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March 28

Drinking blood to survive

Purely hypothetical- suppose if one is stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with no water. They are dehydrating and manage to catch a shark. Will the shark's blood, or the blood of any animal, provide hydration and keep one alive? Acceptable (talk) 00:06, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

About half of human blood is water (It's 55% plasma, which is 92% water), so yes, blood would provide hydration. It contains a lot of other stuff, too, though, so it might also make you sick pretty fast. And I'm not sure to what degree all animal blood is similar. --Masamage ♫ 00:13, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

That 92% figure is inviting, but bears scrutiny. By comparison, seawater is 96.5% water, but it does dehydrates a person, in the longer term, if ingested. So for my money Acceptable's question stands. Me, I'd doubt that you'd get much or any hydration from blood. --Tagishsimon (talk) 00:22, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

A fellow by the name of Gregory J. Davenport has a book called Wilderness Survival in which he says not to drink blood for hydration, and I agree with his reasons. He explains here that it will leave you thirstier than before. I would say you shouldn't have an ice cream cone, either, then. --Milkbreath (talk) 01:16, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I think your only hope for hydration is that it would somehow rain.--Lenticel ^(talk) 05:34, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Why not just eat the shark? Water doesn't have to be in its free, liquid, state to be of use to you. Personally, I'd rather not eat raw shark, but if I was at the point where I was considering drinking fish blood, I might feel differently. Matt Deres (talk) 20:41, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I remember a case some years ago of a shipwrecked family who survived by drinking turtle blood. It might be this, but that excerpt relates to eating the turte, not drinking its blood. However this seems to confirm its practicability. --ColinFine (talk) 17:09, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Don't eat the shark. Protein requires a large amount of water to digest. If you don't provide water along with the protein at the time you eat it, then your body will pull the necessary amount of water from your body, dehydrating you even further. In other words, if you have protein but no water, then you should pass on the food. You'll die from dehydration faster than from hunger. 152.16.59.190 (talk) 15:11, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Yesss... except that the meat we eat is somewhat dehydrated from cooking. Raw meat will still have the blood in it as well as the usual intercellular (and intra-) cellular fluids. All the steam you see escaping when you grill a steak and all the fluid left over in the pan after you've baked a fish would still be present if you ate it raw. Matt Deres (talk) 14:44, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Devon stream name

What is the name of the stream that passes under road B3227 at the village of Langridgeford, Devon, England? Please. --Milkbreath (talk) 00:53, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Could it be the River Torridge? [1] Think outside the box 13:03, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

No, it's a much smaller stream about 9km to the east of that. I can't find a map on the Web that names it, and I can't tell whether the ordnance maps name it by looking at the samples at their site. --Milkbreath (talk) 13:26, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

The River Taw is east of the River Torridge. --David from Downunder (talk) 15:03, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. We're getting warmer. The minor rivulet I want is between the two and seems to empty into Langham Lake, which isn't much of a lake the way I see it. --Milkbreath (talk) 15:29, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

You could contact any of the photographers here by email and ask them. --David from Downunder (talk) 16:28, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Good idea. I'm going to do just that. The first picture on that page shows the very spot. I'll report back. --Milkbreath (talk) 23:05, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I told you... GFE!!! --David from Downunder (talk) 23:36, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Har. (I found that site in my searching, but somehow I failed to see that particular page. I didn't say anything because I wanted you to feel good about being such a big help, but now you've ruined it.) --Milkbreath (talk) 00:02, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Har. OK, you saved up for a copy of Google - now you need to learn how to use it properly. (I wouldn't have said that except now that I don't feel good, I feel the need to drag you down with me.) --David from Downunder (talk) 01:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I really want to know this now! Its going to annoy me until I find out. I've looked at a few detailed maps and none of them name it - and some don't even show it. Think outside the box 19:57, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I looked at tons of maps and still can't find the name for the water flow under my house. I must fix the downpipe instead of editing Wikipedia. --David from Downunder (talk) 23:20, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like it doesn't have a name then. Rivers have names but many streams don't. There is a stream that runs through my suburb which is little more than a mile long before it meets the River Rea, and there's no name for it on the 1:2500 map.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 10:29, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I doubt that statement (many streams don't have names). Where I live even farm drainage ditches all have names - maybe used only be the local water board but named none-the-less. You probably just haven't looked hard enough to find it yet. Rmhermen (talk) 15:22, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

What is the name of those suspended-belief wheelchairs?

They look like science fiction and sort of hover silently. No wheels per se. Anyone know what I mean? BrainyBabe (talk) 01:16, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I believe they are called Hoverchairs. I believe, but I am not sure. I thought that Professor X from X men had one, but then again I might be wrong on that. I hope I helped you out a little.Cardinal Raven (talk) 02:54, 28 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

In Star Trek, even when they appear without wheels, they are still called wheelchairs. Adam Bishop (talk) 07:11, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

You don't mean Segway PT or iBOT which have wheels?87.102.16.238 (talk) 14:08, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Not Mecanum wheels, then? Still, they're deserving of a mention. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:17, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks -- the anon contributor found the nail in the dark and hit it on the head. BrainyBabe (talk) 08:23, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Telephones in France

I read that most French households did not have telephones until the 1970s and that telephone service in France was notoriously poor until then.

Why was France so far behind the rest of the Western world in telephony? -- Mwalcoff (talk) 04:38, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

According to this "Until the 1970s the telephone service was notoriously bad: in 1970, France had fewer lines per capita than Greece and only one fifth as many as Sweden. The reason appears to be that "the French government refused to invest a penny [in the telephone system]" in 1879 when the Post Office and Telegraph Minister, Albert Cochery, decided to equip the biggest French towns with a telephone service. [2] Think outside the box 13:18, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Is the BPO industry exploitive ?

I am trying to gather data , on the health of BPO workers in India and Philippines . Here most workers stay awake during the night to answer questions for US based customers, (this is due to the 12 hr time diffrence). This is bound to effect the health of the worker. I am unable to find concrete data,could someone help me pls :) 59.180.144.161 (talk) 07:04, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Well, after looking up what "BPO" is, I then checked the article for Night shift. That lead me to Graveyard shift which states that the World Health Organization feels that working that shift increases your chances of getting cancer. You may also want to search the net for references of lowered vitamin D due to lesser exposure to sunlight. Dismas|^(talk) 07:16, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Well I know some call center agents here in the Philippines. I think the worst problem that they face is the shifting schedule. Sometimes you are stationed during the night, sometimes during the day. I think this wreak havoc on their body clock. However they mostly gripe about rude callers though. --Lenticel ^(talk) 08:28, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

see [3], there are some facts here. I know this isn't raw data but it will provide useful starting data for your research. --Lenticel ^(talk) 08:31, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

UK folks, please explain this to an American

In the United States, public radio (which is actually just partially subsidized by the government) exists to broadcast the kind of enlightening, quality stuff that commercial broadcasters might never get to, like public-affairs roundtables and classical music.

But BBC Radio apparently broadcasts all kinds of stuff that you would think could be handled by commercial broadcasters. According to our article, BBC Radio 1 plays pop music, BBC Radio 2 plays adult contemporary and music of your life, and BBC Radio 5 broadcasts sports and talk. In America, every major city has at least one, and often several, commercial pop, adult contemporary and sports/talk station.

I'm somewhat familiar with the history of British broadcasting, how the government once feared that commercial broadcasting would degrade the quality of the airwaves. But having been to Britain in recent years, I know commercial broadcasting is now universally accepted. So if the private sector can provide popular-music and sports/talk broadcasting at no cost to the taxpayer or license-buyer, why doesn't the British government sell the commercially viable radio stations and put the money into something more governmental, like highways or hospitals? -- Mwalcoff (talk) 08:28, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Great question, much of which you have answered yourself. Here in the UK, there is much resentment at having to pay the BBC a licence fee of over £100 per annum for the privilege of listening to radio, and watching TV, irrespective of which channels you actually use. Many people own radios and TVs without ever using the BBC, but it's still illegal and highly punishable NOT to pay the licence fee. Me? I never listen to radio, and I get all my news from the Internet. And I only ever watch TV and films on commercial and cable channels. But every year, I am obliged to buy a licence which amongst other things, provides the BBC fatcats with vast sums of money, plus they and their families and their guests, including Government and Civil Service officials get guaranteed best seats at Wimbledon and the Royal Opera House etc. The sooner this rip off government goes - the better.

81.145.240.53 (talk) 10:10, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

The BBC has become more like commercial providers because of competition. It didn't used to play many pop records, as its charter required a certain amount of live music. That only changed because of competition from pirate stations. Its become like commercial providers other ways too, but I suspect it hasn't been privatised because of a resistance to large changes.

As you can see above, some people wish the license fee were abolished, but personally, I'm glad they don't sell off the stations for various reasons, one of them being that commercial radio is predominantly crap. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 10:36, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

The matter was most recently exposed to serious debate in 2006, with the publication of a green then white paper A public service for all: the BBC in the digital age. The UK government Department for Culture, Media and Sport has this to say.

The first answer to the question posed above presupposes that there is enough advertising revenue to support additional commercial channels. Although global TV advertising revenue continues to grow, an Ofcom study Economic Analysis of the TV Advertising Market from 2004 noted:

After a decade of strong growth, traditional TV advertising revenues fell sharply in 2001-2003. It remains uncertain whether this decline was merely ‘cyclical’, following the end of the Internet bubble, or ‘structural’, reflecting a move by advertisers away from traditional media. However, what seems clear is that the UK economic cycle can only partially explain the downturn. This suggests that the TV advertising market may now have begun to follow a new path, with advertising of the traditional channels barely growing while revenues in the multi-channel arena grow relatively briskly.

The implication is that there would be massively insufficient funds to support a commercial BBC, and it follows that ending the current arrangements would decrease the quality and breadth of output of all media - TV, Radio & Internet (think BBC website) in the UK. Our overlords have - thanks be - chosen to maintain the current system. My experience of TV watching in the US suggests that they have made the right decision. I'd rather pay the licence fee and whinge about it, as one does about paying taxes, than see it and the Beeb abolished. --Tagishsimon (talk) 11:05, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

There are only three non-BBC Independent National Radio stations - Virgin Radio, Classic FM and talkSPORT - that is, radio stations that are carried on all transmitters. There are hundreds of Independent Local Radio stations that have a 20-50mile range and most are owned by GCap Media (discounting the BBC's own 46 local radio stations). The BBC is the only operator that can reach the entire population (on average) through non-digital tx/rx methods and thus the sale of the BBC channels would come under both competition/monopoly scrutiny but also civil-defence scrutiny. As well as this, the BBC's charter mandates balanced reporting on events and also providing services to minorities and others. If, for instance, Radio 2 was purchased by Fox/News International/BSkyB then the editorial line of news and music may then change to reflect the owners political/social agenda and elements of non-profitable services such as Welsh language transmissions and Polish language current affairs shows may be cut.
But I think the main reason for them not becoming nationalised is that the listeners are used to them now and the quality of the programming compared to the existing commercial radio networks isn't perceived to be of the same level. A lot of local radio stations popped up in the 1980s purely because the BBC didn't have the full coverage of the country, such as GWR FM Wiltshire which became the flagship of GCap in the 1990s. My main problem with these local stations is the necessary proliferation of advertising and the use of syndicated programs such as the Pepsi Chart, Late Night Love, The Jeremy Kyle Show and hit40uk. Nanonic (talk) 11:14, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Those of us in the rest of the world would like to thank the British people for paying their taxes and license fees, so we could enjoy things like the World Service, news.bbc.co.uk, and about half of PBS's television lineup, which they could never have afforded to produce themselves. I assume Doctor Who turns a profit, but if not, thanks for that too. APL (talk) 13:14, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

"why doesn't the British government sell the commercially viable radio stations and put the money into something more governmental, like highways or hospitals?" An interesting way of putting the question, coming from the only country in the Western world that doesn't have universal healthcare. The truth is that different countries have different ideas about what is proper for a government to do. DJ Clayworth (talk) 21:22, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

It was an honest question; there's no need to turn it into some kind of international debate. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:42, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

As a regular listener to BBC Radio 3 and 4 I am delighted that they are non-commercial, and resent the degree to which they have been made to ape commercial stations (in their incessant trailers, particularly). Very occasionally I listen to Classic FM, but I can stand hearing the ads for about half an hour before I have to turn off. I don't pay for a licence because I haven't got a television (and have an argument with the TV licence authority every couple of years because they can't believe that anybody who hasn't a licence can be within the law), but I value the BBC and would be glad to support it (as I did for my NPR station when I lived in St Louis MO). --ColinFine (talk) 17:22, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I understand why they wouldn't privatize Radio 3 and 4, which seem like they wouldn't be commercially viable. But stations 1, 2 and 5 have formats similar to commercial radio, which is why I don't understand why they are government owned. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:42, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

As a Canadian, and therefore somewhat neutral third party (we have our public CBC which is heavily paid for by private advertisers), I might suggest that public broadcast remains useful to ensure that, at any time, citizens have access to media that is culturally relevant, and not simply popular. Our illustrious Pierre Trudeau once remarked that living next to the United States is a little like sleeping with an elephant; regardless of how gentle the beast, one tends to be affected by every twitch and grunt. I suspect much of the Anglophone world feels that way. American media has cornered the market as far as popularity is concerned (and deservedly so), but to maintain regional and national identity it is sometimes necessary to maintain the infrastructure for a broadcaster who will periodically produce some non-American content, regardless of what sort of ratings one expects. Monty Python, Coronation Street, the Nature of Things, -- these shows may not have existed were it not for public broadcasting, providing an outlet for the avant-garde and the risky production. Vance.mcpherson (talk) 00:47, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

This entire debate has missed one critical point: the BBC is not the government. In the US, the disbursement of public funds to political broadcasters is often part of the political process (and the whole pork barrel problem). The UK tries to avoid this situation by completely separating the finances of the BBC from those of HM Government. The BBC's income comes from a licence fee on television reception equipment, a charge for the use of a service. So (it is argued) it must provide programming to everyone who uses that service. As the questioner wrote, these things "could be handled by commercial broadcasters" - but why should they be? In addition, radio spectrum is limited, so why should valuable airtime be given over to partisan interests? As a listener, is a radio station better for me because it makes a profit for someone else? It is also worth examining the whole field of public goods in economics.

A more minor error in the original question is the statement that "the private sector can provide popular-music and sports/talk broadcasting at no cost to the taxpayer or license-buyer". The taxpayer is also the consumer. What makes more sense: paying for broadcasting services by a levy on broadcasting equipment (channelled through a democratically-appointed Trust) or paying for broadcasting services by a levy on soap, detergent, tomato ketchup, etc. (channelled through privately-held corporations)? Matt's talk 17:47, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Tomato expert

Today I saw an article in the Metro about Britain's first tommelier, or tomato expert. Where can I find out more? —TreasuryTag—t—c 10:39, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

It's a Pizza Express initiative; I can vouch for the improvement in at least one of their tomato-based recipes. You'd have to contact them, I guess, or at the least steal one of their tomato-themed menus. --Tagishsimon (talk) 10:51, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Antony Gord

My daughter is trying to research an artist called Antony Gord, but we're not getting any response within Wikipedia or on search engines like Google.

Have any of your experts heard of him?81.154.78.87 (talk) 11:35, 28 March 2008 (UTC)wendy

Can you give us any more context? It's puzzling that google hasn't heard of him; I'm wondering whether you have the name right. --Tagishsimon (talk) 11:36, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Google search tells me there's...

• Gordon ANTHONY (1902-1989), Australian artist
• Anthony GORDON, Canadian art photographer

--David from Downunder (talk) 12:30, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Antony Gormley perhaps? AndrewWTaylor (talk) 15:19, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Planes

Can I take my DS or PSP on to a plane and use during flight? 78.144.65.1 (talk) 12:21, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Generally speaking you can, check with the airline (assuming you're talking about an airline flight rather than some other kind of plane). You will probably be required to turn it off for takeoff and landing. FiggyBee (talk) 12:29, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

There is probably a policy statement or FAQ answer somewhere on your carrier's website. The British Airways website, for example, says:

At present, there are no restrictions on carrying hand held electronic games and personal radio or CD players etc. on-board British Airways flights, although we do recommend that all passengers keep hand baggage to a minimum.

Portable telephones and other electronic equipment such as games and computers may interfere with the aircraft systems and must be switched off during take-off, approach and landing.

Portable telephones or any other device that transmits data must remain switched-off whilst the aircraft is in flight.

and then goes on to give a list of exceptions and regulations for specific types of equipment. Gandalf61 (talk) 12:40, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Code:WIKI user account problems.

I need someone to help me with a problem on Code:WIKI, the Code Lyoko wiki: I can't create an account! My IP is not blocked or anything, but when I try to create a user account, it says "use the form below." But there is no form. I don't know where else to ask because you need to have a user to edit on Code:WIKI. If it works for you, please create a user for me and name it "XAXAwins!" (the exclamation point is part of the name.) Make the password "123" and I will change it later. Please tell me immediately when this is done. Or, just tell me what's wrong so I can make the user myself. Thank you. Krem (talk) 13:04, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

You'd have to talk to whoever runs that site. It uses mediawiki software but is not run by the mediawiki foundation which runs wikipedia. I'd presume they've screwed up their implementation somehow. --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:21, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I can't. I have to have a login to talk to him. Krem (talk) 14:23, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

You need cookies enabled. --David from Downunder (talk) 14:57, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

And with the best will in the world, we cannot really help because it is not our website & we have little or no knowledge of it. sorry. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:31, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

"we"?! Of course we can help. "lawyer commercials" are not our website either, but we still knew what to do: "Turn off your TV" and "Hire two on a no-win-no-fee basis and make them sue each other." --David from Downunder (talk) 16:51, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

One last thing, could you at least try yourself? It may be my computer. If you can create one for me, as specified above, then that's all I need! :) Krem (talk) 15:59, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I got the same problem. Contact website@robkohr.com - he runs editthis.info --David from Downunder (talk) 16:51, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

There is a paragraph at the bottom of the front page that says "A warning to all users and newcommers, the wiki shield level has been moved to level 1, this prevents any new accounts from being created. We are sorry if this causes any inconvenience to new Lyoko Fanatics, we will announce if there is any change in the current situation. Thank You - The Guardians". It doesn't say what to do about it though. --ColinFine (talk) 17:26, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Definition for a group of pigs/hogs

03-28-08

During a conversation about animals, the question arose re what does one call a group of full grown pigs? For instance--a gaggle of geese; a herd of cattle. Really would like an answer. Marjoo (talk) 14:42, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

List of animal names is a good page for this kind of question. It has a drift or herd of hogs, and herd, drove or mob of pigs. List of collective nouns by subject I-Z also has a fleet and a sounder of pigs. List of collective nouns by subject A-H doesn't feature hogs. ---Sluzzelin talk 14:51, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

(ec) Our article "Boar" says "Wild boars live in groups called sounders." The OED defines "sounder" as "A herd of wild swine", which suggests that non-wild swine go in "herds", although "herd" is the default term for many groups of mammal. Our article "List_of_animal_names" shows different terms for pigs and hogs, herd, drove, and mob for the former and drift and herd for the latter. Another peek into the OED suggests that drove and drift are essentially the same word having to do with "driving" animals, not specific to our mud-loving cousins. Mob seems to be chiefly used in Australia and New Zealand for many kinds of animals; we've all heard of a mob of kangaroos. I would go with "herd" unless they were feral or wild and the people I was with were saying "sounder". --Milkbreath (talk) 15:13, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Followup: The OED (not that it's the Word of God or anything) doesn't recognize this definition of "fleet". --Milkbreath (talk) 15:43, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Introduction to favorite colors

I could almost put this in the science desk, but this concept is so easy that anyone for being human can answer.

I'm obviously under the assumption that favorite colors are genetic, and not much by choice. For example, my favorite colors are red, blue, green, and purple. I believe favorite colors are genetic. Matter fact, my top 4 favorite colors are the same as that of my paternal grandmother. When I was 6 or 7 or 8 years old, I asked my grandma (now deceased), what her favorite color was. She was an artist. She said red. Wow! Same as my favorite color! I asked her what her 2nd favorite color is. Blue. Wow, also my 2nd favorite color. Asked her what her 3rd favorite was. She said green, which was also my 3rd. Then asked 4th, which was purple, same as my 4th.

Now of course, I feel this is genetic. I'm not arguing that favorite colors are inherited, but is determined by genes. I'm 99% sure that my favorite 4 colors were genetic with my grandmother, and 1% sure it is purely coincidence. It could be purely coincidence because someone not biologically related to me could also have their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th favorite color in the same order.

Now, some people that I don't get, is when you ask them what their favorite color is, they say "I don't know," or, they have to stop and think about it. How can anyone stop and think about it?! I asked a chemistry Ph.D what his favorite color was, and he said I don't know, probably red. I even asked a philosophy Ph.D that, and he said he'd never thought about it. But I bet I could ask children in Kindergarten or so, on what their favorite color is, and they'd have an answer. Some adults answer "I don't know, but when I was a child, my favorite color was __."

It could also be that people have tied favorite colors, or like all colors equally. That would also be determined by genes, I'd say. But the moment they like 1 color more than another, then they have tied favorite colors. However, I also feel that if your favorite color changes in your lifetime, then molecules in your brain have changed to reflect that.

I obviously feel my favorite colors are like sexual preference. I have no control over it. My 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th favorite color have been the same since as early as I can remember, so I would say it is definitely not my choice. Especially since my grandmother on my father's side has the same favorite color in that order.

1 would have to counter-argue, though, that if someone was born without a default favorite color, that they would have a gene that says so. And such a gene could say "whatever colors this person becomes attached to, could make that color their favorite color." Obviously, I feel such a gene(s) doesn't exist.

So my questions are for your comments, and if you know of any cases where someone in your family has the same favorite colors as you? Wikipedia doesn't have an article on people's favorite colors as a statistic, so maybe a survey or poll could do. Thanks. Neal (talk) 19:36, 28 March 2008 (UTC).

I'm sure there are many cases where people have the same color preferences as some of their ancestors, but given the small number of primary and secondary colors, this is not really compelling evidence for a genetic component. (Though given what we know about human color preferences, it seems likely that there is a genetic component, though not necessarily as simple a mechanism as say, eye color.) As far as Wikipedia is concerned, we should be looking for systematic studies (preferably in peer-reviewed journals), not anecdotal evidence (which for topics like this is quite unreliable). This evidence is entirely anecdotal, and also original, (see Wikipedia:No original research) so isn't appropriate for Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not a discussion forum for people to discuss their favorite colors, but if anyone can find any scientific sources on the topic, that would be quite helpful. -- Beland (talk) 20:18, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Ah right, I wasn't quite suggesting we have an article on favorite color as a survey/poll of Wikipedians. But more of a Wikipedian portal in the sense we have a WP:Facebook or a voluntary Wikipedians by month of arrival. I recall seeing pie charts on what countries Wikipedians are from, and etc. By the way, even if we could successfully survey thousands of Wikipedians by favorite color, all it takes is a source to publish it and we can cite it. It doesn't have to be a Wikipedia article but a Wikipedia:page reflecting what Wikipedians voted. I obviously find surveying Wikipedians is a lot more convenient than to survey people door to door, heh. But not that I care.. Neal (talk) 20:32, 28 March 2008 (UTC).

Doesn't having 4 favourite colours greatly increase the chance that anyone would like at least one of them? Since you like 4 out of 7 (basic) colours, there is over a 50/50 percent chance that someone else will like one of them. My favourite colour is orange, but no one in my entire family likes it at all. Most of them like blue (even my colour-blind father, who can't tell it apart from green or red most of the time), but there are just as many who like all sorts of random colours. I believe that the colours someone likes (as well as their sexual preference) are more psychological than genetic and are developed very early in life. But that's just me. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 20:25, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes it does, but my argument was that you like them in the same order. Not pick 4 colors that you like and see if anyone else likes 1 of them.. Neal (talk) 20:33, 28 March 2008 (UTC).

By the way, color-blinds are still shown to have favorite color, even the same as their parents. The thing is, the waves of light are still the same, from which a conversation with a genius I once had, that being color-blind doesn't affect the way of whether it's your favorite color or not. By the way, another user I know, Canadian Paul, his favorite color is also orange, and says it's based on his childhood experience. Interesting that you say that too, I thought. Neal (talk) 20:36, 28 March 2008 (UTC).

Yes, it is childhood experience, to a point. Everything I loved to eat as a kid is orange (either the food itself or the packaging it comes in), which is something I just recently noticed that surprised me. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 20:39, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, but what if I argued to you that even if you didn't have those childhood experiences, your favorite color would still have been orange? Neal (talk) 20:41, 28 March 2008 (UTC).

This is like the old nature vs. nurture arguement, and I believe it is a mix of both. I had a small liking of the colour as a child which was reinforced by experience. I would have a different favourite colour if I liked different foods. But then I wonder, is my liking of those foods tied to my liking of the colour or vice versa? In which case both of them would have to have been there from the beginning. But this is making my brain hurt now, thanks. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 20:52, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Right, even I have had ties with things red as my favorite color, such as cherries, and liking fruit punch juice. But you know, I don't like red spicy things. A genius I once talked to on IRC, said that you can have 3 kids, and put each 1 in a different colored bedroom for them to grow up in, but that won't force their favorite color to be the colored-room you put them in. The questions remains is if there is such a rare gene that determines favorite color by lifestyle.. Neal (talk) 20:56, 28 March 2008 (UTC).

Re: But this is making my brain hurt now, thanks. Well I'm sorry you feel that way. :/ Neal (talk) 21:00, 28 March 2008 (UTC).

When asked what my favourite colour (as opposed to my favorite color) is, I always say "green". But I actually wear far more blue clothes than any other colour, and always have. I've always hankered after a green car, but the cars I've actually bought have been orange, red, yellow and white. So one's stated favourite colour might not actually mean anything much. -- JackofOz (talk) 23:14, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I like red and blue more than the others, and I would say that I wear those colors quite a bit. However, almost all my t-shirts are solid colors (a few reds and blues, a couple blacks, a couple ash, maybe a green in there). Maybe I should get a yellow and an orange. Useight (talk) 23:27, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I think you guys are really misusing colons. Sigh. Neal (talk) 23:29, 28 March 2008 (UTC).

I can see where you are getting off? I recently had read an article about what your grandmother ate as child would affect you not her own child, but the next generation of her child's child. Something to do the e genome. So then maybe the same thing with thinking. You have an interesting idea maybe you should test it some more.

Always

Cardinal RavenCardinal Raven (talk) 02:20, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Ah okay, you're suggest there are certain traits that are recurring in every other generation. I've heard about that, but I can't think of any examples. Neal (talk) 02:47, 29 March 2008 (UTC).

Yes that is what I am suggesting. You should watch the documentary Ghost in your Genes its a Nova documentary about how the e genome gives traits to every other generation. All though it doesn't have much about the color thing it has some things about how genetics is crossed over by every other generation instead of every generation. Its very interesting and it might be very helpful.

Always

Cardinal RavenCardinal Raven (talk) 03:38, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Neal. You have a sample size of two. There are a very small number of total primary colors. And it is unlikely that favorites are equiprobable—some colors are bright and have pleasant emotional associations (red, blue, green, orange), whilst others are not (brown), and others have strong gendered associations (pink, for example). So yeah. I don't really think you have any good reason to believe they are genetic. I find it unlikely that they would be, especially since there's no reason to believe, on the face of it, that favorite colors are anything very tangible or permanent. (I used to like purple a lot. Then it was certain blues and reds. Now I don't really have a favorite color.) In sum, I think your methodology is flawed, your assumptions are unwarranted, and your evidence nil, for this particular thesis. :-) --Captain Ref Desk (talk) 12:07, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

It's hard to tell if you're dodging my argument. No doubt, it is almost purely a coincidence that me and my grandmother on my father's side have the same favorite color. It becomes less of a coincidence that we have the same 2nd favorite color. And even less of a coincidence that we have the same 3rd favorite color. And down to 4th. Therefore, I'm arguing it is more likely genetic than coincidence to have the top 4 in the same order. Neal (talk) 23:02, 29 March 2008 (UTC).

You cannot make any sort of logical argument from one example.My favourite colour is black.AFAIK ,no-one in my family has that as a favourite colour, so it's not genetic. hotclaws 07:40, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

That is not my argument. I didn't say you automatically inherit your favorite color from someone in your family. By genetic, I meant your favorite color is pre-determined by genes. Neal (talk) 11:57, 30 March 2008 (UTC).

Pfiuu i couldn't read all that, I just have to point out that a lot of people don't have a favorite colo(u)r, number, food, clothe... I could never understand the favorite number thing for one, what use could it be ? Does one think about it and find it aestheticaly pleasant in a numeral way? Same for colors, do they have reassuring qualities ? I'll take all of them. 200.127.59.151 (talk) 00:17, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't see a point/purpose to have favorite numbers and such. Again, I think people that do have favorite colors, have them for gene. Neal (talk) 14:42, 31 March 2008 (UTC).

Cost of printed circuit boards, silicon and plastics

How much does that hard plastic of which toys are made cost? And the printed circuit board of a radio? And a ton of silicon? Thanks. --Taraborn (talk) 21:39, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

This site has prices for various types of plastic, including ABS, which is what they make toys out of. That site also has a price for silicone; metallic silicon costs about US$2000 per ton. PCBs aren't made of a single type of plastic, they're a kind of fiberglass weave, but I found one site that says "PCBs can cost as little as US$0.05 per square inch on larger production runs." HTH FiggyBee (talk) 23:15, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much. --Taraborn (talk) 08:10, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

7:84

7:84 were a theatre group. Named around the statistic that 7% of the UK population owned 84% of the assets/wealth. This was in 1966.

How can I find the current ratio for the UK or even any country ?

Has anybody criticised the measurement process as they have done with the Sunday Times Rich List ?

This is an important statistic as it tells us whether the country as a whole is getting richer or just a select few.

Thanks

Paul —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.86.166.234 (talk) 21:45, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

If you like to crunch your own data, there's a lot of inequality data here: http://www.wider.unu.edu/research/Database/en_GB/database/

Comparability between countries is an issue, though. Jørgen (talk) 22:56, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

By the way, 7:84 Scotland are still going, though apparently only just. --ColinFine (talk) 17:30, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Highland Dairy Cows

I was wondering where I could find information on Highland DAIRY Cattle? I have looked but found nothing. I have only seen a sentence or two that just mentions them, but no real information. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 23:20, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

While Highland cattle are generally considered a beef breed for commercial purposes, traditionally they were used by crofters as an all-purpose breed (ie beef and dairy). For this reason, they remain popular with smallholders and hobby-farmers. The milk, I believe, is less plentiful than regular dairy breeds but high in milk/butter fats. If you search and follow up links for highland cattle you will probably find milking information. A VERY quick google search yielded these, for example: [4] [5] [6], and you will easily find more. Try searching for "highland cattle milk" rather than dairy. Gwinva (talk) 02:44, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

The Highlands (of Scotland?) do not have the rich grasslands required to support dairy herds.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 10:35, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

For dairy herds, no, but enough for house cows and small herds on mixed farms. The Highland cattle breed is extremely hardy and prized for its ability to graze on rough land. Commercial dairy farms will, of course, choose specialist dairy breeds, but there remains a niche market for less-intensively-reared products, which Highland cattle might satisfy; moreover, those who are interested in self-sufficiency would be attracted, particularly if their land or climate is rough. Of course, the highland breed is found throughout the world, now. Gwinva (talk) 23:05, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

UPS Customs Forms

I just sold an ebay item to canada and i will be using United Parcel Service, however it is very difficult to find the customs forms that are required to ship there on the website. are there any websites that may have blank copies of the customs forms available, or should i just go to the UPS store to get this done.--logger (talk) 23:50, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

It would probably be best to just go to the UPS store as they can answer any questions you have about customs requirements for the specific items that you are shipping as well as any fees that may be involved. Dismas|^(talk) 01:37, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Douglas Fairbanks

When checking his Wikipedia page I found no refrences in his WRITING credits to his 1917 book "LAUGH and LIVE" A.L.BURT, Publishers of New York (190 pages)…<email address removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.247.23.246 (talk) 23:48, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Fixed. Oh, and "Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit." --hydnjo talk 00:17, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

March 29

Unquestionable challenge

Are you able to keep this question rhetorical? Kreachure (talk) 00:18, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

No. Warofdreams talk 00:42, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Similarly, there is the almost unquestionable challenge of keeping this question rhetorical. --hydnjo talk 01:42, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

"Unanswered" isn't the same thing as rhetorical, David... FiggyBee (talk) 02:27, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Well, good job then, uh... Michael! Kreachure (talk) 02:41, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Hehe, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to user:David from Downunder, who keeps deleting responses to this question. :) FiggyBee (talk) 02:44, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Oh, I see... Well, can you figure out another way? (Is that question rhetorical too?!?:) Kreachure (talk) 02:50, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

That rather depends on whether you are expecting an answer. See rhetorical question. Warofdreams talk 03:03, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, please do review our article. --hydnjo talk 03:58, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

English Dubbed Questions

I have a few questions about dubbed animes:

Why is the voice acting so terrible?

Why do they cut out the blood? (they act as if people don't bleed or something)

Why do they cut out unnecessary things in the anime such as someone taking a shower? (as if people don't shower)

Why do they add things that don't needed to be added in Naruto the sexy ninjustu she is in a bathing suit the clouds cover all her naughty parts so why does she need to be in a bathing suit and Sailor Moon the water level was raised just cause you could see the top of her breast?

Thank You

Always

Cardinal RavenCardinal Raven (talk) 02:32, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

All 4 questions have the same answer: Because they aim to sell it to kids. Kreachure (talk) 02:46, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

What about question number four? --hello, i'm a member | talk to me! 03:05, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

So. In Japan its out for kids. The kids in Japan watch woman who are naked. They watch lots of blood and they watch shower scenes. That is not a very good answer. We take out so much blood in anime for kids that kids think they are invincible just because of what they watch.Shoot half of those shows are for young teenagers to older teenagers. Young kids end up watching them anyway.And you never answered why the voice acting was so horrible? The girls when crying sound like they are happy or something.Cardinal Raven (talk) 03:12, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Anime in Japan isn't exactly meant for kids to watch, even though many do. --hello, i'm a member | talk to me! 03:28, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

That is why I rephrased what I said. Many of those shows are for older people. Young kids end up watching them. I still want to know why the voice acting in English is so terrible?Cardinal Raven (talk) 03:33, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

When in doubt, blame 4kids. bibliomaniac15 Hey you! Stop lazing around and help fix this article instead! 04:04, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Then I will blame 4kids for the rest of my life. Do they have e-mail or address? I must make a complaint. That is so retarded that they took out a black character out of a One Piece episode. It also is lame that they skipped the death part out of Yugioh. Its also lame that they cut out whatever they want. It is also lame that they do whatever they want to do with anime. Taking out food. I watch anime for its difference in culture. I like to compare cultures and I like to learn about new cultures. That is lame that they want to "Americanize" anime. Anime is suppose to be true to what the artist wanted to make it originally. 4kids make 4ever angry.

Always

Cardinal RavenCardinal Raven (talk) 05:31, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

The voice-acting in English-dubbed anime is bad because it's not a respectable job here. In Japan, a voice-actor is called a seiyuu, and they make whole careers out of just voice work. They are adored and idolized and known by name by all their fans; it's one of the most glamorous careers in their entertainment industry. In America, voice acting is only occasionally done by famous people (especially in big-budget stuff like Howl's Moving Castle, or Disney movies), while for the most part they hire any hack they can find. Americans think of voice-acting as without glory because no one sees your face.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Japanese is spoken in a different part of the voice than English. A Japanese girl speaking relatively normally sounds cutesy and squeaky to an American listener, so they tend to direct their own actresses to be obnoxiously squeaky when playing the same character. --Masamage ♫ 05:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Not all of the Japanese characters sound squeaky. They all have different voices. And they don't sound squeaky to me unless they are being squeaky on purpose. Its a sad fate for voice acting in America. I would take pride in voice acting if I could act, but i can't so I would sound just as bad. We need to rethink anime don't we. I find it an amazing piece of work especially the many cultural differences. And I think it would be wonderful if we viewed anime as a piece of anothers culture instead of trying to Americanize something why don't we try to understand the other culture. Maybe at the end of a dubbed version of anime put down notes like onigiri is a Japanese rice ball and its very common food. Something like that instead of editing everything out. Why don't they try to understand the culture? Why don't they try to learn the culture? Japan is a wonderful culture and I think it would give kids a different exposure so that they knew lots more about the world. Isn't that what we want our children to learn about different places?

Always

Cardinal RavenCardinal Raven (talk) 06:06, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

I certainly agree that the level of "dumbing down" of anime when it's dubbed is pretty disturbing. Compare it with Mark Evanier's report on what "parents groups" did to Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)[7]. While that was some time ago, these groups still have influence, and the "think of the children" mentality can be found pretty much all through children's programming. As to why they don't just include straight Japanese references, and then put notes at the end or something, I can think of at least two reasons why they wouldn't: (1) they don't think the kids care enough to read a whole bunch of cultural explanations on the screen, and (2) "fear of the unknown" - concern that if the show doesn't appear to be American, someone (maybe the "parents groups", maybe the kids themselves) won't want the kids to watch it. Sadly, while I abandoned my belief in the stupidity of Americans a long, long time ago, it appears that many American publishers and producers hold on to it, and keep producing things for the lowest common denominator.

That said, I do know one person (a Japanese teacher at an Australian school) who used subtitled anime episodes to help his students understand both the language and the culture. And anime DVDs often have little booklets of cultural notes these days, as well, if they aren't included as an extra on the DVD itself (I know the local release of Azumanga Daioh does the first, and Steel Angel Kurumi the second). Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 06:23, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Because America is a very Christian nation, and Christianity says that the human body is sinful and wicked and that nudity will corrupt our children, whereas the Japanese don't have those particular social values, so what's appropriate for Japanese children is not considered appropriate for American children. The other part of the answer is that animation is not considered a serious medium in America; it's considered these days to be solely for small children who won't care how bad the voice acting is, so there isn't much demand for highly talented voice actors outside of feature films (which have a higher budget and can afford them). In Japan, animation is considered as valid a medium as live action, and has no age connotation - there are animated features for adults and for kids. When was the last time you saw a US show that was animated that was for adults? I can come up with maybe 2 or 3 ever (Drawn Together, Stripperella come to mind), and a lot of them did it to make a point (that's not to say that shows created for kids don't end up sometimes having appeal for adults). Kuronue | Talk 02:43, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Tire chains in Yosemite (in late March/April)

Would I need to bring tire chains to Yosemite NP if I am going there in a few days? It's already springtime and the forecast shows no chance of rain, snow, or freeze, but I need to be sure lest I be screwed. --hello, i'm a member | talk to me! 03:05, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Well then, for sure, bring 'em (you've been a member long enough to know that!) and don't put it on us stupido RD'ers to save your life ;-) --hydnjo talk 03:26, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

People still use chains? Do you not have all-season tires, or what? Friday (talk) 03:55, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Friday, you're not from Colorado are you. --hydnjo talk 04:00, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Nope. I've driven out there a few times, but probably not in what was bad (for them) weather. Still, I was under the impression that the modern approach was generally winter tires rather than chains. Friday (talk) 04:02, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Some routes require "chains-on-board" (not necessarily mounted) to be legal. I guess its on accounta the unexpected. --hydnjo talk 04:07, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

My rental had chains in the trunk for that very reason. I never needed them so maybe it was a scam! --hydnjo talk 04:11, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

If you live in California, it's really counterproductive to have snow tires unless you actually live in snow country. If you're just visiting Yosemite or other areas where there's snow a few months of the year, chains are a much better solution. Corvus cornix_talk 21:23, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

In Washington it is not unheard of for chains to be required for driving over the Cascades. Pfly (talk) 05:18, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Member, I'd bring them just to be safe. I don't know what part of the park you are going to (Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road both remain closed until Memorial Day, typically) but if you are driving Hwy 41 between Wawona and the Valley, you crest at over 6000 feet at Chinquapin. I see a chance of snow all through the coming days (forecast for that part of Highway 41 that goes over that summit) and they take their tire chain policies seriously there. (I go there a lot.) If you don't bring them, you can always get in and out via 140 to Merced, which stays below 4000 feet; it's extremely unlikely it would snow there this late in the season. Have a good trip, Antandrus (talk) 01:55, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

psychological flurry

I have this strange temperament.Whenever a girl says that I look handsome I get into a psychological rollercoaster.I keep thinking about it for days together.I am always eager to know what girls are thinking about me.I am becoming a kind of zombie.I have reached such depths in this abyss that there seems no way out.Please help me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.248.2.51 (talk) 05:58, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

This is not a counseling hotline or a forum. The only advice I can give to you is not worry about. Everyone wonders what the opposite sex is thinking. Its natural. Always, Cardinal Raven Cardinal Raven (talk) 06:21, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

One tip: DON'T TRY TO 'FORGET ABOUT IT'. It never works. Just let the emotions flow naturally and you'll fly out of the abyss. --hello, i'm a member | talk to me! 06:49, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Now-a-days with condoms, birth control pills, and diaphragms readily available girls are becoming no less bold and outspoken than many males when it comes to casting their fishing hooks into the water. Just think of yourself as a little bitty fish not quite ready to have your scales scraped off and a hot fire placed under your bod. 71.100.1.132 (talk) 08:43, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

In any event, there is no cure. Not even religion. Castration might help, but it is illegal in countries such as the U.S. Neal (talk) 01:49, 30 March 2008 (UTC).

It's not such a strange temperament to be easily manipulated by flattery. Besides being a confidence boost, there's probably a self-help book on how to handle the emotional rush, and the people that cause it, ; ) Julia Rossi (talk) 02:02, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

YouTube help needed

Is there a way to keep track of all the comments that I make in the different videos in the youtube just like in the different pictures in Flickr, so that I know what comments I made and what happened to them (their responses and all)? Thanks DSachan (talk) 07:07, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

You could try searching for your Youtube user name in Google. Type "[your user name] site:youtube.com" without the quote marks. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:53, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

World's Greatest Issue(s)

A very strange question, and I'm sure it is open to debate - as there is no definite answer, but I would love to hear your views, as I had a discussion with my colleagues about this the other day, and we couldn't come up with an mutual answer. The question was "what is the world's most important issue?" We had lots of ideas, pollution, poverty, wars etc. but couldn't decide what, if we had to choose, is the most important! I'd love to hear your views, and I'm sure my colleagues will! Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.79.100.49 (talk) 11:45, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

People that debate on the world's greatest issue, then no-one will be actually doing anything on any of the issues. --antilived^{T | C | G} 11:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Religion, (and the problems that it causes).--Artjo (talk) 12:43, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

This is not a forum for soliciting opinions. Take this to a chat room please. Matt Deres (talk) 20:12, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Overpopulation. — Kieff | Talk 20:32, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

French Maids...

Hi, Two questions... What do they wear? and secondly what dialect should they use when speaking?

See our articles on French maid and French phonology. Gandalf61 (talk) 16:34, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Per the Reference Desk guidelines, we cannot advise on treatment methods for your ED. (...but your idea certainly worth a try.) --Milkbreath (talk) 20:45, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I was asking because a contact needed to know in respect of a comedic play they were writing,

It's a shame others on the Reference Desk don't assume good faith.. ;) 62.56.111.179 (talk) 22:54, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Try to find some movies of farces hotclaws 07:41, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

micronations at war

Are there any instances where two (or more?) micronations have gone to war, like a fake war with fireworks or something. Like shooting fireworks at each others boats or invading a micronation and conquering it? xxx User:Hyper Girl 13:40, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

The Principality of Sealand has had a genuine no-joke coup d'etat, complete with (successful) counter-coup, prisoners of war, treason charges, and negotiated release. Algebraist 14:20, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Not micronations, but in the spirit of your question: some years ago there was a French "invasion" of one of the smaller channel islands. I can't remember the details, but I think it was a rather silly thing - some Rugby players play-fighting, flags waved and knocked over, and a policeman came and told the French to go away again, which they did provided they were allowed to stay and eat their sandwiches first. 81.187.153.189 (talk) 18:42, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Depending on which side you believe the Conch Republic might be considered a micronation. And they did declare war against the US (they promptly surrendered one minute later, and then applied for 1 billon in foreign aid). They also did "fight" the US army by firing water cannons from fire boats, and throwing stale Cuban bread at them. And I believ they have a mock battle every year on the anniversary of their independance. SunshineStateOfMind (talk) 23:43, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Excellent. The spirit of The Duchy of Grand Fenwick lives! Skittle (talk) 20:24, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Tongan troops invaded and occupied the Republic of Minerva, although there was no fighting. -Elmer Clark (talk) 17:43, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Opening day(s) chaos at London Heathrow Terminal 5 (T5)

Let me say first of all that I know nothing about running an airport - BUT - I have operated for many years very successfully in several other major areas of civil and government fields of operation - and have never, thanks be, experienced a first, second, or even third day disaster such as that at T5 this week (3rd day example was only 1 lift/elevator out of 16 was working). My question is therefore based on my own experiences where I was crucially involved in change management ie., given that British Airways were already operating relatively successfully out of Terminals 1 through 4, why was it necessary to go for a big bang scenario on T5-Day 1, instead of winding it up very gradually over a period of say, 6 months to a year? Wouldn't that have given all the new systems, procedures, staff, airlines, customers etc., etc., a fighting chance to deal with any glitches as they arose without the appalling embarrassment that has been caused to BA, BAA, London, and Brand UK, not forgetting Willie Walsh? 81.145.240.153 (talk) 13:56, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

British Airways has to vacate the other terminals as they need to be refurbished and other airlines move in for example from Terminal 2 as that will be re-developed for another new terminal Heathrow East. The same exercise was done a few years ago when Terminal 4 was opened and British Airways moved in over a weekend. MilborneOne (talk) 20:58, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Hmmmm

Was Wikipedia Really Vandalized 1,000,000+ times on November 30, 2005 as they say at [8]? ~ DarkZorro 15:07, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

You can't believe anything on Uncyclopedia. Useight (talk) 16:10, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I really doubt it. Back in late 2005, 250 recent changes covered about three minutes (I was pretty active fighting vandals then -- I'm just going on memory) -- that's a total of 5,000 changes in an hour. That is total edits: all good edits plus vandal edits. That makes about 120,000 edits in a day, very roughly. I remember doing some coarse statistics on the amount of vandalism in a random selection of recent changes a couple years ago and getting one out of eleven edits being vandalism, -- so about 10,000 vandal edits per day is in the ballpark. Antandrus (talk) 16:14, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, you definitely can't believe that joke website! Thanks Guys (or gals)! ~ DarkZorro 16:25, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Ah, but that's for the English Wikipedia alone. If you multiply that across all projects, 1,000,000 seems a tad more plausible. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 22:08, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Given that en WP carries about 1/4 of the project's traffic (based on having ~1/4 the articles), it remains entirely unreasonable. — Lomn 05:22, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Why doesn't home page place the "focus" of your mouse in the Search box?

Any time I go to Wikipedia, I always have to then click inside the Search box. Why don't the programmers just place the focus there when the page loads?

Thanks!

Andy —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.189.56.117 (talk) 18:16, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

If you go to www.wikipedia.org, the focus is already in the search box. If you go to the main page of the English Wikipedia, the focus is not in the search box because it would mean you had to click outside the search box in order to scroll around the page in the handiest manner. Since the point of the English Wikipedia main page is to showcase the best bits of Wikipedia, it is important that people can look around it easily. If you only ever want to search, go to www.wikipedia.org and type what you're looking for. It's automatically set up to search the English Wikipedia, although you can search a different Wikipedia using the dropdown menu alongside. 81.157.46.230 (talk) 18:20, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

If you create an account, you can configure it so that the cursor appears there. See Wikipedia:FAQ/Main Page#Why doesn't the cursor appear in the search box, like with Google?. Algebraist 21:25, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Roman Bread

What ingredients were used to make bread eaten by the ancient romans? Of course there would be flour and water, but all that makes is a tasteless hunk of bread that is as hard as a rock. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 20:07, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Did you try yeast ? 205.240.144.129 (talk) 20:35, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Our article "Yeast" does not mention Rome or Romans. Our article "Bread" says that Pliny the Elder spoke of Gauls making a lighter bread by using the foam skimmed from beer. This suggests that the Roman bread was heavier but that they leavened somehow. It seems that yeast in the air will leaven bread dough to some extent if it sits long enough. The principle of keeping a "starter" has been around a long time, too. The role of yeast in fermentation, essentially what is going on in bread, was not understood until Pasteur. --Milkbreath (talk) 20:58, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Flat breads is interesting and leads to focaccia in its many forms, as an Italian flat bread. It must have started somewhere. The kneading process is a key to developing the combination of flour and water into bread. Julia Rossi (talk) 00:21, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Roman Meal bread is delicious and nutritious. Try some today! Edison (talk) 02:50, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Sourdough can be made from yeast microbes that float around in the air, and can be speeded up by those blooms on the surface of fruit. Learn more from Sandor Ellix Katz's Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.BrainyBabe (talk) 19:21, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Lights Out - Will people DIE ?

Heard that the lights will go out due to some Eco-crap. Someone who is on some kind of life support, such as kidney dialysis will end up DEAD tonight. Why don't the Eco-crowd does NOT think of this is beyond me. IF someone does die because of this, will the FBI step up its "Operation Backfire" program ? What about all of those computers that will have to be rebooted, incl. some Wikimedia servers ? Wikipedia is NOT CENSORED. Someone wanted me to ask these questions in a profanity loaded manner. 205.240.144.129 (talk) 20:33, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

They're not shutting off energy. They're just turning off lights, and as far as I know, nobody dies directly from lack of lighting. — Kieff | Talk 20:41, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I'm guessing that you're speaking of Earth Hour. People are just turning off their own lights; the companies aren't stopping the distribution of power. Mastrchf91 (^t/_c) 20:43, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Would it not have been useful to spare the time to check our article Earth Hour? You could have saved us all some paranoid, sensationalist and ill-informed waffle... --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 21:04, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

WE ALL GONNA DIE!!! ok maybe not, but I could see an increase in crime in major cities that are turning their lights off due to lack of lighting. I mean if you're going to mug someone you might as well do it when the street lights are off.--ChesterMarcol (talk) 21:12, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Of course some people will die, people are ultimately stupid and no doubt some idiot will decide to take that final step to Darwin without the assistance of lighting. As to whether someone who is in hospital, which generally have huge electrical backup systems, is any more likely to die than on other days? Well life support and dialysis machines generally aren't plugged into light sockets.. (but imagine the fun if they were and were fitted to a clapper - *clap clap* HE'S DEAD *clap clap* HE'S ALIVE). Nanonic (talk) 21:25, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

"Well life support and dialysis machines generally aren't plugged into light sockets.. (but imagine the fun if they were and were fitted to a clapper - *clap clap* HE'S DEAD *clap clap* HE'S ALIVE)." Ha very funny. I can just imagine it now. To answer your question no. The other guys just answered it most life support systems aren't plugged into light sockets. Cause that would be horrible. Every time we had a blackout we would have more people dead.Cardinal Raven (talk) 22:25, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

I think this means that government buildings are going to be turning their lights off. They also try to get the citizens to shut off their lights and use less energy. It doesn't actually shut off the entire energy systems though. So the people in hospitals will still have all the lectricity they need. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 01:04, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

I turned off the main breaker in my home for an hour and lived to tell about it. I lived every bit as well as my grandparents did in their youth, with kerosene lamps and a fireplace. Big deal. Edison (talk) 02:48, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

We turned off the lights and lived by the light of the TV. Useight (talk) 03:36, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Damn! I completely forgot about this. I would have very much liked to play Arkham Horror by candlelight. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 14:24, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

You still could. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 14:55, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

But then I wouldn't be making a statement or something along those lines. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 16:20, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

What Are They Called?

What are those fake doctors called? The ones that poison their patients and stuff.

Thank you

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 20:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Could you be more specific? Are you talking about the likes of Jack Kervorkian? Dismas|^(talk) 21:41, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

No. I am talking about the doctors who pretend to be doctors and work in hospitals just to poison patients. Serial killer doctors or something like that. That is what I am talking about.Cardinal Raven (talk) 21:45, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Quacks? --~~MusicalConnoisseur~~ Got Classical? 22:08, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

For the longest time I thought they were called Angels of Death. And no not quacks. I can't remember there was a case about a serial killer who pretended to be a doctor to finish off his victim or something. Quacks is something completely different.Cardinal Raven (talk) 22:23, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

I'm not sure if there is a specific term. The legal area would be 'impersonation' regardless of any murderous or psychotic intent. 62.56.111.179 (talk) 23:06, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

If you mean real doctors who go bad, they might be "rogue" doctors. See also Jayant Patel who the media refers to as "Doctor Death". Quack is also used to describe doctors who are ineffective but for psycho medics there's a list at Angel of Death Julia Rossi (talk) 00:07, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Munchausen's syndrome by proxy. Gandalf61 (talk) 00:56, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Harold Shipman is a general practitioner who killed hundreds of his patients. BrainyBabe (talk) 19:25, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Dude, that's like Báthory numbers! --Oskar 01:15, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

One thing I am not, Oscar, is a dude. Your reference to Bathory led me to Most prolific murderers by number of victims, where Shipman sits at number 3. BrainyBabe (talk) 14:12, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I use both dude and "girlfriend" as gender-neutral terms of affection, to the great annoyance of all my friends (male and female alike). BTW, cool, I didn't know we had an article listing the most prolific serial-killers. I've just always had a depraved fascination with Countess Báthory :D --Oskar 21:25, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

In some dialects of English, "dude" is a gender-neutral term. --Carnildo (talk) 21:28, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Split Trax vs. Twin Trax-Audio

On commercially produced CD's, can anyone explain the difference between Split Trax and Twin Trax?? I've recently purchased a CD toting Split Trax(Vocal on right balance, Instruments on left balance)but voices are sporadic throughout disc, usually on chorus of songs only, not verses. Publisher (BrentwoodBenson)hasn't been much help answering this question. Previous CD's have had vocals on left side throughout all songs,both verses and chorus so I'm wondering if disc is flawed ,or if I should have ordered Twin Trax instead of Split Trax--Glekel (talk) 22:31, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Your disc probably has backup vocals only. It is meant to be used to backup a soloist who sings the lead vocal live. It gives you the option of having live backup singers or using the ones on the CD. Thomprod (talk) 23:36, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Are there other "somethings"?

Perhaps this question is worded poorly. What I mean is that it's often been asked "Why is there something rather that nothing" as if to conclude that those are the only two possible states. Whether you're religious or not, it's safe to conclude you came from another "something". Something we cant comprehend in this something, since "something" in our every day experience is defined by things we can see, touch, or even "feel" internally. I'm logically(?) assuming that this other something has to exist because it is in some way connected to this something, otherwise we couldnt arrive here. What I'm trying to ask here, is if there's a next something, or "plane of existence" if you will. I dont necessarily mean life after death, just another level.

Everyone I've asked so far has given me a blank stare, but I'm sure The Great Wiki can handle this!Sam Science (talk) 23:23, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Talk about "miscellaneous". The trouble with your idea as I see it is that we are already having great difficulty defining the something we've already got. Plain existence is a complete mystery, so when you try to extend your mind to encompass a further mystery, an alternate something, you end up back where you started: here. It's not like you can say "this something" and contrast it with "that something", because we don't even know what this something is, and this something might just be that something, too. How would we know? That's assuming that your fundamental conclusion is sound, which it is not; in fact, it contradicts the second part. We didn't have to come from something, and if we had it would be this something. Also, a multiplicity of somethings does not rule out a nothing, and you are still left with a dichotomy. Anything at all is as one in opposition to nothingness. --Milkbreath (talk) 00:13, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Are you talking about stuff (matter) and its animation? Although the science desk would have heaps on matter and energy, I'll sit here with you in the Great Wiki patch waiting for the Great Wiki. Meanwhile, you could look in the Leibniz article at this section[9]. Afaik, Leibniz understood the nothing to be ultra-refined matter. Julia Rossi (talk) 00:34, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't really follow the question, but the way it's couched seems slightly reminiscent of the anthropic principle. Angus Lepper^{(T, C, D)} 00:42, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Leibnitz understood nothing? Wow! I Kan´t believe it... --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 00:44, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Sloppy of me, not the nothing, but that space is ultra-fine matter. I forgot we have Zoom among us. ; ) Julia Rossi (talk) 00:51, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Or perhaps consider Discordianism. The distinction we make between what exists and what does not exist, and between order and chaos, is dependent on our own personal views of the world and does not necessarily conform in any way to 'The Truth'. Mu 81.157.46.230 (talk) 01:32, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

voting

why isn't voting done with polls of say 2000 people in each state? seems like itd save a lot of $$$ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.227.110.199 (talk) 23:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

If you're referring to the United States, 2000 people isn't near enough people to get an accurate sample of the general concensus of the population of any of the U.S. states. Dismas|^(talk) 00:13, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

whatever, then 10,000 or something. but less than the number that votes now. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.227.110.199 (talk) 01:07, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Maybe it's the campaign costs that need to be reduced rather than people's right to vote as individuals, but I'm Australian and don't know what's the most expensive thing about American federal elections. Julia Rossi (talk) 00:55, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

According to our article the United States Electoral College has 538 members in toto, far less than 2,000 per state. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 00:58, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Isaac Asimov took this to it's logical extreme in the short story Franchise in which there is only one voter chosen for the US Election. Nanonic (talk) 01:08, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Okay, so 2,000 isn't a concrete number. So, if cost is the issue to you... In order to determine which X number of voters are going to make the decision some sort of process and procedures would have to be in place to pick the people. This would entail a lot of new legislation to be drafted, discussed, and voted on by the the legislature. Then there's all the oversight that would have to go into it such as making sure more than X number didn't vote, the right people did the voting, etc. Are you going to keep the list secret? It won't be for very long. So then you have to make sure that nobody is trying to unfairly influence the voters. It's really a lot easier to just allow everyone over a certain age to vote. Make them register at a polling place and check them off from a list when they come to vote. The expense isn't in the voting, it's in the campaigns. Dismas|^(talk) 01:51, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

As we know, private polling is done all the time in order the gauge the popular mood about politicians and issues, and pollies do take note of them, much as they pretend not to. They're soundly based on statistical sampling theory, but that theory is inherently prone to some degree of error. Sometimes the polls accurately reflect the view of the electorate on election day, but sometimes they're very wide of the mark. They wouldn't help in proportional representation systems, where every vote counts - our last general election was in November 2007, but they're still arguing about the result in one seat. It's gone to the Court of Disputed Returns, but the jury's still out. This also explains why there's no substitute for a national census in order to gain detailed information about certain subjects. -- JackofOz (talk) 02:16, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Be assured that machine politicians would make sure that the 2000 (or 10,000)selected agreed with them. It would be a charade. It would invalidate universal suffrage. Edison (talk) 02:46, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

the whole point is that they're selected randomly. but i can see how dismas' complaint about unfair influence could be bad, but there are ways around that.

with respect to the money thing--that the money's in the campaigns and not the voting systems--the tax money is just in the voting systems, i think, and if it's also used in campaigns then that is horrible, but the tax money is what we need to be concerned about. freeing up tax money to use for other things. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.227.110.199 (talk) 04:32, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Again, if it's the U.S. you're talking about then tax dollars are used. See Campaign finance in the United States. Dismas|^(talk) 06:56, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

If a politician was worried that he'd lose a critical swing state, he could buy every randomly chosen voter in the state a new car. Unless they're chosen day-of, which would be inconvenient and troublesome. APL (talk) 13:09, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

People might feel disenfranchised. They would be very likely to cry "No taxation without representation!", although interestingly the article Voting rights in the United States states that the right to vote is not guaranteed (only that it may not be refused based on race/sex/etc.). AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 14:49, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

March 30

Apple Harvesters

Are there any type of apple harvesters that aren't just the moving platforms that workers stand on and put the apples on the coveyer belt?

google is yout friend! http://www.pattendenmachinery.co.uk/ciderapple.htm and http://fruitharvesting.com/productinfo.php?id=58&src=1 are but two examples. --TrogWoolley (talk) 20:27, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Human hands are perfect for picking apples, they can't design machines to do it anywhere near as well.HS7 (talk) 19:33, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

What if God turns off the sun?

Wouldn't it would be wierd if God used this eco-hour crap to shut off His source of energy to us for an hour as a "See, I exist!" sign? Please describe in great detail the display of human behavior the moment the sun goes out, and just after it comes back. Sunburned Baby (talk) 01:18, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

You're looking for Nightfall, by Isaac Asimov. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 01:37, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, the psychology of how humans react to things, certainly is interesting. But we might not live that long, since the Earth will more likely freeze. Neal (talk) 01:47, 30 March 2008 (UTC).

Would it only take an hour to freeze us? Earth is more fragile than I realized.Sunburned Baby (talk) 02:10, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Wow. Let's experiment. Neal (talk) 11:52, 30 March 2008 (UTC).

We build self-contained biospheres heated, lighted and powered by nuclear energy. Sorted. For as long as it matters to anyone alive now, at least... --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 01:51, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

The Earth has a great deal of thermal inertia. At any given moment ha;lf the Earth is receiving no sunlight at all, save what is reflected from the Moon. One hour of no sunlight would be a mere blip. The global cooling would be measurable but would not be that big a deal. Edison (talk) 02:44, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Right, we know night time can be 12 hours. But I don't know how the temperature changes where there is no sun in a 12-hour period. I don't know how much heat is lost even though it is night in an absent sun. In any event, the inside of the Earth will likely stay hot for a long, much longer time. Neal (talk) 11:52, 30 March 2008 (UTC).

Er...WP:BEANS.You just know there's gonna be ONE Wikipedian who decides that exterminating all known human life,just to see how long it takes,will be a fun idea... Lemon martini (talk) 17:31, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Wouldn't that be original research? 194.171.56.13 (talk) 18:25, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

OK I'll keep you alive too to peer review. -- Q Chris (talk) 08:56, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Who says that there is a God, there maybe isn't.--Artjo (talk) 13:00, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Religeous people do.HS7 (talk) 18:47, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

But they could be misguided!--Artjo (talk) 06:00, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

That's not the argument. Neal (talk) 20:20, 2 April 2008 (UTC).

Just drop the moon. That will destroy all life on the planet, human or otherwise, in about how long it takes for the moon to hit the earth. 71.220.214.7 (talk) 22:46, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

We would certainly freeze to death. Oh, and God wouldn't do such a moronic thing to prove his existence. MalwareSmarts (talk) 18:06, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Another Itunes?

Is there another program like itunes that can sync ipods and do all that stuff like Itunes? 220.233.83.26 (talk) 01:20, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Not officially. Someone might have made one but it wouldn't be supported by Apple. It probably wouldn't have access to the iTunes Music Store either. Dismas|^(talk) 01:43, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

There are a number of them for Linux, since iTunes doesn't exist there. 81.187.153.190 (talk) 13:00, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

There's actually a whole slew of them, for many platforms. --Oskar 01:13, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

wikki pics

this site is unrated dose that means thier's no nude pics..right —Preceding unsigned comment added by Steweydewey (talk • contribs) 02:25, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Nope. Wikipedia is not censored, which means that if you go to the article about, say, male genitalia, there are photographs. Because it's an encyclopedia, images are used to add information in a way words can't, and sometimes that means nudity. We don't include stuff like that where it isn't relevant, of course, but sometimes it is. --Masamage ♫ 02:37, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Officialy Wikipedia is not censored, so nude pictures or pictures of unclothed body parts are used in articles where they are appropriate, such as Breast , Vagina ,and Penis . Actually Wikipedia IS censored, so non-prurient line drawings are widely used in place of actual photographs in articles about various aspects of sex. Edison (talk) 02:41, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

I think a better way to put is that we don’t go out of our way to be offensive or graphic; but we also don’t sensor our selves when a photo is required. --S.dedalus (talk) 05:31, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not censored in the same sense that an anatomy textbook is not censored. You'll find pictures of nudie bits but they are usually done in a scholarly way. Those looking for naughtiness will find precious little of it here compared to what's out there on the big bad interweb. --Captain Ref Desk (talk) 14:26, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

That very inability to include "naughty" pictures is what demonstrates that Wikipedia IS censored. Edison (talk) 20:47, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Could you post an example? Every time that I've seen a "naughty" picture added it was taken down due to copyright infringement or the like. Dismas|^(talk) 21:11, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

In my mind, there is a difference between censorship and editorial discretion. Wikipedia isn't censored, but that doesn't mean its a bastion of free speech. If your free speech is nonsense, it doesn't get included in the articles. I don't consider that to be censorship, personally. That's what editors do. Anyway, depending on your standards, clitoris contains "naughty" bits though they are labeled like encyclopedia diagrams should be. It's an encyclopedia, it's going to look like one, one way or another. --Captain Ref Desk (talk) 14:41, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Except when some of our number decide the front page would look more attractive decorated with a picture of a large erect penis than the actual photograph which should accompany the article... Lemon martini (talk) 19:32, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Extracurriculars versus school size

How does the size of a high school or university affect the range of extracurricular activities available or the viability of a particular proposed club? NeonMerlin 14:01, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

By the population. Neal (talk) 20:15, 30 March 2008 (UTC).

Obviously activities requiring certain resources or number of people would be restricted. I doubt if the smallest school in Britain would have a great football team, or if they could afford a metalwork club with lathes and a forge. Of course the lower number of teachers makes it less likely that one would have the expertise for some activities, a large school may have a dance club, a Spanish Language club, an archaeology, and an astronomy club run by enthusiastic teachers, whereas a small school may just have one of these. -- Q Chris (talk) 08:54, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Production of keyboards in one year

How many keyboards do the major producers manufacture in one year? Thanks. --Taraborn (talk) 14:53, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

What sort of keyboards do you mean-musical ones,computer ones,typewriter one? Lemon martini (talk) 17:42, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Papal conclaves and Easter

Supposing the Pope dies just before Easter-who gives the speech?It couldn't be any of the cardinals since they'd be in conclave and not allowed to communicate with the outside world.Would it be a senior Vatican official,or perhaps an ineligible cardinal? Or would they just not bother with one that year? Lemon martini (talk) 17:42, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

The Pope gives a speech and/or gives a blessing every week from the famous balcony overlooking the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica so it wouldn't be any different if the Pope died during any week, let alone Easter week. I don't know the answer to your specific question but I would hazard a guess that any speech or encyclical would be issued by a Curia-nominated Vatican official, maybe the Camerlengo (Master of Ceremonies - not necessarily a Cardinal - or maybe as you suggest a Cardinal too old to sit in the Conclave) - or maybe the speech would merely be cancelled in that circumstance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.145.242.170 (talk) 19:36, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

No papal speeches or blessings occur during an interregnum. No canonizations, beatifications, or appointments of bishops or nuncios either. The office-holders mentioned above (and others) are there to keep the administration of the Vatican going all year round. But when it comes to things that only a pope can do, there's no such thing as a "deputy pope", or "acting pope", or "vice-pope" (mind you, a few of them have been involved in vice, but that's a different matter). In relation to things that can still be done by non-popes, it's business as usual. The conclave does not meet the day after the pope dies; the start is at least a couple of weeks later, typically. -- JackofOz (talk) 20:50, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Smelly puddle

<moved to science desk> Julia Rossi (talk) 23:13, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Michigan and Florida

Who are preventing the votes for the democrats in Florida and Michigan from being counted or included? And what chance is there that they might include the votes or take another vote? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.126.131.100 (talk) 21:53, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

The Democratic National Committee (the governing body of the democrat party) are preventing it. See Florida Democratic primary, 2008 and Michigan Democratic primary, 2008 for more information. Algebraist 22:53, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Why can't they fine the states but count the votes? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.126.131.100 (talk) 02:09, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

They could count the votes if they wanted to, but they say it would set a bad precedent for future elections. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:41, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

In particular, the candidates had the information that the votes were not supposed to be counted when they chose how to run their campaigns. A candidate who lost because the committee changed its mind and counted them could reasonably consider himself to have been cheated. Or herself. One of those. --Anonymous, 09:52 UTC, March 31, 2008.

The votes were counted. The results are what is being contested, since the Democratic Party had stated, prior to the elections, that the results would not count. Florida did not remove the names from the ballot, but only Hillary Clinton campaigned there (admittedly very briefly). Michigan removed the names of those who so requested, but Hillary Clinton did not request, so hers was the only name of a major candidate still on the ballot. She won both states, but the Party had already said that the results would not matter. Now, after the fact, she wants to try to claim that she has the rights to those delegates at the convention. Corvus cornix_talk 16:39, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Michigan Livestock Processors

Where can I find a list of Michigan livestock processors? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 22:14, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

The Michigan dept. of agriculture www.michigan.gov/mda may have a list somewhere on the site, or a link to contact them and request a list. If you live in Michigan you may want to contact your local agriculture extension agent, they should have a list of your local processors available. SunshineStateOfMind (talk) 16:48, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Meaning of "Royal"

Question for a British Wikipedian: Does the word "royal" in front of the name of an organization have a specific meaning, or can any organization put "royal" in front of its name? For example, in London there is the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. There is also the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Does "Royal" mean that the orchestra is especially sanctioned or sponsored by the monarch? —Life of Riley (talk) 22:20, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

The right to a "royal" prefix is granted entirely at the perogative of a monarch; so yes, it implies approval, patronage or especial sanction. You might be interested to read an archived response to a similar question. Gwinva (talk) 23:17, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

"Roy" means "king", so using that adjective is like saying "The King's Orchestra". --Masamage ♫ 23:24, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2008 February 12#Royal charter. Nanonic (talk) 03:58, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I hope you didn't go to a lot of trouble to track that thread down, Nanonic. It's the same link as the one Gwinva supplied above. -- JackofOz (talk) 04:54, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

• Thanks, everyone, for the replies and the effort of finding the archived response. That answers the question —Life of Riley (talk) 01:29, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Impact of Taiwan and Tibet on China

Suppose if China gives up Tibet and Taiwan by allowing them their independence. What will the impact be on china? Why is china holding onto them so tightly? Acceptable (talk) 23:29, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

I seriously doubt that Tibet independence will do it any good, at least on their economy and quality of living. And plus, the Dalai Lama does not sought independence anyway, only more autonomy. Taiwan though, is something else. If they really did become independent the US will surely back them up, and China will have a huge enemy base right on its front door, which is something they definitely don't want. --antilived^{T | C | G} 04:57, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

But Taiwan already is de facto independent. The question is why Beijing is so opposed to de jure independence. Algebraist 13:22, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Liquor tax

What portion of liquor tax is used to pay for alcoholic rehabilitation including the cost of food, clothing and shelter? Same question for taxes on other items like batteries for clean up and taxes on services like gambling? 71.100.15.211 (talk) 23:33, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Which country? Dismas|^(talk) 23:42, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

US 71.100.15.211 (talk) 00:31, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

My understanding is that federal excise taxes on alcohol, unlike the federal tax on gasoline, goes right into the government's general fund, where the money can go toward the military, dam construction, welfare programs, you name it. So a very small amount would go toward alcoholic rehabilitation, as you call it. I would assume most states handle their liquor taxes the same way, and that the federal tax on casinos also goes into the general fund. There is no excise tax on batteries as far as I know. But some states may have or may be considering a product stewardship plan under which they put a surcharge on battery sales and use it to fund recycling programs. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:40, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I have no sources for it ATM but I thought that most states that allow gambling use the profits from that to go to their schools... I could be wrong though. Dismas|^(talk) 03:08, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

According to this, Vermont does what Mwalcoff describes and puts the money into their general fund. Dismas|^(talk) 03:33, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Learning while Sleeping

I have heard that when there is a tv on while you are sleeping you still retain some of the information. Is this true? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 23:44, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that's false. · AndonicO ^Hail! 00:22, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Are you perhaps thinking of the techniques used in Brave New World? (Although I hate to break the pattern of Asimov-love) 81.157.46.230 (talk) 01:53, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Apparently this does not work. See sleep-learning. Warofdreams talk 02:42, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I listen to the radio while I sleep, and upon waking am able to discuss news reports in detail. Therefore the previous answers are wrong. It does work, I would not recomend it for a school exam, but it is possible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 16:15, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

My sister apparently sleeps through most of her physics lessons at school, and remembers them better than the subjects she's awake for.HS7 (talk) 18:39, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I am not sure, but in the story flowers for algernon, a retarded man goes through an experiment to get smarter and then leaves his television on, as he is told to by the professors, while he is sleeping so he can learn the words and perhaps even the topics. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sports+historyguy333 (talk • contribs) 01:34, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

I read that story in 8th grade. And according to the article, it clearly states the story is science fiction. How you could use that story as a counter-argument is a bit of a mystery to me. Neal (talk) 02:24, 1 April 2008 (UTC).

I think it is only kinda of true. When we sleep our brain moves things from short term memory to long term. I recently learned this on the Discovery Channel's show on the Human Body - The Brain. I do a lot of theatre and after watching that show I did read over my lines right before going to bed. The next day I did know my lines much better than the day before. But, that's hardly scientific. We also incorporate the sounds we hear in our sleep into our dreams. When I've been really tired I can remember having the sound of the alarm clock in my dream instead of waking up. So I know we can pay attention to sounds in our sleep, but I don't know how much it helps. As for the sleeping with the TV on, I've been told that having light on while you sleep is bad for you. Something to do with our body not signaled to repair or something.--Wonderley (talk) 19:58, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

March 31

Derek Hilt

How to I build a Wikipage on Derek HIlt? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.88.105.54 (talk) 00:59, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

First you would need an account. Anonymous users can't create pages. Creating one is free though and you don't have to supply any personal information. Then you can create the article by clicking on this link: Derek Hilt and then just start writing. Although, to be included a person should be notable enough for an article. See WP:N and WP:RS for info on notability and supplying reliable sources for the info that you submit. Dismas|^(talk) 03:06, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Rochester Institute of Technology

But i have this doubt, according to what i have heard RIT has a good reputation when it comes to Computer Science, but i checked these ratings on the internet, in which RIT is not been rated in the top 100 colleges for computer science! here is the link - http://members.rediff.com/duewest/ranks.htm 4 - could you please tell me how authenticated this source is and please let me know of any better source - except for USNews - that rates colleges according to the concerned majors! I would also like to know about Illinois Institute of Technology who is this place and the academic reputation. I want to know the respect that each of these universities get in the real world! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.252.227.173 (talk) 03:51, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

The link you provide gives absolutely no source, so I would disregard it as reliable information. Additionally, the index page also gives instructions for Fall 1999 students, so it's quite out of date even if it were from a trusted source. As I've noted before with questions like this, my personal stance is that accreditation is the only relevant objective reference, with ABET being the relevant accreditor in this instance. Beyond that, personal experience (both yours at the school, and future employers' with the school's graduates) will vary. — Lomn 14:24, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

The US is per capita richer than many rich countries such as UK/Aus

As a tourist I can't see any manifestation of this income gap. But quality of life is probably affected somehow? Lotsofissues 06:50, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

People in the USA with reasonable jobs (computer programmer, web designer, etc.) seem typically to have bigger houses and more possessions than someone in a similar job could afford in the UK. On the other hand people like convenience store workers seem to be worse off, Some of my (American) wife's friends have had to have teeth pulled because they cannot afford fillings, go without treatment for arthritis, etc. The ultra rich seem to have obscene amounts of money in both, but how do you compare Bill Gates against the Queen? -- Q Chris (talk) 08:44, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Be aware that the idea that Americans are better off because they "have more possessions" is usually the wrong way to look at things. A lot of non-Americans think Americans are well off because they have a lot of stuff, but that could merely mean that Americans (in general) either (a) buy more than they can afford or (b) have many possessions but little actual wealth. Study after study have provided strong evidence that Americans neglect long-term vessels of wealth for 'stuff'.

As to the OP, as a tourist, where did you go? Did you go to New York City? If so, did you drive around Brooklyn or Harlem (or Long Island), or just Manhattan? The point of that question is to figure out whether you actually went to places that would show income disparity. This also ties into my previous paragraph, since even if you went through some poor areas, there could be a facade of wealth being propped up by poor financial decisions. The fact that someone has a flat-screen TV does not necessarily say anything about how well off that person is.--droptone (talk) 12:01, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't think this is the only factor, especially where housing is concerned. Some friends of my wife (a web designer and a pollution inspector) have a house that is equivalent to that of the CEO of the company I work for, and that seems to be about normal. A house that goes for $200,000 in Houston would go for £1,000,000 in many parts of the UK. (see [10] and [11] - and this is what you'd get for $200,000 [12], in far from the most expensive location in the country). -- Q Chris (talk) 13:19, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Just out of interest £1,000,000 ($1,987,000) would get you this two bedroom flat in one of the most expensive areas of the UK, though I am sure that "most expensive" areas in the USA are ridiculous also. -- Q Chris (talk) 15:35, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

The US has uncommonly uneven wealth and income distribution for an industrialized nation, which makes per capita comparisons tricky. More billionaires, but also more skid row bums and more incredibly impoverished ghettos.

Another thing tricky: the real income of the U.S. workforce has been slowly dropping for most of the last 30+ years (except a slight uptick in the last 4-5 years of the 20th century). Still, a dropping income doesn't typically take away a house you already own. Also, different levels of women's participation in the workforce (and different levels of gov't childcare subsidies) means that it is hard to make apples-to-apples comparisons across countries. Similarly, different amounts of leisure; different quality of education. Even the fact that far more Americans own cars than almost anywhere is not necessarily a matter of higher standard of living: if you live in most European cities, you can get around fine with public transportation and the occasional taxi. Few American cities are set up for that. - Jmabel | Talk 17:32, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes yes, but Q Chris has a very valid point. I have travelled a bit around the US (Newark, Las Vegas, San Fran, San Diego, Minneapolis, St. Paul) and have seen the vast trailer parks around the major cities. But I would say that when travelling around, the standard of housing is generally much better and more spacious than here in the UK on a cost by cost comparison. I guess a lot of that has to do with our much better and relatively more expensive and skilful durability of construct, generally double walls of brick or breeze-block (cinder) and a brick outer as against a US Lath and Plaster construct - and our homes have to be smaller to make heating them affordable. But don't forget to consider US food prices as against the UK where I reckon we pay at least double US prices. And what about petrol/Gas?? I am paying £1.06 per LITRE this week in Scotland - and unless I am much mistaken, a GALLON costs just over a USD (about £0.55). If I had US fuel and utilities and house prices on my UK salary/pension, I reckon I could live at a much higher standard than I do here. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.145.241.235 (talk) 20:17, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Actually gasoline is running about $3.50 USD per gallon now. Corvus cornix_talk 20:30, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Even so, that still means the price in Britain is more than double the American price. 1 US gallon = 3.785 litres. Therefore 1 [US] gallon purchased in Britain would cost around £4 (ie just under $8). 80.254.147.52 (talk) 14:12, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I would argue that Americans have been living beyond their real means for at least 25 years and that the per capita incomes are distorted by 1) the concentration of income at the top of the scale. Median household income is probably closer to the OECD norm, particularly since the recent downward adjustment of the US dollar. The US dollar and interest rates have been subsidized for many years now by the process of dollar hegemony. Many people were able to buy houses that they couldn't afford and have fallen behind on their payments. Many people have bought other stuff that they couldn't afford and are facing insolvency. Interest rates are still exceedingly low, but the dollar has begun to adjust due to the suppression of interest rates and the troubles of the US economy and financial sector. As the dollar declines and interest rates are finally forced upwards, I think that you will see a substantial decline in the median standard of living. Average (mean) numbers may still be comparable to those of other OECD countries, but this will be due mainly to the enormous, almost unimaginable incomes of the very rich. Marco polo (talk) 20:44, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

The differences in "standard of living" among the rich countries are not nearly as apparent as the differences between rich and poor countries, but they are there. For example, the U.S. used to have per-capita GDP something like 30% higher than in Canada. That's probably changed in the past couple of years. But anyway, a quick glance of the two countries won't reveal any obvious differences. Both Americans and Canadians generally own homes, drive cars, wear nice clothes and eat at nice restaurants on occasion. But Canadians on average drive somewhat less expensive cars than Americans. The best-selling car in Canada has long been the subcompact Honda Civic, while in the U.S., it's the mid-size Toyota Camry. The average Canadian home is a few hundred feet smaller than the average American home. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 03:55, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Blue star in windows

When I was a kid, I remember there being houses in various neighborhoods that I walked through on my way home from school that had cardboard placards in the front windows. They would have a blue five pointed star on a yellow background. The whole thing was maybe 18" x 12". I haven't seen them in years but I have a vague recollection of the significance of them. What I recall is that they were to indicate safe-houses where if you were a kid who needed help for whatever reason, you could go to these houses and be assured safety from whatever/whoever you may need a safe haven from. I don't remember who told me this or if it is even correct, that's just what I remember vaguely knowing for whatever reason. I'd like to look the signs up and see what they were actually for but a few Google searches for things like "house star yellow blue" are just too ambiguous and I get a lot of hits for Energy-star appliances. So does anyone know what these were for? What they were called, etc.? This would have been in the mid-late 80s in the U.S. Dismas|^(talk) 09:15, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Something similar to National Safe Place, or the Safety House Program in Australia? FiggyBee (talk) 11:44, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I recall it being more like the second than the first. But yes, that's the general idea. Another guy about my age remembers the signs too but he doesn't know the name of the program or any of the specifics either. So, at least I'm not too far off base with my description. Dismas|^(talk) 12:27, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Of course there would be an inherent problem with such signs - anyone could put one up in their front window. The distribution of the placards themselves could be regulated, I guess, but the signs could still be faked. All in all, it sounds like a pretty dopey idea to me, which is not to say I don't believe your recollection. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 14:30, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

In Canada we had the same thing, Block Parents. It does seem pretty dopey...but it's true. Adam Bishop (talk) 15:23, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I've always been confused and slightly insulted by the implication that other houses in the neighborhood would not be safe places for a child to run to in an emergency. Some people might be grumpy about it, but I'm pretty sure that virtually anyone would be willing to let a small child stand in their front hall while they phone the police. It seems like to teach a child otherwise would be nothing more than paranoia, and potentially dangerous paranoia at that. APL (talk) 16:34, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

What you've described, APL, is the mindset of many Americans... Unfortunate as it is. Dismas|^(talk) 21:19, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I see it slightly differently. The houses without these signs are ones that the child doesn't know whether to trust or not. But the houses with signs can be safely trusted. In a crisis, any house will do, but if they can get to house with a star, so much the better. This is no different from the warning not to accept sweets from strangers - it's not that every apparently kindly stranger is automatically a child rapist, but it's a sensible precaution to say "no, thank you" if you don't know them. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:10, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

That's not a fair comparison at all. You're comparing a child actively seeking out an adult to an adult actively seeking out a child. In a crisis, aim for the closest house that looks like it's got people in it, don't aggravate your panic with paranoia that there are monsters potentially lurking behind every unmarked door. I mean, can you think of a single case where a child was running from a predator and wound up, by pure chance, in the home of another? I'm sure that would make the news. By way of comparison, there are lots of cases of children being killed when their school bus is involved in an accident. And lots more of children being killed when their parents' car is involved in an accident. APL (talk) 02:36, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Better than being little, frightened, on your own and paranoid. It's not as if children have to hang out with dodgy strangers every day and they can be taught the difference. I'd think it's the people that approach children first who likely more suspicious than the ones children turn to if they're worried. Part of the problem now is that there are not many people at home. People can second-guess others until it drives them crazy but most people around are regular types and don't mind helping out in an emergency. I often meet friendly people on bush walks, but what a world if we thought there was an Ivan Milat under every floppy hat. Julia Rossi (talk) 23:40, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

A Google search for "blue star" safe house finds mentions of a similar program in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. Result 11 is Blue Star Program from Pleasant Hill School's Parent Teacher Organization site and result 27 is Blue Star Program from the Police Department page of Pleasant Hill's Official City Website --Bavi H (talk) 02:08, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

That must be it. The ones I remember had a yellow background but that is basically the same program I recall. Thanks! Dismas|^(talk) 02:41, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Is Questnet legal? (the company owned by Dato Vijay Eswaran)

Thanks a gazillion! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.169.67.17 (talk) 09:25, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Probably depends on what country you're talking about. But having said that, I can't see what would make it illegal (in Australia) (I am not a lawyer). What made you think it was illegal? - Akamad (talk) 11:22, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

I can't seem to find a link, but I know I heard a story about it (maybe on NPR) recently, describing it as a pyramid scheme that was bankrupting many people in certain countries. There is, as I recall, a reluctance to outlaw the scheme, because those people who have already paid their "entrance fee" would lose out before they could pull in others. A quick google search turns up this similar discussion. jeffjon (talk) 13:26, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Ah, here's the Marketplace article. jeffjon (talk) 13:28, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Ladybirds and Ohio

I was just looking at the ladybird page Coccinellidae, and was wondering if there was some genuine link between Ohio and ladybirds that I am unaware of, as the article is part of Wikiproject Ohio.Snorgle (talk) 14:13, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

It seems that the ladybird is the official state insect of Ohio; see Ohio#State symbols. To me, that is a rather dubious reason for the article to be part of that wikiproject, but there you go. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 14:19, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks - I just googled that myself,(as I should have done before!), but I agree that it does seem a flimsy reason to make it part of Wikiproject Ohio. I guess that I'll leave it up to the Wikiproject Ohio folk to decide if they want to keep it. (I'll probably remove the reference to Colin's house, though!)Snorgle (talk) 14:22, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Apparently it became the official state insect by resolution, not by law, around 1976 [13], it's a beneficial insect after all. It's also the official insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. There's a war between cousins going on, and the state insect is losing it. See here (pdf-file). Harmonia axyridis, also imported as a beneficial insect in order to diminish insect pests (aphids, scale, mealybugs) is threatening to wipe out Coccinella septempunctata, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom (See Telegraph). Maybe Ohio is trying to protect the seven-spotted ladybug online too. 83.78.176.92 (talk) 14:48, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

knee pain and running

This question has been removed. Per the reference desk guidelines, the reference desk is not an appropriate place to request medical, legal or other professional advice, including any kind of medical diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment recommendations. For such advice, please see a qualified professional. If you don't believe this is such a request, please explain what you meant to ask, either here or on the Reference Desk's talk page. --Milkbreath (talk) 15:51, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

This question has been removed. Per the reference desk guidelines, the reference desk is not an appropriate place to request medical, legal or other professional advice, including any kind of medical diagnosis or prognosis, or treatment recommendations. For such advice, please see a qualified professional. If you don't believe this is such a request, please explain what you meant to ask, either here or on the Reference Desk's talk page. --Milkbreath (talk) 15:51, 31 March 2008 (UTC) --~~~~

Word Puzzle Name and examples

Can anyone tell me the name of the type of word puzzles that follow. Also, are there known web sources for these puzzles.

Mind
_____

Matter

Translates to "mind over matter"

AI4D Translates into "Foreign Aid"

gol Translates into "Backlog"

A48857 (talk) 16:58, 31 March 2008 (UTC)a48857

Rebus. Corvus cornix_talk 17:12, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Rebuses are typically understood to rely on pictograms, while these don't. However, previous discussions of this topic haven't yielded more useful answers. I would go with "word puzzle" or "word game" in lieu of a specific name, myself. — Lomn 17:36, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

In Games (magazine) they call them Wacky Wordies, but I think that's probably a name they made up themselves because there isn't an established term. --Anonymous, 22:17 UTC, March 31, 2008.

Dingbats? Lemon martini (talk) 23:55, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

There's a game made by RoseArts called "Whatzit?" filled exclusively with those types of puzzles. Acceptable (talk) 00:21, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

non racist

my friend constantly calls people names such as "i just went to the shop and the perso9n who served me was a 'gook'" meaning an oriental person, or Asian people as Pakis not to mention the N word for people of African descent. In fact just about every nationality other than his own seems to have a derogatory name. However, he is a great guy, and has friends of many nationalities. he maintains that he is not racist atall, and beside from name calling i would agree. He seems unable to comprehend that I, as a white New South African living abroad, find this offensive. 1 How can I change his thinking 2 what are derogatory names are white people called by other races thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.18.34.51 (talk) 17:43, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Well, you could always tell him you don't like it, but it might not work, some people are hard to change. As for your other question here in the US I believe cracker, gringo, and honky (might be outdatAd) are all used. SunshineStateOfMind (talk) 19:14, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

You could try to explain that these terms while perhaps not considered negative/derogatory to him are considered so by many many people. If he is fair he will realise that it is not his own rules of 'acceptable' that are important in language (if he believed they weren't acceptable words he wouldn't use them) but what the company he is in that matters. People self-regulate their language all the time talking to parents, to business people, to friends, to strangers - all can bring different uses of our vocabulary/language. You approach it from the worst angle though - you are trying to make him change by 'guilt' because you are suggest the slurs are somehow a slur to you - they are not (in his eyes, or in real terms), they are just unreasonable terms to use in polite conversation and that should be your line of reasoning. In my opinion anyway. ny156uk (talk) 19:34, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Being non-racist doesn't just mean being friendly to people of different races. People who argue against immigration by particular ethnic groups often say "I'm not racist; some of my best friends are <the race he wants to exclude from his country>". Being non-racist means not making distinctions between different races that are irrelevant in the context. By context, let me give an example. You've just witnessed a robbery, and the police are asking you to describe the robber. Any detail that would help to identify him is appropriate to mention, including his skin colour or ethnicity (whether it be white, black or whatever). If there's no need to identify the person's race, then there's no context. If he'd been served by a white person, would he mention their skin colour? Probably not. Merely mentioning that the person was Asian, black or whatever may not do much harm, but why say it at all? Yes, we all have eyes, and we are always aware when the person sitting next us in the bus happens to be of a different skin colour, or is unusually tall or short, or has a pronounced limp, or has only one arm, or dozens of things. So why does he single out this one particular characteristic of the person to talk about, as if it's important information that you need to have, or as if it somehow defines who they are? Much as he might deny it, the person's race is some sort of an issue with him because otherwise he wouldn't mention it when there's apparently no rationale for mentioning it. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:58, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

"Honky" is still used occasionally here in Oz. It seems to have entered use as an informal identifier without the slur. Is your friend an older generation or same as you – he does need to catch on, unless he enjoys provoking you. Julia Rossi (talk) 23:23, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Really? i think id die of laughter if someone seriously called me that. БοņёŠɓɤĭĠ₳₯є 02:39, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Which just goes to show that words, in themselves, are not inherently offensive or inoffensive - it's all to do with the context and the cultural understanding of the speaker and the listener. Epithets applied to a group that has historically been dominant are less offensive than those applied to a group which has historically been oppressed, because the dominant group is more secure in their identity. Thus "honky" is silly, while "nigger" - despite having no particularly offensive etymology - is the most taboo word in the english language. FiggyBee (talk) 04:43, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Masturbation

Does a person's desire to masturbate end as you get older? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 19:43, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Sex drive commonly decreases with age. Friday (talk) 19:44, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Maybe in the sense that you could produce less hormone that causes it. Neal (talk) 21:21, 31 March 2008 (UTC).

It should be pointed out though that for most people it never completely goes away. Go to a retirement home, and you'll fine plenty of randy grand-pas popping Viagra and hooking up with the lady next door (which is both very sweet and somewhat disturbing). BTW, lets remember and give thanks to Professor Kinsey, without whom there's much we wouldn't know about human sexual behavior. --Oskar 21:34, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

How you could possibly know something like that, is a bit of a mystery to me. Neal (talk) 02:21, 1 April 2008 (UTC).

On the assumption (which, of course, may be a pious misconception) that the folks in the Vatican have some handy advice on this matter, I have perused our entry http://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masturbatio.

"Crebritas masturbationis decrescit in senectute", it says. Mind you, they may not be infallible.--Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 08:11, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

HiDef Super 14 Rugby

Hi, Is there any possiblity of New Zealand's Prime/Sky showing any of this seasons Super14 in high-def? They seem to be dragging their heels compared with the other TV stations in getting the higher resolution broadcasted. Boomshanka (talk) 20:34, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Doubt it. I don't think they have HD equipment, so it will only be shot in SD. --antilived^{T | C | G} 07:11, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

I have to agree, particularly given that they are AFAIK still using 540x572 and relatively low bit rates for most of their channels. Nil Einne (talk) 19:30, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Selling Livestock

Say I had 100 beef cattle. That is oviously too big of a number to sell directly to the people who want beef. So where would I sell it? Is it at an auction or processing facility or something else? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 20:46, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

If you have 100 head of cattle, you presumably would have a ranch or farm. There are auctioneers that specialize in farm auctions and will sell your cattle for you. They normally have ads printed in the local and national farm publications such as Hoard's Dairyman. They will set up a time for people to come to your farm and then they will auction off the cattle. If you just want beef from these cattle, then you would need to talk to a processor, I presume. Though 100 head is quite a bit of beef to fit in your freezer. Dismas|^(talk) 21:14, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

What is the timeframe and the market? 100 cattle sold directly to people as sides of beef is only 200 sales in a year (or 400 sales if sold as quarters) and, sold evenly, only one drive with a pickup truck with trailer to the slaughter house each week. Clearly not "too much" to sell directly. Rmhermen (talk) 15:01, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

If you are liquidating your herd, you will probably sell your farm at the same time. If not, then you generally sell calves or yearlings, retaining a few to replace cows that are too old or have died. You will generally take your yearlings to an auction, but not all on the same day. Auctions are held thrroughourt the season. The cattle are bought by or for feedlot operators, who feed them up on corn and then sell them to slaughterhouses. -Arch dude (talk) 00:10, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Brittany, France--- Is there a site with everything about Brittany, France that is up to date as of 2008?

I am doing a project on Brittany, France. This project is the main grade of the year so if I get a bad grade on this at the end of the semester if i get 100's for the rest of the grades, my average will be close to a C. The project needs the country, continent,longitude, latitude, flag, map, stores/markets, architecture, transportation, where people work, myths/fables/legends, geology, food, government, money, imports/exports, population, geography, religion, history, close major cities, average family size, celebrities, culture, heriteage, "big" events that happened/wars, languages, dress, dance, theatre, music/entertainment, sports, hobbies, what kids do for fun, zoos, pets, education, weather, diversity, and some interesting facts'' of Brittany, France. Is there a site(s) that has all that information or most of it on Brittany, France? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.49.4.68 (talk) 22:21, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

The great thing about Wikipedia is that, since anyone can edit, information on topics like Brittany, France is often very up to date. The bad thing about Wikipedia is that, since anyone can edit, it's hard to know whether the information in an article is reliable. However, if you go to an article, and see that it has references, you can use those references as they are usually more reliable, and as a whole should be roughly as current as the article itself. Confusing Manifestation(Say hi!) 22:48, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried your public reference (or school) library? You might be pleasantly surprised at how much current information is still available in hard copy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.145.240.106 (talk) 23:22, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

April 1

Time zones

Which time zone has the greatest percentage of the world's population? Which one has the least? 70.162.25.53 (talk) 02:29, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Considering China has one time zone for its whole country (1.2 billion people), I would guess that's the largest percentage. As for the smallest, Newfoundland (island) has its own time zone with less than 500,000 people. —BradV 02:52, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

(ec) I'd say the most populous would be UTC+8 (China), followed by UTC+5:30 (India) and UTC+1 (Western Europe and Central Africa). The least populous would be UTC+14, which is used only in the Line Islands of Kiribati (population 5,115 at last census). FiggyBee (talk) 02:54, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Okay you win. —BradV 02:59, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Hang on though! The Chatham Islands also have a unique time zone (UTC+12:45/+13:45) with a population of 609... FiggyBee (talk) 03:01, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Does daylight saving count as a time zone? --antilived^{T | C | G} 07:10, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Both the +12:45 regular and +13:45 summer times are not used anywhere else. FiggyBee (talk) 07:34, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Aren't there any time zones with no people at all in?HS7 (talk) 19:48, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

What would be the point of a time zone with nobody in it? Accurate to the minute time keeping is a human constraint and not necessary for fish or other wildlife. Dismas|^(talk) 22:02, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

On the contrary, UTC-12 has no permanent residents. It is used by some ships and is also assigned to the uninhabited Baker Island and Howland Island. Outside daylight saving, UTC+10:30 is the inhabited time zone with the fewest residents: just 400, on Lord Howe Island. Warofdreams talk 00:11, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Ever wondered what time it is at the poles where all lines of longitude (and time zones) meet? [[14]] 125.237.92.102 (talk) 09:40, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Plenty of times, but I doubt there's an answer. Maybe look at the clocks in the research base on the south pole, they must have some there. And surely there must be a timezone for every hour, even in strips of uninhabited ocean, just to keep it neat and organised.HS7 (talk) 19:25, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

There is [15] (from Time zone although it doesn't work well at the poles. Edit: I think 125's question was rheotorical since there's a link which described it brieflyNil Einne (talk) 19:34, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes I think UTC+8 is hard to beat. Other then the PRC's 1.3 (latest estimate) billion, it also gains probably at least 150 million more from the other places in it (including Taiwan, the Phillipines, Malaysia and parts of Indonesia). UTC+5:30 only has Sri Lanka and India Nil Einne (talk) 19:42, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

There doesn't seem to be significant backlash against Fitna

I've been reading the reaction to the film. [16] A lot of Islamic governments have made formal protests but it seems the streets have been quiet. In Pakistan there was a small demonstration involving hundreds. This is quite a contrast the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. There were dozens of deaths and thousands of protestors. Is Fitna less offensive? Or is there a shift of some sort?

Lotsofissues 03:10, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

I'd like it to think it's because someone realized that for a film (whether truthful or not) alleging that a certain group of people is intolerantly reactive and violent, to be met with a bunch of reactive, violent protests by that same group of people, would have tended to make rather the opposite point than the putative protesters would have wished. But I don't know. —Steve Summit (talk) 04:14, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

One question you haven't raised is whether the Jyllands-Posten cartoon response was abnormal. I'm inclined to think it was. I don't know all the details but it seemed to me that it came at a very opportune time and got whipped up into a major issue by people with power (and wasn't just an organic, grassroots sort of thing). It is not common for protests of any sort over cultural issues (no matter who is doing it) to have thousands of protesters and dozens of deaths. --Captain Ref Desk (talk) 14:38, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

I have to partially agree about the Jyllands case (note as well the Jyllands case went quite a while before it blew up). To some extent, it become an ugly mess were people's anger was being whipped up for a variety of reasons, and this then resulted in media in quite a number of countries printing the carton arguing they had to do it because it was of public interest and to exercise their freedom of speech which of course just angered the people protesting more. Also, bear in mind that the cartoons, unlike the documentary is difficult to respond to as they were simply cartoons. To some extent, serious and indepth criticism (whether with merit or not) is probably more acceptable to many people then what may be perceived as just making fun of something important to them. Also while I haven't seen the documentary, I would presume it's a lot harder for uneducated people who probably don't understand English or Dutch to understand or take offense from whereas the cartoons were relatively easy to understand and take offense from. The Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy is arguably another example of what may seem like a minor issue being blown out of proportion due to a variety of factors. Nil Einne (talk) 19:59, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Mirrors and film

(I guess I’ll put this on this desk since it bridges science, humanities, and entertainment.)

File:Duck Soup mirror scene.jpg

And sometimes there is no mirror

Many films (Bergman’s Autumn Sonata comes to mind) include scenes where a character stares meditatively at their reflection in a mirror (or whatever). I imagine this can now be accomplished by digitally removing the camera from the reflected image? How were these shots done before digital effects though? Were shots directly over the characters shoulder impossible? --S.dedalus (talk) 05:33, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

By physically moving the lens horizontally (see View camera#Shift). --antilived^{T | C | G} 07:09, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

In many films it is very noticeable that the person must be looking at the reflection of the camera in the mirror and not at themselves, especially when they are holding a compact: we can see their eyes in the mirror which means that they can see only the camera. For larger mirror shots the camera is often hidden or poking through a hole. There are many films in which you can actually see the camera if you know where to look.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:03, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Sometimes there is no mirror and the person seen from behind, over whose shoulder the "reflected image" is filmed, is a double. DAVID ŠENEK 11:00, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

You actually don't need very much of an angle to remove cameras from shot. This is seen in almost every TV drama programme made in the UK, where a gratuitous mirror shot in every episode seems to be compulsory (the last gasp of union power, perhaps?). Incidentally, probably the best mirror shot I ever saw was in the non-notable Patsy Palmer vehicle McCready and Daughter, which in one episode had a 360-degree turn around a room mirrored on three sides, just using the position of the actors to hide the reflection of the camera. Completely unnecessary and you wouldn't even notice it unless you were actively looking for that sort of thing, a virtuoso piece of blocking (just think about how you would have to mic that up - you couldn't use a boom) thrown away on an otherwise unremarkable series that hardly anybody watched. -88.110.166.0 (talk) 11:53, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

South Asia

What are the wildlife conservation efforts in South Asia and the success met? I need it for my Geography project.59.93.193.23 (talk) 06:56, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, I've got some links you might try, related to wildlife and conservation in South and Southeast Asia. This, this and then this. Hope that helps. FusionMix 13:01, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Picadilly Circus 1970

In the early 1970's I used to meet up with friends in an old Victorian pub in Picadilly Circus, which no longer seems to exist. It might have been called The Old Bull'n'Bush, but I'm not sure. I would like to know the name and history of the pub, and when it stopped trading as a Public House. Can you help?

Thanks, patti1946 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Patti1946 (talk • contribs) 10:30, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

<this moved from entertainment desk to keep thread together – please don't crosspost>

In the early 1970's I used to meet up with friends in a pub in Picadilly Circus. It might have been called The Old Bull'n'Bush, but I'm not sure. It seems to be there no longer. I'd like to find out the correct name, it's history, and when it ceased trading as a public house. Thank you.

Pat —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.42.217.33 (talk) 10:20, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Hi Pat, I found this related to your still-trading pub at Picadilly Circus: The Old Bull & Bush, North End Road, Hampstead, Near to Golders Green here[17], and "opposite Golders Hill Park". Cheers, Julia Rossi (talk) 23:18, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

(Wikipedia has an article on The Old Bull and Bush.)--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:11, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Hampstead really isn't anywhere near Piccadilly Circus. Beer in the Evening have a list of current pubs and bars near Piccadilly Circus, but it doesn't show anywhere with a name at all similar to The Old Bull 'n' Bush. There appears to have been a pub named "The White Bear" at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly, possibly later known as "The Bear" [18], but I can't find any reference to this after 1905, so it may not be the one. Could the pub possibly have been the Bear and Staff on Leicester Square, not Piccadilly Circus? Warofdreams talk 23:51, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Training dogs not to attack

Two neutered dogs attack third dog repeatedly in the presence of a person (a different person). Third dog is a newly acquired puppy. One solution might be to muzzle the two dogs. Any other ideas please? 91.106.16.174 (talk) 14:03, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Keep the poor little puppy away from the other two? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 14:14, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Are they attacking or just rough-housing? You can usually tell if they are just playing because they will do a "play bow" (head low, butt in the air, tail wagging, even if they are barking). Play fighting is important among dogs, but if they are doing injury, you should probably consult a dog trainer in your area who can work with the dogs. Note that dogs generally are not trying to hurt each other seriously when attacking and wrestling with one another; they are vying for dominance in the pack, showing who is boss, looking for the signal from the other dog that they are submitting. That doesn't mean that harm can't occur, but they usually aren't actually trying to kill one another (humans are somewhat unique in their belief that intraspecies fighting must be fatal). But again, these are general comments: you probably want to get someone really trained in dog behavior to observe this, they will be able to tell you a lot more that is specific to your situation. --Captain Ref Desk (talk) 14:32, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Indeed, get the advice of a local trainer. Two of my dogs playfight on a daily (often twice a day) basis and only once has one of the dogs been hurt. She basically slipped and had a slight limp for a couple days. If there is actual harm being caused, you may want to try to separate the puppy from the others by putting up a baby gate. That way the dogs can all see and sniff one another but not fight. Then as the puppy gets older, and bigger (depending on the breeds involved), start letting all the dogs together in the same room while being supervised. Dismas|^(talk) 22:00, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

why our indian government is not taking seriously

my big biger biggest question is why our indian govt is not taking action aganist black money holders,white color criminals,no income tax ride aganist politician,no harsh punishment for corruption.i think these are the bigest problem in our country which leads to down in every thing like economically,socially.and what not,plz clarify my request — rajesh javaji, hyderabad —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.169.148.99 (talk) 18:14, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

A government is usually taking a certain amount of action, not all of it is successful, and in law, bribery and corruption has to be proven. There are plenty of people working for a solution and many working against it. You might like to join a discussion group on the net about the awfulness of it all, but talking doesn't always get you anywhere. Perhaps you could hope to study law and try to make a difference, or just live the difference at a personal level. Julia Rossi (talk) 06:38, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm going to assume you meant "white collar criminals". White color criminals are something entirely different. DJ Clayworth (talk) 14:18, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

"Black marketeers", too, I'll bet. --Milkbreath (talk) 14:22, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Practical economic costs of the changing terminology of retardation

Nobody disputes that what today are considered insulting terms, such as "idiot," "cretin," "imbecile," and "moron" were once scientific terms used to classify the mentally retarded. After these terms became unfashionable, they were replaced by "retarded," then later "handicapped," and now in the ever-changing terminology of retardation, the term "developmentally disabled" is in vogue. I just wonder how costly all this name-morphing has to have been for institutions serving the mentally retarded over the decades. With each shift in labels, ostensibly to lessen the stigma of the "old" terms, the hospitals and nursing homes that cared for disabled people would have to change their names, all their stationery, business cards, decorations, and a multitude of other things, probably 3 or 4 times in the last 50 years. Just imagine having to chip off and re-carve "Home for Idiots" into "Home for Retards," "Home for the Handicapped," "Home for Disabled," etc. over and over on the stone façades of these buildings due to the sea changes of political correctness. Does anyone what this has meant in economic terms? Any help would be appreciated. I'm kicking around some ideas for a future M.A. thesis. JeanLatore (talk) 19:58, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure what the point of this question is. Were I not assuming good faith, I'd take it to be a rather poor example of puerile trolling. If, Jean, you are a candidate MS student, I would presume that a) you'd be intelligent enough to know that the costs of any such renamings as you allege have been necessary, will not have been collected together, and b) you'll know that in economic terms, it means very little. Occasional financial hits to change the letterhead or in contemporary times, rebrand. You'll appreciate that there will be 101 other reasons why letterhead might change or rebranding undertaken, meaning that the driver you're allegedly interested in pales into insignificance. And what is the implication of your question? That such renamings should not have been made, and that we should still use what is now a pejorative or abusive term? That you in some way disagree that there is such a thing as a Euphemism Treadmill, or like Don Quixote wish to rail against it? As I say, just not sure what the point was, Jean. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:44, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Oh, and as a codicil, as a neutral would-be academic, you'd also appreciate that a renaming can be an opportunity brining positive returns as, for instance, and from memory, was the Spastic Society change to Scope. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:49, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

I was told by a psychologist that people who are mentally retarded now use the pejorative "low grade" to insult other people with mental retardations. "Low grade" the neutral diagnostic term which was recently adopted to differentiate those with mild mental retardation and those with severe mental retardation. So the Euphemism Treadmill keeps on going.--droptone (talk) 11:30, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

quirky tune

What was the quirky tune that played in the episode The Bracket of How I met your mother when Barney was writing his blog at the end? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Crazy joke (talk • contribs) 20:34, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

Wasn't that the music that used to play on Doogie Howser at the end while he was writing in his diary? --Joelmills (talk) 23:15, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

I have nothing to support that assumption, but that was my thinking, too, or at least music that was meant to sound just like that music. Corvus cornix_talk 16:59, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Never even heard of the show before, but according to the Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/ the theme song of the show is called "Hey Beautiful" by the Solids. Maybe that song is by the Solids too. However, I think your question would probably have better luck being answered on that sites message board.--Wonderley (talk) 20:10, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Doubt no more. Almost every aspect of that scene was a reference to Doogie's diary. The music. The extreme close-up on the computer screen showing only a couple of words at a time, following the cursor as he types. The white on bright blue color scheme! (The font was too modern, it should have been a VGA 8x16 but I guess fixed-width fonts would frighten the masses these days. There are people who never watched Doogie, and they're old enough to use Wikipedia!) The introspective pause near the end of the diary entry, when he stares into space for a few seconds before grinning slightly and adding the final note. ALL DOOGIE! --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 21:18, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

April 2

Welding Wire length

i am a welder/Fabricator by trade I work in a very very large fab shop in S.E Wisconsin. I pesonally go through about 2-3 44lb spools of wire (.0035) along with other types, Hard face 1/16, flux core 1/16 which are in 25lb spools. Question is How many feet of wire on a spool? there is no real reason other than sheer curiousty. Thank you all for the help:_) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.8.38.141 (talk) 00:16, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Let's take the second one first. Since you say flux core I'm imagining brazing wire. If it were 1/16" diameter and solid (which it is not), and if it were made of copper instead of brass, we could compute the length pretty easily.

According to our copper page, copper has a density of 8.96 grams per cubic centimeter. (Our page on brass doesn't give a density -- because there are so many kinds of brass -- which is why I'm going with copper.)

You have a 25 pound spool of wire. There are 453.6 grams in a pound. So you have 25 × 453.6 = 11340 grams of wire. Divided by 8.96, that's 1266 cubic centimeters worth of copper.

The diameter is 1/16 inch. So the radius is 1/32 inch, which is about 0.08 centimeters. So the cross-sectional area of the wire is πr² = 3.14 × 0.08 × 0.08 = 0.02.

Now, finally, 1266 ÷ 0.02 is 63300 cm, or 633 meters, or 692 yards, or 2077 feet, or about four tenths of a mile.

Let's do the other one. You said .0035, but that's ridiculously fine; I'm guessing you meant 0.035, which is a little over 1/32 of an inch. I'm going to assume that's mild steel wire, with a density (according to our carbon steel page) of 7,861.093 kg/m³ (which is a different unit than we were working with before, but we can handle that).

You said 44 pound spools. 44 pounds is about 20 kilograms, divided by 7,861.093 is about 0.0025 cubic meters of steel. 0.035" is about 0.9 mm or 0.0009 meters, divided by two is a radius of 0.0004 meters, doing the πr² thing again gives 3.14 × 0.0004 × 0.0004 = 0.00000062 square meters. (Maybe I shouldn't have done this in meters!) 0.0025 ÷ 0.00000062 is 4090 meters, or about 4 km, or about 2.5 miles. But you said 2-3 spools (per month?), so that's between 5 and 7½ miles.

Yup, you're using a lot of wire! —Steve Summit (talk) 03:09, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

history of prices

I would like to know where to look on the internet, to find prices of cars, houses, food, etc., in the 1960's, '70's and 80's in Canada for a slide show I am presenting? Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.51.93.204 (talk) 01:22, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, for US and UK it is relatively easy, I have no idea about Canada, though. MeasuringWorth.com, though, is a great site for such things, and tells you how to do it in theory, though you'd need to look up the relevant indicators for Canada. Depending on the indicator, the values can be quite different—the US comparative converter on the site makes that pretty clear. --Captain Ref Desk (talk) 01:45, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I'd try Statistics Canada, the government agency that maintains statistics. http://www.statcan.ca/menu-en.htm. -- Flyguy649 ^talk 03:26, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Poisonous Golden Chain Tree

In reading about the beautiful GOLDEN CHAIN TREE, I see where it is noted that ALL parts of the tree are poisonous. I wonder if anyone has had any experience with this problem especially as it relates to pets...cats or dogs. Thanks...hal621 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hal621 (talk • contribs) 01:34, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Try googling Laburnum. I found this info:

(Cytisus alpinus) All parts of this plant are poisonous, but the seeds are especially dangerous. Even chewing laburnum bark or twigs can affect animals. It is also poisonous to cats, and other animals, including humans! It causes nausea and vomiting. So not a good idea to have it in your garden if you have pets!Snorgle (talk) 16:00, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Moved from Humanities -- alleged water poisoning in Toronto

Toronto's media is reporting that yesterday night, over 40 Tetrabecquerel of radium was accidentally leaked into the environment, half of which entered the water supply. Any suggestions on what to do next? Please, I don't want to get cancer from drinking radioactive water!

I am now warning my Toronto friends: DO NOT DRINK TAP WATER UNTIL YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE IT IS SAFE!!!!!! --Bowlhover 04:07 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.226.26.154 (talk) 21:39, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

It's false, as a quick check on google news would suggest. You say "Toronto's media". Could you point us at even a single report? --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:42, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

This would have gone well with Earth Hour. Who needs lights when the water glows in the dark? Clarityfiend (talk) 00:30, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

"Tetrabecquerel"? How many isograms of that can you drink safely? Adam Bishop (talk) 00:50, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I hear it goes down well with polonium-flavoured sushi. BrainyBabe (talk) 02:33, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Well what do you think keeps neon tetras glowing?

Atlant (talk) 15:56, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, to my astonishment the Becquerel is a real unit of measurement. Adam Bishop (talk) 09:23, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

What did you think it was?

To Bowlhover: It should be "Tera-" by the way. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 10:58, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Well, he is right to wait for verification before drinking the tap water. Even if it is a myth, one cannot take any chances. Not drinking from the tap for a day isn't going to kill anyone if it is false. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 12:42, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

That's silly. You've got to have some standard of verifiability, or you'll just act like a frightened rabbit. Where did he hear this, anyway? He mentions the "media", but there don't appear to be any news stories on the topic, confirming or denying. The idea that a major water supply could be contaminated with radium and it not making the news anywhere is so unlikely you're better off assuming it's false, and going about your life. (Unless you suspect a conspiracy, in which case waiting a day wouldn't help anyway.)

"Better safe than sorry." is a rule of thumb that only works if the threat is credible. Otherwise, there's no chance of "sorry", and a real penalty for "safe". (In this case, the penalty is the cost of using pre-packaged, store-bought fluids for drinking, cooking, and sanitary uses.)

In other news, I heard on the media that there's a problem with the internet and surfing the web from the 206.252.*.* ip-range might electrocute you. 72.10.110.107 (talk) 13:08, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

If that was true then everyone on my floor would be dead. Anywho, I said "wait for verification", he got that doubleplusfast. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 18:23, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

You're proud of the fact you provided useless advice to your friend? In other news, I just heard the Schaumburg water supply was or may be sometimes in the future contaminated with uranium. I suggest you wait for verification and don't drink or go near water until then. Unfortunately since as I said, it may happen at any time this verification could take a while. (N.B. This is a joke, please don't kill yourself because you're afraid of water for no reason) Nil Einne (talk) 20:23, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Fine, you've figured out my real agenda. I'm actually working for the bottled water companies. "Bottled Water - Now with an even more watery taste that goes down smooth and is less filling!". 206.252.74.48 (talk) 12:51, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Bluntly, the question looked like a troll to me. As the OP made a claim about Toronto media, I thought it reasonable to ask for any evidence of such a story. Even if it is a myth, one cannot take any chances, you say. Sounds like nonsense to me. Look at it rationally: if the water supply of a major city has been contaminated with radioactive substances, do you not think that that would be sufficiently big news to make it to the normal outlets which are polled by google news? Not drinking from the tap for a day is going to make a troll's day. --Tagishsimon (talk) 12:53, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

This was posted on April 1.You may wish to take anything the media tells you then with a grain of salt. Incidentally,reports* state that scientists have now been able to enlarge grains of salt to almost human proportions,enabling you to get all the salt you need from a simple lick of this monolithic structure.

• Reports were conducted by Dr.A.Prilfolo at the Gottjer Institute Lemon martini (talk) 13:58, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

You know how a frozen lake can be "all one crystal"? The same goes for the salt in salt mines, so human-sized isn't all that impressive and doesn't require curiously named scientists to produce.[19] AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 14:05, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I get the 1 April part, but it doesn't really explain why he or she continued with the silly claims after 1 April Nil Einne (talk) 20:25, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Kindly note that I didn't move it on April 2nd, someone else did that. 99.226.26.154 (talk) 02:37, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

See [20]. Nothing to be taken with even a bit of seriousness. --Bowlhover (talk) 02:42, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

After class X

What should I take after class X?

• In science there are 3 options - PCMB(BIOLOGY) , PCMC(COMPUTER SCIENCE) ,PCME(ELECTRONICS)? ----which is the best option according to you ?
• can you tell me what is the benefit of taking these options and also what can we do after taking these options? 59.92.244.65 (talk) 03:45, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you provide a bit more context? Where are you studing, what subject, and what year? — QuantumEleven 14:42, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

what is the penalty for....

ok, so I know everyone is going to yell at me for asking for legal advice, but this is asking for a fact about the law, similar to asking what the legal consequences of murder are. What kinds of fines are assessed and about how much are they for if a person runs onto the field during a professional baseball game? There are signs posted saying you will get escorted from the stadium, but thats almost no penalty at all. I just want to know if there are any other charges? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.101.53.187 (talk) 05:46, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

The maximum penalty through the legal process depends entirely on the local laws or by-laws wherever you happen to be, but for a misdemeanour such as that the authorities probably don't think it's worth the expense of taking you to court. If you do it repeatedly they can just bar you from the premises.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:21, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

If it's the same as for football in the UK you would probably be banned from the stadium and maybe all the team's matches. -- Q Chris (talk) 10:07, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Actually in Australia you will usually be slapped with a fine (I think the precise amount varies but it's usually over $1000), at least if you are a streaker [21][22] [23]. This usually happens in NZ as well I believe (well at least it happened in the Lisa Lewis bikini case) although the fine is currently a lot less. The fine will usually be imposed by a court. Nil Einne (talk) 20:17, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

If someone wanted to pursue this legally, I imagine some kind of trespassing charge may apply in many parts of the world. Friday (talk) 15:27, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Tresspassing in semi-public areas (e.g. sports stadiums, taco bells) is usually only a criminal charge when it is done AFTER the person having been served with a legal "tresspass warning" that puts the defendant on notice that he is not to return. JeanLatore (talk) 20:03, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

If you are talking about civil trespass, there are several defences to this which limit the amount of damages you have to pay (actual v. nominal damages). JeanLatore (talk) 20:04, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

But presuming the sport stadium required a ticket for entry, you could probably still be charged with trespassing if you forced your way in somehow without a ticket right? (If you entered a taco bell after it was closed I'm sure you could be) And if you have a ticket, what about if your ticket specified that certain areas such as the playing field were off limit and/or there were signs clearly specifying that the playing field was off limit are you sure you couldn't be charged with trespassing? Ignoring the playing field, it would seem to me if you found a way into the locker room or the broadcasting area and had no authority to be there you could probably still be charged with tresspasing because even though the stadium may be a public place it wouldn't mean everywhere in the stadium is a public place right? This is starting to fall into the no legal advice area so don't answer, I'm just saying I would suspect it's a lot more complicated then you can't be charged with trespassing without a trespass notice because it's a semi-public place (which is one of the reasons for no legal advice). N.B. I'm talking about criminal trespassing and theoretical possibility, not whether it is likely Nil Einne (talk) 20:36, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

If you go into a ballpark or a theater or such without paying, you can be charged with theft of services, just as if you walk out of a restaurant without paying. Corvus cornix_talk 02:31, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Nosebleed

This could fit in multiple categories, so i defaulted to misc. Anyway, on the show Metalocalypse, Toki Wartooth forces all the blood to his head and gives himself a nosebleed. I just wanna know if this is actually possible, and if it is, how is it done?the juggreserection ^IstKrieg! 13:48, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Force all the blood to your head? Impossible. Increase blood flow to your head? Entirely possible; fighter pilots do this routinely to prevent g-LOC, with more specifics discussed at G-suit. The nosebleed thing is trickier -- you'd need enough blood pressure to spontaneously start a bleed, which means you'd have to be on the verge of a nosebleed to start with. While this can happen, it's more likely to be accidental than intentional. — Lomn 15:24, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

That sound wierd, disgusting and seriously unhealthy —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 16:12, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Ah i see. O and to respond to the Anon. post, it probably is unhealthy but would look badass. P.S. I after E except after C the juggreserection ^IstKrieg! 18:52, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Isn't it "I before E except after C, except when pronounced 'A' as in 'weigh'"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.252.74.48 (talk) 19:47, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

and neighbor 161.222.160.8 (talk) 21:45, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

and sleigh and eight and freight .. ---- JackofOz (talk) 22:46, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Take it to I before E except after C. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:52, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

While we're on the subject of spelling...

Is your username really meant to be "The Juggre's Erection", or is it "The Jugg Resurection"? This has bugged me for some time. :P FiggyBee (talk) 06:14, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

It stands for The Juggalo Resurection.the juggreserection ^IstKrieg! 13:34, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Dog's Actions after a bath

every dog i've ever owned goes crazy after i give them a bath, running around, rubbing against my furnature, rolling on their backs. i've always wondered, what the heck are they doing, and why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.101.7.240 (talk) 17:21, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I don't think we can ever understand them. Their sense of smell is so good that the world "looks" very, very different to them than it does to us. The smell of the doggy shampoo must be for them like having a 300-watt strobe light shot down a kaleidoscope for us. I think they're trying to do something about the smell. --Milkbreath (talk) 17:40, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Hate to be a [don't know the term, actually], but you can't "own" a dog or any living creature. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 18:18, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Pedant?--droptone (talk) 18:44, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I guess that would work, although I don't really appreciate it. I was looking for a word that means I respect nature and such things. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 19:23, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I was thinking "animal-rights extremist". Ownership is a legal concept, and I don't think it constitutes legal advice to say that I've never heard of a country where people are not allowed to own living creatures. Now, the question was about dogs' behavior, not how we describe their relationship to their owners. --Anon, 20:00 UTC, April 2, 2008.

The reference desk is not for debating these issues. The guidelines are a good read, and I recommend it to anyone not already familiar with it. 81.93.102.185 (talk) 20:40, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

The dog is most likely trying to get the smell of the shampoo off of themselves. Their natural instinct is to try to smell like something non-offensive to their prey, so lighting up like a lightbulb only in scent is counter to everything that they are wired for. Dismas|^(talk) 22:37, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I think it’s more likely that the dog is trying to warm up. They seem to still go crazy even if they’re just wet; no shampoo involved. Consider how much water is retained in their coat. The evaporative cooling must be considerable. --S.dedalus (talk) 05:37, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

I would go with the "getting rid of smell" rather than "warming up". Our dogs like nothing better than to roll in the mud and get dirty again after a bath, even if they have had plenty of time to warm up inside first. I also notice that if I have been out jogging, when I come in the dogs will sniff me enthusiastically and wag their tails. After I have had a shower they are much more restrained. I think that dogs prefer "natural" smells to the artificial scents in shampoo and shower gel. -- Q Chris (talk) 12:26, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

I attribute that sort of behavior to the fact that after a shower you pretty much smell only of soap, but after a jog you smell like your own sweat, a girl-dog you ran past, a spider-web you ran through, a dead caterpillar you stepped on, some baby birds you ran under, and all sorts of other neighborhood goings-on that your dog is dying to stay abreast of. I have four of them, and they pretty much attack me with their noses when I get back from running! --Sean 13:33, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

viktor e frankl article

hi, in presently reading viktors book "mans search for meaning " I was VERY disturbed at the wiki article on him.

This does not correlate in any way to the horror he faced on a day to day basis as described in his book, and seems to have been "santised" in way I find disturbing.

sorry in advance about my ignorance (I enjoy wikipedia)

but.... who do i complain to about this?(at wikipedia) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.241.85.162 (talk) 21:19, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

You can discuss it on Talk:Viktor Frankl, but you may get little response. Or you can fix the article yourself by clicking the edit button at the top of the article. The article does not read as though sanitised to me, but then I've not read the book you cite. Wikipedia articles should be written from a neutral point of view. Perhaps that and the relative shortness of the article is the cause. Perhaps not. I'd be interested to hear more from you, on this page, about what exactly you think is wrong with it / missing from it. But really, the very best way for it to get fixed is for you to fix it. --Tagishsimon (talk) 21:55, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Haven't read Man's Search for Meaning, Tagishsimon? I thoroughly recommend it. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:43, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

What, then, do you make of the article? (and thanks for the recommendation) --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:08, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I second that Man's Search for Meaning is recommended reading. And you'll finish it in two or three days. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 01:52, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Third that. It's a powerful book, and I think it took me two days to get through it. Humans can endure just about anything, so long as they perceive their suffering has some meaning. This book has more of value than any twenty pounds of clutter in the self-help section of a bookstore. Antandrus (talk) 02:46, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

I haven't read it for over 15 years, but it made a powerful impression on me. I'd need to re-read it before being able to edit the article. It's now on my "To Re-Read List". -- JackofOz (talk) 03:20, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Rail Vs Water

i have to compare the shipping distances from pittsburg, pennsivania by rail and by water to major east coast cities (circa: 1840) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.235.84.25 (talk) 21:31, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Well, we won't do your homework for you (I have my own to do), but if you have a specific question, maybe we can answer it for you. Useight (talk) 23:03, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Didn't you already ask this once? Dismas|^(talk) 00:45, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

im just looking for a recource —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.235.84.25 (talk) 01:46, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

You will find a wealth of information linked to our article Pennsylvania Railroad, for example the (some of them indirectly) linked articles Main Line of Public Works and United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company. This map gives a good picture of the extent of long-distance canals during your period. By reading our articles on various historic railroads and canals, you can get a good idea of their extent. Some of these articles have maps that, if you compare them to present-day maps and map scales, will allow you to calculate roughly the distance from Pittsburgh to the major east coast cities. Incidentally, it seems to me that in 1840, it was impossible to travel from Pittsburgh to the east coast solely by rail. Part of the journey would have had to be made by water. On the other hand, the only way from Pittsburgh to the east coast by water alone would have been down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico, and thence around the Florida Peninsula and up the Atlantic coast by sea. Marco polo (talk) 02:15, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

April 3

What should I do

What should I do if I feel like doing vandalism for fun —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.255.69 (talk) 01:03, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Play in the sandbox. And thanks for asking. :) You can also register an account and screw around with your own user page (within reason). --Masamage ♫ 01:33, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

You really have your choices. Obviously, the only thing that can prevent you from not wanting to vandalize (persay, articles), is if the consequence of vandalizing in value is greater than your happiness of vandalizing. Suppose you were to be arrested and locked up in jail for vandalizing. Then clearly your happiness of doing it is not worth it. But if all you get is a warning (like on 1st offense), then clearly you won't mind that. Or even mind a 72 hour time out from Wikipedia. And so and so forth. Neal (talk) 01:42, 3 April 2008 (UTC).

(Are you trying to talk him into vandalizing articles Neal? lol) One thing you could do when you have the erg to vandalize articles would be to post silly questions on, say, the Miscellaneous Reference Desk. Many people seem to find that helps. . . --S.dedalus (talk) 02:24, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

You might be interested to read vandalism and Wikipedia:The motivation of a vandal.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:32, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Most people are assuming he wants to vandalize Wikipedia. Perhaps he wants to spraypaint his name on the local water-tower or train station. (Hint : Don't use your real name.) Obviously the correct answer to this question is "Find something else to do." or something along those lines, but that's boring. I've always liked the technique used to place the Toynbee Plaques into road surfaces. There's room for some creative vandalism there. APL (talk) 13:17, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Gene Therapy

<moved to sci desk>

Your TV becomes trash:

Have you seen this link ?

• • www.dtv.gov

According to this, in 2009, your TV becomes garbage. 65.173.104.196 (talk) 02:27, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm new here, but I've found out that I just got issued a tainted IP No.#. One other thing, Why is the discussion page locked down? 65.173.104.196 (talk) 02:52, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

• Hi new here, maybe you could get help on the Help desk (help with using wikipedia) Julia Rossi (talk) 09:28, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

No, you only need something that can decode ATSC (a set-top box or something) in order to watch terrestrial TV (the analogue turn-off date doesn't affect cable TV). --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:05, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Only TVs that use only bunny ears (getting over-the-air reception) will stop working. If you have DirectTV or Dish 500 or something, you'll be fine. Useight (talk) 06:46, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Caffeine

Is it true that some people have an opposite reaction to caffeine? I.e., Become tired instead of having renewed energy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.111.190.135 (talk) 10:01, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Corollary: my dad swears coffee puts him to sleep rather than keeps him awake. Sandman30s (talk) 13:32, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

politically incorrect?

Okay i recenlty read a thesis that was entitled ' the election mathematics'.It went like this -in voting people tend to vote in a particular manner.They are called negative voters.That is they tend to not vote for their enemy rather than vote for their candidate.This means that in the case of obama and Hilarry,Lets say Obama wins.The democrats who voted for Hilarry would become split and some who hate obama would rather vote for Mccain rather than obama,not because they like Mccain but because they hate obama.And its either that or not vote.And in a close race as this one it would be fatal to anybody to try and share his votes.I have never been to the states and I just wanted to know from an American point of view whether such an arguement holds any water. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.220.225.250 (talk) 12:02, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

It sounds like you are talking about Tactical voting, in this article there are many real world examples, some from the USA. -- Q Chris (talk) 12:21, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

It should be noted that the other situation is that if someone unpopular within a party gets the nomination for the party, many people will simply not vote for anyone. But yet, often people are voting against someone more than they are voting for someone. --Captain Ref Desk (talk) 13:41, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

smsc

what with this smsc numbers?I am in kenya i used an american centre number and my phone is sending free sms.I quickly reverted back.I just wanted to know how can someone be able to use a number outside his network and send free texts.Or just inform me on this whole smsc numbers thing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.220.225.250 (talk) 12:12, 3 April 2008 (UTC)