Wikipedia: Reference desk

Canadian copyright law - this is pretty unforthcoming. Trollminator 23:48, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

What is a sweet spot and where is it?

I was buffled by the scene in the movie Pitch Black, where Riddick tries to scare Fry by telling something strange about his experience in a slam. Here is a quote from the script (the actual dialog in the movie is a bit different, part of it was reused in The Chronicles of Riddick)

FRY

Tell me about the sounds. You told them you heard something right before....

(no response)

If you don't talk to me, Johns'll take another crack at it -- at your skull.

RIDDICK

'Mean the whispers?

FRY

What whispers?

RIDDICK

The ones tellin' me to go for the sweet spot -- just to the left of the spine, fourth lumbar down. The abdominal aorta. What a gusher. Had a cup on his belt, so I used it to catch a little run-off. Metallic taste to it, human blood. Coppery. But if you cut it with peppermint schnapps, that goes away. Course, that's more for winter. Summertime, I take mine straight.

Fry stares. Riddick gets a black satisfaction from his role as Boogeyman: If fear is the only kind of respect he can get, Riddick is going to grab some with both hands.</I>

I don't understand what the "sweet spot" is in the context of a human being. Urbandictionary (not the most reputable source) says it's "The patch of skin between the asshole and the balls", but it doesn't correspond to the description and the movie scene (there is a scar on the back). It also doesn't look like that would be a particularly attractive place to drink blood from (if that's what Riddick did).

Any help would be appreciated. Paranoid 13:11, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Help? What kind of help? The name of a good tennis pro? This is fantasy anatomy. Everyone knows the sweet spot is the part of the tennis racket you try to hit the ball with. This seems to suggest that a stab several inches through the skin would result in produse bleeding from the abdominal aorta, which it would. The scar seems to suggest the person recovered from it, which he probably wouldn't. Although it's a little hard to take seriously anyone who thinks a vampire movie is a good place to learn anything factual about anything. Note to questioner: if you are not a trained professional, do not try this at home. Note to Eequor: if you censor this, you assume responsibility if this poor deluded fool hurts someone. alteripse 13:25, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

In general terms the sweet spot is a place on anything that, when hit, has some desirable effect, for example: There's a sweet spot on the hood of my car - if you hit it, the hood opens. In this context, I think that Riddick is just fucking with Fry, suggesting that there is some 'sweet spot' on his body that R would love to drain of blood. There is nothing in human anatomy to suggest any truth to this. Trollminator 13:28, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

What is it with Eequor and censorship? I've never seen her censor anything ... Gelu Ignisque

• Northrop Frye?

Photon holes

Is the paper at [1] supported by current knowledge of physics? What might the consequences be if this theory was accepted? --ηυωρ 18:29, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

black caps on green? doesn't that scream crank? while there is a lot of standard physics in it, the "two kinds of photons" is totally alien to traditional quantum electrodynamics (from a photon's pov, there is no time). not that I read the whole thing, though ;) dab 20:00, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

The author does, at least, seem to have spent a good deal of time on this; it's well-written and cross-referenced to even more garish colors. It would be very worrying if it was obviously wrong.

While a photon may not experience time itself, isn't our experience of a photon's position in time the main concern? --ηυωρ 22:31, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Just in case this wacky idea catches on, I hereby coin the name skoton for these quanta of darkness. --Heron 12:27, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)

*lol* :D dab 14:09, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)

yes but you (meaning QED) cannot "mirror" a photon, as you can mirror an electron into a positron, for example, because the photon is the mirror, so to speak. I haven't dug into this fellows explanations to decide if he really comes up with a consistent alternative theory. but I doubt it. dab 14:15, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Would this correspond to the transactional interpretation? --ηυωρ 02:39, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

yes. But a "reversed photon" is just a photon, going in the opposite direction. not a "skoton" or anything like that. "perception of darkness" is beside the point anyway, since that's a question of neurology, not particle physics. dab 16:31, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

The caps on bright green keep me indeed from reading on, so I can only offer some thoughts: The paper seems to offer only an interpretation, no new prediction. There is a lot of different ways to look at quantum phenomena and get an intuitive understanding, why not bright green photon holes? But it is at least right that spontaneous emission of photons can (and should) be imagined as emission stimulated by a virtual photon from the quantum vacuum. That nicely explains the Purcell effect.

And for the direction in time, there is this nice story of John A. Wheeler excitely telling Richard Feynman that he now knows why "all the electrons are the same": There is only one electron in the Universe, but it runs back and forth in time incredible often. [2] Simon A. 21:05, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)

What charges would these people get?

Dr. Armstrong- Operated under the influence of alcohol, and patient died. He did not inform anybody of his being drunk.

Emily Brent- Fired a girl who got pregnant out of wedlock. Girl committed suicide.

What charge could be brought against those two seperate people, and if anything, how much of a penalty/prison sentence would they get?

(NOTE: Neither of those people are real. They are from a book.)

Armstrong could be charged with medical malpractice. Brent could probably be charged with manslaughter, though it's unclear whether the girl committed suicide as a result of being fired or having an illegitimate child. — Dan | Talk 01:34, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Dr. Armstrong could probably be sued for medical malpractice and would almost certainly be criminally charged with something. His/her medical license would also probably be revoked. As for Emily Brent, no penalty. (My answer assumes U.S. law) Neutrality (hopefully!) 01:58, Nov 21, 2004 (UTC)

IANALB re doctor:

• I think you'll indeed find that most malpractice is not a crime (a criminal wrong, which is what people usually mean when they talk about being charged), but a tort, or civil wrong, the damaging act that is the basis for suing the person committing the tort, seeking damages (i.e., property, usually money, from the perpetrator of the tort, intended to make the victim of the tort "whole", i.e. to compensate them for the damage done by the tort).
• (But there may be at least in some jurisdictions such a thing as "criminal malpractice"; this would be quite different from the (civil) malpractice that you always hear mentioned.)
• Still, at least in US and probably at least in all common-law jurisdictions, the acts that a surgeon normally performs constitute assault, and i think are only free of criminal significance when and because the elements that constitute battery are absent, as is usual. A surgeon who operates drunk, at least if any reasonable alternative for saving the patient's life or health is available, has committed a criminal assault, and a resulting death would be not simply the basis of a suit for malpractice, but also a homicide. (In New York, that homicide would probably fit at least the standard for depraved indifference that is so beloved by the writers for Law and Order.) Despite the obvious fact that cutting people with knives is not treated as assault when done by a surgeon (or because its not being a crime requires substitute protections), the standards that doctors must conform to, to avoid torts and crimes, are much higher than for lay people. Factors that play in, in the general decisions of legislators and the specific instructions that judges will give to jurors even in the absence of statute law, probably include the need for public confidence in doctors' responsibility, the more extensive knowledge doctors have of things like the hazards of iatrogenic injury and the effects of alcohol on the drinker's performance, and the extra help that doctors get in making responsible decisions (Hippocratic Oath, general medical ethics, and courses in legal medicine).

--Jerzy(t) 19:54, 2004 Nov 21 (UTC)

IANALB, re employer:

It's indeed far-fetched to suggest manslaughter would ever be charged, if only because it's unreasonable to anticipate such an over-reaction as suicide in response to losing a job, and because employers don't have such broad responsibility to protect their employees away from the workplace that they control. Depending on the mores of the time, Brent might be an unlucky bystander, guilty at most of poor taste in how openly she acted in protection of public morals, or of insensitvity and sticking her nose into others' private affairs.

But there was a brief gesture at prosectuting someone, in northern New England probably in the 1990s, for an accidental death in a dispute about overdue rent and the landlord's claim to be able to seize, IIRC, something like a house trailer (mobile home) in lieu of the rent. The tenants defiantly hauled the unit away, the landlord became agitated and died of a heart-attack, and the sheriff arrested the tenants for homicide. But it seemed clear to me that it was an unfounded case and an abuse of authority committed for the sake of standing up for a family of long-term residents against perceived outsiders, and no more was heard of it after a few days, IMO supporting that view. (My guess is that the sheriff was immediately sued for false arrest and made a quick out-of-court monetary settlement, possibly on the advice of the state's Attorney General, with a condition that the tenants wouldn't talk to the press....the sheriff may have indirectly paid the back rent!)

--Jerzy(t) 19:54, 2004 Nov 21 (UTC)

Okay,thank you..Only problem is, the story takes place somewhere in Europe...Dunno exactly where,though..

If in Europe, firing the girl is most likely illegal (It's possible for there to be a contract requiring termination of employment on pregnancy - if you were a medical testee, say - but one that preferentially worked on marital status would be illegal on discrimination grounds); it's not a criminal act, though, so as I understand these things it's unlikely charges would be brought (and the person most able to sue is, well, dead). It's worth noting that the suicide isn't something Brent is culpable for; the only illegal act was to fire the girl. (Most of Europe has better labour-protection laws than the US does).

The doctor, hrm. When a complaint made suspended; if it's likely the patient died due to his drunkenness, possibly charged with some form of manslaughter? Shimgray 03:19, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

You can't fire someone for being pregnant in the US, under the FMLA. A survivor might choose to file a civil suit for wrongful termination and another for wrongful death, but I doubt the latter would get very far. The doctor, on the other hand, is in a lot deeper trouble than malpractice. In some jurisdictions, he's committed second degree murder -- the phrases "extreme indifference to human life" and "reckless conduct" are relevant. This article from findlaw.com touches on this sort of thing. --jpgordon{gab} 03:50, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

You may not be able to fire someone on grounds of pregnancy per se, but

• many employees may contractually be fired for "moral turpitude" and there is so long a history of that unquestionably including "illegitimate" pregnancies that, even in these relatively tolerant times, the language of the contract may not need to say so explicitly.
• FMLA is unlikely to override entirely the fact that most employment without a written contract is at the pleasure of the employer; most likely what FMLA bars is discrimination based on pregnancy per se, and mostly likely an employer claiming the firing was on moral grounds, of the implicit fornication and/or the presumption of contraceptional irresponsibility, would in effect be taken at their word.

--Jerzy(t) 19:54, 2004 Nov 21 (UTC)

Every job application I can ever remember signing stated that "this is 'at-will' employment; you can be terminated at any time for any reason whatsoever, or for no reason at all." Maybe I have just been getting the crap jobs :-) -- Wapcaplet 23:39, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

No legal opinions here, but the story is Ten Little Niggers (apologies, but that's what it is (or was) called) by Dame Agatha Christie. It is set on an island off the coast of Devon in England in early August 1939, but Armstrong committed his crime in 1925 and Brent hers in 1931. 82.210.114.165 08:14, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

In that case; doctor guilty of manslaughter (and possibly subsidiary crimes, like malpractice, but they're effectively negligible in comparison to the big one), woman guilty of... well, nothing. It's not the sort of thing she'd be happy to tell people about, but as I understand it she wouldn't have committed any crime (worker protection being trivial in the 30s, and the suicide not being her fault.) Shimgray 19:07, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

My understanding is that in the story, whether or not they are actually (legally) guilty of anything is probably irrelevant. The point is that someone thinks that they are, without going into too much detail in case you haven't gotten that far. (It ought to be a crime to spoil an Agatha Christie ending.) Actually, the harder it would be to see them punished under the legal system, the more their selection makes sense. -Aranel ("Sarah") 23:17, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

According to a 1932 almanac (this book is useful today) - "An unmarried domestic servant found to be [pregnant] may be peremptorily dismissed without notice; but any attempt to examine without her consent a servant supposed to be [pregnant] renders the employer liable to an action" (and, yes, that last bit scares me too - that's almost certainly from case-law). Just a note... Shimgray 01:05, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

HTML

I WANT TO CREATE A HTML PAGE SO I NEED SOURCECODES OF SIMPLE HTML PAGES ~anon

Your best bet is to search the web for a free HTML tutorial -- the web has thousands of them. We even have our own, HTML tutorial at Wikibooks, although it looks like the later chapters are not yet finished. Still enough to get you started. If that doesn't suit, try looking at the results of this Google search for "beginning HTML tutorial", and pick one that looks promising to you. Good luck! Catherine\^talk 04:21, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Talbot County, Maryland

The Talbot County, Maryland page lists many place names and where the name originated. I am especially interested in 2 that are not listed. Tar Island (also called Tar Point) just north of Tilghman Island and Amy's Marsh Point ( possibly Amil's Marsh at one time) which is also just north of Tilghman. Information about these 2 seems to be non-existent. Any help would be appreciated.

To become a forensic scientist

How long would you have to go to college (not including the first four years with all the boring non-career crap), and what college would you have to go to to become a forensic scientist? (For any field within forensics, too.)

--Tina

Well, it depends in large part on what you want to do. According to "Advice about a Career in Forensic Science", written by Dale Nute of FSU's School of Criminology & Criminal Justice, the amount of time varies from 4 years for a crime scene examiner up to 7+ years getting a medical degree for medical examiners.

As to advice on what schools to go to, that's a bit outside of my knowledge area. Keep in mind that real forensics isn't much like what you see on CSI. -- Cyrius|✎ 03:39, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Oh, lol..I know. Thank you.

EPO the drug

Please could you tell me what the above drug is, what category makes it illegal and how it alledgedly helps athletes' performance. Please reply on my talk page.--Gabriel Webber (babble were rig) 09:26, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

EPO erythropoietin is a protein hormone produced by the kidneys (yeah, every organ's really an endocrine organ). It is a growth factor hormone for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow. It increases the number of red blood cells in the blood (the hematocrit, the hemoglobin, and the RBC counts in a CBC). It is available as an expensive injectable therapeutic agent produced by recombinant DNA technology.

It produces the same effect as a transfusion of red blood cells, but repeated transfusions carry a variety of risks. It is most often used for people with anemia due to diseases that interfere with RBC production, especially chronic renal failure and anemia due to cancer chemotherapy. Off the top of my head I think Epogen and Procrit are 2 US brands; at least one has been advertised on television as a treatment for tiredness in cancer patients.

If your RBC mass is not excessive, and you are otherwise healthy, increasing it with EPO will marginally increase the oxygen carrying capacity of your blood, which will marginally increase your exercise endurance. EPO is yet one more forbidden ergogenic agent ("doping agent") taken taken by athletes to cheat.

PS, Eequor, don't remove this or Gabe might lose his next bicycle race. alteripse 13:19, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

How many moons does Earth have?

I was watching a London TV program a while ago, and one question was "How many moons does Earth have?". The panel said "two, that question was asked last series." And the answer was (apparently) 3. However, I only know one: the one we see @ night. And the article on it says it's the only one. Can someone please enlighten me on my talk page?--Gabriel Webber (babble were rig) 09:32, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

You're looking for 3753 Cruithne and J002E3. The first orbits the earth, sort of, and the second looks like it's actually the booster from Apollo 12. It orbited the earth for a while in 2002-2003, but it's gone now. Diderot 10:07, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Of course, it is odd in the extreme to refer to either object as a "moon". Generally, one expects there to be a certain size requirement for "moon status", otherwise, every stray particle of cosmic dust in orbit could also be so described. Referring to a man made object as a moon is also strange and inappropriate. There is thought to be quite a bit of discarded trash in orbit from the US and Russian space programs. One wouldn't want to call a lost hammer from the Mercury mission a "moon". Sigh... what is London television coming to these days? ;-) func(talk) 12:53, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Are you talking about the almost impossibly smug QI? They regularly stretch the truth in an attempt to seem superior. adamsan 13:17, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Oh, lighten up: it's entertainment. And, personally, I do find the trivia they raise "quite interesting"; and I don't think this is "stretching the truth" - they didn't say "nobody in their right mind thinks Earth only has one moon", they were just drawing attention to speculation that such-and-such an object might also be a moon, by some definitions. [Also, how funny, I'd never have thought of it as being "London TV", any more than I'd think of "New York TV" or something else. Just goes to show...erm, something.] - IMSoP 19:36, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

You're entitled to your opinion, though I note you don't deny the unbearable smugness. adamsan 20:05, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Well, I'd deny the "unbearable" bit, but yes, Stephen Fry does have a distinctly smug persona - part of the fun is watching the rest of them laugh at him because of it. - IMSoP 20:55, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

It's possible for earth to have more than one (natural) moon - although for a period in the 1950s artifical satellites were referred to as "moons" - we're fairly sure there isn't by now, simply because if it was close enough to orbit us on any reasonable timescale we'd probably have seen it. At various points, as Diderot points out, there have been annoucements of new moons; neither panned out to be correct. Cruithne doesn't orbit earth unless you stretch the definition of "orbit" (although it's a neat path it follows), and J002E3 did orbit us briefly, but was identified as artificial - so it wouldn't count, unless you want to claim we have around a quarter of a million moons. Shimgray 16:27, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Islamic culture

What were the effects of early arabic culture on the development of Islam?

well you see the main roots of islam were derived from Arabic culture. but be a little more specific.....are you interested more in the religion, or the customs, or the culture of islam and arab?

- glad to help

20:08, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Estivation and Diurnation

Does anyone know which endotherms and which ectotherms perform estivation and diurnation? Please answer fast. I do not need detail, just specific animals.

20:07, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)~

Snails, salamanders, and lungfish are estivatory ectotherms; bats and raccoons are diurnatory endotherms. --ηυωρ 21:24, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Dialect spoken in Guangdong?

I was told that Pinyin is used for Mandarin Chinese in Guangdong. I need to know "HOW" & "WHAT" dialect I should be practicing for speech & written word in Guangdong?

On the streets, people speak either Cantonese or Kejia (Hakka). The written language, and the language of most TV and radio, is going to be Mandarin. A lot of people, certainly the well educated ones, are going to be biglossic. In print, you'll see mostly modern standard Mandarin written in Simplified Chinese characters - but people don't relate written language to spoken language in China the way they do in the west, so they may not think of Cantonese or Kejia as languages that have written forms of their own. Pinyin is used mostly for transcription and pedagogic purposes - it's not something people use to write Chinese very often. Diderot 21:32, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Also see romanization. An example is Hànyǔ pīnyīn, which is the romanized Chinese name for pinyin. For an extensive online dictionary which uses pinyin along with a number of other representations, see Zhongwen. --ηυωρ 21:48, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

If you were going to be visiting or living in Guangdong ONLY, especially the smaller towns, then you would probably want to learn Cantonese to communicate with the local people. However, as pointed out above, most people with any education can at least understand some spoken Mandarin and can probably speak it, albeit with an accent (Mandarin is taught in all schools in mainland China). If you were going to travel at all, then Mandarin would be much more useful to you. So all in all it's probably better to learn Mandarin with some Cantonese thrown in. (There is considerable overlap between the two. I've heard Cantonese referred to as Mandarin that's been "damaged on delivery.") Mjklin 05:10, 2004 Nov 22 (UTC)

where is transylvania

See Transylvania - Nunh-huh 23:56, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

To the person who asked where Transylvania is at, there is a Transylvania County, North Carolina, in the mountain region. ~anon

See Transylvania (disambiguation) for some other uses of the name. Catherine\^talk 03:46, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

French West Africa

I am doing reseach about this topic and I chech some information about French West Africa on the Wikipedia website but I didn't understand what year French West Africa was started, and named. Please inform me the information? Thanks!

Directly from the French West Africa article: "Originally created in 1895 as a union of Senegal, French Sudan, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire ..." The name seems self-explanatory -- they were all territories in West Africa, and they were all French. Catherine\^talk 03:50, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

MAOI Inhibitors and their interactions with other psychoactives

I would like to know more about what an MAOI Inhibitor is. Why do I always hear that I shouldn't take such and such if I take MAOI inhibitors? And how do MAOI inhibitors effect psychoactives especially hallucinogenics? thanks -Graham

See monoamine oxidase inhibitor (you need to look up MAO inhibitor or MAOI, not MAOI inhibitor: the I already stands for inhibitor). MAOIs interact with a lot of drugs and foods, which is why you always hear the warnings...the most classic being that foods which contain a lot of tyramine (including port wine cheese and other tasty items) can cause, when eaten by a person on MAOIs, a severe increase in blood pressure that may result in death. There's some information about the interaction with hallucinogens in the article. - Nunh-huh 08:39, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

what is a mooloo?

? 62.252.0.5 10:26, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I think it has something to do with New Zealand Rugby. Mark Richards 20:16, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Specifically the Waikato rugby team and its supporters in the National Provincial Championship. There may be other uses I guess.... Lisiate 22:05, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

There is a place called Mooloo Downs Station in Western Australia; it is the source for the mineral moolooite (moolooite). --Key45 22:44, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I can't believe we don't already have an article for something named moolooite. Catherine\^talk 04:22, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

But now we do... Lisiate 01:09, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

List of Bishops of Salisbury

I'm trying to find a complete list to add into Bishop of Salisbury which for some reason only goes up to 1524. Despite numerous Google searches etc I can't find any such list except for stuff similar to what the article already has. There must have been bishops between the mid 1550s and the late 20th century, but who were they? Thanks. Muntfish 13:27, 2004 Nov 22 (UTC)

In 1931 the bishop was the Rt. Rev St. Clair George Alfred Donaldson, DD, who took office in 1921. He's listed as the 95th in my 1932 Whitaker's Almanac (the source for the above), but my 2002 lists the current incumbent as the 77th. I don't know why the discrepancy. Shimgray 20:07, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Update - I've fired off an email to the Diocese of Salisbury, and asked pleadingly for them to explain it... all very strange. Seems to be there for some dioceses (Lincoln has the 90th in '32 and the 70th today) but not others (Lichfield has gone from the 93rd to the 97th). Shimgray 21:58, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[3] gives a full list for Lincoln, up to the current at #71; it doesn't explain why my almanac gives their #63 as #90. All very strange. Shimgray 22:32, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Hmm, that's all very odd - but thanks for checking. The Salisbury Diocese website says that the current bishop (David Stancliffe) is the 77th. I can only assume that it depends on where you start counting from. Dioceses (sp?) sometimes change/split/merge (and the reformation seems to complicate things substantially) so maybe that has something to do with it? Muntfish 09:15, 2004 Nov 23 (UTC)

The nice lady at Salisbury says she's checked the reference (which she gives as Cockroft's Theological Directory, and he's the 76th there (and my "95th" is their 69th) - but they're not numbered, so she may have miscounted. Doesn't have any idea why the miscounting, but if I can compare to an old list it'd be interesting. Aberdeen University library, up the road from me, have copies from 1962 onwards - and an old 1935 copy - in their catalogue [4]; I think I've found a research topic for my next free afternoon. And, yes, I will type up a list of the Bishops anyway. ;-) Useless trivia - here's a 1932 diocese map My guess is that it's not the reformation or merging, but I have to run - will write more later. Shimgray 10:57, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Update - There's about 30 on the page at the moment, which ends pre-Reformation; this might be enough to explain it, but it doesn't explain why places like York and Durham - just as old, and surviving through the Anglican/Catholic, ah, national indecisiveness - haven't had the numbers change.

A quick look last night (IIRC at Ripon, which became Ripon & Leeds in 1999) suggested that renaming or expanding the diocese doesn't restart the numbering - and I don't think Salisbury's likely to have changed that much. There's an interesting answer in here somewhere, and I suspect it's not just a list of silly misprints in the almanac :-) Shimgray 12:41, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

For lists of CofE Bishops from ancient times until the 1890s, try Haydn's Book of Dignities (1894, ed. by Horace Ockerby). Bishops of Salisbury from 1046 to 1885 are on page 466-7; Deans of Salisbury on 468. Will add the info to the page. Dbiv 00:48, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Thanks! I've started to convert the list into a table like the other bishop pages. Muntfish 09:55, 2004 Dec 8 (UTC)

Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 - Sound Effects

In MSPpt 2003, is there any way of having a sound on one slide of PowerPoint, then set it to play for several slides and then stop it AT A SPECIFIC POINT on another slide? If so, please tell me how?--03williss 13:44, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

One way to do it is to launch an external application that accepts command line parameters (old Windows media player and sound recorder should work). Then the first slide should have an object that would start the playback of a certain audio file via its associated action and one of the latter slides would have an action that would stop it.

Another way may be to record Narration using PowerPoint built-in tool. Paranoid 22:53, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)

about utilitarianism?? plz

utilitarianism is a very interesting theory that i began to study it in depth , and there is this question which I would like to to apply the utilitarianism theory to it, the question is

" is about applying utilitarianism theory to the moral value of Joseph Rowntree's contribution to society"

there is also another interesting theory which called Universalism, can u please apply and compare these 2 theories to the above question

id really appreciate it if u could contact me as soon as u read this email

thanks alot for the information provided in ur site and looking forward to hearing from you soon

yours G.d

Ps. can u email me your answer please to "Seenyouin@hotmail.com" !

WMD in Iraq

By now it should be common knowledge (except to the gregarious droids in conservative America who get their news from Fox) that the Bush administration lied to the American people and Congress about Saddam Hussein possessing and producing WMD with which to fund the (totally unrelated) Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks. However, someone told me that a few sarin bombs were indeed found in Iraq, and these count as WMD. Is this true? Could somebody please give me the facts, or possibly a way to refute this person? --Gelu Ignisque

Geez. I'm no fan of Bush, but that was a bit vitriolic, even for me. Anyway, here's a CNN reference to a single artillery shell found with sarin. Not exactly a secret weapons cache, but still technically a chemical weapon. --Cvaneg 20:48, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

you mean you are no fan of Bush, but that was a bit vitriolic. I readily believe there are intelligent conservatives. But obviously, there are also 59M that are rather less so. dab 10:34, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

A small quantity of sarin bombs have indeed been discovered. However, I take offense at your suggestion that my countrymen who maintain the president's good intentions are all ignorant - I know some very intelligent conservatives. Personal attacks are contrary to Wikipedia policy, and surely you must be aware that a large number of Wikipedians are American.

The concern over the Iraq war, in America at least, is no longer whether there are WMDs in Iraq - Saddam appears to have never had them, effectively hidden them, or destroyed them - but whether the president was (a) doing what he thought was best based on the (incorrect) intelligence given him, or (b) deliberately deceiving the country. Your friend is correct, though there is no apparent need to refute him, since the quantity of WMDs found has been negligible. — Dan | Talk 21:39, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I'll take option b, bob, please. --Tagishsimon (talk)

If memory serves, some traces were found following the explosion of an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and the conclusion reached that this was some old chemical shell left over from the Iran-Iraq war. I think The Coalition's investigators concluded that it was either recovered from a battlefield (either a dud or a shell discarded or misplaced in the heat of battle) or from some badly maintained store. Either way, it's highly unlikely that the iraqi military actually knew they had the thing. Most militaries paint chemical shells a different colour, but left to the elements it's likely that the paint wore off, leaving Mr Insurgent to incorporate it unawares into one of his shell-based IEDs. If Mr Insurgent did know a given shell was chemical (I believe the great majority of the Iraqi army's reserves were mustard gas) he'd be very unlikely to use it, as a) ancient, rusty old chemical shells are as likely to leak nasty stuff on him while he's doing the rather delicate job of changing its fuse, and b) chemical weapons are crap, and he's much more likely to kill Coalition soldiers with a normal shell. The matter of misplacing NBC materials is one from which all militaries suffer - just before the last Iraqi war, the US Army fessed up that it had "lost" several tons of chemical shells (I think they were sure they still had them, but the paperwork was lost, so they had no idea where in the huge inventory they might be). Similarly, here's a scary ass photo of rusty old US mustard gas shells. I dare anyone who things the Iraqis should have known what was in all the crappy old shells lying around in holes in their countryside to take a trip out to the Solomon Islands and play at "guess what's in this shell" :) - John Fader

I remember seeing a headline in the news-crawl on CNN a while back that "weapons of mass destruction" had indeed been found in Iraq, and that they consisted of small quantities of chemical agents most likely intended for assassination attempts. (These may be the same sarin bombs you've mentioned). Broadly defining WMD to include all chemical weapons, regardless of quantity or intended purpose, seems a fairly liberal (no pun intended) interpretation. Assassination is just about the exact opposite of mass destruction. -- Wapcaplet 23:33, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I agree. The answer to the question depends on whether you accept the authority of the US Government to define "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in any way they see fit. I'm sure most people would assume that a Weapon of Mass Destruction is capable of causing mass destruction, and as far as I'm aware no weapons capable of such mass destruction have been located in Iraq. Proteus (Talk) 12:49, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Need URGENT help with research project (copied from Village Pump)

Please anyone help me with this if possible, i'm stuck in this research that i'm doing on stone. If anyone can give me links to info on ( stone construction, masonry, types and advantages of stone) I would be very grateful. Best Regards,

 Seif

Are you interested in sone as geological point of view or as building point of you? And in the latter case are you interest at the material (the raw stone) or at the final prudoct (the building)? AnyFile 13:21, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Piedmont

Where did the word piedmont originate France or Italy?

According to http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=p&p=16 in Italy, but the words are so similar in French and Italian that the distinction is difficult. Compare the french pied a terre and Mont Blanc, for instance, to see examples of both words spelled identically in both languages. alteripse 00:06, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

At the time the word came out (surely before 19 century, pherephs much earlier) there not exist Italy neither Italian. In this region the common language was a local language that is now the slang of that region. Intellectual, I think, spoke Italian (in the sense I will explain), French and Latin. In any langauge the word has been formed it is sure that the word came from Latin words. Italian language was not already well settle. Italian languege came out later when intellectual wanted that the language used in Tuscany (the language of Dante Alighieri and many other important letterates) should be used in the whole just borned state of Italy. In the 18th century and the first half of 19th century the region Piemonte was part of a State that lied between the two present State of France and Italy. This State was named Kindom of Savoie first and then State of Sardinia. The reason of these names are that at the beginning the capitol was in Savoie (Savoie is the French version of the name in Italian is Savoia), in the latter time the (now) Italian part became more important (and the capital became Turin) and as the Sardinia island was added to the kindom and it was the most extended part of the kindom the name changed. At this epoch there is not much sense to discriminate between Italian and French. The languge was a mixture of Italian (northen Italian with some central Italian) French of type Oil (the one of Paris) and French of type Oc (the one of Provence). Nowdays there are some town in Italy where the old Lingua d'oca is still spoken (actual it is dsappearing). There are many place where French in Italy is an offical language (as in the autonomus Region of Valle d'Aosta AnyFile 14:38, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Finding slope and x-intercerpts in linear equations

In the equation "2x + 8y = 16," how can I find the slope, x-intercept, and y-intercept? --Anon

intercept, and y-intercept? --Anon

See slope. You want to put the equation in the form y=mx+b. m is the slope, b is the y-intercept.

                              2x + 8y = 16
(subtract 2x from both sides)      8y = 16 - 2x
(divide equation by 8)              y = 2 - .25x      
(shuffle)                           y = - .25x + 2

so m = -0.25 = slope
   b = 2 = y intercept

The x-intercept is the place the line crosses the y axis...that is, the point where y=0. (Think about this: every point on the x axis has a y coordinate of 0.)

                               y = -.25x + 2
(substitute 0 for y)           0 = -.25x + 2
(add .25x to both sides)    .25x = 2
(divide both sides by .25)     x = 4

At least I think that's right <g>. If this doesn't make sense to you I'm sure there are other methods, like graphing, that someone else can explain. - Nunh-huh 03:32, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Actually you should have x = 8. Dividing both sides by .25 is the same as multiplying by 4, and 2×4 = 8. AlexG 20:45, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Also, if given a slope of –3 and a point of (2,–1), how can I write the equation in standard form? --Anon

you have the slope and a point. 
1 = 3*2 - b
1 = 6 - b
b = 5

y = 3x - 5

- Nunh-huh 03:32, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Follow-up

 So let's do a similar one:
2x - 9y - 45 = 0 
   + 9y        +9y        (add 9y to both sides)
2x - 45 = 9y              
 /9         /9            (divide all sides by 9 to get "y" by itself)
0.22x - 45 = y            (in slope-intercept)

And to find the "x" and "y":

2/9x - 45 = y
2/9(0) - 45 = y
-45 = y                     (-45 = y?)

2/9x - 45 = (0) 
      +45   +45
      2/9x = 45
        x = 202.5           (202.5 = x?)

Checking...

(2)(202.5) - (9)(-45) - 45 = 0
   (405) - (405) - 45 = 0
        

Now, I know that's not accurate, because the extra -45 makes it untrue. What am I doing wrong? (--Anon)

When you divided both sides by 9 to isolate the y, you left the -45 as it was. Goplat 05:31, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

D'oh! --Anon

eating disorders

Dear Sir/Madam I`d like to ask you about the author of subject eating disorders.I`m student BCUC college- health study. I`m writting essay about eating disorders as a woman`s illness,I`m using some of your material from wikipedia,but I need to know who wrote that article.

Thank you very much for your help. Sincerely Michaela Petekova E-mail adress:Lev-M@seznam.cz

The people who contributed to the article can be found at the page's history. If you need to cite your sources, go to Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. Hope that helps. Mgm|^(talk) 08:38, Nov 23, 2004 (UTC)

self-destructing dvd's

I've recently heard about the new temporary dvds, that one can acquire(I'm not sure if that would be owning or renting). Is their actual encoding different from standard DVDs? To put it bluntly, could they be copied onto one's computer in the same way? Rhymeless | (Methyl Remiss) 09:47, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

The self-destructing DVD is based on a chemical process that makes the DVD unreadable after a certain amount of time.[5] Basically, there is a translucent film over the DVD that reacts with air and slowly turns opaque over the course of time. So there's really nothing preventing you from ripping it to your computer while it is still readable. There actually hasn't been much interest in this type of media, but there are some exceptions.--Cvaneg 14:57, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Cards games involving only two players

I need some suggestions for good card games that involve only 2 players. Most that I am familiar with need more players (hearts, poker, bridge). ike9898 15:32, Nov 23, 2004 (UTC)

Cribbage, War, Gin Rummy --Cvaneg 16:32, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I like Piquet myself (though our article on it is a bit odd as it stands). --Camembert

Casino is basically for two, although four can play. We don't have an article on it. I carry a deck of cards and the rules to Casino in my backpack for stranding situations. Likewise there's no article on Russian Bank a sort of solitaire for two, and there's also double solitaire. The web site alphabetical list of card games, with rules, has dozens of games for 2 players. Ortolan88 03:03, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

In Italy we have many card game to be played by two player. Some of them may play by haw many player you want (at least 2) some other exists in 2 player or 4 player version. There are not article on English wikipedia nor in Italian wikipedia. I have found some interesting url in English Briscola (I can not find a traslation it has no meaning in Italian too) ,other fomous Italian card game playable by two player are Scopa (broom) and Scala 40 (ledder 40 or stair 40 or better 40 scale) AnyFile 18:57, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Here's a game for two - snap. Or try shithead. Another great one is one that u make up yourself. Like snap, apart from everytime a certain number comes up you have to do something silly, like fall on the floor or scream like a dog.

the movie Cast Away

Was Cast Away (2000) based on a true story? Was the man involved really an employee of FedEx? ike9898 15:39, Nov 23, 2004 (UTC)

• No, it's not based on a true story. You might be thinking of the movie "Castaway" (1986), about a UK businessman who goes to a deserted island with a woman he just met to recreate "adam and eve", or at least write a novel about it. That IS based on a true story. Terrapin 16:37, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

• • The true-story Castaway is a wikipedia article now. Jay 15:28, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

number of mammary glands or nipples

I want to know the number of mammary glands or nipples that different mammals have. The only two I know for sure are humans (2) and cows (4). ike9898 15:42, Nov 23, 2004 (UTC)

According to [6], "the number of teats varies from 2 in Primates and the Marsupial mole, to 19 in the Pale-bellied oppossum." The number in pigs is apparently variable within single breeding lines based on ancestry and number of males in the litter [7]. According to the BBC, "most female mammals have twice as many teats as their average litter to make sure that none starve. A few (such as the Virginia opossum) give birth to more young than they can suckle, and so the 'slowest' young die from starvation." [8]. And the The Illustrated Book of Sexual Records says "The horse and elephant, for instance, have only two nipples; and though the cow has only one udder the single massive gland empties into four teats. The dog has five paired glands. The hog can have as many as eighteen mammae. Supernumerary nipples are common in many species, e.g. primates, rodents, ruminants. The largest number of nipples is present in Centetes, a primitive insectivore with twenty-two to twenty-four nipples and as many as thirty six young at birth." Does that help? Catherine\^talk 02:28, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I would like to clarify a point here. The Opossum is not a mammal, it is a marsupial. Marsupials go about birth and child-rearing a little differently than mammals. Phyzome is Tim McCormack 01:47, 2004 Dec 4 (UTC)

No. "Marsupials are mammals in which the female typically has a pouch" is the first line from the marsupial article you just linked to. Rmhermen 03:02, Dec 4, 2004 (UTC)

Oops. My bad. I meant to write placental mammals (Placentalia. -- Phyzome is Tim McCormack 00:23, 2004 Dec 5 (UTC)

What happens if you put gasoline in a diesel engine

On a recent 'reality' TV show, the characters accidentally put gasoline in a diesel car. They realized their mistake and didn't start the car. But I was wondering what would have happened if they had started it up. ike9898 16:13, Nov 23, 2004 (UTC)

• The engine should run, but might not be real smooth. I seem to recall that Diesel engines can run on a lot of different fuels if needed (one of the reasons why Militaries use them). Putting diesel in a gasoline engine, however, would make the engine nearly inoperable, and may destroy it. Terrapin 16:44, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • Long answer: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdieselvsgas.html --Tagishsimon (talk)
• Short answer: Don't do it. 207.189.98.44 18:54, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Statistics

I have three questions: 1. I have a group of people whose behavior I am measuring. I measure it before the treatment, and find that x% of them do this behavior. I measure after the treatment and find y% do it. What statistical test do I need? I believe that the groups are normal, and I have randomly sampled. 2. Again, but I am looking at frequency of the behavior. What test do I need? 3. Is there a general decision tree anywhere that will help me to choose the right test? Thank you, Tada 18:28, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

1-2.I think what you need is a not particularly well known test call McNemar's test. It is appropriate for two-sample, matched pair data. The Chi-square test would not be appropriate in this case because the two data points, before and after, are not independent. I'm not a statistical expert, so get a 2nd opinion on this!

3. I have a decision tree in one of my books (Fundamental of Biostatistics 4th ed. by B. Rosner). Good luck! ike9898 19:28, Nov 23, 2004 (UTC)

1) If what you measured was whether a certain behavior is present of absent, then McNemar's test may be appropriate. For 2), a paired t-test or Wilcoxon test might work. However, you should probably consult with a local expert who can look at your data. If you're affiliated with a university, your local statistics department might offer a free consultation service or "clinic". --MarkSweep 21:18, 28 Nov 2004 (UTC)

feed-to-meat ratio

Where can I find info about the general ratio of the feed necessary to grow a farmed animal to maturity versus the meat obtained? I know that for fish it's about 2 to 1, and for cows about 10 to 1. How about others? Mjklin 21:01, 2004 Nov 23 (UTC)

I'm far from an expert on this subject, but I think the numbers are going to vary depending on the kind of feed you give to the animal. (e.g. a pure grain feed will have different results than a mixture of grain an animal protein) -Cvaneg 21:36, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

what are the main animals in Norway?

Well, lemmings, of course, called lemen, and moose, called elg, reindeer ("good eating!"), several deer (hjort, rådyr), as well as squirrels (ekorn) and mice (mus), foxes (rev), and, on the northern islands, polar bears (isbjørn). They have fish and insects too, but I assume you were interested in mammals.Ortolan88 02:51, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) (Member of the Isbjørnklubbe (Polar Bear Society) of Stavanger)

A couple of additions: bears and wolverines (jerv) used to be common throughout Norway but are pretty much extinct (the last remaining bears in the wild can be found in Pasvikdalen in the extreme northeast). Polar bears, to the best of my knowledge, do not live in mainland Norway; the northern isles (Svalbard etc), where lots of polar bears can be found, are so far north from the continent that saying polar bears are common in Norway is a tad bit misleading. One insect species that has to be mentioned is the mosquito - literally millions of them live in the swampy areas north of the polar circle, nasty little buggers, about the only good thing to be said about them is that they don't carry malaria -- Ferkelparade π 15:06, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) (not a member of isbjørnklubbe, but I've been to northern Norway often enough to know what I'm talking about re: mosquitoes :p)

We'd be glad to have you in Isbjørnklubbe but I must point out that I did say "and, on the northern islands, polar bears". Ortolan88 17:46, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Most Norwegian species, like everywhere else, are beetles. Most of the rest are Lepidoptera. We tend to only write about big fluffy things in an encyclopedia though. Dunc|☺ 15:19, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Very good point. But by biomass and or number, I think certain types of worms are greater. There are more species of beetle, but by numbers of them, I saw some documentary where worms win. Possibly it was nematodes. The climate in Norway could conceivably limit this though.

Enantiodroma

Could someone familiar with jungian psychology please factcheck Enantiodroma? The term gives worryingly few google hits and was created by a user with no past editing history. Thanks. --fvw* 05:19, 2004 Nov 24 (UTC)

It's misspelled: I've moved it to enantiodromia. It is indeed an actual term in analytical psychology. - Nunh-huh 07:29, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Ah, google much more helpful given that. Thanks! --fvw* 08:10, 2004 Nov 24 (UTC)

Magnetic forces

1. What determines the strength of the attractive force between fixed magnets (bar magnets, for example)?
2. Is this the magnetomotive force?
3. How is the force related to the magnetic flux density?

--ηυωρ 07:24, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

On point (2): no, it isn't. I just added a note to the magnetomotive force article to explain this. MMF is just the amount of current, multiplied by the number of loops, that generates a given magnetic field. The use of the word "force" in this phrase dates from a time before anybody knew better. --Heron 09:46, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

On points (1) and (3): the flux density is a measure of the strength of the magnet's field at a given point, not a measure of the total field. I'm not sure how the size of the whole field is expressed - perhaps it's the magnetic dipole moment, or the total flux in webers. Anyway, the force of attraction between two magnets depends on the shapes, relative orientation and separation distance of the magnets, as well as their strength. Mathematically, you would use the principle of virtual work to calculate the force between them. I see we don't have an article on that yet, although I remember seeing it in Wikipedia:requested articles. (Hint) --Heron 11:56, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Here is an excellent web page on the subject. The formula <math>F={{m_1m_2}\over{\mu r^2}} <math> looks useful. F is force in newtons, m is pole strength in webers, μ is the permeability of the intervening medium in tesla metres per ampere, and r is the separation in metres. This works for two magnetic poles separated by a large distance. --Heron 12:28, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Editorial note: I have add this new information to the magnetomotive force and magnet articles. --Heron 14:12, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Name of movie

I'm not able to recollect the name of a movie which has the futuristic plot of people having to live in skyscrapers because there is no longer oxygen left at ground level. The hero and his dad are fire-fighter kind of guys who climb the vents of the buildings during emergencies. The dad gets killed and the son is framed or something like that. I remember a tag line like 'Air tight' but searching on Google didn't help me out. Jay 14:44, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I don't know the movie, but it's a pretty unlikely scenario, air at altitude is thinner (lower pressure) than at ground level, so one would expect the greatest concentration of gasses to be at gl. I guess the only way this might be is if the was heavier than air polution, but its tenuous! Mark Richards 16:28, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I dunno either. But www.imdb.com has a special section for these kinds of queries (and the sorts of visitors that are likely to know). --bodnotbod » .....TALKQuietly) 20:15, Nov 24, 2004 (UTC)