Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

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March 21

DEVAS???

Hello,

My question is if devas existed how did they become extinct??? Or if they still exist how would you protect yourself??? Maybe even destroy an evil deva??

Jay Vega

Given that Devas are a theosophical concept relating to species-wide group intelligences or spirits then there are several possible ways to answer this:

1. If they have ever existed they still do and are not extinct.
2. If they do not exist now they never have.
3. If a particular species has a deva, then presumably the extinction of that species would also kill its deva.
4. Why would one be evil, and why would a person need to protect themselves from it?

These comments presuppose that you are not talking about A city in Romania. Grutness...wha? 06:31, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

It looks to me like you two are using different definitions of "devas". The questioner should include his definition, so we know what they mean. StuRat 11:05, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

birth records at Musoma catholic church

iwould like to get in touch with the Musoma catholic mission church, Tanganyika. B.E.A. for birth records of the year 1959. can you help?

Thank you

quiz

the first person to answer 2+2=? will win a prize...Im in ur house 05:40, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Did i miss a trick??? Jayant,17 Years, India • contribs 05:48, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

2+2=5 for sufficiently large values of 2. Grutness...wha? 06:26, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

2+2=suitly emphazi. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 06:45, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Did i win..?? ;-)....Jayant,17 Years, India • contribs 18:42, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

YOU'RE WINNER! --Optichan 21:30, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

LOOP

How do you get the following output using VB control structures?

                 #####
                  ###
                   #
                  ###
                 #####

This sounds like a homework assignment. The Jade Knight 06:14, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

And a rather silly assignment at that. I see no advantage to using a loop to produce such output. StuRat 11:00, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Programming assignments never make you do anything useful. It doesn't seem too hard to do, as long as you know how to use loops well enough. It probably wouldn't be too hard for me to whip up something like that... --Optichan 15:25, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I've had some useful programming assignments, like solving the quadratic equation. For loops, a nice basic bubble sort would be a good exercise. StuRat 15:43, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

A very ridiculous assignment ... here's one approach:

   Dim strTemp$
   Dim i%
   
   For i = -5 To 5 Step 2
       If (i = 1) = False Then
           strTemp = strTemp & String((5 - Abs(i)) / 2, " ") & String(Abs(i), "#") & Chr(13) & Chr(10)
       End If
   Next i
   
   Debug.Print strTemp

HTH AmiDaniel (Talk) 01:00, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Elevation of North Hollywood, CA

Please supply me with the elevation in feet above sea level of the city of North Hollywood, CA.

    Thank you.

          Eric Obermeit

See Bob Hope Airport or Van Nuys Airport. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 10:54, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Or, to be more precise, you could Google for "north hollywood" and "altitude", and you'd find a nice site that says the altitude is 613 feet (186 meters.) --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 15:12, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Ancient TV show

A double-barreled question about an ancient TV show I vaguely remember from when I was a wee kid.

1. There was a children's programme set (I think) somewhere like Croatia (would have been Yugoslavia back then) about a farm where lippizaner horses were bred (sort of an eastern European Follyfoot). It would have shown on UK television about 1972-4. Can anyone tell me any details about what the programme would have been?
2. I was reminded about the programme by hearing a cover version of the theme music (a naff but endearing little ditty about flying away to a land of white horses) which sounded like it was done by someone like Aztec Camera or the Housemartins. Anyone know who it was by and what the title was?

Grutness...wha? 07:51, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Your dates a bit off but White Horses is what you are looking for. I rembember watching this. Also see this. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 09:07, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Well, that's the first part answered (thanks!). Now all I've got to do is find out who the cover of the theme is by, because it was definitely a male vocalist and 80s-ish soft-pop-rock version I heard with male vocals, and the original theme music was a folky female vocal version. Grutness...wha? 12:27, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Google is my friend (now that I know the title!) This seems to have been covered twice - once by All About Eve (band) (not very Aztec Camera-y at all), and once by Trash Can Sinatras (very Aztec Camera-y). It will almost certainly have been TCS that I heard. Grutness...wha? 12:41, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Pic on a wikipedia page...

Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask but...

On this page below... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lilith_%28John_Collier_painting%29.jpg

There's a picture I would like to use, and at the bottom it says...

"This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years or less. Subject to disclaimers."

Does that mean I can use it as the art for my band's demo? It won't be for commercial purposes. I'm just giving the demos out to specific record companies and a few people for free. I would like to have that on the cover and maybe the back too. Is this illegal? Or can I go ahead and do it?

Again, sorry if this isn't the right place to ask.

Thanks, Blake

Because it is in the public domain, you can use it however you like, without restriction (at least in the US). However, this should not be construed as legal advice—you might want to double-check and make sure it is in the public domain now. The Jade Knight 08:05, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

You're in the clear using it, but you may want to find a higher-resolution or better quality version. A screen res image won't look very good printed at the same size. Night Gyr 22:39, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

cockroaches

i need 2 no wot the names 4 cockroaches gender (male or female) r, could u plz tell me, u can contact me at ((email address removed to stop sarah's mailbox suffering spamclog)) (dont mock me i got it wen i was 7).

kind regards- sarah truscott

P.s. excuse the msn typing. it is a habit i find hard 2 break

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you're asking for -- what's wrong with "male" and "female"? --Bth 11:23, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

PS Break it anyway.

I figure you could call them male and female cockroaches. Or give them individual names, like Jack and Jill. :) --Optichan 15:48, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

No, we will not excuse your spelling. Surely, you do not do that at school or at work. Does Wikipedia deserve your respect any less? --Nelson Ricardo 16:52, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I find Nricardo|Nelson Ricardo very rude, just answer the persons question without making any comment on there typing skills. We are all humans and we all make mistakes otherwise it is inhuman! UNKOWN USER

As far as I know, non-social insects aren't given specific names for genders the way higher animals are. I suppose you could use the generic sire/dame appelations if for some odd reason you wanted to breed cockroaches...Brian Schlosser42 21:14, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Finding a list of 2006 NBA Roster Moves

I'm looking for a simple list of roster moves that have occured in the NBA this season. Basically a list of who has been traded to what team since the beginning of the season. Where can I find this? Mysteriousinventors 09:03, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

This might be useful: Roster Update Guide Sum0 14:57, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Research of informations

Dear Sirs, Dear Madams,

I am a student in Belgium and for the needs for my thesis; I need to find the number of invoices emitted (B2B) by sectors in Belgium and in the world. I made a lot of research but I have not been able to find anything. This is why I allow myself to ask you whether you had an idea of where I could find this information? Or whether you have this information?

I thank you in advance for your assistance.

I don't see how this could be knowable. My company generates many B2B invoices. The number we generate is our private information: it is not put in our annual report or accounts or anywhere else a researcher could check. This will be true of most companies. I think a major thesis in itself would be to devise a methodology to roughly estimate such a number. Notinasnaid 10:41, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

In a way it sounds like a good chewy Fermi problem. You could try approaching a range of businesses to see if they're prepared to release the information to you (however, this could well involve them having to systematically collecting the information in the first place so they might not be terribly keen unless you can demonstrate to them that the results of your thesis will somehow help them save lots of money). If you did manage to get a decent sample, you could give your estimates some statistical basis (though there are likely a number of biases involved), but I can't see any way you're going to be able to get an exact figure. --Bth 11:07, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Also note that "information" is already plural, so no "s" is added. StuRat 10:50, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Carmen Bernos de Gasztold

I am searching for the specific year of birth for accuracy for Carmen Bernos de Gasztold. Your site says 1919. Can you tell me how you received the information?

No. But I see from that article's history that it was added by User:Aloysius. The best thing for you to do is ask this question on Aloysius's talk page (go to User talk:Aloysius and ask there). Grutness...wha? 12:32, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Here are some sources: [1], [2], [3]. StuRat 13:16, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

"Underpowered" pistols

What exactly makes a pistol be considered "underpowered"? It won't blow a hole through a house? hotclaws**==

If the goal is to kill someone, and it can't do that very effectively, like a 22 caliber pistol, then it's "underpowered" for the purpose intended. StuRat 15:53, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

What time is it?

In your home town? javascript:insertTags('--WoodscutterAveries 15:48, 21 March 2006 (UTC)',,);--WoodscutterAveries 15:48, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

It's -7 Coordinated Universal Time. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 16:32, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

See http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ --Shantavira 16:44, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

"It's later than you think." StuRat 17:07, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Given that there's rubbish music TV on permanently at my work, the correct answer for me would appear to be: It's Chico Time! --Bth 17:09, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I had decided to answer and suddenly it changed. Give me your watch and I'll give you the time it is. --DLL 18:28, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

STOP. It's hammertime. Doo, do-do doot can't touch this  -- Run!  21:10, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Time to unpimp ze auto? —Keenan Pepper 13:00, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Star date 34-7664 74 minims past the arn of scampering---hotclaws**==

The current date and time is 18 September 2024 T 17:58 UTC. But I'm 6 hours behind UTC. --Optichan 18:45, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

A death in Sierra Leone

I would like to know how I can find information on the death of Dr. Dane Michael from the Republic os Sierra Leone. I do not know the date! D. Hardin

Fortunately, it appears that Dr Michael died only in the fictions of Nigerian con-artists. [4] Whether there was ever a real Dr Michael, and if so his state of health, remains unclear. Mark^{your words} 17:52, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Ethnic background of population

I am looking for a source to find the approximate numbers of various ethnic background populations of New York, NY. The specific populations whose numbers I would like to ascertain:

Indian Bangladesh All Arab countries China Korea Japan Russia Jewish

Unfortunately the New York census doesn't seem to split things down beyond "Asian", but there are just over a million people who describe themselves as falling into that category. The US census is forbidden from asking compulsory questions on religious affilliation, so no info on the number of Jews from them, but this map of the proportion of Jews in the population produced by the Glenmary Research Centre shows it's high in that area. --Bth 18:06, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Actually, the census does collect data on "nationality." You should be able to find it at factfinder.census.gov. You won't find info on religion, though; the U.S. census doesn't record it. -- Mwalcoff 00:26, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Weird - we had a question recently on languages spoken in Britain. The UK census doesnt collect that but does do religion. The US does nationality but not religion. I wonder what the rationale for each approach is. Jameswilson 01:04, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Public Law 94-521 prohibits the US Census Bureau from asking people about their religion. I don't know the rationale for that law, but I suppose some people think it's an invasion of privacy to ask about someone's religion. Considering the Jedi census phenomenon, you have to question whether information collected on religion is going to be accurate.

I'm surprised they don't count language speakers in the UK. I would think it would be very important for social services. Doesn't the government need to know how many AIDS brochures it needs to print in, say, Chinese? -- Mwalcoff 01:25, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

You might poke around sociologist literature on New York -- there is quite a lot out there written about the ethnic/religious makeup of the city, and should give you rough numbers. --Fastfission 03:49, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

hotel/motel

What is the total number of hotel/motel rooms in the United States? Where can I find this information? I have "Googled" with no success. I'd be grateful for the answer. gil Ggarger 17:34, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I think we may have another Fermi problem here... I doubt there is any reliable statistic for this, but you can certainly compute a good guesstimate. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 17:56, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

You want the American Hotel and Lodging Association, which lists 4.4 million guest rooms as of year-end 2004. — Lomn Talk 18:54, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge vs. Iago

Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes Iago as a "motiveless malignancy" does anyonw know where this quote comes from? 18:09, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Didn't you just answer your own question? Or are you asking where Coleridge wrote that observation? That'd be in his "Notes on Othello" (where else?) Available here, among other places. --BluePlatypus 19:43, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Singer on 3/18/06

I know this is a strange question, but I have looked everywhere! But, it is could you lease tell me who was the singer on 3/18/06....I remember she has 1 name. I think it began with a "S". If you could please help me, I would really appreciate it! My email is [removed to prevent spam] !!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frances-West Cook

Er, details? Where was this, or what event? — Lomn Talk 19:32, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm guessing you want to know who the singer was on Saturday Night Live on 3/18/06. If so, it was Shakira. (The 3/18/06 show was actually a rerun of the 12/10/05 episode.) --Pinball22 19:40, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Ditech Commercials

What is the Guys name is the Ditech commercials that always loses loans to Ditech?

I don't think the character was ever given a name, are you looking for the actor's name ? StuRat 20:23, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

It looks like the actor's name is Ron Michaelson. User:Zoe|^(talk) 23:47, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

We have an article! Ron Michaelson KWH 06:13, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

canine breed

Looking for info on 1/2 german shephard & 1/2 doberman pincher pups

What kind of info are you looking for? Where to find them? What their temperment may be? How big they may be? Help us out here. Dismas|^(talk) 21:34, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

two questions that have nothing to with one another

hello wikipedians from new york city to naples,italy i have to questions that have nothing to do with one another the first is during a sale at a store when it is closing down like the one at seamans which is closing down what happens to that money. the second is did jfk ever travel to dallas before he was assinated on 11/22/63. answer ASAP please. please no pictures

For the first one, it depends on why they are closing down. If they decided to close down on their own, the money goes to the owners, after they have paid off their bills. If they were ordered to close down as part of a bankruptcy proceeding, there are very specific rules set by the court for which bills will be paid off and which will be left unpaid. Under such an order there is typically nothing left for the owners. StuRat 21:59, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

For the second one, I would imagine he also went to Dallas during his first Presidential campaign, but don't know specifically. StuRat 21:59, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

This mentions it was President Kennedy's first visit to Texas (and thus Dallas), but that might be interpreted as meaning his first visit as president. --BluePlatypus 22:57, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

The definition of rig

Can someone please confirm that a partially castrated or one testicled horse or colt is in fact called a 'rig' as mentioned on the BBC by racing analyst Richard Pitman.

Apparently, not quite: [5] Mark^{your words} 22:49, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Yes this is a commonly used term for that kind of horse...hotclaws**==

Why would you want to partially castrate a horse anyway? Surely you either want it fully castrated or fully able to breed. AllanHainey 13:40, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

It's when one testical fails to decend and thus the castration is incomplete.Was more common when vets were less well trained than they are now or it was done anyway by the owner.hotclaws**==

The castration is irrelevant. A horse with one undescended testicle is a rig, whether or not the other testicle has been cut off. Mark^{your words} 17:08, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

COCO PUFFS in Toronto...

Hello, I moved to Toronto 6 years ago and before that I used to eat the cereal "Coco Puffs" which is made by General Mills all the time, but since I moved here I have not been able to find it in Toronto. General Mills does not distribute them in Canada, but I wanted to know if there are any specialty stores or something like that I could find it in. Thank you --(Aytakin) | Talk 23:12, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

You might want to stock up the next time you visit the US. I imagine Niagara is the closest crossing point. There isn't any reason why they would block bringing them in for personal use, is there ? StuRat 23:39, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I've seen them in American ethnic food stores in Europe, don't know any in Toronto though. (That's right USians.. Oreo cookies and Doritos are your ethnical foods! :)) --BluePlatypus 23:26, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

That is weird. Of course, most American foods can be found around the world, like hot dogs and Kentucky Fried Chicken. StuRat 23:39, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but there are many other things that only you eat. Such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Or Fruit By The Foot. Being much more refined than you, there is much Americano food which we wouldn't touch with a bargepole... ;-) — QuantumEleven | (talk) 07:37, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm surprised you consider PB&J to be "unrefined". I would think you would pick something worse, like processed cheese, especially when pre-sliced in little plastic wrappers for sandwiches. If you use natural peanut butter (not the stuff with hydrogenated oils added to make it solid) and a high quality jam on toasted wheat bread, you can have a tasty and healthy after-school snack with a glass of milk on the side. If it satisfies the kid's hunger and keeps them from eating candy, then it's a good alternative, I must say. Some foods from other countries, like "fish and chips", seems quite disgusting to me, especially when fused to the paper on which it is served. StuRat 20:28, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I guess that means you've never had a Fluffernutter. And as for foodstuffs I'd gladly avoid at least until death, I will say only Vegemite. --LarryMac 20:11, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Goody, all the more for me. I guess you have to have it in your blood from birth to really appreciate it. But I'll never understand why an American company bought Vegemite out, when the number of Americans who like it seems to be zero. JackofOz 01:37, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Daisy Duke Rap Song

Hi Wikipedia:

Can you tell me if you know of the group and the song name that sang about the Daisy Duke shorts?

Some of the lyrics go like this....

"look at that girl with the Daisy Dukes on...." It was a big hit back in either the late 80's or early 90's when the Daisy Duke shorts were a big hit to wear.

Any help would be appreciated.

Lyn

69 Boyz - "Daisy Dukes". Grutness...wha? 00:35, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

daily calcium

how much calcium is in a cows daily output of milk in one day ?

A dairy cow might provide 20 liters of milk per day. Pasteurized milk has around 1,200 milligrams of calcium per liter. So a cow's daily output translate into 24 grams of calcium per day after pasteurization. -- Mwalcoff 01:33, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Surely pasteurization doesn't change the calcium content? --BluePlatypus 02:23, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Not every breed of milk cow produces the same amount of milk though, nor even every cow within a particular breed. The milk that you buy at the market may be made up of milk from 2, 3, or possibly more breeds. The milk from different breeds may not have the same amount of calcium per unit, I'm not at all certain. Dismas|^(talk) 03:40, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

March 22

Search for Native Canadian

Dear Sir/Madam

Please can you let me know if there is anything written regarding a particular Native Canadian called 'He who runs with horses'? I believe he may of been here around the 1800's. I have done some research but to no avail. I know he belonged to the Shuswap tribe.

I would appreciate any information you may have or you know someone who may be able to assist.

Many thanks & kind regards

Maxine

How much of Microsoft does Bill Gates own?

I'm wondering if anyone would know or could tell me where to find the percentage of shares of Microsoft Corp. owned by Bill Gates.

Basically I'd like to know approximately how much of Microsoft shares Bill Gates owns.

I would expect to hear an answer somewhere in the range of 20% (as an educated guess) for how widely held corporations with controlling shareholders work, but I'd like some more concrete information.

Thanks to anyone who can help me!

LewisLoomis51 03:35, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

10.33 billion shares outstanding, Billie owns 977,499,336 of them. So 9.5% --BluePlatypus 03:50, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

NYC Subway riders

I am trying to find out how many people ride the nyc subway system during the work week and how many use it on the weekends on average.

• See the MTA web site. --Metropolitan90 05:51, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Can I write an article about the village where I live, even if I don't have published sources on it?

I am wondering if I can write an article for Wikipedia if I do not have published sources as references? I would like to write about my village, explaining when it was created, how many houses it has today, where it is located, etc. I have no intention of posting any opinions - just facts.

Victoria --216.55.193.65 04:53, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Yes, you can. It's likely someone will add a "no sources" tag to it, asking that sources be added, but the article can remain in that state indefinitely StuRat 05:11, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm actually not too sure, StuRat. There are two things that will prevent an article like that from surviving on Wikipedia:

1. Lack or sources, like you said (brochures on the city, I think, count as sources);
2. Lack of significance.

I'm actually going to say that this question is better suited for The FAQ. --JB Adder | Talk 05:14, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

As I understand it, there is no policy that unsourced articles should be deleted. However, I can imagine a point way in the future (once, say, 90% of our articles are fully sourced), where such a policy might be decided upon. StuRat 05:37, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

The article will continue to exist indefinitely, but it's likely that the unreferenced bits will be removed. Mark^{your words} 11:05, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Also, you may want to consider Wikipedia: Notability - is your village notable in some way? Not meaning to judge your village either way, but Wikipedia is "a neutral and unbiased compilation of notable, verifiable facts." (from Wikipedia:Wikipedia in eight words). Just something to think about. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 07:34, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Unless it's an extremely small village (population 1 ?), I would expect it to be notable to the entire population of the village, plus those who have visited it, live near it, know someone who lives there, etc. StuRat 12:52, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Sources: in practice, nobody is probably going to complain if you don't cite sources. But it's definitely better to have published sources. Why don't you look if you can find some? Most municipalities/cities/counties publish some kind of brochure about themselves. Or there might a printed addressbook that has some kind of general information in the introductory section. Or the local newspaper might have published these facts at some point. The nearest public libary would be a good place to ask for help. -- Lack of significance/notability: Not an issue. We already have an article about every single village in the USA (at least if it is recognized by the census), and nobody has complained yet as far as I know. Since we're striving to be global, it would be good to have more articles about villages in other countries, too. --Chl 14:03, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

In general, real places survive AfD, no matter how small. User:Zoe|^(talk) 17:12, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

What don't survive are people, no matter how great. Users always think that bios are some kind of vanity or copyvio even if they aren't and especially if Google sources are few. The big problem here is that

• Google is definitely not a perfect website and does not have all the records of a certain person; and
• Usually famous people in "insignificant" countries don't have many weblinks, so their bios are always thought of as vanity articles.

Places, however, cannot write about themselves, and sources may well be plentiful, so you should have no trouble writing about your village (that is, unless some AfD maniac or racist chances upon your "vanity" place article and decides to delete it). 84.154.97.12 21:35, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Nonsense. All you have to do is provide sources. User:Zoe|^(talk) 02:48, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

So, 84, did your bio get deleted, too? :-) —Steve Summit (talk) 02:53, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

No, but articles I wrote about my some of my well-known countrymen were deleted or were being considered for deletion due to "lack of Google sources", "vanity", "incredibility", and a host of other absurd reasons. At first, I was like, hey, come on, I write articles about three different people, and you think that's vanity? And then there was this racist who went on an AfD spree. It was real hilarious per se, but the articles that got deleted definitely didn't like it. ;) 84.154.100.223 06:01, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

A village is almost certain to survive AFD - even if it's proposed for deletion there are several of us who go out of our way to improve any "real place" articles we see that are on afd - usually to the point where they're good enough to keep. Grutness...wha? 06:09, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

baby blues

why do parents that have multiple children ( twins, triplets etc) usually give their children names that sound the same. does it make it easier to remember? can you come up with a few examples? theodore and theodora, ken and kim, jenny and jimmy , candice and caprice --Crazypinkster 09:39, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Probably because they think it's "cute" or some other such thing. Dismas|^(talk) 10:46, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Among the families with twins I have known, more often the children did not have similar-sounding names. I don't expect anyone in particular to take my advice, but I would recommend that parents of twins, or for that matter parents of more than one child of different ages, choose names that sound reasonably different. This way, if you have to call them over to you by shouting their names, they will have a better chance of hearing you correctly. --Metropolitan90 02:52, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

tractor advertising

Hi,

Can we advertise for tractors on this site??

Advertising is not allowed. See What Wikipedia is not for more info. Dismas|^(talk) 10:44, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

PUSSY FART

A friend recently mailed me about an experience involving a "pussy fart". after some research i found out more or less what it is but whats the cause of it? does it happen to all females? is there a cure? i can only imagine that its really embarrasing! --Crazypinkster 12:02, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I can't believe we actually have an article about this...yes, it's quite common, and no, it's not particularly embarassing. As the article points out, there is no odor connected with it, plus it usually happens during sex - and if you find normal bodily reactions during sex embarassing, you might face some pretty seriosu difficulties :) - Ferkelparade π 12:12, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm not really surprised that there is an article about it but I was a bit surprised by the existance of a Latin term for it. And after having read the talk page for the article, I'm currently having an immature giggle over the singular film of the sub-genre, Amber, The Lesbian Queefer. Dismas|^(talk) 13:12, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

How can I stop my hair getting tangled and knotty overnight?

nt

Have you tried braiding it? I've been told that works. What I do is put mine over the back of the pillow so I'm not laying on it. I think this works well for me because I don't toss and turn too much while sleeping. When down, my hair reaches down to my belt, in case you were wondering. Dismas|^(talk) 13:29, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Hmm... braiding it isn't really an option for me (I'm a guy, and my roommates already consider having long hair as feminine enough), and I toss and turn constnatly during the night, as well as sleeping on different angles. Thanks, though.

Then you can use some type of masculine rubber bands ("elastics", if you're a Brit) to secure your hair. (I suspect you aren't American, as we would normally say "How can I stop my hair from getting tangled and knotty overnight ?".) StuRat 17:27, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Although this isn't the language desk, I just wanted to mention that the term "elastic" in place of "rubber-band" is not limited to British English. I heard it (and was confused by it) when my family moved to Connecticut when I was 12. --LarryMac 18:15, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I have shoulder length hair which I tie back with a plain hair band (that's a common commercially manufactured rubber band in a cloth sheath to keep it from snagging on the hair). My wife usually uses a couple of these spaced a few inches apart; her hair is longer and straighter, but tends more towards tangling. We both move around a bit in our sleep (more so for me). Unbound hair tends to get trapped under one another which is rather uncomfortable during any subsequent movement. 216.240.40.182 19:32, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm a guy too and I know what you mean about getting a hard time about your long hair. I used to live in the South and it didn't go over well with some of the locals although I didn't care because I had more than a few lady friends who liked to run their fingers through my hair.  :-) I agree with using the hair ties spaced a few inches apart. I do this at work all the time. I work in a cleanroom so having my hair under the cleanroom suit without them gives me one huge knot by the end of the day. Although, as you said, you may get a hard time about this from your roommates. And please, do not use actual rubber bands. In case you didn't know, they're painful to pull out and damage your hair. Dismas|^(talk) 22:35, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

When I don't braid it, I drop mine over the pillow through a gap in the headboard so it hangs down over the side of the bed (my headboard has a 6 inch slot running all the way across at matress level). My hair is fairly long, so even though I move around in my sleep it stays put and relatively untangled. But braiding is the best way in my opinion, and not particularly feminine. (Look at this guy's braid.) Can you ignore your roomates? Crypticfirefly 04:46, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

give it 2 me

my boyfriend and i enjoy foreplay b4 intercourse and when we do have sex he has an orgasm in less than 30 minutes. he is then so tired and is unable to satisfy me completely as his penis becomes flacid. how can we avoid this but stil enjoy 4play? any particular positions?

30 minutes is pretty good for a guy, you have nothing to complain about there. I suggest you get a dildo, if you need an erection for more than 30 minutes at a time. StuRat 14:24, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

30 minutes is average, or even a little better. I'd suggest asking him to perform oral sex.

If you want more information, there are innumerable sex manuals present in most libraries that might provide some useful suggestions; I have to agree with the general consensus here that maybe your foreplay should be a little more focussed on you than him, but there are all manner of ways that this can be done and you might have a lot of fun experimenting with some of the suggestions! By the way, if you meant 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes, you might find the page on premature ejaculation contains some relevant information. --Robert Merkel 11:48, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

user account: BOGDANOUD

Someone else is clearly using my account. I have not changed ANY articles. To stop this from happening in the future, I want the account to be locked or closed

NOTE: This may have something to do with the school network.

BOGDANOUD has made no contributions to Wikipedia. [6] --Optichan 15:28, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

That's because the username is not written in all caps (hint to original poster: user names are case sensitive) - Bogdanoud has indeed made some contributions, but none to the article namespace. Could you (the original poster) clarify why you suspect your account has been hijacked? -- Ferkelparade π 16:10, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

He has edited User:80.249.52.137 to say he's only used it once. Perhaps we should take a look at 80.249.52.137's contribs? --Optichan 16:32, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Change your password. By the way, how do you do this in Wikipedia? 208.61.138.229 16:41, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

You need to login to change a password. Then there will be a Preferences link at the top of the screen (if you're using the default MonoBook theme). I think it's possible that the original poster simply didn't log in to his account, so he saw messages directed to someone else on his talk page. --Optichan 16:54, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

By the way, we should probably point out that such discussions on Wikipedia-related stuff should properly go on the Help desk :P -- Ferkelparade π 16:57, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I think my account was hijacked because I have received several warnings saying that my rights to edit will be taken off. How can this happen when I have NOT edited a single article?

Hmm, I cannot see any warnings on your talk page...my best guess is that you were getting these warnings while you were not logged in. If you're editing from a school computer, everyone from your school who is not logged in will appear to be the same anonymous user on Wikipedia (because they all come in with the same IP address, and because not-logged-in users are only identified by their IP address), and so everyone from your school will get these vandalism warnings if only one person vandalized an article. If you did not vandalize any articles, you can safely ignore these warnings. (you might, however, be able to find out who is vandalizing Wikipedia from your school and try to convince them to contribute in a constructive manner instead :P ) -- Ferkelparade π 11:54, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. user: bogdanoud

carrs

hi, could you please find out for me if carrs sheffield england sterling silver flatware pattern bead is available this spring to buy.i read the arcticle on your website that carrs had created a non tarnish sterling silver. also is it considered real sterling. i appreciate your information and time sincerely, barbara

The best place to go will certainly be Carrs own website. The easiest way to get to this is to use a search engine - Google is a good choice. Follow this link, type "Carrs" into the search box (without the quotes) and press Google search. Look down the list until you find Carrs of Sheffield. DJ Clayworth 18:43, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

ringtones

Does anyone know of any website where i can download free polyphonic ringtone onto my computer and then transfer them to my mobile using my mobile software. My phone is the samsung d600

census data on Working Immigrants and unemployed Americans in Boston

I am looking for where i can find census data of the number of immigrants that have come into Boston, who have work permits, as well as the number of unemployed Americans in Boston.

I'm guessing if you find 5% immigrants and 5% unemployment you will assume there would be 0% unemployment if immigrants were banned. That's just not the case. Many people are unemployed because they lack the needed skills the immigrants have or refuse to do the hard work it takes to hold jobs which immigrants will gladly do. StuRat 18:38, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

otters

Who discovered and/or named the Otter? Who discovered and/or named the North American River Otter?

There are 2 questions

Do your own homework. Read the otter article. Marak24 00:28, 23 March 2006 (UTC)marak24

Help with decryption

Hi I got a letter which was written in Vigenere code and I can't decipher it. I dont know who the sender is, but I managed to decode some paragraphs by the use of a key included in the letter. However I can not decode the other paragraphs and the key works not with these, so I want to ask if anybody can help me with this. The other question is that the key for the other paragraphs is "kqaiyawikqeqc" and seems not to be the name of a person or place or thing. Can anybody help with this? Many thanks.

lprjalwsbqpoawafesesexjgmbwvpvkpeiibyqqwbuiyiohqmumqlqbrehzyqldmrwkecbtphkqtahmavrstsmxsggkgzqezdeljvyqhzbuibrpznwwaywg

hatazmjpmydvhtduettkjwafbidsatgqgdfgmrzetruhhqyauiszakqqubpgtpudetldhgivrquqgfycticawpjmnrwyohafnjrycjxgcngvoilzrgtykmm

ccwokbkmnhpxkpdpueiztbkammsigjqdiodisnyftovpixspahderaswaqbdshacpyxridnbugyhnltzhfleboenxqqwmzjwrwodbtiiyaoguiepiumjyog

fsowhuasbhnlmlmialieewwtqvgdfnuxeeuxdqxnjtgwxojzepyaqipxnykixptqrrxpbqhugeemsjmznfefukbrgetzassqjhkbsexmqkdcpirsldcahjv

sgducbdskxxkcqfceiujvtekqhzhdzctbyrgdqodnqdkpzmzmxhizoexeswlszcyrgzlpqegumdxnnmbjvzpzblijqwovgxvrfwqnhflehqesbpjuozxeih

fikrhrkvehifxaelsdaqhgqderveonxiiqwqwlcrzggpyqxsywdkisilhebidnfnebqvbcwtfqcfjpejmwqargwwsoaxztoatztgqgnckuemdjdlxrzlnli

zenvejgohfbxnjhuoirvwp

Well, using a suitable Vigenère key of length 13, the beginning reads:

thefollowingmessagehasbeenencryptedtwicethemiddlesectionshouldbedecryptedfirstusingthiskeywordandthenwiththepreviouskey.

Does that help? —Blotwell 13:52, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Thank you very much! Also, may I know what the key for the beginning is?

The Police Cops

Wasn't The Police Cops supposed to be a fictional television show on The Simpsons?

I'm pretty sure it is. Do you have a source that says otherwise? --Optichan 21:55, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I checked 2007 in television so many times that I thought I would ask you guys. Senor Internet--12.18.90.163 23:20, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I just put the {{references}} tag on that page. Those show names sound mighty suspicious. User:Zoe|^(talk) 02:52, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Can you help me

Hello, I wonder if you can help me out, There was a mini series on TV many years ago based loosely on Dennis Allen and the pettingal family in Melbourne. Can you help me find the name of it and where can I get a copy of it, if available. -- Kind regards Ian Tippet.

I don't have an exact answer, but there is a list of TV series at the bottom of the article Crime in Australia; perhaps something there will look familiar. There was a book published about Kath Pettingill (note spelling), called The Matriarch: The Kathy Pettingill Story, but near as I can tell it has not (yet?) been made into a mini-series. There was a mini-series Blue Murder, which seems to have dealt with similar topics and figures who may have been peripherally connected to the Pettingill family. --LarryMac 18:07, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Administrator request

Would somebody who is an Administrator be so kind to delete file Image:Dragonlord_logo.gif! The better version is on Image:Dragonlord_logo.jpg, this one is unnecessary. Thanks! Death2 22:32, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Done. If you look at Wikipedia:Images and media for deletion you will see that there's a speedy deletion tag. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 00:16, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Editing a picture

How can a add/edit a picture on wikipedia?

See Wikipedia:Picture tutorial. Dismas|^(talk) 00:39, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

How to create an article

Stupid question, I know, but I need to ask since I can't find the answer anywhere...

See Wikipedia:Your first article. Dismas|^(talk) 00:40, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Ancient Olympic Races

I have been told that in the ancient olympic games that in the running events - each runner was given the same distance yet they were given a different path or course to follow. The winner was determined by the first to complete his course. Is this true? Can anyone confirm or deny that for me. Thanks for your help.

I can't answer your question about the different courses, but I can give you a nice trivia tidbit and tell you that they all competed completely naked. -zappa 05:12, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia Pageviews

Is there a way to find out which wikipedia pages are most viewed daily? Thanks in advance! Marak24 01:31, 23 March 2006 (UTC)marak24

Not really. There's an FAQ list entry about this. SInce there are several hundred web servers serving up cached copies of Wikipedia articles in parallel, it'd be quite a bit of work to collate the statistics, and evidently the developers don't feel like it's worth it (nor do I blame them). Although for what it's worth, there is at least one attempt at a most-viewed-pages list here. —Steve Summit (talk) 02:42, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Species of penguin used in the Coat-of-Arms for the Arturo Prat Antarctic Naval Base

Dear Sir,

I collect penguins on worldwide postage stamps. Chile issued a commerative stamp in February 1997 to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Arturo Prat Antaractic Naval Base. (Scott #1204-05). There is a Coat-of-Arms included on the issue. Can you tell me what species of penguin is on the Coat-of-Arms? - - ~ ~ ~

Can you provide a picture ? StuRat 09:40, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Googling for "Arturo Pratt Naval Base" gave me this picture of the coat of arms, but I don't know what species of penguin that is meant to represent... Ferkelparade π 09:53, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I believe the distinctive white areas on the sides of their necks makes them adelie penguins. Those white areas on the neck aren't very apparent when they stretch their heads up, as in the pics in our article, but can be seen at this web page, especially on the two bottom pics: [7]. The other penguin species native to Antarctica is the emperor penguin, but they have yellowish-orange areas on the sides of their necks. StuRat 10:31, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

PC-to-Cellphone SMS?

Is there some way I can send an SMS from my PC to an Australian cellphone for free? I remember ICQ Lite used to this long ago, but it appears it doesn't now.

You can send SMS to any Mobile across the Globe using the Yahoo Messenger Service. This works with Most GSM, TDMA, and CDMA Providers. Please check with the recipient’s mobile Provider, because they might be charged for that.

Not "any Mobile across the Globe." Yahoo Messenger can not send to Sprint PCS users in the US, for example. There is an official list of supported carriers. --LarryMac 15:11, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

There are email-to-cellphone services that let you send email to an address like [email protected] and the email gets forwarded to the phone via SMS. If you know the recipient's provider you can use a vendor-specific address (e.g. [email protected]), otherwise there are generic services that somehow figure out which provider a given phone number belongs to and route it accordingly. —Steve Summit (talk) 17:46, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Why not just try and use your regular email client? MS Outlook (not Outlook Express) works with [email protected] fine. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 17:53, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee

I am in Canada. My Husband from High Wycombe, recently passed away. Found in possession a commemorative medal issued in Chepping Wymcombe, 21st June - looks like a VC but with picture of Queen Victoria front centre. Mayor listed as George Wheeler. Question: Was there a bar and ribbon with the original issue as with an actual VC. I am trying to validate this piece of history. By the way, excellent information on Queen Victoria which I have read with enthusiam. So glad to have found you.--66.222.192.35 06:57, 23 March 2006 (UTC)Melanie Rogers

is it this one? You need to scroll down to see all the pictures. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 07:09, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Or is it more like this. None of them so far look like they would have space for the mayors name. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 07:19, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

If the medal was issued by a Mayor or a town then it is unlikely to be a VC, these are made by the Jewellers Hancocks of London & won't say issued by anyone on them (except possibly for issued by the Army or Crown). AllanHainey 13:52, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I didn't read it properly. It "looks like a VC" so the medal would not be a round jubilee medal but would look more like this but with Victoria's head on it instead of the lion. Melanie, are there any other words on it besides the mayors name. Also you might want to try Chepping Wycombe and email somebody listed there. They might have some information or know where to find it. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 16:43, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Peer to Peer and Client server

Would someone please help me in answering my question which is, in Peer to Peer networks, can someone say on computer A access their work on a different computer? like in Client server? and what is the main difference between Peer to Perr networks and Client servers and what is remote acees and Modem sharing.

Thank you

You can read all about the peer-to-peer and client-server models through our wonderful Wikipedia articles. If you still have questions then, or there is a specific concept you want to ask more about, come back and we'll do our best to help you. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 11:44, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Which network has more security and privacy? h=whci network is best used for a company that has 8 computers but each have a different purpose with different databases?

sex percent?

At any given time, what si the average percentage of adults in the world engaged in sexual intercourse? I'd hazard a guess at about 0.03%. Any stats out there? Cheers, you wonderful ppl. --Knotted 10:41, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

That estimate seems rather low to me, being about 3 minutes out of every week for every adult. I would expect it to be, maybe, 10x higher than that, even taking into account those adults who aren't sexually active. Also note that the estimate would be even higher if you had asked "engaged in sexual relations", rather than "intercourse", due to the many sexual activities other than intercourse. StuRat 11:33, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

What is 'Estrogenic' and 'Mastogenic' Food/Herbs?

What is 'Estrogenic' and 'Mastogenic' Food/Herbs? Please Name some of them, (the common ones) and their potency?

I wonder which ones enable students to do their own homework. StuRat 11:36, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I am not a student...it is a question out of interest

Found : 671,000 for Estrogenic [definition]. (0.20 seconds). Some of the first answers include the term "Herb". Guess where ? --DLL 20:37, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I think he's trying to tell you to go do a www.google.com [8] search. StuRat 23:47, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Search does not show my article

I wrote an article on an author 'Hyatt Verrill'. I think that I did everything correctly and the page can be found using alphabetic search but if you type his name into the search tool the result is not obvious. How do I ensure the result comes up as a 100% match in the search engine?

newby
thanks —This unsigned comment was added by Frizzled (talk • contribs) 13:11, March 23, 2006 (UTC).

I presume you're talking about Alpheus Hyatt Verrill? You will find him if you type his name exactly into the search and click "Go", but you'll have to wait a bit before finding him through "Search" - the wiki index is huge, and it takes the system several weeks to update it. Be patient, your article will appear on there soon! — QuantumEleven | (talk) 13:18, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Career Oppurtunities...

hii..... I am looking this for a friend actually.....i would like to know the career opportunities in India if someone does economics honours.... I'll appreciate any help...!! Thanks a lot!!!!!! Jayant,17 Years, India • contribs 18:31, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Prince of Spain

please tell me more about the prince of spain felipe (I put a heading to it...Jayant,17 Years, India • contribs 19:05, 23 March 2006 (UTC))

Felipe, Prince of Asturias. David Sneek 20:01, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

translation software

I noticed that the Wikipedia website can be translated into Polish. Many translation software packages do NOT include Polish, so I was wondering if anyone knew how this was accomplished. I am assisting in a project, part of which entails translating a medical research site from Polish to English.

I would greatly appreciate any information on this subject.

Thanks,

Advocate

Although users can take inspiration from articles in other language versions of Wikipedia, articles are usually written independently in each language and not translated. Machine translations are horibly unreliable anyway. --Nelson Ricardo 19:53, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Will Shortz

Will Shortz, the fabulous puzzle maker, is an idol of mine. I am interested im making sudoku puzzles, and wonder if I can get some tips from him. If you have any way I can contact him, e-mail preferably, that would be great!

Thank you so much Wikipedia!

Frankly, I have to doubt that he's going to drop his other projects to write out a set of tips for you. You might use your one-time 14-day free trial of Times Select to read this article by Shortz about Sudoku on the Times website, to see if it has suggestions. Our article on Sudoku has an external link to a "Let's Make Sudoku" website, so maybe you could develop your basic technique there and defer querying Shortz until you need help with the fine points.

If you really want to try to reach Shortz: I've dealt with other people at the Times, whose email addresses were in the format [email protected] or [email protected], so one of them might work. JamesMLane t c 10:12, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Deleting an uploaded file

How can I delete a picture that I uploaded? I accidently put it up for public domain and I don't want it up anymore.

While the picture could be deleted as it's already in the public domain I'm not sure that would help. If someone has reused it on a web site I don't think there is much you can do about it now. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 20:56, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I want to delete it anyway. Could you tell me how?

You seem to have uploaded several. Some of which all look the same except fot the name. You can't delete it as you're not an admin but if you tell me which one I'll check it out. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 21:47, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't want any of them up anymore. Could you please take them down?

It seems the reason several of them are the same is because he's replaced them with other images. Did you see his picture of a dragon/gun? --Optichan 22:37, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

If you uploaded it and want it deleted, edit the picture header (click the "Edit" button) and add {{db-author}}. An admin will come along and delete it for you. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 08:56, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Peeling Shrimp

Can anyone tell me if there is a machine designed to peel shrimp? If so how does it work? Will it peel popcorn shrimp? Thanks WSC

I would assume there would have to be an industrial process for it based on the volume of shrimp sold in the world. Our shrimp article doesn't give the answer, and our most detailed article on shrimp, shrimp farm doesn't either, but the external links and sources there may provide your answer. The author of the latter article may know too, so consider asking on his talk page. You may also know there is a curved plastic spike you can get that is useful when peeling and de-veining by hand. - Taxman ^Talk 23:50, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I thought it was hand-peeled overseas with cheap labor. The Jade Knight 05:03, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

There are several companies in the U.S. that produce shrimp peeling machines for processor and restaurant use including Gregor Jonsson, Inc. and Prawnto. There are also several companies abroad, including ones from Taiwan and Iceland. Gregor Jonsson's website, with pictures and a machine description, is <http://www.jonsson.com/>.

Are buildings protected works?

We are used to the concept of intellectual property when it comes to books, movies, music, etc., but what protects architecture, if anything? I suppose the blueprints are copyrighted by the architects, and I further suppose that an IMAGE of a building can be copyrighted, or tradmarked if used in a logo, but is there any other protection? Let's say I want to build an office building, and I decide to copy the Transamerica Pyramid. Can anyone stop me? Brian Schlosser42 21:21, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

This website is rather helpful: US Copyright Office FAQ. Anything created after 1990 is subject to copyright protection, but not anything built before, so if you chose to, copying the Transamerica Pyramid would not violate copyright law. — TheKMan^talk 01:39, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Does copyright of the architecture prevent legally taking an image of a building? I seem to remember that it doesn't, except perhaps of the interior. Rmhermen 01:51, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I dunno about the US, but in the UK it doesn't.[9] (The same is true for sculptures, models of buildings, and "work[s] of artistic craftsmanship", whatever they are.) -- AJR | Talk 02:02, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

In the US, only the actual building and plans are copyrighted. However, this is not the case for all countries. From Commons:Licensing:

• For a picture of the interior of a building, note that the architect may hold some rights if distinct architectural features are shown (this is true at least in Germany).
• For a picture of the exterior of a building, note that the architect may hold some rights; in some countries, this only applies if the picture was taken from a non-public place (Germany, Austria), but in some others this applies wherever the picture was taken from (France).

Hope this helps! — TheKMan^talk 03:45, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

That helps a great deal. The circular on the Paten Office site is fascinating, at least to a nerd like me. Thanks!Brian Schlosser42 13:35, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

The concepts exists in France, and you can go to the courts if someone uses a photograph of your property (house, boat, ...) for a commercial use and this causes real "trouble" to your rights :

"Seule l’exploitation commerciale de l’image du bien d’autrui est susceptible d’être contestée ; la cour de cassation exige de surcroît que l’exploitation de l’image du bien porte un trouble certain au droit d’usage ou de jouissance du propriétaire" [10]

Word Problem

Hello. I have been trying to think of a term for the past few days and it is bugging the heck out of me. What is the term when lets say you have a box of tissues and you say "I want a Kleenex." Its like when everyday things take on the name of a "Name brand" Item. If anyone could help it would be greatly appriciated. Zach 22:53, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Generic trademark. --Sam Pointon United FC 23:01, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

mac os emulator

there is a mac os emulator?? (like there is a snes emulator, DOS emulator...)

There are PowerPC emulators like CherryOS and PearPC, but I strongly doubt that there is an independent implementation of Mac OS. —Keenan Pepper 00:31, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia articles locked for editing

On average, how many Wikipedia articles are locked at any given time? I understand the reasons behind such decisions (repeated vandalism, et cetera) but am just trying to understand how many of the 1,000,000+ articles are locked at any given time. Thanks in advance, Dennis in Colorado72.174.12.134 00:05, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

There are 43 locked pages and 29 semi-locked pages  -- Run!  00:11, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Y'all are amazing in your quick responses to questions. Thanks very much. Dennis in Colorado.

We should have an informal competition for who can provide a real solid answer to a given question in the shortest time. I thought my eight minutes above was impressive, but this six-minuter suitly emphazi's Run!'s ability. --Sam Pointon United FC 03:11, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Agree that was impressively quick. Perhaps a travelling trophy that stays either with the person with the current quickest answer or the quickest answer of the week. Although a better trophy might be for the person that creates or expands the best article out of an answer for the reference desk. Or a super trophy to the editor that creates a legitimate, referenced article as the first answer to a question. That would take the cake. - Taxman ^Talk 04:24, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure about the speed of reply as there are too many question that can be answered by saying "see our article on x" or saying "look at all the google results". I like the second idea better. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 05:25, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

The 43 protected isn't quite right. There are subcategories too, including several hundred pages that have been protected to prevent recreation of previously deleted material. Night Gyr 18:51, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

March 24

Contacts/address for GHQ Rawalpindi Pakistan

Hi I am an ex-army officer here in canada, I need to send my resume/latest qualifications to army GHQ in pakistan in particular to a Directorate dealing with retired army officers, can you please give me fax or email address for GHQ-- Thanks Khan

The Pakistan Army's website is at http://www.pakarmy.gov.pk/ but currently their server seems to be down. -- Arwel (talk) 20:51, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

dc universe question

i saw here (http://dcu.smartmemes.com/) that in The End of Time in dc universe, the dc universe will be "destroyed" (i don't remember what comic shows this) and after this the Time will loops around to its own beginning. (Flash v2 #141). So my question is, if the dc universe will loops backs, after looping back for the first time, what will occur in the year of the marvel versus dc things [since only dc universe will loops back, so the marvel universe will be in a very far future, and since that ultramega-gods that created dc and marvel are friends now (since the multiverse where those gods are didin't looped back) they will not try to make a war between those 2 universes]

A Good Reference Desk Question?

What is an example of a good reference desk question? What are the general suggestions for a good reference desk question? Vertigociel 02:50, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

---

I thought this was a fairly good question: [11]

Specifically, it included enough info for us to find the answer, including the countries/regions in question, yet wasn't so obvious that they should have been able to figure it out themselves. It also didn't appear to be a homework question. StuRat 03:45, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I changed the example question on Wikipedia:Questions to that. Now maybe people will ask that instead of the Hitler one. =P —Keenan Pepper 04:00, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Cool, now we will have endless penguin questions instead. StuRat 12:42, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Yes, penguins are hot! That's why the sea-ice is melting nowadays. --DLL 19:46, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

It has already started... Grutness...wha? 11:02, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

(That was the original one. =P) —Keenan Pepper 05:21, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Single mothers in Canada in the 1900's

What was it like to be a single mother back in the 1900's? Were they shunned by their families and community? What happened to the child, was abortion or adoption an option? Also, what was the typical marriage age and were the marriages arranged by the parents or were they allowed to marry whomever they wanted? If they did have the child, were the mothers allowed to work and if so where would they typically work and how much would they get paid? After they had a child out of wedlock, would they be able to get married?

Do you mean 1900-1909 or 1900-1999 ? If you meant the later, things changed dramatically in that period, so no one answer will do. StuRat 03:34, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Evil, evil RPG games

What are some RPG video games that either allow the player to choose to be really really evil or have an evil evil protagonist on an evil evil quest for world/galactic/universal domination? ie. evil and megalomaniacal. There's the KotOR series, Baldur's Gate series, and to an extent Neverwinter Nights series. What others? -- Миборовский ^{U|T|C|M|E|Chugoku Banzai!} 04:54, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

• The Fallout series, Planescape: Torment, Fable and, to a lesser extent, The Matrix Online all come to mind. Fallout and Planescape are from some of the same designers as KOTOR and BG. -Sean Curtin 05:38, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Played all except Fable. Lacked megalomania. :( Just how evil do you get to be in Fable? :D -- Миборовский ^{U|T|C|M|E|Chugoku Banzai!} 06:11, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Not quite an RPG, but would Black & White count? You get to be an evil GOD! — QuantumEleven | (talk) 08:53, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

How about the Grand Theft Auto series ? StuRat 12:20, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

If mmorpg count there is ultima online you can kill everyone depending of the place that you are [there is a "world", that is the almost same of the of another but you cant kill players there, (in the other "world" if kill in the cities a guard that do instant kill will appear].

left handed? ambidextrous?

I use my right hand for writing and for pulling the trigger during range practice, but my left hand for everything else. Am I left-handed, or ambidextrous, or...? — Kimchi.sg | Talk 05:02, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

You're left handed. I pick up baseball/cricket bats, hockey sticks, guitars etc left handed but everything else I do right handed. My litte sister is completely left handed except when she plays darts which she does right handed. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 05:17, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

It depends really with which hand you used when you learnt the stuff... when we are small we just start learning stuff with whichever hand we feel comfortable... but i'd say you are mostly left handed..... Jayant,17 Years, India • contribs 05:26, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I think it depends on how much you use each hand. These days, most people tap at keyboards more than they write, so the writing hand is probably less prominent that it was before. That probably makes you a left-hander with some right-handed quirks. But if you write for your living, and write in long hand, then this would make you a right-hander with some left-handed quirks. Either way, you're not totally one or the other. But I'm very curious - were you naturally right-handed with writing, or was this forced upon you by school or parents? I've heard of people having quirks with certain things, but not with handwriting. JackofOz 06:42, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

You sound cross-dominant. I'm the same - write and play tennis with my left hand, but I use scissors and bat right handedly, but I prefer my left foot for kicking, yet my right foot is more dextrous for ball skills. My picture should probably appear in the cross dominance article for illustrative purposes. --Sam Pointon United FC 11:57, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Remember too that handedness is not a polarity but an axis. You can be predominantly left- or right-handed just as easily as you can be totally left- or right-handed. (I, for example, write and play guitar right-handedly but usually use "strength tools" like screwdrivers and canopeners with my left. I can also play darts equally badly with either hand). Grutness...wha? 11:12, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

There was a study done once about handedness, and the results showed that left-handed children who were forced to become right-handed had more trouble thinking, developed dyslexia, and had more mental problems than normal left- or right-handed people. This shows that handedness is not something caused by the environment but is already programmed into our brains at the time we are born. If this handedness is forcibly reversed, communication problems of some sort arise between the two halves of the brain. 84.154.127.26 12:31, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

greece

this dictionary does not tell me what types of things can be exported from greece help please ! thanks

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a dictionary. Does Economy of Greece answer your question? —Keenan Pepper 05:41, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Also see Greece#Economy. Theshibboleth 06:05, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Adding Links

I just entered the subject heading called Quantum Reality. There are a few terms used that I would like linked to other articles in Wikipedia. How do I do this? Don Roberts

Your article is at Quantum idealism not Quantum Reality. I suggest you read the articles that someone posted links for on your talk page for instructions on how to do things on Wikipedia like making links. Dismas|^(talk) 06:03, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Websites for issuing a hacker challenge?

What websites are there where you can issue a challenge to hackers/crackers to hack into a site? (It's for a newspaper article.) Theshibboleth 05:59, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

See honeynet. -- Миборовский ^{U|T|C|M|E|Chugoku Banzai!} 06:14, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't think that's what I'm looking for. Theshibboleth 07:14, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

You could try making a webpage describing your challenge, and then submitting the link to various news sites, like slashdot and digg. You'd have to offer some kind of reward, though, to get people's attention. Night Gyr 18:54, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

cracking nuckles

I was always told not to crack my muckles because it would give me arthritise ( ithink that is how you spell it) is this tru or is it just a lie to stop me from cracking them? if it is true can you please explain to me how is causes arthritise.

Many thanks

According to this, this, this, and our own marvellous article on cracking joints, the link between cracking your knuckles and arthritis is a weak one. However, it probably won't do you much good, either.

(plus, it's annoying to other people... ;-) ) — QuantumEleven | (talk) 08:51, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Difference between bottled and canned beer

I know a lot of people who wont touch canned beers prefering bottled ones. Whats the difference between the two anyway, content-wise? And also where would draft (keg?) beer fit in all this? Thanks you! 83.5.184.116 09:47, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't think the content is any different. The fear is that the beer reacts with the metal can and absorbs a metallic flavor. This can't happen with glass. At least beer makers don't put it in plastic bottles, which seem to leach toxic chemicals into the liquid (this is why bottled water expires). StuRat 12:11, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

They sell plastic bottles of beer at sporting events in the US... I've never had one, but I've seen many of them at ball games. Brian Schlosser42 13:41, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Beer in plastic bottles is quite a commonplace thing in Poland and middle/eastern European countries [from Poland all the down to Bulgaria and Romania], especially in large markets [think Tesco, Geant and the like]; they're usually cheap, sometimes imported, 1,5-litre bottles sold in six-packs like mineral water. Have never tried them, but I can imagine the experience is less than interesting if you're a beer lover. As for the question, there is no difference between canned and bottled beer, ingredient-wise, it's mostly about the packaging and environmental stuff. My preference is glass, because really - the beer does not interact with it. Ouro 16:30, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Another reason to dislike cans is how the tab is pushed down into the beer, thus polluting the beer with whatever was on the outside of the can. This can be addressed by washing each can before opening, but that's a pain. StuRat 12:11, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Keg beer fits into the can category to me, although with larger volume-to-surface area ratios and shorter shelf lives there is less opportunity for it to acquire a metallic taste. StuRat 12:11, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

About 10 years ago there was a wee spate of poisonings because people had drunk beer out of the bottles & the bottles had previously been pissed on by rats so folk got a disease. That could be one reason agains bottled beer (or at least drinking directly from the bottle). AllanHainey 12:39, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I heard that, but about cans. With bottles the beer should never be polluted by rats pissing on the outside, unless you wrap your lips on the stem below the point which was covered by the cap. In cans, anything on the tab ends up in the beer and the person's lips go on the top and part of the side of the can, as well. StuRat 14:06, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Read this and also think about the phrase Urban Legend. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 14:13, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

That article does say that hantavirus and leptospirosis can both be passed on to humans from animals in this way, although they know of no specific instances, and they add that human handlers may also have contaminated the cans with other transmissible diseases. They then echoed my advice to wash off the top of the cans before opening them. One thing in that article didn't make sense to me, though; they said that cardboard containers would protect cans from rat urine. Those boxes have lots of holes in them and urine could soak through, in any case. Other cans come in plastic six-packs, with the tops fully exposed. StuRat 14:33, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Bottled, canned and keg beer are almost always filtered and pasteurised, killing the yeast and terminating the natural reactions that were going on. (There are few exceptions in bottled beers; these are all "lumpy"). British beer drinkers frequently claim that only cask conditioned beer is worthwhile. This is kept alive in a barrel, continuing its reactions until the moment it is poured. (Lumps are allowed to settle in the barrel and shouldn't make it to the glass). This is unusual outside the UK, and in some areas is hard to find even within the UK. British beer drinkers frequently assert too that it should be served warm, so you can taste it, rather than ice cold. "Warm" is an oversimplification: what is meant is traditional cellar temperature, perhaps 8-12 C. So I will claim: canned, bottled, kegged: if it's ice cold it could be any old rubbish but you won't taste it so it doesn't really matter. Notinasnaid 12:44, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

To claim that bottled beer is "almost always" pasteurized is an exaggeration. In fact, there are hundreds of bottle-conditioned beers produced in the U.S., as well as some of the most famous beers of Europe. Most of these have a minimal amount of yeast that settles to the bottom of the bottle, and does not cloud the beer significantly. Dforest 12:16, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

DANDRUFF!

I wash my hair regularly but i'm still plagued by the itchy monsters. i'm notsure what causes it and is there any way i can get rid of it? my mom says it is cuased by leaving my hair wet after swimming or just putting condition to my hair in the morning. it has become a real problem now as it sometimes it keeps me out of sleep as i end up scrathing most of the night. whats the best why to get rid of it?

thanks guys! --Crazypinkster 10:35, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Some things to watch out for:

• You might be allergic to chlorine, in which case you should always take a shower after swimming, and possibly try shampooing, too, to remove the chlorine from your scalp.

• Always be sure to fully rinse all the shampoo out of your hair. Any left in can cause flakes directly or irritate the scalp and cause it to flake and itch.

• The oils on the scalp are removed when you shampoo, so a conditioner is needed to replenish them. Don't use a combined shampoo/conditioner, that just doesn't work. Shampooing less often would also help, but might not be an option, as if you swim in chlorine filled pools regularly.

• If you are on a low fat diet, that will reduce the oil produced by your skin and scalp. Eliminating most animal fats is fine, but unsaturated fish oils and vegetable oils are quite healthy, so you should consider consuming more of those, such as olive oil.

• You could have a vicious cycle going where the itching causes you to scratch, which irritates the scalp, which causes it to flake, which causes it to itch more, which starts the cycle over again. In that case, perhaps you need to use a shampoo with menthol, eucalyptus, or another local anesthetic to stop the itching, and thus break the cycle.

• Try alternating use of Neutrogena T-Gel and Neutrogena T-Sal with every other shampoo. I must warn you, though, the T-Gel smells like tar and the T-Sal stings.

• If none of this works, see a dermatologist, you may have a medical condition, such as psoriasis, especially if the dandruff is isolated to one area.

StuRat 11:44, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Also try dandruff shampoos which contain zinc pyrithione or selenium sulfide. If you're already using one of those, try switching to the other. —Keenan Pepper 13:23, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

evaluate whether the move to India of UK companies call centres should be prevented by the UK government

i am conserned that these business are moving out of the UK and damaging the UK economy and stakeholders such as employees, customers, UK government and shareholders of these companies

That's not a question. What information do you want? Mark^{your words} 12:45, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Assuming you are looking for criteria whereby any law blocking such moves could be evaluated, here are some possibilities:

• National security. Moving jobs in core defense industries to foreign companies could be a defense issue, but this doesn't appear to apply here.

• Job loss. Such a law could be passed to protect jobs, but India might respond with similar economic sanctions against the UK. Also, such a law might violate rules of the Commonwealth of Nations, EU, or World Trade Organization.

• Consumer protection. Workers in other countries frequently speak poor English and are unfamiliar with the product or service they are supporting, thus making such phone support of little value. However, if a company wants to offer poor service to it's customers, that is generally considered to be their choice. Thus, if customers object and leave the company, it will reform or go bankrupt. If customers don't do so, then apparently they are willing to accept the lower level of call support in exchange for the lower price the company can charge by using substandard foreign workers.

StuRat 13:16, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

And of course the market forces StuRat refers to in his third option are already in play -- Natwest, for instance, makes heavy play in its advertising of the fact that all its call centres are in the UK. --Bth 15:20, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

My funniest experience with a foreign call center went like this:

Me: "When I go into the function, it just blows up on me."

Operator: "I'm sorry, sir, if there is an explosion, this must be a hardware issue, our software could not possibly be to blame." StuRat 15:59, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I've heard that some call centers are quite accurate and people, speaking really fluently any language, are trained to imitate the regional accent indicated by the calling phone number. Citation needed - but I have no idea for now.

Jobs are going away from rich countries. If those countries can stay rich, it's with imagination (innovation) and/or by brute force ; and maybe people won't find that the need to work is so compelling if money stays there. --DLL 19:24, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

How often is wikipedia abused?

I am in a debate class and I need some figures on how often or how many times people post spoof articles or articles that are clearly lies. I know how well the people that work with wikipedia do at screening the articles to ensure perfection but it is not possible to maintain a 100% accuracy rate.

Thanks -- Jeremy

Compare the new pages log with the deletion log. Someone may have some stats collated, but most new articles are either junk or obviously legitimate. You may also want to look at WP:AFD and WP:CSD. If an article is seen by a few editors it is very unlikely a spoof article would make it through for long, as the verifiability and no original research policies get applied, and if the article creator can't substantiate the material, it gets deleted. - Taxman ^Talk 15:10, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

You also need to factor in damage to existing articles - a much more frequent abuse than posting junk. I'd guesstimate 2 or 3 incidents per minute. --Tagishsimon (talk)

You'll also want to probably distinguish between obvious vandalism and subtle vandalism. The former is spottable by anybody and there are even some test bots running to screen for that (swear words and blanking, for example, are easy to spot). The latter are spottable only by experts or people are very attentive and willing to verify new things -- subtle changing of facts, adding of incorrect information, etc. The incidence of the former is much higher than the latter, but easier to spot. --Fastfission 22:44, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

The journal Nature did a very good study of just this topic in Dec 2005, concluding that Wikipedia is about as accurate as the Enyclopedia Britannica. Ref: Giles, Jim (2005). "Internet encyclopaedias go head to head". Nature: –.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)

A heads up - Enyclopedia Britannica have recently published a reply to the Nature article [12], and Nature have responded to it (link to PDF)[13].--inks^T 00:03, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

people search

how can I use this site to locate old friends?

Which site ? Most will need the full name, including maiden name of women, some indication of the location, and any other info you have, like a phone number or e-mail address. StuRat 15:47, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

If by "this site" you mean Wikipedia, then, very likely no - unless they have become famous/notable enough to merit their own article on Wikipedia. But even then you'll only find out their biography, not their contact details. You may want something like Friends Reunited. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 16:52, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps they want to locate Wikipedia users ? Their talk pages, contributions, etc. ? StuRat 20:23, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Try using http://www.switchboard.com and http://www.anywho.com

Medication

I have some medications that I need to know what they are used for and side effects. These are the medications in question: Trileptal, Hydroxyz HCL, Lithium Carb, Prochlorper, Ribavirin. These are my father's meds. and I have Children....Should I lock these meds. up?

Sincerely, A Concerned Mom of 3

In general, lock all medications away from children. For unbiased info on the effectiveness and side-effects of prescription drugs, I suggest www.worstpills.org: [14], which is not funded by the pharmaceutical companies, but rather by members. (You can get basic info for free, but more detail requires a subscription.) StuRat 16:16, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Here is their basic (free) entry for TRILEPTAL:

Serious Skin Reactions with the 
Seizure Drug Oxcarbazepine (TRILEPTAL) 
(June 2005) 
Oxcarbazepine (TRILEPTAL) has been 
associated with life-threatening skin  
reactions. If you or a family member 
develop AN ALLERGIC reaction or a skin 
rash while taking oxcarbazepine (TRILEPTAL), 
contact the prescribing physician immediately. 

StuRat 16:31, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

As Stu says, it is a good practice to keep all medications locked up. Here is some information on each one, which I found using Google:

Trileptal is a medicine to treat partial seizures in adults. It is taken alone or with other seizure medicines. Taken with other seizure medicines, Trileptal is also used to help treat partial seizures in children 4-16 years old. FDA

Hydroxyz HCL seems to be an antihistamine of some kind. Didn't get a lot of detail on this one.

Lithium Carbonate -- Use: Treatment of manic episodes of manic-depressive illness

PROCHLORPER SUP 2.5MG / PROCHLORPERAZINE (proe-klor-PAIR-a-zeen) -- This medicine is a phenothiazine used to treat nausea and vomiting. It may also be used to treat other conditions as determined by your doctor.

Ribavirin is an anti-viral drug used by many hospitals in the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus infection. It is considered by some physicians to be an effective and sometimes life-saving drug, but studies have also indicated that the drug may pose a reproductive risk to health care workers. Ribavirin causes birth defects in test animals given small doses of the drug.

I think you might want to make sure your father's doctor is aware of all of these prescriptions. --LarryMac 16:25, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Even common household drugs like paracetamol (acetaminophen/Tylenol) will kill if taken in an overdose. As a concerned parent, you should not only lock up all drugs, but think very hard about how you can make sure a bored/michievous/curious child cannot get to them: children will put a lot of trouble to get where they are not allowed. For instance, key in your clothes drawer... no, they will find it. Notinasnaid 16:26, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Point number one: As everyone else has said, you should always, always, always keep medicines out of reach of children. ALWAYS.

Point number two: You're much better off consulting a trained doctor over medical affairs than a bunch of random strangers online.

Having said which, at a complete wild guess judging solely from online info and not from any medical expertise (because I have none), it looks like your father is receiving treatment for bipolar disorder (the Trileptal, lithium carb and prochlorperazine) and a viral infection, most likely Hepatitis C (Ribavirin is an antiviral). The hydroxyzine may be for the bipolar as well (it can reduce anxiety), or he may be receiving it to counteract the nauseous effects of some of the others, or he might just have hayfever (its primary use is as an antihistamine).

Let me just emphasise again: keep medicines away from children and talk to a medical professional.

I do hope your father feels better soon, it sounds like he's in rather a bad way. --Bth 16:40, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

A Listing on the group "Mission America"

Here's my question. I am the founder and president of Mission America, and I now find that someone has entered a listing for our group which is insulting and inaccurate. It's at

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mission_America_%28Columbus%2C_Ohio%29&action=edit

How do I change it? I believe the person who did this is Earl Pike of Cleveland, who has major current disagreements with my organization's viewpoint, and is generally making a nuisance of himself.

I'd appreciate the opportunity to write about this organization myself. Thanks!

Linda Harvey, President, Mission America (email removed to protect your inbox)

You already seem to have found the edit button on that article. Now just make your changes, add a comment as to what you changed and why you changed it in the one line comment box at the bottom, and then hit the "Save page" button, basically the same process you used to add this question. However, beware that articles are supposed to be neutral, so if you write a glowing article about only the positive aspects of your org and/or insult Earl Pike, your changes will likely be reverted. StuRat 16:53, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Pages can be edited by clicking the "Edit this Page" link at the top of the article. I suggest you create a wikipedia account and read the information on how to write articles, particually about being Non Point of View. Because of your participation in the company it's suggested you add comments in the discussion page about what you would like the article to contain, or information regarding it from a reputable source, as there is some Wikipedia legislation regarding editing articles about you or your company, as they often are biased. I suggest if you don't want to make additions to the article you remove blatently untrue and biased information using the method i stated above. Hope this helps :) -Benbread 16:46, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

(after edit conflict) Hi there! Wikipedia is a wiki, which means anyone (yes, that includes you!) can edit any article, including the article in question - just click on the 'Edit' button (which you already seem to have found), change, add and remove text, click Save, and presto! All done.

A few pointers, however - editing articles about organisations of which you are a member (or, in this case, the President!) is frowned upon, mainly because Wikipedia has a policy of Neutral Point of View, and it may be difficult to be neutral about something in which you are so intimately involved. However, if you feel you can write an neutral article, feel free to contribute, but I should be fair and warn you that your edits may be watched a little closer on that subject than if you edited something unrelated. The general rule is, if an article is very slanted towards one point of view, someone with a better sense of balance will come along and improve it sooner or later anyway.

Also, please keep civility in mind - Wikipedia often deals with very controversial subjects, subjects which may inflame strong passions in our contributors. Always remember to stay cool, and don't attack other contributors just because they may see a subject in a different light.

Best of luck on Wikipedia! If you have any questions about anything, feel free to leave a message on my talk page, and I'd be happy to help you. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 16:50, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

how does this web site get it new or info

positive impacts

can you please help me to find out about mcdonalds company and the impact they bring to the people of south africa? what they have done to empower south african people?

Do your own scarily-corporate-sponsored homework. You could try starting at the South African McDonalds site and clicking on "Good Works". (Apologies if it's not corporate sponsored homework; maybe I've been reading too much Naomi Klein.) --Bth 19:58, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

They have empowered blacks in South Africa to have many of the same things as those of us in the US enjoy...high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, etc. StuRat 20:19, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

And low-paying jobs. User:Zoe|^(talk) 23:15, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

According to general economic theory, people will make the choices best suited to their individual needs and wants. If someone is choosing to work at McDonalds, it is likely that there is no better alternative (or at least, none that that individual is aware of). I don't work at McDonalds, because I can get a better paying job doing something else - but if I were fifteen with no work experience and only able to work 8 hours a week, the choices probably are 1) Do nothing, or 2) Work at McDonalds. Might not be great, but better than nothing. Even a low-paying, pseudo-dead-end McDonalds job "empowers" someone by providing some income, work experience, and a chance at advancement.--inks^T 23:55, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

business plan

how do you write up a business plan?

Have you read the article on business plans? Dismas|^(talk) 23:28, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Try using the article Business plan. In Soviet Russia, business plan uses YOU!!

That should be "In Soviet Russia, Business Plans write YOU!!" :) --inks^T 23:57, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

cnadian stocks

Which Canadian stocks should I buy? I plan to keep them for about 2 months, so which ones will gain the most value (if I bought $100,000 worth of stocks).--uuu[UTC-05:00; 12:03]

If we knew that then we'd all be lounging about with stacks of our money laying around and not here. We can't predict the future any better than you can. Dismas|^(talk) 00:51, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

I beg to differ.--uuu[UTC-5:00; 12:03]

On which point? Dismas|^(talk) 01:09, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

I was under the impression that most Wikipedians are unemployed, which wouldn't make this the best place for financial advice. Yeltensic42 don't panic 20:20, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

The best job on earth : accountant for stock holders. --DLL 21:06, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

I suggest Barrick Gold as it is the only Canadian stock I know, let us know if you make any money. AllanHainey 11:41, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

No surely you meant Bre-X! Rmhermen 18:09, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

If you could go backin time to last Thursday Tim Hortons would clearly have been the answer. Except that you would have had to own a mutual fund to get any. DJ Clayworth 20:32, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

March 25

game

What is the name of the biggest game company in the world?

Mattel? —Keenan Pepper 01:06, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

If you include companies that don't just make games, how about Sony, or even Microsoft ? StuRat 03:22, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Who

Who is the richest,most powerful and most famous man without a High School diploma? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 206.170.104.24 (talk • contribs) 01:11, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

The proper answer depends on your definition of famous and whether by ‘is’ you mean living. Power too is difficult to measure, consider Pol Pot or Mao. I guess until recently, Saddam Hussein might have been the answer.

Thomas Edison had three months of formal education. Joseph Stalin had no formal education. Harland David Sanders, the Colonel, had no formal education. Forest Mars, who died in 1999, is certainly one of the richest uneducated self-made men, though not famous as a person, but for his family name. BellCurve 12:37, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Well, if we're talking people from history, then both Jesus and Muhammad (PBUH) have had a tad of influence. Grutness...wha? 00:33, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

• As far as contemporary people, Richard Branson is a billionaire high school dropout. The list of billionaire college dropouts is pretty remarkable (start with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs). --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 18:16, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Certainly Muhammad the son of `Abdullah (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) would meet the criteria, but Jesus (The Christ) was neither rich nor famous in his lifetime.--BellCurve 18:19, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

How to write a 1 act play

I need to write a one act play for school (4 cast members). I've been given little advice on how to go about doing this, so I'll ask here.

1. How long is one act? (in both text and time)

2. What is the best way for me to go about writing the play? Flea110 01:36, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

A one-act play is generally a half hour to an hour in length. A page of dialogue generally takes a minute to act out, so you're looking at 30 to 60 pages. That's including a lot of spacing. A plot almost always has a conflict and a resolution. Characterization is also very important. One of the big mistakes made by novice writers and bad writers is to neglect to give each character an individual voice. You don't want all your characters to sound the same like those overly verbose kids in Dawson's Creek.

Make sure you write each page carefully with all dialouge and props and characters written correctly. Note that if you need any sort of scenery to have that written out too. 40 pages would take approximately 45 minutes to act out. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.165.154.9 (talk • contribs)

I've copied the above comment from the section below to here. -- Slumgum | yap | stalk | 20:00, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Mind you, I very much doubt that your teacher is really expecting a play that long unless this is a semester-length project (I assume you're a high school student, not a university student). I would think you should clarify with your teacher about how big a play is expected. --Robert Merkel 12:59, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

It's a bit of a unique situation, but he was expecting a play that long. Things have changed recently though, so it turns out I won't have to write it after all. Good information to know, though. Flea110 22:01, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

effectiveness of communication campaning during reality show

about marketing managmanet

Whatever it is, it's sure to be better than the effectiveness of the communication skills displayed in this "question". Do you seriously expect anybody to know what you want? JackofOz 02:19, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

As near as I can figure, they are asking about the effectiveness of placing political campaign ads on TV during a reality show. This is for their Marketing Management class. StuRat 03:15, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Make sure you write each page carefully with all dialouge and props and characters written correctly. Note that if you need any sort of scenery to have that written out too. 40 pages would take approximately 45 minutes to act out.

The asker should suitly emphazi. Yeltensic42 don't panic 20:16, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

I can tell you that your marketing campaign will not be effective if you don't spell correctly. (Unless, I dunno, maybe it's a campaign for spell checking software, which you don't see often). KWH 20:57, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

yoga room design

What sort of design do you suggest for a yoga room in my condo which is to be located in a windowless cement block basement in need of floor heating air conditioning lighting and some simple storage?DavidWorl 02:18, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Looking forward to your responses. David

You already asked this and it was already answered. StuRat 03:08, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Here is your previous question: [15] StuRat 03:35, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Do you need a yoga room with a notepad ? --DLL 21:02, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

sega dc vs 3do

what system have the better specs???

The DC, by far.

Museum:people

What country has the highest museum to person ratio?

Probably Vatican City. --Nelson Ricardo 04:59, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Nameless Anime

Well, I was watching a huge collection of random Anime Music Video clips, and twice during this collection, several scenes from a very intreguing-seeming anime came up. The best I can describe it as — AMV, after all — is an anime with a red-haired boy who wears tiny little round glasses and has magic powers(?), lots and lots of girls around, and he has a stick thing that's all wrapped up in white strips of cloth. There's also a white chibi weasle in one shot.

Vague, yes; many apologies. Hopefully someone will know it well enough.

Sounds like Negima 221.216.234.108 09:38, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

It is! Thank you ever so much!

AD

I think I'm slowly getting what AD is now, does that mean this year is 2006 AD?

Yes, but it's normally only used for dates that can be either AD or BC, like the date a particular Roman emperor ruled, for example. StuRat 12:59, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Actually it is AD 2006. Rmhermen 15:44, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

On the other hand it could be 2006 CE. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 15:49, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Yea, the politically correct crowd has changed AD to CE (common era) and BC to BCE (before common era), so as not to offend anyone. StuRat 16:27, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Even though, funnily enough, it's still based on the year Jesus was born. (on the other hand, Jesus wasn't even born in the year AD 1, so it isn't really based on anything). Yeltensic42 don't panic 20:15, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

AFAIK the BC/AD thing was invented retroactively. Sometime in the 6th to 8th century, some munk got up and said "Hey everybody! I have a bright idea! Let's start saying Jesus was born 500 to 700 years ago, and start pretending we've been counting years from his birth all along!" JIP | Talk 09:44, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Not exactly. See AD for the whole story. Rmhermen 18:07, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

So, basically, it measures from an arbitrary point within a decade-long span in which Jesus was probably born. I've also read that some historians think it's either of two years several years before AD 1, one because of a supernova that may have been the Jesus star, the other because several planets aligned that year so that they looked like one large star. Yeltensic42 don't panic 19:07, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

terminology

what is the term for "device that stores memory" in electrical devices?

RAM and ROM do that. Also, a harddrive stores memory. Without being more specific with your question, it would be hard to be more specific with an answer. Dismas|^(talk) 14:13, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

A cache also stores memory. Like Dismas says, we need a more specific question. --GraemeL ^(talk) 15:06, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Technically, memory stores data. (insert "Soviet Russia" joke here). Cache is simply a type of memory with a dedicated purpose. A hard drive stores data as well, and usually is thought of as a storage device rather than memory, although the lines get blurred when something like a USB flash drive is considered, since that is memory which emulates a hard drive. --LarryMac 15:55, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Price hold

what is a price hold

I can think of three possible meanings:

• A period of time between the selection of an item and purchase where the price is fixed. For example, hotel tickets frequently go up just prior to a big event, but if you have reservations, the rate is fixed at that point.

• A synonym with "price controls", which are used to prevent out of control inflation. In the US, some national price controls were used in the 1970s and local price controls still exist in some areas, such as New York City housing. Most economists agree, however, that permanent price controls don't work, and actually make the situation worse.

• Temporary price controls, as during a natural disaster, to prevent "price gouging" by unscrupulous business owners, such as at a gas station when people need gasoline (petrol) to flee an approaching hurricane.

StuRat 16:13, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

From what I found with Google, it sounds like it means for a company to keep prices the same for a long stretch of time. However, it could have multiple meanings. Yeltensic42 don't panic 20:12, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Pittsnogle

I know who Kevin Pittsnogle is but where in the world did that name orginate and what does it mean? It's such a very strange last name and I can't seem to find a site that has it listed in their data bases. It's been driving me crazy since they played texas for the first time this year can anyone there find out and let me know?

Thanks Joyce Gordon (email removed for spam protection)

This is simply a guess, but it could have been "Ellis Islanded" from Petitsnagel, which is a rare Jewish name, literally coming from "petit" (french=small) and "nagel" (=nail). "Nagel" was a name commonly taken as a surname by carpenters. Grutness...wha? 00:43, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

How would my indian name be intepreted in USA

I am K.R. Vaishnav from India (South India) which stands for Kidambi Ramu Vaishnav.

Kidambi is my family name, Ramu is my Father's name and Vaishnav is my name.

The Indian passport contains my name as :

Surname : Kidambi

Given Name : Ramu Vaishnav

Can you please tell me what would my First, Middle and Last name be for Universities in the United States of America and also for the US Counslate (Visa Purpose)????

Thanks and Regards

K.R Vaishnav

Normally, in the English-speaking world, your family name is last. And if Vaishnav is your own name, it would be best to put this as your first name, as people would call you by this name. I would propose: First name: Vaishnav / Middle name: Ramu / Last name: Kidambi
Slumgum | yap | stalk | 16:32, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. Note that if you do it that way you will be called "Vaishnav" in informal situations and "Mr. Kidambi" in more formal situations. "Ramu" would not usually be used at all. Alternatively, you could use "Ramu-Kidambi" as your last name. However, this would mean any children you have would also have a last name of "Ramu-Kidambi". StuRat 20:05, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

As for children that would not necessarily be the case, as at least some states allow any name to be used on a birth certificate - it doesn't need to be related to the parent's name. Here is a site about the importance of keeping one spelling in all U.S. documents[16]. Rmhermen 00:44, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Or you could list "Ramu" as your first name and "Vaishnav" as your middle name and just tell people you go by your middle name. This is what H. Ross Perot does, for example. Your business card would say "R. Vaishnav Kidambi." You can really do it however you want. Yao Ming still says his name in the Chinese style, with the family name first. No idea what it says on his green card or work permit. Then there's Warrior, who has changed his name to a single word. -- Mwalcoff 01:15, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

This is rather annoying to do as it is what I do (Jay Schyler Raadt). Pretty much anymore you will be called by your first name.

A Win32 app.

Does anyone know of a Windows application which I use to select a folder, then get a list of every file inside it in ultra handy plain text? I can point Firefox to the directory, but it gives me things like the last time it was altered.

You can start up a command line and type dir /b --LarryMac 19:17, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

If you want the listing made into a text file like list.txt, try dir /b > list.txt. Use /b/s if you want subfolder files. --jh51681 20:07, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

If you feel like laying out some money then PowerDesk will do that and more. Or search for the Windows 95/98 power toys and install the "send to" power toy. Then you can send the list to the "clipboard as name". CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 23:37, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Wacom Cover Removal

Does anyone know how to get the cover off of a Wacom Graphire tablet? There's dust under there and I wanna get it out...

Thanks in advance! Marak24 17:14, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

I have a Graphire 2 tablet, so I'm assuming they're similar enough. Basically, you should be able to see on the edges of the plastic cover little square markings under the glass. This is where the cover latches on to the tablet. Using your thumbnail/fingernail/any other slim object (like a pocket knife blade), insert it into the thin crack on the outside edges of the table, and then pull up hard. Don't be afraid of being forceful, it takes quite a bit of force to rip it off, but you can't hurt the tablet unless you try to. vertigo ciel 18:11, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

It worked! Thanks :) Marak24 18:42, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

trouble with viewing videos

Whenever i try to watch a video on my pc through real player or any other (except windows media) the image is extremely zoomed in, i try and change the settings so that i am on minimum zoon but it still remains the same, what can i do? 86.129.72.139 19:41, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Try decreasing your hardware acceleration. It used to do that for me, but decreasing acceleration to a certain point fixed it. Sort of. You don't want to use low hardware accelearation all the time, because some programs such as games require it higher. --Optichan 20:01, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Try using a better viewer like VLC

Sudoku Puzzles

I really like those new sudoku puzzles. I solve them all the time and I am now interested in making some puzzles of my own. I am wondering if Wikipedia keeps in touch or has any known whereabouts of puzzlemakers such as Will Shortz and others. I want to know any tips or strategies for making these fun puzzles. Thank you.

Didn't you already post this question ? StuRat 19:56, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Hollywood Celebrity Scandal

I have been reading in the newspapers about a male hollywood star in a sex scandal, although I cannot find who it is. Does anyone know who the star is??

Cheers

I should think that every hollywood star regardless of gender is involved in at least 94 simultaneous "sex scandals" at any point in time. Seriously - Google News suggests Clay_Aiken, Colin_Farrell, Lee_Tamahori etc etc etc.--inks^T 21:31, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

PBS-BBC??

Some 15 or 20 years ago there was a program on PBS of British origin that was most unusual. I think it was shown twice . It consisted entirely of shots where the camera was the eyes of the protaganist. It was otherwise silent. The protaganist simply traveled from place to place through places of business such as factories and warehouses traveling from locale to locale, room to room, and at the end of each of the travels of the protaganist he would come upon someone by surprise, and without so much as a word he would shoot him dead. There were many such scenarios in this movie. It might have occurred during the bad IRA British troubles. I have never been able to find that program. Has anybody ever seen this or know what it is? Please tell me. —This unsigned comment was added by Moebius00 (talk • contribs) . I think it was "Rhinocerous"(not sure of spelling,sorry) or "Elephant" , a large mammal anyway and if so it was brilliant.It refers to a statement about a large animal in a room that is unmissable but no-one mentions.This was a comment on the "executions" going on in Ireland which everyone knew about but wer'nt talked about.Fear being the motivation of the general public and fear of bad publicity by whoever was the ruling party at the time.It was a tremendous and influential film at the time.If it was by the BBC it may be available through them somewhere. hotclaws**==

• I agree with hotclaws. It's Alan Clarke's "Elephant" (1989) (IMDb) and it's available on DVD in North America; see the IMDb page for a link. --75.0.158.125 08:18, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Blakeley Reserche Institute

Hi can anyone tell me where the Blakeley Reserche Institute is in Geneva? And if there was a person, who's name is James Gardner, who was found in a river there and dead. Also, what means the phrase "sine maleficio"? Thank you.

Blakeley Research Institute question asked before. I'm lazy to look it up but it's probably in the last archive. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 04:53, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, but that question had also no answers.

I've never heard of Blakeley Research Institute, but "sine maleficio" means "without wrongdoing". —Keenan Pepper 05:04, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

psp.

Damnn! Before I had paintshop and I could open psp things, but I was supposed to save them as jpg but there are a few where I forgot. My computer crashed but luckily all the things stayed there but not paintshop. I now have photoshop but I can't open my psp things anywhere, is there a site where I can upload psp?

You can download a 30-day trial version of Paint Shop Pro (PSP) from Corel's website through this link, and you can use that to convert the PSP files into a format Photoshop can understand. The site says that the trial version is "fully functional", so you shouldn't have trouble converting the files. If you do, you can always search for a PSP import plug-in for Photoshop. --Aramգուտանգ 08:18, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Reasons why Wikipedia may be blocked by school administrators

At our school, we have an administration program that blocks certain sites, e.g. for instances of the word 'pornography' etc. Wikipedia has never been blocked before but now it is being blocked due to "dangerous files". Does anyone know to what this may refer so that I can approach the school technicians and get it unblocked as it is a fantastic educational resource.

Wikipedia has a pretty comprehensive coverage of sexual matters, including frank discussions of practices and equipment. It also discusses some pretty extreme topics on or beyond the fringe of what's considered normal sexuality even in tolerant societies. And there's lots of articles about porn stars too. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:51, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

There's also frank discussion of drugs, violence, bad language, and in general it's worth noting that Wikipedia is not censored for the protection of minors (see WP:NOT#Wikipedia is not censored). We realise some schools and other organisations want to block material they consider offensive, harmful, or that might expose them to legal risk - but we believe these topics are important, and we try to handle them in an appropriate and academic manner. As to persuading the school technicians - perhaps it's worth observing that Wikipedia is (sometimes) blocked by the Great Firewall of China, and perhaps the technicians might like to consider how comfortable they are following the same path. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:57, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Aah but when a site is blocked, the block log appears with for example "triggered ten counts of the word nudity" or somethnig like that. This is due to "dangerous files" Perhaps an ambiguous signal is being sent out that may be interpreted as malicious? Cdmstewart 00:01, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Then it's simply a dumb filter, that looks for "dangerous" words and blocks if there's too many of them; if that's the case it sounds like it's not a policy of the school to deliberately block wikipedia. You may wish to ask the techs to whitelist Wikipedia, on the basis that while it does contain (sometimes lots of) those "dangerous" words, they're in a productive scholarly context. Frankly the kids will search wikipedia for sex things, but better they read Wikipedia's version that that of some slimy pornsite or some pervoid's blog. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 00:06, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Nah they won't. We have nice kids, being a snobby school and all. Thanks anyway Finlay, I'll have a word with the admins Cdmstewart 00:13, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

"Dangerous files" would imply that the program has found EXE, SCR or COM files on Wikipedia, which sounds rather unlikely. Wikipedia is fairly safe for browsers compared to most sites (some javascript, no popup windows, no flash or java). Perhaps it has detected external links to pages containing links to computer virus software?

Would it be difficult to get a reason (or snippets of log file) from the people running the program? Ojw 13:15, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

No need friend. It's been unblocked, thank god! -- Cdmstewart 19:08, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

I might also suggest that you and your fellow students be careful of what subjects you search for. If you spend a lot of time looking for articles on sexual matters on Wikipedia you might find it blocked again. DJ Clayworth 20:26, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

March 26

mesolithic language

where did language start, and had it reached britain in the mesolithic times?

Try Origin of language. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 04:29, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Think real hard. Mesolithic culture was human culture. Humans have always had language to our knowledge. So if there was a mesolithic culture anywhere, people spoke a mesolithic language in it, don't you think? alteripse 04:47, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Sea Travel Between Charles Town and Boston

I am writing a story and, while it's not a plot killer, I would like to know approximately how long (banning storms) it took the average ship to travel from Charles Town to Boston circa 1703. If it matters, I'm talking about a late August voyage.

A rough time estimate of shipping between Boston and Plymouth, England would be a real bonus.

Thanks so much!!! 01:00, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

It would seem that the fastest crossing of the Atlantic was 13 or 14 days in the 1800s so depending on the time of year I would guess 20+ days. Did you mean Charles Town, West Virginia or one of these Charlestown? The same applies to Boston, Massachusetts or one of these Boston (disambiguation). CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 04:47, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Crossings of 20 or 30 days were not uncommon - even in the 1800s. Columbus took 34 days, the Mayflower 35 days, in the 1700's at least one voyage took 50 days[17] Six to eight weeks seems a common time. Rmhermen 18:04, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

I am looking for a buddy of mine

Clark Chanslor is his name who I went thru Ranger school and Sp Forces traing with in the late 1970's. How can I find him? After I dropped out of the service I moved out of the country for quite a while. Now I am out of sorts, it seems that many service records are sealed. I have tried several ways but if you could give me some ideas that would be really helpful.

Thanks you very much for your help.

If the armed forces can't help there are a few things you could try. I tried googling "Clark Chanslor" and got only 3 hits. You might try variations on his name such as Clark "Chanslor, Clark", etc. If you remember any other information about him and search for that. Things like his birthplace/hometown, parents names, brother and sisters or the town where he went to live after he left the forces. I take it you have tried U.S. Army Ranger Association (guessing you are in the US) and their Yahoo group. The site would seem to indicate that records should be availabe under the Freedom of Information Law. There suggestion that you contact your congressman might be a good one. Good luck. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 04:28, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Keyboard shortcuts

I have a few buttons on the top of my keyboard which automatically open certain programs - until recently, the button marked "Media" opened Windows Media Player. Yesterday my sister bought an iPod and installed its software (itunes or whatever it is) on my computer. Now when I press "Media", it opens itunes instead of WMP. How do I change what programs these buttons open? (I know I could just open WMP from the start menu, but that's annoying).

The procedure for changing what program it maps to will vary depending on the make and model of the keyboard - so if you know the manufacturer and the model number it would be a big help.--inks^T 07:41, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Some drivers for keyboards with extra function buttons will add an extra tab in your "Keyboard" control panel, where you can configure what the keys do (Microsoft keyboards definitely do this). If not, look through the "Programs" list in your Start menu, there may be a folder put there by your keyboard driver with a shortcut to an executable you can use to configure the keys. If not, check your keyboard manufacturer's website, in the downloads/drivers section for your model of keyboard, and you may find a key configuration tool availble for download there. --Aramգուտանգ 08:18, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

It's a "Microsoft MultiMedia Keyboard 1.0A", according to the sticker on the bottom. There was no extra tab in the Keyboard panel, nor was it listed in the Start menu. I'll check the manufacturer's website when I get a chance, but it might be a while because I have a university assignment I've left till the last minute. So if anyone knows how to configure a Microsoft MultiMedia Keyboard 1.0A off the top of your head, it's be much appreciated.

Another place you can check is your system tray (bottom right corner of the screen) - check all the programs running in there, in my case, the extra buttons on my keyboard are controlled from a little program that appears in the system tray. Might be worth a shot. — QuantumEleven | (talk) 09:56, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

It's also possible that the keyboard just opens the default media player. You can change this using "Set Program Access and Defaults", which is in the Start menu if you're using XP. (If you're using the Classic Start menu, though, you'll need to go to Add or Remove Programs in the Control panel, and click on the "Set Program Access and Defaults" icon on the left.) --Cadaeib 13:45, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Cadaeib, that worked great!

Information about Wallace Shawn the actor

To Whom it may help us, My son is 10yrs old, and is a big fan of Mr. Shawn. My boy is visually handicapped(blind since birth). I describe all movies for him. He seems to, very much, like Wallace Shawn's voice and is wondering if there is a way to contact him either by email or regular mailing. Obviously I'd be doing the writing for him. But we seem to have hit a roadblock. Is there an address to him or through his agent that represents him that we could get a letter to him? All I know is that he lives in N.Y. city. Who is Mr. Shawn represented by? This information is very vital to my sanity because he is driving me CRAZY with nonstop questions about Mr. Shawn. So, my question is... How can I contact him with a letter or email? I thank you for helping us with this(if possible) in advance. Sincerly, Patrick & Brian McCauley--Mccauley 17:20, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Inconceivable! No, wait, this page gives the name of his agent, and the agent's address. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:28, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

I suggest you mail a blank cassette and ask that he record a short message to your son. Don't tell your son about it, though, because he might be disappointed if you don't get a reply. StuRat 20:58, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Geolocation of wireless IP address

192.168.0.161 is a wireless internet connection and the owner asked me to locate the place the where the station controlling this wireless internet connection is. I used to know a colorful geolocation site that gave proxy info and a location (with how many kilometers it was to the nearest city (and which one)). Can anyone remember the site or recommend another good one for geolocation of an IP? - Mgm|^(talk) 20:54, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

You can use Symantec Visual Tracking, but i think that runs from within another program, so it's guesswork on what URL parameters to supply to get the thing working :P

Maybe I'm being an idiot here, but that's a restricted IP only used in LANs. You wont be able to find that with any ip geolocator (btw, if you need one, this one seems to be fine). Chances are that it belongs to a very small LAN (it looks like it occupies 192.168.0.x, ie a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0) with <256 computers. Which would mean it's probably some ones home wireless router or a computer on the network.

Or have I totally misunderstood your question? Oskar 23:31, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

that's only if its a static address, which i doubt. it looks like a basic class c subnetted addy, which can run from a few thousand addys, to alot more, and being dynamic, once he's logged off, its given away to another, so your traceroute is a moot point. have the guy type "ipconfig" in his command prompt and see what the addy is now. If the guy owns the static addy, he can simply call his ISP and ask where the routing station is. easy stuff. egas

www.dnsstuff.com - Joneleth

Permission

I want to make a Spongebob Squarepants fanstuff wiki, and a type of Homestar Runner wiki. Do I have to ask the creator for permission? Cheesia

It depends. If all you want to do is write about Spongebob, you can do that to your heart's content; that falls squarely into fair use. However, if you want to use copyrighted images, or write fan fiction, or those kind of things, you theoretically need permission. Many rights owners tend to tolerate fansites using some imagery and the like, because the people that create and visit fan sites tend to be amongst the best customers of their products. But if you cost them money in any way shape or form they'll likely come out with all legal guns blazing. --Robert Merkel 04:29, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

There's already a homestar runner wiki, and probably a spongebob one too. Why not just join the existing project? Night Gyr 20:17, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Well, Cheesemail is my own version of Strong Bad Email. I'm trying to get more messages from everyone so I can keep answering them in public. It's like a hobby of mine, and it's very fun. I'm also going to make an online DVD. (No disk, just when I post something acting like a DVD.) It's not really a Homestar Runner fansite, but a Cheesemail fansite inspired by Homestar Runner. So I need permission to do a Cheesemail wiki? If I answer these on the HRWiki, there are rules to put characters in the email shows. It's no fun. This has nothing to do with Homestar Runner. I don't even answer these by getting emails. On this forum I go to, I must be PMed a message. Also, do I have to ask The Brother Chaps, creators of Homestar Runner, for permission? The wiki maker already got permission from TBC, does that mean everyone's allowed to make fansites? Cheesia

Ok, I guess I'm never going to make this wiki. No one's answering. Come on, I really want more messages. I'm waiting and waiting. Cheesia

It's almost been a day. Still no answer. Cheesia

You should ask the Brother Chaps guys, as it's always better safe than sorry with this sort of thing. Proto||type 11:53, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

But Joey Day asked them. Besides, TBC have never answered me before. Cheesia

March 27

realationships

can anyone help me i am trying to fing information on what relationships were like in shakespears time so that i can compare it to todays relationships for a school debate.

Start with Romeo and Juliet. Proto||type 14:09, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Oh, come on. Romeo and Juliet is as much about relationships in the Bard's time as Romeo + Juliet is now (or any Harlequin potboiler). --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 20:21, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Well, I don't know about you, but my relationships are often worryingly similar to those in Romeo + Juliet. Apart from the guns, and the being in America, and the banging of Claire Danes, and the music, and having Brian Dennehy as my dad. And the suicides. Apart from that, there's no difference. Proto||type 11:42, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Think carefully about what you mean by the question. Sexual mores were almost certainly not the same throughout society during Shakepeare's life and through the social strata, any more than the social mores of Salt Lake City and The Castro are the same. Additionally, the fact that the vast majority of the population was illiterate at the time means that we have considerably less insight into their behaviour than we do of the literate elite. You should probably read our article on William Shakespeare himself, as well as the one about his wife Anne Hathaway. --Robert Merkel 23:47, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

sir isaac newton

Hi, I need to know all about his childhood, schools and adult life but I can not locate it in here can you please point me in the right direction, thanks Dee Dee

Try clicking on Sir Isaac Newton. JackofOz 04:24, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

try "Lucasian Chair of Mathematics Cambridge" newton held it. He also invented Calculus.

You might also try a library for a biography of him, there are many, or check here. AllanHainey 11:49, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

farting

Dear board I love to fart! It feels good and I like to smell my own farts whenever possible. I like it especially when I have an audible and big "airy" fart, silent and wet ones are no good. My question is, how can I make sure I have plenty of gas for my big farts? I would like to fart all day. What can I eat, vitamins I can take?

Thanks, Jared

See Flatulence#Causes. —Keenan Pepper 05:08, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Eat beans

Sometimes if I want to fart, I do some stretching. It gets the gases to move through the bowels. (I think). Touch the toes, twist around, etc. I find this works. If it doesn't come out, don't force it. You'll probably crap yourself. If you have time, do yoga! schyler 23:42, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

help citing refernces

can someone cite all my stuff in the article George Spotton with the one source Conrad, Margaret; Finkel, Alvin (2003). Canada: A National History, Toronto, Canada: Pearson Education Canada, Inc.. , please. I do not know how to.

There are two things to see here :

1) Wikipedia help is of very little and poor help if it can't be found easily and should give plenty of examples ... try here anyway.

2) A reference sometimes just cannot be linked here!

Do not try to enclose it with "["s. Only if - one of the authors - the book - the editor - is in Wikipedia, create a link. If not, try looking for the ISBN code number for the book. I think the best link options are, in that order : The WP book article; the ISBN (which gives access to plenty of booksellers - try it) ; any internet site ; any bookseller site, which is better than nothing at all.

If you need more help, sure someone can do it, but it is better for you to try. --DLL 19:52, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Load/execute a .jsp file in a Adobe Form

How to load/Execute a .js file in a Adobe Form(.pdf/.xdp)? once loaded/executed, the script must start executing and the respective functions called by the objects(for ex. a textbox) in the form have to be executed

Authors questions on reference material in Wiki

I am an author writing a novel, and find reference material in the Wiki not only useful, but informative. my question is may i use information here without violating copyrighted material. I know when there is a reference to a paticular book used as reference by posters i must, but is the Wiki open end public domain? I have reserched "Public Domain" in Wiki, and read that "for all practical purposes the public domain comprises copyright free work"., yet, "there is no such thing as public domain on the internet" Web pages have protection, as do copyrighted materials. non-copyrighted materials and expired copyrights are accessable to me notwithstanding. US Copyright Office and Wiki defines "Uncreative works", as works not of original idea. thus, unprotectable by copyright. and by the Berne Convention, pre 1923 is public domain, so im my case, the bible for one, is usuable fully and with no infrindgment. Still, I would ask that any authors who may be of service, and willing to take the time perchance allow me your knowledge or expeirence. Any help is very much appreciated...

Egas Nus

--Egas nus 05:59, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

As I understand it, most of the text on Wikipedia is not "public domain", but is made available under the GNU Free Documentation License: free for you to use, copy, distribute and even sell, but you are supposed to include the GFDL statement with the used text. However, if you are writing a fiction novel and are just using Wikipedia as a reference there should be no restriction at all and no need to cite your source unless you want to, although thanking Wikipedia in the author's notes would be a nice gesture. --Canley 07:10, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

This is correct -- if you are just using it at a reference, you are not violating any copyrights (ideas are not copyrighted, only individual acts of expression are). If you want to quote things, odds are it will fall under the "fair use" clause of U.S. copyright law. If you want to re-use the content substantially, you are allowed to under the terms of the GFDL, which requires nothing other than you release the derivative work under the GFDL as well, and include a copy of the GFDL with the work. --Fastfission 19:56, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Using reference material does not usually require that it is public domain, or even that a citation is given. If you include a verbatim quote of a copyrighted work, a citation is usually needed. Non-verbatim copying is not copyright protected. (Copyright protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves) Unless you are incorporating text copied verbatim in amounts larger than can be considered a quote, then you don't need license to do so. It's called fair use. Of course, if you take a whole copyrighted book and just re-express every sentence, then it's still copyright infringement. A translation also requires permission; a work needs a certain amount of originality apart from not being a verbatim copy. But it does not need much. --BluePlatypus 17:40, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Unless you are reading in ancient Hebrew and Greek, the Bible is not public domain either. Teh various translations are copyrighted by different groups. For example the NIV Bible is copyright of the International Bible Society which allows that "The NIV text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted." Rmhermen 17:49, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

When items fall into the public domain depends what country you are in -- there is no universal copyright law (the closest thing to it are international conventions which set bare minimums of standards, and not all countries are parties in them anyway). In the United States, any edition of the Bible published before 1923 is current in the public domain. --Fastfission 19:56, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Image renaming

I have just uploaded an image, "Logo blue jpg.jpg". It is Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign logo. I wish to rename this. How do I do so? Or should I just speedy delete and upload the same image with the new name? --Blue387 08:32, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

U pload the image with a new name and mark the original image as redundant with the {{Redundant image}} template. Mysid 11:05, 27 March 2006 (UTC) PS. You may ask Wikipedia related questions at the Held desk.

collaboration

Africans were miscontrued as having colloborated with Eurepeans on eve colonisation,is it really correct tosay say so?

Not sure entirely what you mean, especially with "eve colonisation" but logically some Africans must have collaborated with European colonisers otherwise they'd all be dead or still fighting. AllanHainey 11:52, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Often after tribal wars the victors would sell the losers as slaves to the europians, who paid whatever the specific africans were interested in(mostly glamerous things), but at that time there wasnt any nationalism movement or for that matter they didnt care about 'races'. It was also a fairly easy way to get rid of people not fond of you (for the africans). Logically you can also deduct that atleast a minimum of collaboration had to have been done, since at that time europians mostly had coastal colonies, which meant if no one worked with them they would have eventually have to moved inland to find more slaves.- Joneleth

status

Hello My name is Bharti Patel

I have a question for my sister, I hope you can answer it for me. My sister 's name is Sheela, she has a greencard but when her visa call came through her daughter was over 21 so her file cancelled. Her daughter is handicapped and has a mind level of under 10, but is almost 25 years old. She is not able to take care of herself, and Sheela cannot do so while residing in the US. How can she have her daughter come stay in US legally so her mom can take care of her. Please advise me if you can. Thank You Bharti Patel

Generally, you should direct such questions to your local US consulate, which will help you determine what solution is best for your particular case. You should note that your sister's daughter should be eligible for "Family Second Preference (F2)" immigration status, which allows unmarried children over 20 years of age of US permanent residents (green card holders) to immigrate to the US. However, immigration under the category is limited, with 114,200 permits issued annually, where less than 23% of those go to unmarried sons and daughters over 20 (the rest go to spouses and minor children). These limits, often called "caps", are generally filled quite quickly at the start of each year, so an application must be made well in advance. In addition, judging from your name, I assume you're from India, which causes additional difficulties, as it is a country that sends a large amount of immigrants to the US, and no more than 7% of immigration permits are allocated for each country. You should also note that the immigration laws follow fiscal years, not calendar years, where each year starts and ends in October. You should read up the US Bureau of Consular Affairs website, especially this page. --Aramգուտանգ 22:10, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

BombayTV

I briefly considered putting this under Humanities, but it's a tad frivolous. Can anyone learned in Indian TV identify the TV series(s) used in BombayTV? Thanks. Sum0 21:10, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Polite ways to fart and burp

I was wondering what people of high society, aristocracy, royalty and the such would do when in similair formal company when they needed to fart or burb? Do they hold it in? or for a fart do they go to the toilet, in that case if you have flatuence you would have to be going very often and might appear impolite or something. Wierd question I know but who ever thinks about these things? Kingstonjr 21:30, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

• Include yawning in the above question too. Thanks Kingstonjr 21:55, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

This is neat [18]. --Zeizmic 22:45, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

When they're amongst themselves, by all reports they scratch themselves, fart, burp, swear, and generally carry on like, well, regular people. It's just when they're out in public and have to pretend they're somehow superior that the issue arises. --Robert Merkel 23:53, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't think it's a case of pretending to be superior, Robert. If you had the entire world watching your every movement, I think you'd be a little circumspect too. It's also a question of basic good manners, and behaviour appropriate to the circumstances. Burping, scratching and farting are not normally encountered at any formal gathering of humans in the West. JackofOz 01:18, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

To a certain extent those things aren't carried out when people are watching (or thought to be watching) even if in a less formal setting. You may tend to do some or all when in the privacy of your home or when alone but most people tend to curb them when around others. Oh, and add nose-picking to that list. Try and watch drivers at a red light if they think no one is looking. At least some of them will want to explore the interior of their noses. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 07:08, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

I heard on Family Guy that the people at The New Yorker don't have anuses. -- Mac Davis] ⌇☢ ญƛ. 10:24, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Well, if it was on Family Guy, it must be true! But this is an interesting question. What do you do if you have to fart or burp in public? Optichan 16:09, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

• No one has anwserred my question!!!

Well, you could hold it in.. See the death of Tycho Brahe (although the story in the article is generally regarded as false). Back in the middle ages, farting was socially acceptable. In more recent times, your choice is to either hold it in, or excuse yourself. (Farting at the dinner table in definitely not allowed) If you're not seated, you also have the option of just moving aside for a moment. As for burps, it's fine as long as you put your hand or napkin over your mouth, as with a cough or sneeze. If you've got flatulence going on, then you can simply explain that you've got "stomache problems" or similar. The point of etiquette isn't to pretend you don't have bodily functions, it's just to show consideration for others in the exercise of them. --BluePlatypus 22:46, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

USS Repose (AH-16), USS Sanctuary (AH-17)

Both of these hospital ships assisted with casualties during the Vietnam war. How can I obtain a copy of their Ship's Log for March 1968?

Have you tried contacting the US Navy and asking under your countries FOIL? CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 22:37, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Punctuation Project

Hi:

I have volunteered to do a punctuation project. If I see other errors such as spelling, capitalzation, etc., should I correct those? The directions do not exactly state this. I have no qualms about correcting errors.

Regards, LarryBH

Sure, you can edit anything you want without permission. Just make sure you don't change other people's signed comments on talk pages, or their user pages (that's considered bad etiquette), but articles are fair game. —Keenan Pepper 22:05, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply, Larry

One thing to watch for is the use of country specific spelling in US/UK articles. In an article like Bill Gates you would use color but if it was about Tony Blair you would want colour etc. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 22:35, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

And for articles that aren't particularly US- or UK-centric, don't bother changing it. Just leave it the way it is. —Keenan Pepper 03:46, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

As long as it's internally consistent, that is. (Mixed spelling types within a page is one of my pet peeves.) --Bth 07:13, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Worse than that is the editor who changes the spelling in a UK article to US or in a US article to UK. And at the same time makes other valid edits so you can't just do a simple reversion. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 07:26, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

By the way, since this is about punctuation, the MoS says that it should be U.S. not US and UK not U.K. Dismas|^(talk) 11:37, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Sunni Shi'a

how did the conflict in iraq start?

Depends on how far back you care to go. For the overall issue, see Historical Shi'a-Sunni relations. In more modern times, the conflict can be attributed to the British-supported Sunni Hashemite rule of Iraq. Saddam's Baathist rule was mostly secular, (his deputy, Tariq Aziz was a Christian), but he favored people from his own clan (the Tikriti), which meant Sunnis. So, between the combination of historical rivalry, a dictatorship where Shiites were underrepresented and their religion suppressed, there hasn't really been much of a question that religious nationalism would pop up once Saddam disappeared. At least not in my opinion. The question is and was: to what extent? It parallels in many ways Yugoslavia, where historically rival groups had similarily been held together by the dictator Josip Broz Tito. Ethnic tensions and nationalism cropped up after his death, eventually leading to a bloody civil war and the dissolution of the country. --BluePlatypus 00:02, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

And the near-certainty that the deposing of the regime would allow these suppressed tensions to spill over into civil war was one of the reasons why George Bush Snr didnt choose to carry on and bring down Saddam Hussein after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991. Jameswilson 22:03, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Long-Lasting Relationships

What are the differences between a relationship that lasts a couple years and a relationship that lasts forever? What separates the two?

Time? Seriously, you may want to look up the definitions of infatuation and love, as well as lust. The difference may have something to do with one of those, although with all the relationships in the world and each of them being different, this would probably only be the tip of the iceberg. Dismas|^(talk) 02:22, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Jew Joke

I watched an episode of South Park recently and Cartman wanted kyle's "Jew Gold." I thaught it was funny and didn't think it meant anything. I said it at school and a teacher heard me and I got in trouble (note to self: no south park at school). What would this mean and how would it be offensive to a jew? schyler 23:54, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

A prime example of why not to parrot lines you don't understand. Some hold some uses of the word Jew demeaning - see the last sections of Etymology of the word Jew. "Jew gold" probably refers to the anti-semitic theory of Jewish bankers ruling the world. Rmhermen 00:01, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Could also refer to the gold the nazis primarily took from jews in ww2. According to my memory it was called jew gold. That includes everything from household items to teethgold from consentration camps so that might be why your teacher didnt find it funny. - Joneleth

I thought Cartman was referring to the stereotype that Jewish people are good with money. That's why he was so sure Kyle had Jew gold. :) -- Mac Davis] ⌇☢ ญƛ. 10:23, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Of course the stereotype that Jewish people are good with money and the anti-semitic theory of Jewish bankers ruling the world are not exactly unrelated, so in a way you make the same point as Rmhermen. David Sneek 18:51, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

But whatever the case, I'd definitely avoid quoting things from South Park at school. If you think something doesn't mean something, it probably does and it probably means something offensive. --Optichan 19:53, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Maybe it's the cultural difference, but judging by the above, your teacher seems too strict and overly sensitive. It sounds like he/she just heard the word "Jew" and a had a knee-jerk reaction that you might be anti-Semitist. If this is the case, then this is taking political correctness way too far. If you had said "all Jews are so-and-so" then it would have been a fair case, but merely mentioning the word "Jew" (especially, as I take it, you were only asking what "Jew gold") meant, is completely neutral. But maybe I am not aware of all the issues here, because in Finnish, the word for "Jew" and "Jewish" is one and the same - "juutalainen". There is a derogatory abbreviation of it - "jutku" - similar to your "kike" or "wop", and it is best avoided, especially amongst strangers. JIP | Talk 20:33, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

"Jew" may be neutral (though not as an adjective, I think), "Jew gold" is not. David Sneek 20:45, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

While people in the U.S. can be too sensitive sometimes, "Jew gold" is certainly something you shouldn't say. As you surmised, part of the reason is because of the use of "Jew" as an adjective, which is almost always done to be offensive. But even if he had said "Jewish gold," it still would have been offensive, as it would have refered to the old stereotype of Jews as evil bankers or whatever. What's perhaps somewhat heartening about all of this is that our young correspondent has had so little experience with antisemitism that he was completely unaware of this stereotype. It reminds me of that other South Park episode in which the kids completely miss the point of the "lynching flag" controversy. -- Mwalcoff 23:57, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Cartman as a character is supposed to be somewhat of a bigot. If you repeat his lines in regards to other people's ethnicities, races, religions, sexualities, or nationalities, you are likely to look like a bigot too. Just a hint. --Fastfission 21:15, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

March 28

What would be the best camoflauge for laser tag?

I'm going to play laser tag in a couple days, and I'm considering going "all out" in terms of camoflauge and such. The playing environment is indoors, with mostly black walls with small light colored strips of paint in places. What would be the most effective way for me to (without breaking the game rules, like covering targets) camoflauge myself? This is the site for the place I'm going to http://www.planetlazer.net/ Flea110 02:18, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

I guess if the walls are mostly black with paint strips, you should wear black, with a few stripes of color. But the flashing lights on the laser tag vest might give your position away :D--inks^T 05:13, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Stand perfectly still.The eyes recognize movement in the dark more quickly than anything else..........hotclaws**=

• A dark grey is actually better than black, especially if you're going to be moving. Don't wear anything shiny. If you can get away with a balaclava, and black gloves, that wouldn't hurt, as your face and hands will be visible. Proto||type 11:36, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
• I've played two games of Laser Tag, both on a company recreation trip, and we have been advised to mostly wear black, and avoid white and other bright colours at all costs. This must have worked because I've mostly beat the crap out of my opponents. (The fact that in one game we were up against schoolchildren may have something to do with it.) JIP | Talk 20:20, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
• Depending on the arena, there might be a blacklight there, so avoid anything that shows up under a blacklight (which, I guess is mostly white stuff that you'd avoid wearing anyway, but you know what I mean). Oskar 21:00, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Who is Harold V. Melchert?

Highly quoted individual in anything from Financial Planning presentations to motivational speeches, yet I've been unable to learn who he is/was.

Any help is appreciated.

−−70.49.37.251 03:13, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Wow, that's weird. He's quoted all the time but no body knows who he is. -- Mac Davis] ⌇☢ ญƛ. 10:20, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Positively freaky. It's almost as though he's some sort of trade secret of the inspirational speaking industry: if you want to make something up, attribute it to him. More plausibly, he was a very early exponent of the art of stating the obvious for large amounts of money, but never did anything particularly notable. --Bth 10:26, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

The 2001 edition of "The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations" does not have one quote of his. It may be a made up name and all I see after looking at several different sites is one quote about mountain climbing. Can someone point me out another. Thanks CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 11:46, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

You have managed to miss the nauseating "When you hire people who are smarter than you are, you prove you are smarter than they are." Until now. Admittedly that and the mountain one are the only two I found. --Bth 11:57, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't think the guy exists. He is supposedly quoted all over the place but appears to have only made a few quotes and does not appear in one of the major books on quotations. Fictional person. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 13:07, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Cultural intelligence

I have an enquiry on cultural intelligence. What is cultural intelligence?

How different is it from emotional intelligence? How does a lack of cultural intelligence resulted in having embarrassing outcomes in an organization? Thank you

I suggest that you take a look at Intelligence Principle, Race and intelligence (Culture-only or partially-genetic explanation) and Emotional intelligence. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 07:02, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

And Race and intelligence in general. And god bless the RD, which has suggested a very useful redirect - Cultural intelligence. Proto||type 11:33, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

That looks like a dodgy redirect if ever I saw one. Emotional Intelligence describes an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups. I suspect that Cultural Intelligence describes an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the cultural attributes of one's self, of others, and of groups. And that would have next to bugger all to do with Race & Inteligence, which would be the nature nurture stuff. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Cultural intelligence might be enclosing your three homework questions between an "I have an enquiry ..." and a "thank you". --DLL 20:26, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

land rovers 1986 2.50 petrol engine

could you please tell me the performace figuars ei miles to the gallon etc

According to our article on Land Rovers, none had a 2.5L petrol engine as standard. The smallest stock engine was a 3528cc Rover_V8. Apparently though some were made with a 2.5L diesel.--inks^T 22:43, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

That article concerns Range Rovers, which are a type of Land Rover. The article Land Rover (Series/Defender) mentions a 2.5l Defender made from 1985 onwards, but doesn't include any performance stats. Manufacturer's performance stats are generally unreliable anyway, so true figures are rarely seen.
Slumgum | yap | stalk | 22:53, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

I can give a general answer, based on extensive experience with Land Rovers of that and earlier eras; it would have been very slow, and it would have been very thirsty, unlike the V8's, which were not that slow but extremely thirsty, and the diesels which were very very slow (except up hills) but relatively fuel-efficient. It's all relative, though, compared to a Chevy Suburban it's probably quite economical. --Robert Merkel 02:40, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Notary Public's signature?

Does a signature have to accompany a Notary Public Seal ie, if the seal is there alone, without a signature, is that sufficient?

That would depend on the jurisdiction. Henry^Flower 20:08, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

(I'm omitting the "how dare you not tell us what country you're in" rhetoric that often accompanies answers here...) Actually, it appears that it may be the opposite. At least in Minnesota, it seems that the signature is critical and the seal is optional. It's all a little hard to decipher, though, and the very concept of a notary public changes from country to country and even state to state. For the US, you may want to contact the National Notary Association. kmccoy (talk) 20:10, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Nationality of a name?

Hi

I have been trying to research the nationality of the last name Yungk, but cannot locate this information anywhere. Can you help? Any information you can provide is appreciated.

Cursory research indicates it is probably Germany (even Switzerland speaks Swiss-German). Superm401 - Talk 20:47, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm quite sure it's German. Another spelling variant is "Jungk". I'm not sure about the meaning, but it's probably relates to either "Jung" (young) or "Junker" (see article). --BluePlatypus 22:14, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

largest neighborhood

What is the Largest Neighborhood in America? I dont mean City

How exactly are you defining "neighborhood"? That's a rather vague term. Do you mean a suburban subdivision/housing estate, or were you thinking of something else? (I should add that it's hard to precisely pin down where one ends and another begins). Please suitly emphazi. Yeltensic42 don't panic 04:57, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

onions and garlic

An onion will not cause your eyes to water if youpick it up in the grocery store. A garlic does not give off a strong odor until you use it. Why?

An onion doesn't sting your eyes until you cut it. For the reason why, see the section "Why do onions make you cry?" in the article Onion. I can't see a similar explanation in the article Garlic, but it seems to me that garlic does not give off an odor as such, but it causes your hands to smell after handling raw garlic, so the explanation is probably some kind of chemical reaction with the oil on your skin. --Canley 02:16, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't think it has anything to do with the oil on your skin, but it does have to do with damaging the garlic cells. Here's the relevant quote from the Garlic article:

Like other members of the onion family, garlic actually creates the chemicals that give it its sharp flavor when the plant's cells are damaged. When a cell of a garlic clove is broken by chopping, chewing, or crushing, enzymes stored in cell vacuoles trigger the breakdown of several sulfur-containing compounds stored in the cell fluids. The resultant compounds are responsible for the sharp or hot taste and strong smell of garlic. —Keenan Pepper 03:13, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

The pure essential oil of garlic and onion contains sulfur, but no oxygen. When mashed, it forms a very stinky compound (which is supposedly the healthy form). According to this [19] garlic oil rubbed on the feet can be detected almost instantly in the breath. --Zeizmic 03:10, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Need a little help

I am not sure if you can help me with this but I feel I should ask before puting anything into my Fictional book that I am working on.

In the book the children of their dead Mother and Father who went to Peru to check out a story they heard about a virus that only Kill certain people and not others. So they went to Peru to fine out what it is. They found it and brough it back to the states. It has now gotten out of hand. Both mother and father are dead so the children have to fine a a way to destroy the virus and must go back to where they frist found it.

Ok, so what I want to know is where would one go in Peru to fine something like this. What would the people be like. and how would they get there.

I do not want to write in my book anything that would sound dumb and say something that isn't so. Even though my book is only fictional I would like some parts of it to be as close as possible to reality as I can without getting to far off.

I hope I made myself clear. And with hopes someone can give me some idea as to what, where and whom I can use in my fictional book I am now working on.

If you can not I understand and will have to try my best to get some info what I can for the book.

I thank you for your time. Katherine M G

I'm guessing a more rugged, less civilized area is what you're after, so your best bet would probably be the part of Peru comprised by the Amazon River Basin, in the East. The largest city in that region is Iquitos, right on the Amazon River. Other than the Amazon, you could also try the mountainous Huánaco Region, in the Peruvian Andes. The people in either region would probably be much like as described on the main Peru page - if you want to get more specific, I suggest checking out a book on Peru from your local library and checking up on those regions - either that or some Peruvian Tourism pages, but those are more interested in hype than truth. I hope this was of some help :) vertigociel 04:13, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Punctuation in Lists

Hi:

I am somewhat confused as to the punctuation for lists. I see list with no punctuation, some with periods, some with semi-colons. Myself, I would have used semi-colons or none at all...Periods, if they were sentences.

My example is with the article entitled: "List of educational institutions in Karachi"

Monotechnics, Polytechnics & Technology Institutes / College Affiliated with Sindh Board of Technical Education SBTE for DAE courses:

   * Govt. Saifee Eide Zahabi Institute of Technology (GSEZIT), Block-G, North Nazimabad, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
   * Govt. College of Technology (GCT), SITE, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
   * Govt. Polytechnic Institute for Women Karimabad (GPIWK), Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
   * Sindh Board & University of Technical Education, Karachi, Pakistan.
   * Aligarh Institute of Technology (AIT), Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
   * Govt. Jamia Millia Polytechnic Institute, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
   * Pakistan Swedish Institute of Technology, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.

Then I see on down further, items with no periods. On another article, I saw semi-colons. Others, I saw punctuation on every other list item.

Question: What is the rule?

Another question: Should I have to remove the period from a list item that is a link, would I not ruin the linking if it is part of the link?

Hope that I did not ask for too much, or this might be a silly question.

Regards, LarryBH

The general rule, from Wikipedia:Lists, is no punctuation (unless the list items are full sentences). The links for the items with periods at List of educational institutions in Karachi are separate from the text that is displayed. The syntax used is [link this is the text that is displayed], i.e. the link appears first, followed by a space, followed by the text that appears. -- Rick Block (talk) 04:53, 29 March 2006 (UTC)