have an extraordinary load), they say 9 business days for regular mail across Canada, just to be safe, and longer for parcels. In my experience it's usually taken less time than that. Anchoress 11:44, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

thank you for answering the question and for such a quick reply!=) -jimbo

Who stole October 27 from the Contents list here?

At the risk of repeating myself...............

Weird. The transcluded page doesn't seem to exist. And it hasn't been archived. Probably in the diffs, but I'm too lazy to look. Maybe an archiving error? Maybe the transcluded page is mis-named? Anchoress 12:49, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

No - it's not mis-named. There was an article I was keeping an eye on that is no longer there.

Sorry, I don't understand you. What does one have to do with the other? See, if you look in the edit mode of the Misc page, there's a transcluded page listed for October 27, but it isn't visible. And when I went to look to see what was in the transcluded page, it doesn't exist. So I wondered if the transcluded page was made, but misnamed. Elsewise, it must have been deleted, which is possible, but not likely. Anchoress 12:56, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi - I'm not sure why the archival page wasn't made properly by the bot - my guess is a "loss of edit session data" error in wikipedia. I've manually fixed the error. For future reference, you can look at the bot contribs to see whether the pages have been made. I hope this helps, and I'm looking into a workaroud for the increasingly common error. Thanks for reporting it - Martinp23 14:35, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Martin, that is much appreciated.

No problem - it's my bot that screwed up :S Martinp23 19:26, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Training

What would you guys say is the definition of the principle of training?

TAR JOZZALD

OK, I would say that training is instruction in the theory and practice of some subject with the desired end that you be able to duplicate the results of the instructor. In other words training is geared toward competence and doing, not merely knowledge. --Justanother 19:46, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Are There Univerisity Level Fashion History Courses? And If So, What Are They And Where Could I Take Them?

Danke.100110100 16:14, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Fashion Institute of Technology

B00P 16:23, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I've googled their website, and their course descriptions do not include Fashion History as a 100 level course. I'm confused.100110100 17:51, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, there are undoubtedly fashion history courses somewhere. I don't know what "What are they?" means, though; Universities can create courses in anything they want and name the course anything they want. There's no standard for what courses should be named and contain. But you're much more likely to find courses in general art and design history than ones specifically devoted to couture. --BluePlatypus 16:59, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

'What Are They?' I meant by the number and institution that offers it. Danke.100110100 17:51, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

If by "a 100 level course" you mean some stand-alone introductory course, not part of a full academic program, then you might check out what is being offered by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They offer various programs to the public based upon their collection. In fact you might do well to actually visit any museum near you that has a collection of historical clothing, speak with a curator, and ask him.

B00P 09:53, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

why are manga black an white?

why is it that almost every manga is black and white?i've only seen a blue inked manga once but it was in japanese.But when i bought a box of japanese yugioh cards,it came with a manga paper which had a chapter in the 5th volume inside;it was inked with RED!then when i saw that SAME chapter in English it was white and black!i was so confused.i wonder why most manga are black and white.Thanks for your time.

I think it's simply that it's competition driven and, despite recent advances in printing, black-and-white publications are still a lot cheaper to produce.--Shantavira 18:08, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, and it's more time-efficient, considering the sheer amount of material produced... 惑乱 分からん 18:17, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

On a footnote, occasional pages of popular series are often colorized when published in magazines, although they're generally reprinted in B/W. You could usually spot them because they have more nuances/shades of grey, and they're often somewhat murky in appearance... 惑乱 分からん 20:16, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

BTW, Korean magazines used to use dark blue or dark green ink as well, switching the colour of the ink several times in an issue. I suspect Japanese magazines do the same, when they print the manuscripts. Note however that the original manuscripts are done in pencil, inked with black ink, sometimes using white paint for highlights and screentone for textures/backgrounds/etc. --Kjoonlee 04:33, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

IIRC, Japanese magazines often have different background color on the pages (like dusty pink, dusty green, dusty blue and dusty yellow ;) ) I think the ink color is usually black, though... Screentone is indeed very common... Some old Swedish comics from the 50's switched ink as well, by the way... 惑乱 分からん 12:39, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Inserting pictures

I have added a a new paragraph to the page on 'Snuff Bottle' entitled 'Sybolism in Snuff Bottle decoration' and tried to insert a photo. I have tried to follow the instructions provided on the Wikipedia site but cannot make it work. I have finished up with E/Shou character.jpg/thumb/Shou character in words, which is how I understand the instructions, but the picture will not appear.

In the Upload window I get a message that " " is not an acceptable format although the pic is obviously a jpg.

How can I make sure I get the illustration in the article.?

John Battison

I fixed it - you needed to use a | not a / character. Wikipedia:Help desk is a better place to ask this kind of question (although I notice that the header on that page is terribly confusing!) Rmhermen 18:12, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Is/Are There Bachelor(s) Degree(s) In The Science Of Writing Systems Or The Studies Of Writing Systems, Or Writing Systems Science Or Writing Systems Studies?

Danke.100110100 17:41, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Orthography or Writing Systems is a part of linguistics. You would likely take your BA is linguistics and perhaps you can find an MA or PhD in Orthography. --Justanother 19:42, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Also, try this question over at the language desk where people expert in that topic answer questions. -THB 21:09, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Natrual instinct of a right hander

I would appreicate any input to my question. I have been accused of pushing someone. This person is flat out lieing. The Police report states that I extended my "left" arm, and put my "left" hand on his chest and pushed him. I'm right handed, and have argued that I would NEVER use my "left" arm & hand due to my strength and coordination is in my "right." Does anyone out there have a thought in how I may possibly prove my theory to my Attorney????

Joy Justen

Sorry, but it does not take a lot of talent to push someone with your "off" hand. That defense would only work if they said you did something with your left hand that requires a lot of dexterity. Pushing requires almost zero dexterity. I assume, of course, that your left arm is not deformed, injured, or otherwise handicapped. --Justanother 19:36, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

In a situation like that, it is common to push with the non-dominant hand, holding the dominant hand in reserve to strike a blow. -THB 21:08, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Also, your attorney likely has a lot more experience with this sort of thing. If you have witnesses, it would be helpful. If not, it will be your word against the other person's. I have served on juries and it is quite easy to tell who is lying on the witness stand. Just stick to the complete truth. -THB 21:30, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Is it a crime to push someone? Where is this taking place?  --Lambiam^Talk 21:59, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Maybe she was wearing a mask!? But seriously these days people just love to take others to court. Agression in any form towards any person can probably be drawn out to assault and battery, especially for example if the person fell down afterwards and bruised themselves. On the other hand, Joy may only be telling part of the story, in which left- and right-handedness will be trivial. Hyenaste ^(tell) 22:08, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Pushing someone is assault and battery. -THB 22:10, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Pushing someone is battery. In order to be assault, you need to first go 'I'm gonna push you!'. Depending, of course, on your location. --Mnemeson 22:14, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

WHAT COUNTRY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? Laws differ significantly between countries. Aaadddaaammm 00:03, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Well to be fair he wasn't asking about the law, just about whether a person would ever instincively use his off hand to do something like that. -Elmer Clark 00:17, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

btw, Joy is more likely to be a female than a male. JackofOz 07:24, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

One thing that might be of importance here is how much deliberation there was (suposed to be). I can imagine that in certain circumstances, if someone pushed someone on impulse, it would be odd for them to not use their 'strong' arm. But I suppose it would have to have been a (supposd) reflex. If that is part of, or follows from, your accusers' reasoning, then you might try that approach. You might ask a psychologist. Or maybe a biologist? DirkvdM 09:11, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

We also need to know the circumstances.If you pushed someone because they were waving around a gun or a machete or something similar or they were running amok in the street then that's the sort of thing you'll want to mention in your police report....Lemon martini 09:56, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Don't rightie fighters "Jab with the left, punch with the right?" So one might grab the target with the left hand and punch them with the right, or the push might have been in the nature of a jab, which in the case discussed was not followed by the punch. He would only have to use the stronger arm for the initial push or poke if there were no intent of following up with a stronger blow from the stronger arm. Sometimes when a dispute turns physical, one may poke the other aggressively in the chest, even with an extended finger, perhaps as a provocation to elicit them "throwing the first punch" so any resulting mayhem is "the other's fault." Moral of the story: keep your hands to yourself and stay out of the other's personal space. Edison 16:53, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Sex on the movie sets

Do stars have sex on the set when the role requires ? How is Nip Tuck different from porn or is there any kind of rationality between impatience ?

Or is it the consequence of lack of constant application of the mind?

The only confirmed case I'm aware of is The Brown Bunny. There have been a few other cases where actors who were supposed to be faking a scene have been alleged to get carried away. But largely actors report the whole business to be excruciatingly embarrassing and uncomfortable and not sexy at all. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:06, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

There have been quite a few actually, see List of mainstream films with unsimulated sex. Dismas|^(talk) 21:16, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

See Pornography. Pornography has the primary intention of causing sexual arousal. Nip Tuck may qualify as soft porn.

Hmm, List of mainstream films with unsimulated sex is very short on references - many of the movie articles are red, and the random couple that I checked don't mention the supposed sex. As many pertain to living actors, if we apply WP:LIVING#Remove unsourced or poorly sourced controversial material properly that article would be gutted. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:24, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I also wonder how this relates to the American Dream and how can one draw the line between high levels of impatience for desires and self confidence, as well as cures for sexual dysfunction.  --Lambiam^Talk 21:39, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Don't start it... ;) 惑乱 分からん 22:17, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Its oft been rumoured that the sex scene in Don't Look Now was not simulated. Unsurprisingly, every one involved denies it. Rockpocket 06:38, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

The angle of the shots makes it impossible to tell whether there's any penetration involved, though, so I seriously doubt it. Also, the scene is just a few minutes long, intercut with scenes allegedly before and after the act, and rather confusing overall. Don't watch the movie simply for that. (It was kind of shocking at the time, though, when the major porn wave wouldn't arrive until a few years later...) The movie also feels quite dated. 惑乱 分からん 12:33, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Shortbus has unsimulated sex, but it is very uncommon in mainstream US (or more accurately, English-language) films. Anchoress 07:10, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Gupta

What possible ethnic background could a person with the last name Gupta have? Hustle 23:35, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Our Gupta has lots of info. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:40, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

October 30

Some doggy help!!!

I have a fairly simple question to something that is driving us crazy!!! We have a two year old mixed breed dog who is quite sweet, but lately she is at our neighbor's fence digging and chewing on the fence!!!! We have tried everything we can think of to keep her away from the fence but to no avail...when she is outside, she bolts straight to the fence...this is a new behaviour!!! Does anyone have any idea what to do??? We can use any and all suggestions! Thank you so much and have a great day!

Do they have a dog? Is she on heat? Theresa Knott | Taste the Korn 00:34, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

A 2 year old can suddenly behave quite badly. You could read some books or talk to a dog trainer, but it usually means that some strong corrections are needed. You have to do this very carefully, and always give her a big kiss after. --Zeizmic 01:30, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Spray bitter apple on the fence, dogs hate it: [8]. Your local pet store should have it. Another option is to put the dog on a leash when in the yard. Make sure the leash doesn't reach the fence. To actually solve the problem, though, you dog needs obedience training. I would think they will pull a choke train tightly whenever she starts to dig, repeatedly, until she learns not to dig anymore. StuRat 06:10, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

I would second the bitter apple suggestion, but I'd strongly advise against choke chains under any circumstances. There is considerable evidence that they do lasting damage to dogs' necks and are unnecessarily cruel. -Elmer Clark 07:02, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

You have to balance the risks. Having a dog that constantly tries to burrow out of the yard poses considerable risk of injury to the dog (being hit by cars, etc.) and others (dog bites). Another option is to use a shock collar, but some pain is required to for the dog to learn, as you can't explain things logically to a dog. StuRat 17:21, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Clearly, your neighbor is a serial killer who has been burying his victims near his side of the fence, and is only waiting for the opportune moment to whip out the old chainsaw and come for you. I'd move. B00P 10:06, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

No, no. That would be giving in to fear. Stay, and fight the terror. JackofOz 11:06, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

So the dog doesn't succeed in digging under the fence, you could trench down a foot or so and install chicken wire below grade and extending up the fence a couple of feet. Edison 16:55, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

That sounds like about 1000 times as much work as putting the dog on a leash that doesn't reach the fence. StuRat 17:16, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

CRAZY LENNY'S CRAZY DEALS!!!

I hvae no idea who is this guy, but it appears he's phenominally known. I think I might have have got his name wrong, because I can't find him on Wikipedia, any help? The velociraptor 01:00, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Crazy Eddie? -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:02, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

or one of our many Crazy articles. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 01:05, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Google? 惑乱 分からん 01:25, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

We also have no idea who he is. He appears to be phenomenally unknown. In what context did you encounter this (national TV, local newspaper, the pub, ...), and do you have any idea what kind of deals they are (political deals, six chastity belts for the price of five, iPod for 85 $ off, ...)?  --Lambiam^Talk 03:24, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Maybe we should have a "List of People with No Known Notability". It would take quite some time to compile, but it would come in handy for these sorts of queries. :) JackofOz 03:42, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

There was some guy in Milwaukee named Len Mattioli, who did a lot of crazy stunts trying to sell TV sets [9]... Could be him, possibly... 惑乱 分からん 12:35, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Maxwell Taylor's left hand

Did Maxwell Taylor have any injuries to his left hand prior to 1963 ?....

He wasn't born in 1963. Perhaps you mean a different Maxwell Taylor to the bloke I know. Perhaps not. It's difficult to tell without some context. Who are you referring to? --Dweller 12:15, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

I didn't see any reference to a hand injury in the article abnout Maxwell D. Taylor, even though he parachuted in at D-Day in WW2, and commanded in the Korean Conflict, and in Vietnam. Edison 17:02, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Familiar pattern

There's this pattern... in first grade the teacher used it to get us to pay attention (she clapped it). It goes:

CLAP (pause) CLAP (pause) CLAP CLAP CLAP

and then the students echo it.

I was playing counter-strike today and some guy who was camping was bored, so he fired off bullets in this very pattern. I echoed, and he did it back again. So I know this is "out there" and not just something used in my local elementary school. What's this pattern called? --froth^{T C} 06:57, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Well this isn't much of an answer, but it's the first half of the iconic

CLAP (pause} CLAP (pause} CLAP CLAP CLAP (pause) CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP (pause) CLAP CLAP.

Anchoress 07:03, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

It's the beat pattern to the Cha-cha-cha.
B00P 10:11, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Who invented the iconic clap?

Who invented that iconic clap? When was that first used? --WikiSlasher 07:42, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Good question, I don't know. It does have a strong association with sports, and it's used by a lot of cheerleading squads, so maybe it originated as an audience clapalong or a cheer. Anchoress 09:03, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Do you think the question deserves its own header? --WikiSlasher 11:03, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Are you the original poster? You might want to edit the title to make it more detailed and inclusive of the discussion, but I don't think you should start a separate section for it. You could make a sub-section though, using three === instead of two. I should read. Yeah, I get your point, it's an offshoot question now. Anchoress 15:31, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

I have a feeling it was a tune, perhaps the signature tune to a sports programme, but I can't put my finger on it....--Shantavira 10:46, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Musipedia offers a rythm search, try it! --193.56.241.75 12:55, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Is this the "Let's Go" pattern? Clap-Clap-ClapClapClap-ClapClapClapClap-"Let's go!" It's a song, I guess, and they play it at sporting events. --Maxamegalon2000 15:24, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

No, that one is clap-clap-clap-clap-clapclap. As in let's-go-gi-ants-letsgo --Justanother 15:29, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

No, not that one. The one I'm thinking of doesn't have a team name in it or anything. It's just the claps and "Let's go" at the end. --Maxamegalon2000 16:01, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Oh, then it probably the same one as the OP asks about. Guess it is catchy. --Justanother 16:14, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

numismatism

 I heard that for a product to be numismatic two conditions should be followed.

1.it should be of limited edition. 2.it should have an issuing authority. I dont know whether my information is correct or not.so please give me an answer and help me out of this.

Have you checked out the article on Numismatics? Natgoo 09:03, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

It sounds like you are contemplating buying some commemorative coins from some company like the Franklin Mint. I'd suggest against that, at least as an investment, as the vast majority of such items never attain a value any greater than the purchase price. Instead, buy actual antique coins. Being rare certainly helps, but many coins were mass-produced but are now rare, just due to the passage of time. The only "issuing authority" is likely to be the mint which created them. StuRat 17:11, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Furniture counterfeiting

Term for damage to furniture to make appear old.

The article on distressing is a good start, although I don't know if that's exactly what you're looking for. Anchoress 09:35, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Antiquing is related, but that's more adding what looks like dirt to it to make it look old (another meaning of the word is shopping for antiques). Am I the only one who thinks this is all a bunch of foolishness ? No worse than jeans that come with holes in them, I suppose. StuRat 16:57, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Also, I detect an incorrect assumption in the title. Most furniture distressing is not done in order that the furniture can be sold, dishonestly, as a genuine antique, but rather so it can be sold, honestly, as a "simulated antique". StuRat 17:00, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

OK Corral

What (if anything) does the OK stand for in OK Corral?

Have you read the article O.K. Corral? Anchoress 14:08, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

I didn't see it in there. So what does it stand for? Rmhermen 16:23, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Good question. It's the state abbrev for Oklahoma, but, since this was in Arizona, that probably isn't the meaning. If that was just a symbol used for branding cattle, then it may not mean anything, but could just be essentially a random symbol. Random shapes and letters were frequently used for brands, anything to make them unique. Of course, there is the meaning of OK as "all right". This could be used in a business slogan: "You don't have to be worried about being ripped off, because everything will be OK at the OK Corral". StuRat 16:45, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

needing help

i am looking for pictures or information on a relative who was born in 1893 but have not been able too turn up any information as yet where is the best place too go

Welcome to Wikipedia. You can easily look up this topic yourself. Please see Genealogy. For future questions, try using the search box at the top left of the screen. It's much quicker, and you will probably find a clearer answer. If you still don't understand, add a further question below by clicking the "edit" button to the right of your question title. And please sign your posts! -THB 14:22, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

With all respect to THB, I think that template assumes a bit too much. I tried "pictures or information on a relative who was born in 1893" in the search box and got nothing so I tried just "information on a relative". Still nothing. Perhaps the poster does not know that the subject he seeks is called Genealogy. In other words, I find the template a bit unwelcoming. --Justanother 14:30, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Ancestry.com and perhaps other genealogy-related sites charge a subscription fee, but have genealogies of millions of people, as well as online access to census records, draft registrations from WW1, obituaries, social security death records, and bulletin boards where other researchers of a person or name may have answers to your questions. Latter Day Saints (Mormons) have family heritage centers located at many of their churches around the country. Public libraries or local city or county historical societies may have files and other materials which are helpful. The person is likely listed in the 1900 census, along with the place and date of birth and occupation of siblings and parents. The 1910 1920 and 1930 censuses of the US are available at Ancestry or through the LDS centers or some libraries. You should be able to find considerable info, but no guarantees of pictures. Your best bet to pictures is to find a relative who is a genealogy bug and has such pictures. The easiest routs is often to find the person who has already done all the work for you, but you should not accept genealogies at face value because they are probably more full of errors than even Wikipedia, since they are the creation of an individual without collaborative editing. Edison 17:15, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

acousticophilia

I'm trying to find a word that describes a kind of fetish for words,the sound of and use of long,often latin-derived and not commonly used words-that would normaly be regarded as pompous or pretentious.In the list of paraphilias,the closest to that was the above,a term that refers more to the love of sounds.I believe there is another type of a -philia,that has to do more with the love of 'high' language.Help. Veronika

'Logophilia' comes close, but that just means "love of words". By the way, you might have got a better answer if you had posted this to the language reference desk. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 15:14, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Ohh, you beat me to it but see this anyway. [10] --Justanother 15:18, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Caffeine in Cigarettes

I noticed that cigarettes add along with many other chemicals caffeine to their tobacco leaves. Is it caffeine powder they add and if so how could they add a powder to the leaves and make it stick or not fall off?

I imagine that they would use a water-based spray that includes everything that they want to add; see this list. [11] Here is a good site; look at Step 4 Primary Processing. I think it would be added in the "casing" or "top dressing" stage. --Justanother 15:54, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Complexity of antlers

Antler doesn't mention the assumed reason for the complexity of antlers like those on moose and deer. So... any answers? 81.93.102.20 17:21, 30 October 2006 (UTC)