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May 8

U. S. - Mexico past relations

Has the U. S. ever tried to buy or considered buying Cozumel, Mx. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gooddoctordoc (talk • contribs) 05:29, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

I've never heard that, but once in a while, when the peso is having one of its fits, there is an idea floated around about the US buying Baja California. The Mexicans would get a bit influx of cash, and the US would get lots of nice warm real estate. (But also Tijuana...). It would probably never happen, though. On a barely related note, I took some class in college and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was actually a lot better for Mexico in terms of territorial loss than it could have been. AlexiusHoratius 07:46, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia promotion

How far is it possible for a user in wikipedia to be promoted? there are admins and crats, and stewards? is there any post beyond stewards? what is the procedure to become a steward? --Asopirero (talk) 05:46, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

The first step down that road is described at Wikipedia:Guide to requests for adminship. Note that you need rather substantial experience; the average number of edits of a successful candidate is now just shy of 20,000. Once you're one of them, you can try for Bureaucrat and Steward status. Beyond that, I believe the only loftier position is currently occupied. Clarityfiend (talk) 06:33, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

20,000!?! Wow when I was editing under an account a few years ago the average was like 3,000.--92.251.239.173 (talk) 11:55, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

See more at Wikipedia:User access levels and meta:Steward. Note that stewards are for all Wikimedia Foundation wikis and not specific to Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:41, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

I don't think you should consider this as "promotion" - like it's some kind of status symbol or reaching some level of expertise like when you 'level up' in a video game. That's not a 'healthy' or 'recommended' way to consider adminship, etc. The idea is to give extra layers of account access to people who both need it and can be trusted with it. I'm up over 20k edits and have been nominated for adminship several times - but in the end, you have to ask yourself: Why do I actually need those capabilities? If you don't need them for whatever it is you do here at Wikipedia - then you're probably better off not having them. If you're looking for congratulatory 'status symbols' then check out Wikipedia:Service awards - which you become entitled to after a combination of a certain number of edits and a certain number of years in service to the project. ("This editor is a Grand and Glorious Tutnum and is entitled to display this Book of Knowledge with Coffee Cup Stain, Cigarette Burn, and Chewed Broken Pencil.") SteveBaker (talk) 18:03, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Re edit levels for admins, that's an average and it's inflated by the number of semi-automated edits a lot of editors now accrue using tools like Huggle, that weren't a factor 5 years ago. A candidate with a few thousand good, solid edits in the right areas of project space and good article-building credentials, who can demonstrate cluefulness and understanding of policy should still be able to pass RfA even today, although they're likely to get some knee-jerk opposes from edit-counters. That last hasn't changed since I started editing, but the level at which it begins has. --Dweller (talk) 10:47, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Hoax?

It this picture: http://www.calvintang.com/albums/other/uberjelly.jpg a hoax? Since the largest Lion's mane jelly only had a bell 7 and half feet wide my guess is it's fake. If it is a hoax, does anyone know who made it or where it originated?--ChromeWire (talk) 07:24, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Check out jellyfish and it might say how large they can get. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:37, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Notwithstanding the fact that this is probably a Science Desk question you might like to compare these two images and draw your own conclusions. I would draw your attention to the small white artefact on the left side. [1], [2] Richard Avery (talk) 07:48, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure that those photos really clear it up. The one without the diver looks like it has been photoshopped to remove the diver. Which is odd. That doesn't mean that it wasn't originally without a diver before a diver was added before it was removed, of course. --Mr.98 (talk) 12:37, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

This one is about as big as the Lion's mane, and it's about the biggest that they can get: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nomurajelly.svg Rimush (talk) 11:05, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

See the article at museumofhoaxes.com.--92.251.239.173 (talk) 12:00, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

There are plenty of photos found by googling ["giant jellyfish"], including the one in question here. One of the links led to this[3] which says explicitly, "The photo is a hoax." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:52, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

The argument made in the snopes chat room[4] is that the diver is closer to the camera yet is much less detailed than the farther-away jellyfish. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:08, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

I guess that instead of "chat room" you mean "Internet forum". --Belchman (talk) 15:05, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Whatever. I just know they are hard to follow, as they keep repeating previous parts of a thread, unlike a wiki. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:52, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Error level analysis of the image suggests that someone monkeyed with the diver. --Sean 19:11, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Women's lower earnings a matter of different priorities?

Has it been studied whether the lower earnings of women might be partly due to women placing a lower priority on money than men when making career decisions? NeonMerlin 11:23, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Women may well place a lower priority on money when compared to things like the flexibility of work hours to fit in with school times or the amount of vacation time, and such things do affect career choices. However, the equal pay for women article you linked to, and most equal pay legislation, is mainly concerned with the sexism in many societies which undervalue the contribution of women doing exactly the same work as their male colleagues. Astronaut (talk) 12:04, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

One factor that doesn't seem to be mentioned in that article, but which I've heard referenced and strikes me as very plausible, is that women simply don't ask for the money. It's a commonplace among men that you should always negotiate salary, especially when changing jobs, but women may be less comfortable with that in general. Of course it's possible that being seen as a hard negotiator would carry costs for women that it doesn't for men. --Trovatore (talk) 18:54, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

I would think that some women taking years off work to raise kids would cause them to be paid less, and would skew the numbers downward for women overall. StuRat (talk) 13:54, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

In the article you link to is a discussion of this question pretty directly: [5]. I personally find it still a bit too accepting of the status quo and goofy in its logic (e.g. "men are discriminated against too, because they can't be cocktail waitresses"). But anyway, the answer seems to be: yes, people have looked it through this lens. I'm not sure it is an entirely satisfying form of analysis (it doesn't discuss where these "priorities" come from in the first place—if they are caused by cultural expectations, then that is just sexism in a more insidious form). --Mr.98 (talk) 20:15, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

That article points out that women do get paid more in some jobs such as for example financial analysis - which makes me fear the rise of a stereotype that men are just unintelligent muscle, and that women are the brainy gender. 78.146.175.181 (talk) 11:40, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

This is an incredibly political issue, so let's try to keep it as apolitical as possible. This issue's been researched extensively. A Google scholar search for "wage gap sex" is a very good place to start. Shadowjams (talk) 07:32, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Indeed. Particular angles that have been explored, and which may help you narrow your search, are:

Women tend not to negotiate their salaries or promotions in the same way that men tend to, because they are socialised not to rock the boat or push themselves forwards. They tend to expect their contributions to be recognised and rewarded fairly, without having to point their contributions out. This is related to the labelling of certain behaviours in women as "bitchy", when in men the same behaviours are often considered desirable (in a business setting).

Mentoring. Mentoring by a person already established in the same line of work is invaluable. For various reasons, very few of which are explicitly sexist, older men are less likely to mentor a young woman co-worker and talk about their career over drinks or a meal. This means that, in a profession or business where most of the established, high-up workers are men, women are less likely to get good mentoring than men, leading to a vicious circle.

Chatting about work over drinks: a lot of team-building and broader discussion of work goes on over drinks after work. In a business where the men go out for drinks without inviting the women, or where the women are not available for drinks (see below), this gives the men an edge.

Even though as many men as women have children, women are still expected to provide the majority of the childcare, even when they are working. Even when they are working at a high-paid job than the father of the children. This greater demand on their time and energy means they are more likely to need flexible working hours, more likely to be unavailable for drinks after work, less able to increase their hours, to be able to work late. And likely to need more, longer breaks in their career as they have children. All of these contribute enormously to the pay gap.

I know for a fact that each of these angles has been studied properly, and wish you good luck in your exploration. You will notice that this last point is not so much women having different priorities, as women with the same priorities as men having to shoulder different responsibilities. 86.180.48.37 (talk) 19:19, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Women still tend to go into different careers from men. They are less likely to study for qualifications in computer science, for example. Even though they get better grades than men, the earnings gap begins soon after entry to the labour market. Itsmejudith (talk) 15:15, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Smelly sponges

I use a foam sponge in my kitchen for various cleaning tasks, largely involving washing-up liquid and hot water. After some weeks of regular use, and despite my efforts to rinse out the sponge and squeeze out the water, it starts to collect a smell that I associate with the growth of bacteria trapped in the sponge. I then wash the sponge by soaking it in a bleach solution. The smell disappears for a while, but it starts to return after just a few days. If I believe what the bleach bottle tells me, the bleach should kill the vast majority of the bacteria. So why does the smell return so quickly if it was slow to develop from when the sponge was new? Astronaut (talk) 14:55, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Can I take it that this is a synthetic sponge. The pores are likely to be smaller than a natural one. It may be that it takes time for microbe supporting dirt to migrate to depths where even a good wash and rinse wont dislodge it completely. Once its in there, in any quantity, bacteria and yeast can then perhaps quickly re-establish vigorously growing colonies, (bacteria send out chemical messages that other bacteria use, to judge when conditions are suitably to start multiplying with a vengeance). Or it might be that the bleach is deodorising the chemicals released by the bugs. After all it those which warn us that food is off. Bacterial spores can be quite resistant to many chemicals and might re-activate themselves as soon as conditions return to normal. Or it could be a combination of the two. Having perhaps two sponges, so that one can be always dried out completely might be an option, but what kills the bacteria is rapid dehydration and with a sponge this is not easy to do. In the old days, surgeons used real sponges in surgery and just popped them in the autoclave afterwards (or so I'm told – in there too long and I would have thought they would break down and dissolve). I will have to put one of my bath sponges in the pressure cooker and see what transpires. Try a natural sponge ( they dry quicker too) , (I tend to use cheap cellulose sponge cloths mostly, then throw them away when they start looking gross). --Aspro (talk) 15:40, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

I wonder if microwaving a sponge would help? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:49, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Microwaving is the recommended way to disinfect kitchen sponges. The caveat is that you need to microwave them damp. Microwaving them dry is a fire hazard. Google "microwave sponges" (or some of the suggested searched) for more info. -- 174.21.225.115 (talk) 18:11, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

It's also simply the fact that household microwaves are most effective at heating up water molecules - microwaving dry objects tends to result in an awful lot less heating even if it isn't a fire hazard. ~ mazca ^talk 18:27, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

OK, so it sounds like you want to wash the sponge as best you can, squeeze excess moisture out, and then nuke it for... about how long? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:31, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Boil it in soapy water! Add a small amount of bleach solution, if you want. Oda Mari (talk) 18:53, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

"how long to microwave sponges" is one of Google's auto-suggests for "microwave sponges". Consensus is 2 minutes on full power. -- 174.21.225.115 (talk) 17:02, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

I can buy a cellophane bag with about 20 synthetic sponges for about $2.00. At ten cents each, I just throw them out when they become smelly. Same with dishrags. They're a bit more expensive (4 for 2 bucks) so at 50 cents each, I will launder them, but only until the smell doesn't come out in the laundry; then I ditch em. I probably get about a week out of a sponge, and a month out of a rag. That's a total of a dollar per month in cleaning implements. The effort getting them clean probably isn't worth the dollar. --Jayron32 01:16, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

That's kind of what I do anyway. If I don't think I can get it clean enough, I have no problems throwing out a 15p synthetic sponge. Though I was curious why my sponge cleaning efforts didn't last. I might experiment with zapping them in the microwave. Thanks all. Astronaut (talk) 03:06, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Absolutely. Buy a new sponge, it must be cheaper and more convenient than all the faffing about that is being suggested here. Do as we do and buy two good quality dishcloths. You throw one in the wash once or twice a week and always have a spare to use. They never have a chance to become smelly. We have the same two for about three years. I think it was an initial £7.50 outlay from Waitrose (other clothes are available from other stores). OK, quite a lot for two clothes but here we are three years later with near perfect cloths and no problem. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 07:47, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Faffing redirects to Differences between American and British English (vocabulary), CD. What did you mean by that interesting-sounding word? -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 20:41, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Faff in British slang is hassle, usually unnecessary or annoying. Typical usage would be "I'm not doing that - it's just too much faffing about" or "Those forms were a real faff, but I managed to get them sent off yesterday" 131.111.185.69 (talk) 21:16, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Exactly right, Caesar's Daddy (talk) 05:59, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I know of 4.5 star hotel that primarily uses bleach for almost all hygienic needs (really, its ridiculous, they clean everything with it), and they pass rigorous health checks to maintain 4.5 rating so I'd say that bleach is pretty good choice. In the other hand, I never knew about microwaving wet sponges, in fact I was gonna suggest boiling it before I red all the answers, but this seems like even better idea. I bet if you combine the 2 techniques NOTHING will survive.--Melmann^(talk) 15:09, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

You can put the sponges in the washing machine along with dishcloths and microfibre cloths. Stops them becoming smelly and extends their life. Itsmejudith (talk) 15:12, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Finding a London advert against using unregistered taxi cabs

There is an advert on London tubes (and maybe elsewhere) saying smething like "no. stop. no. please. stop..." with a woman in the picture. It's about taxis and is suggesting she will be raped. It's asying 'think before get into an unregistered taxi cab'. I can't find the advert online though. I'm sure it had a number on that you could text to help ensure that the cab was registered. If you could find this it would be great - i've spent a long time searching but have come up with nothing. Thanks 86.179.214.235 (talk) 20:01, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Sounds like it could be Cabwise also look at Transport for London:Transport for London:Booking taxis and minicabs for more general info on cabs and transport.--Aspro (talk) 20:10, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

It was Cabwise. Thanks. 86.179.214.235 (talk) 22:49, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Prices - Harrods

Am I misreading, or are the prices at this "American Diner" at Harrods in London really exorbitant? If the online menu is to be believed, a "Chicago Dog" costs £14.50, or about $21.47 US, according to Google's currency converter. A plain hamburger costs £15 ($22.21 US) and a slice of cheese for your burger costs £1.75 ($2.59 US). A milkshake costs £8 ($11.85 US). Is it just so expensive because it's Harrods, or is there something else that explains the high prices? Thanks, The Hero of This Nation (talk) 21:48, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Just because it's Harrods. ╟─TreasuryTag►Counsellor of State─╢ 21:49, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Who would ever choose to pay such ridiculous prices? Surely convenience (if that's the reason) isn't worth that much. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 22:04, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Surely there are places in New York, say, which are similarly ludicrous? People do it so they can say, "I did x at Harrods," though I don't know how many actually eat such absurdly expensive food! ╟─TreasuryTag►cabinet─╢ 22:07, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

That's even more absurd: to pay through the a**e for some food, just to say you've been there, and then not even eat it? For those prices, it had better be Quintiple Crown 20-star Cordon Bleu, so why waste it if you've gone to the expense of buying it anyway. I suppose they could try to frame it, but there would be some health issues there.  :) Better to take a photo, eat the meal, and frame the photo. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 22:16, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. I have heard that London is one of the most expensive cities in which to live, but $21.47 for a Chicago dog is ridiculous. My local establishment charges $2.50 (£1.69). The Hero of This Nation (talk) 22:13, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

And I'm sure they would pay a lot less for a hamburger and shake if they went to McDonald's, but no one's going to brag that they went to McDonald's in London. Another example is the price of food at a major league ballpark vs. a minor league ballpark. It's not the food that's of so much value, it's where you're having it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:22, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

They seem to be copying some of the American eateries where the rich and famous hang out in order to be be seen but the food turns out to be a big disappointment. These are some of gastronomic ideas I would prefer the Americans keep to themselves. There was a 'Planet' something or other I went to once and I didn't even bother to finish the meal. Weather it was the prices that kept the trailer-trash out, I have no idea, but I don't think they would have eaten there if had been free. At least the beef at Harrods will not have been pumped full of hormones. --Aspro (talk) 22:25, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

That sounds like Planet Hollywood. I have eaten there before; mediocre food, terribly loud atmosphere, and very expensive. If I remember correctly, it was 15-20 dollars a plate. The Reader who Writes (talk) 02:30, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

(ec) I doubt people choose to eat at Harrods for the convenience, but instead do it for the experience of eating somewhere notable (and perhaps to "marvel" at the high price they paid). And I bet Harrods burgers don't come in a styrofoam box, probably to prevent you from wandering round the store dropping onions, ketchup and that very expensive cheese everywhere :-)

As for expensive eating, I have eaten in some extraordinarily expensive places, for the supposedly good food and for the experience of having eaten there. A few have failed to live up to their reputation, but I have generally been satisfied. Yes, London is expensive, but it is possible to find good cheap food, but equally it is possible to be ripped off with decidedly average food at high prices. Astronaut (talk) 22:29, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Let me tell you as a frequent visitor to London and an occasional visitor to Harrods that you will NEVER see a celebrity there. It is SOOOOOO busy with people from around Britain and the World that NO celebrity would wish to be seen there unless it was a closed and invited-only event. And yes, the prices are ridiculous. Oh, it is a wonderful corner shop, and it is fascinating to see such a VAST array of EVERYTHING one could ever wish to buy - but always be prepared to take out a mortgage for a prawn sandwich in one of their many eateries. And if you like Sushi - think instead about flying first-class to Japan, it will be much cheaper, believe me. Me? I can actually afford to shop there thanks to hard work and a frugal lifestyle, but NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, would I pay £3.25 for a single chocolate, even though the assistant spoke with a crystal English Rose accent and wore fine lace gloves whilst serving me. If you want quality, choice, variety and price competition that guarantees a refund if you find the same article cheaper elsewhere, go to Asda, Tesco or John Lewis. But if you MUST prove to your friends that you actually went to HARRODS, then buy a half-pound of freshly ground Blue Mountain Coffee and ask them to provide a Harrods Bag to carry it in. And on the way home, EVERYONE will know you are a show-off cheapskate - LIKE ME. 92.30.6.196 (talk) 00:03, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Hubert Keller's hamburger at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas runs $5000: [6]. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 05:11, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

How much do you think a burger by Heston Blumenthal would cost? (See [7]) --Phil Holmes (talk) 10:01, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

When I was a child in the early 1960's I once had a meal in Harrods, and it was just like any cafe in those days, although posher restuarants were also available. The service was good and the food generous. 78.146.175.181 (talk) 11:44, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

But on the last response : in the 1960's, Harrods wasn't owned by Fayed - it was owned by the Fraser family, latterly Sir Hugh Fraser, who also owned other large department stores around the UK. But sadly, Sir Hugh had a serious character defect that always seemed to steer him in the opposite direction from that needed for running a successful business with a Global reputation to uphold. And yes, I too remember Harrods THEN being a nice upmarket - though not unaffordable venue for specialist shopping and high tea and a good haircut. But nowadays? 92.30.101.19 (talk) 17:34, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

I presume these prices are how Fayed has just managed to sell the store to the Qatari royal family for £1.5 billion! -- Arwel Parry (talk) 17:48, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

But nowadays, 101.19, Harrods is a sideshow for people with more money than sense or taste, where you can spend far too much money on everything from a hot dog to the store itself. :) FiggyBee (talk) 20:28, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Well said Figgy Bee - there will always be those who know the price of everything ----- and the value of nothing. 92.30.101.19 (talk) 20:47, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Actually the price of the store seemed fairly reasonable to me. I have bought a couple of things there but have tended to avoid it because of getting a headache from the perfume. Dmcq (talk) 15:35, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

May 9

Roman Polanski judge decision

Where can I find Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza's full 11 page order about Roman Polanski being required to return to California for sentencing. The order is from January I think.

Thanks.

EdwinHJ | Talk 01:19, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

I can find the minutes of the 1977 Grand Jury proceedings [8], but not the order issued on 22nd January 2010. If it were available to the public, I would expect it to be on The Smoking Gun. Googling around, I really don't think it's publically available. 86.180.48.37 (talk) 18:49, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

It is probably a public record like almost all other US court proceedings. The Smoking Gun is not exactly the pinnacle of journalistic excellence and you shouldn't expect it to ... do anything. Googling around, I saw that an AP site appeared to have a copy of the court order, but it's on their FTP site and you need an AP account to get to it. The court itself presumably has it in a publicly available filing if you want to schlep over to the courthouse itself and ask for a copy (which is what the AP did to get theirs). Comet Tuttle (talk) 21:16, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Ignore the second line to our curiously phrased article; TSG is as reliable as any other collection of journalists - take that for what you will. Their site has many documents relating to Polanski, such as this, this, this, and this, so I'm also puzzled why they wouldn't have the more recent stuff. Nothing is showing up in my searches of Google or Google news either; I'm starting to think it simply hasn't been released. Matt Deres (talk) 18:25, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Recording Sleep Talking

So it turns out I talk in my sleep, and I've been told that I say some pretty funny stuff. I want to know what it is that i say, so I'm looking for a method to record myself. I don't want to take up a ton of memory on my computer or a recording device so do you guys know of any way to get an audio recorder (like my Zoom H2, either alone or hooked up to my mac) to be triggered by noise---or perhaps a way to deal with a potentially 10 hour long audio file? Thanks for the help. 169.229.76.114 (talk) 06:44, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

There's no real reason why you couldn't use a PC to record ten hours' worth of sound - it'll only be 6 Gigs even if recorded in CD quality. You could then load it into Audacity or similar and look for periods of sound. --Phil Holmes (talk) 09:57, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Google for a “Voice Activated Recorder” and take your pick. Ask around your friends, because many recorders have this option already so that you can you use them for dictation. I notice our article Somniloquy has no audio file giving an example yet. How about uploading any of the most embarrassing sound-bites :-) --Aspro (talk) 10:09, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

I actually recorded myself a few times a while back. I used to talk a lot in my sleep, I don't any more, but it was to show me how strong a snorer I am. I actually used my Zen Stone, which made quite a low-quality recording, but was by far the easier choice as I didn't want to lug the PC upstairs to where we sleep just to record myself. Came out good, recorded about seven hours of material before the battery died. Makes for freaky listening material. --Ouro (blah blah) 05:39, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Non-mother's day?

Has there ever been an attempt to celebrate those women who aren't mothers (through choice or chance) with a special day? --TammyMoet (talk) 11:21, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

According to the article Childfree, the National Alliance for Optional Parenthood has designated August 1 as Non-Parents' Day. I guess that falls under "attempt", yes? There is also, separately, the International Women's Day, which doesn't have motherhood as a prerequisite. --Mr.98 (talk) 12:29, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Cool thanks! --TammyMoet (talk) 12:33, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

What about men who aren't fathers? --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 15:30, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

International Men's Day is November 19. -- Wavelength (talk) 15:33, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Okay... So who gives what to whom on Non-Parents' Day?--Shantavira|^{feed me} 17:14, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Why the premise that there is anything to give to non-parents on Non-Parents Day? And is this day to celebrate non-parents who could be parents or any non-parent? Seems entirely ridiculous to me...sort of like wishing everyone a very happy unbirthday. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 17:29, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

The clincher would be whether Hallmark issues greeting cards for any or all of those non-parent dates. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:26, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Halmark will have its work cut out for it if it's going to make "Thanks for doing your part to reduce human overpopulation!" look good on a card. APL (talk) 19:16, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

On one Father's Day I saw a card which read "Thank you for not being a father". Nobody says "Thank you for not being a mother"! --TammyMoet (talk) 19:36, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

That's because there is a difference between "thank you for not irresponsibly spreading your sperm around to random women and then not taking the proper responsibility when she get's pregnant" is quite different than "thank you for not getting duped by that asshole who made you believe he really loved you when he knocked you up, and then split when he learned you were pregnant". --Jayron32 03:11, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

They are quite different, but only if you make the rather patronising assumption that single mothers become so because they were "duped by an asshole", and that there's no such thing as a (potentially) bad mother. FiggyBee (talk) 17:58, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

A more cynical way of phrasing it would be, "Thank you for not extending your genetic line into the gene pool." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:58, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

In general celebrating something negative, for example, celebrating not being something, is an extremely bad idea. Surely there are other things about yourself that you could celebrate? You don't earn praise for not being a mother, it's just living life, wheras parenting is extremely difficult and imo deserves celebration. Celebrate the many greats things about you. I get hte impression (maybe wrongly but I still get it) that you somehow feel intimidated by mothers because you aren't one. Don't be, it's your choice not be a mother, and you're better off. Kids take a lot of effort, even though you will be extremely proud of them. I don't intend to have children, and I don't think that really warrants celebration. It's nothing really. However I climbed 4 mountains today, and I think that does warrant celebration.--92.251.166.171 (talk) 18:36, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Battle of Ortona

I served in the irish regiment of toronto during the second world war in Italy. my brother was killed and I was wounded. Where can I find a summary of this fight in Ortona This I believe was in 1944. My name is Robert Himpfen. My brothers name was Sgt Richard Himpfen. 216.221.94.5 (talk) 15:05, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

We have something about the Battle of Ortona (December 20, 1943 to December 28, 1943) The are a number of external links to other website at the bottom of the artical --Aspro (talk) 15:23, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Truck?

Sorry for this kind of question but I want to know the opinions of Wikipedians, not the overall population.

Is the Nissan Pathfinder considered a truck, or at least more a truck than a car? Suomi Finland 2009 (talk) 15:34, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

The Nissan Pathfinder is an SUV. They are legally classified as "light trucks" in the United States, and "cars" elsewhere. FiggyBee (talk) 15:45, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Basically it depends on the area. For example, in some countries what would be called an 'estate car' could be called a 'station wagon' elsewhere. I would call it a SUV personally, but in Britain it's generally called a car. Chevymontecarlo. 05:01, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I would call it a car. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 21:56, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Definitely a car in British terminology (not that you see many over here - we're not fond of such ridiculously large cars). --Tango (talk) 01:45, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Can I come and live in your country, Tango? Here in Australia they've become a dime a dozen. Even suburban dwellers who work in city offices and never see a blade of grass except what's on their front garden, and wouldn't know a country road if it hit them in the face, drive these beasts, in most cases for no other or better reason than because their peers do. -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 02:38, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

It seems the taxman is the only one who considers SUVs trucks. DOR (HK) (talk) 04:20, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, it's actually the industry that wants this classification, because it exempts them from the CAFE standards, or maybe puts them in a different piece of it or something, so that they don't have to get averaged in with ordinary cars, which would then have to be much more efficient to satisfy the rule. I also vaguely seem to remember that this is being changed. Maybe the article I linked will have more. --Trovatore (talk) 05:53, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Name of person, location of house

About 10 years ago a gentlemen came to Webster County Ms. and dismantled an old historic log house. The woman that sold the house to him died a few years ago and her family does not know the name of the man. It is thought that he took the logs to Pickens County Ala. and restored it. My great, Great grandfather . Judge John Snow, built the house in the early 1800's and I would love to be able to find it and photograph it. If I have the wrong website for such information and research, would you be able to steer me in the right direction to find something. Mary John Hicks (email address removed) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.248.177.138 (talk) 17:13, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Many counties and municipalities have "Historical societies" which actually keep track of these sorts of things. You may want to try to look for a "Webster County Historical Society" or a "Pickens County Historical Society" or some similar names, which may have records and/or photographs of old structures like this. --Jayron32 03:08, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

family

According to my Grand Uncle's daughter, my Grand Uncle went to the Yucatan, along with another doctor. While there, there was a mine explosion. Both went to help and there was another explosion. Both were killed.

Dr. W.F. Melchers and Dr. Ernest Gilstrap - died 1907

How can I get any information on them?

Thank you for your time.

Kathy <email address removed> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.244.105.55 (talk) 20:46, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Have you tried ancestry.com? 24.189.90.68 (talk) 00:53, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

For those who are searching: Kathy evidently asked this question (without result) on the "Yucatan Journeys" web site where she gave a little more information: "Hello, In July 1907, my Grand Uncle - Dr. Wilhelm Ferdinand Melchers and Dr. Ernest Gilstrap, were in the Yucatan. There was a mine explosion and both were killed. They did not send the bodies home. How might I find out where this was and if they ended up in a cemetery. Supposedly, the people erected a monument to them. Thank you - Kathy". She also tried Genealogy.com's forums where she told more information. Every little helps Kathy! The more you can tell us, the greater the chance we have to pull off an amazing find!! SteveBaker (talk) 01:34, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Kathy's posts are on a wide range of forums - all over the internet! You've certainly been doing your homework! I wonder if we stand any chance of doing better?

One thing that stands out for me is that several people who live in the Yukutan have answered this query by saying that there are no mines in the area - so how could there be such a disaster? One respondent said:[9] "Maybe a quarry disaster. I mean, that could be possible. But there are no mines. There isn’t anything to mine for in the thick limestone. There are caves farther south on the peninsula, but again, there’s nothing inside but limestone, maybe sandstone or something similar. If you dig down more than 20-30′, you’ll hit water. All the quarries are always filling up with water and get abandoned when their size makes it impractical to pump out any more. With the peninsula having once been an ancient seabed, there really isn’t the variety of metals, minerals, or igneous rock found in mountainous areas. Just limestone formed by the calcium carbonate of bazillions of ancient plankton, sea creatures, etc. If there were some mining disaster, it would be interesting to know about. Anything is possible. From the many histories we’ve read, there was no mention of mining being a part of the economy."

So if it wasn't a "mine explosion" - then you evidently have some bad information. We have to ask ourselves what parts of the story are likely to be incorrect. It's possible that these two people died in some iniquitous manner - and the "mine story" is a coverup? Maybe there is just some confusion about where it happened - or maybe it wasn't a mine but...well, who knows? SteveBaker (talk) 01:47, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes - unfortunately family stories of this type are not always true. My mother was told by her father that her mother was irish. When I researched the genealogy it turned out that all her family back to before 1800 came from Kings Lynn - a town on the East of England, and about as far from Ireland as you can get in the UK. --Phil Holmes (talk) 09:00, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Frankfurt Airport

The article Frankfurt Airport claims Frankfurt Airport is by far the busiest airport in Germany, and the third busiest airport in Europe. Why is this? I'd expect Berlin Tegel Airport to be the busiest airport in Germany, with Berlin having over five times as many people as Frankfurt am Main. I've never been to Frankfurt am Main, although I've been to Germany at least ten times, with most of those times including Berlin, so I don't have personal experience. Can anyone explain what makes Frankfurt am Main so special? JIP | Talk 21:04, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Berlin, until quite recently, was in the middle of the GDR. As a location for a hub, this would have been useless. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 22:41, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Quite recently? The GDR was disestablished almost 20 years ago.... Kingsfold (talk) 13:15, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

To expand slightly on Cookatoo's response; there are two ways for an airport to become busy. The first is for a lot of people to want to arrive there, and the second is for a lot of people to need to pass through. Frankfurt is the hub of operations for Lufthansa, which means that a lot of Lufthansa and codeshared Star Alliance flights (and passengers) will change planes there, as will passengers who need to link into those airlines' networks. While Frankfurt is a pleasant city, you're probably quite right that fewer people are interested in it as a destination compared to Berlin.

A similar phenomenon can be observed with other large airlines and airports. While I doubt that many people are much interested in visiting Minnesota, about 30% more people pass through Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport than go through New York's LaGuardia Airport — this is because Minneapolis is a hub for Delta. (See List of airports in the United States by passengers boarded.) TenOfAllTrades(talk) 23:09, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

I don't disagree with your point, but the New York/Minneapolis example is unfair in that it ignores New York's busier airport. --Sean 19:29, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

In other words, see Airline hub. --Anonymous, 02:04 UTC, May 10, 2010.

You also have to define "busiest". In terms of planes taking off and landing, Memphis International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, though the vast majority of those planes have no people on them. --Jayron32 03:06, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Pilotless drones? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 09:56, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

By "people," Jayron most likely meant passengers. Kingsfold (talk) 13:15, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, pilots are people too! Googlemeister (talk) 14:43, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

--Jayron32 21:33, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

From Pilot: "Pilot, an aviator, person who flies an aircraft". Ditto in aviator "An aviator is a person who flies or travels via aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. ... The term is often applied to pilots" From person "Persons - In contemporary global thought, once humans are born, personhood is considered automatic via Legal fiction created by a Birth certificate." Nil Einne (talk) 00:08, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Frankfurt has always been trading/traveling hub of Germany. And while Frankfurt may not be big population-wise, it is center of second largest metropolitan area of Germany, according to our Frankfurt article. Seams like good enough reason to me. Also, just by checking Frankfurt Airport article you can see that when it was built (1936), it was second largest airport in Germany behind.... you guessed it, Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. But because of Cold War arrangements of occupational zones, when West Germany invested money in modern airport, they couldn't invest into Tempelhof Airport in Berlin (let me remind you, Berlin was split in 2, but Allied side was encircled by Soviet occupational zone, it was an "island" of allied influence) so logical choice was second biggest one, and biggest one they had access to: Frankfurt. And once you build multi-million mark/euro/dollar project like one of busiest airports in the world, its not really child's play to move it to Berlin, so Frankfurt remains biggest one. Oh, and Lufthans HQ is there.--Melmann^(talk) 15:01, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure that it is fair to say that Frankfurt has always been the trading/traveling hub of Germany. It has certainly been one of the top five hubs, but Hamburg, Cologne, and Berlin could have claimed the top spot at various points over the past 500 years or so. Between about 1870 and 1944, Berlin was the undisputed economic and commercial center of Germany, as well as its capital. After World War II and the Soviet occupation and encirclement of Berlin, most of Germany's big banks moved their headquarters to Frankfurt, which had always been an important banking center. Frankfurt's role as Germany's financial capital and its geographic position near the center of West Germany undoubtedly led Lufthansa to make Frankfurt its hub by the late 1950s. Its central location meant that it could offer very short connecting flights or train connections within a few hours to any other Germany city, whereas a hub in Cologne or Hamburg would have meant longer flights or very long rail journeys (especially before the introduction of high-speed trains) to cities in southern Germany. Also, according to this list of the largest 100 firms in Germany, 10 of these firms are headquartered in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan area, whereas only 2 are headquartered in Berlin. Since business travel accounts for a large share of passenger loads, Frankfurt is clearly more important in this regard. Marco polo (talk) 19:50, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I never claimed it was only or biggest trading hub, but as you pointed out its central position must have been very advantageous during the times of of slow transport methods. Even now it is priceless to be 1 or 2 hour away from any part of Germany, imagine back then, it was was between a day of travel and two, three days (not actual figures, I am not familiar with exact distances involved). But even if it wasn't that important, core of my reasoning still stands.--Melmann^(talk) 00:14, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

May 10

Federal funding of medical research and the private sector

A question came up recently and no one really had a good answer:

When (if) the federal government provides funding for something such as cancer or aids research, how are the funds actually distributed? For instance in the case of something such as aids: if the government spent 50 million dollars to research a cure or treatment, how is that research used by a drug company? Is the research given to them to use to develop vaccines and treatments or is it sold to them? For that matter, who actually does the research? Is it a gov't entity or is the money given in grants to the private sector? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fdjgerardi (talk • contribs) 01:08, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

A number of countries have federal governments that are involved in funding medical research. Which country are you talking about? -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 02:31, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

In the US, the National Science Foundation has a budget of about 7 billion dollars, and distributes 20% of the funds for federal-supported basic research, according to our article. The funds go out as grants to researchers whose proposals look best to the NSF. A large portion of this (I think most of it) goes to researchers at colleges and universities (mostly professors and graduate students).

Academic researchers (and some researchers at private organizations) publish their work in independent scientific journals, and is effectively a matter of public record, so anyone can use it (the journals are available to anyone for an annual fee). Medicine may be different from most research; I wouldn't be surprised if most published medical research is from non-academic institutions. Paul (Stansifer) 02:59, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

The US National Institutes of Health budget is $30.5 billion, much of which goes to academic institutions and the vast majority of which is directly targeted at research leading either directly (clinical or translational research) or indirectly (basic science research) to treatment of disease. Implicit in this arrangement is the idea that the results of the research will end up published in the scientific and medical literature so that it can be of benefit to everyone. However, because the process of bringing a drug to market is so vastly different, it is usually left up to the private sector to do this (the idea being that profits == incentive to develop new drugs). There are some in academia who are becoming increasingly frustrated with the tendency of big pharma to develop "me too" drugs, and many large academic centers are developing drug discovery pipelines. One would still expect that the proceeds from such an endeavor would be returned largely to the developer of the treatments, even if the funding for basic research on the topic came from federal sources. --- Medical geneticist (talk) 12:01, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Here is a lengthy relevant recent thread at the humanities desk: Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Humanities#Government-run_drug_research.John Z (talk) 09:00, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

In the book "Gathering Blue" by lois lowry, what doese blue & "the path" mean, symbolicly?

I have to mmake some sort of t-shirt design for a school project, for the plannning sheet i need to know what blue means as a sybol, and "the path" too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Beatlesfabfan (talk • contribs) 02:38, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Part of the purpose of these sorts of school projects is for you to read and interpret the book yourself, using your own deductive skills and imagination. The meaning of "blue" and "the path" in this book doesn't have a definative answer like "what is the square root of 169" or "explain the bohr model of the atom" or "Who was the last anglo-saxon king of England". Those sorts of questions are such that everyone should get the same answer. Part of reading and interpreting literature is YOU need to come up with YOUR OWN meaning and be able to use your skills to express that meaning. So, part of this project is being able to apply your understanding of the book into your own life, and to translate that understanding into a T-shirt design which you can also explain. Its not a measure of your ability to memorize some fact, its a measure of your ability to think critically about something you've read and to express your thoughts in a creative manner. For teachers, their goal is to get you as a student to move deeper into your thinking (see Bloom's taxonomy) and this is the sort of project that does that. There isn't a "right answer", but there is a "right way" to do this project. Think hard about it, work hard at it, and put some effort both into reading the work critically, and in putting together your project. --Jayron32 03:02, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia has an article about the book "Gathering Blue". Hint: what does the cenral character Kira collect? Is there anything notable about the eyes of the boy Matt? After you read the book you could see whether you agree with what other readers say about it here and here, and a plot summary.Cuddlyable3 (talk) 09:53, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia's articles about the colors ("Blue", in this case) have significant information on the cultural and symbolic "meanings" of the color. That may be of some use - but I think Cuddlyable's answer (above) it the best one. SteveBaker (talk) 01:20, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Luck Penny

Dear Sir,

I have a big Coin, probably made of copper, which my father had brought from USA in 1952-53 while he was studying at Minnesota University. The coin carries head with head-gear of a Red Indian with inscription 'Lucky Penny' on one side and Niagara falls on the other side. It appears to be made in Tokyo. Diameter of the coin is more than 2".

I do not know its history nor I know about its value. Would you please enlighten me on this.

If you permit, I would send its photograph.

Uday Mohan —Preceding unsigned comment added by Udaymohan (talk • contribs) 04:09, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Does it look like this one? Clarityfiend (talk) 04:27, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

If you already have a picture, you can Internet search for a free image upload site (there are many) and upload it there, then send us the link to it. Chevymontecarlo. 04:58, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

In any case, it would have been merely a souvenir coin, not legal tender. Kind of like the old expression, "Don't take any wooden nickels!" and of course "nickels" made of wood with an Indian on one side and an advertisement on the other side were sold as souvenirs. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:57, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Bugs is right, lucky pennies are a common souvenir, although their popularity has fallen off in favour of those squished imprinted pennies that come out of vending machines. Niagara is such a popular vacation/honeymoon spot that almost every US family has a Niagara souvenir or two in an attic or closet somewhere. I found a similar item that uses a real penny from 1910 which sold on eBy for less than 10 bucks: link. I think yours would be worth less than half that. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 17:07, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Unknown herb

My neighbour has a herb growing in a pot, that I can't identify. At first I thought it was tarragon, but the lfower colour seems wrong.

The leaves are narrow and pointed, growing in small clumps. When crushed they give off a very faint aniseed scent. The flowers spike is about 5cms and the flowers are small and orange/yellow in colour.

Can anyone help please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jarraby (talk • contribs) 07:25, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Sounds like fennel to me.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:17, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Fennel is much bigger (1 meter or more) but perhaps Dill. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 08:40, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

You could ask your neighbour and at the same time explain why you are taking samples of its leaves and crushing them. Do you have a photograph? --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 10:09, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Possibly dill. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 11:05, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

How about asking your neighbor what plant is it (assuming s/he plant it). It could be a poisonous plant :P. A picture would also help in the identification. --Tyw7  (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 01:06, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

My neighbour is the one that crushed the leaves for me to smell and asked me what is was. LOL. Sorry, no pic, but thanks for trying. It's not dill, more like tarragon, but the flower colour is wrong.

Pronouncing "proboscis"

I've heard this word pronounced Proh boh sis and Pro boss kiss.

Is there more than one correct pronounciation?

Is this a regional thing? I live in the South of the UK. --Dweller (talk) 10:11, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the soft c (proh-boh-sis) is the only right one; I don't think I've ever heard anyone who knows what they're talking about pronounce a hard C in the last syllable. ~ mazca ^talk 10:43, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Our article, if I read the IPA rightly, seems to agree with you, but it notes a Greek etymology that suggests to me that those who have a passing familiarity with Ancient Greek would prefer to include a hard k. Perhaps this is like the variant pronounciations for certain Latin phrases, like "veni vidi vici", where those who studied Latin in the last 20 years are likely to pronounce the vs as ws? --Dweller (talk) 10:50, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

If the teaching of Latin has changed in the last twenty years, I haven't heard about it, though admittedly it was a bit outside that window for me. I think how Latin is taught depends on what country you take it in. In the US and UK I believe it's ordinarily taught with the so-called "classical" or "Teutonic" pronunciation (roughly waynee weedee weekee), whereas if you study it in a country more closely connected with Italy or the Catholic Church, you'll get the church pronunciation ("vaynee veedee veechee").

Strolling enthusiastically off-topic, this was one of the things that struck me about The Passion of the Christ. Gibson used mainly Italian actors for the Romans, and they sounded very natural speaking Latin, but the Italianate pronunciation they used was a clear anachronism. Artistically though, I think it was a defensible choice, because they really did sound natural (in contrast, the actors speaking Aramaic might as well have been talking Klingon). --Trovatore (talk) 19:31, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Well, pardon me for not knowing what I'm talking about, Mazca, but this is the first occasion on which I have ever, ever heard it suggested the c is pronounced other than hard. Are you saying it's a rhyme for 'prognosis'? That is certainly news to me and my ignorant antipodean ilk. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 11:03, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

In my experience it has the S sound of "prognosis" but doesn't rhyme with it - it's a short o sound, as in "moss". Sorry if my statement implied that people who pronounce it otherwise don't know what they're talking about - the fact I was stating that the people I've spoken to who do know what they're talking about (biologists) have in my experience always pronounced it with an S sound. Evidently other people who equally know what they're talking about do indeed pronounce it otherwise, but I haven't run into them myself. ~ mazca ^talk 14:35, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Have to agree with Jack, here in the UK I've never heard the soft c version. Mikenorton (talk) 11:51, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm with you, Jack - "pruh-BO-sis" sounds frankly weird and I've certainly never heard it before, although I wouldn't presume to dismiss someone who said it that way as "not knowing what they were talking about". We in the north of England obviously have more in common with our antipodean brethren than with the hissing denizens of Mazca's native turf. Karenjc 12:03, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Dweller is correct to suggest that those with knowledge of Ancient Greek will be inclined to pronounce the c as k: -skis. This is what I have always assumed to be correct (not sure I've ever actually heard anyone say this word). Anyway, picture my surprise a minute ago when I looked up Chambers and found that the only pronunciation recognised is the one with soft 'c'. So I have to join Jack et al in the ranks of those who don't know what they're talking about. Maid Marion (talk) 12:24, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

As a native Floridian with a science (though not biology) background, I've only ever heard it pronounced proh-boss-kiss, and I grew up watching a crapload of the Discovery Channel! 74.115.162.10 (talk) 12:42, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Seems like both pronunciations are used, although that doesn't mean they are both right. -sis -kis, -sis. So I think it is not worth getting your nose out of joint over it. meltBanana 13:13, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Indeed, it does look to be so. Apologies again for those who took my "knowing what they're talking about" statement as more derisory than I meant it! ~ mazca ^talk 14:35, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

In Adaptation I'm pretty sure it's pronounced prah-boss-kis. Vranak (talk) 16:37, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Having lived in 5 different US states (California, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Massachusetts), I can report that I've only ever heard "proboskis". I wasn't aware of the other pronunciation. Marco polo (talk) 19:22, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

My Webster's gives the preferred as pruh-BAH-suhs and the secondary as pruh-BAHS-kuhs. I've never heard it any other way than the first way, but it's not a term you hear all that often anyway, since "nose" will do. Especially as the primary definition refers to elephants and other animals with flexible snouts. W.C. Fields used that term in the film Mississippi when describing someone else: "He had a rather prominent pruh-BAH-suhs ... after the fashion of all eminent men..." (Fields himself included, of course). An "sc" combination followed by "e" or "i" would typically be pronounced like an "s" in English. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:37, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Fascinating, Chambers 20th Century Dictionary gives a soft "c", but I've never actually heard it said thus. They give the first vowel as a schwa or as a long "o", and the second as a short "o". My usage would be hard "c" and first vowel as a schwa. DuncanHill (talk) 19:40, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

This question's rather caught my interest - I've been asking all sorts of people today how they pronounce it, and it seems to vary widely with no discernable pattern with ages, places of origin, or level of education.. I'm in the south of the UK, and I've probably found about 50/50 between hard-c and soft-c, with a healthy minority who really weren't sure as they didn't think they'd ever actually heard the word said out loud ever. The prevailing use among people who actually use it occasionally in an academic context seems to be a hard C, but it's again far from universal. It seems it's a sufficiently well-known-but-obscure word that most people have an established pronunciation of it, but haven't used it enough to arrive at a standard. Rather interesting. On a related note, about 50% of people will look at you funny when you ask how they pronounce proboscis. ~ mazca ^talk 20:33, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

OED has both, but suggests that the hard "c" is American. Nevertheless, here in northern England, I've heard the hard "c" more often than the soft. Dbfirs 20:33, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Another UK view - proboskiss. Kittybrewster ☎ 17:56, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

That especially works if they're eskimoes, yes? :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:56, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

BEND TEST

PLS. CLARIFY 0T,1T 2T BEND TEST. NEED OF THIS TEST. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rakeshknit (talk • contribs) 10:31, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

You are more likely to get an answer if you give some sort of context for your question: for example, what field of activity or study you are talking about. I for one have no idea whatever what your question relates to. --ColinFine (talk) 23:24, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

A quick Google search on "0T,1T 2T BEND TEST -wikipedia" lead to this clear explanation. 152.16.59.102 (talk) 02:44, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

What is this font?

What is the font used for the word 'Prospex' in this picture? [[10]]

Thanks, --118.210.243.102 (talk) 12:51, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Looks like a varient of Handel Gothic or perhaps the one used for the ESPN logo. It may not be a proper "font" or "typeface" but rather the specific design of the letters may have been created just for that logo. Sometimes logos will incorporate an existing typeface, but just as often, a graphic designer will just create a fanciful set of letters just for the use in a specific logo. --Jayron32 16:04, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I used the WhatTheFont website and it didn't come up with anything close; the closest it got was Proxima Nova Black, which isn't close. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:07, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

The horizontal cuts remind me of the Blade Runner logo, but that's not quite it. APL (talk) 19:58, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I didn't get any hits as well. More tools at http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2008/12/7-free-tools-to-identify-a-font/ ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 02:21, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

sex

how to fuck a girl? --Doaslopm (talk) 13:46, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

See sexual intercourse. --Jayron32 13:55, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

There used to be a "Getting a girl" Wikibook but it got deleted. The Hero of This Nation (talk) 16:31, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

how to fuck a troll? Rimush (talk) 19:38, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

By ignoring it. Too late for that, though. :( There's this point, though. It reminds me of the question "How to be a millionaire?" and the answer is, "First, get a million dollars." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:51, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

The problem with the question is that it is ambiguous. It is unclear if the OP is asking "How do I find a girl that I could fuck?" OR if he is asking "I have a girl right here. How do I fuck her?" The question could be interpreted to mean either. --Jayron32 01:52, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

As a followup question, he'll be asking how to pour water out of a boot if there's no instructions on the heel. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:55, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

This is a pretty distasteful question, D. Vranak (talk) 03:25, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

It's trolling, and everyone beyond the first two responders took the bait. But it was worth it. >:) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:29, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Cost of these Reed & Barton Forks

These forks are used the prestigious University Club of New York in their formal tableware set up:

File:UClubNYCForks.jpg

The forks are made by the high-end silversmith, Reed & Barton. I looked on their website, but was unable to find this specific model.

Would anyone happen to know the approximate retail cost of these forks assuming they were in mint conditions? From examining them, I'm pretty sure they are solid sterling silver.

Thanks, Acceptable (talk) 21:02, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

If I was buying them I would want to know better than "I'm pretty sure" that they were solid sterling silver. If they are then they will almost certainly have some sort of visible hallmark which will indicate the silver content and date of marking. Perhaps this [11] is a good place to go once you've found your hallmark. Richard Avery (talk) 21:27, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

According to the Reed & Barton website, ugly sterling silver forks tend to be about $128 a pop. Does the University Club of New York really put out $800 of cutlery per person? Sterling silver is normally hallmarked in some way, and I see no hallmark in your image. Silver plate does not have hallmarks, costs around the $150 mark or less. Stainless steel - which R&B also do - seems a far more likely a prospect for a catering environment, at around $50 a place setting. The club seems to have in excess of 2400 members ... far to many to trust with silverware, I think. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:36, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

I also can't see a hallmark, which means one of three things: 1) They aren't solid silver. 2) They are extremely old and pre-date hallmarks (seems unlikely since Reed & Barton were only formed in 1824). 3) Something illegal is going on. I think the first is the most likely. --Tango (talk) 11:08, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Hallmarks on silver are not a legal requirement in the United States. Some silver flatware will be marked "STERLING" or "925", but some (like R&B's) just has a maker's mark. FiggyBee (talk) 11:23, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, I may be mistaken, but from all the forks I've seen on their website, I don't think any of them has any numerical/letter markings aside from the company logo. Acceptable (talk) 13:56, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

King's pattern. Heavy weight silver-plate. //shop.ebay.com/sis.html?_kw=3+Reed+%26+Barton+KINGS+Pattern+Silver+Forks%2C+Silverplate Not silver. Kittybrewster ☎ 17:39, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Smelly Garbage Disposal

Our garbage disposal (or sink drain?!) really stinks! We've tried several things to get rid of the smell: using entire packages of plink-o cleaners, foam cleaning pouches, flushing several gallons of hot water at once, grinding ice, flushing with bleach, etc. The ice and/or hot water worked for maybe a week. We do keep our house clean, cleaning out the sink daily and turning on the disposal ANY time we use the kitchen sink. I tried taking off the trap under the disposal, but didn't find any blockages. So I guess I have two questions: 1) Do you have any other ideas on how to get rid of the smell? 2) The disposal is only a year old and is still under warranty through Sears. Would this be something covered by the warranty? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.178.160.89 (talk) 21:55, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Do you have a metal "strainer basket", like this one, or is it rubber? My rubber one got smelly until I pulled the stucker out and scrubbed its underside with harsh stuff. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:09, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Right. I think there must be some part of the mechanism that captures bits of food and provides a medium for the growth of bacteria and fungi that produce an unpleasant odor. Inspect your sink drain and disposal when it gets smelly and try to find where the food is trapped. Were you living in this place before the year-old disposal was installed? Did the problem begin only after it was installed? If so, then I would suspect the disposal or its attachment to your drain is the problem. Otherwise, it might be some other part of the drain. Once you find the place where food is getting trapped, you can devise a solution, such as somehow sealing up the area where food gets trapped (after cleaning it with disinfectants and antifungals) or replacing the offending part. Marco polo (talk) 14:30, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Here's the solution: get a little bucket with a lid for next to the sink. Put all of the food you would normally put down the grinder into the bucket and compost it. Let the bacteria and such eat all the stuff that's currently in the grinder until the smell goes away. Never put food in it again. If you must, occasionally grind your citrus peels in the disposal to make it smell nice. --Sean 19:35, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Pour baking soda down the drain, then follow it with white vinegar. Let it foam for a while, then flush with water. You may need to do it a couple of times. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 22:48, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

May 11

British Rail Class 390

Is the coaches part of the train or are they seperate as in the British Rail Mark Coaches? --Tyw7  (☎ Contact me! • Contributions)   Changing the world one edit at a time! 01:01, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

According to our article British Rail Class 390, they are electric multiple units, so the coaches are an integral part of the train. DuncanHill (talk) 01:06, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Price/volume calculation.

Honest question here, sorry if it seems like I'm trolling. Okay... how many bathtubs could one potentially fill to the brim with $10,000's worth of fondue? For simplicity's sake let's say this tub, though I don't actually care which--just going for a semi-average one here. This one is 60"x30"x14", so 2,100 cu.ft. (seems large for a tub...). Also, USD. Cheers & thanks in advance, · AndonicO ^Contact. 01:46, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

It looks large because you got it wrong. To convert from cubic inches to cubic feet, you divide by 12×12×12 = 1728, not 12. --Anonymous, 03:05 UTC, May 11, 2010.

Looks like you're halfway there. Find a fondue recipe, and price the ingredients. Let us know what you get. If you have trouble finding a particular price or recipe, feel free to ask. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:12, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Here's a recipe from our sister site WikiBooks. Fondue neuchateloise. No idea if it's any good or typical or cheap. Just the first one that came up on a search. APL (talk) 02:32, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Well, a pound of cheese is quite a lot, and that's around half a wine bottle. Most of the other ingredients are relatively inexpensive. I would say for simplicity's sake, let's call it $50, since it would seem to me that the price could vary wildly depending on where one shops. · AndonicO ^Contact. 10:12, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Bus identification

Does anyone know what make and model bus this is? I know it's London because of the destination blind but I can't quite work it out. I'm trying to add a description to it. Chevymontecarlo. 04:01, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Also, could someone help me identifying the buses on this page too. They're on the first three rows of the page. Thanks. Chevymontecarlo. 04:06, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

For the first one, here's a list of busses on the W3 line (the pictures of the busses seem a bit outdated, though): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arriva_London#Bus_types_in_use_10 Rimush (talk) 08:27, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

The first one looks to be a Plaxton President, possibly (from Rimush's list) on a DAF DB250 chassis. In case you're unaware, Chevy, busses used by large operators are usually bought as a chassis only, looking something like this. The body is then built on separately by another company. Thus, two busses with the same chassis can look completely different, and two busses with completely different chassis can look almost identical. Very tricky! As for the rest, File:W7 BUS.jpg and File:W7 Bus at Crouch End Broadway.JPG also looks like a Plaxton President. The Metroline article says the VPL class is based on the Volvo B7TL chassis. File:W6_Bus.jpg is a First DM, Dennis Dart SLF chassis, Marshall Capital body. File:W5_at_Harringay_Superstores_Terminus.JPG, File:W5 bus at Crouch End.JPG and (presumably, it's hard to tell at low resolution) File:W8 Bus.jpg are Metroline DLMs, Dennis Dart SLF chassis, Plaxton Pointer body. My bill is in the post. :) FiggyBee (talk) 14:55, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Hahah lol! Thanks for your hard work! Chevymontecarlo. 15:10, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

I wish I could recognize busses like you, FiggyBee Rimush (talk) 16:44, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

You know a lot about double-deckers for an Australian, Figgy. Kittybrewster ☎ 17:33, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

I've not always been an Australian. :) My grandfather was a bus driver in Leicester, and I've researched busses fairly heavily for a certain hobby. FiggyBee (talk) 17:38, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

English Language

Why they say fell in love instead of rise in love. Is love something bad that they use the word fell. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.160.108.121 (talk) 07:18, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

This might be better at the language desk. Otherwise, one obvious point is the suggestion that it's something you have no control over, which is the salient feature of 'falling' over 'rising' (since neither are inherently good or bad). 131.111.248.99 (talk) 07:58, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

(after edit conflict) I agree that it feels more like rising than falling, but perhaps it has something to do with the effort required - falling requires no effort to accomplish, in fact it is very difficult to resist! English has lots of "fall" expressions like this, and French has "tomber amoureux". Dbfirs 08:02, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

It's a conceptual metaphor. They don't always follow a strictly literal logic. There are a lot of different "love" metaphors. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:22, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

I suspect it has to do wih the suddenness of it, wheras 'rise' usually implies something gradual. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 16:32, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

I think 131.111.248.99 and Dbfirs are onto it. To fall into something (like love, or bed, or an open manhole) requires very little effort, while to rise requires effort (as in "rise to the occasion"). ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:54, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Damn you Bugs! I'll now have Climie Fisher in my head for the rest of the day!DuncanHill (talk) 13:16, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Maybe override it with the Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face": "Falling, yes I am falling..." Or the Johnny Cash classic, "I fell in to a burnin' ring of fire..." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:02, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

A little PIL did the trick :) DuncanHill (talk) 00:27, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Chinese Mountains

Why do Chinese mountains look steep and tall? Is there a particular name for them? Homework2 ^{pass a note}sign! 17:25, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Which Chinese mountains? China has a huge land area, and there are many notable mountain ranges within its borders. --Jayron32 17:59, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

You are probably referring to the karst formations of South China, the best-known of which are those of Guilin and Yangshuo. China has many other mountain ranges that are not especially steep or tall. The Himalayas, while very tall, are not unusually steep. Marco polo (talk) 18:05, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

They are not the karst formations. I am not sure where they are from...I have seen such mountains in chinese art. Also there are some on my Windows Vista backround wallpaper. Homework2 ^{pass a note}sign! 19:27, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Are you sure it isn't Mount Fuji? Or an abstract impression of an idealised mountain? 148.197.114.158 (talk) 22:14, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps the granitic formations of the Huangshan, they also turn up in many works of art, lots of nice views in the gallery of that article. Mikenorton (talk) 22:20, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

I am guessing the OP was referring to Huangshan, not Fuji - Fuji is decidedly NOT steep and tall. And it's in Japan. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 23:11, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Would it be possible to upload the file to a photo sharing site like Photobucket or maybe do a screenshot of the background? Then we could maybe identify the exact location. And then answer the original question. Dismas|^(talk) 23:20, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Tower karst? [12], [13], and [14]. Oda Mari (talk) 05:04, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Actually the Huangshan mountains look decidedly like them. They are the same type of weirdly tall steep mountains. Are mountains like that just in China? I know there is none like that in America. Homework2 ^{pass a note}sign! 15:37, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Their unusual shape is down to a combination of the rock-type, granite and the prolonged but episodic uplift and erosion of the granite since it formed in the Early Cretaceous (ca. 125 mya). The first uplift, in the Eocene (ca. 50 mya), unroofed the granite and eroded it down to a nearly planar surface. The second uplift in the Miocene (ca. 20 mya), caused further erosion forming a denudation surface before the final stage of uplift in the Late Pliocene (ca. 2 mya) modifiying the shape of the granite yet again.(see [15] for more details). Strange shapes are not that unusual in granite, but the vertical scale of those in the Huangshan is. Mikenorton (talk) 16:10, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Actually, we do have Half Dome and El Capitan in the United States. Marco polo (talk) 18:00, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Alrighty. Thanks for answering my question. Homework2 ^{pass a note}sign! 18:02, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Vacation rules

Here in Finland, of the seven days of the week, only Monday to Friday are normal working days, Saturday and Sunday are considered vacation days for most jobs, but of course not all, seeing as someone has to maintain the infrastructure every day.

Still, we have a strange vacation policy. If you take an entire week off work, it's going to cost you six paid vacation days, although it's only going to make a difference of five days, seeing as you don't have to work on Saturday anyway.

I've heard from my Australian co-worker that in Australia, if a public holiday that's fixed on a date instead of a weekday falls on the weekend, you get the next Monday off work automatically. It doesn't work like that in Finland.

What is the situation elsewhere in the world? JIP | Talk 19:55, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

UK: Week's holiday for a 5-day a week worker costs 5 paid days. Public holidays falling on a weekend result in a Monday holiday, iirc. --Tagishsimon (talk) 20:02, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

You are correct. --Tango (talk) 20:04, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

It's the same in the US. If a holiday, like New Year's Day for instance, falls on a Saturday, you generally get Friday off. And a week's worth of vacation is five days. Dismas|^(talk) 20:18, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

If a fixed federal holiday (Independence Day, Veterans Day, New Years' Day, Christmas, and in election years Inauguration Day) falls on a Sunday, government workers (and most others) get Monday off. Also, if Christmas falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, the federal government is traditionally also closed on Monday and Friday, respectively; if Christmas falls on a Friday, as it did in 2009, the government is closed early on Thursday. Xenon54 (talk) 20:30, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

What we have is all holidays that we normally have off (there are a specified 11 of them) that happen to fall on a weekend gives us one extra vacation day, which we can use at any time during the year, but not the next Monday off. Googlemeister (talk) 20:44, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

So with the Finnish system - when you take a week off - and consume 6 days of vacation time for 5 days off work - do they pay you extra money for that extra day? If they do - then it's kinda nice - you get some spending money to use while on vacation. If not - then it's no different from the British/USA system - except that you have to mentally multiply the number of vacation days you get by 5/6 to get the "real" number of vacation days.

What I don't understand though is what happens if you decide to take a four day vacation? Do you then lose just 4 vacation days?...or is it 4x6/5 = 4.8 days? Do they even allow you to take shorter vacations? Here in the USA, details vary - but in my job, vacation time is measured in hours - and I can use as little as one hour of vacation time and (for example) go home an hour early - or take 40 hours and disappear for an entire week. Perhaps the Finnish system is an incentive to try to make people take shorter, more frequent vacations instead of taking a full week off? I could see the business sense in that.

SteveBaker (talk) 20:29, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

My employer's system is the same as Steve's on the hourly point. I can take an hour of vacation on a Friday and have an early start to the weekend if I like. Another thing that might be worth mentioning is that all of our "time off", while it's seen as separate by the company, is seen as all one "bucket" by the employees. We get a couple days for sick leave and then a number of days for vacation. Nobody thinks of it that way except for the bean counters in Human Resources. We all just think of it as one lump sum. Dismas|^(talk) 20:36, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Vacations are measured in full days, not individual hours. You only lose the additional paid vacation day if you take at least five consecutive vacation days. They don't have to start on Monday, a long enough consecutive vacation is enough for Saturday to count among the vacation days by itself. I'm fairly sure you get the same vacation pay for the extra Saturday as you do for any other vacation day. There is no multiplication by 6/5, all vacation days are the same, except that at least five consecutive days cause Saturday to be counted as a vacation day. It might sound like it's intended to encourage people to divide their vacations into shorter periods, but at least according to my employer, it's the contrary, they want people to keep their vacations as consecutive as possible. JIP | Talk 19:30, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes, that would work because you get a bonus day's pay if you take five consecutive working days of vacation. The pay per day and vacation entitlement in a year remains the same whether you take long or short vacations, but taking longer vacations means that you work and get paid for a few extra days in a year. This is probably seen as an advantage to most employers because they don't need to recruit as many staff to cover vacations or to pay as much overtime. Dbfirs 08:07, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Nothing surpasses (in lameness) the Chinese system - if a festival falls on a weekday, you get the weekday off and report to work on the next Saturday. Very few real holidays here, just lots of shuffling of weekends around. For this past Spring Festival, allegedly we all had "2 weeks" off, which would be 16 days in another country (weekend + work week + weekend + work week + weekend) but the truth of the matter was we went back to work on a Saturday, so we had only 14 days "off" and then 7 days on! 61.189.63.174 (talk) 22:44, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Just to clarify--the OP says that in Finland, "Saturday and Sunday are considered vacation days for most jobs." That's not true in the U.S., in two senses. While most people with full-time jobs work five days per week, the remaining two days aren't considered "vacation." They're "days off (from work)." In other words, they're your own time to do with as you choose. Vacation, whether earned by the hour or by the day, is time for which you receive your pay although you're not (technically) at work. So, when I had a job working Sundays from 2 pm till 11 pm, followed by 6:30 am - 3:30 pm Monday through Thursday, my days off were Friday and Saturday. Under the contract at the time, I was entitled to two weeks' vacation, meaning a total of 10 days for which I would be paid without having to report to work.

Whether vacation is earned by the hour or the day, and how it must be taken, is generally up to the employer. I worked for a Fortune 50 company at which we could not carry over unused vacation from one year to the next. If you were entitled to 3 weeks' vacation in 2009, that meant you needed to schedule fifteen days with your boss and take them, because at the beginning of 2010, you would lose them. And, yes, that means you didn't get the vacation pay; in the company's eyes, you got paid for the time you actually worked.

Unlike many industrialized countries, the U.S. does not guarantee any paid vacation to workers, as the Center for Economic Policy and Research documented in No-Vacation Nation.

...sorry, forgot to sign the above. --- OtherDave (talk) 20:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

In NZ you only get the public holiday on the Monday after the weekend if it's one of the Christmas holidays or one of the New Year holidays. However the only other holidays we have that aren't a fixed day of the week (usually Monday) are Waitangi day and ANZAC day. See Public holidays in New Zealand for more details.

In Malaysia they do always carry forward but only if they fall on a Sunday (or Friday in some states*) not if they fall on a Saturday (and a number of holidays always fall on Saturdays e.g. Yang di-Pertuan Agong#Birthday and honours list). This is mostly? because Saturday is traditionally a half day for civil servants (schools don't usually have classes although they may have compulsory co-curricular activities on some of those days) and some private businesses also follow the 5 and 1/2 working week although most now use a 5 day working week and the government has also largely abandoned the 5 and 1/2 working week [16].

*Some states have Friday as the rest day instead of Sunday akin to a number of Muslim countries. Those that do so have Saturday as the other rest day or half day I believe although I think it use to be Thursday and changed [17] also akin to a number of Muslim countries Workweek#Muslim countries.

Nil Einne (talk) 18:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

BBC election coverage: music

Does anyone know who composed the music for the BBC's election coverage, including that of this night's events (thinking particularly of the montage shown at about 20:55 UK time of Brown leaving and Cameron arriving)? It's referenced but not named here... Thanks! ╟─TreasuryTag►CANUKUS─╢ 20:21, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

I thought the same thing after watching the montage and immediately Googled it. This article says it was a piece composed by Richard Blair-Oliphant (who apparently has got a long list of TV themes to his name) and recorded by the BBC's orchestra. Xenon54 (talk) 20:43, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Aha—nice one! (He's going to be getting an email now, I'm determined to have that on my MP3 player if it's the last thing I do!) ╟─TreasuryTag►stannator─╢ 21:01, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

UK logic question re changing car

I have an old VW Golf with registration document, insurance, MOT, disabled tax (which is free), parking permit (which is free) and congestion charge (free). I have bought a new (to me) car which has tax to 31 May and long MOT. I can not have 2 free [anything] at the same time. I can not have 2 parking permits at the same time. I live on the border of the congestion charge zone so that is not a big issue. Vendor of new car is happy to let me use her garage (for new car) until I have sold old car which I hope to do soon. How and in what order do I get the proper documents and permits attached to the new car without damaging my the ability to sell the old one? I assume the purchaser will not be disabled and will not live in the same borough (and therefore won't need the parking permit or congestion charge permit). The first thing is to register the new car in my name. What then? Kittybrewster ☎ 20:58, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

1. The person selling the new car to you must (by law) have a V5C Registration Certificate naming her the Registered Keeper. She must fill out Sections 6 and 10 (of 11) with your details, both of you must sign and date Section 8, she must give you Section 10, and send Sections 1-8 to the DVLC, who in due course will send you an updated V5: this transfers the Registration to you. [Caveat: some details of this may have recently changed slightly, but the Certificate is very clear.] The same procedure applies when you sell your old car.

2. As the new car's Road Tax disc remains valid only to 31 May, you may have trouble renewing it yourself if the DVLC are slow to transfer the Registration: I suggest you get the previous owner to renew it before completing the sale, taking the cost into account in the buying price. You must either renew the old car's tax disc when it falls due, or make a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) to the DVLA (and then keep the car off the road until you sell it) as instructed on the V11 Renewal Notice (which you'll receive a couple of weeks in advance): the latter may create inconvenience and delay for the buyer.

3. The new car's MOT will remain valid until its expiry date, and by the time you need to renew it you will be the Registered Keeper, so there should be no problem there. If you don't sell the old car before its MOT runs out, you had best renew it or neither you nor the eventual buyer would technically be able to drive it, or be able to tax and ensure it.

4. Take out insurance on the new car in the usual way (you can arrange this in advance to commence from a given date), and notify your insurers when you sell the old one. Should be no conflicts there: I always use a small Insurance Brokers within walking distance of my house so that I can conveniently discuss everything with them.

5. As soon as you've sold your old car, notify the appropriate authorities in order to transfer your Disabled Permit ("tax"? - don't quite understand that) and Parking Permit to the new vehicle (for which they'll probably require sight of your Insurance Certificate) - be careful of the timing to avoid having to street-park it un-permitted or the wardens will pounce - you may be able to use some of your Visitors Permits as opposed to your Resident's permit (if your Borough or whatever issues those) to cover a few days. Neither of these permits should be "transferable" to the buyer of your old car as they are person- or address- specific.

6. I know nothing about the Congestion Charge procedures, but I would have thought any documentation you have should either tell you or at least give a contact number to ask advice.

Hope this helps, though I bet I've slipped up or omitted something somewhere. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 23:34, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Famous Streets Dimensions

State for us the overall length and the overall width of The Fifth Avenue in New York City? and also for the Avenue Princess Grace in Monaco? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.223.201.188 (talk) 22:06, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

No. Load up Google Earth and measure them. FiggyBee (talk) 22:51, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

That's not a very nice response... Plus not great advice - depending on your zoom level my street is either 2 millimetres wide or 3 centimetres wide, whereas in reality it's probably around 8-10 metres wide... Gazhiley (talk) 10:18, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I respond more nicely to questions than to instructions. Google Earth includes measuring tools; 5th Avenue appears to be 45 feet wide (at least at the point where I measured it) and 5.6 miles or 9.1 kilometres long. Avenue Princess Grace is about 1 mile or 1.6 kilometres long and of variable width. FiggyBee (talk) 11:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Fair enough, It just wasn't the friendliest way of responding to someonewho doesn't necc speak english and therefore didn't know the correct way to phrase it... Just saying... Ta tho for responding I've leartn something new about GE... Gazhiley (talk) 12:39, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I didn't realise 5th Avenue continues on the other side of Marcus Garvey Park. It's actually 6.8 miles or 10.9 km, including the 300 metres through the park. FiggyBee (talk) 13:56, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

for a book I am writing

A strage request this, but I need some ideas of places where people could go on a date. Two teenagers, they've already had a romantic candlelit meal together, she and her friends have already walked past the cinema and seen there is nothing at all worth watching, and they are in a little town with not much to do. Slightly unusual suggestions would be particularly appreciated, and they are only going to be together for a few more days, so it doesn't really matter how great a day out it would be, I just need somewhere for them to go together so I can write the next chapter. Oh, and it's February, so probably still a bit cold out.

148.197.114.158 (talk) 22:09, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

What part of the world they are in might have a considerable bearing on the question. --ColinFine (talk) 22:25, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Sitting in a car, looking at a sheet hung on a clothes line, and pretending it is a drive-in movie screen might qualify (actual case study). Edison (talk) 04:37, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Museum or historical society building; study date at the library; Lovers’ Lane; fun fair or circus; a walk in the park or swim at the pool/lake/river; picking wildflowers or fruit; babysitting . . . DOR (HK) (talk) 06:00, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

...but not baby making.--Artjo (talk) 06:04, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Cow tipping yehaw! Googlemeister (talk) 13:50, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

February? That pretty well rules out a "roll in the hay" at the unheated barn. But there are other options. Make a snowman. Throw snowballs. Go snowmobiling. Make snow cream. Anything with snow is good. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:59, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

It's set in England, in 2012 if anyone cares, there isn't likely to be snow, and if there is noone will be expecting it, and if there were enough to build a snowman, noone will be able to get to where anyone else is with all the roads closed. 148.197.114.158 (talk) 21:06, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

You could have them sitting in a house watching re-runs of England's triumphant victory in the 2010 world cup where they beat Spain 7-0 in the final to lift it... After all, even in 2010 there's constant excerpts from 1966 around so there's bound to be something on the TV from winning it in 2010... And before anyone comments, this book sounds like a fictional one so therefore in a fictional world we might win this year! Gazhiley (talk) 10:24, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Roller skating, bowling, mini golf, amusment park, arcade, pool hall, pub band or other concert. Vespine (talk) 01:11, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

February, eh? Maybe watching the Super Bowl and/or the Winter Olympics? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:18, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Constants

What are some constants, physical or mathematical, that are known to a very low degree of precision or decimal places? I know the gravitational constant is very hard to measure- what else is similarly difficult? 149.169.35.22 (talk) 23:44, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

See Physical constant, especially the table at Physical constant#Table of universal constants and below. Any value without "defined" under Relative Standard Uncertainty should be what you are looking for. As mathematical constants generally are accompanied by an algorithm to calculate them, there are probably few (in my non-mathematician's opinion) that are very uncertain. Intelligentsium 00:08, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Mathematical constants aren't measured at all, so they're not subject to uncertainty, though sometimes they'll be plain unknown. (For a simple example, consider the solution to Graham's Problem, called $N^{*}$. All we know about it is that it's at least 11, and it's smaller than Graham's Number, which is a constant so huge it takes a large portion of the article to explain how vast it is. It utterly dwarfs anything in the observable universe. You might think that it's a long way to the Great Attractor, but that's peanuts to Graham's Number. Listen: this number is so big I get kinda distracted by it. Where was I?) Actually, come to think of it, $N^{*}$ is a great answer to your question. It's a finite natural number which could be eleven, or it could be so mind-bogglingly vast that... Okay, I'll try to calm down. Paul (Stansifer) 03:19, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

"The Universe is Big. Really big. It may seem like a long way to the corner chemist, but compared to the Universe, that's peanuts." Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy DOR (HK) (talk) 06:04, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

May 12

Graphic Claculators

Hey, I've never used a graphic calculator before but I really need one because I'm not understanding maths and need to learn a lot really quickly and so hopefully it'll be able to help learn, and in the exams soon. Any calculator is allowed. Hopefully some of you are students, or use calculators, and can help. I need a calcualtor that I can put equasions in, in forms y=mx+c, y=ax^2+bc+c and that kind of stuff, and use to solve equasions, and normal calculatory stuff. Which is best? There are so many! So which is best TI-84 Plus series, TI-89 series, TI-Nspire, HP-50G, Sharp EL9900, or any other? Also on Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Mathematics. Thanks for any help you can provide. 86.178.214.25 (talk) 00:17, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The best calculator wont help you if you don't know the material. Study the material (I hope you mean y=ax²+bx+c) and just buy the cheapest graphing calculator (they're all pretty much the same). 68.248.230.97 (talk) 00:21, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Okay, thanks. Yea, I'm tying to study the material but i've left it a bit late - 17 exams (7 maths) starting in 17 days and I only started revising today (and still got distracted after 3 hours! Oh well. Thanks. 86.178.214.25 (talk) 00:25, 12 May 2010 (UTC) Oh, and yeah, that's what I meant. Getting tired now. Goodnight. 86.178.214.25 (talk) 00:27, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The "best" is whatever will do what you want it to in a way that you understand. If all of your instructors use TIs and you have an HP, then it adds that much more frustration. Also, it's a minor thing but they are graphing calculators because they draw graphs. Not graphic calculators. Dismas|^(talk) 00:29, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

From now I've just taken early study leave so I have no teachers effectivly, I think maybe a EL9900 or FX-9860GII SD (the SD one is the only one of that type in stock), but I'll sgo in tomorrow and see what they say. What's the difference between graphing and graphic - i thought it was synonymous because the article appears to use it that way, but manufacturers call them grapic calculators - confusing! Ugh, it's late, must sleep. 86.178.214.25 (talk) 00:52, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The graphing calculator article (which graphic calculator redirects to) does seem to switch between the two rather chaotically. Although, HP, TI, and Sharp all refer to them as "graphing". Maybe it's a regional thing? Either way, this isn't helping you get to an answer to your original question. I had a TI-84 in high school and college. My wife had a TI-89. Both, IMO, were very easy to use and understand. The HP that you have as an option uses reverse polish notation which takes some getting used to. So, unless you're already comfortable with it, I wouldn't start learning it now. Dismas|^(talk) 01:13, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

One key point is checking which calculators are allowed for your exam, since at least some of the ones you mentioned may well be considered too powerful. 131.111.248.99 (talk) 02:10, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The TI-89 and HP-50G, among others, have a built in computer algebra system, while the TI-84 (and others) do not. I have an TI-89, and I think that this is very useful. However, you must be careful, in that some tests don't allow calculators with this functionality. For me, as an American student, this was sort of a big deal on the ACT: I couldn't use the calculator that I was most familiar with [18] (although oddly I could use it on my SAT). I see that your IP address is in London, so I'm not sure what tests that you might take will or won't allow calculators with different features. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Buddy431 (talk • contribs) 05:34, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The difference between graphic and graphing calculators is just the name, it's British English vs. American English; Sharp here call it a graphic calculator. No, I don't know reverse polish notation so I won't get an HP. Any calculators are allowed in the exams, they don't check and there's no guidance rules. Okay, hanks, I'll look at the TI-89 too. 86.178.214.25 (talk) 06:25, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

had withdrawal method on 5th & 6th May at 6 pm no previous nor ejaculation at that time took I PILL 7th May at 4 pm Am I Pregnant?

I have period on 25 of every month which lasts 7-8 days .this time too i Had period 25th April-2nd May had withdrawal method on 5th & 6th May at 6 pm no previous nor ejaculation at that time took I PILL 7th May at 4 pm Am I Pregnant? If all well when should i get my period for month of May i.e this month. Else what. When must i take blood test (I have found my bf jeculating only once a year ago that too outside in my four year relation) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ppktension (talk • contribs) 04:31, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia Reference Desk never provides medical advice. Your doctor would be a better adviser than random anonymous people of uncertain qualifications and uncertain motivations on the internet. Edison (talk) 04:34, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

A period on the 25th of each month? sounds trollish to me. 86.4.186.107 (talk) 06:47, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

If not a doctor, then a nurse at a local family planning clinic should be able to advise. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 11:12, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

If you want to know if you are pregnant, take a pregnancy test. A pharmacist will be able to advise you on when to do that and whether you should get the result confirmed with a blood test. There is no way we can tell you if you are pregnant - there is a large random element involved. --Tango (talk) 14:28, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Learning and intelligence preservation

Learning here refers to largely theoretical knowledge obtained by reading books or from the internet. Iam using the term intelligence as a layman would use it.Is there a maximum hours or amount of information one can learn in a given day?. Because, as per the law of diminishing returns, beyond certain threshold results / effort ratio is not favourable. Also, does overlearning has any negative influence on intelligence?. Practical aspect of learning here is preparing documents in order to horne the writing skills.

Another aim of learning is to delay intellectual deterioration. Iam already 30 and read somewhere that intellectual functions begin their decay somewhere in the mid 30s. Please give me any tips so that i can learn effectively, preserve (or perhaps increase!) my intelligence.

No expert, but have been learning for over 20 years now. For the first: depends largely a) on the speed at which you can read/take notes/understand spoken information and b) the amount of time you can effectively concentrate. That being said, think about extramural students who have to sit in lecture halls from 8 am to 9 pm (sic!) and pay for this torture. To me, this is a prime example of time being wasted.

As for the second: I believe that if you continue using Your brain (reading, writing, talking, exploring) then you should slow down the process of deterioration. Come on, I'm sure You know someone in their 60s or 70s who's as bright as they ever were! --Ouro (blah blah) 11:58, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

There's no hard-wired limit to these things of course -- it depends on your receptivity to learning. Vranak (talk) 13:59, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

What's blue and yellow?

In Germany, coalitions often have catchy names for the colours of the parties, such as Traffic light coalition and Jamaica coalition. Given the new situation in Westminster, what's blue and yellow and could have a British coalition named after it? A "Blue-and-yellow Macaw coalition" isn't really very catchy. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 11:10, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The Ikea coalition? Mikenorton (talk) 11:12, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Seems very appropriate. Hard to put together, and soon falls apart? Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:24, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The Wolverine coalition? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:12, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Or the Wolverine coalition? --Sean 13:32, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Maybe they're supporting the Ukraine? --Ouro (blah blah) 12:09, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

I thought the Lib Dem colour was orange rather than yellow. According to our article, the Blorenge "is composed in layer-cake fashion of a number of different rock types," which is apt. It also has lofty aspirations, looks down on Wales, and is infertile and not very pretty. Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:31, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

It's yellow according to our article. Doesn't Chelsea have blue and yellow uniforms? Adam Bishop (talk) 12:34, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Orange was the Liberal colour, LibDems adopted yellow (but it's usually an orangey-yellow on constituency flyers). DuncanHill (talk) 13:00, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Pantone 1235c to be precise, apparently. Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:08, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Ooh, ooh, I have a good protest sign: "Blue + Yellow Doesn't Equal Green!" ;-) --Mr.98 (talk) 14:40, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Hahahaha! So you're saying that this is an additive mixing rather than subtractive ? That would make them the "White party"...well, I guess there could be some truth to that!  :-) SteveBaker (talk) 15:11, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Is it a little obvious to point out that there's already a White party? FiggyBee (talk) 11:59, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

British Rail. Mainly blue with a bit of yellow stuck on the end. Formed as an unwieldy coalition; soon involved in massive cuts; never profitable; eventually broken up and its component parts sold off to the highest bidder. Karenjc 18:21, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The logo for the Human Rights Campaign is a blue square with a yellow equal sign. Dismas|^(talk) 17:59, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

what is the present status of vinayak mission's research foundation, salem

what is the present status of vinayaka mission's research foundation, salem —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.204.91.217 (talk) 13:00, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

It has apparently been renamed Vinayaka Missions University. Marco polo (talk) 14:29, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Microlight aircraft insurance.

I live in Scotland UK near to a farm where a field has recently been getting used as the base for several microlight aircraft to be stored, used for take-off and landing and to fly regular jaunts over my house which is in a semi built-up area with several hundreds of homes hereabouts - no problems with any of that. But I am curious on several fronts - firstly, does anyone here know how frequently these single-engined, solo-crew aircraft fail due to mechanical and/or pilot error, and if so what happens to the aircraft? Does it glide to ground and land intact? Or if it lands on a house, how much damage is likely to be caused (to the house and its occupants), remembering that there will likely be a significant amount of combustible fuel on board. And secondly, are the owners of such aircraft required to carry sufficient insurance so as to be able to financially compensate any victims of said failure, without needing to be sued through the courts? Just curious. Thanks. 92.30.48.193 (talk) 16:15, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The Civil Aviation (Insurance) Regulations 2005 requires that the operator of a regulated aircraft be able to show "an insurance certificate or any other evidence of insurance relating to the aircraft for aviation-specific liability in respect of passengers, baggage, cargo or third parties". I'm not sure how much insurance is mandatory - this page says £250,000, whereas this BMAA thing says £750,000. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 16:39, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

As to the damage level, ultralight aviation and specs like this suggest a microlight has roughly the same mass, speed, and fuel capacity as a Mazda MX5, so you can infer maximum damage level from that. Predicting the mode of an incident is difficult: if the engine conks out you'd glide, under some control, for a bit; a structural failure or serious loss of control would result in an uncontrolled plummet. It's often said (but I can't immediately find a reliable source to support it) that the great majority of aviation accidents happen at takeoff or landing - this summary of civil aviation crashes would mostly support that. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 16:52, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Correction: for weight, up to about half that of a Mazda MX5. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 16:56, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

New UK coalition government and the Democratic Unionist Party

Nate Silver suggests that the DUP will be supporting the new Conservative-LibDem government. This is the first I've heard of it. Have the parties been negotiating? Are the DUP getting something in return? 86.41.61.203 (talk) 19:12, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Well, he doesn't source his statement, and he does only claim that the DUP will back the coalition "on matters of government confidence and budget". Meanwhile the DUP make it abundantly clear they won't jump into bed with anyone without an incentive [19], and that they are fighting the possibility of "£200million worth of cuts to our block grant allocation". No doubt they will be seeking to persuade the new government to keep its trimming knife away from the finances of Northern Ireland, but I can't find any indication that a deal has been made yet. Karenjc 20:00, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks Karen, very helpful. Yeah that's what puzzles me; the govt doesn't need the DUP for numbers, so there is no reason to give concessions to the DUP, so what incentive would the DUP have to support the coalition on confidence and budgets? Does it make them look responsible to the NI public or something, or do they want to be seen as part of the team? 86.41.61.203 (talk) 20:14, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The Conservatives need to work with those tiny parties because there may come a day when some or all of the Liberal Democrats decide they don't want to play ball anymore - and at that point, every vote you can get becomes important. This paper describes the various combinations that would work. For example, the Conservatives could retain a majority without the LibDems if they could get support from the Democratic Unionists (8 votes), the Scottish Nationalists (6 votes), Plaid Cymri (3 votes), the Greens (1), the Alliance Party (1) and one independent MP who won in Northern Ireland. There are more than 20 different combinations of minor parties that would keep the Conservatives in power without the LibDems. This is all greatly complicated by the fact that Sinn Fein took five districts but are unable to vote using them because their members refuse to take the oath of loyalty to the Queen that is required before they can take their seats in the House of Commons...so an actual majority isn't required to form an effective government. SteveBaker (talk) 20:42, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Aha, I see, very good. Although if the Lib Dem leadership couldn't guarantee a majority for budgets and confidence, I imagine Cameron would have to call an election even if he could mop up enough smaller parties. 86.41.61.203 (talk) 21:37, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Not if he gets approval for a 5-year standard term. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 22:55, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Ooh, I see. But surely the govt still has to fall if it can't muster majorities for its bills on a reliable basis? 86.41.61.203 (talk) 00:24, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

That never happens in the US when Congress votes down the Government's programs. Everard Proudfoot (talk) 04:49, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

In practice it would be the case in the UK though, the obvious example being the United Kingdom general election, October 1974. The Conservative/LibDem coalition now has a sufficient majority to get government policy through provided each MP votes with his/her party, but if the coalition frayed or folded, Mr Cameron would require the support of other blocs, which might be possible (see SteveBaker's handy link above). He'd be vulnerable on the confidence issue, which is why it's interesting to read Nate Silver's speculation that the DUP might offer that at least. A minority government that lost a vote of confidence would be unsustainable, like the situation that led to the 1979 general election; one that can't get its bills through Parliament without horse-trading with small parties on a case-by-case basis is unlikely to survive unless the end of its term is in sight and it can just limp along ineffectually for a few weeks or months, like John Major's government in 1997. Karenjc 12:20, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

If Cameron gets his way with changing the rules so that a PM serves for a standard 5 years, does the no confidence vote even matter any more? Everard Proudfoot (talk) 19:33, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Seems like there's something missing here, isn't there: who puts a govt out of it's misery if the PM can't – the Queen? 86.41.61.203 (talk) 19:43, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The proposal is to allow dissolution before the five year limit if a vote of no confidence passes with a 55% supermajority. AlexTiefling (talk) 20:21, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Cameron supports a fixed-term parliament of 5 years, rather than the current system where it can be dissolved at any point within 5 years at the whim of the Prime Minister. This is not the same as limiting the term of a Prime Minister to 5 years (in the sense of the US President being limited to 2 full terms). Within a single parliament there could be multiple PMs (this could include a change of government without an election, if the government lost a vote of confidence in the Commons). Or, a single PM could serve during an unlimited number of different parliaments. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 21:25, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks all, I understand the situation much better now. 86.41.61.203 (talk) 21:37, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Present for 20 year old girl

My sister's birthday is coming up soon and I have no idea what to get. Books are out, she buys all she wants as soon as they go on sale, I wouldn't want to get her any sort of cosmetics stuff, and wouldn't have the slightest clue what she would want, only other things I can think of she likes doing is writing books and doing quizzes on the internet, neither of which i can buy her.

148.197.114.158 (talk) 21:22, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

bookshelf, fancy pen, chocolates, a car service, (being close to her you should be in a position to see something she is missing). Graeme Bartlett (talk) 21:44, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Vouchers usually go down well - favourite clothes shop, iTunes, etc. Or cash. Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:47, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Does she write books on a word processor or does she do any stage of her writing by hand (planning, outlining, keeping a journal etc.)? If she does some of it by hand how about a nice pen (possibly a fountain pen) or a notebook such as a moleskine. Talking of moleskines, and noticing that your sister sounds like a bit of a bibliophile how about this http://www.amazon.com/Moleskine-Passions-Book-Journal/dp/8862933193 . I have also found these: http://lifehacker.com/225288/stuff-we-like--book-darts really good if you do a lot of reading. It would be quite good as well if you gave us some idea of what you are planning to spend. I presume you have also asked around other family members and friends to see if they have any ideas. 131.111.185.68 (talk) 21:54, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

When I'm not sure about what to give someone and they don't live in the same house as me, I sometimes opt for a fire extinguisher. It's something people don't often think to buy for themselves, isn't "cheap", and underlines your concern for their welfare. And it might save their life. Matt Deres (talk) 23:04, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

I can hear in the back of my head a Stephen Fry routine about giving someone a fire extinguisher as a gift... "Oh, here's a fire extinguisher, because I was just thinking about how you might die in a fire in the next two years. Oh, I want you to be able to put it out! But like I said, make sure it's in the next two years because after that it's no good anymore. Anyway, good luck with the fire!" Sorry, I just had to. --Jmeden2000 (talk) 17:42, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Oh, and if you're short of cash, I'll bet she'd appreciate a certificate signed by you saying that you won't refer to her as a "girl" anymore now that she's no longer a teenager. Just a thought! Matt Deres (talk) 23:05, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

I too am difficult to buy presents for - and make sure that anyone who might want to buy me a gift knows it, so telling them not to bother. So far, I have had helicopter rides; a jet-ski ride; a trip to Las Vegas (from UK); a towed paraglide in Spain; best seats at the theatre, a very very expensive collector's bottle of old Scotch Malt Whisky; but best of all, a simple card that said I was loved. Simply the best! 92.30.2.148 (talk) 00:06, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

As she is of a literary bent, bookplates may be appropriate. Reading lights are also appreciated by us bookish types. Book tokens allow her to choose her own reading matter. Casting further afield, alcohol is always a popular present, a bottle of a decent wine, perhaps one with some literary connexion - for example, the blessed Oscar enjoyed Perrier-Jouët champagne (but don't we all), or absinthe to give her inspiration for her writing. DuncanHill (talk) 00:47, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Gift certificate for a spa? Dismas|^(talk) 03:14, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

For a twenty-year-old, cash is always going to be a safe bet. Vranak (talk) 04:56, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Or any age. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:05, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

For a 1 year old? The parents may appreciate it, the infant probably won't (directly) particularly if it's the boring old green US stuff. Nil Einne (talk) 17:17, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned making a donation to charity in her name. Might get her thinking about what she's got, what others don't have and how she feels about it. DOR (HK) (talk) 09:25, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

No offence intended as I'm sure to some people this is probably a nice gesture - but I would get VERY angry if someone did this for my birthday... Birthdays IMO are an excuse to be pampered by your mates and family and treated... Donations to charities can be made any time of the year - I can't get given cash or vouchers or presents whenever I want to... PLUS what if I dissagree with the charity or given the choice would not be interested in them? Just my opinion... Gazhiley (talk) 10:49, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. To me, this amounts to an insult, not a gift. Vranak (talk) 16:07, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Phew - thank god for that... Thought I was a miserable bastard! And even if I am, at least I'm not alone! ;-) Gazhiley (talk) 16:45, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You can get given gifts at any time of the year if the giver so desires. There's no legal requirement that gifts may only be given on birthdays. And it seems unlikely anyone is going to give a gift to charity in the name of someone else except at some time when they would normally give a gift to the person. In other words giving a donation to charity in the name of someone else can ultimately be just a gift even if you don't not receive anything directly personally if the receiver appreciates it. (There are some similarities for example, if you give a gift of a spa to say a man who you know won't use it but has wanted to treat his partner for a while but can't afford it, in such cases cash may be better and some may not appreciate it, e.g. preferring to save the money themselves but other may be happy even though they won't actually be using the gift themselves.) Yes the receiver could just give money to charity themselves if they could afford it, but they could buy whatever gift themselves too if it's a bought gift. This doesn't mean it's a good gift that will depend on a lot of factors. Clearly if the person thinks they must receive something personally for a gift then they won't appreciate it. The only real issue is it's true that there's little that can be done if the person doesn't like the charity (if the person doesn't like a normal gift, there may be the option for an exchange). However if it's someone you know well like a sibling, you'll hopefully only have limited chance of this. Nil Einne (talk) 17:08, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I agree that the charity thing, while it sounds nice, is really not all that altruistic. The giver feels good but the "receiver" gets nothing from it. So it's in their name, so what? "Giving" a charity "gift" is just a way for the giver to justify spending the money. If they wanted to give to a charity, they would have done it already without the pretense of a birthday. Dismas|^(talk) 17:55, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

But the same could be said about any other gift they could afford (if they had wanted that gift, they could just have bought it themselves, in fact depending on how much you give you may give more then they would feel they could afford to give to charity anyway)... Note that as in all gift giving, the givers feelings or desires shouldn't really come in to it much or at all. You don't give a gift to charity on behalf of another person because it makes you feel good. While you are the one actually paying the money, it's effectively money you're gifted to someone else who you're paying to charity on their behalf. In other words the giver didn't give money to charity, the receiver did. (If the giver is simply giving money to charity they would have always given then they're not really giving a gift, but I don't think most givers do this.) The only thing the giver should feel good about is that they've given a gift to a friend/family member not that they gave to charity (as they didn't). From the receivers POV, they should feel the same as if they've given to charity (as they did). If they don't think giving to charity is a good idea or they don't feel like they wanted to give to charity then clearly the giver should have chosen a different gift. Note however that even if they may not have given to charity if they you had given them money, this doesn't definitely mean it's a bad idea. Again, it really depends on the receiver. Again it's not that dissimilar from the way a receiver may not have bought whatever you gave them had you given the cash, but they may still deeply appreciate whatever you did give them. Nil Einne (talk) 18:23, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm afraid this is a reference desk, where we help by providing information. As you should have seen from the notice at the top of the page, "if you need advice or opinions, it's better to ask elsewhere." ╟─TreasuryTag►Not-content─╢ 17:17, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

This is however a good place for people to get ideas for this sort of thing. The OP may have nobody else better to ask and, if I get the gist of it, knows very little about wants of a 20 y.o. girl. Dismas|^(talk) 17:55, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

It is not a good place for people to come and get ideas, hence the clear instruction, "if you need advice or opinions, it's better to ask elsewhere." ╟─TreasuryTag►co-prince─╢ 19:06, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Buy her a new laptop. That's what I want 82.44.55.254 (talk) 17:54, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You're a 20 year old girl? Never knew that... Nil Einne (talk) 18:39, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Yes, because we all know that there are no girls on the internet. Pacific Coast Highway ^{{talk • contribs}} 19:52, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

There's only one person who knows the answer to this question, and it's hard to guarantee that your sister will check the reference desk. I suggest you buy her a dozen boxes of tampons- most girls use tampons, so she will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Don't forget to wrap each of them in its own pretty wrapping paper, with a little bow! -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 21:49, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

May 13

Toilet Tissue.

It occurred to me today whilst sitting on the throne, and contemplating that the job wasn't done until the paperwork was completed, that, in 60+ years of carrying out this regular and very necessary winding-up procedure, NEVER, and I truly do mean NEVER, have I come across a toilet roll, whether old-fashioned hard and shiny paper, or smooth and soft, and sometimes even dermatogically treated paper, that showed evidence of having broken during manufacture, and been repaired, part way through the roll. Amazing. Wings fall off aeroplanes; propellors fall of ships; computer systems crash dramatically; wheels come adrift from cars; governments collapse. But seemingly, toilet rolls do not separate mid way through the roll during manufacture. Oh yes, I can easily tear across a single sheet without the tear being across the perforations, which proves their vulnerability. But why doesn't this appear to happen in fact, during manufacture. Surely, this can not be down to brilliant and infallible production processes? So that leaves only the possibility that any "broken rolls" are discarded. So come on Wikipedians - what is the answer to this most "pressing" question? 92.30.2.148 (talk) 00:26, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

As manufacturers of tons of tinted toilet tissue we suggest you contact our sole distributors. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 00:36, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The Toilet paper article does not seem to discuss manufacturing details, but my guess would be that it's produced in long rolls that are then sliced. Kinda like sushi. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:38, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I imagine the simple answer is that any "broken" rolls are discarded, rather then "repaired".. Vespine (talk) 01:02, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

That's a feature in the manufacturing industry called "Quality Control". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:08, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

This page says that, as Bugs guessed, it is produced as a "paper log" and then cut. Buddy431 (talk) 01:24, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

In addition to which, I'm guessing they know precisely how much to produce for a given roll or set of rolls and/or if any set of rolls comes up "short", they would likely recycle it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:42, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Masking tape, by the way, is also produced in I think 48 inch length, and then sliced to desired widths. Bus stop (talk) 01:55, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

That stands to reason. Just don't get them mixed up. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:14, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Well, you could do worse. --Anonymous, 04:06 UTC, May 13, 2010.

Where in the manufacture of toilet paper do you imagine, 92, that the paper would be subjected to strong shearing forces? Because I just don't see it. Paper is dried, paper is rolled, paper is distributed. No tears because it is rolled in a normal, predictable, sensible manner. If ever there was a problem, the machinery would be re-built until the rolls were all coming out perfectly. Vranak (talk) 04:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The pulp is used to make paper stock. The paper stock is sprayed between moving mesh screens, producing the rudimentary sheet of matted fiber. I am getting that from the link above (provided by Buddy431), on the paper making process. I would guess that the process uses Machine vision to detect gaps in the newly formed paper. Also the processes of turning wood pulp into the raw material for the toilet paper are probably highly controlled by the machinery involved to produce a very consistent and uniform raw material in the form of paper pulp. The article mentions for instance that the "cooking" of the paper stock can take 3 hours. Bus stop (talk) 14:47, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Church roof green

Why are the decorative trimmings and edges and crosses on some churches green in stark contrast to the black/brown/gray roofing? Is it the same green effect that has occurred with the Statue of Liberty? DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 05:40, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Verdigris. Ghmyrtle (talk) 06:46, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm not totally sure this is what the OP is asking about, but note the green roof on the Chartres Cathedral:

←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:59, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The question is very clear. The green colouration of many roofs of cathedrals and other old buildings is caused by the action of the air on the metal used in the construction. The resulting patina is usually (but not exclusively) copper carbonate and is called verdigris, indeed it is exactly what has happened to the Statue of Liberty. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 07:24, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Sometimes they clean that stuff off. The Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament buildings always had green roofs, that was just how they looked, it seemed natural and proper...but they recently cleaned it up and now it's copper again. It just looks wrong! Adam Bishop (talk) 07:28, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

wikipedia on disc

hi i was wondering if there was a way to get wikipedia on disc. for example one day every year all of the information in the site is put onto a series of discs and between these discs is all the information up to that day.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.238.84.204 (talk) 06:41, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

No e-mail addresses, please. There was a similar question awhile back on one of these ref desks, about downloading wikipedia. It's huge, to put it mildly. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:56, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You might be interested to read Wikipedia:Database download.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:26, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

There have also been portions of Wikipedia released on CD: see Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team. It appears that the current release version is Wikipedia:Version 0.7. which contains about 30,000 articles. That page is shockingly unclear on how to actually obtain your version 0.7 CD, though... Buddy431 (talk) 15:33, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Version 0.7 is 2.38GB and is available here. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:57, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

No intention on being nosy (okay, not true), but I am very curious. Why would anyone want a fixed copy of wikipedia? Aside from being an insanely large file (I just found that it might be well over 5 TB), the whole point is the constant updating. Aaronite (talk) 16:51, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

You could probably cut that down to 1TB if you don't mind cutting the Japanese train stations, the Pokemon characters, and the large selection of articles about individual elementary schools. Googlemeister (talk) 20:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Offline access, read Wikipedia when you're in the middle of the Canadian arctic wilderness, or, of course, if you're a backward-moving time traveler. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:56, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Or if you're blind--an edition of Wikipedia in Braille has been discussed. Keepscases (talk) 18:41, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Offline access is a big deal. Not everyone has always-on internet connections. A surprising number of people are still using dial-up on a line also used for voice. APL (talk) 20:50, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

If you strip out all of the images, sounds and video, all of the talk pages, user pages, guidelines, jokes, keep only the English language pages - and dispose of all of the editing history...then (with some agressive text-compression) the result would just about fit onto a single DVD-ROM...although that probably won't be true in a year or two, but a Blu-Ray disk could probably still handle it. There is actually a hardware gadget you can buy for about $100 that has a little screen and the whole of English Wikipedia (minus pictures, etc, etc) can be called up from it's internal flash memory. You can even have it upgraded once a year with a new SD-card for some small amount of money. However, putting the WHOLE of Wikipedia onto optical disks would require something in the region of 1,000 DVD-ROMs...which pretty much makes the whole thing impractical. You could probably just about fit it all onto one of the larger hard drives. Downloading it would take a VERY long time on most network connections - and it would keep changing while you were downloading it, so you might well end up with something broken at the end of all that work! SteveBaker (talk) 21:23, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I'm reminded of that woman I referred to recently. The one who said "Oh yes, the internet, I've heard of that. I must download it and print it out one weekend". Duh! -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 00:54, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Fire engine red leather

I'm curious if anyone knows the story or history of fire engine red leather. You don't really see it around much anymore, but I remember seeing it all over the place on the west coast of the U.S. in the 1970s. Was it an even older style hankering back to an even earlier fashion? (Victorian era fashion was popular in the 1960s.) For an example of what I'm talking about, there's a famous scene from the film The Matrix that can be viewed here. Please note the two red chairs. Does this style have a name or come from a certain period? Bonus points for anyone who can also identify the television in this scene, which appears to come from the 1950s. Viriditas (talk) 08:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

I don't know about "fire engine red leather", but I would call those Chesterfield chairs - typified by a style of upholstery using buttoned leather (see List of chairs#C, the last red link in "C", and these images). The TV is a Radiola Deep Image (which can clearly be seen in the older version of the image). Astronaut (talk) 10:07, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Thank you! Viriditas (talk) 11:49, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Reglazing glasses

Can any frame be reglazed? Even an acetate frame?--Quest09 (talk) 12:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Metal ones certainly can. This very afternoon we took my partner's specs to the optician where the technician fitted the pre-ordered lenses while we waited, took about 20 minutes. I guess the problem (if there is a problem) with acetate frames is loosening and tightening them. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 14:52, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Acetate frames have to be heated, usually with a warm air blower, to expand and loosen them so that old lenses can be removed and new ones fitted. With age the acetate apparently becomes less plastic (in the physical sense), so opticians are reluctant to try with old frames in case they break, or so they've said when I've asked for new lenses to be fitted to my existing frames. I've just has a lens refitted in an older backup pair of glasses (having broken a hinge on my latest pair) after it popped out while being washed (in warm water and with liquid soap), and it's still sufficiently loose in the frame that I'm thinking of applying some superglue.

Another problem is that fashions change so fast that it may become difficult to source new lenses of the right size and shape for older frames - I can no longer get new frames and lenses as large as I would prefer, (the 'Harry Potter factor' seems to have shifted the whole size range downwards) and presumably the lens manufacturers have constraints on what they're prepared to supply other than when money is no object at all. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 15:18, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Someone somewhere makes flat spectacle lenses with no optical function for this fictional character. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:35, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

If you can find a source for the frames, any optician should be able to provide flat ('nonprescription', or 'plano') lenses. People purchase glasses with nonprescription lenses all the time — sometimes for fashion, sometimes as protective eyewear, sometimes just because they only need correction in one eye. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 16:31, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Indeed a number of people who get LASIK or other forms of refractive surgery choose to wear glasses for at least part of their everyday life afterwards perhaps because people don't recognise them without them or they feel like they don't look themselves without them. Probably particularly common among TV/movie stars and stage performers who get the surgery after they've established recognition. E.g. [20]. I believe Raybon Kan is another example although couldn't find a ref. Nil Einne (talk) 16:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

According to our article, "evidence is weaker for its effectiveness in severe short-sightedness and long-sightedness." And from what I've heard (don't know, I have perfect vision much to the annoyance of my spectacled wife), LASIK does not correct both near and far sightedness in the same patient. Something about the patient having to choose which they'd like to correct. Dismas|^(talk) 19:26, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

In the early years of The Adventures of Superman TV series, "Clark Kent" (George Reeves) wore horn-rimmed glasses with no lenses at all, and hence no problem of studio lights reflecting off them. By the latter part of the series, the glasses had lenses (and occasional studio lights glare) and George could sometimes be seen squinting while in his Superman costume, and not just when he was using X-ray vision. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:57, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Dr. Gordon Brown MP PC - remuneration

It seems from local news reports that Dr./Mr. Brown, the recently resigned UK Prime Minister intends holding on to his Parliamentary Seat at Westminster and continue to represent his constituency of Kirkaldy et al in Scotland where he has an incredibly large majority, and good for him I say. But what will be his remuneration package - in total? He will obviously be paid the going rate for a constituency MP, plus any legitimate expenses he is entitled to claim that allow him to perform his duties effectively. But will he also receive a pension or other compensation package following his resignation as Prime Minister? Or does that latter element have to wait until his ultimate departure from Westminster, either as a result of resignation as an MP, defeat in a future election, or deselection by his local Labour Party Committee? 92.30.86.60 (talk) 19:44, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

This article seems to cover the pension issue. He is apparently entitled to half his £194,250 salary, index-linked against inflation for the rest of his life. Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:08, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Billie Anthony was my mother my fathers id is unknown

Is it possible that I may find the identity of my father. My mother was Billie Anthony/ singer she is listed in Wikipedia. I was never told the identity of my father, only a name that doesnt match any searches- Barry Dealthweight, unsure of spelling. Is there anyway anyone could help. I have no family known to me. Jessica68lvy (talk) 21:48, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The Wikipedia article about Billie Anthony mentions her daughter Jessica born in 1968. This seems to be after Billie's divorce and career in theater but she may have kept contact with friends from that business. Her biographer Gordon Turner hints vaguely about "attempts to lure her up the aisle" around that time so have you asked him? On a hunch I looked in Google for names that sound like Barry Dealthweight such as "Barry Braithwaite" of whom there are a lot. You need to add more information to focus your search, such as likely age, location(s), your mother's habits and features you have inherited. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:27, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The name 'Delthwaite' seems to exist - could that be it? --ColinFine (talk) 23:30, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

A 'Google Earth' Globe

How feasible would it be to create a traditional Globe that is based on touch-screen LCDs and uses google-earth? That is - you get to do 'gestures' like the pinching/expanding that you get on say iPhone. My expectation is that there are a number of things to overcome...1) Getting a touch-screen LCD that is relatively 'round', particularly trying to minimize/remove seams that you'd get from joining multiple small flat screens to make a curve. 2) Producing some sort of software that could handle 'zooming' in in a way that worked well - i'd want the globe to be 'like a globe' (that is zoomed out to see the whole countries) everywhere but where I was zooming, and then some sort of 'fading' or something clever so that it kind 'worked' for being zoomed in. Anyhoo the nub of my question is...is it even do-able? (And if it's already been done a link to where one could get one would be heroic!). ny156uk (talk) 21:51, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

No idea but it would be on my amazon wish list instantly!Gazhiley (talk) 22:08, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

For the display, it seems organic LEDs can me made flexible, so that's a possibility for your display; failing that several projectors inside the globe projecting onto the screen (with appropriate software to deform the picture accordingly) might work. The super-fisheye effect you talk about sounds like hyperbolic geometry, something like this. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 22:17, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

The Museum of Flight has a globe with interior projectors, and a console surrounding it; you can press the Jupiter button and Jupiter appears, rotating; press Neptune and Neptune appears; etc. You don't get to touch the globe itself. Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:24, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

• If you had a globe then you would want its size to vary as you zoom in and out. You could obviously chnage what the data shown was - add / remove features, show map/satellite etc. But it would be very low resolution unless you had an enormous globe. -- SGBailey (talk) 22:28, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

A 3D display of the present Google Earth views is probably the next step. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:57, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

It would look really weird if the globe was zoomed in very close. The curvature would distort the image and make it next to useless. Aaronite (talk) 23:39, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

theocracy

i notice under countries listed as theocracies which is define as: a form of government in which god or diety is recognized as the states supreme or civil ruler

why is isreal not included as a theocracy —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.2.222.76 (talk) 23:37, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Because it's not. It's a democracy. The government is elected. Check out State religion. Aaronite (talk) 23:42, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Even more importantly, see Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, which is the "bill of rights" for the nation of Israel. It guarantees freedom of worship and of conscience for all Israeli citizens and residents. --Jayron32 01:38, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

What's the deal with Baroness Warsi?

I have been reading the Baroness Warsi article, but I can't figure out how she has managed to become a powerful Tory figure – co-chair of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio.

A brief summary of the background, from our article: Born to non-connected parents who dragged themselves up by bootstraps, law degree from second tier university, work as political flunky for parliamentarian and with NGOs/foreign govts, failed candidate for the House of Commons.

Then it gets interesting – she is made special advisor to Howard, then appointed by Cameron as Vice-Chair of the party, a shadow minister and a life peer, before this week's appointments.

I can't account for her high standing, but here are some possibilities:
1)She is a very capable political operator (or has good insight into policy), and so despite electoral failure/stature gets appointed to high-profile positions, à la Peter Mandelson.
2)As a British Muslim woman and self-described "northern, working-class-roots mum" who can hold her own in debates, she is an appealing figure for a party with an image problem as dominated by southern establishment white males.
3)She has some connections/achievements our article does not get into.
4)These positions don't actually mean very much, and are sinecures/status symbols.
5)????
Can anyone point me to a good explanation of the rise of Warsi or account for it themselves? Thanks, 86.41.61.203 (talk) 23:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Mainly 2 with a little bit of 1 from what I've seen of her over the years. Her unfortunate attitude to gay people makes her appeal to the nasty wing of the party, but being Asian appeals to the not-rabid wing & being the daughter of a multi-millionaire appeals to the greedy wing. DuncanHill (talk) 00:02, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

May 14

Why do girls do this?

Is there a reason all chicks at school bend each others' pinkies back?